Posts with «commodity markets» label

The world’s largest direct carbon capture plant just went online

Swiss start-up Climeworks has done it again. The company just opened the world’s largest carbon capture plant in Iceland, dwarfing its own record of how much CO2 it can pull from the air. The company’s previous record-holding carbon capture plant, Orca, sucks around 4,000 tons of CO2 from the atmosphere per year, but the new plant can handle nearly ten times that, as reported by The Washington Post.

The plant’s called Mammoth and boasts 72 industrial fans that can pull 36,000 tons of CO2 from the air each year. Just like with Orca, the CO2 isn’t recycled. It’s stored underground and eventually trapped in stone, permanently (within reason) removing it from the environment. The plant’s actually located on a dormant volcano, so it’ll make a great hideout for a James Bond villain should it ever cease operations.

The location was chosen for its proximity to the Hellisheidi geothermal energy plant, which is used to power the facility's fans and heat chemical filters to extract CO2 with water vapor. After extraction, the CO2 is separated from the steam, compressed and dissolved in water. Finally, it’s pumped 2,300 feet underground into volcanic basalt. This compound reacts with the magnesium, calcium and iron in the rock to form crystals, which become solid reservoirs of CO2. It’s pretty nifty technology.

However, it’s not the end-all solution to climate change. It’s barely a blip. For the world to achieve "carbon neutrality" by 2050, "we should be removing something like six to 16 billion tons of CO2 per year from the air," said Climeworks founder Jan Wurzbacher, according to reporting by CBS News.

Therein lies the problem. This facility, the largest of its kind by a wide margin, can capture up to 36,000 tons of CO2 from the air each year, but that’s just 0.0006 percent of what’s needed to meet the minimum annual removal threshold as indicated by Wurzbacher. There are other plants, of course, but all of them combined don’t make a serious dent in what’s required to pull us from the brink.

To that end, Wurzbacher has pleaded with other companies to take up the cause. He says that Climeworks has a goal of surpassing millions of tons captured per year by 2030 and a billion by 2050. The company’s chief technology officer, Carlos Haertel, told 60 Minutes that scaling up the process globally is possible, but requires political will to rally behind the initiative.

The Biden administration recently committed $4 billion to jumpstart the industry here in the states and earmarked $1.2 billion for a pair of large-scale projects. The US Department of Energy also started a program called Carbon Negative Shot, with a goal of fostering the development of budget-friendly carbon capture technology.

Today, we're officially launching a new portfolio offering to expand our carbon removal service beyond direct air capture and fast-track the industry's scale-up. We're thrilled to finally reveal Climeworks Solutions! https://t.co/0CDAQLObEU pic.twitter.com/f8ojbF3ZLo

— Climeworks (@Climeworks) April 17, 2024

The method of carbon capture deployed by Climeworks is just one of many approaches. These processes range from stacks of limestone blocks that absorb CO2 like a sponge to giant hot air balloons that freeze and trap the chemical compound. Restoring forests is another option, which is something companies like Apple and Goldman Sachs have experimented with. Which one is best? All of them together deployed at global scale. Whatever it takes. Climate change isn’t fooling around.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-worlds-largest-direct-carbon-capture-plant-just-went-online-172447811.html?src=rss

Finally, someone used Pareto’s economic theories to find the best Mario Kart 8 racer

Who hasn’t spent sleepless nights pondering what would happen if we applied Vilfredo Pareto's (the early 20th-century Italian economist) theories to Mario, the Mushroom Kingdom’s Italian high-jump champion and part-time elephant cosplayer? Data scientist Antoine Mayerowitz, PhD, tackled that age-old question, and the resulting work provides an objective way to tell us the best Mario Kart 8 racer combinations. Hint: It sure as hell ain’t Koopa Troopa.

When you break down the build options (including driver stats and various vehicle details) in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, there are over 700,000 possible combinations. Yikes. But once you eliminate duplicates that differ only in appearance, you can narrow it down to “only” 25,704 possibilities. How do you narrow it down to find the best racer from there? Enter Mr. Pareto.

Pareto’s theories, most notably the Pareto front, help us navigate the complexities of choice. They can pinpoint the solutions with the most balanced strengths and the fewest trade-offs. Pareto’s work is about efficiency and effectiveness. Now we’re talking.

Nintendo

When choosing a Mario Kart racer, you have to consider their stats for speed, acceleration, handling, weight, offroad and mini turbo. That’s a lot to weigh.

Even if you decide that speed and acceleration are the most important, you’re still left with imbalances. For example, it’s tempting to go all in on speed (like Bowser or Wario), but they have weak acceleration. However, if you prioritize acceleration instead (such as Baby Mario or Dry Bones), you may be left with quick surges that plateau at a lousy top speed.

Meanwhile, some racers are always dominated in the most important stats — meaning their balance of speed and acceleration consistently come out behind. Koopa is one example of that, so don’t pick him if you care about winning. (But you can absolutely choose him because he has cute bug eyes and a snazzy shell.)

Nintendo

Mayerowitz’s Pareto front analysis lets you narrow your possibilities down to the 14 most efficient. And it turns out the game’s top players were onto something: One of the combinations with the most ideal balance of speed, acceleration and mini-turbo is Cat Peach driving the Teddy Buggy, roller tires and cloud glider — one already favored among Mario Kart 8 competitors.

Of course, if that combination isn’t your cup of tea, there are others that allow you to stay within the Pareto front’s optimal range. As Eurogamer points out, Donkey Kong, Wario (my old standby, mostly because he makes me laugh) and Princess Peach are often highlighted as drivers, and you can use Mayerowitz’s data fields to find the best matching vehicles. Keep in mind that others have identical stats, so racers like Villager (female), Inkling Girl and Diddy Kong are separated only by appearances.

To find your ideal racer, you can head over to Mayerowitz’s website. There, you can enter your most prized stats and view the combos that give you the best balance (those highlighted in yellow), according to Pareto’s theories.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/finally-someone-used-paretos-economic-theories-to-find-the-best-mario-kart-8-racer-211046789.html?src=rss

Engadget Podcast: The NY Auto Show and a chat with Lucy Liu

This week, it’s all about cars and Lucy Liu in VR. Devindra chats with Senior Writer Sam Rutherford about his visit to the New York International Auto Show, where he saw the Polestar 4, a unique new EV without a rear window. Also, Cherlynn pops in to chat with Lucy Liu about her new VR game, The Pirate Queen. We also explore the issues around Florida’s bill banning young kids from social media sites, and Sam tells us why he likes Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender adaptation.


Listen below or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you've got suggestions or topics you'd like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcast, Engadget News!

Topics

  • Sam Rutherford on what’s new in EVs and car tech from the New York Auto Show – 0:57

  • Cherlynn Low interviews Lucy Liu about her new VR game The Pirate Queen – 34:39

  • Florida Governor signs bill banning young children from social media – 54:55

  • Intel confirms Copilot will eventually run locally – 58:33

  • There’s finally a version of Chrome that runs well on ARM-based Windows machines – 1:02:43

  • Canadian researchers have created a camera that takes 156.3 trillion frames per second – 1:05:06

  • Working on – 1:07:08

  • Pop culture picks – 1:12:44

Subscribe!

Credits 

Hosts: Devindra Hardawar and Sam Rutherford
Guest: Cherlynn Low and Lucy Liu
Producer: Ben Ellman
Music: Dale North and Terrence O'Brien

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/engadget-podcast-ny-auto-show-lucy-liu-123047921.html?src=rss

Engadget Podcast: The NY Auto Show and a chat with Lucy Liu

This week, it’s all about cars and Lucy Liu in VR. Devindra chats with Senior Writer Sam Rutherford about his visit to the New York International Auto Show, where he saw the Polestar 4, a unique new EV without a rear window. Also, Cherlynn pops in to chat with Lucy Liu about her new VR game, The Pirate Queen. We also explore the issues around Florida’s bill banning young kids from social media sites, and Sam tells us why he likes Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender adaptation.


Listen below or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you've got suggestions or topics you'd like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcast, Engadget News!

Topics

  • Sam Rutherford on what’s new in EVs and car tech from the New York Auto Show – 0:57

  • Cherlynn Low interviews Lucy Liu about her new VR game The Pirate Queen – 34:39

  • Florida Governor signs bill banning young children from social media – 54:55

  • Intel confirms Copilot will eventually run locally – 58:33

  • There’s finally a version of Chrome that runs well on ARM-based Windows machines – 1:02:43

  • Canadian researchers have created a camera that takes 156.3 trillion frames per second – 1:05:06

  • Working on – 1:07:08

  • Pop culture picks – 1:12:44

Subscribe!

Credits 

Hosts: Devindra Hardawar and Sam Rutherford
Guest: Cherlynn Low and Lucy Liu
Producer: Ben Ellman
Music: Dale North and Terrence O'Brien

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/engadget-podcast-us-tiktok-ban-123047573.html?src=rss

Apple's second-gen AirPods Pro drop to a new low of $180 during the Amazon Spring Sale

If you're one of the holdouts with an iPhone who hasn't wanted to shell out for AirPods, your time has come. The Amazon Big Spring Sale has brought Apple's second-generation AirPods Pro down to a new all-time low price. The earbuds are down to $180 from $249 — a 28 percent discount and $10 less than their previously best deal

Apple's AirPods Pro scored an 88 in our review and hold a spot on our list of best wireless earbuds for good reason. The second-gen earbuds came on the scene in 2022 with updates such as swiping to control volume and richer, consistent sound coming through. 

Then there's the addition of the H2 chip, which helps with that improved sound quality and boosts the earbud's active noise cancellation abilities to double that of their predecessor. Battery-wise, the second-gen AirPods Pro lasted about six hours and 15 minutes when we tested it through a mix of calls, transparency mode and ANC. While most of the changes occurred internally, Apple also shrunk the ear tip to give more people a better fit. 

Your Spring Sales Shopping Guide: Spring sales are in the air, headlined by Amazon’s Big Spring sale event. Our expert editors are curating all the best spring sales right here. Follow Engadget to shop the best tech deals from Amazon’s Big Spring Sale, hear from Autoblog’s car experts on the best spring auto deals on Amazon, and find spring sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apples-second-gen-airpods-pro-drop-to-a-new-low-of-180-during-the-amazon-spring-sale-125120361.html?src=rss

The Biden administration now requires large cryptocurrency miners to report their energy use

The Biden administration recently announced that it would be requiring large cryptocurrency mining operations to report electricity usage, via a press release from The Energy Information Administration. This follows concerns that the industry could pose a threat to the nation’s electricity grids and hasten the impacts of climate change.

To that end, the EIA has targeted 137 “identified commercial cryptocurrency miners” working in the US. These operations account for around 2.3 percent of national energy usage. This breaks down to 90 terawatt-hours per year, which is more than Finland, Belgium and Chile use in that same time period. The world’s crypto miners used as much electricity in 2023 as the entire country of Australia. That's a whole lot of energy for Shiba Inu-branded internet money with no practical application.

The data collection started this week. The survey aims to get a sense of the industry’s growing demands and which parts of the country are the biggest crypto hotbeds, so as to refine policy later on. The EIA has already discovered that nearly 38 percent of all bitcoin is mined in the US, which is up from 3.4 percent in 2020.

“As cryptocurrency mining has increased in the United States, concerns have grown about the energy-intensive nature of the business and its effects on the US electric power industry,” the EIA said in a report that offered further details behind the survey.

The EIA went on to note that large crypto mining operations could strain the electricity grid during peak periods, force higher energy prices for average consumers and negatively impact energy-related carbon dioxide emissions. Most of the electricity generated throughout the world comes from burning fossil fuels, and that process releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

The clean energy advocacy group RMI estimates that US cryptocurrency mines release 25 to 50 million tons of CO2 into the atmosphere every year. That’s around the same amount as the yearly diesel emissions from the US railroad industry. 

The biggest mining operations in the country are scattered throughout 21 states, but largely clustered in Texas, Georgia and New York. This is especially dangerous for Texans, as the state’s energy grid is already notoriously fragile. Ben Hertz-Shargel, who leads energy research consultancy firm Wood Mackenzie, told Ars Technica that crypto mining operations are not only placing a higher burden on the state’s energy grid, but increasing prices for consumers. 

Energy costs in Texas are based on real-time demand, so Hertz-Shargel estimates that state residents see an increase of 4.7 percent in their monthly utility bills due to cryptocurrency mining. He also said that mining operations tend to open up shop next to pre-existing renewable energy facilities, which draws clean power away from nearby homes and businesses.

It’s not all doom and gloom in the crypto world. Back in 2022, Ethereum announced a software update to make mining ether more eco-friendly. The Ethereum Foundation claims this reduces the carbon emissions of its mining operations by more than 99 percent. However, ether accounts for just 17 percent of the global cryptocurrency market share.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-biden-administration-now-requires-large-cryptocurrency-miners-to-report-their-energy-use-182831778.html?src=rss

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs. the competition: A new titanium contender

Samsung formally unveiled its Galaxy S24 line of smartphones at its latest Samsung Unpacked event on Wednesday, including its newest flagship, the Galaxy S24 Ultra. For a fuller idea of what to expect, you can check out my colleague Sam Rutherford's hands-on impressions. In short, though, the main updates are a new titanium frame with flatter edges, a promised seven years of software updates, an expected processor bump, a slightly tweaked camera setup and a host of new generative AI features. Starting at $1,300, the device is also $100 more expensive than its predecessor, though there are some early pre-order deals to lessen that blow a little.

If you're thinking about taking the plunge, we've broken down how the Galaxy S24 Ultra compares to two other top-end handsets, the Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max and the Google Pixel 8 Pro, on the spec sheet. As always, specs can't tell the full story, but if you want a reference for what $1,300 (or more) gets you in early 2024, here's how the new phone stacks up. 

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max

Google Pixel 8 Pro

Pricing (MSRP)

$1,300 (256GB), $1,420 (512GB), $1,660 (1TB)

$1,199 (256GB), $1,399 (512GB), $1,599 (1TB)

$999 (128GB), $1,059 (256GB), $1,179 (512GB), $1,399 (1TB)

Dimensions

6.4 x 3.11 x 0.34 inches

6.29 x 3.02 x 0.32 inches

6.4 x 3.01 x 0.35 inches

Weight

8.22 ounces

7.8 ounces

7.5 ounces

Screen size

6.8 inches

6.7 inches

6.7 inches

Screen resolution

"Quad HD+"

1,290 x 2,796

460 ppi

1,344 x 2,992

489 ppi

Screen type

LTPO AMOLED

Up to 120Hz (1-120Hz)

Up to 2,600 nits brightness

Gorilla Armor

LTPO OLED

Up to 120Hz (1-120Hz)

Up to 2,000 nits brightness

Ceramic Shield

LTPO OLED

Up to 120Hz (1-120Hz)

Up to 2,400 nits brightness

Gorilla Glass Victus 2

SoC

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy

Apple A17 Pro

Hexa-core CPU (up to 3.78GHz)

6-core Apple GPU

Google Tensor G3

Nona-core CPU (up to 2.91GHz)

Arm Mali-G715 MP7 GPU

RAM

12GB

8GB

12GB

Battery

5,000mAh

"Up to 29 hours video playback"

4,950mAh

"Beyond 24 hours"

Charging

USB Type-C 3.2

Up to 45W wired

Wireless charging up to 15W (with proprietary charger, up to 10W with other Qi chargers)

Reverse wireless charging

USB Type-C (USB 3.2 Gen 2)

"Up to 50 percent charge in around 30 minutes"

MagSafe/Qi2 wireless charging up to 15W

Qi wireless charging up to 7.5W

Reverse wired charging

USB Type-C 3.2

Up to 30W wired

Up to 23W wireless with Google Pixel Stand (2nd gen)

Qi wireless charging up to 12W

Reverse wireless charging

Storage

256GB, 512GB or 1TB

256GB, 512GB or 1TB

128GB, 256GB, 512GB or 1TB

Rear camera

Main: 200 MP, f/1.7

Ultrawide: 12 MP, f/2.2, 120 degree FOV

Telephoto: 50 MP, f/3.4, 5x optical zoom

Telephoto: 10 MP, f/2.4, 3x optical zoom

Main: 48 MP, f/1.78

Ultrawide: 12 MP, f/2.2, 120 degree FOV

Telephoto: 12 MP, f/2.8, 5x optical zoom

Main: 50 MP, f/1.68

Ultrawide: 48 MP, f/1.95, 125.5 degree FOV

Telephoto: 48 MP, f/2.8, 5x optical zoom

Front camera

12 MP, f/2.2

12 MP, f/1.9

10.5 MP, f/2.2

Video capture

Rear: 8K at 24/30 fps, 4K at 30/60 fps

Front: 4K at 30/60 fps

Rear: 4K at 24/25/30/60 fps, 1080p at 25/30/60/120/240 fps

Front: 4K at 24/25/30/60 fps, 1080p at 25/30/60/120 fps

Rear: 4K at 24/30/60 fps, 1080p at 24/30/60/120/240 fps

Front: 4K at 24/30/60 fps, 1080p at 30/60 fps

Water and dust resistance

IP68

IP68

IP68

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi 7

Wi-Fi 6E

Wi-Fi 7

Bluetooth

v5.3

v5.3

v5.3

OS

Android 14, One UI 6.1

"Seven generations of OS upgrades and seven years of security updates"

iOS 17

Android 14

"Seven years of OS, security and Feature Drop updates"

Colors and finish

Titanium frame

Titanium Gray, Titanium Black, Titanium Violet, Titanium Yellow, Titanium Green, Titanium Blue, Titanium Orange

Titanium frame

Natural Titanium, Blue Titanium, White Titanium, Black Titanium

Polished aluminum frame

Obsidian, Porcelain, Bay

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/samsung-galaxy-s24-ultra-vs-the-competition-a-new-titanium-contender-193434222.html?src=rss

Hideo Kojima’s Xbox game is the cinematic horrorfest ‘OD’

Hideo Kojima officially unveiled his upcoming game (that leaked in 2022) at the Game Awards 2023. Previously described as something “no one has ever experienced or seen before,” the cinematic OD (previously known as Overdose) will include a collaboration with horror director and comedian Jordan Peele.

OD’s 90-second trailer includes intimate closeups of actors reading nursery rhymes and other dialogue as they grow increasingly frantic. In the clip’s final moments, you catch a glimpse of a door opening in the reflection of their eyes (with a creaking sound hammering the point home). Wherever the game’s plot takes us, the trailer makes it clear it falls squarely in the horror genre (as expected).

We already knew the title would be published by Xbox Game Studios, relying heavily on Microsoft’s cloud technology. Previous leaks indicated Death Stranding actor Margaret Qualley would play the protagonist, although she was nowhere to be found in the trailer. The billed cast in the trailer includes Sophia Lillis, Hunter Schafer and Udo Kier.

You can watch OD’s cryptic trailer below.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/hideo-kojimas-xbox-game-is-the-cinematic-horrorfest-od-024342457.html?src=rss

Qualcomm's satellite texting plan is dead because phone makers aren't interested

Back in January, Qualcomm announced Snapdragon Satellite, a project that aimed to let Android users send texts via satellite when they don't have cell service. It would have been the company's answer to Apple's emergency SOS feature that debuted in the iPhone 14 lineup. However, the initiative hasn't worked out as Qualcomm hoped.

Qualcomm is ending its Snapdragon Satellite partnership with satellite phone maker Iridium. Although the pair "successfully developed and demonstrated the technology" smartphone makers "have not included the technology in their devices," Iridium said in a statement.

Smartphone makers have “indicated a preference towards standards-based solutions” for satellite connectivity, Qualcomm told CNBC. In other words, they're looking for a more open approach that doesn't necessarily position Qualcomm as a go-between. As The Verge notes, the cost of satellite texting may have dissuaded some manufacturers too. Apple is footing the bill for emergency SOS for the time being.

Now that its agreements with Qualcomm are coming to an end, Iridium says it will be able to work directly with smartphone makers, mobile OS developers and other chipmakers. Apple, meanwhile, has expanded its emergency SOS feature by adding crash detection integration in iPhone 15.

Elsewhere, Starlink is set to roll out its satellite SMS service next year. It plans to eventually offer satellite-powered voice and data functions directly to phones, meaning users won't necessarily need to have a Starlink terminal nearby.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/qualcomms-satellite-texting-plan-is-dead-because-phone-makers-arent-interested-204331091.html?src=rss

Scientists strengthen concrete by 30 percent with used coffee grounds

Humans produce around 4.4 billion tons of concrete every year. That process consumes around 8 billion tons of sand (out of the 40-50 billion tons in total used annually) which has, in part, led to acute shortages of the building commodity in recent years. At the same time, we generate about 10 billion kilograms of used coffee grounds over the same span — coffee grounds which a team of researchers from RMIT University in Australia have discovered can be used as a silica substitute in the concrete production process that, in the proper proportions, yields a significantly stronger chemical bond than sand alone. 

“The disposal of organic waste poses an environmental challenge as it emits large amounts of greenhouse gases including methane and carbon dioxide, which contribute to climate change,” lead author of the study, Dr Rajeev Roychand of RMIT's School of Engineering, said in a recent release. He notes that Australia alone produces 75 million kilograms of used coffee grounds each year, most of which ends up in landfills. 

Coffee grounds can't simply be mixed in raw with standard concrete as they won't bind with the other materials due to their organic content, Dr. Roychand explained. In order to make the grounds more compatible, the team experimented with pyrolyzing the materials at 350 and 500 degrees C, then substituting them in for sand in 5, 10, 15 and 20 percentages (by volume) for standard concrete mixtures. 

The team found that at 350 degrees is perfect temperature, producing a "29.3 percent enhancement in the compressive strength of the composite concrete blended with coffee biochar," per the team's study, published in the September issue of Journal of Cleaner Production. "In addition to reducing emissions and making a stronger concrete, we're reducing the impact of continuous mining of natural resources like sand," Dr. Roychand said. 

"The concrete industry has the potential to contribute significantly to increasing the recycling of organic waste such as used coffee," added study co-author Dr Shannon Kilmartin-Lynch, a Vice-Chancellor’s Indigenous Postdoctoral Research Fellow at RMIT. "Our research is in the early stages, but these exciting findings offer an innovative way to greatly reduce the amount of organic waste that goes to landfill,” where it's decomposition would generate large amounts of methane, a greenhouse gas 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/scientists-strengthen-concrete-by-30-percent-with-used-coffee-grounds-221643441.html?src=rss