Gates, Bezos bet on flow battery technology, a potential rival to big bets on lithium-ion

6610BFF8-F135-4C92-A7B6-A8C5F593F02C

H/O ESS containers

The U.S. energy storage market is expected to grow by a factor of 12 in the next five years, from 430MW deployed in 2019 to more than 5GW and a value of more than $5 billion by 2024, says Wood Mackenzie Energy Storage Service.

Tesla and GM are making big bets on lithium-ion batteries for energy storage systems and electric vehicles, but billionaire investors and venture capital firms are investing in competing battery technology, such as flow batteries.

Breakthrough Energy Ventures, the group of private investors led by Bill Gates and fellow billionaires Jeff Bezos, Michael Bloomberg, Richard Branson and Jack Ma, invested in iron-flow battery maker ESS in November.

ESS, which makes long-duration, iron flow batteries, secured $30 million in a Series C investment round from Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV), the group of private investors led by Bill Gates and fellow billionaires Jeff Bezos, Michael Bloomberg, Richard Branson and Jack Ma, among others.

Continue reading… “Gates, Bezos bet on flow battery technology, a potential rival to big bets on lithium-ion”

0

Microsoft’s Eric Horvitz contradicts Musk, Hawking, Gates, says artificial intelligence not a threat

6265028503_4ff0ba46ca_z

Microsoft head of research Eric Horvitz says, in contrast to what others, such as Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking have said, that even though machines will likely achieve a human-like consciousness but do not pose a threat to the survival of mankind. Continue reading… “Microsoft’s Eric Horvitz contradicts Musk, Hawking, Gates, says artificial intelligence not a threat”

0

Bill Gates is concerned about artificial intelligence

61938659_9468d076c0_z

Bill Gates is warning humanity to beware of artificial intelligence before its too late.  The Microsoft co-founder joins other high profile leaders of technology and science, including Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking, in alerting us to the potential threat from artificially intelligent machines. Continue reading… “Bill Gates is concerned about artificial intelligence”

0

Bill Gates crushes 3 myths about foreign aid

bill and melinda gates

Bill and Melinda Gates

Bill and Melinda Gates have released a letter in January outlining the work the foundation has done in the last year and they have done this for the past five years. This year, they took a bit of a different approach. They were concerned by virulent myths that programs funded by the Gates Foundation are useless, are not effective, or are potentially dangerous, the couple’s letter focuses on dispelling what they call the three main myths of foreign aid. (videos)

 

 

Continue reading… “Bill Gates crushes 3 myths about foreign aid”

0

Bill Gates talks to scientists about toilets

Bill Gates speaking at the National Academy of Sciences.

Bill and Melinda Gates spoke at the National Academy of Sciences, a non-profit group that has advised the nation on important scientific matters for 150 years. The NAS has roughly 2,200 members, all scientists at the top of their respective fields. About 200 of them have Nobel prizes.

 

 

Continue reading… “Bill Gates talks to scientists about toilets”

0

The Delight – an automated public toilet system being installed throughout India

The Delight

It’s a hard job in developed countries to maintain a safe, clean network of public toilets is where most people have other places to go to the bathroom. In countries like India, with limited facilities and a big “floating population,” it’s doubly difficult. Facilities easily get damaged and misused, and quickly become no-go places. (Video)

 

 

Continue reading… “The Delight – an automated public toilet system being installed throughout India”

0