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DYSON, THE UK COMPANY best known for its vacuum cleaners and other household appliances, has invested in a company that aims to improve battery life.
It has invested €14.2 million in Sakti3 which claims its solid-state batteries offers about twice as much power as a standard lithium-ion battery.
According to MIT Technology Review, it achieves this by using new materials and manufacturing techniques to improve its storage capacity.
Sakti3 uses new materials and manufacturing techniques to achieve higher energy density. The company’s battery does away with the flammable liquid electrolyte used in conventional lithium-ion batteries, which makes it feasible to use a different set of high-energy storage materials.
Solid-state batteries can be miniaturised and tend to have a longer shelf-life than standard batteries. They can withstand high temperatures meaning they can use materials that would normally be too dangerous to use in a traditional lithium-ion battery to increase the amount of energy stored.
While the initial applications for this technology will first appear in Dyson products, it could be used for other devices such as smartphones, tablets, and electric cars. Sakti3 says its methods allows “high quality, large scale production” which can be done at a lower cost.
While device technology quickly improves with every passing year, battery technology has struggled to keep up. The only way to improve battery life is to increase its size meaning you either choose a device that’s thin and light but only lasts a day, get a device with a bigger battery but is thicker and heavier, or buy an external battery pack.
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Aodhan O Riordain & Bacik shouting that the Left must align & that the Soc Dem’s need to amalgamate with Labour & the first action by Labour, is that they pull out of talks on the issues in DCC. Labour want it their way & no other way, using other parties to hijack their voters, to cover their own failures. Labour forgot the Irish people & workers a long time ago.
@SV3tN8M4: no one in Labour has said that they should merge with the Soc Dems.
There should be no LPT on your primary residence, property tax should only be implemented on second + properties, it is a scandal that government is allowed to tax the family home, people pay tax’s on the purchase of the family home and it should not be subject to other forms of tax.
@silvery moon: Why do you want to punish renters (a group that are already paying more for housing than home owners)? Also, does your plan get the same levels of income in or, if there is a shortfall, how would you fund local authorities to make up the difference.
@silvery moon: agreed. Just like Inheritance Tax increases that this Government introduced way back because of The Emergency that does not now exist
Labour. The “Left wing progressive” party that wanted to championed the failed water charges, and now wants to increase LPT.
@Sean Stevenson: Exactly, in contrast to the so called left who object to progressive taxes. It is absolutely clear that LPT increases equality, but most of the left jumped on the populist bandwagon on that issue.
@Sean Stevenson: Most left wing parties in Europe support water charges. One thing about water charges and property tax is that, unlike income tax, there are no schemes for the rich to avoid it. Also people who are tax resident abroad still have to pay them on properties here.
The “left wing” mask slips off Labour once again.
@Rochelle Hart: No, any left wing party across Europe supports property taxes as it means richer people pay more. It’s the Irish “left wing” parties that are opposed to it because in their heads the working people/unemployed shouldn’t pay any taxes and “the rich” should pay for it all. If you support left wing policies (I would see myself as centre left for most things), e.g. state owned utilities, social safety nets, free education, then you agree with higher taxes to pay for it, if you want lower taxes then you are right of centre.
@The next small thing: Well said.
@Jack Hayes: exactly. It’s right wing and populist parties who want to reduce tax. What they never point out is that no money means no services. A great situation for the well off who benefit more from lower taxes and who buy their way onwards and upwards. So, lower taxes for the less well off, higher taxes for the well off is the only way to guarantee a degree of fairness. Anything else is both stupid and unjust.
@The next small thing: except that property tax doesn’t mean that the rich pay more.
Poor people with low incomes can be living in urban areas that have become fashionable and in high demand.
It doesn’t mean they can afford to pay more tax than someone in a mansion outside the city
@The next small thing: Except the LPT paid in Dublin does not go to Dublin, it goes into a central pot and is dealth out by central government. If Dublin received the money it pays in, we would have no problem!
@The next small thing: Factually, LPT yields more from ordinary home property than from the higher value property owners. Its a numbers factor.
Off shoring is an issue needing international solutions, but the state should tighten this tax avoidance haemorrage.
The problem as I understand it is if all the LPT that was collected in Dublin was actually spent in Dublin, There would be plenty of money to cover all Dublins needs
The home tax has to go.
If anyone can charge you to live in your own home then you do not really own it.
It is entirely immoral to tax a person’s home.
It has to go.
@ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere: You’ve got my vote. Certainly tax second and third homes, but not the family homes.
Their hands in your pockets.
The smoked salmon socialists of the liebour party have a liking for wasting other people’s money.
The average family income home is already over taxed in Dublin due to the high cost of property when compared to some rural areas. The only break that can be given is to go for the lowest rate possible and even this does not balance out the amount paid per square foot when compared to many rural properties. Only a national flat rate can redress this imbalance, which would ensure that a similar amount would be paid on similar properties regardless of location. Yet Labour what to increase the tax the family home in Dublin.
@Niall O’Cofaigh: How perverse that Labour wants to penalise homeowners for house inflation.
Many old people on low incomes live in notionally high value homes that they can barely heat or afford to live in, and many young people live in overpriced new homes with high mortgages. And a so-called socialist party wants to penalise them further with higher taxes.
Labour are simply the political wing of the elite and the teacher’s unions.
@Niall O’Cofaigh: I agree that the current property tax system is wrong (should be on site value) however surely a flat rate is worse as it would mean that someone in a small rural cottage in Leitrim pays the same as someone living in a mansion in Ballsbridge.
@Thomas Sheridan: Teachers, if they are fortunate to own or paying a mortgage on one, also pay LPT, but what you imply has validity ,Labour has drifted into the niche public sector for its support base.
Going forward people don’t vote labour….. simple
It is worth mentioning that the LPT gooms can come after you for perceived under-valuation back-dated to 2013 if dealing with probate or wills or just selling home.
Doesn’t matter if had been living in the house for 45 years, had no intent to sell, never had a reason to keep track of property prices, they can still come after the dwellers for more money, or the deceased.
The LPT as its currently structured is an unfair and unequal tax. The area I live in is predominantly housing built in the 50s & 60s with many very elderly pensioners still living there. Over the last 20yrs excluding the crash property prices have greatly inflated. This is a tax that totally disregards the income of a household and its ability to a tax based solely on the price of the home. I say home, because that’s what it is,not an asset or wealth. It was also payed for in full from taxed income of the homeowners no one else. I am old enough to remember when we had free council run waste collection service, council run public lighting, council run road cleansing and grass cutting. All prior to the introduction of LPT, now these services in most cases are privatised or discontinued. On my road grass verges are no long cut unless homeowners do so nor is it cleaned. I am in favour of fair taxation to fund services and have paid the highest rate of PAYE all my working life but not the LPT. Pensioners are paying the same as their neighbours who may be earning vastly more income and services have actually declined. Enough is enough.
@Robbie Masterson: Studies around the world have shown that taxing property ownership is one of the best ways of tackling inequality. Yes there can be problems, but that is an argument for reform, certainly not reduction or abolition.
@N M: Maybe so, back in the days when a normal person could save towards their own place without being taxed on taxed money already earned.
So Labour wants to take an additional 72 Million from Dublin households. And then he pretends this money would be spent on Dublin.
The property tax already discriminates against property owners in Dublin and this would make that discrimination worse.
I
Have people fully read this article? Labour is disagreeing with the Left because they don’t think the property tax should be cut by 15%. But remain as normal. Dublin is starved of investment. Taxing property owners a tiny bit more money to invest in the city is not a bad thing. Honestly. Only in Ireland could you have left-wing parties calling for a tax cut on property owners
@Daragh Cassidy: You can never truly own your home if someone can charge you to live in it.
It’s good to be reminded of what Labour are really about though.
Anything to put more pressure on the ordinary people.
@ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere: the property tax has no impact on your ownership of the home.
@ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere: No logic here. People who own wealth should be taxed more so that those who own less can still be supported through the health system etc.
Taxes kill innovation and punish hard workers.
@Paul: Taxes are neccessary, and can be good.
If taxes are designed properly and assigned appropriately.
But there should never be a tax on a person’s home.
These so-called “Left” parties should be advocating the abolishment of this tax and not discussing retaining it. The Labour party lost its voters many years ago, hence their TD and councillors numbers.. The SF party is on the same rocky road.
@Blue Moon: Tax on wealth is left wing. Or should be.
@N M: Yes, but you shouldn’t have to be wealthy to own your own modest home. This isn’t LA.
So Dublin is starved of investment. Does DCC invest the LPT and what is the return on the investment? In my opinion they waste the LPT and it should be reduced.
We have the same arguments from Cavan CoCo who have wasted half a million on a useless car park and have now committed to wasting another million on it for the next couple of years. It’s easy when it’s not your money and there’s plenty more where it came from!
@Padraig O’Brien: or Galway City council – not content with every major project going vastly overbudget, they are now treating themselves to a spanking new office block at a cost of €45 million +
and they refuse to merge with Galway Co Co.
Coming into the GE, will SD-SF-L-G be going to the electorate as one ‘Progressive Alliance’ bloc in the hope of toppling the FFG duo? Seems to be talks about it lately but FFG seem to have gained another 5 year term with their recent 52% of support.
@9QRixo8H: Labour won’t since they only pretend to progressive, their alliance is with FF and FG.
The LPT needs urgent reform, this can’t be done at the council level, According to the Council of Europe we have one of the worst Local Democracy controls of local funding in Europe, only second to Moldova, Hungary and Russian Federation and is completely controlled by Central Government! the tokenistic LPT is not effective or fair and progressive enough, Another reason we need our DirectlyElectedMayor with mandate and power over property tax as recommended by the Citizens Assembly unfortunately they where completely ignored and the Plebiscite we were supposed have last week was postponed indefinitely and unlikely to happen at all now.
https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/david-mcwilliams-dublin-generates-56-of-irish-tax-but-can-t-keep-a-cent-of-it-1.3682876
Shows the greens with jump into bed with anybody to get power.
First it was FF, FG, and not it !we are of the left!
They used to be be they are no longer that party.
The problem is that Labour got a tiny whiff of coalition with FFG again at the European election and immediately start erecting barriers between themselves and the left leading party’s… Water Charges, Reductions in Single Mothers Allowance, etc etc here we come
For any left alliance to be effective, Labour will need to get real and mix it with all progressives, however immature or a bit difficult. It’s real politique, not for hurlers on the ditch, keeping options open.
Get into the game, and break the failed FFFG consensus, on behalf of the citizens.
This city needs a radical council to get a grip on management,to prioritise resources to housing, environment, security ,and terminate wasteful tourism promotions book prizes bow tie outings, etc.
Let the publishers/retailers run literary competitions, and leave tourism to the state Bord Failte crew.
This is why the left won’t govern in Ireland for a while, they can’t even compromise with each other.
have your say