Category: Business

Three years after becoming Intel CEO, Pat Gelsinger has detailed his vision at a special event in San Jose, California, to mark the official launch of Intel Foundry, as part of plans to build AI chips for itself and other companies. The purpose of the move is twofold – to attract the major chip designers, such as Nvidia, AMD, Qualcomm Apple, Amazon and Microsoft and become the world’s second largest chip manufacturer after Taiwan’s TSMC, and to prove that the company wants to once again become the number one chip manufacturer in the US.

There are quite a few obstacles on the way to realizing the company’s vision for the coming years, which also pose a challenge for Intel in Israel, where it is the country’s largest private employer.

Intel has been manufacturing chips on a limited scale for companies like ARM and even Nvidia for several years but now Gelsinger is separating manufacturing and development to prevent structural conflict of interests with manufacturing becoming an independent profit and loss unit

Intel Foundry will include IFS, the fastest growing production unit in Intel in 2023 with revenue of nearly $1 billion. The division will include all the group’s existing manufacturing fabs worldwide such as the chip plants in Kiryat Gat and its flagship plant in Oregon, which is responsible for proving the programming of new production technologies.

The new division will specialize in services for external customers and developing future production processes. Intel’s development centers will work like Nvidia and ARM as if there is not a fab serving all their whims, but a plant that manufactures for customers according to price, works on development plans in a thorough manner and preempts making future orders. Thus, Intel’s development engineers could find themselves producing at rivals such as TSMC and Samsung. Intel believes, even if they do not say so explicitly, that the company’s added value is no longer found in its core business – the development and production of chips for personal computers – a shrinking market with marginal profitability, which is decreasing over the years – but in its production system. Thus, Intel aspires to be one of the world’s largest AI chip manufacturers, rather than developing the most successful AI chip itself.

The move, which has been planned years in advance, is branded by Intel as one that will make it the main manufacturer for AI chips. This is a cultural and business earthquake within Intel, and the biggest organizational change the company has undergone since its founding in 1968. In the past, Intel dominated the global chip market: first, thanks to the PC revolution in the 1980s and then, thanks to the laptop revolution in the 1990s and early 2000s, partly thanks to chips developed in Haifa.

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The past decade has been particularly tough for Intel, which has lost ground in several areas. It has failed to penetrate the smartphone market, while most AI chips currently produced for servers and data centers are developed and manufactured by rivals. Because of its closed and unique structure as a chip company, which produces only what it develops, without being open to external developers, its corporate culture has undergone a certain degeneration, and its ability to innovate and lead complex production processes has been weakened. Thus, almost all the main competitors have overtaken Intel in terms of market value and momentum in the capital market. Nvidia and AMD have overtaken it in market value and chip share in the AI server market.

Intel’s great dependence, which remains, on chips for PCs, makes it difficult for it to show a significant improvement in financial results and accumulate enough cash to finance its new strategy. Relying on government grants and partner-funded collaborations provide Intel with an oxygen pipeline in the meantime, with the aim of reaching the long-awaited pivot.

How does Intel plan to overtake rivals

In the special launch press conference, Intel set out to demonstrate that it is ready, for the first time, for customers in the manufacturing field and that it is very serious about its production plans. The conference was held in partnership with senior industry figures like OpenAI found and CEO Sam Altman, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo.

Unlike its competitors, such as TSMC and Samsung, which operate in secrecy and are ambiguous about their production plans, Intel has set out a very detailed roadmap, which may give it a certain advantage in production for possible key customers such as Nvidia, Apple and AMD.

While until recently, Intel was a generation or two behind TSMC in chip architecture, the company is announcing the development of manufacturing capability for 1.4 nanometer (14 angstrom) chips. This is the smallest size transistors – the electrical circuits that form the basis of the chips – that has been announced by a chip manufacturer so far, with an expected launch in 2026.

This is an ambitious plan that is raising eyebrows in the industry, with a leap of several generations at once for Intel. So far Intel has only mass-produced chips with technology up to 7 nanometer only and lags behind TSMC, which produces 5 nanometer chips – which have been embedded in Apple devices and Nvidia’s data centers for over a year.

TSMC and Samsung are already close to developing 2 nanometer chips, while Intel’s 5 nanometer technology (known as Intel 3) has just completed development and may enter production soon. Intel promises that in 2024, advanced chips with 2 nanometer (20 angstrom) and 1.8 nanometer (18 angstrom) technology will be launched for mass production. The company claims that its chips will be more efficient than competitors, and more adapted to processing AI and working in data centers, through an architecture that allows power to flow to transistors from many directions, allowing more efficient energy consumption and savings in electricity expenditure.

Intel also has advantages that its rivals don’t possess, which may enable it to prevail, even over TSMC, in the long term. Intel has invested in a network of chip assembly, packaging and testing plants in New Mexico, Costa Rica, Malaysia and Poland – an activity that is almost non-existent among its competitors and is considered critical for complex chip production from several processors. Intel hopes to use these assembly plants to integrate its own processors into chips that are ordered and designed by customers. The chips include a collection of processors in various fields – memory, encryption, core processing, graphic processing and AI, from different manufacturers, to order.

Intel also has a special connection with Dutch company ASML, the world’s only company manufacturing machinery for producing advanced chips and which provides it production devices for all advanced chips. This, in contrast to TSMC, which makes more limited use of them and relies more on internal production. Intel has founded a network of extensive connection with chip design companies like Cadence, Synopsis and ARM, formerly a bitter rival, to allow startups and growth companies to produce their chips on its production lines. Intel was also informed this week that it will receive the highest grant given so far to a US chip company based on the chip law – $10 billion, an amount equivalent to the construction of half a factory. For comparison, Global Foundry received only $1.5 billion.

Intel is making the change after a period of downsizing and restructuring in some divisions, although the company did not implement a massive wave of layoffs as it did in 2016, when it dismissed 12,000 employees. In 2022, the company implemented pay cuts that ended last year, when bonuses were also restored.

Nevertheless, Intel faces obstacles on its ability to realize its ambitious vision. The first is whether it can attract major rivals such as Nvidia, Qualcomm and AMD, as well as past customers, like Apple and Amazon. These companies have become accustomed to working closely with TSMC, and although some of them may produce at Intel, we will never know what production volume it transfers to it.

In a situation where demand for AI chips is so big, any factory that produces may win contracts. But competitors may fear that their commercial secrets will leak into Intel’s development departments. The company guarantees a sealed wall and zero transfer of information, but at the same time, they have avoided completely spinning off production activity as analysts recommended. Such a split, no doubt, would send Intel stock higher, and every day that goes by without spinning off the manufacturing plants leaves Intel stock lower.

Gelsinger’s decision to keep the production plants within the company has a certain business logic. Most of the company’s cash still comes from the PC development business, although Intel’s cash flow, as a whole, continues to break negative records.

There is also the question of whether the high demand for AI chips will continue growing. Today, there is a high shortage of AI chips, due to the monopoly of Nvidia in development and TSMC in production. The industry fears a flood of chip factories after a massive opening of factories in the coming years, as well as a lack of suitable workers, which has already led to delays in the construction of the factory in Magdeburg in Germany. Intel will have to hire tens of thousands of production workers and engineers in places like Germany, Ohio, New Mexico and Israel, and there are difficulties in finding them and transferring them to Intel.

The Israeli angle

As part of the reorganization, Intel’s existing plant and future plant in Kiryat Gat will join the new independent production division, and employees at the plant are now undergoing training to service external customers. However, it has not yet been decided in what way, for which customers and which technologies will be formed for them in Israel.

The Fab 28 plant in Kiryat Gat currently produces silicon wafers for chips with 10 nanometer technology. However, Israel is the only site in the world outside of the US where there is very close proximity between Intel and Nvidia facilities, and the company is considering how to use this proximity to attract Nvidia to them, with Israeli assistance. In addition, several Israeli companies have already signed on to manufacture chips for Israeli startups – including Valens Semiconductor (NYSE: VLN) and Ceva (Nasdaq: CEVA), using Israeli companies at TSMC’s expense is a refreshing breath of fresh air.

Israeli chip company NeuReality founder and CEO Moshe Tanach says, “This move in which Intel is reorganizing its production processes will take at least two to three years. We will see the first buds of the trials and tests by the end of the year and during 2025. This is a process that Intel has already tried in the past, but rigidity and conservatism on the part of the production units prevented it.”

Tanach added, “Although Gelsinger is placing a greater emphasis on this process, in a large company, which at the same time has to continue with the production of its original products, generating revenue and profits for the shareholders is a very challenging task – a challenge that arises from two vectors that sometimes collide with each other. At the same time, rivals like Nvidia and AMD have opened a gap on Intel’s capabilities in developing graphics processors as well as core processors but Intel is the only one that possesses an advanced production capability, which would be difficult if not impossible for other companies to develop.”

Full disclosure: The author was a guest of Intel in San Jose

Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on February 22, 2024.

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2024.

The social network said it would offer site moderators an undetermined number of shares, according to its Form S-1, with more details coming at a later date. Though companies typically reserve some shares for retail investors, the vast majority of stock at an IPO initially goes to institutional investors and the wealthiest individual investors. The public can eventually buy in after the stock is listed on an exchange, but often the price will have risen by then. In other words, an initial public offering isn’t usually open to the public.

Reddit’s move is meant to appeal to its loyal user base and create a deeper sense of ownership among those who already contribute a great deal of their time to managing the site, says Kyle Stanford, an analyst at PitchBook. Connecting their currently unpaid work to the company’s long-term performance could engender even greater loyalty—and some good PR in the process.

“It’s unusual. It’s a nice goodwill thing,” says Stanford. “There’s a lot of benefit that these community-driven apps can receive.”

Cofounder and CEO Steve Huffman noted as much in the S-1: “Our users have a deep sense of ownership over the communities they create on Reddit. This sense of ownership often extends to all of Reddit. We want this sense of ownership to be reflected in real ownership—for our users to be our owners. Becoming a public company makes this possible.”

But loyalty could come at a cost: If the stock price sinks after the IPO, individual investors are more likely to panic and sell, potentially creating a death spiral. Institutional investors, traditional thinking goes, have a stronger stomach for riding out early complications, which can prevent some of that volatility.

A recent move to democratize IPOs backfired spectacularly: In 2021, the investing app Robinhood went public and made a much larger portion of its shares available to individual investors, but the price dropped more than 8% on the first day of trading. Now trading for around $13.50—less than half the IPO price—shares have reflected a company performance deemed “disastrous,” and public goodwill for the company has faltered.

That said, Reddit is aware of the risks, and there isn’t necessarily a correlation between Robinhood’s falling stock price and offering more to the public upfront, says Stanford. After all, Reddit has become the go-to spot for stock talk for many retail investors, which contributed massively to the performance of companies like GameStop, the meme stock that soared in 2021. Stanford expects the amount of shares made available to them to be a small portion of the total, then.

“I wouldn’t expect it to make the IPO better or worse, but it’s a nice little additive they can do,” he says. “They’ve seen what’s happened in threads on their platform. They’re hyperaware of the possibility.”

‘Ride the wave’

Stanford said he hopes Redditors with access to shares also are similarly aware of the risks of investing, including how long the lockup period is. If they buy in at, say, $25 per share and the stock pops to $35 the next day, they can’t immediately cash in. And prices could fall in the meantime.

“If there’s a two-month lockup period, they have to ride the wave,” says Stanford.

“The market price and trading volume of our Class A common stock could experience extreme volatility for reasons unrelated to our underlying business or macroeconomic or industry fundamentals, which could cause you to lose all or part of your investment if you are unable to sell your shares at or above the initial offering price,” Reddit’s S-1 notes.

The filing comes just as Google and Reddit also announced they are “deepening” their partnership, in an effort to make it “easier to discover and access the communities and conversations people are looking for on Reddit” via Google products, like Search.

Speaking of Google, the tech giant now known as Alphabet had its own famously “quirky” IPO back in 2004 that involved auctioning off shares to retail and institutional investors alike.

Going Dutch

An IPO is traditionally underwritten by one or more investment banks that certify the quality of the investment. Institutional investors who buy in ahead of the IPO typically have connections to those underwriters, who determine the initial share price, which Google’s leadership found unfair. Instead, they used a Dutch auction. Put simply, this is when a company collects bids from interested investors for the number of shares they want to buy and at what price, and uses those bids to determine the highest price at which the offering can be sold. This is risky because if the public doesn’t think you’re worth much, well, you’re not.

Because of a confluence of factors—bad press, the public not really knowing what Google was doing, an ill-timed interview with Playboy that caught the attention of the SEC—the IPO was a disappointment. Google went public at $85 per share, lower than the company’s original price expectation of $108 to $135. By the end of the first trading day, the stock rose by 18% to over $100—respectable, but as research has shown, about average.

But that disappointment didn’t last long. By the end of 2004, the stock took off. Still, the Dutch auction method, while used by a few other companies in the U.S. post-Google, is not super popular.

Spotify had a nontraditional IPO in 2018 when it opted for a direct listing, or allowing existing shareholders to sell their shares directly to the public, rather than through underwriters. Then, “any prospective purchasers of shares could place orders with their broker of choice, at whatever price they believed was appropriate, and that order would be part of the price-setting process on the [New York Stock Exchange],” Harvard lawyers wrote in a case study of the company’s offering.

Like Reddit’s move, Spotify’s was done, in part, to appeal to its user base and make the IPO process more transparent and inclusive. “By almost any standard” Spotify’s IPO was a success, CNBC wrote a few months later. Airbnb is another company that led a successful IPO while allowing marketplace users to buy in early.

Other Silicon Valley companies have followed suit, and Reddit hopes its IPO will be a similar success.

“We are going public to advance our mission and become a stronger company,” Huffman wrote. “We hope going public will provide meaningful benefits to our community as well.”

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IoT Analytics has published a new analysis focusing on smart meters.

It is derived from the comprehensive “Global Smart Meter Market Tracker”. The tracker includes installed base, shipments and shipment revenues for electricity, gas and water smart meters. The current analysis underscores the global adoption rate of smart electricity meters in 2024, providing an in-depth regional exploration and market forecast.

Key insights:

• By the end of 2023, 1.06 billion smart meters (electricity, water and gas) have been installed worldwide, according to IoT Analytics’ Global Smart Meter Market Tracker 2020–2030.
• Smart meters enable utility service providers across the world to digitalize their distribution infrastructure and services efficiently with near real-time data.
• North America has the most mature smart electricity meter market, with nearly 77% electricity meter market penetration, while Latin America has largely lagged in its adoption of the technology. Some European Union countries and the East Asian region, too, have high rates of smart electricity meter market penetration.
• South Asia, Latin America, and Africa represent a high-growth potential for smart meters, as some regional governments have become convinced of the need to update their aging grid infrastructure and are more actively engaging with smart grid industry stakeholders to develop regulatory policies to drive the adoption of smart meters.

Key quotes:

Knud Lasse Lueth, CEO at IoT Analytics, remarks: “IoT-based smart electricity meters have become a reality in the world but adoption varies greatly by country and region with countries like Sweden, France, or Canada having completed or nearly completed their roll-outs while others like Germany are yet to start their initiative in a meaningful way. India is likely to see the largest roll-out in the coming years.”

Adarsh Krishnan, Principal Analyst at IoT Analytics, adds that: “Digital transformation is sweeping the utility industry as global service providers’ smart meter deployment, a foundational smart grid technology, exceeds installed base of 1 billion units. While advanced economies embrace feature-rich smart meters, emerging markets focus on more cost-effective solutions for their grid upgrades. Furthermore, future advancements in AI and edge computing will bring greater operational efficiencies and innovative consumer services, creating sustainable and resilient smart grids.”

By the end of 2023, Utility Service Providers (USPs) around the world will have installed over 1.06 billion smart (electricity, gas, and water) meters, according to IoT Analytics’ updated Global Smart Meter Market Tracker 2020–2030. As IoT devices, smart meters are enabling energy and water USPs to build resilience into their operations with near real-time data from their distribution networks. With sustainability and the digitalization of utilities gaining traction worldwide, the installed base of these devices is expected to exceed 1.75 billion by 2030 (CAGR 6%), making the smart meter market a market to watch closely.

Smart electricity meter adoption is far ahead of the adoption of smart gas and smart water meters at this point, though the picture could change by 2030, with smart gas and water meter adoption expected to grow at 10% and 16% CAGR, respectively.

While the tracker provides in-depth coverage of smart electricity, gas, and water meters across 52 countries and 5 regions—including installed base, shipments, revenue, market penetration, and connectivity technology—IoT Analytics plans to offer highlights for each smart meter submarket separately as its own article, starting here with smart electricity meters.

Global smart electricity meter market snapshot

As of late 2023, the smart electricity meter market achieved 43% penetration of the overall global electricity meter market, according to the market tracker.

Electricity grid modernization initiatives started in the late 2000s in Italy and the US and accelerated to national rollouts throughout the EU and APAC regions after 2010. Regulatory policies—supported by financial incentives from regional or national governments—have contributed to this growth, as these policies have encouraged utilities to replace mechanical electricity meters with smart meters to modernize their grid infrastructure.

However, as discussed below, not all parts of the world are modernizing their electricity infrastructure. According to the tracker, North America, Europe, and East Asia have had higher rates of smart electricity meter market penetration, but adoption rates still vary from country to country. Meanwhile, Latin America, Africa, and South Asia have been slow to initiate smart electricity meter projects across the board. Some countries have initiated large-scale smart electricity meter projects in recent years, though project implementation complexity, lack of regulatory policies, and cost hurdles have delayed rollouts in several countries.

Overall, the market for smart electricity meters looks promising, as the Smart Meter Market Tracker forecasts these IoT devices to achieve 54% adoption of the overall global electricity meter market by 2030.

Smart electricity meter market and adoption by region

While the smart meter market tracker shares market data down to the country level, the following are highlights about the smart electricity meter market at the regional level.

North America leads in smart electricity meter adoption

North America has the most mature smart electricity meter market, with nearly 77% electricity meter market penetration by the end of 2023.

In the US, smart electricity meters have 76% penetration in the overall electricity meter market as of 2023, driven by large-scale deployments from investor-owned utilities. Smart meter rollouts in the US are expected to slow down or plateau during the forecast period due to smart meter’s high penetration rate and long product life cycles. As municipalities with smaller budgets and cooperative-owned utilities replace their traditional electricity meters with smart meters, smart meter annual shipments in the US should see marginal growth through the rest of the decade.

Furthermore, the region will get a further boost in smart meter shipments, as Canadian utilities Fortis and Hydro One have announced plans in 2023 to replace their existing AMI with 2nd-generation smart meters.

The APAC region has the second most mature smart electricity meter market, driven by nationwide deployments in China and Japan.

Meanwhile, the APAC region has the largest addressable market for smart electricity meters, with over 1.1 billion electricity metering endpoints. In 2023, the APAC region accounted for almost 60% of the global smart meter installed base and more than 50% of annual smart meter shipments. In 2023, the region achieved a smart meter penetration rate of 49%, largely driven by successful nationwide rollouts in China and Japan. With planned nationwide deployments in Australia, South Korea, India, Indonesia, and Singapore, the region’s smart meter penetration is expected to reach 67% by the end of this decade.

Of note in this region, in 2021, India’s government set an ambitious goal of installing 250 million smart electricity meters by the end of 2025. To execute the implementation strategy, the government of India launched the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) not only to help financially support regional USP smart meter deployment and maintenance but also to expand the domestic manufacturing capacity to produce smart meters within India. By the end of 2023, India had achieved less than 3% of this goal, making it unlikely for this goal to be met before 2030. That said, by 2030, India is on track to become the single largest market for smart electricity meters in terms of annual shipment and revenue.

Europe comes third in smart meter adoption, though adoption differs greatly by country

Europe had 47% smart electricity meter market penetration across the continent at the end of 2023. France, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, and the Scandinavian countries initiated nationwide rollouts in the last decade, while Greece, Hungary, Poland, and Romania only started their initiatives more recently.

Germany, with over 50 million electricity metering points, has largely lagged in its adoption rate, with under 10% of smart electricity meters deployed to date. However, in early 2023, the government of Germany revamped its 2016 Metering Point Operation Act to speed up smart meter deployments, targeting a complete rollout by 2032. The new law stipulates binding deadlines for USPs with a roadmap that includes 20% rollout by the end of 2025, 50% by the end of 2028, and 95% by the end of 2030 for residential and small business consumers, with targets extending to 2032 for large consumers. However, there is strong market skepticism around achieving these deadlines due to the need for clarity from the government around financial support for USPs, AMI technical specifications, data privacy, and security governance framework.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE lead in the Middle East and Africa region

In the Middle East and Africa region, Saudi Arabia and UAE are leading the way in the implementation of smart meters for electricity. In 2022, Saudi Arabia’s state-owned USP Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) announced the successful deployment of approximately 11 million smart meters over three years. Meanwhile, the UAE, which already has 1.6 million smart electricity meters installed, is expected to complete its nationwide rollout by the end of 2029.

Latin America lags in smart electricity meter adoption

Finally, Latin America has seen the slowest smart electricity meter deployment, largely due to regulatory indecisiveness delaying project rollouts. Uruguay was the first country in the region to mandate a nationwide smart meter rollout, aiming for completion in 2026.

Analyst’s outlook on the electricity smart meter market

Though regional variations persist—with energy USPs in North America, Europe, and East Asia boasting much more mature markets than their counterparts—the regions of Southern Asia, Latin America, and Africa represent a high-growth potential for smart meters. Some key considerations for various stakeholders are as follows:

• Market saturation and marginal growth in advanced economies: The implementation of more advanced and feature-rich 2nd-generation smart meters is already underway or in the advanced planning stages in countries such as Sweden, Italy, Finland, and Canada. This is likely to marginally drive up the average selling price of smart electricity meters.
• Cost sensitivity in emerging markets: In regions such as South Asia, Latin America, and Africa, where penetration rates are lower, some national governments are convinced of the need to upgrade their aging grid infrastructure and are actively engaging with smart grid industry stakeholders to develop regulatory policies and standards to drive the adoption of smart meters. However, these are also cost-sensitive markets where low-cost smart meters are more likely to be successful.
• Smart meter supply chain diversification: Several countries (e.g., Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Brazil, India, and Indonesia) that are initiating large-scale rollouts are stipulating that smart meter OEMs localize the manufacturing of 40% or more of the smart meter demand.
• Regulatory policy uncertainties: Policy indecisiveness creates complex and uncertain environments for smart meter stakeholders, hindering innovation and investments that subsequently delay smart meter deployments, as seen in countries such as Brazil, India, Mexico, and South Africa.
• Future innovations and market trends: Innovations in ICs, edge computing, and AI (TinyML), as seen in 2nd-generation smart meters, may help reduce strain on communication networks, improve real-time responses to grid fluctuations, build resilience, and enhance data security and privacy.

Based on the Global Smart Meter Market Tracker 2020–2030, the traditional USP industry, once considered a laggard in adopting new technology innovations, is leading the digital transformation market with more than a billion smart meters and accelerating its digital footprint.

IoT Analytics will closely monitor this evolving USP industry and technology landscape to provide in-depth analysis and actionable insights into this market. Its next report on energy utilities (expected in Q2 2024) will provide a deep dive assessment of USPs in 10 countries to identify key trends in smart grid programs, such as distribution automation, green energy integration, and EV charging infrastructure.

Imagine a world where diesel engines purr quietly, their emissions barely a whisper against the backdrop of bustling cities and sprawling countryside.

That world is closer than you think, thanks to the marvels of modern engineering and a relentless pursuit of environmental stewardship. From the heart of the engine to the tip of the exhaust, innovations in diesel emission control and monitoring are painting a future where diesel power and pristine air quality coexist harmoniously.

Join us on a thrilling exploration of how the latest advancements in diesel technology are revolutionising our roads and skies, making every diesel engine a testament to human ingenuity and a guardian of our planet’s health.

Advancements in Diesel Particulate Filters

Diving into the clear-blue skies of cleaner air, the journey of diesel particulate filters (DPFs) is nothing short of a high-octane adventure in innovation. It’s like watching a superhero evolve, with each upgrade in materials and slick regeneration tactics ensuring these filters keep kicking pollution’s butt, day in and day out.

Filter Materials and Design

Your diesel engine’s particulate filter has seen substantial enhancements in the materials used for construction. Manufacturers are now utilising advanced ceramics like silicon carbide and cordierite for greater thermal resistance and longevity. Let’s look at what this means for you:

• Silicon Carbide: High filtration efficiency with excellent thermal conductivity.
• Cordierite: Lower cost with good thermal shock resistance but less durable than silicon carbide.

The design itself has been refined to maximise the filter’s surface area and minimise the exhaust back pressure. With these advances, you can expect a more robust and efficient filter ready to tackle the toughest of emissions.

Regeneration Techniques

Regeneration is key to maintaining your filter’s functionality without it getting clogged up. New and improved techniques are ensuring that the DPFs self-clean, effectively burning off trapped particulates. Here’s a snapshot:

• Passive Regeneration: Occurs naturally when the vehicle’s usual operating temperatures are high enough to oxidise the particulates.
• Active Regeneration: When passive isn’t enough, the system intervenes, injecting extra fuel to increase the temperature and incinerate the particulates.

Upgraded control systems carefully monitor exhaust conditions, intervening when necessary to initiate regeneration, ensuring your vehicle’s emissions stay within legal limits without sacrificing performance.

Development in NO2 Reduction Technologies

When it comes to wrestling down diesel emissions, the latest tech on the block is all about putting nitrogen oxides (NO2) in a headlock. These cutting-edge solutions aren’t just about ticking boxes for tough regulations; they’re a critical ally in the fight to protect the air we breathe and the planet we call home. It’s about making sure every breath we take is a little cleaner, and every skyline a bit clearer.

Selective Catalytic Reduction

Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) is one of the most effective methods to reduce NO2 emissions from diesel engines. In this system, a chemical reductant, typically urea, is injected into the exhaust stream. It reacts with NO2 in the presence of a catalyst to produce harmless nitrogen and water. Recent upgrades to SCR technology have focused on:

• Enhancing catalyst efficiency
• Optimising urea injection systems
• Integrating onboard diagnostic systems

This ensures maximum NO2 conversion and a seamless operation that you can rely on.

Exhaust Gas Recirculation

Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) is another technology integral to your engine’s ability to curb NO2 emissions. By recirculating a portion of the exhaust gases back into the engine cylinders, the combustion temperature is reduced, which in turn decreases NO2 formation. The improvements to EGR systems include:

• Better EGR rate control
• Improved cooling systems
• Advanced integration with engine management

These advancements optimise combustion and provide a balance between NO2 reduction and engine efficiency.

Advanced Catalyst Formulations

Lastly, the magic happens in the chemistry of advanced catalyst formulations. Catalysts used for NO2 reduction have become more sophisticated, allowing your engine to run cleaner. The key developments here are:

• Increased catalyst surface area
• Improved resistance to poisons and ageing
• Enhanced selectivity for NO2 reduction

With these catalysts, you get efficient emission control over the vehicle’s lifetime, which means you contribute to a cleaner environment with every mile.

Improvements in Fuel Injection Systems

The leap forward in fuel injection tech has turbocharged diesel engines, transforming them into performance powerhouses while drastically cutting down their emissions cloak. It’s like giving diesel engines a double shot of espresso, boosting their muscle and cleaning up their act, all in one go.

High-Precision Injectors

Your diesel engine’s injectors are crucial for delivering fuel efficiently and accurately. Modern high-precision injectors have undergone a transformation with the introduction of fine-tuned nozzle geometries and improved materials.

They allow for a finer atomization of fuel, which leads to more complete combustion and reduces harmful emissions. The use of piezoelectric materials also allows these injectors to respond with greater speed and precision, optimising fuel delivery timing and quantity for variable driving conditions.

Electronic Control Units

The brain behind your engine’s fuel injection system is the Electronic Control Unit (ECU). This smart component continually processes information from various sensors and adjusts the fuel injectors accordingly.

With recent software updates and more powerful processors, ECUs can now manage multiple parameters with greater precision. Through advanced algorithms, they ensure the injectors provide the right amount of fuel at the exact right moment, minimising toxic emissions and maximising fuel efficiency. This enhanced coordination between sensors and injectors is a key step forward in diesel technology.

Conclusion: Embracing a Cleaner Diesel Era

As we journey through the labyrinth of technological marvels reshaping diesel engines, it’s clear that the road to cleaner air and a healthier planet is paved with innovation. From the microscopic intricacies of advanced particulate filters to the sophisticated dance of nitrogen oxide reduction systems, every leap forward brings us closer to an era where diesel’s might is matched only by its environmental grace. And let’s not forget the role of precision in fuel injection systems, where technology turns every drop of diesel into a symphony of efficiency and cleanliness.

But this journey isn’t just about marvelling at technological feats—it’s about action. If you owned or leased a diesel between 2009 and 2020, you might be part of this monumental shift towards a cleaner future. Visit dieselemissionclaim.co.uk to see if you qualify for an emissions claim.

USA News Group – Behind the scenes of the generative AI market set to explode towards $1.3 trillion in the next decade, many power plays are being made behind the scenes by infrastructure providers to ensure the revolution is done safely and smoothly. Among the innovators like Avant Technologies Inc. (OTC:AVAI), NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) (NEO:NVDA), Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) (NEO:AMZN), Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO), and SAP SE (NYSE:SAP).

Companies seeking to integrate artificial intelligence into their products are encountering major hurdles, largely stemming from the steep expenses associated with computing power and an impending worldwide data storage crunch anticipated to hit by 2025.

Leading the charge in tackling these pivotal challenges, Avant Technologies Inc. (OTC:AVAI) stands out as a trailblazer in the field, pioneering advanced cloud supercomputing technologies. They assert that their supercomputing network has the potential to be recognized as the most powerful and cost-effective private cloud infrastructure on a global scale.

Avant has recently undergone a noteworthy change by appointing Timothy Lantz, a seasoned tech sector professional and a well-established leader in the industry, as its new CEO and Director. With over two decades of experience marked by success in various aspects of business operations, ranging from startup management to growth, turnaround efforts, and strategic financial exits, Lantz’s elevation to the role of CEO follows his earlier role as the company’s chief advisor for product and go-to-market strategy when he joined Avant’s industry advisory board earlier this year.

“AI is already changing the world as we know it and Avant Technologies is well-positioned as a frontrunner to support what will undoubtedly be the next major evolutionary leap in human technological advancement,” said Lantz upon his appointment. “The opportunity ahead for Avant is immense and to fully realize its potential, we will have to be focused on delivering game-changing technology purpose-built for AI, with both speed and precision. A big part of my job is to enable Avant to bring new, innovative products to market quickly, build a ‘flawless execution’ culture, and position the company for hyper-growth.”

Avant is taking proactive steps to tackle the significant challenges posed by cost and performance challenges that currently hinder the advancement and market opportunities within AI, machine learning, and big data analytics. The company is on a mission to bring about a transformation in these domains through its innovative private cloud infrastructure, aiming to elevate performance and deliver added value across a range of sectors. Their strategic approach is centered on reducing costs, enhancing computing density, and offering distinct ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) advantages by substantially reducing electricity and water usage.

“The proliferation of the AI, machine learning and big data analytics industries is already rapidly outpacing the capabilities of traditional cloud infrastructure for an industry that demands exponential computer power and storage capacity,” said Lantz. “We recognized this real unmet need and began working to develop a next generation, ultra-high-density supercomputing environment that will revolutionize the landscape for AI companies of all sizes and for any other users who require hyper-scalable, cost-effective computing power.”

In its quest to refine AI technology, Avant is developing a specialized computing environment tailored explicitly for AI purposes. This environment is meticulously crafted to seamlessly integrate with all leading AI frameworks, ensuring effortless integration and streamlined development processes.

In the case of chipmaking giant NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) (NEO:NVDA), the company’s CEO Jensen Huang has stated to the New York Times that he is not worried about rising competition in the AI industry. Despite several other start-ups and tech giants scrambling to muscle in on Nvidia’s market dominance, Huang points to his company’s head start of more than a decade since embarking on its first supercomputer in 2012.

“We realized that deep learning and A.I. was not a chip problem. It’s a reinvention-of-computing problem,” Mr. Huang said, speaking at the DealBook Summit in New York. “You can’t solve this new way of computing by just designing a chip. Every aspect of the computer has fundamentally changed.”

Strong demand for Nvidia’s products has driven a remarkable surge of nearly 240% in the company’s stock price this year, propelling Nvidia to the position of the world’s most valuable publicly traded semiconductor manufacturer. As the company’s founder, Huang, who guided its strategic focus on artificial intelligence, now boasts a personal wealth estimated at around $40 billion.

Not to be left behind by the OpenAI and Bing revolution, Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) (NEO:AMZN) recently launched its own AI image generator for users of Amazon Web Services (AWS). AWS customers can now access a preview of Titan Image Generator through the Bedrock console. This innovative tool allows users to generate images either by entering a text prompt to create one from scratch or by uploading an image for editing. Amazon highlights that the Titan Image Generator has the capability to generate high volumes of studio-quality, lifelike images at a cost-effective rate.

Helping to power this revolution, Amazon says its next-generation chips are 4x faster for AI training, and 2x more energy efficient. Anthropic, Amazon’s strong OpenAI competitor, has already announced plans to build models using Trainium2 chips.

Meanwhile, Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) has been working diligently in the AI space, with new research highlighting what it calls a “seismic gap” in companies’ preparedness for AI. As per their study, Cisco has revealed that only 14% of global organizations are actually fully prepared to deploy and leverage AI.

“The race to AI Readiness is on, with organizations under intense pressure to shift from strategic planning to execution mode in order to capitalize on the transformative potential that AI represents,” said Liz Centoni, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Applications and Chief Strategy Officer, Cisco. “To realize the benefit of AI-powered products and services, companies need solutions that secure and observe their AI models and toolchains to ensure performance, secure sensitive data and systems, and deliver trustworthy and responsible AI outcomes.”

For its Business One users, SAP SE (NYSE:SAP) recently announced the integration of its AI Copilot platform into use with Sapphire and MyWave.AI. The introduction of AI Copilot adds an additional layer of functionality for Business One users. AI Copilot enables users to engage in conversational interactions with Copilot, obtaining answers derived from the available SAP data. This new technology also offers specific search capabilities, enabling users to find items based on various criteria, such as filtering unprocessed purchase orders exclusively. Additionally, users have the capability to perform transactions directly within the SAP system.

SAP has so far dedicated over eight years to advancing artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Presently, over 24,000 of SAP’s customers are actively leveraging SAP Business AI solutions across a wide spectrum of over 130 use cases. The company says they are committed to extending the benefits of their unparalleled expertise in data, industry knowledge, and processes to an even broader array of businesses. Their goal is to establish SAP as the preeminent company in the realm of business AI.

Source: https://usanewsgroup.com/2023/10/26/unlocking-the-trillion-dollar-ai-market-what-investors-need-to-know/

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BELMONT, N.C.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–$PLL #EV—Piedmont Lithium (“Piedmont” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: PLL; ASX: PLL), a leading global supplier of lithium resources critical to the U.S. electric vehicle supply chain, today announced the sale of the shares it held in Sayona Mining (“Sayona”) (ASX: SYA).

The Company has agreed to sell 1,152.2 million shares of Sayona for A$0.052 Australian Dollars (“A$”) per share through a secondary block sale via Canaccord Genuity. The sale price represents a premium to the 20-day volume weighted average price and will result in gross proceeds of approximately A$59.9 million, or US$39.4 million for Piedmont. Following the transaction and some smaller recent public market share sales, Piedmont will no longer hold any shares of Sayona. The sale of these shares has no impact on Piedmont’s joint venture or offtake position with Sayona Quebec.

The decision to divest the Sayona shares aligns with Piedmont’s commitment to maintaining a prudent balance sheet while simultaneously minimizing dilution of Piedmont’s shareholders. This action, in addition to the cost-saving initiatives outlined in Piedmont’s recent corporate update, strategically positions Piedmont for the long term.

“This transaction underscores our commitment to delivering long-term value for Piedmont shareholders,” said Keith Phillips, President and CEO of Piedmont Lithium. “We acquired our initial Sayona shares as part of our strategic investment in the Sayona Quebec joint venture and will recognize a meaningful gain on the investment. We remain fully committed to our joint venture with Sayona, with a particular focus on the ongoing ramp up of North American Lithium, the largest lithium operation in North America. Our 25% joint venture interest and associated offtake agreement are core assets of Piedmont, and we look forward to continuing to work closely with our partners at Sayona to supply IRA-qualified lithium resources critical to the U.S. electric vehicle supply chain.”

About Piedmont Lithium

Piedmont Lithium Inc. (Nasdaq: PLL; ASX: PLL) is developing a world-class, multi-asset, integrated lithium business focused on enabling the transition to a net zero world and the creation of a clean energy economy in North America. Our goal is to become one of the largest lithium hydroxide producers in North America by processing spodumene concentrate produced from assets where we hold an economic interest. Our projects include our Carolina Lithium and Tennessee Lithium projects in the United States and partnerships in Quebec with Sayona Mining (ASX: SYA) and in Ghana with Atlantic Lithium (AIM: ALL; ASX: A11). These geographically diversified operations will enable us to play a pivotal role in supporting America’s move toward energy independence and the electrification of transportation and energy storage. For more information, follow us on Twitter @PiedmontLithium and visit www.piedmontlithium.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of or as described in securities legislation in the United States and Australia, including statements regarding exploration, development construction and production activities of Sayona Mining, Atlantic Lithium and Piedmont; current plans for Piedmont’s mineral and chemical processing projects; Piedmont’s potential acquisition of an ownership interest in Ewoyaa; and strategy. Such forward-looking statements involve substantial and known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other risk factors, many of which are beyond our control, and which may cause actual timing of events, results, performance or achievements and other factors to be materially different from the future timing of events, results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such risk factors include, among others: (i) that Piedmont, Sayona Mining or Atlantic Lithium may be unable to commercially extract mineral deposits, (ii) that Piedmont’s, Sayona Mining’s or Atlantic Lithium’s properties may not contain expected reserves, (iii) risks and hazards inherent in the mining business (including risks inherent in exploring, developing, constructing and operating mining projects, environmental hazards, industrial accidents, weather or geologically related conditions), (iv) uncertainty about Piedmont’s ability to obtain required capital to execute its business plan, (v) Piedmont’s ability to hire and retain required personnel, (vi) changes in the market prices of lithium and lithium products, (vii) changes in technology or the development of substitute products, (viii) the uncertainties inherent in exploratory, developmental and production activities, including risks relating to permitting, zoning and regulatory delays related to our projects as well as the projects of our partners in Quebec and Ghana, (ix) uncertainties inherent in the estimation of lithium resources, (x) risks related to competition, (xi) risks related to the information, data and projections related to Sayona Mining or Atlantic Lithium, (xii) occurrences and outcomes of claims, litigation and regulatory actions, investigations and proceedings, (xiii) risks regarding our ability to achieve profitability, enter into and deliver product under supply agreements on favorable terms, our ability to obtain sufficient financing to develop and construct our projects, our ability to comply with governmental regulations and our ability to obtain necessary permits, and (xiv) other uncertainties and risk factors set out in filings made from time to time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and the Australian Securities Exchange, including Piedmont’s most recent filings with the SEC. The forward-looking statements, projections and estimates are given only as of the date of this press release and actual events, results, performance, and achievements could vary significantly from the forward-looking statements, projections and estimates presented in this press release. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Piedmont disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly such forward-looking statements, projections, and estimates, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Additionally, Piedmont, except as required by applicable law, undertakes no obligation to comment on analyses, expectations or statements made by third parties in respect of Piedmont, its financial or operating results or its securities.

Contacts

For further information:

Erin Sanders
SVP, Corporate Communications &

Investor Relations

T: +1 704 575 2549

E: [email protected]

Christian Healy/Jeff Siegel
Media Inquiries

E: [email protected]
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