Good morning and happy Thursday. Let’s get stuck in, shall we?
1. Kia Australia partners with Infinitev to recycle EV batteries
Kia Australia has announced a collaboration with Infinitev, with the goal of reusing, repurposing, and recycling electric vehicle batteries. The goal is to put used EV batteries to use, even if their quality has degraded over time. Battery modules are planned to be split into grades, to build batteries for EV traction, to be repurposed for energy storage systems, or to be completely recycled and have valuable materials recovered. “What happens to an electric vehicle battery at the end of its life is an important consideration when it comes to EV buyers, so this is a very significant program,” Kia Australia CEO Damien Meredith said. “We are currently in the very early stages of developing a solution tailored to Kia customers that will allow their electric vehicle batteries to be refurbished instead of discarded.”
1. Quantum computing training for TAFEs
TAFE students in Australia will soon have access to quantum computing training, thanks to fully subsidised licenses for Q-CTRL’s Black Opal quantum educational technology. The rollout of this program to TAFEs is expected to commence in 2024, with plans to expand to other countries. “We need employees with backgrounds from machining and coding through to business and politics to support the growth of the quantum sector,” said Q-CTRL CEO Michael Biercuk. “As a flexible tool crafted specifically for learners seeking to enter the field from adjacent areas, we’re excited to help remove barriers from the realisation of a truly diverse quantum workforce through broadened access to Black Opal.”
3. Pour one out for the banks that invested in Musk’s Twitter
The banks that lent Elon Musk $US13 billion to purchase Twitter last year have been forced to hang on to that debt as investor interest in the platform has cratered, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal. It’s been long suspected that Twitter, now X, isn’t making money, and sources told the Journal that the banks associated with the sale are expecting a hit of $US2 billion when they sell their debts at a loss. These banks reportedly hoped to sell the debt by early October but are beginning preparations to offload some of it.
4. Apple’s AirPods lineup revamp coming in 2024 and 2025
Apple’s AirPods range will likely be completely refreshed over 2024 and 2025, according to a report from Bloomberg. Following the introduction of the USB-C AirPods Pro 2, it’s likely that the AirPods and AirPods Max revamps will ship in 2024, while another AirPods Pro revamp will arrive in 2025, with the switch to USB-C headlining changes across the lineup, along with stylistic changes.
5. Apple supports right to repair now
Staying on Apple, surprise! Apple, once a perpetual thorn in the side of frustrated repair technicians across the country, now says it supports U.S. right-to-repair legislation. Apple Vice President Brian S. Naumann made the shocking proclamation during an online right-to-repair event hosted by the Biden Administration this week. “Apple supports a uniform federal law that balances repairability with product integrity, data security, usability, and physical safety,” Naumann said. What a twist.
BONUS ITEM: Good job, Eli!
#KillersOfTheFlowerMoon is Eli the owl’s first movie role 🦉
— Culture Crave 🍿 (@CultureCrave) October 25, 2023
She beat out 5 other owls for the part and Leonardo DiCaprio took a break from filming to watch her scenes pic.twitter.com/ugETpAAI61