"Even in that simplified, proof-of-concept drone, the printed battery achieves a 50 percent boost in energy density, and uses 35 percent more available volume."

Interesting idea, though no word on cost. I doubt they could compete with the economies of scale lithium-ion batteries benefit from. Then again, it isn't always about being the cheapest. The world is full of hundreds of thousands of different models of machines that might benefit from this. Some people will happily pay extra to get a 50% boost in capacity.

Material’s Printed Batteries Put Power in Every Nook and Cranny

Full research paper - PDF 32 pages

Renewables (especially solar) & batteries are on an unstoppable path to global domination. The simple reason? Cost. Thanks to economies of scale, they are now the cheapest source of energy - and they still have far to go in getting even cheaper. By the early 2030's, they will be vastly cheaper than the alternatives.

The electrification of the economy that this is driving in China is on the scale of the 19th Industrial Revolution in Europe. What today is China, will tomorrow be the world. Many in the rest of the world seem caught in the tailspin. In particular, clinging to outdated narratives courtesy of the Fossil Fuel industry.

But that's a big mistake. From now on, the only way to credibly plan for and model the future is to talk about it as what it really will be - a place where renewables and batteries will provide almost all energy.

Peak Oil Is Coming: And petrostates are not ready for it

“Current advances in AI are dependent on large terrestrial data centers, which require immense amounts of power and cooling,” Musk wrote. “Global electricity demand for AI simply cannot be met with terrestrial solutions, even in the near term, without imposing hardship on communities and the environment.”

Something is not adding up here.

25 kW is an upper-end ballpark for the output of large satellite solar panels, so 25GW is a proxy for the output of 1,000,000 satellites. China installs that amount of solar on a monthly basis these days & in December installed twice that amount of grid storage batteries. SpaceX's larger satellites are costing about $1 million to manufacture these days (so without launch costs), that's $1 trillion dollars. I don't know how much China is spending on its solar & batteries every month, but I'd guess, at most, it's 2-3% of that.

With SpaceX due to launch an IPO, this sounds like another AI bubble in the (attempted) making, but now with NASA downgraded, it's the US's main space launch capacity hitched along for the ride.

This should concern taxpayers, as if/when the AI-bubble bursts, it will present the US space program with two terrible choices - a SpaceX that has failed, or perhaps worse, that is 'too-big-to-fail'.

SpaceX acquires xAI in bid to develop orbital data centers

“The solar cells provide us with more than 50% of our needs,” says Boubaker Siala, founder and CEO of Bako Motors. “For example, the B-Van, for commercial use, you can have free energy for about 50 kilometers (31 miles) per day… 17,000 kilometers (10,563 miles) per year. …….. The B-Van, which can carry 400 kilograms (882 pounds) of cargo and has a 100 to 300-kilometer (62 to 186 mile) range, is designed for logistics and last-mile delivery, with prices starting at 24,990 Tunisian dinar ($8,500)."

It varies widely by vehicle type, etc - but travelling 31 miles costs you in the ballpark of $3 in the US or €5 in Europe. So that's around $1,000/€1,800 of free fuel every year if you were using this vehicle most days. The B-Van is small, but perfect for local deliveries, especially if paired with swappable batteries.

You know what will never pay for itself with its self-generation fuel capacity? A gasoline combustion-engine car. Here's another pointer, they're rapidly becoming the transport option of yesteryear.

The solar-powered compact car driving Tunisia’s electric vehicle revolution

Inflatable space station modules are an idea with a lot going for them. Built from multi-layered polymer fabrics far stronger than Kevlar, they have a proven track record of working. The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), launched and attached to the ISS in 2016, is still attached and perfectly functional.

They enjoy other huge advantages. As they can be launched unexpanded, they can easily be accommodated as cargo on today's rockets. They're orders of magnitude cheaper to manufacture than the regular ISS modules, too.

So why hasn't this tech taken off? Why don't we have a huge space station made up of multiple such modules?

Maybe this approach to space station building will soon have its moment. The ISS's days are numbered, and when it's gone, that will only leave the Chinese space station in orbit. NASA has long said it wants its next space station to be commercial. Does this mean Max Space is perfectly poised to enter the breach?

Expandable space stations are back… well at least Max Space thinks they are

All other things being equal, this seems like a good investment. Investing $40k per single robo-taxi? I'd be confident that it would make much more profit than that over its lifetime. $40k is about the annual income of a human taxi driver, and a robo-taxi should have a lifetime of several years.

But there's a bigger-picture problem here. All other things are not equal. Each human job you automate away means one less person who can afford to pay for a taxi journey. When this happens at enough scale, suddenly your investment decision doesn't work anymore.

As AI & robotics get closer to being able to do all work, will stock market-funded companies be the economic medium through which they are managed and owned? Many people think so, but how is that supposed to work when there are fewer and fewer people with money to buy things? Isn't it more likely that this provokes an economic emergency where society adopts some state-run model for the economy?

Waabi raises up to $1 billion and partners with Uber to deploy 25,000 robotaxis as the race to dominate self-driving heats up

As it unloads a dishwasher and shelves all the clean contents in their correct place in the kitchen, Figure AI's latest update to its Helix humanoid robot demonstrates how quickly humanoid robots are advancing.

Two things to keep in mind while watching this video of Helix dealing with a dishwasher. One: From now on, it will only ever get better. Two: What one robot can do, soon all will be able to do.

We are getting closer and closer to humanoid robots that, with minimal training, can tackle most unskilled work. How far away do you think this robot is from being able to stack shelves in a supermarket? It's an unglamorous job, but in the US alone, the Stockers and Order Fillers occupational category — which includes people who refill shelves, racks, and displays- employs 2.8 million people. It's only a matter of time before robots like Helix can replace them. Think they won't be replaced as soon as they can be? Something else to remember - robots will work 24/7, and never need days off, or health & social security contributions.

Ask yourself a question. Can you think of a single elected politician honestly preparing for this reality? I'm guessing you'll draw a blank.

Youtube Video - Introducing Helix 02