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The ocean was calm when the Peregrine Falcon ship left the harbor in Homer, Alaska, last month with three moorings resting on its deck, all loaded with scientific instruments.

Eighteen hours later, these moorings were lowered into the silty waves where they collected data for two months. Two of the moorings were 12-foot submarine-shaped buoys that floated 60 feet below the inlet’s surface, and the third rested on the sea floor; all three gathered data on the velocity, turbulence, and sediments at the nation’s top-ranked tidal energy site.

A highly energetic corner of the Pacific Ocean, Cook Inlet holds one of the greatest tidal resources on Earth. All that energy has the potential to reduce Alaska residents’ dependence on declining oil and gas production and provide excess renewable energy that could stimulate the Alaskan economy. That is why researchers from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) submerged their moorings in Cook Inlet; the data they collected will help identify important details of the opportunities and challenges that come with turning these surging waters into a reliable and renewable power source for Alaskans living on the nearby shore.

But that is no easy feat.

“Models and local knowledge tell us the currents here are extremely strong. There is silt and sea ice in the winter. We expect the turbulence to be intense,” said Levi Kilcher, an NREL senior scientist who leads ocean energy resource assessments like this one.

NREL researchers and crew prepared to deploy three moorings in Cook Inlet, Alaska, in July to collect data for a potential tidal energy site. From left to right: Chris Higgins (Peregrine Falcon), Patrick Verity (Peregrine Falcon), Brian Hunt (TerraSond Limited), Frank Spada (Integral Consulting), Levi Kilcher (NREL), Andrew Smith (TerraSond Limited), Gwen Sovitski, Olivia Cormier (TerraSond Limited), Jeff Johnson (Peregrine Falcon). Photo courtesy of Christopher Pike

Capturing Energy From the Ebb and Flow

Just as wind turbines extract energy from moving air, underwater turbines can create energy from the ebb and flow of the tides. Tidal energy has the potential to provide more than 220 terawatt-hours per year of clean, renewable energy in the United States, which is enough to power 21 million homes. Tidal technologies are promising, with new demonstration projects showing the world that they can operate reliably and efficiently. And yet, it is still an early-stage industry when compared to wind and solar. As of September 2020, only three tidal turbines were operating in the United States.

“So much of our work builds on NREL’s background in wind power,” Kilcher said. “It took time to understand the importance of accounting for turbulence in wind turbine designs. We’re learning from that and getting ahead of the turbulence questions now by making these measurements. But in the ocean, there are so many additional environmental challenges: We’ve also got to deal with sea ice, sediment, marine growth — not to mention the corrosive properties of the salt water itself. So, we’re trying to understand the details of these environmental challenges as well.”

For the Cook Inlet study, Kilcher led a multilaboratory team that included researchers from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories. The team also contracted help from TerraSond LimitedOcean Renewable Power Company, and Integral Consulting. NREL has performed similar studies in Puget Sound, Washington, and off the coast of Maine, but the Alaskan environment poses unique challenges: currents that are stronger, sea ice in winter, and sediments that wash into the inlet from the glaciers dotting the nearby mountains. The turbulence stirs up sand and silt from the inlet floor, creating frothy, gray water at the surface and a slurry of sand and gravel at the bottom.

“The strong currents at the site create sand dunes on the sea floor that are 30 feet tall. Instruments have been lost at this site, most likely buried in sand,” Kilcher said. “We’ve used midwater moorings and inflatable chambers in the Tidal Bottom Lander to ensure we get this stuff back.”

Frank Spada (Integral Consulting, left) and Andrew Smith (TerraSond Limited) hold the buoy steady while Patrick Verity (Peregrine Falcon) unshackles it for a ballast test in the Homer harbor, Alaska. Photo courtesy of Christopher Pike

It is an environment Kilcher knows well. He grew up in Homer, a small fishing town on Cook Inlet where he played on the beach of these icy waters, practiced subsistence fishing, and later worked as a deckhand for his father’s freight business. He earned a Ph.D. in oceanography with a focus on ocean turbulence from Oregon State University. Ten years ago, he brought his expertise to NREL’s Water Power team to help design tidal power systems that could, one day, power his hometown.

“I’ve always been attracted to problems that seem unsolvable. Turbulence is one of those problems, and tidal energy has sometimes felt like one too, but the industry is starting to see real success,” Kilcher said.

Now, to help in the effort, Kilcher and his team are gathering some of the information needed to start designing projects in Cook Inlet. In addition to turbulence, researchers are measuring the water’s velocity, salinity, temperature, and the sediment composition and concentration. With that data, they will validate and refine models to paint a much more detailed picture of the site, including how much energy could be generated there and how to build tidal turbines that can withstand the elements.

The detailed understanding of the Cook Inlet tidal energy resource that stems from this project will allow the industry to design tidal turbines that perform reliably for decades in the harsh Cook Inlet environment. Ultimately, this work could also help design turbine arrays that maximize power production while minimizing impacts to marine life and the inlet’s ecosystems.

Transforming Alaska’s Economy With Clean, Affordable, Local Energy

Having access to clean, affordable energy would transform the Alaskan economy, which is currently facing a deep economic recession due to decreased oil and gas production and high energy prices. Alaskan residents depend on oil and gas not just for jobs and state revenue but also for heating and power. Because of their extreme climate, remote location, and lack of infrastructure, they spend twice as much on energy as the average American; many communities pay three times more, according to the Cold Climate Housing Research Center’s 2018 Alaska Housing Assessment.

The Cook Inlet site is estimated to hold as much as 18 gigawatts of tidal energy potential — more than 20 times the amount used by all the road-connected communities of Alaska.

“It’s a huge amount of power that we have access to at our doorstep,” said Chris Rose, executive director of the Renewable Energy Alaska Project, a nonprofit that advances clean energy solutions for Alaska. “The economic and environmental benefits would be immense.”

With affordable energy, local industries could process the raw materials harvested in Alaska, such as wood, minerals, and fish, rather than exporting them to places with cheaper energy prices. Communities could switch from diesel to electric power for transportation and heating. With surplus electricity, companies could even start making hydrogen as a fuel with which to export the state’s vast renewable energy resources.

Tidal power technologies are at a critical stage of development; U.S. and European companies have had increasing success in single-device demonstration projects and are now planning pilot-project arrays that demonstrate long-term reliability and scalability. Cook Inlet’s strong currents and harsh environment are ideal for demonstrating technology robustness. Given these successes, NREL engineers believe tidal technologies could make significant contributions to Alaska’s energy demand in the next decade. This would help transform and revitalize the Alaskan economy and would be a significant contribution to help meet the marine energy industry’s goal of 1 gigawatt of marine energy plants deployed by 2035.

“It’s kind of like saying to the people in Arizona 40 years ago that if solar power ever gets really cheap, we’ll have a bonanza here. Guess what? It happened.” In other words, Rose said, “the time to start investing in tidal energy is now.”

Out in Cook Inlet on the Peregrine Falcon, Kilcher deployed and successfully recovered three moorings to gather the data needed to engineer the next generation of tidal devices. When he returned to the harbor, the sun shone over the snow-covered mountains, and Kilcher looked for the humpback whales the team saw the day before. He thought about the precious data they had just collected and the device engineering it will facilitate. And he thought about the childhood dream that grew from these same waters.

I firmly believe we can find a cleaner future that’s carbon neutral — carbon negative even,” Kilcher said. “I’ve been working for 10 years to make marine energy a part of that solution.”

Find more information on NREL’s resource characterization work.

Article courtesy of National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

 

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This new wireless e-bike charger wants to be the future of electric bikes

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This new wireless e-bike charger wants to be the future of electric bikes

Forget fumbling with cables or hunting for batteries – TILER is making electric bike charging as seamless as parking your ride. The Dutch startup recently introduced its much-anticipated TILER Compact system, a plug-and-play wireless charger engineered to transform the user experience for e-bike riders.

At the heart of the new system is a clever combo: a charging kickstand that mounts directly to almost any e‑bike, and a thin charging mat that you simply park over. Once you drop the kickstand and it lands on the mat, the bike begins charging automatically via inductive transfer – no cable required. According to TILER, a 500 Wh battery will fully charge in about 3.5 hours, delivering comparable performance to traditional wired chargers.

It’s an elegantly simple concept (albeit a bit chunky) with a convenient upside: less clutter, fewer broken cables, and no more need to bend over while feeling around for a dark little hole.

TILER claims its system works with about 75% of existing e‑bike platforms, including those from Bosch, Yamaha, Bafang, and other big bames. The kit uses a modest 150 W wireless power output, which means charging speeds remain practical while keeping the system lightweight (the tile weighs just 2 kg, and it’s also stationary).

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TILER has already deployed over 200 charging points across Western Europe, primarily serving bike-share, delivery, hospitality, and hotel fleets. A recent case study in Munich showed how a cargo-bike operator saved approximately €1,250 per month in labor costs, avoided thousands in spare batteries, and cut battery damage by 20%. The takeaway? Less maintenance, more uptime.

Now shifting to prosumer markets, TILER says the Compact system will hit pre-orders soon, with a €250 price tag (roughly US $290) for the kickstand plus tile bundle. To get in line, a €29 refundable deposit is currently required, though they say it is refundable at any point until you receive your charger. Don’t get too excited just yet though, there’s a bit of a wait. Deliveries are expected in summer 2026, and for now are covering mostly European markets.

The concept isn’t entirely new. We’ve seen the idea pop up before, including in a patent from BMW for charging electric motorcycles. And the efficacy is there. Skeptics may wonder if wireless charging is slower or less efficient, but TILER says no. Its system retains over 85% efficiency, nearly matching wired charging speeds, and even pauses at 80% to protect battery health, then resumes as needed. The tile is even IP67-rated, safe for outdoor use, and about as bulky as a thick magazine.

Electrek’s Take

I love the concept. It makes perfect sense for shared e-bikes, especially since they’re often returning to a dock anyway. As long as people can be trained to park with the kickstand on the tile, it seems like a no-brainer.

And to be honest, I even like the idea for consumers. I know it sounds like a first-world problem, but bending over to plug something in at floor height is pretty annoying, not to mention a great way to throw out your back if you’re not exactly a spring chicken anymore. Having your e-bike start charging simply by parking it in the right place is a really cool feature! I don’t know if it’s $300 cool, but it’s pretty cool!

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Tesla launches new software update with Grok, but it doesnt even interface with the car

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Tesla launches new software update with Grok, but it doesnt even interface with the car

Tesla has launched a new software update for its vehicles that includes the anticipated integration of Grok, but it doesnt even interface with the car yet.

Earlier this week, CEO Elon Musk said that Tesla would integrate Grok, the large language model developed by his private company, xAI, into its vehicles.

Today, Tesla started pushing the update to the fleet, but there’s a significant caveat.

The automaker wrote in the release notes (2025.26):

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Grok (Beta) (US, AMD)

Grok now available directly in your Tesla

Requires Premium Connectivity or a WiFi connection

Grok is currently in Beta & does not issue commands to your car – existing voice commands remain unchanged.

First off, it is only available in vehicles in the US equipped with the AMD infotainment computer, which means cars produced since mid-2021.

But more importantly, Tesla says that it doesn’t send commands to the car under the current version. Therefore, it is simply like having Grok on your phone, but on the onboard computer instead.

Tesla showed an example:

There are a few other features in the 2025.26 software update, but they are not major.

For Tesla vehicles equipped with ambient lighting strips inside the car, the light strip can now sync to music:

Accent lights now respond to music & you can also choose to match the lights to the album’s color for a more immersive effect

Toybox > Light Sync

Here’s the new setting:

The audio setting can now be saved under multiple presets to match listening preferences for different people or circumstances:

The software update also includes the capacity to zoom or adjust the playback speed of the Dashcam Viewer.

Cybertruck also gets the updated Dashcam Viewer app with a grid view for easier access and review of recordings:

Tesla also updated the charging info in its navigation system to be able to search which locations require valet service or pay-to-park access.

Upon arrival, drivers will receive a notification with access codes, parking restrictions, level or floor information, and restroom availability:

Finally, there’s a new onboarding guide directly on the center display to help people who are experiencing a Tesla vehicle for the first time.

Electrek’s Take

Tesla is really playing catch-up here. Right now, this update is essentially nothing. If you already have Grok, it’s no more different than having it on your phone or through the vehicle’s browser, since it has no capacity to interact with any function inside the vehicle.

Most other automakers are integrating LLMs inside vehicles with the capacity to interact with the vehicle. In China, this is becoming standard even in entry-level cars.

In the Xiaomi YU7, the vehicle’s AI can not only interact with the car, but it also sees what the car sees through its camera, and it can tell you about what it sees:

Tesla is clearly far behind on that front as many automakers are integrating with other LLMs like ChatGPT and in-house LLMs, like Xiaomi’s.

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Robinhood is up 160% this year, but several obstacles are ahead

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Robinhood is up 160% this year, but several obstacles are ahead

Florida AG opens probe into Robinhood. Here's the latest

Robinhood stock hit an all-time high Friday as the financial services platform continued to rip higher this year, along with bitcoin and other crypto stocks.

Robinhood, up more than 160% in 2025, hit an intraday high above $101 before pulling back and closing slightly lower.

The reversal came after a Bloomberg report that JPMorgan plans to start charging fintechs for access to customer bank data, a move that could raise costs across the industry.

For fintech firms that rely on thin margins to offer free or low-cost services to customers, even slight disruptions to their cost structure can have major ripple effects. PayPal and Affirm both ended the day nearly 6% lower following the report.

Despite its stellar year, the online broker is facing several headwinds, with a regulatory probe in Florida, pushback over new staking fees and growing friction with one of the world’s most high-profile artificial intelligence companies.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier opened a formal investigation into Robinhood Crypto on Thursday, alleging the platform misled users by claiming to offer the lowest-cost crypto trading.

“Robinhood has long claimed to be the best bargain, but we believe those representations were deceptive,” Uthmeier said in a statement.

The probe centers on Robinhood’s use of payment for order flow — a common practice where market makers pay to execute trades — which the AG said can result in worse pricing for customers.

Robinhood Crypto General Counsel Lucas Moskowitz told CNBC its disclosures are “best-in-class” and that it delivers the lowest average cost.

“We disclose pricing information to customers during the lifecycle of a trade that clearly outlines the spread or the fees associated with the transaction, and the revenue Robinhood receives,” added Moskowitz.

Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev explains 'dual purpose' behind trading platform's new crypto offerings

Robinhood is also facing opposition to a new 25% cut of staking rewards for U.S. users, set to begin October 1. In Europe, the platform will take a smaller 15% cut.

Staking allows crypto holders to earn yield by locking up their tokens to help secure blockchain networks like ethereum, but platforms often take a percentage of those rewards as commission.

Robinhood’s 25% cut puts it in line with Coinbase, which charges between 25.25% and 35% depending on the token. The cut is notably higher than Gemini’s flat 15% fee.

It marks a shift for the company, which had previously steered clear of staking amid regulatory uncertainty.

Under President Joe Biden‘s administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission cracked down on U.S. platforms offering staking services, arguing they constituted unregistered securities.

With President Donald Trump in the White House, the agency has reversed course on several crypto enforcement actions, dropping cases against major players like Coinbase and Binance and signaling a more permissive stance.

Even as enforcement actions ease, Robinhood is under fresh scrutiny for its tokenized stock push, which is a growing part of its international strategy.

The company now offers blockchain-based assets in Europe that give users synthetic exposure to private firms like OpenAI and SpaceX through special purpose vehicles, or SPVs.

An SPV is a separate entity that acquires shares in a company. Users then buy tokens of the SPV and don’t have shareholder privileges or voting rights directly in the company.

OpenAI has publicly objected, warning the tokens do not represent real equity and were issued without its approval. In an interview with CNBC International, CEO Vlad Tenev acknowledged the tokens aren’t technically equity shares, but said that misses the broader point.

JPMorgan announces plans to charge for access to customer bank data

“What’s important is that retail customers have an opportunity to get exposure to this asset,” he said, pointing to the disruptive nature of AI and the historically limited access to pre-IPO companies.

“It is true that these are not technically equity,” Tenev added, noting that institutional investors often gain similar exposure through structured financial instruments.

The Bank of Lithuania — Robinhood’s lead regulator in the EU — told CNBC on Monday that it is “awaiting clarifications” following OpenAI’s statement.

“Only after receiving and evaluating this information will we be able to assess the legality and compliance of these specific instruments,” a spokesperson said, adding that information for investors must be “clear, fair, and non-misleading.”

Tenev responded that Robinhood is “happy to continue to answer questions from our regulators,” and said the company built its tokenized stock program to withstand scrutiny.

“Since this is a new thing, regulators are going to want to look at it,” he said. “And we expect to be scrutinized as a large, innovative player in this space.”

SEC Chair Paul Atkins recently called the model “an innovation” on CNBC’s Squawk Box, offering some validation as Robinhood leans further into its synthetic equity strategy — even as legal clarity remains in flux across jurisdictions.

Despite the regulatory noise, many investors remain focused on Robinhood’s upside, and particularly the political tailwinds.

The company is positioning itself as a key beneficiary of Trump’s newly signed megabill, which includes $1,000 government-seeded investment accounts for newborns. Robinhood said it’s already prototyping an app for the ‘Trump Accounts‘ initiative.

WATCH: Watch CNBC’s full interview with Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev

Watch CNBC's full interview with Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev

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