News

TechCrunch

Microsoft and Atom Computing Will Launch a Commercial Quantum Computer in 2025

At the Microsoft Ignite 2024 conference, Microsoft and Atom Computing announced yet another breakthrough on the way to a fault-tolerant quantum computing: The two companies entangled 24 logical qubits using neutral atoms held in place by lasers. The two companies say that this is the highest number of entangled logical qubits on record. (It takes a number of physical qubits to create the logical qubit that can then be used to run quantum algorithms.)

Time

The Best Inventions of 2024: Using the Power of Gravity

Solar and wind energy are renewable, but rely on the weather. Energy Vault’s EVx Gravity Energy Storage System instead employs massive blocks, which, after being raised, store the energy that went into lifting them, and when lowered, release that energy when it’s needed. The ever-present pull of gravity amounts to a natural battery that can provide short-, medium-, or long-term storage. It's resilient to harsh weather conditions and high temperatures, and since the energy is produced inside the structure, there is no risk of chemical fires.

Reuters

Prada and Axiom Space Aim for the Moon With New Astronaut Suit

Italian luxury group Prada opens new tab and Houston-based startup Axiom Space unveiled on Wednesday the design of a spacesuit that will be used for NASA's Artemis 3 mission to the moon that is planned for 2026. In its outward appearance, the spacesuit does not stray too far from what astronauts have worn in the past. It is the familiar bulky white suit, with added red trim and grey patches on the knees and elbows. The new Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) was showcased at the International Astronautical Congress in Milan. It aims to combine highly engineered functionality and aesthetics to deal with challenging lunar conditions.

Forbes

$125,000 Balloon Trips To Space Closer After Successful Test Flight

A new space tourism concept, unlike Blue Origin’s capsule and rocket or Virgin Galactic’s supersonic space plane, has been successfully tested off the coast of St. Petersburg, Florida. Space Perspective, which calls itself the world’s first carbon-neutral spaceflight company, is already selling seats in Spaceship Neptune, which is lofted by a balloon and lands by parachute. The trip will offer Wi-Fi, a world-class culinary program, plush safety seating, luxury amenities and panoramic views from the above most of Earth's atmosphere.

Interesting Engineering

Mach 6 Hypersonic Flight Could Soon Be Reality With Detonation Ramjet Engine

Venus Aerospace has introduced its groundbreaking engine in an exciting development for high-speed aviation. The Venus Detonation Ramjet 2000 lb Thrust Engine (VDR2) was recently launched during the Up.Summit event. This development marks a significant milestone in hypersonic flight technology, with the potential to transform air travel by allowing airliners to cover vast distances at incredible speeds.

NPR

Prada and Axiom Space Reveal Modernized NASA Spacesuits for the 2026 Moon Landing

NASA’s new space suits are getting a hand from Italian luxury fashion house Prada in preparation for humanity’s 2026 return to the moon’s surface. Axiom Space and Prada debuted the flight design of the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) spacesuit this week at the International Astronautical Congress in Milan. The suit is expected to be used for NASA’s historic Artemis III mission in 2026, marking humankind’s first return to the moon since 1972.

Robb Report

Richard Branson Will Co-Pilot Space Perspective’s First Crewed Balloon Flight

Sir Richard Branson has signed on to be the co-pilot of Space Perspective’s first space balloon flight sometime next year, which could be the billionaire adventurer’s eighth Guinness World Record. His accolades range from earning the fastest time to cross the Atlantic in a boat to being the oldest person to ever cross the English Channel while kite-surfing. Branson also has a love of long-distance ballooning, so the Space Perspective trip should fit in his bucket list. He set a Guinness record in 1987 by crossing the Atlantic Ocean in a balloon, and then in 1991 by ballooning across the Pacific, from Japan to Canada.

The Quantum Insider

Microsoft and Atom Computing Partner to Build a Quantum Supercomputer

Microsoft and Atom Computing have announced a strategic collaboration aimed at building what they claim will be the world’s most powerful quantum machine. This partnership, revealed through posts on Microsoft and Atom Computing’s blogs, will integrate Atom Computing’s neutral atom quantum hardware into Microsoft’s Azure Quantum platform. The collaboration is seen as a key step forward in advancing reliable quantum computing hardware for commercial use.

AeroTime

Boom Supersonic Sets New Top Speed With XB-1 ‘Baby Boom’ Demonstrator

Boom Supersonic’s XB-1 ‘Baby Boom’ demonstrator aircraft has recorded its fastest ever speed during its fourth test flight signaling further progression towards its quest to reach Mach 1. According to Boom Supersonic, XB-1 reached a new top speed of Mach 0.617, more than halfway to breaking the sound barrier. XB-1 completed the record-breaking flight just eight days after its third test flight, in which the developer deployed some new technology for the first time.

Forbes

Atom Computing’s Vision For Quantum Europe

Atom Computing recently announced that Denmark would become its European headquarters. The company will receive an investment of 70 million Danish kroner, which is about USD $10 million. The funds will come from Denmark’s Export and Investment Fund, a state-owned financial institution. The Danish government’s national quantum strategy provides funds for quantum research to bridge the years between conducting research and the commercialization of quantum applications.

Fierce Network

UScellular Boosts Fixed Wireless Capacity With Tarana

Even though UScellular plans to sell off big chunks of its spectrum and subscribers to T-Mobile, that’s not stopping the regional wireless carrier from pursuing its fixed wireless access (FWA) ambitions — even if that means going head to head with T-Mobile in some regions. In fact, UScellular is working with Tarana Wireless to increase its FWA capacity in West Plains, Missouri, a town where the demand for FWA is high. So high that the carrier has been getting such good uptake of its fixed wireless that it was about to run out of capacity on its mobile network.

Fast Company

How Nokia and Axiom Are Putting 4G on the Moon

To make Artemis cheaper than Apollo, the plan is to use off-the-shelf tech, or close to it. That’s why NASA is paying Nokia to network astronauts headed for the moon. Axiom, NASA’s space suit contractor, said last week that it will use Nokia’s tech as the primary comms system for AxEMU space suits that astronauts will wear during the Artemis III landing (assuming that happens on schedule.) To fund the communications upgrade, NASA added $57.5 million to Axiom’s suit task order, which is now valued at $285.5 million.

CNBC

Healthy Returns: Brain Implant Company Paradromics Launches Patient Registry Ahead of Human Trial

The brain implant startup Paradromics is taking steps to prepare for its first in-human trial next year, and the company announced on Monday that it has launched its official patient registry. Paradromics is building a brain-computer interface, or a BCI, called the Connexus Direct Data Interface. Paradromics’ system will initially serve as an assistive communication device that can turn brain signals into outputs like text or synthesized speech. This means patients with severe paralysis could eventually use it to regain their ability to communicate.

Forbes

Boeing/Airbus Duopoly Is Aging and Impeded – Boom Supersonic Wants a Spot

Whatever one thinks of the likelihood that Boom Supersonic can sell its new airplane to airlines, it seems clear the company picked a good time to try. “It’s never been more obvious that the world is not well served by the duopoly that we have in commercial aviation.” said Blake Scholl, founder and CEO of the Colorado startup that wants to build supersonic aircraft in North Carolina. Boom celebrated the opening of its Greensboro factory last month.

PitchBook

Thomas Tull’s Firm Leads $80M Round for Halo Industries in AI Picks-And-Shovels Bet

Billionaire Thomas Tull’s latest AI play is Halo Industries, a startup developing novel ways to make silicon wafers for semiconductors. Tull’s US Innovative Technology Fund led an $80 million Series B for Halo that valued the company at $300 million post-money, founder Andrei Iancu told PitchBook exclusively. 8VC and SAIC also participated in the deal. Halo was previously valued at $67.5 million in a 2020 Series A with backing from Stelac Capital Partners and Prime Movers Lab.

Fox News

Companies Prepare Next Generation of Space Stations for Orbit

NASA is working with at least three companies that are designing space stations to replace the International Space Station before it de-orbits in 2031. Axiom Space is one company that is building a next generation space station. It is creating pods that would first attach to the current International Space Station. The company is sending private astronauts to the International Space Station to prepare for adding the first module, which is expected to be launched in 2026.

Forbes

This Company Founder Wants You Home for Dinner

Venus Aerospace has a vision. They want to fly you across the globe and back before dinner. Venus’s next-generation rocket engine will make hypersonic global transport possible. The vision of being home for dinner is also, most importantly, the core of the company culture. The company’s dual mission is to create a rocket engine for high-speed travel without sacrificing employee health and well-being. From the onset, the company has supported both missions.

Axios

Boom Wraps up Construction of NC Supersonic Jet Factory

Boom Supersonic has wrapped up construction on its Superfactory where it’ll manufacture supersonic passenger jets. Located at the Piedmont Triad International Airport, Boom’s factory has the capacity to produce 33 Overture aircraft per year. The company plans to add an assembly line that will double its production capacity. The Superfactory campus will also include a delivery center where carriers such as United Airlines, American Airlines and Japan Airlines will receive their Overture planes.

CNN

Boom Celebrates Completion of Overture Factory

Boom Supersonic, the company building the world’s fastest airliner, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Overture Superfactory, celebrating the completion of construction. Located at the Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, NC, the Overture Superfactory is the first supersonic airliner factory in the United States. Overture is Boom’s supersonic airliner, capable of flying twice as fast as today’s commercial planes on up to 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

CNBC

Neuralink Competitor Paradromics Gears up to Test Its Brain Implant on Humans

Neurotech startup Paradromics will be putting its brain implant on trial next year, as the race to be the leader in the nascent brain-computer interface space heats up. The trial would follow competitor Neuralink’s move to implant a chip into a patient’s brain in March. The company, which was cofounded by Elon Musk, later disclosed that part of its brain implant malfunctioned in the weeks following the procedure.

Fierce Biotech

AbbVie Inks $2B-Plus Next-Gen Neuro Deal with Gilgamesh

The two companies have agreed to research and develop a portfolio of therapeutics using Gilgamesh’s research platform designed to discover novel neuroplastogens—compounds that improve neuroplasticity. Under the deal, AbbVie will have the option to lead development and commercialization activities. In return, Gilgamesh will receive $65 million upfront and have the chance to make up to $1.95 billion in aggregate option fees and milestones, as well as tiered royalties.

Bloomberg

Designer of World’s Tallest Building Wants to Turn Skyscrapers Into Batteries

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill has developed a series of prototype designs that use electric motors to elevate massive blocks, creating potential energy that can be converted into electricity when the blocks are lowered. The designs are based on technology developed by partner Energy Vault as an alternative to lithium-ion batteries and other types of chemical cells. They are seeking developer partners interested in offsetting greenhouse gas pollution from buildings, which the United Nations estimates are responsible for almost 40% of global emissions.

Space

Boom’s XB-1 Test Plane Gets FAA Green Light for Supersonic Flight

Like Tom Cruise’s “Maverick” character in “Top Gun,” Boom Supersonic is feeling the need for speed. The company has received a first-of-its-kind approval from the FAA to exceed Mach 1 during test flights of its XB-1 supersonic jet. These flights are slated to occur sometime this year within the black mountain supersonic corridor in Mojave, CA. The sleek, delta-shaped XB-1 is now free to go supersonic at Boom’s California complex when fully ready.

INC

Venus Aerospace CEO Sassie Duggleby Is Building a Time Machine to Get You Across the World and Home for Dinner

Sarah “Sassie” Duggleby wants to build a time machine. And her Houston-based company Venus Aerospace is working on a hypersonic engine that's about as close as it gets. The hypersonic engine in Venus’s Stargazer aircraft is designed to travel up to Mach 9 speeds, making it more akin to “a slow-flying rocket as opposed to a fast-flying jet” Duggleby says. The Concorde, by comparison–which still holds the record as the fastest passenger plane to cross the Atlantic–flew at Mach 2 speeds.

Business Insider

Boom Supersonic Just Flew Its Test Jet for the First Time as It Races to Build the World’s New Speediest Airliner

Colorado aerospace company Boom Supersonic wants to bring back the era of the Concorde — a beloved faster-than-sound passenger jet that flew for nearly 30 years before retiring in 2003. Boom’s vision of the next supersonic airliner is a Mach 1.7 plane called the Overture, and the company just flew its first prototype. Nicknamed the “baby boom,” the XB-1 demonstrator is the “foundation” for the futuristic Overture. Boom says it uses the experimental plane to prove innovative technologies key to safe and efficient supersonic flight.

Fast Company

How This Company Is Using Graphene to Build a Cleaner, Lighter, More Powerful Battery

Graphene was invented in 2004, and Lyten is now leading efforts to use it to build cleaner, lighter, and more powerful lithium-sulfur batteries. Using a “scaffold” of 3D graphene within the electrolyte to tame the typically unruly lithium-sulfur combination, Lyten’s batteries avoid the need for nickel, manganese, cobalt, and graphite. They offer dramatic efficiency gains over their lithium-ion counterparts—not to mention environmental and ethical improvements. These will be critical for electric vehicles, drones, satellites, and other energy-intensive devices, like eVTOL aircraft.

Fortune

Russia and China Are Leading in Hypersonic Innovation — Here’s What’s Holding the US Back

In the fabric of human achievement, speed has always been a defining thread. From the first locomotives to the dawn of aviation, our quest to travel faster has consistently reshaped society. Today, we stand on the cusp of a new era in transportation. High-speed flight represents the next frontier. With the ability to travel commercially at speeds near or above Mach 5, we stand on the brink of revolutionizing global mobility, shrinking the vast distances that separate us.

Psychedelic Alpha

Gilgamesh Scoops $14M from NIDA to Develop Safer Ibogaine Analog for Opioid Use Disorder

Psychedelic drug developer Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals has scooped a grant worth $14m from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to develop its ibogaine analog, GM-3009, for opioid use disorder (OUD). The company hopes that the compound will prove to be ‘cardiac-safe’, alluding to concerns around ibogaine’s cardiotoxicity which may represent a barrier to achieving FDA approval for the drug.

Ars Technica

The Company Building a Rotating Detonation Engine Is Pushing the Tech Forward

Venus Aerospace conducted its first powered flight last month, reaching Mach 0.9 with a drone. The 8-foot-long vehicle was dropped from an Aero L-29 Delfín aircraft at 12,000 feet and flew under the power of a hydrogen peroxide monopropellant engine. This engine was not fired at full thrust because the location of the test flight, an unspecified range in the United States, did not permit flight faster than the speed of sound.

Reuters

US-Based Carboncapture Raises $80M From Saudi Aramco

Los Angeles-based CarbonCapture, which aims to build machines that suck carbon dioxide out of the air to fight climate change, said it had raised $80 million from investors that include Saudi oil giant Saudi Aramco. The money raised in CarbonCapture’s latest major funding round represents one of the largest injections of private capital into direct air capture (DAC) – a technology that has yet to be proven at scale - over the last five years.

TechCrunch

Forget Rockets — Space Perspective Wants to Take You to Ultra-High Altitudes Using Balloons

Space Perspective, which aims to commence commercial service as soon as the end of this year, is entering a nascent market: Its closest competitors are Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin, which offer rides to suborbital space. But that is where the similarities end. The difference in launch vehicles — Blue’s New Shepard rocket and Virgin Galactic’s spaceplane, versus Space Perspective’s balloon and pressurized capsule — render everything else wholly different.

Forbes

Space Perspective’s First Flight Moves Closer To Takeoff

Carol Scribner and her late husband Larry were among the first to pay $125,000 each for a seat on the upcoming flight into the edge of space offered by the company Space Perspective. For the couple, there was practically nowhere else to go as voracious travelers who had been to 170 countries. Now that flight seems closer to reality: with the completion of the test capsule just announced, the company is aiming to begin commercial flights in 2025.

The Wall Street Journal

Silicon Valley’s Next Mission: Help the US Catch China and Russia in Hypersonic Weapons

The US is years behind its biggest rivals in cutting-edge hypersonic missile technology. Silicon Valley is betting it can help the military catch up. Venture capitalists, better known for pumping money into business-software services and social-media apps, are now deploying hundreds of millions of dollars into developing the technology for hypersonic weapons the US military wants but has struggled to figure out despite decades of trying.

Yahoo Finance

EV Charging Pioneer Scott Mercer Takes on Fusion as CEO of Focused Energy

The inertial fusion energy company Focused Energy welcomes Scott Mercer as CEO, furthering its position as a leader in the burgeoning global fusion industry. Scott, as founder and CEO of Volta Charging, built an innovative business model that brought new revenue opportunities to the hard-to-commercialize energy-critical industry of public charging. He’ll bring that same creative skill and innovation acumen to bear on another energy-critical and hard-to-commercialize industry: fusion.

Forbes

Energy Vault Wins Big With Gravity Storage In China

Energy Vault (NYSE: NRGV) will license six additional EVx gravity energy storage systems in China just months after starting the commissioning of the world’s first GESS facility near Shanghai. Energy Vault installations use excess renewable energy to lift massive composite blocks; then, when the energy is once again needed on the grid, the blocks are dropped and the kinetic energy from the dropping blocks spins generators that supply electricity to the grid. The company believes it will be able to achieve a respectable round-trip efficiency (RTE) of over 80% with its current design.

The Wall Street Journal

Pentagon Eyes Microwave Weapons to Tackle Drone Threat

Pentagon planners worried about the increasing threat from drones have looked at everything from mesh nets and missiles to cannons and lasers, but now a once highly-classified technology is attracting more attention and funding. High-power microwave devices that can disrupt or even fry the electronics of aerial threats—such as drones and missiles—are moving to the forefront of defense strategies after years of development.

Energy.gov

DOE Announces $42 Million for Inertial Fusion Energy Hubs

The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced $42 million for a program that will establish multi-institutional and multi-disciplinary hubs to advance foundational inertial fusion energy (IFE) science and technology, building on the groundbreaking work of the Department’s researchers into harnessing the power of the sun and stars. President Biden has set a goal of demonstrating a proof-of-concept for several different types of fusion power plants in 10 years as part of the effort to achieve the Administration’s ambitious climate and energy goals.

SpaceNews

Quantum Space Reveals Plan For Scout-1 Satellite and Sentry Mission

Quantum Space plans to launch Scout-1, the space infrastructure and services company’s first satellite, no earlier than March 2024 on a SpaceX Transporter rideshare flight. From sun synchronous low-Earth orbit, the Scout-1 satellite will test a sensor Quantum Space plans to send to deep space as part of QuantumNet, a constellation to provide customers with communications, navigation and space situational awareness services in geostationary and cislunar space.

Fast Company

The Next Big Technologies in Food and Agriculture for 2023: Dalan for Creating the First Honeybee Vaccine

Bees face multiple stresses, from climate change to pesticides. Last winter, beekeepers in the US lost around half of their hives. Dalan Animal Health is focused on one challenge—a highly contagious disease called foulbrood that threatens bees worldwide. The company developed the first-ever vaccine for bees, which is given to a queen bee to pass on to her offspring. After nabbing a conditional license from the FDA in late 2022, Dalan started piloting the vaccine with thousands of hives.

Barron's

Space Flight Without the Rocket Fuel? A Florida-Based Company Is Aiming for the Stars

No single automobile, vessel, or aircraft can possibly match the pollution potential of the fuel-driven rockets used to put astronauts and satellites into space—making extraterrestrial exploration and space tourism dirty propositions in the age of climate change. Now, the minds behind a luxury travel venture want to send customers closer to the stars while leaving no carbon footprint via a creative approach: They skip the rocket in favor of a balloon.

Newsweek

Partnership Has Mercedes Reimagining Space Travel as a Luxury Experience

There's no Mercedes floating around in Space like there is a Tesla, but soon space travelers will be able to escape Earth's atmosphere in Maybach style. Through a new partnership with Space Perspective, Mercedes-Maybach is pushing its brand boundaries further than ever before. Space Perspective is the world's first carbon-neutral spaceflight experience company. It has reimagined travel, aiming to deliver thousands of paying customers, called Space Perspective Explorers, to 100,000 feet above the ground inside a pressurized capsule, called Spaceship Neptune, attached to a giant balloon named the SpaceBalloon.

Via Satellite

Quantum Space Exec Details Plan to Open Access to GEO

Recently formed startup Quantum Space plans to open access to and understanding of Geostationary Orbit (GEO) and Cislunar orbit with its upcoming missions. Describing GEO as a “critical resource,” Bracken said the company is developing a fleet of in-orbit logistics and payload hosting vehicles called “Rangers,” and smaller multi-purpose vehicles called “Scouts” to provide communications and data collection. Both spacecraft systems are designed to work together to form QuantumNet, an edge computing network to support communications in GEO.

CNBC

ISS Commander Peggy Whitson Talks Axiom Mission, Making Space Accessible

Peggy Whitson is America’s most experienced astronaut, having spent 675 days in space. She’s just returned from her fourth flight to orbit. Axiom Space recently completed its second human spaceflight mission traveling to and from the ISS via a SpaceX Dragon Capsule. CNBC sat down with the retired NASA astronaut to discuss her return to space, the commercialization of human spaceflight and her outlook on the private space economy.

CNBC

Commonwealth Fusion Has Raised $2 Billion to Make Energy Like the Sun — Here’s a Look Inside

A fusion power plant has been, so far, firmly rooted in the realm of science fiction. Commonwealth is trying to change that, and has raised more than $2 billion in venture capital from the likes of Bill Gates, Gates’ climate investment firm Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Google, John Doerr, Khosla Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, Marc Benioff’s TIME Ventures and more. That’s more private capital than any other fusion startup, according to the Fusion Industry Association, the industry’s trade group.

Fast Company

Boom Supersonic Reveals New Partners and Engine Details, Bringing Its Mach 1.7 Passenger Jet Closer to Reality

It can take a long, steady ground roll to get a big airplane up to speed, and for Boom Supersonic, the path off the runway is starting to look a little clearer. At the Paris Auto Show this week, the aerospace startup announced a slew of partners for the construction of major components of its aircraft, marking another significant step towards its goal of bringing supersonic air travel to the masses—or, at least, the wealthiest subset of the masses.

Quartz

A Pair of Space Upstarts Are Competing With SpaceX to Rescue the Hubble Space Telescope

NASA launched the Hubble Space Telescope in 1990, and in the decades since scientists have benefitted from its unprecedented views far beyond our galaxy. But Earth’s gravity and atmosphere will inevitably pull the bus-sized telescope back to the planet, perhaps as soon as 2028. NASA will need to safely bring it back down to crash into the Pacific Ocean, or better yet: lift it into a higher orbit so it can continue its mission, which has already cost the US about $16 billion since the idea for the telescope was conceived in 1977. Astroscale and Momentus want to use a robot to raise the telescope to a higher orbit.

CNBC

Neuralink Competitor Paradromics Gets One Step Closer to FDA Approval for Its Brain Implant

A growing team at the neurotech startup Paradromics is working on a brain implant that sounds like the work of science fiction and it has caught the attention of federal regulators. Paradromics is developing a device that could help patients with severe paralysis regain their ability to communicate by deciphering their neural signals. The company announced that it has received the Breakthrough Device designation from the Food and Drug Administration for its flagship system, called the Connexus Direct Data Interface.

Bloomberg

Startup Energy Vault Is Closer to Finishing Gravity Storage Project in China

California startup Energy Vault Holdings Inc. is nearing completion of its first major power-storage project, one of the only systems in the world to generate electricity using gravity. The project in Rudong, China, north of Shanghai, will be finished by September, Chief Executive Officer Robert Piconi said Wednesday in an interview at Bloomberg’s New York headquarters. It will be able to deliver as much as 25 megawatts of power for four hours.

Futurism

Ingenious Plan Could Save NASA’s Hubble Telescope

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope is slowly falling to its death — but now, a couple of startups have a solution that may just be crazy enough to work. This collab, Gizmodo notes, is a big deal given that Momentus already has a space tug craft in the works and, earlier this week, announced its water-propelled system, which a spokesperson confirmed to the online news site would be used for the proposed Hubble mission should NASA choose to select the joint project.

CNET

How Hundreds of 24-Ton Bricks Could Fix a Huge Renewable Energy Problem

Imagine a gigantic brick, packed full of tightly compressed dirt. As big as a pickup truck but about five times heavier. An elevator powered by solar panels or wind turbines hoists it over 300 feet up the side of a huge building. A trolley stows it inside and an automated system lifts and stores hundreds more bricks as the sun shines and the wind blows. Now imagine the building's control system lowering those hundreds of bricks one by one, spinning electrical power generators in the process. They drop down every evening just as demand for power peaks but solar panel output fades away.

Popular Mechanics

For Gravity Batteries, It’s Time to Put Up or Shut Up

Nuclear microreactors, lithium-metal batteries, and even the far-future promise of nuclear fusion are all examples of technologies that could solve this renewable energy shortcoming. Then, there’s gravity batteries, a novel idea that you could leverage Isaac Newton’s universal force to create kinetic energy when renewables are producing at their lowest. After many years of design and small-scale trials, one the biggest companies behind this approach, Energy Vault, is almost ready for its first real-world test.

SpaceNews

Quantum Space Moves up Development of Ranger Transfer Vehicle

Quantum Space is accelerating work on a transfer vehicle designed to take payloads to both geostationary orbit and cislunar space to support growing demand from commercial and government customers. The company established last year to develop spacecraft called Scouts to provide services such as space domain awareness and communications between the Earth and moon, planned to deliver those spacecraft using a tug called Ranger.

Futurism

Company Builds Facility That Lifts and Lowers 24-Ton Bricks to Store Energy

Switzerland-based startup Energy Vault has broken ground on two huge facilities in Texas and just north of Shanghai to test whether we can store energy by raising and lowering hundreds of 24 metric-ton bricks made of compressed dirt. By lifting the massive bricks to the facility's upper levels during periods of excess renewable energy production, the facility's cranes can store large amounts of power — and release it by subsequently lowering them back down when demand is high and the energy supply is low.

CNBC

Nuclear Fusion Will Not Be Regulated the Same Way as Nuclear Fission — A Big Win for the Fusion Industry

The top regulatory agency for nuclear materials safety in the US voted unanimously to regulate the burgeoning fusion industry differently than the nuclear fission industry, and fusion startups are celebrating that as a major win. As a result, some provisions specific to fission reactors, like requiring funding to cover claims from nuclear meltdowns, won’t apply to fusion plants. Fusion reactors cannot melt down.

TechCrunch

Robust.AI Raises $20M as It Scales Robot Deliveries for Pilot Customers

Founded in 2019, Robust.AI operates in the extremely popular — and wildly competitive — warehouse space. A number of companies formed in the wake of Amazon’s acquisition of Kiva already have large footprints in the category. The category has since grown into arguably the most competitive in all of robotics. Piggybacking on the concept that drove Rethink, human-robot interactions are at the heart of Robust’s offering.

Ars Technica

A Passenger Aircraft That Flies Around the World at Mach 9? Sure, Why Not

On a cloudy day in late March, Andrew Duggleby guided me a safe distance away from a rocket engine. We did not have to go far, maybe 50 meters, because the prototype engine designed and built by his small engineering team is not that large. We waited for a few minutes before steam began to hiss out of the engine. And then, for a few seconds, the engine emitted a distinctive whistling sound. "There it is!" Duggleby exclaimed. By it, he meant the sound of a rotating detonation engine firing after its ignition. The sound indicated that a reaction was successfully rotating at 20,000 times a second around the engine.

Axios

Air Taxis Are Coming to Chicago

Air mobility startup Archer Aviation and United Airlines are working to bring air taxi service to Chicago. The planned service will run between O'Hare International Airport (a vital United hub) and Vertiport Chicago, a helicopter facility about three miles west of the city's South Loop. The plan is for United passengers to be able to hop aboard an Archer eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) aircraft for a 10-minute cruise to O'Hare — a trip that can take 45 minutes or longer, depending on traffic.