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WASHINGTON, July 27 (Reuters) - U.S. senators, alarmed by the malevolent potential of artificial intelligence, will summon developers, executives and experts for hearings later this year on possible legislative safeguards, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Thursday. Speaking on the Senate floor, Schumer, the chamber's leading Democrat, said the Senate would convene what he called "the first-ever AI Insight Forums" to hear what experts had to say. Democratic and Republican senators voiced alarm this week about artificial intelligence's potential use to create a biological weapon. Schumer said senators were briefed on AI on Wednesday by experts at the U.S. Energy Department, the National Science Foundation and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, which had laid the groundwork for the internet. Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Howard GollerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Chuck Schumer, Schumer, Diane Bartz, Howard Goller Organizations: Democratic, U.S . Energy Department, National Science Foundation, Defense, Research Projects Agency, DARPA, Senate Homeland Security, Governmental Affairs, Thomson

The IRA includes a clause that automatically qualifies EV battery materials recycled in the U.S. as American-made for subsidies, regardless of their origin. That is important because it qualifies automakers using U.S.-recycled battery materials for EV production incentives. China handles virtually all EV battery recycling in a global market projected to grow from $11 billion in 2022 to $18 billion by 2028, according to research firm EMR. The volume of EV batteries available for recycling should grow over tenfold by 2030, said consultant Circular Energy Storage. In Europe, EV batteries are currently shredded into "black mass" that is shipped to China for recycling.

Persons: Marc Trent, Charles Trent, Nick Carey POOLE, Thomas Becker, Louie Diaz, Diaz, JB Straubel, Mike O'Kronley, Christian Marston, deconstruct, Bruno Thompson, Thea Soule, Soule, Kurt Vandeputte, Becker, We've, Nick Carey, Paul Lienert, Ben Klayman, Claudia Parsons Organizations: Charles Trent Ltd, REUTERS, Reuters, BMW, Redwood Materials, European Union, EV, Energy Department, Altilium Metals, recyclers, U.S, CES, Cambridge, Battery Recycling Company, EU, Nissan, Nio, Victoria Waldersee, Thomson Locations: Poole , Britain, England, U.S, North America, China, New York, Nevada, America, Georgia, Kentucky, EVs, Bulgaria, Europe, Poole, Dallas , Texas, Japan, HK, Poole , England, Detroit, Berlin

☆ US plans water heater standards, says they will save consumers $11 billion
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, July 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Energy on Friday proposed energy efficiency standards on water heaters it said would save consumers $11.4 billion on energy and water bills annually. The standards on residential water heater efficiency, which are required by Congress, have not been updated in 13 years. The proposal would require the most common-sized electric water heaters to achieve efficiency gains with heat pump technology and gas-fired water heaters to achieve efficiency gains through condensing technology. Tankless water heater maker Rinnai (5947.T), however, said the proposed standards for its products were "technologically impossible" and would reduce consumer choice. Former President Donald Trump, a Republican, complained about efficiency standards for shower heads, saying that they interfered with the rinsing of his hair.

Persons: Jennifer Granholm, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Biden, Timothy Gardner, Nichola Groom, Alison Williams, Matthew Lewis Organizations: U.S . Department of Energy, Congress, DOE, Energy, Natural Resources Defense Council, Democrat, Republican, Energy Department, Thomson Locations: United States, Washington, Angeles

☆ UAW president meets with Biden as union opens automaker contract talks
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, July 19 (Reuters) - United Auto Workers (UAW) President Shawn Fain met on Wednesday with President Joe Biden at the White House as the union briefed staff on contract talks with the Detroit Three automakers, a White House official told Reuters. The UAW leadership had asked for time to brief White House senior staff on negotiations, the official said. Fain, who is on Capitol Hill meeting with lawmakers to discuss the labor talks, has not yet endorsed Biden for re-election and has criticized some administration EV policies. "We have expectations and that's why we haven't made endorsements yet," Fain said last week. Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington Editing by Leslie Adler and Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Shawn Fain, Joe Biden, Biden, Fain, David Shepardson, Leslie Adler, Matthew Lewis Organizations: United Auto Workers, UAW, White, Detroit Three, Reuters, White House, Capitol, U.S . Energy Department, Ford, South Korea's SK, Thomson Locations: Washington

☆ Victims of Cyberattack on File-Transfer Tool Pile Up
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Catherine Stupp | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

The list of companies hit by a cyberattack on a widely used software tool continues to expand and several victims have filed lawsuits alleging mishandling of data. The continued disclosure of new victims affected by hackers exploiting a vulnerability in MoveIt, a common file-transfer tool from Progress Software, underscores how cyberattacks can ripple through supply chains. Some companies have been drawn into data breaches without having used MoveIt because their business partners use it. The Cl0p ransomware group has taken responsibility for the cyberattacks and posted data from some victims on its underground website. A 2021 cyberattack on a tool similar to MoveIt—Accellion’s File Transfer Appliance—had similar ripple effects.

Persons: ”, Brett Callow, cyberattacks, Callow, Genworth, PBI, “, Shell, Rob Carr, Suzie Squier, Johns, Johns Hopkins, Emsisoft’s Callow, Catherine Stupp Organizations: Progress Software, . Progress, Progress, Shell, BBC, Energy Department, Genworth Financial, Social, PBI Research Services, U.S . Department of Health, Human Services, Colorado State University, BG Group, Johns Hopkins University, Getty Locations: British, MoveIt, Kaseya, Johns Hopkins

☆ Another earnings season begins, but investors are already looking beyond it
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Krystal Hur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN —As the second-quarter earnings season kicks off this week, investors want answers on the health of the United States’ companies and its economy. The projected second-quarter earnings decline for companies listed in the S&P 500 is roughly 7.6% compared to the prior year, according to FactSet. That would be the third consecutive quarter of declines and the largest earnings decline reported by the broad-based index since a roughly 32% loss during the second quarter of 2020. But investors will be looking even more closely at what companies forecast for their financial performance and the broader economy. Energy secretary vows to replenish Strategic Petroleum ReserveEnergy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said the United States will refill the depleted Strategic Petroleum Reserve, reports my colleague Matt Egan.

Persons: It’s, ”, Paul Eitelman, What’s, Steve Wyett, Jennifer Granholm, Matt Egan, Joe Biden, “, ” Granholm, Biden, Granholm, ” Read, Danielle Wiener, ” Jared Bernstein, Read Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, United, Wealth Management, Gross, North America, Russell Investments, Macy’s, Costco, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, BOK Financial, Energy, Strategic Petroleum Reserve Energy, Strategic Petroleum Reserve, CNN, The Energy Department, Bronner, of Labor Statistics, of Economic Advisers Locations: New York, United States, Wells Fargo, BlackRock, Ukraine, That’s

☆ Energy Secretary vows to 100% refill emergency oil stockpile by Biden's second term
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Fourth of July gas prices took an almost unprecedented plunge on an annual basis. “I forecast oil prices headed higher this decade and, if that’s right, then SPR refilling will largely stop. Although important symbolically, those 12.3 million barrels represents just a drop in the bucket. The reserve held 346.8 million barrels of oil as of the week ending July 7 according to federal data. Beyond the efforts to buy oil, the Energy Department won approval from lawmakers to cancel Congressionally-mandated sales of 140 million barrels of oil through fiscal 2027.

Persons: Joe Biden, Jennifer Granholm, Biden, ” Granholm, Granholm, it’s “, I’m, ”, Bob McNally, George W, Bush, “, McNally, We’re, Granholm ‘ Organizations: New York CNN Business —, CNN, Energy, Strategic Petroleum Reserve, Energy Department, AAA, Congressionally, Rapidan Energy Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Saudi, Saudi Arabia

☆ Alaska, America's worst state for business, pins hopes on a post-oil boom in carbon offsets
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Scott Cohn | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

More than any other state, Alaska is dependent on oil. As much as 85% of the state's unrestricted general fund revenue comes from oil production, according to state estimates. But oil production has been in long-term decline in the state, which was once America's No. Alaska's crude production in 2022 was roughly equal to that of Oklahoma, and it hit the lowest level since 1976, according to Energy Department data. This trend helps explain why Alaska's economy performed worse than any other state last year, according to the Commerce Department, shrinking by 2.4%.

Persons: that's, Mike Dunleavy, Dunleavy Organizations: Energy Department, Commerce Department, Frontier, Business, Education, Alaska, Republican, SB Locations: Alaska, Texas, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, States

☆ What Ford's buoyant quarterly sales reveal about progress toward its ambitious EV goals
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Paulina Likos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Electric vehicle sales fell 2.8% to 14,843 in the second quarter. It's worth noting that Ford EV sales are up 11.9% year to date, and total sales of more than 1 million vehicles in 2023 rose 10%. Despite solid quarterly sales, shares of Ford dropped more than 2.5% to just under $15 each. General Motors (GM) on Wednesday said total second-quarter U.S. auto sales increased by nearly 19% to 691,978. However, GM's electric vehicle sales in Q2 dropped 32% to 15,652.

Persons: Ford, it's, Tesla, Jim Farley, Jim Cramer's, Jim Cramer, Jim, Christopher Furlong Organizations: Ford, General Motors, Monday, EV, Federal, Energy Department, CNBC, Getty Locations: U.S, Canada, EVs, Halewood, England

[1/2] Manufacturing equipment is seen during a tour of Foxconn's electric vehicle production facility in Lordstown, Ohio, U.S. November 30, 2022. The Domestic Manufacturing Conversion Grants for EVs program will provide cost-shared grants for making efficient hybrid, plug-in electric hybrid, fully electric, and fuel cell vehicles. The Department of Energy's Vehicle Technologies Office said the program will prioritize projects that refurbish or retool manufacturing plants that have recently stopped operations or were expected to close soon. The Biden administration, as part of its goal of decarbonizing the economy by 2050, is pushing the U.S. auto industry to accelerate a transition to EVs. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents General Motors (GM.N), Stellantis NV (STLAM.MI), Toyota Motor (7203.T) and others, on Wednesday called the EPA proposal a "de facto battery electric vehicle mandate" that was "neither reasonable nor achievable."

Persons: Quinn Glabicki, Joe Biden's, Biden, Shawn Fain, Stellantis, Timothy Gardner, Joe White, David Shepardson, David Gregorio, Grant McCool Organizations: REUTERS, WASHINGTON, United Auto Workers, UAW, Energy's Vehicle Technologies, Lordstown, Environmental Protection Agency, Alliance, Automotive Innovation, General Motors, Stellantis, Toyota, Energy Department, Thomson Locations: Lordstown , Ohio, U.S, DETROIT, Ohio, Michigan , Ohio , Illinois, Indiana, Belvidere , Illinois, Washington, Detroit

☆ Biden Says He Is ‘Turning Things Around’ on the Economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Michael D. Shear | Jim Tankersley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

“I’m here to say we have a plan that is turning things around incredibly quickly.” He added that “we have more work to do.”Republicans have criticized Mr. Biden for high inflation, high interest rates that make borrowing more expensive, and the cost of everyday necessities like health care, child care, groceries, gas and more. “Americans don’t want Biden to ‘finish the job.’”Administration officials acknowledge there is more work to do in bringing down inflation, but they note it has fallen for 11 straight months. Mr. Biden has signed trillions of dollars in economic legislation since taking office. Administration officials this week released new analyses to underscore how those laws are beginning to boost the economy. In other areas, though, administration officials continue to make claims about Mr. Biden’s record that are not supported by evidence.

Persons: “, ”, Mr, Biden, ’, Tommy Pigott, don’t, ‘, Biden “ Organizations: National Republican Committee, ’ ”, Economic Advisers, Administration, Treasury Department, Energy Department Locations: United States

The total number of recent victims from the online extortion ring has reached 121 organizations, according to Brett Callow, whose cybersecurity company Emsisoft helps companies respond to digital shakedown attempts. In 2021, Ukrainian authorities announced the arrests of six people tied to cl0p, but it's not clear that they were core members of the group, which continued to hack victims. Plundering file transfer protocols has become increasingly popular as hackers shift from encrypting data to simply stealing files and threatening to release them unless a ransom is paid. Many of the organizations stress that the target of the hack is the file transfer service, not their systems. The FBI said it was "aware of and investigating the recent exploitation of a MOVEit vulnerability by malicious ransomware actors."

Persons: Brett Callow, encrypting, TrendMicro, didn't, Cl0p, Emsisoft, Charles Carmakal, Raphael Satter, Christopher Bing, James Pearson, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: University of California, Siemens Energy, Abbvie Inc, Schneider, Publicly, Sony, Shell PLC, Government, U.S . Energy Department, Alphabet Inc, FBI, Thomson Locations: Los Angeles, Russia, Washington, London

☆ No direct evidence COVID started in Wuhan lab - US intelligence report
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( Dan Whitcomb | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 23 (Reuters) - U.S. intelligence agencies found no direct evidence that the COVID-19 pandemic stemmed from an incident at China's Wuhan Institute of Virology, a report declassified on Friday said. "The Central Intelligence Agency and another agency remain unable to determine the precise origin of the COVID-19 pandemic, as both (natural and lab) hypotheses rely on significant assumptions or face challenges with conflicting reporting," the ODNI report said. The report said that while "extensive work" had been conducted on coronaviruses at the Wuhan institute (WIV), the agencies had not found evidence of a specific incident that could have caused the outbreak. U.S. President Joe Biden in March signed a bill declassifying information related to the origins of the pandemic. As of March 20, four other U.S. agencies still judged that COVID-19 was likely the result of natural transmission, while two were undecided.

Persons: WIV, Joe Biden, Biden, Christopher Wray, Dan Whitcomb, Rosalba O'Brien, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: Wuhan, of Virology, National Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency, coronaviruses, Wall, U.S . Energy Department, Thomson Locations: U.S, Wuhan, United States, Beijing, China

☆ Ford's electric future looks bright, as the automaker doubles down on batteries and cuts costs
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Paulina Likos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

As CEO Jim Farley continues to rein in costs, Ford is preparing to enact a new round of layoffs in the coming weeks, according to a Wall Street Journal report Thursday. Nonetheless, news of the potential layoffs come after Farley told Jim this week that Ford still needs bring down costs at its EV division. The company has estimated its EV costs are roughly $7 billion higher than its competitors. F 1M mountain Ford stock performance month-to-date. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade.

Persons: Jim Farley, Ford, Jim Cramer, Farley, Jim, We're, Jim Cramer's, Rebecca Cook Organizations: Ford, U.S, Wall, U.S . Energy Department, SK, Blue, SK —, EV, it's EV, CNBC, Ford Motor Co, Amperex Technology Locations: Korean, U.S, Marshall , Michigan, Romulus , Michigan

☆ Biden is lending billions to Ford to help America win the EV race with China
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The US is lending Ford $9.2 billion to build battery plants in Tennessee and Kentucky. It's also three times the loan extended to General Motors for battery plants last year. The US government is lending $9.2 billion to Ford for three battery plants in a sign of the Biden administration's desire for America to become a leading EV player. The loan is more than three times the amount handed out last year to General Motors to build three battery factories. The loan is the latest step by the White House to on-shore production of crucial EV components amid rising geopolitical tensions, particularly with China.

Persons: It's, Biden, Obama, EVs, Ford's, Darren Palmer Organizations: Ford, Loan, General Motors, Energy's, SK, The Energy Department, Tesla, EV, White, P, EVs, Ford's EV Locations: Tennessee, Kentucky, America, Korean, China, Chinese

☆ UAW rips Biden administration on US loan to Ford joint venture battery plant
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The $9.2 billion low-cost government loan for the BlueOval SK joint venture is the biggest ever from the government auto lending program that will help finance construction of three plants in Kentucky and Tennessee. The joint venture is building battery plants in Kentucky and Tennessee. The UAW and Senator Bernie Sanders in April criticized a General Motors (GM.N)/LG Energy Solution (373220.KS) joint venture battery plant for paying workers much less than GM assembly plant employees even though it benefits from hefty U.S. government tax credits. Union workers at a nearby Ohio GM assembly plant that closed in 2019 made at least $32 an hour. The Energy Department last year awarded $2.5 billion to help finance construction of Ultium's new lithium-ion battery plants, including Warren, from the same program used for the Ford loan.

Persons: Francois Lenoir, Shawn Fain, Fain, Joe Biden’s, Ford, Biden, Bernie Sanders, Warren, David Shepardson, Aurora Ellis, Mark Porter Organizations: Ford, REUTERS, United Auto Workers, UAW, U.S . Energy Department, Ford Motor, Korea's SK, JV, Detroit Three automakers, BlueOval SK, SK, South Korea's SK Innovation, Motors, LG Energy, JV Ultium, Ohio GM, The Energy Department, Thomson Locations: Brussels, Belgium, Francois Lenoir WASHINGTON, Kentucky, Tennessee, South, America, Warren , Ohio, Ohio

☆ Ford, SK joint venture set to receive $9.2 billion US government loan for battery plants
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON, June 22 (Reuters) - The U.S. Energy Department on Thursday said it intends to loan a joint venture of Ford Motor (F.N) and South Korean battery maker SK On up to $9.2 billion to help finance construction of three new battery manufacturing plants in Tennessee and Kentucky. The conditional commitment for the low-cost government loan for the Blue Oval SK joint venture comes from the government's Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) loan program. SK On is a unit of South Korea's SK Innovation (096770.KS). The joint venture is building battery manufacturing facilities in Kentucky and Tennessee capable of collectively producing more than 80 gigawatt hours annually. Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Toby ChopraOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: David Shepardson, Toby Chopra Organizations: U.S . Energy Department, Ford Motor, SK, Blue Oval SK, Technology Vehicles Manufacturing, South Korea's SK Innovation, Thomson Locations: Korean, Tennessee, Kentucky, South

☆ Google’s CSO Kate Brandt on How AI Can Accelerate Climate Action
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Rochelle Toplensky | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +8 min

Kate Brandt has been working since 2015 to make Google’s operations and products more sustainable and was named its chief sustainability officer in 2018. Early in her career, Brandt worked on climate and energy in the White House, the Pentagon and the Energy Department during the Obama administration. I kind of teared up and felt really excited to see this momentous occurrence in the climate movement. We’re going to see more and more opportunities—whether that’s for governments, for businesses, for nonprofits and NGOs—to use AI to really accelerate their climate work. Google’s total carbon footprint increased last year—what happened?

Persons: Kate Brandt, Brandt, Obama, Kate, I’ve, We’ve, Ben Gomes, Rochelle Toplensky Organizations: Pentagon, Energy Department, Google, UPS, Greenlight, Rainforest, Sustainable Business, Rochelle Locations: Washington, Paris, California, Muir Beach, U.S, Hamburg, Germany

☆ Ford-SK venture to get $9.2 billion US loan for battery plants
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, June 22 (Reuters) - The U.S. Energy Department plans to lend up to $9.2 billion to a joint venture of Ford Motor (F.N) and South Korea's SK On to help it build three battery plants in Tennessee and Kentucky. The conditional commitment for the low-cost government loan for the BlueOval SK joint venture comes from the government's Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) loan program. The joint venture is building three battery manufacturing facilities in Kentucky and Tennessee capable of collectively producing more than 120 gigawatt hours annually, the Energy Department said. This is the sixth loan for battery supply chain projects from the ATVM program. Last year, the department awarded a joint venture of General Motors (GM.N) and LG Energy Solution (373220.KS) $2.5 billion to help finance construction of new lithium-ion battery cell manufacturing facilities.

Persons: Jigar Shah, Dave Webb, Robert Rhee, Ford, Jim Farley, Tesla, David Shepardson, Toby Chopra, David Evans, Alexander Smith Organizations: U.S . Energy Department, Ford Motor, Korea's SK, BlueOval SK, Technology Vehicles Manufacturing, SK, South Korea's SK Innovation, Energy Department, Energy, Ford, Lincoln, Republican, Republicans, Biden, General Motors, LG Energy, Ultium Cells, Thomson Locations: Tennessee, Kentucky, South, United States, KS, Ohio , Tennessee, Michigan, Fremont , California

☆ U.S. Intelligence Agencies May Never Find Covid’s Origins, Officials Say
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Julian E. Barnes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

This week, intelligence agencies are expected to release declassified material on what they have learned about Covid’s origins, a subject of intense interest and scrutiny among American lawmakers. But people briefed on the material say there is no smoking gun, no body of evidence that sways the intelligence community as a whole, or top C.I.A. In fact, senior intelligence officials remain more convinced than ever that the agencies are not going to be able to collect a piece of evidence that solves the puzzle. Local and national authorities in China, U.S. officials say, destroyed some virus samples and used up others in research, all of which might have helped answer the questions over Covid’s origins. But those officials also caution against overstating the importance of the destroyed samples.

Organizations: Trump, Biden, Energy Department Locations: U.S, China

☆ GOP burns for another culture war fight, pushing bills to 'save' gas stoves
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Matthew Daly | Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The House GOP passed a bill to bar federal regulation of gas stoves. Some cities have banned new gas stoves over climate change and attempts to reduce energy use. The White House said the administration "has been clear that it does not support any attempt to ban the use of gas stoves,″ but GOP lawmakers say rules on gas stoves represent classic government overreach. New York state approved a law last month banning natural gas stoves and furnaces in most new buildings. The proposed Energy Department rule would save consumers up to $1.7 billion and cut down on emission that are dangerous to children's health, she added.

Persons: —, ″, Tom Cole, Joe Biden, Kevin McCarthy's, McCarthy, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, McMorris Rodgers, Mary Gay Scanlon, Scanlon Organizations: GOP, Service, Republican, Energy Department, Biden, Green, Democratic, Caucus, Consumer Product Safety, The Energy Department, House Energy, Commerce, DOE, embroil Locations: San Francisco, Berkeley , California, New York, United States, Washington

☆ GM, SDI will build $3 billion battery manufacturing plant in Indiana
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 13 (Reuters) - General Motors (GM.N) and Samsung SDI (006400.KS) will build a more than $3 billion EV battery cell plant in Indiana scheduled to begin operations in 2026, creating 1,700 jobs, the state's governor said Tuesday. The companies said in April they would invest more than $3 billion to build a joint venture EV battery manufacturing plant in the U.S. but did not name a location. Reuters reported in January that GM had opted not to move forward with building a fourth U.S. battery plant with LG Energy Solution (373220.KS) in Indiana, but said GM could still pick Indiana for a battery plant with another partner. The joint GM and Samsung SDI plant near New Carlisle, Indiana aims to have an annual production capacity of 30 gigawatt hours (GWh). The companies are building a $2.6 billion plant in Michigan, set to open in 2024 after opening a plant in Ohio and are building another in Tennessee.

Persons: Yoonho Choi, Shawn Fain, Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, Biden, David Shepardson, Louise Heavens, David Evans Organizations: General Motors, Samsung SDI, EV, Reuters, GM, LG Energy, Samsung, U.S . Energy Department, LG Energy Ultium Cells, United Auto Workers, GM LG Ohio JV, UAW, Thomson Locations: KS, Indiana, U.S, New Carlisle , Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, North America, South Korea

☆ What EV owners need to know about Tesla's charging partnership with Ford and GM
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-10 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Tesla's Supercharger Network will open up to Ford and GM EV owners in 2024. As part of their move, both Detroit-area automakers have decided to adopt Tesla's EV charging connector, the plug that links an electric vehicle to a charging station. With GM and Ford joining Tesla's charging system, the rest of the auto industry may be forced to follow suit. At present, two main types of EV charging plugs exist: Tesla's North American Charging Standard and CCS, used by nearly all other automakers. GM and Ford EV owners also win because they will gain access to double the number of chargers that they had before.

Persons: Tesla, Here's, Gary Silberg, you'd, Sam Abuelsamid, Ford, Abuelsamid, Silberg, Stellantis, it's Organizations: Ford, GM EV, General Motors, GM, CCS, EV, KPMG, Associated, Energy Department, Tesla, North America, Guidehouse Insights, Ford EV, Kia, Nissan, Toyota, Hyundai, VW Locations: DETROIT, Detroit, United States, U.S, North America, North, America

☆ A Poisonous Cold War Legacy That Defies a Solution
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Ralph Vartabedian | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

From 1950 to 1990, the U.S. Energy Department produced an average of four nuclear bombs every day, turning them out of hastily built factories with few environmental safeguards that left behind a vast legacy of toxic radioactive waste. Nowhere were the problems greater than at the Hanford Site in Washington State, where engineers sent to clean up the mess after the Cold War discovered 54 million gallons of highly radioactive sludge left from producing the plutonium in America’s atomic bombs, including the one dropped on the Japanese city of Nagasaki in 1945. Cleaning out the underground tanks that were leaching poisonous waste toward the Columbia River just six miles away and somehow stabilizing it for permanent disposal presented one of the most complex chemical problems ever encountered. Engineers thought they had solved it years ago with an elaborate plan to pump out the sludge, embed it in glass and deposit it deep in the mountains of the Nevada desert.

Organizations: U.S . Energy Department, Engineers Locations: Hanford, Washington State, Nagasaki, Columbia, Nevada

☆ US announces $46 million in funds to eight nuclear fusion companies
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, May 31 (Reuters) - Eight U.S. companies developing nuclear fusion energy will receive $46 million in taxpayer funding to pursue pilot plants attempting to generate power from the process that fuels the sun and stars, the Department of Energy said on Wednesday. Generating more energy from fusion reaction than goes into it has eluded scientists for decades. The Energy Department's Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program hopes to help develop pilot-scale demonstration of fusion within a decade. The awardees are:-Commonwealth Fusion Systems-Focused Energy Inc-Princeton Stellarators Inc-Realta Fusion Inc-Tokamak Energy Inc-Type One Energy Group-Xcimer Energy Inc-Zap Energy IncThe funding, which comes from the Energy Act of 2020, is for the first 18 months. Looking to launch fusion plants that use lasers or magnets, private companies and government labs spent $500 million on their supply chains last year, according to a Fusion Industry Association (FIA) survey.

Persons: Harris, Jennifer Granholm, Timothy Gardner, Matthew Lewis Organizations: U.S, Department of Energy, Energy, Biden, Harris Administration, Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Inc, Princeton Stellarators Inc, Tokamak Energy Inc, One Energy, Xcimer Energy, Fusion Industry Association, FIA, Thomson Locations: Washington

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