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Europe’s first “lightning hunter” has generated striking animations of severe storms hitting the Earth.  Built by Italian firm Leonardo, the system is the first satellite instrument that can continuously detect lightning across Europe and Africa. The imager is comprised of four powerful cameras. Each of them can capture 1,000 images per second, day and night, and detect a single lightning bolt faster than the...

It’s summertime and the peak holiday period is upon us. Global air travel looks set to return to its pre-Covid levels this year, representing a return to the air for both business travellers and holiday-makers. And, sometimes, travellers might tick both boxes. Following the provisions made for remote working during the pandemic, more and more work is being done by distributed teams and remote...

Humanity has always relied on a revolution in materials to advance to the next stage of civilisation. Dutch nanoparticle technology startup VSParticle says it is on the verge of opening up a century’s worth of material innovation in the next 10 years, helping, well, to save the planet.  Co-founder and CEO Aaike van Vugt is convinced that in order to reach our targets of...

Emmanuel Macron has a new scapegoat for the riots engulfing France. As violent protests sparked by the fatal police shooting of a teenager spread across his nation, the president first blamed social networks and parents, before pointing the finger at a beloved boogeyman: video games. “It sometimes feels like some of them re-live in the streets the video games that have intoxicated them,” Macron...

Following its upcoming exit from France, quick commerce startup Getir is losing yet another European market: Spain. According to Spanish trade union CCOO, Getir failed to raise sufficient capital in a recent funding round. As a result, it will cease operations in the country and lay off its entire workforce of 1,560 employees. “We condemn the disastrous business management of Getir, which has not...

Artificial intelligence sure is keeping the post office busy. After a recent flurry of open letters about runaway AI, unregulated AI, and apocalyptic AI, another missive arrived on the EU’s doorstep today. In this case, however, the signatories have raised a contrary concern. Rather than call for more rules, they fear there will soon be too many. Their target is the impending AI Act. Billed...

ESA’s mission to unravel the mysteries of the dark universe is set for launch. Following a one-year delay caused by the Ukraine invasion, the Euclid space telescope is scheduled for takeoff on July 1 at 5:11PM CEST time from Cape Canaveral in Florida, US. Named after the famous Greek mathematician, the telescope will embark on a month-long journey to reach its destination at a...

Two Italian researchers have died after a solar-powered hybrid car prototype they were test-driving exploded last week near the city of Naples. The vehicle, a rejigged VW Polo, was being developed as part of an EU-funded project to convert old combustion engine cars into solar-powered hybrids. The prototype caught alight last Friday during a test drive, leaving the two occupants in critical condition. Maria...

Let’s face it — climate change is humanity’s greatest screw-up. We’ve known about it for almost a century. The science is clear. And yet, we’ve done nothing. It’s a f**king embarrassment.  Now, finally, global leaders are scrambling to clean up the mess. But, even though most of the climate solutions we need already exist, we can’t seem to get our arses in gear to...

Cultivated seafood has edged closer to our plates after a German startup bagged fresh cash to bring the produce to market. The Berlin-based Bluu Seafood this week announced it’s raised €16m in Series A funding. The company now plans to focus on gaining regulatory approval for its lab-grown cuisine, which is grown from fish cells. According to Bluu, the process protects oceans, prevents harming...

The digital euro is edging closer to reality, despite concerns over the project’s privacy risks and functionality. The European Commission on Wednesday proposed a legal framework for the electronic currency. Under the draft legislation, digital euros would be accepted for transactions anywhere in the eurozone, but cash would remain safeguarded as a form of payment. It would then be up to the European Central...

Like a runaway train, the tech sector’s layoff spree shows no sign of hitting the brakes in 2023. Layoffs.fyi found that between January and May this year, more than 200,000 people around the world found themselves on the wrong end of the pink slip. Echoing through the industry like a gong are the layoffs from big tech. Silicon Valley giants collectively slashed over 104,000...

Negotiators representing the European Parliament and EU countries struck a deal this week on a new set of rules governing how individuals and businesses access and share data in the bloc.  The Data Act, proposed by the European Commission last year, aims to give users more control over the data generated from internet-connected devices and protect them against illegal data transfers.   The new legislation...

The UK’s dream of having the world’s first commercial nuclear fusion power plant has taken a digital turn. As part of plans to put fusion energy on the grid by 2040, a digital twin of the reactor is now being built. The virtual model will be used to design the power plant, which aims to unleash the immense promise of fusion energy. With the potential...

Flying cars have captured the public imagination for decades, but have yet to enter the mainstream. However, with investors pouring cash into the sector, could the 2020s be the decade when sci-fi vision becomes reality? German startup Lilium certainly hopes so.  The startup announced this week that the design of its all-electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) jet has been approved by the US...

AI’s use in travel apps is nothing new — just think about the destination or hotel recommendations you get when booking a trip. But recent advances in generative AI are further shaking the sector. Booking.com is the latest major travel agent to test the potential of the tech. Starting on June 28, the company is offering a beta AI trip planner, built upon its...

Some of the world’s leading human and robot minds are heading to the United Nations. At a UN summit in Geneva next week, tech luminaries ranging from futurist Ray Kurzweil to DeepMind COO Lila Ibrahim will discuss AI for good. It’s a stellar lineup of speakers, but the real stars in our eyes are the robots. Over 50 of the beasts — the majority from Europe...

Aiming to ensure the development of trustworthy AI, EU member states, the Commission, and 128 partners have committed €220mn to establish four new testing and experimentation facilities (TEFs) within the bloc. These TEFs are large-scale physical and virtual facilities, where AI-based software and hardware technologies can be tested in real-world environments. They will also act as a “safety filter” between emerging digital technologies and...

Being green can make a company look good––and who wouldn’t want to work for a business that says it’s doing a stellar job with sustainability?  But in a world of greenwashing (or even greencrowding, greenhushing and greenshifting), consumers and workers are asking more questions about the green promises that companies are making.  That’s particularly the case with Gen Z workers, who are the future...

EU member states have approved draft legislation allowing governments to spy on journalists in the name of “national security.”  The Council published a draft of the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) last week that would extend media surveillance powers, including placing spyware on journalists’ phones. The original purpose of the EMFA was to safeguard media independence and pluralism. First presented by the Commission last...

A research team, led by the University of Cambridge, has developed a novel computer memory design, which promises to significantly improve performance while reducing the energy demands of internet and communications technologies. As per the university, AI, algorithms, internet usage, and other data-driven technologies are estimated to require over 30% of our global electricity consumption within the next decade. “To a large extent, this...

Hamburg-based 1KOMMA5° is the latest startup to join the expanding club of climate tech unicorns, after bagging €430m in fresh funding.   Founded just 23 months ago, the startup’s main product is Heartbeat, an IoT device that acts as the air traffic control of your home’s energy system. The device connects your solar panels with other energy infrastructure such as energy storage, car chargers,...

The Vision Pro arrived with great fanfare. At the launch event in California on June 5, Apple CEO Tim Cook described the new headset as a “revolutionary” device that heralds a “new era of spatial computing”. Bold claims indeed, but Apple’s track record lends them credibility.  The tech giant has already redefined music players, tablets, laptops, desktops, smartwatches, and headphones. Analysts are now proclaiming an...

Cultivated meat is on its way to American plates — and European startups want a spot in the kitchen. In a landmark moment for the sector, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has given two companies approval to sell lab-grown meat, which is made by taking cells from living animals. After extraction, the cells are placed in a bioreactor and grown into muscle tissue....