Natron Energy, Inc. (“Natron” or “the Company”), the global leader in sodium-ion battery technology, today announced the commencement of commercial-scale operations at its sodium-ion battery manufacturing facility in Holland, Michigan. Natron’s milestone marks the first-ever commercial-scale production of sodium-ion batteries in the U.S. These batteries offer higher power density, higher cycles, a domestic U.S.

On the occasion of a delegation trip to Ukraine, Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Robert Habeck opened the new production facility of Quantum-Systems GmbH in Ukraine. The plant opening took place on 18 April in the presence of the Ukrainian Minister of Strategic Industry, Oleksandr Kamyshin, and the Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Defence, Ivan Hawryliuk. 

When Varanto is completed in 2028, it will be the world’s largest seasonal thermal energy storage facility in terms of size (1,1 million cubic meters) and capacity (90 GWh).

Vantaa Energy is building a seasonal thermal energy storage facility in Vantaa, Finland. Seasonal thermal energy storage is called Varanto. When completed in 2028, it will be the largest in the world by all standards (1,1 million cubic meters and 90 GWh). The operating principle of the seasonal thermal energy storage is to store heat in underground caverns so that it can be used to heat buildings via the district heating network whenever it is needed.

Elcogen, a European manufacturer of technology that enables delivery of efficient, affordable green hydrogen and electricity, is pleased to announce that Baker Hughes has made a strategic investment in the Company.

Combined with equity investment from Hydrogen One Capital Growth plc, HD Hyundai and Mirae, as well as project grants from the European Commission, including an IPCEI project, totalling more than €24m, and a proposed debt of €15m, Elcogen has now raised more than €140m for the continuous development and scaling of its market leading solid oxide technology, enabling affordable green hydrogen and accelerating the energy transition.

Husqvarna, world leader in robotic lawn care, now extends its range of wire-free robotic lawn mowers with two Automower® models. Following recent launches specifically targeting professionals and landowners, garden owners will be pleased to hear that the new models cater for midsized gardens. Both Automower® 310E NERA and 410XE NERA are compatible with Husqvarna´s EPOS satellite navigation system, letting the user create virtual boundaries with the ease of a mobile phone. With these two models, Husqvarna also introduces its groundbreaking EdgeCut technology, designed to keep the edges of the lawn perfectly cut.

 Apptronik, a leader in next-generation general purpose humanoid robots designed to change the way we live and work, today announced that it has entered into an agreement with Mercedes-Benz. As part of the agreement Apptronik and Mercedes-Benz will collaborate on identifying applications for highly advanced robotics in Mercedes-Benz Manufacturing.

Der Online-Fertiger FACTUREE (www.facturee.de) has won the “INDUSTRIE 4.0 AWARD 2023” in the “Manufacturing Platform” category. The international operations consultancy ROI-EFESO has been honoring the pioneers of industrial digitalization with this globally renowned industry award since 2013. FACTUREE receives the award for its innovative form of procurement: online production. This model creates flexibility, reliability and independence and enables the digitalization of purchasing in the industry.

Through funding from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, Swedish academia and industry will have the opportunity to learn how to run quantum algorithms in two steps. Development and optimisation can first be carried out on the quantum computing test bed at Chalmers University of Technology, in Sweden. Thanks to a new agreement with IBM, additional problem solving on a larger scale will be made possible on IBM's quantum systems and resources over the cloud.

The new year has started busy for ABB. From this year on, the operation of vital equipment in some of major Estonian hospitals will be ensured by ABB UPS devices even in the event of power outages. 

Estonian HealthTech Startup Nora AI is leveraging the power of artificial intelligence to develop novel antiviral drugs. In collaboration with the Biosafety Laboratory of University of Tartu, the focus is on treating viruses with a global impact. The company's innovation lies in its drug development platform, Nora.