Technology
Photoncycle aims to store energy cheaply using a clever hydrogen solution
The solar energy sector has been fighting interseasonal energy storage for years. The ability to harness surplus solar energy through the summer months for winter use stays an elusive goal, with existing solutions equivalent to batteries becoming insufficient due to prohibitive costs and limited lifespan. Meanwhile, hydrogen, despite its clean-burning properties, has been sidelined due to inefficiency and high costs.
Photoncycle — a startup emerging from the depths of an accelerator on the Oslo Science Park in Oslo, Norway — is working on a solution. Startup claims that with a vision as clear because the summer sun, solid hydrogen technology can store energy more efficiently ammonia synthesis reactor. The claim is that this technology provides more economical storage than every other battery or liquid hydrogen solution available on the market.
A diagram showing Photoncycle’s vision of a complete system installed in a home. Image credits: Photocycle
“Lithium-ion batteries use expensive metals. Our material is super cheap: storing 10,000 kilowatt hours costs about $1,500, so it’s almost nothing. In addition, our data storage solution is 20 times more dense than a lithium-ion battery and does not waste electricity,” explains founder and CEO Bjørn Brandtzaeg in an interview with TechCrunch. “This means we have a system where energy can be stored over time, allowing for seasonal storage. This is completely different from traditional batteries.”
Photoncycle uses water and electricity to produce hydrogen. This in itself will not be unusual in the event you follow fuel cell vehicle technology. However, the corporate’s approach includes an progressive twist: a reversible, high-temperature fuel cell. This advanced fuel cell can produce hydrogen and generate electricity in the identical device.
The core of Photoncycle’s innovation is hydrogen processing. They process hydrogen after which use technology to convert and store it in solid form. The company claims that this storage method will not be only secure due to the non-flammable and non-explosive nature of the solid, but in addition highly efficient. It enables the storage of hydrogen with a density roughly 50% greater than liquid hydrogen, which is a significant advance in hydrogen storage solutions. These innovations form the cornerstone of the Photoncycle system, facilitating the secure and dense storage of hydrogen, which the corporate says represents a huge breakthrough in energy technology.
Current clean energy solutions, equivalent to rooftop solar, are limited by inconsistent supplies due to the unpredictable nature of weather conditions. A sturdy reusable energy storage solution could overcome these schedules, ensuring a stable energy supply when these renewable sources encounter inevitable intermittent periods.
Great in theory, but not without its own challenges.
“The Netherlands is the country in Europe with the highest density of rooftop solar energy. We are currently seeing huge growth due to high energy prices; everyone wants rooftop solar,” Brandtzaeg says. However, he adds that this method can backfire for homeowners: “Last July within the Netherlands in the midst of the day it was 500 euros per megawatt hour to export electricity“
Placing energy storage along with an energy-producing house effectively allows homes to be disconnected from the grid. Photoncycle says it has tested and worked with the core components of its solution – the following step is to integrate it into the system. The company says that if successful, it could seriously threaten Powerwall, Tesla’s lithium-ion battery solution.
David Gerez, CTO at Photoncycle, and Ole Laugerud, Photoncycle chemist, in Photoncycle’s purpose-built laboratory, which has been operating for nearly two years. Image credits: Photocycle
“It’s a relatively complex system – that’s why so many PhDs from different fields are working on it. The reason why Elon Musk said hydrogen is stupid is because you lose a lot of energy when you convert electricity into hydrogen and vice versa,” says Brandtzaeg. He believes his company can turn this bug into a feature. “In residential buildings, where 70% of energy demand is for heating, it is possible to use excess heat to provide hot water. We will focus on markets where people currently use natural gas for heating, and then we will replace the gas boiler in the home, using existing water infrastructure.”
Brandtzaeg’s confidence within the operational framework of the concept is convincing. He pointed to a small model of their operating facility within the labs, scaled down to the scale of a automobile battery. Brandtzaeg believes this scaling needs to be seamless and cites it because the primary reason they felt confident in implementing the project.
When it comes to providing power, hydrogen takes a while to generate electricity, so for buffering, the corporate relies on an intermediate, more conventional battery to balance the load. The company definitely attracts the eye of investors: Photocycle has just raised $5.3 million (€5 million) to construct the primary few energy storage devices in Denmark, which Photoncycle has chosen as its test market.
“Based on the interest, we could have raised 10 times more than we did. However, after this increase, I am still the majority owner,” says Brandtzaeg. “I wanted to maintain control of the company for as long as possible and not raise more capital than necessary to bring this service to market.”
Technology
23andme customers informed about bankruptcy and potential claims – the deadline is July 14
23andme, an infinite of genetic tests, which has been priced on billions, is now moving in bankruptcy in chapter 11 and will notify an incredible deal of and an incredible deal of of current and former clients that they is perhaps entitled to make claims as a component of the restructuring process. The company and 11 of its subsidiaries, including Lemonaid Health and LPRXONE, submitted an application for bankruptcy protection on March 23 this yr in the eastern Missouri district. Customers were notified on Sunday to July 14 of July 14 about claims for losses.
Bankruptcy occurs after a storm of 18 months for 23ndme, marked with a decrease in sales, managerial departures and destructive violation of information, which violated confidential personal data of virtually 7 million users. Violation, publicly disclosed October 2023According to TechCrunch, names, birth years, relationship labels, DNA percentage, participation with relatives, ancestors’ reports and locations. Fallout caused many collective processes and a wave of distrust of customers, which seriously cuts the company coping with the company’s consumers.
Now customers that affected this violation – particularly imposed by 23andme that their information has been violated between May and October 2023 – they’ll submit so -called Civil security incident claim. Those who’ve suffered financial damage or others on account of the violation may make a claim inside the bankruptcy case. Customers with other varieties of complaints not related to cyber attack, paying homage to problems with the results of a DNA test or a teeth service in the company, can submit a separate claim in accordance with General bar date package.
Congress also expressed concerns about the consequences of bankruptcy privacy.
The fall of 23andme was fast by grace, and his misfortunes were intensified by her ambitious but expensive extension in digital health and telemedicine, including $ 400 million The takeover of Lemonaid Health in 2021 was originally aimed toward diversifying 23andme offers, apart from testing consumer DNA, movements tensed 23andme financial resources and didn’t provide the growth needed by the company.
Proposed settlement in the amount of $ 30 million in a related collective lawsuit over a cyber attack stays Due to bankruptcy proceedings. (23andme lawyers claim that the settlement is now disputed when the company is in bankrupt.) Customers who must handle up the right to compensation must provide formal evidence of the claim regardless of their participation in a collective motion.
TechCrunch contacted 23andme to comment.
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It was already a turbulent yr for the American semiconductor industry.
The semiconductor industry plays a major role in the “AI race”, which the US appears to be determined, so it’s value being attentive to this: from the appointment of Lip-Bu Tan-which has not waste time to work, attempting to revitalize the Heritage Company-Joe Biden proposing latest rules of exports AI AI along the way that would not or can follow.
Here’s what happened since the starting of the yr.
Power
Last reversal
May 7: Just every week before the “Frame of Artificial Intelligence Diffusion”. According to many media, including Axios AND BloombergThe administration won’t implement restrictions when it was to start out on May 15 and as a substitute works in its own framework.
April
Anthropic doubles the support of chip export restrictions
April 30: Anthropic has doubled because of the limitation of exports of chip systems in the USA, including several corrections to artificial intelligence framework, akin to imposing further restrictions in level 2 and dedication of resources to enforcement. The NVIDIA spokesman rejected, saying: “American companies should focus on innovations and get up to the challenge, instead of telling high stories that large, heavy and sensitive electronics are somehow smuggled in” Baby bugghs “or” next to the lobsters live “.
Planned exemptions at Intel
April 22: Before connecting profits with Q1, Intel said he was planning to release over 21,000 employees. The exemptions were to enhance management, something that the general director of Lip-Bu Tan has long said that Intel must do and help in the reconstruction of the company’s engineering.
The Trump administration further limits the chip export
April 15: The NVIDIA H20 AI chip was hit with the requirement of export license, the company revealed in the SEC application. The company added that it expects for $ 5.5 billion fees related to this latest requirement in the first quarter of the tax yr in 2026. H20 is the most advanced AI Nvidia chip can still export to China in some form or fashion. TSMC and Intel reported similar expenses in the same week.
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NVIDIA seems to talk of further export of chips
April 9: According to reports, the general director of Nvidia, Jensen Huang, was noticed for dinner at the Mar-A-Lago Center in Donald Trump. Then, NPR was reported Huang could have the ability to save lots of AI H20 NVIDIA systems from export restrictions after investing in AI data centers in the USA
Alleged agreement between Intel and TSMC
April 3: Intel and TSMC allegedly reached a preliminary agreement on the commencement of a joint project of Chips. This joint undertaking would work in Intel devices, and TSMC would have 20% shares in the latest undertaking. Both firms refused to comment or confirm. If this contract just isn’t accomplished, this might be a good preview of potential offers in this industry.
Intel rotates from non -corporate assets, proclaims a brand new initiative
April 1: CEO Lip-BU TAN immediately worked. Just just a few weeks after joining the Intel, the company announced that it might rotate resources unrelated to the core in order that it could focus. He also said that the company would introduce latest products, including non -standard semiconductors for purchasers.
March
Intel calls the latest CEO
March 12: Intel announced that a veteran of the industry and a former board member, Lip-Bu Tan will return to the company as general director on March 18. At the time of his appointment, Tan said that Intel could be a “engine -oriented company” under his leadership.
February
Intel’s Ohio Chip Plant is delayed again
February 28: This yr, Intel was to start out running its first chip factory in Ohio. Instead, the company slowed down the construction of the plant for the second time in February. Now the design of semiconductors value $ 28 billion won’t end with the construction until 2030 and might even open only in 2031.
Senators call for more chip export restrictions
February 3: US Senators, including Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) and Josh Hawley (R-MO), wrote a letter to the Secretary for Trade for Howard Lutnicka Calling Trump’s administration for further restriction Export of the AI system. A letter addressed especially to AI H20 NVIDIA systems, which were used during training of the R1 Deepseek “reasoning” model.
January
Deepseek releases its open model “reasoning”
January 27: The Chinese startup Ai Deepseek caused quite mixing in the Silicon Valley when he released the open version of his model “reasoning” R1. Although this just isn’t a special message of semiconductors, the alarm in the AI industry and Deepseek semiconductors meant that it still has an impact on the chip industry.
Order Joe Biden on the export of chip
January 13: Only the incumbent week remained, former President Joe Biden proposed extensive export restrictions on AI systems made by the USA. The order has created a 3 -level structure that determined what number of American systems will be exported to every country. According to this proposal, level 1 countries didn’t face any restrictions; Countries 2 level 2 had a chip purchase limit for the first time; And level 3 countries received additional restrictions.
Dario Amodei from anthropics weighs the limitations of chip exports
January 6: Co -founder of anthropics and general director, Dario Amodei, co -author of opinions The Wall Street Journal Supporting existing control controls of the AI system and indicating them as the reason why the Chinese market of artificial intelligence was in the US. “He also called on the incoming President Donald Trump to impose further restrictions and shutting the gaps that allowed AI to get these tokens in China.
(Tagstranslate) Intel
Josh Raffaella, who has deep roots as an investor of the Silicon Valley and was supported by many firms Elon Musk, suits his former employer, massive trillion dollars Aum Brookfield Asset Management, reports the New York Times.
A major part of Raffaella’s criticism concerns how Brookfield covered losses related to the pandemic of real estate and claims that the company released him after submitting the criticism of informants at SEC. His lawsuit gives allegations akin to fraud and bribe, while Brookfield deny all offenses rapidly, said The Times.
In February, Brookfield quietly closed the Venture Capital unit run by Raffaella and threw some assets on one other unit, Bloomberg reported at the moment. One of Raffaella’s complaints in the lawsuit is that Brookfield didn’t buy so many shares in firms belonging to musk because he provided the possibility of purchase.
Raffaella had shopping transactions in Musk, akin to SpaceX, XAI and a boring company, claims the claim. Bloomberg announced that his Brookfield fund was an awesome supporter of Twitter’s takeover by Musk.
The lawsuit is a really public battle of Raffaella, who previously worked as a partner at VC, known at the time as a drapeer Fisher Jurvetson. (Today it’s a set of funds.) In DFJ Brookfield, it has helped this company spend money on Musk, akin to Solarcity (acquired by Tesla), Spacex and Tesla.
(Tagstranslate) Brookfield
