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Wison launches floating tower for medium-depth platforms
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The overall effect diagram of New Buoyant Tower solution with storage (illustration: Wison)

Wison Offshore & Marine has announced that the company has developed a new Buoyant Tower solution with condensate or oil storage, adopting Wison’s proprietary Buoyant Tower technology. This innovative floating concept provides a new economic and reliable option for the oil and gas development in the shallow to medium-depth waters.

Originally invented by Ed Horton and Lyle Finn, the Buoyant Tower technology was first applied to BPZ CX-15 project offshore Peru when both Ed and Lyle worked for Horton Wison Deepwater Inc. (HWD), now renamed as Wison Offshore Technology Inc. with 130+ patents originated by Ed Horton and his fellows transferred from HWD. Since its delivery from Wison’s Nantong Yard in August 2012, the CX-15 platform has been in stable operation.

The Buoyant Tower is a self-installed floater. The concept eliminates the costly T&I process needed for conventional jackets. In addition, with some greater water depth, more savings could be expected as its weight (hence the cost) is insensitive to the water depth. For example, at a water depth of 150 metres, EPC of a buoyant tower might cost as much as 50% less of that for a jacket. Now with the add-on storage capability, a buoyant tower solution presents more economic advantages compared to a traditional “Jacket + FSO” or “Jacket + Export Oil Line” solution due to the cost elimination of an FSO or an export oil line.

The new Buoyant Tower solution is flexible and scalable for topsides up to 10,000 tonnes, with ~10,000-30,000 tonnes of dry storage for condensate or oil, at a water depth up to 300 metres.

The configuration of the hull has been designed to accommodate the storage tank (hard tank) in the center while the surrounding ballast tanks remain balanced with hydrostatic pressure. The buoyant tanks near the water surface coupled with the solid ballast at the bottom provide the Buoyant Tower with permanent stability. The anti-rotation design of the SCF (suction can foundation) can provide further in-place stability. The analysis has shown that the tower demonstrates excellent motion performance at greater water depth.

“The buoyant tower is a compliant structure with very long eigen period. Within its application limits, the tower works better in deeper water. This prevents the platform from resonant motions in severe wave conditions. Therefore, a Buoyant Tower can support most E&P operations such as drilling, production (dry tree), gas compression or treatment, crude stabilisation, water treatment or injection, power generation and other utility purposes” says Dr Weimin CHEN, Senior Solutions Director of Wison Offshore and Marine.

Ying CUI, Chief Executive Officer of Wison Offshore & Marine says, “While further building up our position as a leading floating LNG and power solutions provider, Wison is also dedicated to developing more innovative solutions for the offshore upstream industry with our proprietary technologies. The launch of new Buoyant Tower solution would demonstrate our commitment to help oil & gas operators adapt to the low oil price environment by offering economical alternatives.”

Output: Chinese engineering firm Wison Offshore and Marine has developed a new way to recover oil and gas in shallow and medium-depth waters. The Buoyant Tower is scalable for topsides up to 10,000 tonnes, includes up to 10,000-30,000 tonnes of dry storage at a water depth of 300 metres and can be used for most exploration and production operations.


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Boxed to sell best ad space through real-time auctions
 This month, shoppers looking to stock up on Halloween candy can buy 160 mini chocolate bars for a mere $16 on ecommerce site Boxed. And starting this week, the confectionery marketers looking to target them with ads can virtually jostle for position like trick-or-treaters searching for the last Snickers in a plastic cauldron.

Output: Retail platform Boxed will pit advertiser against advertiser in real time auctions for the best ad space on the wholesaler's website. It's seeking to boost revenue from its list of advertisers, who are attracted to the site by the longer times shoppers spend browsing its pages compared with rivals. As a "virtual warehouse", shoppers remain on the site for 15 to 20 minutes, giving Boxed more opportunity to target them with ads. It's one way the start-up hopes to challenge Amazon and other e-commerce giants such as Walmart's Jet.com.


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Nissan to recall 1.2 million cars in Japan over safety faults
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Nissan has announced that it is recalling just over 1.2 million vehicles in Japan that do not meet domestic requirements for final inspection.

Earlier in the day, shares in the Japanese car giant fell dramatically, after it announced at the end of last week that it had released thousands of vehicles onto the Japanese market that had not been subjected to comprehensive safety checks.

It later said that approximately 1.21 million units produced between October 2014 and September 2017 would be subject to re-inspection.

“Nissan regrets any inconvenience and concern this has caused to its valued customers in Japan," the carmaker said, adding that it was "taking proactive action to resolve this matter".

Output: Japanese automaker Nissan will recall 1.2 million new cars it sold in Japan over the last three years, following the discovery that final vehicle inspections were not performed by authorised technicians, failing to meet domestic requirements. The recall is expected to cost roughly $220m. Shares in Nissan fell by 5% following the announcement. "We must take the registration framework and procedures seriously, regardless of how busy we may be or how short-staffed we may be", said Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa.


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Lancaster University team develops gesture controller for TVs
 Targets in the corner of a TV screen. Each target rotates around its corresponding function. The user matches the rotational movement with any object, or part of their body, to create a coupling and active the control. Credit: Lancaster University

Imagine changing the channel of your TV simply by moving your cup of tea, adjusting the volume on a music player by rolling a toy car, or rotating a spatula to pause a cookery video on your tablet.

New gesture control technology that can turn everyday objects into remote controls could revolutionise how we interact with televisions, and other screens - ending frustrating searches for remotes that have slipped down the side of sofa cushions.

In a paper - 'Matchpoint: Spontaneous spatial coupling of body movement for touchless pointing' - which will be presented at the UIST2017 conference in Quebec City this October, researchers from Lancaster University show a novel technique that allows body movement, or movement of objects, to be used to interact with screens.

The 'Matchpoint' technology, which only requires a simple webcam, works by displaying moving targets that orbit a small circular widget in the corner of the screen. These targets correspond to different functions - such as volume, changing channel or viewing a menu. The user synchronises the direction of movement of the target, with their hand, head or an object, to achieve what researchers call 'spontaneous spatial coupling', which activates the desired function.

Unlike existing gesture control technology, the software does not look for a specific body part it has been trained to identify - such as a hand. Lancaster's technology looks for rotating movement so it doesn't require calibration, or the software to have prior knowledge of objects. This provides much more flexibility and ease for the user as it works even while hands are full, and while stood or slouching on the sofa.

Users also do not need to learn specific commands to activate different functions, as is the case with some gesture controlled televisions on the market, and the user is able to decouple at will.

When selecting volume adjustment or channel selection, sliders appear. The user moves their hand, head, or object, in the required direction indicated by the slider to change the volume or to find the desired channel.

Lancaster University researcher Christopher Clarke selects a channel to watch by using his mug as a remote control. He moves his drink left or right until finding the station he wants to watch. Credit: Lancaster University

As well as televisions, the technology can also be used with other screens. For example, YouTube tutorials, such as mending bikes or baking cakes, could be easily paused and rewound on tablet computers without users having to put down tools or mixing bowls.

Multiple pointers can be created to allow more than one user to point at drawings or pictures on interactive whiteboards simultaneously. Matchpoint also allows users to manipulate images on whiteboards by using two hands to zoom in and out, and rotate images.

In addition to short-term couplings, users can also link stationary objects to controls, which even when left for prolonged periods will retain their control function. For example, a mug sat on a table could change a track on a music player when moved left or right, and a rolling toy car could be used to adjust volume. Objects can lose their coupling with controls simply by removing them from the camera's field of view.

Christopher Clarke, PhD student at Lancaster University's School of Computing and Communications, and developer of the technology, said: "Spontaneous spatial coupling is a new approach to gesture control that works by matching movement instead of asking the computer to recognise a specific object.

"Our method allows for a much more user-friendly experience where you can change channels without having to put down your drink, or change your position, whether that is relaxing on the sofa or standing in the kitchen following a recipe.

"Everyday objects in the house can now easily become remote controls so there are no more frantic searches for remote controls when your favourite programme is about to start on another channel, and now everyone in the room has the 'remote'. You could even change the channel with your pet cat."

Researchers believe Matchpoint is also suitable to be used as an accessibility tool for people who are unable to use traditional pointers, such as remote controls and a mouse and keyboard.

More information: UIST 2017: 30th ACM User Interface Software and Technology Symposium, DOI: 10.1145/3126594.3126626

Output: Researchers from Lancaster University have developed software, called "Matchpoint", which allows gesture control of TVs and computers. The technique removes the need to train the controller to identify a specific body part, or to teach the user specific gesture commands for specific functions. The software uses a standard web cam to detect any movement in the visual field, looking specifically for patterns that match the movement of on-screen targets, which are attached to specific functions like adjusting the volume or changing the channel. The camera will pick up any movement, including the rotation of a coffee cup or the waving of a pencil.


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Facebook to hire 4,000 more people to review ads, remove material
 Russians appeared to be following a timeworn but effective divide-and-conquer strategy.

Social network Facebook said it will hire 1,000 additional ad reviewers to crack down on future attempts to interfere with elections across the world.

The selection of divisive issues, ranging from racism to LGBTQ rights, by Russian operatives was perceived as a way to skew US sentiment in the lead-up to last November’s elections, Facebook has revealed.

‘Currency alone isn’t a good way of identifying suspicious activity because the overwhelming majority of advertisers who pay in Russian currency, like the overwhelming majority of people who access Facebook from Russia, aren’t doing anything wrong’

– ELLIOT SCHRAGE

The whole saga kicks a hornet’s nest of speculation about alleged collusion between the Trump camp and Russian interests.

Facebook said in recent weeks that it believed Russian agents bought 3,000 ads last year around the time of the US presidential elections. The company has submitted its data to Congress in a move that US president Donald Trump described as “anti-Trump”.

Facebook’s platform has more than 5m paying advertisers, making it difficult to enforce policies.

It intends to invest in software to flag abuse of its ad targeting platform, and will also hire 3,000 more people to speed up the removal of videos that show shocking material such as murders and suicide.

“Reviewing ads means assessing not just the content of an ad, but the context in which it was bought and the intended audience – so we’re changing our ads review system to pay more attention to these signals,” it said.

We can’t go on forever, with suspicious minds

Facebook’s vice-president of policy and communications, Elliot Schrage, said that an estimated 10m people in the US saw the ads and around 44pc of ad impressions were before the US election in November.

For 50pc of the ads, less than $3 was spent. No more than $1,000 was spent for 99pc of the ads.

Schrage said that despite a rigorous process that sees millions of ads reviewed each week and around 8m people reporting ads daily, the ad targeting system devised by Facebook can still be abused.

To this end, the company plans to strengthen enforcement, make its system more transparent, increase requirements for authenticity, and establish industry standards and best practices.

“Some of the ads were paid for in Russian currency,” Schrage said. “Currency alone isn’t a good way of identifying suspicious activity because the overwhelming majority of advertisers who pay in Russian currency, like the overwhelming majority of people who access Facebook from Russia, aren’t doing anything wrong. We did use this as a signal to help identify these ads but it wasn’t the only signal. We are continuing to refine our techniques for identifying the kinds of ads in question. We’re not going to disclose more details because we don’t want to give bad actors a roadmap for avoiding future detection.”

He said that the right to speak out on global issues that cross borders is an important principle, and that organisations such as UNICEF and Oxfam depend on the ability to communicate.

However, he said steps must be taken to prevent any possible abuse of the system or attempts to sow division.

“The threats we’re confronting are bigger than any one company, or even any one industry. The kind of malicious interference we’re seeing requires everyone working together, across business, government and civil society, to share information and arrive at the best responses.

“We have been working with many others in the technology industry, including with Google and Twitter, on a range of elements related to this investigation. We also have a long history of working together to fight online threats and develop best practices on other issues, such as child safety and counterterrorism. And we will continue all of this work,” Schrage said.

He added that Facebook cannot be used to undermine free speech, public debate or free and fair elections.

“The 2016 US election was the first where evidence has been widely reported that foreign actors sought to exploit the internet to influence voter behaviour.

“We understand more about how our service was abused and we will continue to investigate to learn all we can. We know that our experience is only a small piece of a much larger puzzle. Congress and the special counsel are best placed to put these pieces together because they have much broader investigative power to obtain information from other sources.”

Output: Facebook is to hire 1,000 more ad reviewers to tackle future attempts to interfere in global elections, in response to alleged interference by Russian agents during the US presidential campaign. Facebook submitted data to Congress that it believed showed Russian operative bought 3,000 Facebook ads around the time of the elections, displaying a range of disruptive issues aimed at distorting US opinion. The firm will also invest in software to identify abuse and hire an addition 3,000 people to hasten the removal of inappropriate content. Plans to increase transparency, authenticity requirements, and establish industry standards are also noted.


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Allianz inks partnership with cyber risk specialist
 Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty SE (AGCS), Allianz Group’s specialist carrier for corporate insurance business, has teamed up with San Mateo, Calif.-based cyber risk analytics and modeling firm Cyence to boost its global cyber risk analysis capabilities.

Cyence’s cyber analytics platform will help AGCS boost its global cyber risk analysis capabilities, said AGCS in a statement. The partnership also will help AGCS better analyze cyber exposures for large business customers by creating a detailed understanding of their individual cyber risk profiles, quickly allowing the insurer to tailor coverage to fit specific customer profiles.

In a second initiative, AGCS plans to integrate Cyence’s cyber risk analytics into new digital distribution platforms that enable low-touch, automated underwriting of cyber policies for medium-size companies.

Both companies are also joining forces to develop a new predictive modeling tool for cyber-driven business interruption risks, AGCS added.

“We are moving our underwriting approach from hindsight to foresight,” explained AGCS Board Member Hartmut Mai as the rationale behind the cooperation with Cyence.

“The future of underwriting and practical risk management will be based on the intelligent use of technology and data,” said Mai.

Going forward, AGCS must complement its technical knowhow and experience “with extensive data-driven insight and predictive modeling if we want to keep ahead of new risks such as cyber, supply chain, or emerging liability exposures, Mai added.

Cyence reaches beyond the technical analysis of the IT security of a company into analyzing the human behavioral indicators and an organization’s processes to calibrate cyber risk, explained AGCS, noting that the Cyence platform spans from risk selection and assessment of individual companies to risk accumulation and catastrophic cyber risk scenarios and their potential impact.

AGCS previously announced a similar partnership with liability modeling specialist Praedicat, which focuses on analyzing big data to identify risk trends in liability.

Source: Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS)

Topics Mergers & Acquisitions Cyber

Output: Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty has partnered with cyber risk expert Cyence to better understand cyber risks affecting its clients. The two firms will be working together in developing predictive modelling tools assessing business interruption caused by cyber breaches. Allianz also plans on leveraging the partnership to establish a digital distribution platform potentially providing automated cyber coverage for medium-sized businesses.


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VisualDx unveils dermatological diagnosis app for non-specialists
 When a person develops an unsightly skin condition, the first person to assess it is typically not a dermatologist. A lack of expertise in dermatology too often leads to misdiagnoses. General practice physicians, for example, get very little training on skin conditions. Now, thanks to a new feature inside the latest Apple iOS for iPhones and iPads, any physician can have access to an impressive image recognition platform that identifies skin conditions and recommends further actions. We spoke with Dr. Art Papier, CEO of VisualDx, about the VisualDx + Derm Expert app that the company is making available.

The new app is certainly not a dermatologist, but it relies on pretty impressive deep learning and vision algorithms to guide the physician closer to a diagnosis or a referral. Using the VisualDx + Derm Expert app, a clinician can simply take a photo of the area of the skin exhibiting something unusual, add additional related info about the patient including drugs taken and places recently traveled, and receive suggestions pointing to what the issue may be. The resulting differential diagnoses are also linked to more information about the diseases that may be causing the given condition.

The app works because it was taught what it knows using thousands of dermatology images that VisualDx, the company, collected for more than 20 years. Of note, this may be the world’s largest dermatology image archive. This new capability the company has been quietly holding onto, though, because of a legal issue that was just resolved thanks to a bit of technology inside the new iOS. Specifically, because the image has to be run against a pretty intensive and power hungry algorithm, it had to be sent over the internet to the cloud for processing. This effectively broke HIPAA rules, since patient data would have to be passed to a third party outside the clinical practice. Now, thanks to a feature called Core ML that’s rolling out in iOS 11, patient data stays local and is processed on the iPhone or iPad itself. Core ML is a way for app designers to integrate machine learning models into their products, forcing the processing to take place inside the device itself and not passing sensitive information to the outside world.

VisualDx + Derm Expert has just been made available on the Apple App Store, but to really work you’ll have to pay for a subscription. While it’s mostly intended for specialists outside of dermatology, it may still help dermatologists with unusual and rare cases. For example, it’s known that allopurinol, used to prevent gout, kidney stones, and other conditions, can lead to a rather large number of other conditions, each of which is nearly impossible to memorize. The VisualDx + Derm Expert app can help a dermatologist to remember such associations, potentially leading to a quicker and more assured diagnosis. To be clear, the app itself is a clinical reference and not a diagnostic tool, and so does not require FDA regulatory approval.

While the app is made for professionals, VisualDx is currently working on an app designed specifically for consumers. In our conversation with Dr. Papier, he said that the new consumer facing app will help lay folks to make more informed triage decisions about what to do about a rash, welt, or other skin problem.

Product page: VisualDx + DermExpert…

Output: VisualDx's dermatology app VisualDx + Derm Expert has been made available on Apple's App Store. Aimed primarily at clinicians, the app uses deep learning to identify and offer additional information about a wide range of skin conditions, using a vast databank of images the company has spent 20 years collecting. Thanks to Apple's Core ML feature, the data is processed locally and doesn't violate the 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The state of New York health tech firm is also working on a general app to help the public identify rashes and other skin conditions.


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AppNexus' former Australia MD joins Facebook in Singapore
 Kaylie Smith

Ad tech business AppNexus is again on the hunt for a local lead as its MD, Kaylie Smith, has exited for a gig at Facebook.

Smith, who had been in the Sydney-based role for eight months, joined the independent technology company after well-known ad tech veteran and VP sales APAC at AppNexus, Dave Osborn, returned to the states in February. Smith's role covered JAPAC.

While Osborn wasn't MD, he was deemed the local market leader at the business.

Smith, who actually left in July, is now head of SMB at Facebook Australia and New Zealand and is based in Singapore.

"By mutual agreement, Kaylie Smith departed her position at AppNexus at the end of July 2017,” an AppNexus spokesperson tells AdNews.

Smith is is tasked with working with small and medium businesses across Australia and New Zealand to help them maximise their advertising on the Facebook family of products. Her role is to work with businesses to help them understand how to best use Facebook to grow their business.

Facebook says she's charged with empowering businesses ranging from local cafes, to online only retailers, helping them build community and customer relationships on its platform.

AppNexus, which WPP invested US $25 million in for a significant stake in 2014, is still hunting for someone to fill the executive leadership role for the JAPAC region.

Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au

Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.

Output: The former managing director of AppNexus in Australia has departed for a role at Facebook. Kaylie Smith, who left AppNexus in July, has taken up a role based in Singapore as head of SMB at Facebook Australia and New Zealand. Smith will work with small and medium-sized businesses across the regions to help them maximise their advertising on Facebook’s platform and improve their understanding of how best to use Facebook to expand. AppNexus is looking for someone to fill the vacant executive leadership role.


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'Electrobiorefinery' uses renewables to make fuel from biomass
 Production of drop-in fuels from biomass at high selectivity by combined microbial and electrochemical conversion

C. Urban, J. Xu, H. Sträuber, T. R. dos Santos Dantas, J. Mühlenberg, C. Härtig, L. T. Angenent and F. Harnisch, Energy Environ. Sci., 2017, 10, 2231 DOI: 10.1039/C7EE01303E

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Output: A team of US and German scientists have demonstrated how intermittent renewable energy can be used efficiently to produce a drop-in biofuel. They subjected corn silage to anaerobic fermentation, creating carboxylic acids which were then electrochemically converted into energy-dense alkanes or biofuel. Excess renewable energy was used in the final electrochemical phase, and insiders say that because the first stage is much slower than the final stage, where the renewable energy is used, it accommodates the intermittent nature of the electricity supply and it could be the first step towards an electrobiorefinery integrated with renewable energy.


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'Electrobiorefinery' uses renewables to make fuel from biomass
 Scientists in Germany and the US have developed a way to make fuel from biomass that uses excess renewable energy. Their bioelectrorefinery combines known techniques in a unique way to produce a biofuel very similar to diesel.

In the first stage of the process, microbes transform corn silage into carboxylic acids in a bioreactor. Next, a method called pertraction uses membranes to separate out carboxylic acids with carbon chains six to 12 carbon-atoms long, from the reactor medium. These medium-chain carboxylic acids are the ideal feedstock for the final stage of the process and the pertraction process means smaller carboxlic acids remain in the reaction broth so the microbes can elongate them further. The final stage electrochemically converts the carboxylic acids into energy dense alkanes, which can be used as a drop-in fuel.

Excess electricity from renewable sources such as wind farms or solar panels powers the final stage and means that energy generated on very sunny or windy days does not go to waste. And because the first stage produces carboxylic acids much slower than the last stage converts them into fuel, the whole concept accommodates the intermittent availability of this excess electricity.

Producing a drop-in fuel is particularly significant, as it can be directly substituted for petrol or diesel without major changes to existing engines, infrastructure or distribution networks. ‘We showed this on a scale that was not demonstrated before,’ says Falk Harnisch from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research who led the work. ‘You could really see it and even smell it – it smells like diesel!’

‘This is the first report that demonstrates at lab-scale, a combination of two approaches in a sequential manner to present an integrated electrobiorefinery set up,’ says Deepak Pant, a bioelectrochemistry researcher at the Flemish Institute for Technological Research. ‘It should pave way for efforts towards developing an electrobiorefinery that is truly integrated with renewable electricity supply.’

Output: A team of US and German scientists have demonstrated how intermittent renewable energy can be used efficiently to produce a drop-in biofuel. They subjected corn silage to anaerobic fermentation, creating carboxylic acids which were then electrochemically converted into energy-dense alkanes or biofuel. Excess renewable energy was used in the final electrochemical phase, and insiders say that because the first stage is much slower than the final stage, where the renewable energy is used, it accommodates the intermittent nature of the electricity supply and it could be the first step towards an electrobiorefinery integrated with renewable energy.


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China-Austria satellite video call shows potential of quantum net
 Earlier today, China's pioneering quantum satellite Micius facilitated the first-ever intercontinental video conference using a quantum communications network. The video call connected Chunli Bai, the president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, with Anton Zeilinger, president of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, a distance of over 4,600 miles. It was the first real-world demonstration that showed that a global quantum internet is not only possible, but within reach. A little over a year ago, Bai and his colleagues launched Micius, the first quantum satellite that was meant to serve as a testbed for technologies that would pave the way for a global, space-based quantum communications network. Unlike the normal internet, this quantum internet would be perfectly secure, an issue of paramount importance as we stand on the threshold of the age of quantum computing.

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Today, satellites are the backbone of many internet technologies that we use on a day-to-day basis, such as the GPS systems that power Google Maps, satellite televisions, ATMs, and many of the consumer products that make up the Internet of Things. These satellites help route data between internetworked objects all around the globe and when the data is sensitive, such as with banking applications, it is generally encrypted as it is passed between ground stations and satellites. The encryption algorithms used to protect this data are generally based on difficult math problems, such as factoring astronomically large prime numbers.

"This is a very important step towards a world-wide and secure quantum internet."

While contemporary encryption standards are robust enough that an attacker would be unable to crack them even if they had access to all the computing power on Earth, these same encryption standards will be rendered obsolete with the advent of large-scale quantum computers. Unlike a traditional computer, which traffics in binary bits, where data is stored as either a 1 or 0, quantum computers make use of qubits, which is data that is either a 1, 0, or a combination of these states at the same time. In practice, this means that a quantum computer will be able to crack today's encryption without much difficulty. This impending crypto-apocalypse has resulted in a race to create quantum-resistant cryptography, and one of the leading candidates in this area is known as quantum key distribution (QKD). This is a method of manipulating the quantum states of individual photons to encode an encryption key. This key is then used to secure another key, which would work with a non-quantum encryption algorithm that is used to actually encode the data being sent. In other words, QKD is using particles of light to create a quantum encryption key that secures a traditional encryption key. One way of implementing QKD is by entangling photons. Entanglement is a way of linking two different particles, in this case photons, at a distance, so that each share the same quantum state. Entanglement is kind of like having one particle exist in multiple locations at once. As far as the quantum internet is concerned, entanglement could be used to transfer quantum keys between two distant locations.

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For example, in June of this year, Chinese researchers demonstrated that they were able to transmit entangled photons from the Micius satellite to two ground stations in China that are 750 miles apart while maintaining entanglement between the particles. The entangled particles were generated on board the satellite and then delivered to two different ground systems using a split laser beam. Each beam sent one of the entangled photons to a ground station, where the quantum state of the photon could be measured, thus distributing the same quantum key to two remote locations.

The quantum states of entangled photons are also a more secure cryptographic basis than difficult math problems because as soon as an attacker tries to measure the state of the photon, it alters the photon's state and renders decryption impossible. Today, these researchers took these same principles a step further by using the Micius satellite to facilitate the first intercontinental communication secured using QKD. According to a press release from the Austrian Academy of Sciences, using QKD to secure the video call made it "at least a million times safer" than securing it using conventional methods of encryption.

In the case of today's video conference, QKD was used to encrypt the video signal being routed between ground stations near Vienna and Beijing. Prior to the video call, the quantum state of photons generated on board Micius were generated and sent to a ground station near Vienna where these states were measured. These same quantum states were then translated into binary code (1s and 0s) on the satellite and sent to the ground station near Vienna. There, researchers compared their measurement of the quantum state of the photon with the binary translation of this quantum state. If these values didn't match exactly, it would alert the researchers that an attacker was trying to eavesdrop on the transmission.

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This same process was then repeated between the Micius satellite and the ground station near Beijing. At this point, the researchers in Austria and China both had unique quantum keys that were stored on board the satellite. These keys were then combined to generate a new quantum key that was transmitted to both China and Austria. Each station was then able to use its unique quantum key in combination with the shared quantum key to securely encrypt the video call that was routed between them, effectively establishing the first intercontinental communication secured using quantum encryption.

"The exchange of quantum encrypted information over inter-continental distances confirms the potential of quantum communication technologies as opened up by fundamental research," Zeilinger said in a statement after the video call. "This is a very important step towards a world-wide and secure quantum internet."

Read More: Researchers Made the First Quantum Enigma Machine

Prior to the launch of Micius, the world-record for QKD using entanglement was 64 miles. Although both open-air and fiber-optic cable can be used to transmit photons, both of these mediums degrade the entanglement and over a long enough distance the effect is lost entirely. Space, however, provides a nearly lossless medium for the transmission of entangled particles, making it an optimal way to route quantum information between two distance points and lasers help the quantum state of photons survive their turbulent journey through Earth's atmosphere.

These ground stations were connected to the research institutions via terrestrial quantum communication networks built with optical fiber. Such networks have been used by government institutions for a few years, but these networks are limited in the distance that they can sent quantum information (around 60 miles).

Output: The Chinese satellite Micius has carried out successful encryption and transmission of a video call between Vienna and Beijing using quantum entanglement. Prior to the call, quantum states of entangled photons generated onboard Micius were sent down to both ground stations separately, where they were used to generate unique cryptographic keys. The keys were then sent back up to Micius and combined into a new, shared key that could be used to encrypt and decrypt the video. The achievement is being hailed as the first step towards a global quantum internet, which would theoretically be completely secure.


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Dash tie-up with Wirex moves cryptocurrency closer to mainstream
 Dash, the top digital currency for payments, announced on Monday it will soon be integrated into crypto-banking platform, Wirex, allowing customers to pay with Dash online and in-store at over 40 million merchants accepting VISA worldwide.

According to Dash, the integration means Wirex plastic and virtual cardholders can fund their accounts with Dash, link their Dash wallet, and use the payment card just like a standard VISA debit card. Upon any purchase, Wirex customers will have the payment amount automatically converted from the national denomination to Dash, and then withdrawn from their digital currency holdings. The business partnership also enables Wirex customers the ability to withdraw cash at any ATM, using their Dash, in 210 countries

The business partnership also enables Wirex customers the ability to withdraw cash at any ATM, using their Dash, in 210 countries across the world. CEO of Dash Core, Ryan Taylor, stated:

“Wirex is a premier brand for digital currency services, and supports the world’s largest base of digital currency funded pre-paid cards. We’re excited to bring the benefits of Dash’s low cost instant transactions to these users. Consumers simply don’t like waiting for transactions to top up debit card balances, and I know that once Wirex consumers try Dash they will recognize the time-saving user experience our network provides at a fraction of the fees to which they are accustomed. It really is a win for consumers, Wirex, and Dash.”

Wirex is notably backed by Japan’s biggest FinTech fund, SBI Holdings, which is headed by industry star, Yoshitaka Kitao. Serving over 800,000 customers in 130 countries, Wirex has notched up $1 billion USD in customer transaction and is seeking an e-money license in the UK. Pavel Matveev, CEO of Wirex, shared:

“Wirex is thrilled to be the largest provider of Dash payments cards in the world. Our integration with Dash signals an important milestone in the history of cryptocurrency mass adoption. Wirex customers will be the first to spend Dash up and down the high street, or online, as simply as spending any national currency. Dash’s low transaction costs and fast transfer times means customers now have significantly greater flexibility and opportunity to spend cryptocurrencies around the world.”

Despite the historic surge in the total value of the digital currency industry this year, accessibility has remained a recurring issue. Matveev also noted:

“Wirex bolsters accessibility to digital currency on a global scale, and we now want to spread Dash adoption and further introduce Dash to the mass market. The Wirex payment card is the gateway to cryptocurrency mass adoption and we are providing a simple method to incorporate Dash into the everyday life of communities around the world. Buying everyday groceries, a glass of beer or even a brand new car is now possible with the Wirex-Dash partnership.”

Taylor then added:

Output: Cryptocurrency Dash has announced it will integrate with digital currency banking platform Wirex, enabling Dash payments to be made at the 40 million online and in-store outlets worldwide that accept Visa. The deal also allows Wirex users to withdraw cash from ATMs in more than 200 countries using their Dash wallet. Pavel Matveev, the CEO of Wirex said the company's payment card was the "gateway to cryptocurrency mass adoption".


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Japan to encourage data sharing by tech companies to help exports
 TOKYO -- Japanese businesses dealing in such fields as robotics, biotechnology and autonomous driving will find it easier to cooperate and share industrial data under a new policy initiative announced Monday by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

Through its tentatively named Connected Industries Tokyo Initiative, the ministry aims to forge or revise frameworks for sharing information across company boundaries in order to spur tie-ups as well as the development of big-data-driven goods and services.

Output: Japan’s ministry of economy, trade and industry has announced plans to facilitate cooperation and sharing of industrial data among Japanese businesses working in robotics, biotechnology and autonomous driving. The scheme, known as Connected Industries Tokyo Initiative, will include developing frameworks for sharing information between companies and creating large-scale data banks for the use and sharing of industrial data. Hiroshige Seko, the minister of economy, trade and industry, argued that Japanese businesses need to cooperate more to expand into global markets rather just competing at home.


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DOE-backed start-up Skysun aims to cut solar heliostat costs by 33%
 Just when it looked like concentrated solar power (CSP) couldn’t get cheaper, a U.S.-based startup says it's found a way of cutting heliostat costs by a third.

Skysun, of Bay Village, Ohio, is aiming to achieve the cost reduction by tying multiple heliostats -- the mirrors that reflect sunlight onto CSP power tower receivers -- onto a single motor and support structure.

Currently, each heliostat on a power tower solar field has its own motor and support, significantly adding to the cost of what is essentially just a mirror.

Sandia National Laboratories, which is collaborating with Skysun through a $275,000 Small Business Voucher provided by the Department of Energy, believes this ‘ganged heliostats’ design could cut average heliostat costs by 33 percent.

“Sandia reported that Skysun’s ganged heliostats can achieve an average price point around $80 per square meter,” according to the DOE.

That compares to an industry average of $120 per square meter and is close to the DOE’s SunShot Initiative goal of lowering the cost of solar collectors to $75 per square meter.

It is far from the first time ganged heliostats have been proposed, though; one of the first mentions of the technology is in a 1978 patent.

A 1999 paper by academics at the University of Sydney and the Technical University of Munich described “a new concept of solar tower, the multi-tower solar array with ganged heliostats,” which “allows a potential reduction to the crucial reflector cost of two-axis tracking arrays.”

And in 2010, a team from the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates studied the efficiency of ganged heliostats in a 100-kilowatt pilot plant.

However, said the DOE: “While other ganged heliostat concepts have previously been proposed, none of them have shown to be cost-competitive or viable -- until now.”

Skysun’s breakthrough, detailed in a study by founder Jim Clair, appears to be the use of tensile support structures that work with single-axis instead of dual-axis actuators. The system is said to maintain industry-standard accuracy in winds of up to 20 miles per hour.

Slashing heliostat costs could be a big deal for CSP developers. In its 2016 Power to Change report, the International Renewable Energy Agency estimated that the solar field accounted for 38 percent of the total installed cost of a power tower CSP plant.

Cutting that cost by a third would reduce overall installed costs by around 13 percent. That said, it is unclear how easy it will be for Skysun’s ganged heliostats to achieve commercialization.

After years of attrition from low-cost PV competitors, the CSP market today is populated by just a handful of names, most of which have hard-earned project development credentials.

The number of projects on offer in the sector is miniscule compared to what is going on in PV or wind.

In short, the CSP market is not one that favors wild experimentation right now, even though players are said to have an appetite for risk. It also needs to achieve cost reductions as great, or greater, than other renewable sectors in order to be competitive.

That is why one senior industry figure told GTM “all these inventions will surely work, but my personal impression is that I don’t think they have a chance of competing with current heliostats.”

Another relevant factor is that CSP of late appears to have been achieving substantial cost reductions without having to resort to radical design changes.

In September, for example, developer ACWA Power bagged a 700-megawatt CSP project in Dubai for an eyebrow-raising $73 per megawatt-hour. SolarReserve managed to get down to $63 per megawatt-hour in March with a 450-megawatt project in Chile.

And in August, the U.S. developer went even lower with a project in Australia, bidding $60 per megawatt-hour on a 150-megawatt plant.

That's cheaper than the offshore wind projects that have put the gas and nuclear industries on guard in the U.K., without even accounting for the fact that the CSP plants come with several hours of storage.

These cost reductions have led some observers to predict an upswing in fortunes for an industry that has thus far lagged in adoption behind PV and wind. “This is an industry that is booming,” said economic consultant Jonathan Walters.

“For me the bottom line is that CSP is becoming competitive with gas-fired power, which will make it far more game-changing than any other renewable energy technology is likely to be," he said.

Output: Skysun, an Ohio-based start-up backed by the US Department of Energy (DOE), said it has found a way to reduce the costs of producing electricity from concentrated solar power (CSP). Currently, a significant proportion of CSP costs are associated with heliostats, each of which require their own motor and support to move mirrors so they direct the sun towards the tower or parabolic trough that collects the heat. Skysun is looking to develop a single motor and support structure, and with funding from the DOE, hopes that this "ganged heliostats" design could cut costs by up to 33%.


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BMW to use Alexa voice control in all models from 2018
 Amazon isn't content with Alexa pervading every corner of your home -- now, it's bringing that technology to your car. BMW has announced that it's making Alexa available in all its 2018 model year cars (including the Mini brand) starting in mid-2018 for the US, UK and Germany. You can use the voice assistant for typical Alexa tasks like the news or smart home control, as well as driving-oriented features like navigation or finding businesses. In many instances, voice responses will include relevant "visual cards" on your car's control display.

The move isn't at all shocking: this is Amazon's attempt to claim a foothold in the automotive space before it's too late. Apple and Google already have a strong presence thanks to CarPlay and Android Auto, and Amazon risked sitting on the sidelines if it didn't announce some major deals. Regional availability could be a problem, however. Alexa isn't an advantage if you can't buy products that use it, so Apple and Google will still have free rein unless Amazon expands access.

Output: Amazon is partnering with German carmaker BMW to make its voice-activated assistant Alexa available in all its 2018 models across the US, the UK and Germany. The technology will enable the car driver and passengers to activate smart home controls or ask for directions, and could give retail giant Amazon a foothold in a market where rivals Apple and Google have already established a firm presence.


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General Motors plans to offer 20 EV and fuel cell models by 2023
 After more than a century peddling vehicles that pollute the atmosphere, General Motors is ending its relationship with gasoline and diesel. This morning, the American automotive giant announced that it is working toward an all-electric, zero-emissions future. That starts with two new, fully electric models next year—then at least 18 more by 2023.

That product onslaught puts the company at the forefront of an increasingly large crowd of automakers proclaiming the age of electricity and promising to move away from gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles. In recent months, Volvo, Aston Martin, and Jaguar Land Rover have announced similar moves. GM’s declaration, though, is particularly noteworthy because it’s among the very largest automakers on the planet. It sold 10 million cars last year, ranging from pickups to SUVs to urban runabouts.

“General Motors believes the future is all-electric,” says Mark Reuss, the company’s head of product. “We are far along in our plan to lead the way to that future world.”

Reuss did not give a date for the death knell of the GM gas- or diesel-powered car, saying the transition will happen at different speeds in different markets and regions. The new all-electric models will be a mix of battery electric cars and fuel cell-powered vehicles.

To be sure, GM’s sudden jolt of electricity is planned with its shareholders in mind. The Trump Administration may be moving to roll back fuel efficiency requirements in the US, but the rest of the world is insisting on an electric age. France, Great Britain, the Netherlands, and Norway have all said they plan to ban the sale of gas and diesel cars in the coming decades. More importantly, China—the world’s largest car market—and India, a rising star, plan to join them. No automaker can compete globally without a compelling stable of electric cars.

GM intends to grab as large a slice of the Chinese market as possible. It has previously announced plans to launch 10 electric or hybrid electric cars in the country by 2020. This summer, it started selling a two-seat EV there, for just $5,300. Last year, it sold more cars in China (3.6 million) than it did in the US (3 million).

The crucial question for the American automaker will be how, exactly, to make money from all these cars. By one report, GM loses $9,000 on each Chevy Bolt it sells. Reuss’ strategy hinges on bringing costs down thanks to steadily dropping battery prices, more efficient motors, and lighter cars. Massive scale and global supply chains helps, too. “This next generation will be profitable,” he says. “End of story.”

It's not impossible. “If they’ve really been laying this groundwork, they could be closer to not just having this tech but having a profitable and high volume way of supplying it," says Karl Brauer, an auto industry analyst with Kelley Blue Book.

General Motors’ history hasn’t been especially kind to electric mobility. Its invention of the automatic starter helped kill the first wave of electric cars at the start of the 20th century. This is the company that experimented with battery power in the EV-1, only to recall the two-seater from its owners, crush them all, and pile the carcasses up in a junkyard. In the first years of the 21st century, while Toyota was making hybrids popular with the Prius, GM was hawking the Hummer.

Over the past decade, the Detroit giant has positioned itself for a different sort of future. First came the hybrid electric Chevy Volt. Then came GM’s great coup, the Chevy Bolt, the 200-mile, $30,000 electric car that hit market long before Tesla’s Model 3. GM is seriously pursuing semi-autonomous and fully driverless cars. It offers the first car on US roads with vehicle-to-vehicle communication capability. Now, it talks about its plans to eliminate vehicle pollution, congestion, and traffic deaths.

“GM has the ability to get all of us to that future so much faster,” Reuss says. Now it just has to deliver—and make enough money doing it to stick around for that future.

More electrifying news from the world of cars

Output: General Motors (GM) will add 20 battery-electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to its worldwide offering by 2023. The US's largest car maker will add two EV cars to its line-up within the next 18 months, with the other 18 electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles planned within six years. The models will be financed by profits from sales of SUVs and trucks in the US and China. "GM believes in an all-electric future," said the Detroit-based company's global product development chief, Mark Reuss. However, it is unclear when GM will make all its new models zero-emission vehicles.


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China accused of dumping e-bikes on Europe at rock-bottom prices
 China has been accused of flooding Europe with hundreds of thousands of cheap electric bicycles.

Imports of Chinese e-bikes to Europe have increased from almost zero in 2010 to an estimated 800,000 in 2017, according to the European Bicycle Manufacturers Association.

The industry group has had enough: It filed a complaint with the European Commission on Monday that accuses Chinese manufacturers of dumping e-bikes into the European market at rock bottom prices.

The complaint argues that subsidies offered by the Chinese government allow its manufacturers to sell the e-bikes in Europe for less than they cost to produce.

Chinese e-bikes sell for as little as $450 in Europe, while local products typically cost $1,500 to $2,000.

E-bikes, which are powered by batteries, remain something of a novelty in Europe. But they're big business in China, where sales have skyrocketed from roughly 1 million a year in the early 2000s to more than 30 million in 2016.

Analysts estimate that there are now between 150 million and 200 million e-bikes on Chinese roads.

But sales growth in China has slowed in recent months because of a boom in bike-sharing schemes and a crackdown on electric bikes in some cities.

Excess production is now being shipped to Europe, according to the European Bicycle Manufacturers Association. It said the imports would "annihilate European production within only a few years" if action is not taken.

The association cited an economic planning document produced by the Chinese government that "sets a clear 2020 goal that the 'export of electric bicycles will be dramatically increased.' "

Related: This electric bicycle can go up to 40 mph

CNNMoney contacted several major Chinese e-bike manufacturers, but none responded to requests for comment.

Global e-bike sales are expected to increase from $15.7 billion in 2016 to $24.3 billion by 2025, according to Navigant Research.

Conventional Chinese bicycles have been subject to EU anti-dumping tariffs since the early 1990s.

Output: The European Bicycle Manufacturers Association (EBMA) has filed a complaint with the European Commission accusing China of flooding Europe with hundreds of thousands of electric bikes at rock-bottom prices. The EBMA said government subsidies enabled Chinese manufacturers to sell e-bikes in Europe below cost. The rise of bike-sharing schemes and bans in some cities have slowed e-bike sales in China. The EBMA claims excess production is being shipped to Europe and European production will be wiped out unless action is taken. A Chinese e-bike costs about $450 in Europe, while locally-produced models are over $1,500.


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SSGA sees success with gender diversity ETF
 Just over 18 months old, the SPDR Gender Diversity Index ETF (NYSEArca: SHE) is proving to be a success story among exchange traded funds emphasizing environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles.

SHE seeks to track the performance of the SSGA Gender Diversity Index, which comprises listed U.S. large capitalization companies with the highest levels within their sectors of gender diversity on their boards of directors and in their senior leadership.

According to a 2015 MSCI study that explored global trends in gender diversity on corporate boards between December 2009 and August 2015, companies with at least three female board members outperformed others in overall return on equity by more than 36 percent.

SHE “offers an effective way to invest in firms that have a greater number of women represented in the upper echelons of their organizations relative to their sector peers,” according to Morningstar. “This exchange-traded fund’s index ranks large- and mid-cap U.S. stocks on a few ratios that measure the number of women to men in executive and board roles and targets those with the highest scores representing 10% of the collective market capitalization in each sector. While this approach could, in theory, lead to a lack of gender diversity by favoring firms with leadership teams principally composed of women, in practice, we’re a long way from this becoming an issue.”

SHE holds 170 stocks. The ETF’s largest sector weight is just over 20% to technology. Healthcare and consumer staples combine for over 31% of SHE’s roster. Consumer discretionary and financial stocks combine for 23% of the fund’s weight. SHE is up 11.2% year-to-date.

Output: State Street Global Advisors' SPDR Gender Diversity Index ETF has garnered more than $340m in assets over an 18 month span since its launch. The ETF gives investors an attractive, and reasonably cheap, way to invest in companies valuing gender diversity, according to Morningstar. The fund analysis firm also lauds the fact a portion of the expense ratio for the smart-beta fund is donated to a charity forwarding the cause of gender diversity and equality.


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Ensurem gains $12.5m from A-CAP to simplify insurance buying
 Ensurem, LLC, secures $12.25 million investment from A-CAP

Ensurem, LLC, an innovative technology and digital marketing platform dedicated to simplifying the process of buying insurance, announced today a $12.25 million capital commitment from and partnership with an affiliate of A-CAP, a New York City-based insurance holding company specializing in life and health insurance and related services.

This funding follows a successful angel investment round of $1.7 million led by AngelRush, a San Francisco-based investment firm that uses its proprietary direct-to-consumer digital engagement platform to empower partner companies.

A-CAP is an industry-leading financial platform that owns multiple insurance and financial businesses. A-CAP’s significant capital commitment will help Ensurem expand its capabilities in four main areas:

Digital storefront where consumers can easily research, shop and purchase life insurance policies, supplemental health coverage, ‘living insurance’, and other insurance-related products.

Digital customer acquisition technology and expertise.

Proprietary product platform used in the development of new insurance products for direct-to-consumer sales.

Third-party administrative services specializing in straight-through processing, providing insurance companies full back-office support in collaboration with Secure Administrative Solutions (SAS), A-CAP’s third-party administrator affiliate.

A-CAP’s insurance capabilities, combined with the digital marketing expertise of AngelRush and Ensurem’s own team of insurance and technology experts, will advance the company’s robust direct-to-consumer insurance platform.

“Our strategic partnership with A-CAP grants us access to third-party administration (TPA) services, reinsurance capabilities, and a wealth of knowledge in the insurance carrier space, all of which will help us meet our mission of providing consumers with a consolidated resource to learn about and secure life insurance and supplemental health-related protection online,” said David Rich, CEO and founder of Ensurem.

“Daily advancements in technology are changing consumer expectations of the insurance-buying process,” said Kenneth King, CEO of A-CAP. “The Insurtech space needs innovation and disruption to meet these growing consumer demands and we are confident that Ensurem can deliver an exceptional insurance-buying experience.”

For more information visit http://www.ensurem.com, http://www.a-capholdings.com and http://www.angelrush.com.

About Ensurem, LLC

Ensurem, LLC was launched in January 2016 with a two-fold mission of Awaring America™ about the value of life insurance and supplemental health products and providing a simplified buying process. Based in Tampa Bay, Florida, the company provides insurance-related products to consumers nationwide through its online platform. Ensurem offers several features to help customers live Life Optimized™, including direct-to-consumer products, a library of product guides and resources, and the Life Optimized Risk Assessment (LORA) tool.

About A-CAP

A-CAP is a holding company owning multiple insurance and financial businesses on its unique and synergistic platform. These businesses include primary insurance carriers, an investment adviser, an administrative services provider, reinsurance vehicles, and a marketing organization. With broad knowledge across the insurance and investment sectors, A-CAP’s management team has diverse experience and provides comprehensive services to policyholders, insurance company clients and capital partners. Launched in 2013, A-CAP is a privately held company with offices in New York, Charleston, Chicago, Salt Lake City and Omaha.

About AngelRush Ventures, LLC

AngelRush partners with passionate entrepreneurs and innovators to accelerate businesses to their fullest potential. Led by a team of successful entrepreneurs with decades of combined experience building companies and brands, AngelRush provides seed-stage funding, strategic advice and domain expertise to support its partnerships.

About Secure Administrative Solutions (SAS)

Established by Sentinel Security Life Insurance Company, an A-CAP portfolio company, in 2014, SAS is a licensed third-party administrator (TPA) providing efficient and effective administration for insurance companies of all sizes and across multiple product lines. SAS operates in over forty states.

###

Ensurem Contact:

Danielle Hutchins

dhutchins(at)ensurem(dot)com

727-451-5126

A-CAP Contact:

Kristen King

kristenking(at)a-capholdings(dot)com

929-383-7501

AngelRush Contact:

David Lukrich

dlukrich(at)angelrush(dot)com

415-779-2003

SAS Contact:

Mike Maughan

mmaughan(at)sslco(dot)com

801-478-4022

Output: New York-based financial platform A-CAP has poured $12.5m into insurance start-up Ensurem. Florida-based Ensurem aims to provide consumers with an easier way of purchasing life and health insurance policies. The recent funding follows an initial investment from San Francisco-based investor AngelRush, which also specialises in using a digital engagement platform to boost start-ups' viability to consumers.


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Enel launches 158 MW solar facility in Brazil
 Italian utility Enel SpA (BIT:ENEL) inaugurated on Thursday the 158-MW Bom Jesus da Lapa solar complex in Brazil's Bahia state.

The particular complex was developted by Enel's Brazilian subsidiary Enel Green Power Brasil Participacoes (EGPB). It is comprised of the 80-MW Bom Jesus da Lapa and 78-MW Lapa solar farms, the company said.

Bom Jesus, awarded back in August 2015 in a reserve energy acution, has the capacity to generate some 340 GWh of electricity per year, enough to meet the annual demand of 166,000 local homes and offset 198,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per year.

According to the local subsidiary's country manager, Carlo Zorzoli, this complex is the first one to enter commercial operation out of three planned by Enel for the state this year. Enel is investing a total of USD 685 million (EUR 580.9m) in the three projects, including Bom Jesus and the 254-MW Ituverava solar park, recently commissioned, as well as the 103-MW Horizonte facility, under construction.

Overall, the company has a renewables portfolio of 2,276 MW, of which 716 MW are from operational solar plants.

(USD 1 = EUR 0.848)

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!

Output: Italian utility Enel's Brazilian subsidiary Enel Green Power Brasil Participacoes has launched a 158 MW solar complex in Bom Jesus da Lapa. The facility encompasses the 80 MW Bom Jesus da Lapa farm and the 78 MW Lapa farm. The Bom Jesus farm can generate approximately 340 GWh of electricity annually, and would be able to supply 166,000 homes and offset 198,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions annually. It is the first of three solar projects in the region to begin commercial operation by Enel at the cost of $685m.


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Wind could provide 30% of Europe's energy needs by 2030
 A pair of reports released by WindEurope asserts that by 2030, 30% of the electricity consumed in Europe could be generated from the wind. The continent is on track to overhaul its energy infrastructure. According to the reports (Wind Energy in Europe: Outlook to 2020 and Wind Energy in Europe: Scenarios for 2030), the progress could potentially avoid the release of 382 tonnes (421 US tons) of CO2 emissions.

Bloomberg points out that 716,000 jobs could be created with these efforts. The wind power industry could see 351 billion euros ($417 billion) of investment by 2030.

For the next three years, Europe may see an average installation rate of an additional 12.6 GW per year. This would allow wind power alone to meet 16.5 percent of the continent's energy demand, with a total of 204 GW of wind-generated power. The goal for 2030 would see that capacity to reach 323 GW.

Individual European countries are taking big steps to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels by investing in and building renewable energy generating installations. The topographical diversity of the continent allows for a great deal of diversity in the ways energy can be generated. Scotland is leading in wind and tidal power generation, and the whole of the UK is taking advantage of the low cost of solar power to boost its renewable energy capabilities. All of this will amount to the continued decline of global reliance on fossil fuels and will help turn the tide in the fight against climate change.

Output: By 2030, around 30% of the electricity used in Europe could be generated from wind, according to the WindEurope association. The organisation’s latest reports have found that increased use of wind in the continent could cut CO2 emissions by 382 million tonnes. The focus on wind could create 716,000 jobs, said Bloomberg, on the strength of €351bn ($413bn) of investment by 2030. Europe could potentially see 12.6 GW of generating capacity added each year, with the resulting 204 GW of wind power meeting 16.5% of Europe’s energy demand. By 2030, it is hoped that capacity will reach 323 GW.


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Enel awarded 30-year concession for 380 MW hydro plant in Brazil
 Enel Brasil has been awarded a 30-year concession for the operational 380MW Volta Grande hydro power plant in the south-east of Brazil.

The concession follows the “Leilão de Concessões não prorrogadas” public auction organised by the Brazilian government through the Brazilian Electricity Regulatory Agency.

Enel said it is investing $445m in the hydro concession, which will bring its total hydro capacity in Brazil to 1.27GW.The company is expected to take over the facility in January, after which it will be operated by Enel’s renewable subsidiary Enel Green Power Brasil Participações.The plant has been operational since 1974 and produces 2.02 terawatt hours of electricity a year, Enel said.Enel Green Power head Antonio Cammisecra said: “This award further strengthens Enel Green Power’s consolidated foothold in Brazil, a country blessed with abundant natural resources, where we are already the leading player in the solar power market.”

Output: Energy firm Enel Brasil has been granted a 30-year concession for the management of a 380 MW hydro power plant in Volta Grande, Brazil, following a public auction. Enel will invest $445m in the plant, which will extend its hydro capacity across Brazil to 1.27 GW. The firm will take over the plant in January 2018 and will manage it through its renewable subsidiary Enel Green Power Brasil Participações. The plant produces 2.02 TWh of electricity annually and has been in operation since 1974.


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Airbnb taps into China's baby boom and growing middle class
 Thanks to the surge of newborns, brought about by China’s second-child policy, home-sharing sites such as Airbnb are becoming increasingly popular. Photo: AFP

Output: The increasing number of children being born in China is contributing to a rise in demand for accommodation-sharing sites like Airbnb. The country's government relaxed its one-child policy at the start of 2016, leading to the largest number of births recorded for 17 years. Travel agents in the growing domestic tourism market report that families are increasingly looking for family-friendly accommodation with kitchens and other facilities that allow parents and their children to stay together more comfortably. The Chinese branch of Airbnb also cites rising incomes as a factor of the higher demand.


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Deloitte finds tenant apps cuts 50% of time taken to process
 Die Frage nach den quantifizierbaren Effekten einer Mieter-App lautet damit präzisiert: Wieviele MAK’s in welchen Geschäftsbereichen und -prozessen werden durch den Einsatz einer Mieter-App entlastet?

Hierzu inhärent ist das Verständnis, wie Mieter ihre Mieter-App im Kontakt mit dem Vermieter nutzen und welche Themen im Vordergrund stehen. Auskunft geben kann eine Auswertung von Allthings zu den in der Mieter-App Funktion „Service Center“ kommunizierten Themen.

Zum Auswertungszeitpunkt waren insgesamt 5.000 Nutzer registriert. In die Auswertung floss nur die Nutzung der Funktion „Service Center“ ein, nicht die der übrigen Funktionen wie Buchungsfunktion, Wohnungsdokumentation o.ä.. An dieser Stelle sei angemerkt, dass auch wenn Mieter-App Funktionen wie Pinnwand und Co. zunächst keinen direkten Effekt auf die Prozesseffizient des Vermieters haben, sie von besonderer Bedeutung für die Akzeptanz und Nutzung einer Mieter-App sind. Je mehr Mieter sich registrieren und vor allem je häufiger sie ihre Mieter-App nutzen, desto leichter können angestrebte Effizienzgewinne realisiert werden.

Die Analysen der „Services Center“-Funktion zeigen, dass – bis auf Fragen zur Handhabe der Mieter-App – ausschließlich klassische Mieter-Vermieter Themen tangiert werden. Vor allem für Schadensmeldungen nutzen die Mieter ihr digitales Service-Center.

Output: Housing companies or landlords using a tenant app could cut their damage claim processing times by up to half, according to a study by consultancy Deloitte and German firm Allthings. The study also revealed 80% of damage reports could be sent via a tenant app, while landlords could notify all tenants affected with a single push notification. The report concluded that the introduction of an app could pave the way for increased digitalisation of other services.


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ESG-focused investors scrutinise cyber policies
 Cybersecurity is moving up the agenda for institutional investors and their money managers as a responsible investment consideration, as several high-profile attacks and breaches bring the issue to the front of investors' minds.

Sources at retirement plans and money management firms said the issue is being considered in particular when thinking through environmental, social and governance factors within investment portfolios.

Some investors already are weaving cybersecurity into their expectations when it comes to money management. "Cybersecurity is increasingly important for investors, companies and regulators," said Diandra Soobiah, London-based head of responsible investment at the £1.8 billion ($2.4 billion) National Employment Savings Trust, London. "Cyberattacks are part of a new reality for companies. The significant economic costs of such attacks make this a clear risk issue for NEST, and we expect companies to report on how they manage it."

Executives at the multiemployer defined contribution plan also want to see company boards taking a proactive stance on cybersecurity. "This will be a future area of engagement for us and we plan to work collaboratively with other organizations on our engagement activities," added Ms. Soobiah.

Others are only at the start of their work. "Many institutional investors are just beginning to look at the governance issues around cybersecurity," said Fiona Reynolds, managing director at the Principles for Responsible Investment in London. "We have seen all too clearly in recent months the enormous reputational and financial consequences when adequate safeguards are not put in place to secure sensitive information."

A number of recent breaches, such as of the U.K.'s National Health Service and U.S. credit bureau Equifax Inc., demonstrate the potential impact on portfolios, said sources. David Averre, head of credit analysis at Insight Investment in London, said from a fixed-income perspective, cybersecurity so far has not been a material financial issue. "However, there have been a few instances of late which should raise some red flags for investors."

He cited the Equifax incident, which saw its stock price drop 27%, market capitalization decrease by $4.6 billion and company bonds lose 6% of their value.

While questions are not yet coming from investors, "following Equifax, I would be surprised if we did not start receiving questions from clients and how we are trying to gauge where the risks are in the companies in which we invest," he said.

To enhance investor understanding, the PRI is coordinating a group of institutional investors, representing more than $10 trillion in assets, to engage in dialogue with listed large-capitalization companies, added Olivia Mooney, London-based senior manager, corporate governance, at the PRI.

"It will build investors' understanding about how their portfolio companies are positioned to be resilient to cyberthreats and will seek to improve companies' disclosure about their cyberrisks, policies and governance. Investors don't need to have highly technical expertise. At this stage, they need to start the conversation to be assured companies are considering and managing their risk effectively."

Output: Institutions focusing on environmental, social and governance factors when picking investments are scrutinising company's cyber polices. Such investors want to see firms take a proactive stance when it comes to cyber security issues, recognising cyber risk is an important factor of corporates to pay attention to. Institutional investors are also recognising the damage a major cyber breach can have on a company's stock performance.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

Input:
Cryptocurrencies have potential to replace cash: IMF's Lagarde
 Central Banking and Fintech—A Brave New World?

Governor, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen—Good morning!

Thank you, Mark [Carney], for that kind introduction, and thank you to the Bank of England for inviting me to this wonderful event.

This is a moment to celebrate 20 years of independence during which the Bank of England has been a stabilizing force for the U.K. economy, inspiring others in the world of central banking—not least because of your guidance, Mark.

This is also a moment to learn from our experiences, build on the progress made so far, and look into the future—to the next 20 years—as our journey continues.

This morning, I came up Fleet Street, which always feels like a journey through history. In the Middle Ages, that street was an important center of commerce, much of which has now moved online. By the 19th century, the street was home to ticker machines and reporters racing each other to make the evening papers. That world, too, has largely moved online.

And much has changed for the bankers and policymakers here in the City of London. But that is only the beginning. Let us spin the hands ofBig Ben forward to 2040 to catch a glimpse of their world. We might see that:

· Cars have disappeared, because people are moving about in hovering drones, or “pods,” which elegantly avoid each other in the morning rush hour.

· One of those pods carries the central bank governor, who recently started her second term. As part of her morning routine, she swipes through a hologram of news videos curated by a digital assistant, before arriving at Threadneedle Street.

· The governor disembarks, walks up to the columned façade, opens the door and…

Who will she encounter inside the building? Are there economists sitting at desks, debating policy choices around a table? Or is there an intelligent machine making decisions, setting rates, and issuing money?

In other words, how will fintech change central banking over the next generation? That is the focus of my remarks today.

I would like to consider the possible impact of three innovations—virtual currencies,new models of financial intermediation, and artificial intelligence.

Some of these innovations have already found their way into our wallets, smartphones, and financial systems. But that is only the beginning.

Are you ready to jump on my pod and explore the future together? As one of your fellow Londoners—Mary Poppins—might have said: bring along a pinch of imagination!

1. Virtual currencies

Let us start with virtual currencies. To be clear, this is not about digital payments in existing currencies—through Paypal and other “e-money” providers such as Alipay in China, or M-Pesa in Kenya.

Virtual currencies are in a different category, because they provide their own unit of account and payment systems. These systems allow for peer-to-peer transactions without central clearinghouses, without central banks.

For now, virtual currencies such as Bitcoin pose little or no challenge to the existing order of fiat currencies and central banks. Why? Because they are too volatile, too risky, too energy intensive, and because the underlying technologies are not yet scalable. Many are too opaque for regulators; and some have been hacked.

But many of these are technological challenges that could be addressed over time. Not so long ago, some experts argued that personal computers would never be adopted, and that tablets would only be used as expensive coffee trays. So I think it may not be wise to dismiss virtual currencies.

Better value for money?

For instance, think of countries with weak institutions and unstable national currencies. Instead of adopting the currency of another country—such as the U.S. dollar—some of these economies might see a growing use of virtual currencies. Call it dollarization 2.0.

IMF experience shows that there is a tipping point beyond which coordination around a new currency is exponential. In the Seychelles, for example, dollarization jumped from 20 percent in 2006 to 60 percent in 2008.

And yet, why might citizens hold virtual currencies rather than physical dollars, euros, or sterling? Because it may one day be easier and safer than obtaining paper bills, especially in remote regions. And because virtual currencies could actually become more stable.

For instance, they could be issued one-for-one for dollars, or a stable basket of currencies. Issuance could be fully transparent, governed by a credible, pre-defined rule, an algorithm that can be monitored…or even a “smart rule” that might reflect changing macroeconomic circumstances.

So in many ways, virtual currencies might just give existing currencies and monetary policy a run for their money. The best response by central bankers is to continue running effective monetary policy, while being open to fresh ideas and new demands, as economies evolve.

Better payment services?

For example, consider the growing demand for new payment services in countries where the shared, decentralized service economy is taking off.

This is an economy rooted in peer-to-peer transactions, in frequent, small-value payments, often across borders.

Four dollars for gardening tips from a lady in New Zealand, three euros for an expert translation of a Japanese poem, and 80 pence for a virtual rendering of historic Fleet Street: these payments can be made with credit cards and other forms of e-money. But the charges are relatively high for small-value transactions, especially across borders.

Instead, citizens may one day prefer virtual currencies, since they potentially offer the same cost and convenience as cash—no settlement risks, no clearing delays, no central registration, no intermediary to check accounts and identities. If privately issued virtual currencies remain risky and unstable, citizens may even call on central banks to provide digital forms of legal tender.

So, when the new service economy comes knocking on the Bank of England’s door, will you welcome it inside? Offer it tea—and financial liquidity?

2. New models of financial intermediation

This brings us to the second leg of our pod journey—new models of financial intermediation.

One possibility is the break-up, or unbundling, of banking services. In the future, we might keep minimal balances for payment services on electronic wallets.

The remaining balances may be kept in mutual funds, or invested in peer-to-peer lending platforms with an edge in big data and artificial intelligence for automatic credit scoring.

This is a world of six-month product development cycles and constant updates, primarily of software, with a huge premium on simple user-interfaces and trusted security. A world where data is king. A world of many new players without imposing branch offices.

Some would argue that this puts a question mark on the fractional banking model we know today, if there are fewer bank deposits and money flows into the economy through new channels.

How would monetary policy be set in this context?

Today’s central banks typically affect asset prices through primary dealers, or big banks, to which they provide liquidity at fixed prices—so-called open-market operations. But if these banks were to become less relevant in the new financial world, and demand for central bank balances were to diminish, could monetary policy transmission remain as effective?

If anything, central banks may well have to increase the number of counterparties to their operations. The Bank of England is already leading the way by including large broker-dealers and central counterparty clearing houses.

All this, of course, has regulatory implications. More counterparties imply more firms falling under the central bank’s regulatory umbrella—which is the price to pay for liquidity on a rainy day. Whether the future holds more or less rain is an open question. Still, better regulating shadow banks looks all the more pressing. The FSB has already made progress in this area under your leadership, Mark.

The remit of central banks will grow, and with it, perhaps, public scrutiny and political pressures. Independence—at least to set monetary policy—will need further defenses and require even clearer communication.

We may also see a shift in regulatory practices. Traditionally, regulators have focused on overseeing well-defined entities. But as new service providers come on stream in new shapes and forms, fitting these into buckets may not be so easy. Think of a social media company that is offering payments services without managing an active balance sheet. What label should we stick on that?

All this is good for lawyers, but not so good for regulators. The regulators will likely have to further expand their focus, from financial entities to financial activities—while possibly also becoming experts in assessing the soundness and security of algorithms. Easier said than done.

Cooperation is key

To make things smoother—at least a bit—we need dialogue. Between experienced regulators and those regulators that are just beginning to tackle fintech. Between policymakers, investors, and financial services firms. And between countries.

Reaching across borders will be critical as the focus of regulation widens—from national entities to borderless activities, from your local bank branch to quantum-encrypted global transactions.

Because of our global membership of 189 countries, the IMF is an ideal platform for these discussions. Technology knows no borders: what is home, what is host? How can we avoid regulatory arbitrage and a race to the bottom? This is about the IMF’s mandate for economic and financial stability, and the safety of our global payments and financial infrastructure.

The stakes—and gains—from cooperation are high. We want no holes in the global financial safety net, however much it gets stretched and reshaped.

I am convinced that the IMF has a strong role to play in this respect. But the Fund will also have to be open to change, from bringing new parties to the table, to considering a role for a digital version of the SDR.

In other words, the IMF is in for the pod-ride.

3. Artificial intelligence

Which brings us to the third and final leg—the transformative effect of artificial intelligence.

Will our governor in 2040 walk into the Bank to polish a monetary policy-setting machine? Will your prediction, Andy [Haldane], of 15 million jobs being automated in the U.K., affect the Bank and its world-class staff?

One thing is clear: we always have more data. Some estimates suggest that 90 percent of the data available today was generated in the past two years. [1] This is not just information on output, unemployment and prices, but also behavioral data on the quirks and irrationalities of the homo economicus.

Thanks to smartphones and the internet, this data is now abundant, ubiquitous, and increasingly valuable as we pair it with artificial intelligence.

Artificial intelligence is taking immense strides. Over the past year, some of the world’s best players of Go, the ancient board game, have lost to a self-learning computer. For many, that day of reckoning was supposed to be decades away. The machine learned tactics, recognized patterns, and optimized its game—better than we could.

Clearly, the economy is vastly more complex than a game of Go. But over the next generation, machines will almost certainly play a larger role—in assisting policy-makers, offering real-time forecasts, spotting bubbles, and uncovering complex macro-financial links.

But let me reassure you, humans will still be needed.

For one, there is immense uncertainty about the economy. Changes in basic economic relationships need to be spotted, and risks evaluated. Judgment and constant questioning by peers, diversity of opinions, and even a few maverick spirits, will remain essential to good policy. But what if the machine could do that too?

Next is the question of communication. Good monetary policy, as we know, is about story telling. Policy is effective if it can be explained clearly so the public can form expectations about future policy. Could machines really explain their decisions in plain English?

Even if that hurdle could be overcome, a last one remains. Even with the best algorithms and machines, targets will be missed, crises will occur, mistakes will be made. But can machines really be held accountable—to the young couple unable to buy a house, to the working mother finding herself unemployed?

Accountability is key. Without it, we cannot have independence; how else to bestow so much power in a technocratic organization? And without independence, policy is bound to go astray, as this conference reminds us loud and clear.

So no, I do not see machines taking over monetary policy. In 2040, the governor walking into the Bank will be of flesh and bones, and behind the front door she will find people, at least a few.

So there will always be an Old Lady living in Threadneedle Street. [2] And I hope you agree that it is often enlightening to speak to a lady of a certain age!

Conclusion

As our pod journey comes to an end, some of you may wonder about my upbeat tone. For many, this new world of central banking is less Mary Poppins, and more Aldous Huxley: a “brave new world,” much like the one described in Huxley’s famous novel.

I believe that we—as individuals and communities—have the capacity to shape a technological and economic future that works for all. We have a responsibility to make this work.

That is why I prefer Shakespeare’s evocation of the brave new world in The Tempest: “ O wonder! How many goodly creatures are there here! How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world .”

Thank you.

[1] IMB (2017), “Ten Key Marketing Trends for 2017,” available at https://www-01.ibm.com/common/ssi/cgi-bin/ssialias?htmlfid=WRL12345USEN [2] Allusion to “the Old Lady of Threadneedle street,” namely the Bank of England.

Output: Future technological development may render cryptocurrencies more stable and safer than physical money, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde has said. The lack of settlement risk, clearing delays, central registration and intermediaries means citizens may one day ask central banks to provide a digital version of legal tender for use in small-value transactions, Lagarde told a Bank of England conference. She encouraged central bankers to be open to new monetary policies as economies evolve, citing the potential for cryptocurrencies to be used as a transparent option for countries with developing currencies or unstable institutions.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

Input:
Scientists create biofuel from waste water used to make olive oil
 In France, scientists at Mulhouse Institute of Materials Science are finding ways to use olive oil wastewater, a harmful pollutant, for useful products, like biofuel and fertilizer. They mixed wastewater created from olive oil production with cypress sawdust, another waste product that is common in the Mediterranean, where 97 percent of the world’s olive oil is produced. The mixture was dried and water collected as it evaporated. The water was clean and used for crop irrigation and the dried material was exposed to high temperatures without oxygen (pyrolysis) which caused it to decompose into combustible gas and charcoal pellets. The gas was then collected and condensed into a biobased oil that could be used as a heat source and the charcoal used as crop fertilizer. In field tests, they found that vegetation grown with the charcoal biofertilizer had improved plant growth than those without the biofertilizer.

Output: Researchers at Mulhouse Institute of Materials Science in France have developed a way to transform the polluting waste water that derives from olive oil production into fertiliser and biofuel. Olive mills in Mediterranean countries produce about eight billion gallons of waste water, much of which is disposed of irresponsibly. The scientists embedded the waste water into another waste product, cypress sawdust, then exposed the material to high temperatures without oxygen, a process known as pyrolysis. The material then decomposes into combustible gases and charcoal, the former of which can be condensed into biofuel and the latter used as a fertiliser.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

Input:
Scientists create biofuel from waste water used to make olive oil
 During processing, olives are crushed and mixed with water in mills. The oil is separated out of this mixture, and the dirty water and solid residue are discarded. In Mediterranean countries, where 97 percent of the world's olive oil is produced, olive mills generate almost 8 billion gallons of this wastewater annually. Disposing of it has become problematic. Dumping it into rivers and streams can potentially contaminate drinking water and harm aquatic life. Pumping it onto farm land damages the soil and reduces crop yields. Some researchers have tried burning the wastewater with mixtures of solid waste from the mills or waste wood. But these approaches have either been too costly or have produced excessive air pollution. Mejdi Jeguirim and colleagues took a different approach. They wanted to see if they could convert olive mill wastewater (OMW) from a pollutant into sustainable products for practical use. The researchers first embedded OMW into cypress sawdust – another common Mediterranean waste product. Then they rapidly dried this mixture and collected the evaporated water, which they say could be safely used to irrigate crops. Next, the researchers subjected the OMW-sawdust mixture to pyrolysis, a process in which organic material is exposed to high temperatures in the absence of oxygen. Without oxygen, the material doesn't combust, but it does thermally decompose into combustible gases and charcoal. The researchers collected and condensed the gas into bio-oil, which could eventually be used as a heat source for OMW-sawdust drying and the pyrolysis process. Finally, they collected the charcoal pellets, which were loaded with potassium, phosphorus, nitrogen and other nutrients extracted from the breakdown of OMW-sawdust mixture during pyrolysis. Used as biofertilizers, the researchers found that after five weeks these pellets significantly improved plant growth, including larger leaves, compared to vegetation grown without them. The authors acknowledge funding from the PHC Utique program of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Higher Education and Research; the Tunisian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in the GEDURE project; and the MICA Carnot Institute. " Olive Mill Wastewater: From a Pollutant to Green Fuels, Agricultural Water Source and Biofertilizer

Output: Researchers at Mulhouse Institute of Materials Science in France have developed a way to transform the polluting waste water that derives from olive oil production into fertiliser and biofuel. Olive mills in Mediterranean countries produce about eight billion gallons of waste water, much of which is disposed of irresponsibly. The scientists embedded the waste water into another waste product, cypress sawdust, then exposed the material to high temperatures without oxygen, a process known as pyrolysis. The material then decomposes into combustible gases and charcoal, the former of which can be condensed into biofuel and the latter used as a fertiliser.