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September 6

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September 4

  • ERC Starting Grant for Junior Professor Stefan Mönch – Towards Almost Lossless Electrical Energy Conversion

    ➀ Junior Professor Stefan Mönch at the University of Stuttgart has been awarded an ERC Starting Grant of €1.5 million to research highly efficient electrical energy conversion technologies;

    ➁ The project focuses on partial power processing (PPP) converters and multilevel converters to minimize energy losses in applications like electromobility and solid-state heat pumps, achieving efficiencies over 99%;

    ➂ Research explores cascading topologies and optimal voltage levels to extend applications to smart materials, soft robotics, and energy harvesting, supported by collaborations in projects like GaN4EmoBiL and COOLPOL.

    energyGaNElectromobility
  • ERC Starting Grant for Junior Professor Stefan Mönch – Towards Nearly Lossless Electrical Energy Conversion

    ➀ Dr. Stefan Mönch received a €1.5 million ERC Starting Grant to advance research on near-lossless electrical energy conversion using Partial-Power Processing (PPP) and multilevel converters, aiming to minimize energy losses in voltage transformations.

    ➁ The research targets applications like electromobility and solid-state heat pumps (using eco-friendly electrocaloric materials) and explores optimizing voltage stages and cascading topologies to maximize efficiency, building on GaN semiconductor expertise from prior projects.

    ➂ The project also investigates energy harvesting and smart materials for soft robotics, with potential to significantly enhance sustainable energy systems and reduce environmental impact.

    GaNsemiconductorEnergy efficiency
  • Sony's Rumored PS5 Revision Would Be A Slap In The Face To Gamers

    ➀ A new leak suggests Sony is preparing to release another PlayStation 5 model, but the upcoming revision may not be exciting. It is rumored that the new model will reduce the internal storage while keeping the price the same.

    ➁ Sony has recently increased the MSRPs across its PS5 lineup, with the regular PS5 now priced at $549.99 in the U.S.

    ➂ According to Dealabs, Sony is preparing to release a revised PS5 Digital Edition in Europe and Japan with a lower storage capacity.

    Sonygamingps5
  • Samsung's massive 49-inch ultrawide OLED gaming monitor is back down to its lowest ever price at Amazon

    ➀ Samsung's Odyssey OLED G9 (G93SC) 49-inch curved gaming monitor drops to its historical low price of $899, a 44% discount from its original $1,599.

    ➁ Features include a 240Hz refresh rate, 5120×1440 OLED display with VESA HDR True Black 400 certification, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, and multi-device connectivity via HDMI 2.1/DisplayPort.

    ➂ Focused on core gaming performance, it omits smart TV features but offers Picture-by-Picture mode for dual-input multitasking.

    samsunggamingmonitor
  • Seagate IronWolf Pro 30TB HDD Review: Seagate Drops the HAMR with the Biggest NAS Drive on the Market

    ➀ Seagate's IronWolf Pro 30TB HDD utilizes HAMR (Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording) to achieve 30TB capacity with 7,200 RPM and 275 MB/s speeds;

    ➁ While excelling in NAS environments with optimized idle performance and data recovery services, its high base price ($549.99) targets enterprise/data hoarder users;

    ➂ The drive shares hardware with enterprise-grade Exos M series but offers better consumer-friendly pricing and compatibility with NAS systems like QNAP.

    SeagateHAMRstorage
  • Fraunhofer ISE Develops Test Procedure for Grid-Forming Inverters

    ➀ Fraunhofer ISE developed a standardized test procedure for grid-forming inverters in collaboration with German transmission system operators to assess their role in stabilizing power grids during renewable energy integration;

    ➁ The tests evaluated seven manufacturers' inverters (ranging from kW to MW scale), revealing significant behavioral variations under simulated grid stress scenarios and providing optimization insights;

    ➂ Project outcomes informed European standardization efforts, including the VDE FNN guidelines, and support future certification for grid-forming technologies ahead of 2026 market incentives.

    semiconductorHPCsoftware
  • Paul Motzki receives one of Europe's most prestigious research grants to develop innovative cooling systems

    ➀ Professor Paul Motzki at Saarland University secured an ERC Starting Grant (€1.5 million) to advance elastocaloric cooling technology, combining shape memory alloys and dielectric elastomer actuators;

    ➁ The eco-friendly elastocaloric method uses nickel-titanium alloys for heating/cooling without harmful refrigerants, achieving 20°C temperature differentials, with potential for multi-stage systems;

    ➂ Motzki’s team also leads EU projects like the EIC Pathfinder (prototype air conditioning) and SmiLE (smart medical implants), leveraging AI for sensor-free actuator control and innovative cooling applications.

    coolingsemiconductorAI
  • 'Doomer science fiction': Nvidia criticizes proposed US bill that would force it to give American buyers 'first option' in AI GPU purchases before selling chips to other countries, including allies — GAIN AI Act debuts in defense spending bill

    ① U.S. Senate proposes GAIN AI Act to prioritize domestic sales of advanced AI GPUs, potentially banning exports of high-end chips;

    ② NVIDIA criticizes the bill as 'self-defeating' and warns it could undermine U.S. global AI leadership;

    ③ The act sets strict technical thresholds (e.g., 2,400 TPP score) that would restrict even mid-tier GPUs like H20 from being exported.

    NVIDIAAMDAI
  • Paul Motzki Receives One of Europe's Most Prestigious Research Awards for Innovative Cooling Systems

    ➀ Prof. Paul Motzki was awarded the ERC Starting Grant to develop elastocaloric cooling systems using shape memory alloys and dielectric elastomer films, aiming for compact, eco-friendly solutions;

    ➁ The technology, with potential applications in residential and automotive cooling, achieves temperature differentials of 20°C and is part of EU-funded projects like EIC Pathfinder;

    ➂ Motzki’s team is integrating silicone film actuators and AI-driven controls to advance energy-efficient, sensor-free cooling and heating prototypes.

    coolingautomotivesemiconductor
  • Even Smarter: Fraunhofer IWU and Fraunhofer IIS Introduce New Generation of smartTOOL Tool Holder

    ➀ The new-generation smartTOOL features enhanced sensors and electronics for monitoring process forces and vibrations in all directions, with sampling rates up to 10 kHz for high-frequency detection;

    ➁ Its compact, robust design reduces space by 25%, supports multiple spindle geometries, and uses wireless energy harvesting for autonomous operation without external power;

    ➂ Integrated with the AI-driven ECC4P Edge Cloud system, it enables real-time production monitoring and automation, debuting at EMO Hannover 2025.

    AIHPCAutomation

August 1