Texas power grid handles record heat with ease
Texas just made it through its hottest summer on record without a single voluntary power saving request. Even with demand hitting a record 91,308 MW on July 22, the lights stayed on and the AC kept running. 🚀
The grid operator ERCOT credits a massive shift in how the state stores power. Back in 2021, Texas had only 857 MW of battery capacity. By July 2026, that number skyrocketed to roughly 21.7 GW. This allows the grid to capture excess solar energy during the day and release it precisely when the sun sets and people return home to turn on their appliances.
This is a sharp contrast to 2023, when ERCOT had to ask residents to cut usage six times in just one week to prevent blackouts. Now, batteries act as a bridge, keeping the network stable even when solar production drops off at dusk. The EIA confirms these batteries are now fundamental to maintaining network stability.
#Texas #Energy #Technology
Xataka
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Texas just made it through its hottest summer on record without a single voluntary power saving request. Even with demand hitting a record 91,308 MW on July 22, the lights stayed on and the AC kept running. 🚀
The grid operator ERCOT credits a massive shift in how the state stores power. Back in 2021, Texas had only 857 MW of battery capacity. By July 2026, that number skyrocketed to roughly 21.7 GW. This allows the grid to capture excess solar energy during the day and release it precisely when the sun sets and people return home to turn on their appliances.
This system effectively flattens the "duck curve," a term used to describe the mismatch between when solar energy is generated during peak sun hours and when electricity is actually needed by the public.
This is a sharp contrast to 2023, when ERCOT had to ask residents to cut usage six times in just one week to prevent blackouts. Now, batteries act as a bridge, keeping the network stable even when solar production drops off at dusk. The EIA confirms these batteries are now fundamental to maintaining network stability.
Reliable power without the stress is a major win for everyone. 🔥
#Texas #Energy #Technology
Xataka
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Carl Jung on Creativity
The question of what it takes to create — to make something of beauty and substance that touches other lives across space and time — is one of the deepest, oldest questions, perhaps because the answer to it is so unbearably simple: everything. We bring everyt…
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The question of what it takes to create — to make something of beauty and substance that touches other lives across space and time — is one of the deepest, oldest questions, perhaps because the answer to it is so unbearably simple: everything. We bring everyt…
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$40 Million Bet on High-Speed Carbon Printing
Impossible Objects just secured $40 million to scale up their production of high-speed carbon-fiber 3D printers. This capital is targeted specifically at mass-producing rugged, lightweight parts for the aerospace and drone industries.
The company uses a unique technique that sandwiches carbon fiber sheets with a thermoplastic binder. Think of it like building a laminate structure instead of slowly extruding plastic wire like a standard hobbyist 3D printer. This approach allows them to create parts that are significantly stronger and built much faster than the methods currently used for small-batch aircraft components.
Traditionally, making carbon fiber components for planes or drones requires large, expensive steel molds that can take weeks to produce and modify. This 3D printing tech eliminates the need for those physical molds, letting engineers change a design and print a new, flight-ready part in just days.
It is a massive step forward for turning 3D printing into a serious manufacturing tool rather than just a way to make prototypes.
#3Dprinting #aerospace #tech
Interesting Engineering
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Impossible Objects just secured $40 million to scale up their production of high-speed carbon-fiber 3D printers. This capital is targeted specifically at mass-producing rugged, lightweight parts for the aerospace and drone industries.
The company uses a unique technique that sandwiches carbon fiber sheets with a thermoplastic binder. Think of it like building a laminate structure instead of slowly extruding plastic wire like a standard hobbyist 3D printer. This approach allows them to create parts that are significantly stronger and built much faster than the methods currently used for small-batch aircraft components.
Traditionally, making carbon fiber components for planes or drones requires large, expensive steel molds that can take weeks to produce and modify. This 3D printing tech eliminates the need for those physical molds, letting engineers change a design and print a new, flight-ready part in just days.
It is a massive step forward for turning 3D printing into a serious manufacturing tool rather than just a way to make prototypes.
The era of print-on-demand aerospace parts is getting closer.
#3Dprinting #aerospace #tech
Interesting Engineering
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Trump on Data Centers: ‘You Can’t Fight It. You Have to Go With It’
Usually it's not great when a person in power tells others to just give up and do what they want.
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Usually it's not great when a person in power tells others to just give up and do what they want.
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Pennsylvania PUC Reviews Electricity Rules for AI Data Centers
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission has launched a formal review of electricity rates and usage limits to manage the energy demand from AI data centers across Pennsylvania. ⚡
These server farms act like power-hungry cities, pulling constant, high-density electricity that strains the local power grid. The PJM regional transmission organization, which manages energy flow across the area, is concerned that the current infrastructure cannot keep up with the rapid, concentrated growth of digital demand. Regulators are now debating how to balance this surge without compromising electricity availability for the rest of the grid. 🔌
Unlike standard growth from new housing developments, which utilities can predict and plan for years in advance, these data centers often trigger sudden, intense spikes in energy needs. This creates a far more complex challenge than the traditional, slower expansion of residential power usage that grid operators are accustomed to handling. 🖥️
New rules may determine how quickly these facilities can connect to the grid and who foots the bill for the massive required upgrades.
#AI #Energy #Pennsylvania
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The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission has launched a formal review of electricity rates and usage limits to manage the energy demand from AI data centers across Pennsylvania. ⚡
These server farms act like power-hungry cities, pulling constant, high-density electricity that strains the local power grid. The PJM regional transmission organization, which manages energy flow across the area, is concerned that the current infrastructure cannot keep up with the rapid, concentrated growth of digital demand. Regulators are now debating how to balance this surge without compromising electricity availability for the rest of the grid. 🔌
Unlike standard growth from new housing developments, which utilities can predict and plan for years in advance, these data centers often trigger sudden, intense spikes in energy needs. This creates a far more complex challenge than the traditional, slower expansion of residential power usage that grid operators are accustomed to handling. 🖥️
New rules may determine how quickly these facilities can connect to the grid and who foots the bill for the massive required upgrades.
Managing the power hunger of AI is now a regulatory priority.
#AI #Energy #Pennsylvania
Utility Dive
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Google maps the fruit fly brain
Researchers at Google Research and the HHMI Janelia Research Campus have mapped the complete brain and central nervous system of an adult male fruit fly, featuring 166,000 neurons.
Released on September 3, the MaleCNS v1.0 connectome acts as a digital blueprint. Software engineers are already using this dataset to train AI models to play games like Doom and Super Mario 64 by stimulating the fly's sensory neurons.
While the human brain contains roughly 85,000,000,000 neurons, this project provides the most detailed neural map of a complex animal achieved to date.
#AI #Neuroscience #Gaming
HotHardware
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Researchers at Google Research and the HHMI Janelia Research Campus have mapped the complete brain and central nervous system of an adult male fruit fly, featuring 166,000 neurons.
Released on September 3, the MaleCNS v1.0 connectome acts as a digital blueprint. Software engineers are already using this dataset to train AI models to play games like Doom and Super Mario 64 by stimulating the fly's sensory neurons.
While the human brain contains roughly 85,000,000,000 neurons, this project provides the most detailed neural map of a complex animal achieved to date.
#AI #Neuroscience #Gaming
HotHardware
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Kimi K3: second only to Fable 5 on AA-Briefcase
Kimi K3 is second only to Fable 5 on AA-Briefcase, our agentic knowledge work benchmark, but costs more than Opus 4.8 to run while averaging nearly an hour per task
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Kimi K3 is second only to Fable 5 on AA-Briefcase, our agentic knowledge work benchmark, but costs more than Opus 4.8 to run while averaging nearly an hour per task
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Apple unveils SimpleDesign AI
Apple researchers have launched SimpleDesign, an AI model that creates protein sequences and their 3D structures at the same time. 🚀
This approach simplifies how we build custom proteins. It helps researchers create new medicines and improves synthetic biology tasks. The system is designed to be more direct than previous methods.
🔹 It combines sequence generation and 3D folding in one step.
🔹 The model aims to speed up the discovery of new drugs.
🔹 It provides a streamlined path for designing biological materials.
While Google’s DeepMind created AlphaFold to predict structures, SimpleDesign focuses on generating new sequences and shapes simultaneously. This offers a different architecture for building proteins from scratch. The model operates with a focus on efficiency to outperform existing standard prediction tools.
#Apple #AI #Biotech
9to5Mac
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Apple researchers have launched SimpleDesign, an AI model that creates protein sequences and their 3D structures at the same time. 🚀
This approach simplifies how we build custom proteins. It helps researchers create new medicines and improves synthetic biology tasks. The system is designed to be more direct than previous methods.
🔹 It combines sequence generation and 3D folding in one step.
🔹 The model aims to speed up the discovery of new drugs.
🔹 It provides a streamlined path for designing biological materials.
While Google’s DeepMind created AlphaFold to predict structures, SimpleDesign focuses on generating new sequences and shapes simultaneously. This offers a different architecture for building proteins from scratch. The model operates with a focus on efficiency to outperform existing standard prediction tools.
#Apple #AI #Biotech
9to5Mac
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U.S. Pledges $5 billion to boost AI in government-backed scientific research
The White House’s senior science adviser faced questions over research funding cuts from lawmakers on Wednesday
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The White House’s senior science adviser faced questions over research funding cuts from lawmakers on Wednesday
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Autonomous Shuttles Arrive at Zürich Airport
Zürich Airport has deployed two fully autonomous electric shuttle buses in a new pilot program. These vehicles function at Level 4 autonomy, meaning they handle all driving tasks entirely on their own without needing a human safety monitor on board. 🚌
This marks a significant move in bringing unmanned transport to active European airport infrastructure. The shuttles navigate through real-world environments using advanced onboard sensor arrays to detect obstacles and manage traffic. 🔋
While previous industry trials typically relied on a human operator to intervene during emergencies, these new shuttles remove the safety monitor entirely to operate without supervision. 📍 The program currently focuses on testing vehicle performance and reliability within the busy airport setting. 🚀
#tech #transport #innovation
Electrek
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Zürich Airport has deployed two fully autonomous electric shuttle buses in a new pilot program. These vehicles function at Level 4 autonomy, meaning they handle all driving tasks entirely on their own without needing a human safety monitor on board. 🚌
This marks a significant move in bringing unmanned transport to active European airport infrastructure. The shuttles navigate through real-world environments using advanced onboard sensor arrays to detect obstacles and manage traffic. 🔋
While previous industry trials typically relied on a human operator to intervene during emergencies, these new shuttles remove the safety monitor entirely to operate without supervision. 📍 The program currently focuses on testing vehicle performance and reliability within the busy airport setting. 🚀
#tech #transport #innovation
Electrek
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Volkswagen Mission Efficiency Concept
Volkswagen has unveiled the Mission Efficiency, a near-production electric coupe featuring a drag coefficient of just 0.158. This prototype stands as the most aerodynamic road-approved vehicle ever built.
Built on the MEB+ platform, the coupe shares core motor and battery hardware with the upcoming ID.Polo and ID.Cross models. By sealing the vehicle's underside and optimizing wheel arches, engineers achieved an energy consumption rate of 6.48 kWh per 100 kilometers. This efficiency allows the vehicle to travel over 1,200 kilometers on one charge.
Compared to the Tesla Model 3, which features a drag coefficient of 0.219, this concept sacrifices cabin space for performance. Its rear seats are suitable only for passengers under 160 cm tall. The car completed its efficiency tests at a constant speed of 68 km/h.
#Volkswagen #ElectricCars #Innovation
The Verge
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Volkswagen has unveiled the Mission Efficiency, a near-production electric coupe featuring a drag coefficient of just 0.158. This prototype stands as the most aerodynamic road-approved vehicle ever built.
Built on the MEB+ platform, the coupe shares core motor and battery hardware with the upcoming ID.Polo and ID.Cross models. By sealing the vehicle's underside and optimizing wheel arches, engineers achieved an energy consumption rate of 6.48 kWh per 100 kilometers. This efficiency allows the vehicle to travel over 1,200 kilometers on one charge.
Compared to the Tesla Model 3, which features a drag coefficient of 0.219, this concept sacrifices cabin space for performance. Its rear seats are suitable only for passengers under 160 cm tall. The car completed its efficiency tests at a constant speed of 68 km/h.
#Volkswagen #ElectricCars #Innovation
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What OpenAI’s rogue agent really did in the Hugging Face hack
This agent pursued its objective far beyond what researchers intended, revealing how difficult to contain powerful AI systems can be
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This agent pursued its objective far beyond what researchers intended, revealing how difficult to contain powerful AI systems can be
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Waymo launches in Las Vegas
Waymo has officially opened its commercial robotaxi service in Las Vegas, marking its 15th city of operation in the United States. 🤖
Residents and visitors can now hail these fully autonomous vehicles for public transportation through the Waymo app. The cars navigate city streets without a human driver, using a complex system of lidars, cameras, and radar to identify pedestrians and other vehicles in real time. 🚕
This move follows the company's established presence in hubs like San Francisco and Phoenix. While those earlier markets served as the primary testing grounds for the technology, this expansion brings the service to a high-traffic tourist destination. The fleet is available for public riders starting today. 🚀
#Waymo #LasVegas #AutonomousVehicles
Bloomberg Technology
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Waymo has officially opened its commercial robotaxi service in Las Vegas, marking its 15th city of operation in the United States. 🤖
Residents and visitors can now hail these fully autonomous vehicles for public transportation through the Waymo app. The cars navigate city streets without a human driver, using a complex system of lidars, cameras, and radar to identify pedestrians and other vehicles in real time. 🚕
This move follows the company's established presence in hubs like San Francisco and Phoenix. While those earlier markets served as the primary testing grounds for the technology, this expansion brings the service to a high-traffic tourist destination. The fleet is available for public riders starting today. 🚀
#Waymo #LasVegas #AutonomousVehicles
Bloomberg Technology
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Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 vs. Z Fold 8 Ultra: The Big Differences After Trying Out Both Foldable Phones
The Z Fold 8’s new wide design marks a vastly different experience from the Z Fold 8 Ultra.
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The Z Fold 8’s new wide design marks a vastly different experience from the Z Fold 8 Ultra.
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OpenAI claims solution to the Navier-Stokes challenge
OpenAI has published a formal proof for the Navier-Stokes existence and smoothness problem, a major math puzzle related to how fluids flow, which carries a 1 million dollar prize from the Clay Mathematics Institute.
The work relied on massive resources:
➖ 10,000 AI agents working in sync.
➖ 88 total hours of computation.
➖ $22.5 million spent in processing costs.
Twenty-five Fields Medalists now protest, condemning how research labs prioritize speed over traditional academic standards. Tristan Buckmaster of New York University and Levent Alpöge of Anthropic had been developing their own approach to this problem. Sébastien Bubeck from OpenAI allegedly pressured researchers to exclude Alpöge due to his ties with Anthropic.
OpenAI began this specific project on September 1st, shortly after rumors circulated that a solution was near.
#OpenAI #Math #Research
Interesting Engineering
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OpenAI has published a formal proof for the Navier-Stokes existence and smoothness problem, a major math puzzle related to how fluids flow, which carries a 1 million dollar prize from the Clay Mathematics Institute.
The work relied on massive resources:
➖ 10,000 AI agents working in sync.
➖ 88 total hours of computation.
➖ $22.5 million spent in processing costs.
Twenty-five Fields Medalists now protest, condemning how research labs prioritize speed over traditional academic standards. Tristan Buckmaster of New York University and Levent Alpöge of Anthropic had been developing their own approach to this problem. Sébastien Bubeck from OpenAI allegedly pressured researchers to exclude Alpöge due to his ties with Anthropic.
OpenAI began this specific project on September 1st, shortly after rumors circulated that a solution was near.
#OpenAI #Math #Research
Interesting Engineering
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Japan Builds Quantum Sensors for Drones
Japan is developing compact quantum magnetic sensors that fit on drones to spot hidden submarines underwater.
These sensors catch tiny changes in the Earth's magnetic field caused by metal hulls. Standard radars cannot see deep beneath the waves, but magnetic fields pass right through. Mounting these devices on flying machines lets operators scan vast ocean areas much faster.
This setup gives maritime defense teams a practical way to track underwater targets from the air.
🌊 #quantum #drones #maritime
Interesting Engineering
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Japan is developing compact quantum magnetic sensors that fit on drones to spot hidden submarines underwater.
These sensors catch tiny changes in the Earth's magnetic field caused by metal hulls. Standard radars cannot see deep beneath the waves, but magnetic fields pass right through. Mounting these devices on flying machines lets operators scan vast ocean areas much faster.
This setup gives maritime defense teams a practical way to track underwater targets from the air.
🌊 #quantum #drones #maritime
Interesting Engineering
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Three tips to avoid AI image mistakes in science
Artificial-intelligence tools can be useful for brainstorming and creating graphics, but they can introduce errors. If you’re going to use them, here’s how to avoid problems.
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Artificial-intelligence tools can be useful for brainstorming and creating graphics, but they can introduce errors. If you’re going to use them, here’s how to avoid problems.
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BYD unveils the ETT 44 in Hannover
BYD just showed its new heavy truck at the IAA Transportation exhibition in Hannover. The 44-tonne ETT 44 is designed for long freight routes.
The vehicle packs a massive 651-kWh battery. That is roughly six times bigger than a standard electric car battery. It gives the truck a driving range of nearly 600 kilometers.
The system supports charging power of over 1.5 MW and delivers 1,000-hp peak power. Unlike passenger cars built for personal travel, this setup is designed entirely for heavy commercial freight.
🚀🔥
#BYD #Trucks #Tech
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BYD just showed its new heavy truck at the IAA Transportation exhibition in Hannover. The 44-tonne ETT 44 is designed for long freight routes.
The vehicle packs a massive 651-kWh battery. That is roughly six times bigger than a standard electric car battery. It gives the truck a driving range of nearly 600 kilometers.
The system supports charging power of over 1.5 MW and delivers 1,000-hp peak power. Unlike passenger cars built for personal travel, this setup is designed entirely for heavy commercial freight.
🚀🔥
#BYD #Trucks #Tech
Interesting Engineering
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White House rolls out AI funding — and signals a new era for US science
Chief US science adviser calls for a shakeup in funding while handing out grants to accelerate research with AI.
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Chief US science adviser calls for a shakeup in funding while handing out grants to accelerate research with AI.
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Volvo updates XC60 and XC90 in London
In London, Volvo just showed off the 2028 versions of its XC60 and XC90 SUVs with a massive boost in electric range 🚀.
The new plug-in hybrids use an updated battery architecture to push past old limits:
▫️ XC60 gets up to 78 miles of battery-only range
▫️ XC90 delivers up to 73 miles on a single charge
▫️ EPA testing standards confirm these preliminary numbers
This more than doubles previous models, easily beating rivals like the Toyota RAV4 which typically max out much lower.
#Volvo #SUVs #Hybrid
The Verge
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In London, Volvo just showed off the 2028 versions of its XC60 and XC90 SUVs with a massive boost in electric range 🚀.
The new plug-in hybrids use an updated battery architecture to push past old limits:
▫️ XC60 gets up to 78 miles of battery-only range
▫️ XC90 delivers up to 73 miles on a single charge
▫️ EPA testing standards confirm these preliminary numbers
This more than doubles previous models, easily beating rivals like the Toyota RAV4 which typically max out much lower.
#Volvo #SUVs #Hybrid
The Verge
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