General Fusion To Build Nuclear Fusion Demonstration Plant in United Kingdom

General Fusion will enter into a long-term lease with UKAEA following the construction of a new facility to host the FDP under an agreement announced today by UK Science Minister Amanda Solloway. “This new plant by General Fusion is a huge boost for our plans to develop a fusion industry in the UK, and I’m…

SoftBank Invests $2.8 billion In Norwegian Robotics Firm AutoStore

Japanese tech conglomerate SoftBank has acquired 40% of Norwegian warehouse automation firm AutoStore for $2.8 billion. The news was first reported by The Wall Street Journal on Monday and later confirmed by AutoStore in an update on its website. The deal values AutoStore at $7.7 billion. SoftBank, which has made a string of investments into…

Iron Ore Giant Fortescue Bets On Green Hydrogen In Zero Carbon Push

Fortescue Metals Group, an iron ore heavyweight supporting carbon-intensive steelmaking, has dived into the green hydrogen business in a mad dash to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030. The world’s No. 4 iron ore producer plans to start making “zero-emission” hydrogen using renewable energy as early as 2023 for export to Japan and other energy-hungry economies….

Morgan Stanley To Offer Bitcoin Funds Access To Wealthy Clients

Morgan Stanley will offer its wealth management clients access to bitcoin funds, becoming the first major US bank to make such a move. In an internal memo on March 17, Morgan Stanley told its financial advisors it will allow access to three funds that enable ownership of Bitcoin, CNBC reported. The move could potentially help…

Drone Startup Skydio Hits $1 Billion Valuation

Skydio, a drone startup cofounded by former MIT and Google unmanned aircraft scientists, has become the latest member of the unicorn club of $1 billion-valued businesses. It comes after a $170 million Series D round led by Andreessen Horowitz, taking the company’s total funding to $340 million. Based in Redwood City, California, Skydio has built…

Toyota, Denso Team With Aurora On Self Driving Cars For Uber

Toyota Motor Corp and longtime supplier partner Denso Corp will team up with self-driving car startup Aurora to develop and build autonomous minivans for ride hailing networks, the companies said on Tuesday. The deal gives San Francisco-based Aurora a clearer path to profitability as it competes with Alphabet Inc’s Waymo, General Motors Co’s majority-owned Cruise…

Houston Based Aerospace Unicorn Axiom Space Raises $130M In Series-B Funding

Houston-based aerospace firm Axiom Space, which specializes in spaceflight and space asset development, raised a $130 million Series B round, the company announced Feb. 16. The round was led by C5 Capital and saw participation from TQS Advisors, Declaration Partners, Moelis Dynasty Investments, The Venture Collective, Aidenlair Capital, Hemisphere Ventures, Starbridge Venture Capital and Washington…

Dale Vince Founder Of Green Energy Supplier Ecotricity To Mine Diamonds From Atmosphere

A British multi-millionaire and environmentalist has set out plans to create thousands of carats of carbon-negative, laboratory-grown diamonds every year “made entirely from the sky”. Dale Vince, the founder of green energy supplier Ecotricity, claims to have developed the world’s only diamonds to be made from carbon, water and energy sourced directly from the elements…

South Africa’s Diamond Polishers Shine in Lockdown

South Africa’s diamond industry, famed for sales the world over, is looking closer to home to revive its fortunes following the coronavirus slump. Even before the new virus triggered the COVID-19 pandemic, diamond prices and demand were weak. Global economic weakness has exaggerated that and Anglo American’s De Beers unit last week reported a plunge in earnings.

Investing In Wine Through Vinovest App

It’s a cellar’s market. For ages, savvy oenophiles have made huge sums off smart investments of collector bottles. A new platform, Vinovest, is looking to woo greener drinkers by guiding users through investing in managed portfolios of investment-grade fine wines. Fine wine is generally a precarious market to invest in. The $5-billion dollar resale market is unfriendly to those without deep wine knowledge and monetary resources. There are broker fees and auction house commissions for authenticating wines (the wine industry has an infamous forgery market, best documented in the 2016 film Sour Grapes). Wines must be kept in climate-controlled rooms; costly to install and maintain.

Toshiba’s Megawatt Hydrogen Powered Fuel Cells Have Enough Juice To Power A Factory

Toshiba is set to roll out a hydrogen powered fuel cell system capable of generating enough electricity to power 1,000 homes, or an entire factory or hospital in a boost to a government push of the zero-emission energy source. Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions has developed a 1 megawatt system consisting of at least 10…

Petra Diamonds Puts Up for Sale as $650 Million Debt Looms

PETRA Diamonds said on Friday it would seek offers for the company after concluding a strategic review aimed at finding ways to repay $650m in debt. An option would be to sell certain assets in the group which largely consist of South African mines bought over the years from De Beers, including the famed Cullinan mine. The London-listed company said on Friday it had “… decided to seek offers for the company, or for parts of the business or assts of the Petra Diamonds group”. The strategic review was conducted with Rothschilds & Co, a bank.