Tag Archives: charge

Ethiopia’s Electric Vehicle Revolution: Leading the Charge in Global Development

Posted on by
Reply

When Architect Hen Degareg Bekele, in his early 30s, purchased a Volkswagen electric vehicle this year, he felt a degree of skepticism. His hometown, Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, faced not only frequent blackouts but also doubts regarding the vehicle’s quality.

Four months later, Degareg is pleased with his choice. He no longer has to endure long waits at gas stations due to the chronic fuel shortages in Ethiopia.

“Even if I arrive early in the morning, I still have to wait two to three hours. Often, they run out of gas before my turn comes,” he explains. “Owning an EV saves time. I have no regrets.”

Architect Deghareg Bekele at an EV charging station in Addis Ababa. Photo: Fred Harter

Until recently, electric vehicles were nearly unheard of in Ethiopia. However, last year, it became the first nation to prohibit the import of combustion engine vehicles. Today, EVs can be seen frequently in the capital, with China’s BYD being the most prevalent brand. Despite its recent rise to become the world’s largest EV manufacturer, Western brands remain popular.

According to the Ministry of Transport, out of the country’s total of 1.5 million vehicles, around 115,000 are electric. The goal is to boost this number to 500,000 by 2030.

Ethiopia leans towards a shift to EVs, despite challenges. Close to half of the 126 million population lacks access to electricity, and only 20% have access at least 23 hours a day, with only a third connected to the grid. Frequent power outages hinder many factories from running efficiently.

These shortages are attributed to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which was completed earlier this month after 14 years of construction. With a maximum capacity of 5,150 megawatts, it aims to double Ethiopia’s current power generation, which is predominantly hydroelectric.

However, challenges persist, including the substantial costs involved in expanding electricity access to rural areas.

“Renewable energy has significant potential,” emphasizes Transport Minister Valeo Hassen, noting that the ban on fossil fuel vehicles aligns with Ethiopia’s green policies aimed at reducing urban pollution during peak hours.

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam located on the Blue Nile River in Guba, northwest Ethiopia. Photo: Anadolu/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

The primary motivation, however, is economic. Ethiopia spends about $4.5 billion (£3.3 billion) annually on fuel imports, a considerable burden for a country struggling with foreign currency shortages and widespread poverty. “This is one of our main expenditures,” notes Bareo.

In contrast, the country’s hydroelectric production is notably cost-effective. This has allowed it to attract skeptical drivers in Addis Ababa, who have witnessed fuel prices more than double over the past three years.

Taxi driver Fire Tilahun reports his monthly fuel expenses were around 20,000 Ethiopian Birr (£105), while now, charging his EV costs less than 3,000 Birr.

Skip past newsletter promotions

“I won’t go back,” he declares while charging at a new station in Addis Ababa. “Occasionally, there are power outages, but we manage.”

To further support EV adoption, Ethiopia implemented tax exemptions. Despite being expensive, in a nation where doctors average £60 monthly, the BYD model is priced at around 2.2 million Birr (£11,000). Meanwhile, combustion engine vehicles have skyrocketed in price due to 200% import taxes prior to the ban, distorting the used car market.

Efforts to foster local manufacturing are underway, albeit at a small scale. One notable site is managed by the Belayneh Kinde Group, an industrial conglomerate situated on the western outskirts of Addis Ababa.

An electric vehicle being assembled at a factory on the outskirts of Addis Ababa. Photo: Fred Harter

“We should not rely solely on imports,” Valeo states. “Our aim is to develop local production capacity to enhance skills and employment opportunities for our citizens.”

Yet, the sudden shift to EVs has been uneven. Drivers express concerns over insufficient preparation time. Currently, Ethiopia boasts just over 100 charging stations out of a target of 2,300, most of which are located in Addis Ababa. This limits road trips to rural areas that often experience more frequent blackouts, making it impractical for EVs beyond the capital.

Rema Wakugali recharging his electric vehicle, expressing the need for more charging stations. Photo: Fred Harter

At another charging station in Addis Ababa, Coffee Export Manager remarks that he is “genuinely satisfied” with his BYD, but wishes he could drive to Hawassa, a favored lakeside destination.

“They must construct more charging stations – it’s essential,” he insists. “There are too few in Addis. There are no electric vehicles operating outside the city. This car can travel 420km; what happens after that?”


Moreover, there are currently no plans to introduce electric versions of heavy trucks, which are vital for transporting most of Ethiopia’s imports from nearby Djibouti ports. As the fleet ages, the economic impact may be felt significantly.

The CEO of a prominent ride-hailing company in Addis Ababa reports that most of his drivers harbor doubts about the longevity of EV batteries and their resale value. Nevertheless, he remains hopeful that after his personal experience with an EV, the infrastructure will evolve to meet the growing demand.

“Initially, we believed this policy would fail due to inadequacies in power infrastructure, frequent blackouts, and a scarcity of charging stations,” he reflects.

“But now, I am cautiously optimistic.”

Source: www.theguardian.com

US Prosecutors Charge Major Insurance Firms with Paying Kickbacks for Private Medicare Plans

Posted on by
Reply

The Justice Department has charged three major health insurance companies with engaging in illegal kickback schemes totaling hundreds of millions of dollars over several years, involving payments to insurance brokers who guided individuals to private Medicare plans.

Federal prosecutors also alleged that two of these insurers colluded with brokers to discriminate against individuals with disabilities by hindering their enrollment in private Medicare plans, based on the belief that these plans would be costlier.

Around 12% of Medicare beneficiaries, who are disabled and under the age of 65, qualify for the federal insurance program. Their intricate health requirements often lead to high care costs.

According to a complaint initially filed by whistleblowers, the Department of Justice has joined the case against the nation’s largest health insurance company, previously known as Anthem. Humana is also implicated for allegedly funneling kickbacks to three large brokers—Ehealth, GoHealth, and SelectQuote—to boost enrollment in Medicare Advantage plans, which have also been tied to fraudulent activities.

A complaint filed in federal court in Boston claims that the kickback scheme spanned from at least 2016 to 2021, accusing Aetna and Humana of discrimination against individuals with disabilities.

Aetna, Elevance, GoHealth, and Humana have denied the allegations, although others have not responded to requests for comments.

This lawsuit is one of the first indications of the Trump administration’s scrutiny of certain Medicare Advantage plans, which face ongoing federal oversight. Critics, including lawmakers, have condemned these popular plans for potential overcharging the federal government through aggressive marketing strategies. Over half of all individuals enrolled in the federal program are covered by Medicare Advantage plans.

During the Senate confirmation hearing for Dr. Mehmet Oz, he assured concerned senators about the oversight of Medicare plans, promising a “new sheriff” to address excesses.

Brokers play a crucial role in assisting senior Americans in selecting private Medicare plans. However, the allegations suggest brokers have directed individuals to plans that offer the highest commissions instead of the best fit for their needs.

In recent years, small local brokerage firms have been overshadowed by large national organizations that employ numerous agents and utilize call centers and websites like those mentioned in the lawsuit. These companies increasingly depend on technology to help brokers identify the optimal plans for callers, facilitating the kind of steering described in the allegations.

The Biden administration implemented regulations last year aimed at reducing the commissions insurance companies can pay to brokers for patient enrollments. Recent Congressional testimonies and consumer complaints have indicated that insurers are offering bonuses to brokers for enrolling more individuals in specific plans, regardless of their actual needs. However, the lawsuit is still pending.

Regarding cases involving disabled individuals, federal prosecutors have stated: “The efforts to specifically exclude beneficiaries are even more ruthless given that their disabilities may render them less profitable for health insurance companies,” said attorney Leah B. Foy. “We will continue to investigate and prosecute the greed targeting these beneficiaries.”

Source: www.nytimes.com

Parents take charge as UK government decides against banning smartphones in schools.

Posted on by
Reply

Daisy Greenwell has long felt that the idea of letting her eldest son do something inevitable. But until early last year, when her daughter was eight, it filled her with fear. When she spoke to other parents, “Everyone said, ‘Yes, that’s a nightmare, but there’s no choice,'” recalls Greenwell, 41.

She decided to test it. My friend Claire Fergnou shared concerns about the impact of social media on the addictive quality of smartphones and mental health, so I created a WhatsApp group to help develop a strategy. Then Greenwell lives in Suffolk, a countryside in eastern England; I posted her thoughts on Instagram.

“If we could switch social norms like giving your child a smartphone at 11am in our school, our town, our country, we could do it, like giving your child a smartphone at 11am,” she wrote. “What if they could hold off until they were 14 or 16?” she added a link to the WhatsApp group.

The post has gone viral. Within 24 hours, the group was oversubscribed for parents to participate. Today, more than 124,000 parents of children in UK schools have signature A pact created by the free childhood of smartphones, a charity founded by Greenwell, her husband Joe Riley and Ferniev. “I will act in the best interests of my kids and our community and wait until I get my smartphone until the end of my ninth year.” (The ninth year is equivalent to the eighth graders in America.)

Movement aligns with a A broader change in British attitudesmounts of harm caused by smartphone addiction and algorithm-driven social media as evidence. 1 investigation Last year, the majority of respondents (69%) felt that social media had negatively affected children under the age of 15.

Meanwhile, with the police Intelligence Services We warned about extreme and violent content torrents reaching children online. This is a trend that was examined during adolescence of hit television shows, where school men are accused of murder after being exposed to online misogyny. It’s become British Most of them were seen Show, and on Monday, Prime Minister Kiel Starmer met. The creator and I told her I had seen it on Downing Street with my son and daughter. But he also said, “This is not a challenge politicians can simply legislate.”

Source: www.nytimes.com

Using lasers to transform electrons into mass and charge coils.

Posted on by
Reply

A special laser (red) can bend electrons (blue) into a spiral shape

Dr. Yiqi Fan (University of Konstanz)

With the help of a laser, the electrons were transformed into spiral waves of mass and charge.

“Chirality, or handedness, is an intriguing and still partially mysterious feature of our universe.” Peter Baum Researchers at the University of Konstanz in Germany have discovered that chiral objects, like coils or L-shaped blocks, can be either left- or right-handed, but non-chiral objects, like circles or lines, cannot. Many molecules and materials are inherently chiral, and their function changes depending on whether they are right- or left-handed. But Baum and his colleagues have devised a way to impart chirality to something very small and fundamental: a single electron.

Because electrons are quantum objects, they exhibit both particle-like and wave-like behavior, depending on the experiment. In this experiment, the researchers exploited the wave nature of electrons. First, they create a very fast pulse of electrons and pass it through a thin ceramic membrane. There, the particles encounter a special laser beam. The beam is shaped like a light vortex and, as a result, carries a similarly shaped electromagnetic field. This electromagnetic field affects the wave function, or wave properties, of each electron that passes through it.

Finally, the researchers detected these manipulated electrons and calculated the “expectation values” of each of their masses and charges — that is, the places in space where both properties are most likely to be measured in non-zero quantities. These regions of space formed the shape of a three-dimensional coil, with clearly marked left- or right-handed winding.

Ben McMorran The University of Oregon researchers have previously experimented with making coils of chiral electrons, and they say their new work “represents a very advanced advancement in the state of the art of shaping electrons.” They have demonstrated precise control over the spiraling electrons, which they say will be crucial for using the particles in applications such as imaging and controlling existing materials.

Baum and his colleagues have already found that shining a left-handed coil of electrons at right-handed gold nanostructures results in different ricochet patterns than shining it on left-handed structures, opening up the possibility of using such coils to selectively affect chiral moieties in chemical compounds or electronic devices.

Having created these strange electrons in the lab, Baum says he's now interested in whether they could arise independently in nature: “We're starting to explore these possibilities.”

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com