Alec Hogg: As Mercedes goes all-electric, boost for renewables in cheap storage breakthrough

Ours is a complex world, a reality lost on those seeking to support agendas or promote simplistic solutions. We see this playing out in SA through attempts to classify all "excess deaths" of the past 18 months as a direct result of being infected by the coronavirus. Caution is required..The article republished below from our partners at The Wall Street Journal digs into data showing American life expectancy in 2020 fell by the most since WW2 and, at 77.3 years, is back to where it was in 2003. The writer asks some tough questions of the official narrative – especially on surging mortalities among younger people. Local parallels are obvious..Mercedes-Benz will immediately stop creating new internal combustion engine models as part of a strategy to go "all electric" by the end of this decade. The German auto maker with a stranglehold on SA's luxury car market yesterday revealed it will invest $47bn over the next eight years to accelerate this move. Given its impact on resale values, local Mercedes owners may not be quite so enthusiastic..___STEADY_PAYWALL___.On a similar tack, The Wall Street Journal has an exclusive this morning with a four year old startup (above) which claims a massive breakthrough in battery technology. Although too heavy to be used in motor vehicles and only likely to be ready by 2025, the super-cheap iron-based batteries could be the solution to the storage problem bedevilling renewable energy producers. The company has credibility – its CEO was responsible for developing Tesla's Powerwall battery..This potential breakthrough on electricity storage costs is sure to excite the six Western Cape municipalities which yesterday signed MOUs to establish their own power generation – ie eventually remove themselves from the Eskom grid. It also provides SA's socialist ANC government another lesson in the danger of betting against human ingenuity. SA's Medupi and Kusile millstones are about to get even bigger..Finally, with the first test against the B&I Lions on Saturday, rugby fans are sure to enjoy this piece in The Times of London. The interview with Lions lock Maro Itoje, their best player, is enlightening – especially its focus on his matchup against Springbok Eben Etzebeth. It's accessible as The Times allows you to taste before subscribing. Go Bokke!.NB FOR YOUR WALL STREET JOURNAL ACCESS….As a Premium subscriber you are entitled to full membership of wsj.com (normal price $29 a month). Be sure to action your access through the Premium link on the BizNews website. Because of The Wall Street Journal's credential requirements, be sure to create a password which has at least 8 characters and includes at least one letter and one number – NB it MAY NOT contain any special characters (ie #, !, @ etc). To maintain access to WSJ.com, you MUST enter our partner's website via BizNews Premium at least once a month. A final PS, if you had previously signed up for WSJ you'll need to clear the cookies from your device. Our help desk can assist – support@biznews.com

Alec Hogg: As Mercedes goes all-electric, boost for renewables in cheap storage breakthrough

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