Important Innovations

  Segway's C80 e-Moped                                                       Source:  Segway New Electric Moped To Get Around In E-bikes are the one of the hottest sectors of electric travel.  In fact, analysts at Bloomberg New Energy Fund expect the global number of electric bikes to hit 600 million by 2040.  Enter a new e-bike.  The Segway eMoped C80.  This is Segway's first ever Moped style ebike.  Segway was founded in New Hampshire by entrepreneur Dean Kamen who invented an innovative, self-balancing, 2-wheel scooter.  Segway was bought in 2015 by Ninebot of Beijing and is now China headquartered.  The new ebike is loaded with advanced  technology. eBike Capabilities The C80 has a 50 mile plus range on a single charge and costs $1,899 to pre-order.  Segway says the ebikes will start shipping in November.  It is loaded with anti-theft technology.  It has an air-lock system,  GPS tracking, keyless operation via your smartphone,  NFC tags, smart seat detection and auto-lock m

  Mercedes EQC Debuting in India Source:  Mercedes-Benz No Emissions Plus Luxury, Power & Performance  Mercedes-Benz has one of the hottest electric vehicles in the global marketplace.  The company's first, all electric SUV - the EQC - is so hot and in such demand in Europe that Mercedes is postponing its debut in the United States until 2021.  The EQC is going to hit a very big market - lndia - in late September.  The Mercedes EQC gets 450 km on a single, 40 minute charge.  It's the first of a sub-brand -EQ - under which Mercedes will launch its electric cars. Mercedes says it will have 10 brand new, EQ models by 2022. Based on the GLC midsize crossover model, the EQC directly competes with the Audi e-tron, Jaguar 1-Pace and the Tesla Model X. The base price of the vehicle in Europe is 67,900 euros. Power and Performance The interior of the vehicle is luxurious.  An automotive expert in India called it the equivalent of a "7-star hotel".  What differentiates the

US & European Regional Travel on the Rise Source: Cape Cod Summer Tourist Destination Marriott CEO's Global Hotel Perspective The pandemic was particularly inhospitable to the global hospitality industry.  As Covid-19 cases soared, air travel ground to a halt, lockdowns forced people to shelter at home and bookings at global hotel chains plummeted.  At Marriott, room occupancy rates dropped to 5% in some US hotel properties and to 7% in Marriott hotels in China.  The rates have rebounded in China to 40% and in the US to 20%.  CEO Arne Sorenson says he's starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel for global hotels:  a pickup in personal and business travel. Profound Economic Impact Sorenson says the impact of the pandemic on Marriott's global business is worse than 9/11 and the 2008 financial crisis combined. He doesn't expect global occupancy to return to the average of 71% for a few years.  But there are positive signs.  US downloads of

Massive Star Explosion Source:  NASA Spectacular Space Event An international team of scientists has discovered the most powerful and brightest supernova ever recorded.  The space event is off the charts.  A supernova is the explosive death of a star.  In this case, scientists theorize it may have been two stars that merged and  then exploded.  The supernova event is unique, extreme and one for the record books. Billions of Light Years Away The event occurred 3.6 billion light years from Earth.  It's named SN2016aps.  According to lead astronomer Matt Nicholl of the University of Birmingham, the team measured the supernova in two ways: total energy of the explosion and the amount of light or radiation emitted. With normal supernovas, the radiation amounts to 1% of the total energy.  In this one, the radiation is an incredible 5 times times the explosion energy.   Bigger than the Sun This supernova

Who Owns Commercial Rights in Space? Planet Snatchers Source:  NASA Russia & US Intergalactic War of Words This could be a script for a new George Lucas  "Star Wars" movie. But it's not science fiction.   It's the latest global news on space and it's a big fight. The Russian Space Agency Roscosmos has accused President Donald Trump of creating a basis for  snatching planets.  At issue is an Executive Order the President just signed detailing US policy on commercial mining in space.  From Russia's perspective, the Executive Order slams the concept that space is  the property of all of humanity. At Stake - Intergalactic Money in Trillions of Dollars Experts believe that the mineral deposits that space  contains could be worth trillions of dollars.  Mr. Trump's Order states that the US will negotiate bilateral and multilateral statements and agreements on "safe and sustainable operations for the publ

Growing Global Space Programs Source:  ISRO Lunar Explorations and Global Cooperation India is a growing leader in the exploration of space.  Of particular interest is India's many lunar exploration successes.  India is providing vital data from its multi-year Chandrayaan-2 mission that is now orbiting the Moon.  The images are being provided to the NASA-led Artemis program, which is a multinational effort to put astronauts back on the Moon by 2024.  The images of the surface of the Moon are vital to determine the best landing spot on the Moon for the next team of astronauts. Back in 2009, India was the first to discover ice deposits on the surface of the Moon. In 2021, it plans to launch Chandrayaan-3 that will include another landing attempt.  Their Vikram lander failed to land safely on the Moon as part of the C-2 mission. US-India Space Cooperation Accelerating President Trump in his late February 2020 trip to India praised India's many space exploration and te

Space Weightlessness Flights Coming to a City Near You Source:  Zero G.  Buzz Aldrin of the Apollo Mission in Zero-G Source:  Zero G Experiencing Space Travel at 24,000 Feet The space and travel innovation company is called Zero Gravity Corporation. It has specially modified a Boeing 727 to provide the experience of weightlessness for passengers.  It's just like you're travelling in a spaceship hurtling through the universe past the Moon.  The privately held company is headquartered in Arlington, VA and has been taking guests like Tesla & Space X founder Elon Musk and movie director James Cameron for the zero-gravity flight of their lives.  It is now in the process of greatly expanding its commercial operations. The Zero-G Life Passengers in the US will be able to have the weightless flying experience in New York, Miami, Las Vegas, LA, Washington DC, San Francisco, Atlanta, Houston, Orlando, Seattle, Austin and from a number of cities in New Engla

US EV Market On the Rise Source:  Tesla Model 3 EV's in US Beating Out Another Auto Category The sale of electric vehicles in the US is at a very early stage, representing 1.6% of the 17 million "light" vehicles sold in 2019.  But, for the first time, EV's are outperforming a segment of the automotive market.  Specifically, EV's are outpacing vehicles with standard shifts which represent 1.1% of automotive sales. Sales of standard shift models have dropped .5% in the past year.  By contract, sales of the world's most popular EV, the Tesla Model 3, are up 1% in the US in 2019. It's the beginning of a shift by Americans to zero emission, green, electric vehicles to save the environment from carbon emissions. Tesla's Roadster Electric Sportscar In Q1 2020, the electric car segment in the US is composed of 16 models.  That is scheduled to significantly grow  this year.  And, EV's are expected to outperform another category in 2020 -- conve

UK's EasyJet's & US Wright Electric Partner on Commercial Electric Plane Source:  Wright Electric Proposed E-Aircraft Green Partnership, Aggressive Time-Line Low cost airline group EasyJet of the UK has announced plans to collaborate with US electric plane startup Wright Electric to develop an electric engine for a 186 passenger electric commercial aircraft. Their goal is sustainable, electric commercial flight that ushers in an era of emissions free, cheaper and environmentally friendly flying. Their time frame is aggressive.  In 2023, they plan to test flight the electric motor and in 2030 fly the new aircraft. London to Paris by Sustainable Flights Wright is developing electrical systems big enough to carry 186 passengers, the crew and a 1.5 megawatt electric motor(s) on its electric aircraft. The Wright 1 plane will be able to fly an hour on a charge.  It's designed for short haul travel such as London to Paris.  Electric planes have zero to very low

Green Tech Investments Up 28% in US 2019, a Record Source:  Wind, Solar Energy Stock Image Wind and Solar Lead the Way Despite the Trump Administration's views on Climate Change and renewable energy, US companies broke records in their investments in green technology in 2019.  Investments hit $55.5 billion, which is up 28%.  That catapulted the US to second place in renewable energy investments behind China, whose financial bet on renewables fell 8% to $83 billion. Clearly, China remains the far ahead leader in pushing renewables.  Europe's renewable energy investments fell 7% to $54 billion, right behind the US. Interestingly, Brazil's financial investment soared by 74% to $6.5 billion.  The data was collected by Bloomberg. New Green Energy Technologies The big investment push in the US for new renewable energy technologies and expansions is by wind and solar energy companies.  They're rushing to qualify for federal tax credit that end later this year.  The

Driving With No Hands & No Human Control Source:  GM CEO Mary Barra with Cruise Autonomous Car Computers in the Driver's Seat GM is engaged in talks with the US National Highway Safety Administration (NHSA) to secure permission to deploy a limited number of steering wheel-less, fully autonomous cars on US roads.  The cars are designed to be totally autonomous with no steering wheel and no human controls. Essentially, computers are in the driver's seat. GM believes this could make for safer driving and less accidents.  The head of the NHSA has confirmed that the Agency is doing due diligence on the GM request. New Automated Piloting Systems The federal agency expects to make a decision on the request by early 2020.  It also will make a judgement on a petition by the driverless delivery service Nuro to deploy a limited number of low speed, delivery trucks with no humans onboard.  These highly automated piloting systems for road vehicles and also for ai

$50 Billion Fiat Chrysler & PSA Peugeot Merger Combining to Share Electrification and Autonomous Technology Investment Costs On Wednesday, December 18, 2019 Fiat Chrysler and PSA Peugeot are expected to announce that they are merging the two global automotive companies.  The tie-up will create a $50 billion entity that will produce 8.7 million cars a year.  The combination will create the world's fourth largest automaker after Toyota, VW and the Renault-Nissan alliance. Source:  Fiat Chrysler Jeep Assembly Line PSA Likely in the Driver's Seat PSA Group CEO Carlos Tavares is expected to be the CEO of the new entity.  He's known as a cost cutter and brand turnaround expert at the French based PSA. He led Nissan America and has extensive knowledge of the US market.  Fiat Chrysler Chairman John Elkmann, whose family founded Fiat in 1899, is expected to be Chairman of the combined organizations. Electrification This merger is a strategic move