Gas production ceases from Kinsale fields offshore southern Ireland – Offshore Oil and Gas Magazine

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(Map courtesy Kinsale Energy)

Offshore staff

CORK, Ireland Petronas subsidiary PSE Kinsale Energy has shut down gas production from the Kinsale Head field offshore southern Ireland.

Marathon Oil discovered the field in 1971, 50 km (31 mi) from the Cork coast and in 90 m (295 ft) of water. The company commissioned two fixed steel platforms, Alpha and Bravo, for the development which came onstream in 1978.

Later the company tied in production from the satellite Ballycotton and Southwest Kinsale fields via subsea facilities, with Ramco Energy subsequently connecting gas from the Seven Heads field in 2003.

These represented Irelands sole source of indigenous gas until Shell developed the Corrib field offshore the Mayo coast of northwest Ireland (now operated by Vermillion Energy). Southwest Kinsale was redeveloped for offshore gas storage.

PSE Kinsale Energy expects decommissioning of the wells and removal of the platform structures to take several years to complete.

07/20/2020

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Gas production ceases from Kinsale fields offshore southern Ireland - Offshore Oil and Gas Magazine

Health & Safety Executive raises concerns about offshore wind industry – Riviera Maritime Media

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Confirming receipt of the 10 July 2020 letter from UK HSE principal inspector of health and safety Trevor Johnson, IMCA said it raised concerns about recent incidents in the wind energy industry.

With companies starting to increase activity levels in some areas we believe this letter should act as a timely reminder for all our members to remain vigilant with regards to health and safety, said IMCA.

We are currently defining our approach to the HSEs request; however, the first step is sharing the letter with our members.

In the letter, the HSE noted that UK governments are moving into the next stages of their responses to the Covid-19 pandemic. As work activity increases and following a review of recent Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDORs) and data from the various industry bodies, I have concluded that in some sectors of the wind energy industry, improvements in health and safety performance have at best stalled if not reversed, said Mr Johnson.

In 2020, there have been a number of serious incidents both in the UK and elsewhere which could indicate that any reversal may continue. This would be unacceptable.

I know that your organisation and your members state your commitment to improve health and safety; however, there is a renewed need to ensure that all organisations and individuals provide the necessary leadership to ensure health and safety remains an industry priority.

HSE plans to restart proactive site inspections at offshore and onshore windfarms. These inspections will allow HSE to determine if the industry is Covid-19 compliant; performance was not compromised during the pandemic and arrangements to manage health and safety are provided, said Mr Johnson.

The HSE said that while it will continue to consider the holistic approach to health and safety, it will specifically consider a number of matters. These include ensuring work equipment subject to statutory inspection regimes is in a safe condition and arrangements are in place to ensure all inspections are now being carried out; and that arrangements are in place to ensure new entrants into the industry are provided with suitable information, instruction, training and supervision to ensure they work safely.

It also wants to ensure that during the period where social distancing measures are required and thereafter, suitable arrangements for monitoring and auditing performance are provided.

Mr Johnson said the HSE also wants to ensure that well publicised cost-reductions or other pressures do not lead to compromises in health and safety and in particular that work is planned to ensure that revised deadlines are realistically achievable in practice and do not lead to work being conducted in poor weather or dangerous environmental conditions.

Other focus areas include ensuring that emergency response arrangements are provided, fully and regularly tested with lessons learnt incorporated; that arrangements are in place to monitor factors including fatigue and personal circumstances to ensure individual well-being; and incidents, cases of ill-health, dangerous occurrences and safety observations are properly reported, investigated and where necessary, steps taken to prevent recurrence.

I would be obliged if you could forward this letter to your members. If you or any of your members wish to discuss the content of this letter further than please contact me. I would ask you to respond, on behalf of your members by 3 August 2020 indicating the steps that will be taken to deliver health and safety improvements, said Mr Johnson.

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Health & Safety Executive raises concerns about offshore wind industry - Riviera Maritime Media

Hiretech snaps up new offshore equipment as part of recent 600k investment – News for the Oil and Gas Sector – Energy Voice

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Aberdeen offshore rental firm Hiretech has announced it has acquired new equipment as part of a recent six figure investment in decommissioning equipment.

The 600,000 investment was encouraged following client feedback received by Hiretech.

It has resulted in the firm taking receipt of newly built subsea shears and hydraulic grabs.

Duncan Duthie, decommissioning and subsea business development manager, said: We were keen to pinpoint the correct target for our investment, and collaborated with our clients and the manufacturer to go back to first principles for the subsea shears.

We now have shears specifically designed for water depths of up to 10,000 feet with performance, ease of operation and maintenance a priority.

Hiretech, which offers equipment rental and personnel supply to the energy and marine industries, has not been unaffected by the effects of Covid-19 and the recent oil price volatility, its bosses said.

But the firm added that it believes the business environment has now stabilised.

Andy Buchan, Hiretech chief executive, said: Talking to our peers and clients, it is apparent that activity drops through the worst months of the pandemic of up to 70% from last year were not uncommon, although there are definitely encouraging signs of a bump off the bottom at the moment.

Like other businesses, we have had to resize, refocus and reinvigorate our team to meet the new challenges we face.

We see tremendous opportunities for SMEs in the new world.

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Hiretech snaps up new offshore equipment as part of recent 600k investment - News for the Oil and Gas Sector - Energy Voice

Aker Solutions to spin off offshore wind unit – reNEWS

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Norwegian company Aker Solutions is spinning off its offshore wind and carbon capture businesses to shareholders and merging with Kvaerner to create an optimised supplier company.

Kjetel Digre has also been appointed chief executive of Aker Solutions, effective 1 August, to lead the combined company.

Digre joins from Aker BP, where he held the role of senior vice president of operations and asset development.

The spin off its wind and carbon capture businesses to Aker Solutionsshareholders will result in two separate companies expected to be admitted to trading on Merkur Market on the Oslo Stock Exchange.

Aker Solutions chairman Oyvind Eriksen said: Aker Solutions has developed technology and taken strong positions in markets for offshore wind and carbon capture, utilisation and storage.

However, it has become increasingly clear that these businesses represent value creation opportunities in a world transitioning to green solutions at accelerated speed and have more potential as stand-alone companies than as an integrated part of an oil service business.

Renewables and green technologies have entirely different value chains, customers, investor bases and sources of funding.

Capitalising and separating the offshore wind and CCUS business areas from Aker Solutions present a unique opportunity for growth and value creation.

Aker Solutions said it will be an alliance partner and preferred supplier to both companies to create revenue and customer value within the wind and CCUS markets.

Kvaerner and Aker Solutions have entered into a merger plan, whereby the two entities will join forces to create a new supplier company.

Aker Solutions and Kvaerner have agreed to merge the companies based on the principle of equal parties, with the new company called Aker Solutions.

The consolidation will take the form of a statutory merger whereby Aker Solutions will absorb Kvaerner in accordance with the Norwegian Public Limited Liability Companies Act.

Aker Solutions proposed new chairman Leif-Arne Langoy said: By combining the two companies and their complementary resources, we will be able to deliver a more complete offering to a global energy industry.

The combined company will do fabrication at own its facilities or in cooperation with partners around the world.

It will have about 15,000 employees in more than 50 locations in 25 countries around the world, including about 8000 employees in Norway.

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Aker Solutions to spin off offshore wind unit - reNEWS

Former military leaders push to extend ban on offshore drilling in Florida gulf | TheHill – The Hill

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A coalition of former military officials is urging lawmakers to extend a ban on drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, arguing a lapse in the moratorium will hurt military preparedness.

The letter comes as Florida lawmakers are seeking to extend the moratorium, which expires in June 2022, as Congress grapples with the must-pass National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a bill that sets military policy for the year.

The expansive area off Floridas Gulf coast has a long history of providing unconstrained access for military training and testing activities that are essential to our national security, the letter, signed by more than 80 people, states.

The letter argued the Gulf provides more uninterrupted surface and airspace than all other ranges in the lower 48 combined, calling the area an asset that simply cannot be replicated anywhere else.

Simply put, failure to extend the eastern Gulf moratorium poses a threat to Americas military preparedness and threatens our national defense goals," the letter adds.

Sen. Marco RubioMarco Antonio RubioRubio mistakenly tweets tribute to Lewis with picture of late Elijah Cummings GOP senators sound alarm as coronavirus surges in home states 'Everything about this is unprecedented': GOP grapples with its convention amid pandemic MORE (R-Fla.) has proposed an amendment to the NDAA that would extend the offshore drilling ban through 2032.

Another would require the secretary of Defense to sign off on all future lease sales in Floridas Gulf to assure the drilling wouldn't interfere with military operations a move Rubios team says will functionally block any drilling given the history of military opposition tothe practice in the area.

The fear for both Florida lawmakers and the military is another big oil spill like the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, a hit to Floridas ecosystem and its economy.

Military leaders said another months-long cleanup would also hurt training activities.

If our troops cannot practice in conditions found throughout the Gulf Range, they will be less prepared to defend our nation in a time of need, the letter states.

We cannot give up an inch of ground when it comes to the current moratorium," it says.

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Former military leaders push to extend ban on offshore drilling in Florida gulf | TheHill - The Hill

Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind Rents Place from Stockton University – Offshore WIND

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Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind and Stockton University have entered a sublease agreement for 180 square metres of commercial space, where the offshore wind developer will set up an Educational and Community Outreach Center to host informational events for the local community.

The premises are located on the Boardwalk and Roosevelt Avenues in the Stockton Atlantic City Residential Complex.

Atlantic Shores signed a ten-year lease, effective as of 15 July, with an option for two five-year extensions.

As we progress development of our first wind project, we know its important for the Atlantic City community to have access to us right where they live. We look forward to meeting and listening to residents, advocates and local organizations at this space and using it as a venue to offer educational lectures and labs, said Chris Hart, Managing Director of Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind.

Atlantic Shores is a 50:50 joint venture between EDF Renewables North America and Shell New Energies US LLC.

The special purpose companyholds development rightsfor an offshore wind zone located some 14 to 32 kilometres off the New Jersey coast, between Barnegat Light and Atlantic City, covering some 183,000 hectares.

Within the lease area, which has the potential toaccommodate 2.5 GW of installed offshore wind capacity, the developer plans to build multiple projects over the next decade.

Site investigation and characterisation surveys have been under way since May and will continue through the autumn and winter.

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Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind Rents Place from Stockton University - Offshore WIND

Betting on Offshore Oil and Gas could be Challenging, as Sector Hit by COVID and China Risks – FX Empire

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Fitch Ratings

International rating agency Fitch Ratings is very pessimistic about exploration-focused oilfield service (OFS) companies. The rating agency stated that the sector will face the largest demand decline as a result of oil and gas producers cutting their capex and operating expenditure. These developments will be the same for drillers. Both sectors are going to feel the negative impact of cuts in oil and gas producers capital programs, where exploration investment cuts are expected to be a reduction of 20%-30% in 2020 yoy.

Fitch reported also OFS companies serving projects with high full-cycle costs, such as deep-water offshore assets or shale basins, will also be affected. North America-focused Nabors (B-/Rating Watch Negative) and Precision Drilling (B+/Negative) are exposed to the volatile spending patterns of US shale producers.

OFS diversified companies, exposed to the entire life-cycle of a well, are more resilient. Fitch is reasonably positive about ADES International (B+/Stable), currently servicing customers in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, while Eurasia Drilling (BB+/Stable) is focused on Russia. Even that they both will be effected by OPEC+ production cuts, their overall performance will continue as their producing areas are lower-cost geographies.

The current overall global downturn will be for an extended period of time, as the OFS market will experience a recovery lag of four to six quarters. Even if oil and gas prices will recover slowly, oil and gas producers, the main clients, will be very cautious about increasing exploration and drilling activity. Even if utilization rates for rigs and vessels will improve to 2019 levels in 2021, day rates and need for new builds will be lagging behind 1-1.5 years at the least.

At the same time, most offshore drillers will be faced very soon by a combination of threats. Most OFS and drilling companies have been stacking an increased amount of assets. The latter is seen as cost saving measure. Still they are facing lower revenues and cash flows the next coming years. This combination is maybe for some even very toxic.

Fitch warns that OFS companies with significant debt maturities up to 2022 will face refinancing challenges. A combination of low operation cash flow generation and lacking access to capital markets could lead to a potential shake out. Ongoing crisis measures in the sector is also not promising, as shedding workforce or closing production facilities by shipyards worldwide decreases flexibility to react to changing markets, and puts several blockades already in place in time of recovery. Sembcorp Marine or Noble Drilling are prime examples of the current crisis situation.

The offshore drilling market could even be facing another major threat, if the news coming out of India is right. In light of the India-China military and geopolitical rivalry, offshore drilling companies and shipyards are now in the crosshairs of the Indian officials.

Potential direct links between international drillers and the Chinese government could be a future threat to the sector. At least in India after that the Indian government has started an assessment of the position of Chinese government-linked investors in Dubai-based Shelf Drilling. The latter offshore driller holds almost 30 per cent market share in Indias shallow water oil drilling market, in terms of drilling rigs on charter.

The issue has come on the table due to the fact that the Indian government and its agencies have restricted, or even banned, the use of Chinese products and services in the country, following the recent flare-up along the border. Shell Drilling, listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange, and a major largest pure-play jack-up oil drilling rig contractor, works in India mostly for state-owned ONGC Ltd, Indias biggest explorer of oil and gas.

News that China Merchants and Great Wall Ocean Strategy & Technology Fund (China Merchants), a $1-billion marine industry-focused fund sponsored by China Merchants Group (CMG), is the largest shareholder of Shelf Drilling with a 19.7 per cent stake, is a possible major security issue.

China Merchants is a $1 trillion diversified group fully owned by the Chinese state. The jack-up rigs were constructed at China Merchants Heavy Industries (CMHI), the worlds largest CJ jack-up drilling rig manufacturer. Shelf Drilling operates eight rigs in India of which seven are currently on contract with ONGC out of the 25 jack-up rigs chartered by ONGC. All seven are deployed in the hyper-sensitive Arabian Sea region. Several of these are located near Mumbai, the financial capital of India.

According to Indian government officials, the presence of the Chinese government in the strategic and sensitive offshore oil drilling sector has become a matter of concern. Since years, Chinese companies linked to the Beijing government are barred from bidding for Indian port construction and operation contracts mainly due to the sour political relations between the two sides. India is also discussing to classify exploration and drilling of oil and gas as a strategically sensitive sector (both economically and for national security), and accordingly provide protection and oversight by restricting participation in the sector to entities.

Taking the Indian developments to a more global power play, the Indian views could be taken over soon by others too. An emerging anti-China position in the EU and USA could result the coming months in a focus on Chinese maritime sector investments and the stranglehold some of these Chinese parties have. Offshore oil and gas projects are until now not regarded very sensitive, but looking at the current production regions and maritime position, an opposite position could be supported very soon.

If these issues are going to play a role, the OFS, and especially offshore rig markets, will be heading for a major restructuring. Blocking or restraining Chinese government interference and power play in oil and gas developments are likely to see some support in Washington, Brussels and India. Domestic support for the struggling maritime sectors in these regions is already available. For offshore vessel or jackup companies it looks to be time of reassessing their options. Better to be prepared than to be confronted by political and security facts without a warning.

For all non-Chinese parties in offshore drilling it will be a necessity to keep an eye on the Indian developments, while addressing other options. COVID already is a Black Swan of unknown importance. Threats from Chinese interference could be having major impact on the valuations of them all.

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Betting on Offshore Oil and Gas could be Challenging, as Sector Hit by COVID and China Risks - FX Empire

In the wake of Covid-19, time to consider basic income: Senate report – Investment Executive

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The effectiveness of the CERB as an emergency income support has led many people to wonder whether it is time to consider a more permanent solution, such as a basic income guarantee, the report said.

Among other things, the committee also made recommendations for restructuring CERB as a declining benefit, based on income, and improving access to the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS).

While the committee lauded the governments response to the pandemic including federal financial support programs, such as CERB and CEWS, noting that these likely prevented a more severe economic crash it also said that the government has used extraordinary powers to introduce these measures.

On March 24, Parliament passed legislation that granted the government greater spending power and exempted it from requiring Parliaments approval to expand its borrowing.

The report noted that the threat of Covid-19 shows no sign of abating in the near term, and, as a result, it recommended a return to traditional parliamentary procedures for government spending.

Parliament has a fundamental role in reviewing and approving government spending, the report said.

The committee also recommended that the government provide quarterly financial updates throughout the crisis, so that policymakers, lawmakers and Canadians have accurate information about the countrys financial health.

While the government and public service acted with commendable speed in implementing crucial financial supports, public and parliamentary scrutiny of spending measures will be crucial for Canadas economic recovery, said Senator Percy Mockler, chair of the committee, in a statement.

Looking ahead, the committee said that it will focus on recovery strategies when it resumes meeting in the fall and make recommendations for building a fairer and more sustainable economy.

We hope that our study will lead to improved programs and services that will see all Canadians share in the economic recovery. We look forward to laying out a vision for this recovery when we continue our study, said Senator David Richards.

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In the wake of Covid-19, time to consider basic income: Senate report - Investment Executive

COVID-19 on P.E.I.: What’s happening Tuesday, July 14 – CBC.ca

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Prince Edward Island has one new COVID-19 case,an essential worker in his 30s who travelled internationally recently. He has been self-isolating since his arrival on P.E.I., says Dr. Heather Morrison. This case is not related to the twomost recent cases, she said at her regular Tuesdaybriefing.

Contact tracing and testing is underway on the previousnew case of COVID-19, a man in his 40s who is a health-care worker in the emergency department at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown. More than 200 staff and patientshave been identified for testing.

About 20 people gathered in Charlottetown to draw attention to the struggle of seniors in P.E.I.'s long-term care facilities throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Small businesses are making adjustments asmask recommendations change, setting protocols for employees, seeking suppliers, and even offering discounts to mask-wearing customers.

P.E.I. Premier Dennis King says he is comfortable with Islanders travelling around Atlantic Canada and vice versa, but he is not seriously considering expanding beyond that yet.

Fishermen on P.E.I. are hoping the lobster industry will be better in the fall than it was in the spring.

P.E.I.'s tourism industry lost more than $27 million in direct earnings with the cancellation of the cruise ship season this year,the CEO of Port Charlottetown estimates.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown what can be possible with regard to a basic income guarantee on P.E.I., says the chair of the legislative committee on poverty.

Health PEI told employees in an email earlier this week thatall staff who come in contact with patients and who aren't able to physically distance must now wear medical masks.

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COVID-19 on P.E.I.: What's happening Tuesday, July 14 - CBC.ca

Seamount announces addition of Chassis Assets to their Drayage Fleet – DC Velocity

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Seamount Transport Services, a sister company to Mitco Global, today announces the addition of container chassis assets to its fleet. At time of writing, Seamounts fleet includes 30 Drivers and Clean Trucks, as well as the new pool of 75 chassis. The all new chassis are combo chassis and able to support both 40 and 45 trailers. They all have GPS tracking, and other key safety related elements.

Lenny Glenn, President of Seamount commented As the steamships moved away from being in the chassis business, along with industry consolidation, and with our customers using numerous steamship lines, the complexity of managing rental chassis became onerous. With our speed to market program and commitment to our customers to have goods transloaded or shipping within 48 hours of vessel release, the reduction in wait times, and touches required by our drivers made this an easy decision

In 2019 Seamount moved over 12,000 containers on and off the ports of Seattle and Tacoma. The volume is well balanced between containers being serviced at Mitcos facilities, and to importers with their own distribution centers in the Sea-Tac market. The Seamount team is great to work with, they insure we have the containers pulled in the priority we assign, and they do a great job managing and communicating, which helps minimize accessorial fees and surcharges, reports current Seamount customer.

Our drivers love these new chassis, says Jessica Lomax, Seamount Operations Manager. Eliminating the often-required chassis swaps, and the pickup or drops at multiple locations, we anticipate one additional turn per day per driver, which is huge for capacity.

Today Seamount services over 20 clients with their drayage services, including FEU, TEU and LCL shipments. The business is managed through an industry leading TMS specialized for drayage activities. All communication and tracking are reported real time, with integration to the Ports and Steamship lines. This allows for flexible reporting and integration to our clients ERP.

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GEMoaB and Intellia Therapeutics Enter into Research Collaboration and Licensing Agreement on Next-Generation Cellular Immunotherapy Based on…

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DRESDEN, Germany, July 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- GEMoaB, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of next-generation immunotherapies for hard-to-treat cancers, announced today that it has entered into a research collaboration and license agreement with Intellia (Nasdaq: NTLA), a global leader in the field of genome editing treatments.

The companies will conduct joint research to combine GEMoaB's proprietary RevCAR technology platform with Intellia's proprietary genome editing technologies to discover and develop next-generation allogeneic cellular immunotherapies for hard-to-treat cancers and inflammatory diseases. The companies will focus on immunotherapies directed against a selected number of targets.

Under the terms of the agreement, GEMoaB will receive payments for each product based on target reservation and selection, achievement of regulatory, clinical and commercial milestones as well as tiered royalties based on net sales. Intellia will lead the research collaboration, and be responsible for clinical development and commercialization.

"We are very pleased to enter into the agreement with Intellia, which is, similarly to GEMoaB, using its cutting-edge technology to develop breakthrough products for patients with a high unmet medical need," said Armin Ehninger, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer at GEMoaB. "Not only does the collaboration reflect the unique optionality of GEMoaB's technological platform, but it will also provide rapid clinical proof-of-concept for RevCAR, our second cellular immunotherapy platform."

Andrew Schiermeier, Ph.D., Intellia's Chief Operating Officer, added, "We are very pleased to work with the talented GEMoaB team, and believe that their RevCAR platform represents a unique and powerful advance in how we think about engineering cell therapies. We are confident that the combined power of GEMoaB's cellular immunotherapy platform and Intellia's numerous and proprietary CRISPR-based approaches to T-cell engineering will accelerate the development of unique and highly-differentiated, genome-edited products for patients with a high unmet medical need."

About GEMoaB

GEMoaB is a privately-owned, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that isaiming to become a globally leading, fully integrated biopharmaceutical company. By advancing its proprietary UniCAR, RevCAR and ATAC platforms, the company will discover, develop, manufacture and commercialize next-generation immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer patients with a high unmet medical need.

GEMoaB has a broad pipeline of product candidates in pre-clinical and clinical development for the treatment of hematological malignancies as well as solid tumors. Its clinical stage assets GEM333, an Affinity-Tailored Adaptor for T-Cells (ATAC) with binding specificity to CD33 in relapsed/refractory AML, and GEM3PSCA, an ATAC with binding specificity to PSCA for the treatment of castrate-resistant metastatic prostate cancer and other PSCA expressing late stage solid tumors, are currently investigated in Phase I studies and globally partnered with Bristol-Myers Squibb. A Phase IA dose-finding study of the first UniCAR asset, UniCAR-T-CD123 for treatment of relapsed/refractory AML and ALL is ongoing, UniCAR-T-PSMA against CRPC and other PSMA-expressing late-stage solid tumors, is planned to be tested in a Phase IA study initiated by H2 2020.

Manufacturing expertise, capability and capacity are key for developing cellular immunotherapies for cancer patients. GEMoaB has established a preferred partnership with its sister company Cellex, a world leader in manufacturing hematopoietic blood stem cell products and a leading European CMO for CAR-T cells, co-operating in that area with several large biotech companies.

About UniCAR and RevCAR

GEMoaB is developing rapidly switchable universal CAR-T platforms, UniCAR and RevCAR, to improve the therapeutic window and increase efficacy and safety of CAR-T cell therapies in more challenging cancers, including solid tumors as well as hard-to-treat inflammatory diseases. Standard CAR-T cells depend on the presence and direct binding of cancer antigens for activation and proliferation. An inherent key feature of the UniCAR and RevCAR platforms is a rapidly switchable on/off mechanism enabled by the short pharmacokinetic half-life and fast internalization of soluble adaptors termed targeting modules (TMs). These TMs provide the antigen-specificity to activate UniCAR/RevCAR gene-modified T-cells (UniCAR-T, RevCAR-T) and consist of a highly flexible antigen-binding moiety, linked to a peptide motif recognized by UniCAR-T/RevCAR-T. Different to UniCAR, where the CAR consists of a scFv, RevCAR uses an inert peptide attached to the CAR. RevCAR TMs consist of a highly flexible antigen-binding moiety, linked to a scFv domain binding to the inert peptide attached to the CAR of the RevCAR effector T-cell.

About ATAC

GEMoaB's platform of Affinity-Tailored Adaptors for T-Cells (ATAC) is characterized by high binding affinity to tumor antigens and lower affinity to the CD3 antigen on effector T-cells, preventing T-cell auto-activation in pre-clinical models. Safety and tolerability of the treatment are also increased by the relatively short serum half-life (60 min). The use of fully humanized antibodies reduces the risk of immunogenicity even in case of chronic dosing. Half-life extended ATACs are in pre-clinical development.

More information can be found at http://www.gemoab.com.

For further information please contactJana Fiebiger[emailprotected] Tel.: +49 351 4466-45012

Investor ContactMichael Pehl[emailprotected]Tel.: +49 351 4466-45030

Forward-looking Statements

This announcement includes forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside of our control, that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results and matters discussed in the forward looking statements. Forward looking statements include statements concerning our plans, goals, future events and or other information that is not historical information.

The Company does not assume any liability whatsoever for forward-looking statements. The Company assumes that potential partners will perform and rely on their own independent analyses as the case may be. The Company will be under no obligation to update the Information.

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SOURCE GEMoaB

http://www.gemoab.com

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GEMoaB and Intellia Therapeutics Enter into Research Collaboration and Licensing Agreement on Next-Generation Cellular Immunotherapy Based on...

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Planning to Self-Publish Your First Book? Avoid These 6 Rookie Mistakes at All Costs – Thehour.com

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Photo: Sean Gladwell | Getty Images

Planning to Self-Publish Your First Book? Avoid These 6 Rookie Mistakes at All Costs

Writing a book mightnot be the first thing that comes to mind for growing your business, but this can go a long way in helping entrepreneurs establish their credentials and industry expertise. It helps get your name out there, and can even lead to media coverage for you and your company.

Best of all, the rise of self-publishing has made authorship more accessible than ever for entrepreneurs. You dont need to seek out a deal with a major publisher. Instead, you can self-publish and start selling your book on Amazon or promoting it through your site.

While self-publishing allows you to get your book to market quickly, self-publishing is rife with potential pitfalls. Avoiding these sixrookie mistakes will ensure that you look like a professional, not a novice.

You arent done with your book once you type the end or its equivalent. Books published by major publishers go through several rounds of revisions and edits before they hit store shelves. If you neglect editing your self-published book, you risk coming across as sloppy and unprofessional.

Editing should cover grammar and spelling issues, but it can also reveal flaws in the structure or organization of your book. You might not have put enough emphasis on certain topics, or maybe you repeated certain points multiple times in the text. Enlist the help of a few beta readers to go through your manuscript to get an idea of what is or isnt working.

Related: Why Every Entrepreneur Should Write a Book

A title can make or break any piece of entertainment be it a book, newspaper article or movie. Your title needs to grab the audiences attentionwhile still giving them an idea of what to expect in your book.

One common suggestion for business and other nonfiction books is to combine a creative title with an indicative subtitle that tells readers what your book is about.

As one example, Greenville Universitys Deloy Cole explains, "Eats, Shoots and Leaves: A Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation,is a masterful combination of creative title with meticulous, content-oriented subtitle. The title alone wouldnt make a reader aware of the books subject (apart from actually reading the book), but the subtitle turns the book into something other than an ambiguous scene of gustatory violence.

Few things will drive readers away like an ugly front cover. The visual elements of your books cover will often catch a readers eye before the title does. Unless youre a professional graphic designer, this means you should turn this job over to a professional who will design an engaging cover that matches the content of your book.

Just how important is a book cover, exactly?

A survey by The Book Smugglers found that 79 percent of readers reported that book covers played a decisive role when deciding to buy a book, with 48 percent saying the cover played a major role. With hardcover books, 40 percent said an ugly cover would even keep them from buying a book they were previously interested in.

Many entrepreneurs self-publish a book as a form of marketing for their business. But your book also needs to be marketed to make an impact. In an email conversation, J.J. Hebert, president of MindStir Media, a self-publishing services company, explained, Every book needs a marketing plan that starts before releaseand continues for at least a few months after the book releases. Hundreds of thousands of books are self-published every year. A few social media posts arent going to get you the traction you need to stand out and get meaningful sales numbers.

In addition to social media campaigns, self-published authors should use email lists and newsletters to tell subscribers about the book. Actively participating in online industry groups will ensure that when you talk about your book, you wont come across as spammy. Media outreach (especially on a local level) can also drive momentum for your book release.

Self-publishing is very much a DIY endeavor and that often includes formatting the book. Even if youve thoroughly edited your books content, it will still look sloppy and unprofessional if the text isnt formatted properly. Even seemingly minor details like section breaks or the type of file you upload can make a difference.

Authors should be mindful of all formatting guidelines for the program they are usingand carefully review the text for any issues before publishing. Remember, ebooks and print books often have different formatting standards. Youll want to review all versions of your book to ensure that digital readers dont get an inferior experience.

Related: 3 Lessons Youll Learn by Writing a Book About Your Business

Be careful to avoid overpricing or underpricing your book. Pricing a self-published ebook for over $10 will seem too expensive for many buyers. On the other hand, underpricing could indicate to readers that your book isnt very good. For ebooks, the self-publishing sweet spot is usually around $2.99 to $5.99, depending on the length of the book.

For print books, you can (and should) go higher to cover the related printing costs. Many full-length paperbacks will sell for $14.99, and some business books are even more. Find a good balance between profitability and an attractive price point.

When done right, self-publishing can make a big difference for your personal brand. It can even serve as an additional source of revenue that earns money on its own in addition to driving new leads to your business. By taking the time to do self-publishing right, you will make more sales and make a strong, positive impression on your readers.

Related:8 Questions To Ask Before Hiring A ConsultantPlanning to Self-Publish Your First Book? Avoid These 6 Rookie Mistakes at All Costs'Brands Are Investing In Technology' - Q&A With Richard Huang

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Superhot Dev Continuing To Experiment With VR, But New Game Skips Support – UploadVR

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The Superhot Team indicated that there are no plans for a VR version of their upcoming new entry in the Superhot franchise, Mind Control Delete, set to release on PC, Xbox and PS4 on July 16. However, the team isnt ruling out another VR title in the future.

Mind Control Delete is described as a game built on the foundations of Superhot and Superhot VR which promises a bigger campaign, more mechanics and more skills than previous games. Even better, owners of the original Superhot game (who bought it before July 16, 2020) will receive a copy of Mind Control Delete in their library automatically upon release. Mind Control Delete has already been available in Early Access for a while, but the team says it has rebooted and redesigned core parts of the game a half dozen times since then, resulting in a better, sharper, bigger game.

Its bad news for those hoping for VR support though on Twitter the team was adamant that there are no plans for VR with Mind Control Delete at the moment.

Likely due to the popularity of the VR version of the original game, the Mind Control Delete Steam page even has a whole section of the description dedicated to whether it supports VR (or if it will in the future):

MCD is a regular, non-VR title. Its designed for conventional screens and longer play sessions. If you played and enjoyed SUPERHOT VR, youll have a blast playing the original SUPERHOT and MCD as well.

Just like making SUPERHOT VR required making an entirely new game with new mechanics, new levels, and a new story, so would our next VR game differ from MCD and everything else weve done so far. Were always working on new things, but great things take time to build. It may be a long time before were happy with the next great VR thing to show you.

That makes it sound like there could be another Superhot VR game in development. We reached out to the teams Callum Underwood, who clarified that the developer is always experimenting with VR, but has no new official product to confirm right now. We are definitely playing with cool stuff in VR but are never sure if they will end up being products or just experiments, he said.

While there may not be a VR version of Mind Control Delete on the horizon at the moment, we look forward to seeing what the team has in store for VR in the future.

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Superhot Dev Continuing To Experiment With VR, But New Game Skips Support - UploadVR

Reddit now supports up to 20 GIFs or images in a single post – The Next Web

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Till now, youve had to rely on Imgur whenever you wanted to post more than one image in your Reddit post. Thankfully, you wont need to do that anymore. The social network is introducing a new feature thatll allow you to upload 20 GIFs or images in a single post.

Reddit is calling this feature Image Gallery and rightly so. If youre in a food-related subreddit, youll be able to upload multiple images to reference a recipe, or if youre in a subreddit for iPhones (or any devices), youll be able to post more than one pictures or GIFs to indicate whats going on with your device.

In a blog post, the company said this will provide a different method to engage more than 430 million active users:

For redditors, Image Galleries provides an uncomplicated way to take part in Reddits 100,000+ communitiesand simplifies the process of including multiple images or gifs in a single post. It also equips redditors, media organizations, and partners with a different method to engage more than 430 million active users on the platform.

Reddit Senior Product Manager, Tyler Swartz, said this has been one of the most demanded features by the community since the social network added support for images back in 2016.

Currently, youll be able to upload images through the Reddit desktop site or its iOS app; Image Galleries support for Android will be rolling out next week.

Youll be able to caption individual pictures with credit links, and tag image galleries with tags such as NSFW or Spoilers.

Reddit said in future, youll be able to add mixed media images, GIFs, or videos in one post. That sounds exciting.

Read next: This UK intersection emulates Dutch road design to make city cycling safer

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Reddit now supports up to 20 GIFs or images in a single post - The Next Web

How museums are (inclusively) documenting the pandemic, protests – Mashable

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How this is done depends on a museums focus. To get a sense of how and what museums are collecting, Mashable spoke with curators and directors organizing collections at the Smithsonians National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) and Anacostia Community Museum, the Los Angeles Public Library, the Museum of the City of New York, and the National Women's History Museum.

The NMAAHC, for instance, reached out to 400 organizations and people it has relationships with to collect materials, which focus on the Black experience in the U.S. Curators are asking people to share stories about their social experiences throughout the pandemic. The stories of Black Americans over centuries have been ignored or muted," Bill Pretzer, a curator for the NMAAHC, says, noting that the museum's very existence addresses this.

Curators have also put together a community curation website, which people register for, in order to collect images of things like Black Lives Matter printed masks, protest signs, written stories, or uploaded journal entries. (Others, like the Los Angeles Public Library and the Anacostia Community Museum, have similar online portals.)

At the Museum of the City of New York, Sean Corcoran, the head of prints and photography for the museum, and his team have added another approach. Using the hashtags #CovidStoriesNYC and #ActivistNY, theyve asked people to upload pictures on social media, which Corcoran and his team then comb through. For now, select images submitted to #CovidStoriesNYC will be reposted on the museum's social media channels and its website, while the images submitted to #ActivistNY are being uploaded to the museum's ongoing (and currently digital) collection of the same name. He's found, thus far, that using hashtags allows for a broad interpretation for what can be submitted, which he says welcomes a wide variety of voices and stories. (Corcoran estimates 5,000 to 6,000 photos were uploaded in the first two months of #CovidStoriesNYC's debut.)

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How museums are (inclusively) documenting the pandemic, protests - Mashable

Another COVID-19 Vaccine Joins the Race This Time, it’s a Live, Weakened Virus – BioSpace

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Another COVID-19 vaccine candidate recently entered the races. The difference this one is a live attenuated (weakened) virus expressing the coronaviruss signature spike protein on its surface. And its delivered nasally, not a shot.

COVID-19 vaccine development will be more of a marathon than a sprint, Martin Moore, Ph.D., co-founder and CEO of Meissa Vaccines, told BioSpace. A live attenuated vaccine may not be first-in-class, but their historically high efficacy could make it the best-in-class.

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Moore spoke with BioSpace about live attenuated vaccines, interim data from their RSV vaccine candidate, and how they are building on their RSV vaccine platform to create a COVID-19 vaccine.

Live attenuated vaccines (LAVs)

Think about it what is the best way to generate an effective vaccine against a virus? Mimic natural infection as close as possible by giving someone a form of the virus that cant make them sick.

This is just what live attenuated vaccines (LAVs) do. LAVs contain a weakened form of a virus that is given to someone the same way that natural infection occurs, such as via a nasal spray (intranasally) for the flu LAV. This provokes all aspects of the immune system: innate local (mucosal), cell-based, and systemic antibody (humoral) responses.

Once inside the body, the weakened virus can replicate at a low level for a few days, but it is easily cleared by the immune system. After just one or two doses, the weakened virus produces strong, long-lasting immune responses that are almost as good as the full-strength virus that causes sickness.

By mimicking infection, LAVs generally provide more robust immune responses compared to injected non-living vaccines that typically only induce the antibody-based immune response. Thats why you usually have to get booster shots of injected vaccines.

This concept is hardly new. In fact, LAVs are already available against multiple viruses, including measles, mumps, rubella (as the combined MMR vaccine); rotavirus; and chickenpox.

The oral polio vaccine is a great example of a live attenuated vaccine, Moore said. Its low cost, able to be given widespread, and easy to administer with no needles or adjuvants needed. From a manufacturing standpoint, its also inexpensive and pretty easy to produce.

Advantages and limitations of live attenuated vaccines (LAVs)

Advantages

Limitations

1-2 doses

Cant be given to immunocompromised people

Lower cost

Need to be refrigerated

Administered through the same route as natural infection (intranasal, oral, etc.)

Genetic stability of virus is important for safety

No needles or adjuvants needed

Strict safety levels to adhere to during development

Induces both cellular and humoral (antibody) immune responses

Need to balance attenuation with potency/immunogenicity

As you can imagine, there is an inherent risk in using the actual (albeit weakened) virus for a vaccine. Viruses constantly mutate, so the weakened virus used in the vaccine has a chance of regaining its ability to be infectious and cause disease.

Creating a LAV is a balancing act the virus must be weakened enough to significantly reduce the risk of it mutating to become infectious, but still close enough to the full-strength virus to create a similar immune response.

The trick is balancing attenuation with immunogenicity, Moore commented.

Moore explained that if a virus is attenuated based on one or two gene mutations, the virus could revert to being infectious in the vaccine recipient and they can shed live virus, spreading it to others. This is the worst-case scenario and why there are such strict safety standards for vaccines, especially LAVs.

Safety is critical, there are no cutting corners with safety, explained Moore. Coronaviruses, in particular, are prone to genetic recombination, so using a live attenuated coronavirus in a vaccine would run the risk of becoming infectious again. Weve mitigated this risk by using RSV, which is more genetically stable, as a backbone.

Building from the foundation of another respiratory vaccine

The backbone of Meissas COVID-19 vaccine comes from another vaccine in their pipeline their respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine candidate. RSV, a common respiratory virus, usually causes mild cold symptoms; however, infants and the elderly may be hit particularly hard. RSV is infamous for being the culprit behind serious illness and pneumonia in infants less than 1 year old.

To create their intranasal RSV vaccine candidate (called MV-012-968), Meissa genetically engineered RSV to be weakened and safe, yet still potent, by using codon deoptimization.

Codon deopti-what?

Quick genetics review: a codon is a group of three bases in DNA or RNA that encodes a certain amino acid (the building block of proteins). Codons are the genetic code that translates genes into proteins. (Think of bases as the letters of the alphabet, codons as the words, and each gene as a sentence.) There are 64 different codons, but only 20 amino acids that they code for. Almost all amino acids are encoded by multiple codons; some codons for a particular amino acid are used more commonly than the others.

Codon deoptimization is changing the more common codons into the less common codons for the same amino acid throughout a gene. This introduces many silent mutations, changes in the genetic code that do not alter the resulting proteins being made.

This approach to viral genes has been called death by thousands of cuts, Moore explained. By using rare codons, codon deoptimization can change the expression efficiency of proteins.

The rare codons do not have as many amino acid transporters, called transfer RNA (tRNA), so they can slow down the translation process of turning genes into proteins. The slower the gene is translated, the fewer corresponding proteins is made (the lower the protein expression).

Using codon deoptimization, weve downregulated three RSV genes involved in the viruss ability to inhibit the human immune response to create our attenuated RSV, said Moore. This gives us optimized manufacturability, attenuation, and immunogenicity.

By taking away the viruss ability to inhibit immune pathways, Meissa is engineering attenuated vaccine strains that produce a solid immune response. This is key for viruses that dont provide strong immunity to begin with, like RSV or coronavirus.

Their RSV vaccine candidate, which received Fast Track Designation from the FDA in January, is currently in Phase I trials in healthy adults and young children. Previously, it was shown to produce a robust immune response in rats despite being highly weakened. The company recently provided an interim update announcing that initial clinical data showed the vaccine generate an immune response in healthy adults.

There are three main takeaways from the clinical data: the RSV in the vaccine was heavily weakened (as indicated by the lack of viral shedding from the nose); the vaccine prompted an RSV-specific immune reaction in the nose; and the vaccine was reported to be safe and well-tolerated up to 56 days.

All adults in this study have pre-existing titers of serum neutralizing antibodies systemically, Moore explained. All adults have already been infected with RSV previously. Ideally, we want to give our RSV vaccine to RSV seronegative babies so it will produce nasal and humoral immune responses.

Creating the COVID-19 vaccine candidate

Based off the interim RSV vaccine data, researchers at Meissa thought Could we modify our weakened RSV to create a COVID-19 vaccine?

COVID-19 patients dont seem to have a robust neutralizing antibody response, with lower titers that decrease rapidly over short periods of time, said Moore. This is bad news for developing a live attenuated coronavirus-based vaccine if you weaken the coronavirus further, how are you going to get the immunogenicity needed for a robust immune response?

You would overcome that issue by deeply understanding the biology of the coronavirus, Moore continued. Unfortunately, coronaviruses are some of the largest RNA viruses on the planet (genetically speaking), making them extraordinarily complex. Fortunately, RSV is not nearly as complex (about half of the size of coronaviruses, genetically), making it much easier to work with.

Using an RSV backbone for the COVID-19 vaccine also makes a lot of sense given the similarities between the two viruses: they are both respiratory viruses and inhibit the innate immune response during infection.

To create their COVID-19 vaccine, Meissa removed the surface proteins of their weakened RSV and replaced them with the coronavirus spike protein. The RSV-coronavirus hybrid virus was optimized to express the spike protein. This chimeric virus has the best of both worlds the established, weakened RSV construct and high expression of the coronavirus spike protein. Because this vaccine is RSV-based, they completely avoided the slippery genetic slope of using a weakened coronavirus.

Meissa plans to submit an IND later this year and anticipates a Phase I trial of their COVID-19 LAV to begin at the end of 2020. Moore said that the company is working on scaling up manufacturing now so that the COVID-19 vaccine could be in a large pivotal study in 2021.

Other COVID-19 vaccines in development

We all know that the COVID-19 vaccine development pipeline is becoming quite the rapid race. As of July 8, 2020, there were 165 vaccines in development, according to Bio. You can follow development of the most famous vaccine candidates using the New York Times Coronavirus Vaccine Tracker tool, which is periodically updated with new information.

Out of all the other COVID-19 vaccines being developed, only a few use live attenuated viruses. There arent enough LAV candidates in the broader pipeline, which is dominated by nonreplicating vaccines, commented Moore.

In late January, Yuen Kwok-Yung, Chair of Infectious Diseases at the University of Hong Kong, said his lab modified an intranasal flu vaccine they had previously developed so that the influenza virus also expressed coronavirus surface antigens. (There hasnt seemed to be any updates about that vaccines progress.)

Another company, Codagenix, Inc., is using codon deoptimization (like Meissa) to create vaccines against respiratory diseases like RSV and influenza. Theyve also jumped into the COVID-19 vaccine race with their candidate, called CDX-CoV. They successfully created the vaccine in mid-June and it is still in preclinical studies.

Only 5-7 percent of Americans have been infected and natural immunity doesnt seem to be that robust, so we could be in for quite a slog, Moore concluded.

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Another COVID-19 Vaccine Joins the Race This Time, it's a Live, Weakened Virus - BioSpace

Chronicled and Deloitte ally to accelerate blockchain in the life sciences and health care industry, including fighting medication counterfeits in…

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SAN FRANCISCO, July 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Chronicled and Deloitte today announced an alliance to bring blockchain-powered solutions to the life sciences and health care industry. The alliance will leverage technology and solutions powered by Chronicled's MediLedger Network, a blockchain-enabled network for the life sciences industry, to bring interoperability, security and efficiency to processes between companies in revenue management and the pharmaceutical supply chain.

Part of the new alliance between Chronicled and Deloitte includes a solution to help fight counterfeits and fraud in the medication used for the treatment of COVID-19, an issue that has increased dramatically since the start of the pandemic. MediLedger's product verification solution can enable pharmacies and hospitals to authenticate high risk or suspect products. It works through a barcode scan that validates product data against the original manufacturer's data. MediLedger already enables verification by pharmaceutical wholesalers for more than 95% of drugs being re-sold in the US and is among the first blockchain-based solutions deployed in commercial use around the world.

"Chronicled has the potential to radically reshape the way product is tracked and managed within the health care ecosystem," said David Carlson, managing director, Deloitte Consulting LLP, and leader for the Chronicled relationship. "As the life sciences industry moves quickly to get innovative therapies to market during this critical time, stakeholders are looking for solutions that enhance pricing transparency while creating an efficient mechanism to exchange product use and financial information. Chronicled is an important player in the effort to better collaborate across the value chain and Deloitte is well positioned to drive large scale industry transformation."

In addition to product verification on MediLedger, Chronicled will launch a second solution this summer called Contracts & Chargebacks aimed at eliminating disputes, improving cash flow and identifying revenue leakage in the chargeback process between manufacturers, distributors and group purchasing organizations. MediLedger can enable significant improvements to these processes, helping companies transact and share data with each other and avoid delays, inaccuracies, poor customer service and lost revenue.

"Chronicled is pleased to be working with Deloitte to offer the MediLedger Network to the health care industry, most importantly to do our part in the fight against COVID-19," said Susanne Somerville, CEO of Chronicled. "CombiningChronicled's innovative product verificationand contracts and chargebacks solutions and Deloitte's deep experience with implementation and the complexities of these business processes, we have the ability to create tremendous value for the industry and the world."

To learn more, contact [emailprotected].

About Chronicled

Based in San Francisco, Chronicled is a technology company developing solutions that bring trust, efficiency and automation to the life sciences industry. Chronicled is the custodian of MediLedger, an open and decentralized blockchain-based network that connects trading partners and enforces cross-organization business rules without revealing private or competitively sensitive data. MediLedger currently facilitates solutions in the supply chain and revenue management functions within the life science industry.

About Deloitte

Deloitte provides industry-leading audit, consulting, tax and advisory services to many of the world's most admired brands, including nearly 90% of the Fortune 500 and more than 7,000 private companies.Our people work across the industry sectors that drive and shape today's marketplace delivering measurable and lasting results that help reinforce public trust in our capital markets, inspire clients to see challenges as opportunities to transform and thrive, and help lead the way toward a stronger economy and a healthy society. Deloitte is proud to be part of the largest global professional services network serving our clients in the markets that are most important to them.Now celebrating 175 years of service, our network of member firms spans more than 150 countries and territories. Learn how Deloitte's more than 312,000 people worldwidemake an impact that matters at http://www.deloitte.com.

Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a UK private company limited by guarantee ("DTTL"), its network of member firms, and their related entities. DTTL and each of its member firms are legally separate and independent entities. DTTL (also referred to as "Deloitte Global") does not provide services to clients. In the United States, Deloitte refers to one or more of the US member firms of DTTL, their related entities that operate using the "Deloitte" name in the United States and their respective affiliates. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting. Please see http://www.deloitte.com/aboutto learn more about our global network of member firms.

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http://www.chronicled.com

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Chronicled and Deloitte ally to accelerate blockchain in the life sciences and health care industry, including fighting medication counterfeits in...

64 Decentralized Applications Now Live on Blockchain Network Ontology, which Recently Became Google Cloud Partner – Crowdfund Insider

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In June 2020, the Ontology (ONT) team celebrated two years since the launch of the Ontology mainnet, which aims to serve as a high-performance enterprise blockchain or distributed ledger technology (DLT) platform.

Last month, the blockchain developers also launched Ontology 2.0, which involved the integration of several key upgrades recommended by the DLT networks active community members.

The Ontology team noted:

Guaranteeing the future development and success of our ecosystem remains our number one priority and we want to make it as easy as possible for every individual to get involved in our network. This is why our new staking model, rolled out on 7th July, lowers the barrier for entry for users to stake their tokens and run a node.

Staking ONT tokens helps with securing the Ontology network. It also offers competitive rates (of return) which presently range from 7% up to 40% APY depending on the node. The Ontology developers claim that their rates are relatively high when compared to competing public chain staking yields and decentralized finance (DeFi) yields.

(For more details about staking ONT tokens and the benefits it offers to individual users, check here.)

As confirmed in Ontologys Weekly Report, for July 8 to July 14, 2020, the projects developers are working on layer 2 research for Ontologys back-end.

The progress report revealed that there are now 64 decentralized applications (dApps) that are live on Ontology. However, most of these apps hardly have any active users and dont offer very many useful features or use cases.

Ontology recently announced that it became an official Google Cloud partner, as three Ontology projects were reportedly accepted to Googles Cloud Partner Program.

As noted by the Ontology team:

The program will see the Ontology development team granted unique access to cutting-edge tools and technology, while also leveraging the support of the wider Google Cloud Partner ecosystem. Three of Ontologys projects have been accepted into the Google Cloud ecosystem, outlining new, innovative ways that Ontology has been working to integrate Googles cloud computing services.

Andy Ji, Co-founder of Ontology stated:

Collaborating with Google Cloud offers us the opportunity to demonstrate the real-world business value of integrating blockchain technology with other technological disciplines such as cloud computing, which is a vital step in bringing blockchain to mainstream use.

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64 Decentralized Applications Now Live on Blockchain Network Ontology, which Recently Became Google Cloud Partner - Crowdfund Insider

Volvo Cars Tech Fund invests in blockchain technology firm Circulor – Tires & Parts News

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Trading Enterprises, the exclusive distributor of Volvo cars in the UAE, has announced that Volvo Cars has made an investment in blockchain technology firm Circulor through the Volvo Cars Tech Fund, the companys venture capital investment arm.

Circulor and Volvo Cars have been working together in recent years on the implementation of blockchain technology to boost the traceability of cobalt used in the batteries of its electric cars.

Circulors blockchain technology is today used throughout Volvo Cars battery supply chain, which will achieve 100 per cent traceability of cobalt used in the XC40 Recharge P8, its first fully electric car. Production of the XC40 Recharge P8 will start later this year in Ghent, Belgium.

The investment in Circulor by Volvo Cars allows both companies to expand their focus beyond cobalt, for example by looking at increasing traceability of mica, a mineral used as isolation material in the battery pack of electric Volvos.

Volvo Cars and Circulor are also investigating the possibility to expand their blockchain technology cooperation to other areas, for example tracking and reducing CO2 footprints, helping Circulor to potentially set standards for ethical sourcing in automotive and other industries.

The investment by the Volvo Cars Tech Fund is part of a funding round by Circulor, which also involves three other investors: SYSTEMIQ, Total Carbon Neutrality Ventures and Plug & Play Tech Fund.

We are committed to an ethical supply chain for our raw materials and our partnership with Circulor has been instrumental in that regard, said Martina Buchhauser, chief procurement officer at Volvo Cars. By supporting Circulors ongoing development we can expand the use of blockchain technology in our operations and contribute to a more sustainable business.

Volvo Cars was the first car maker to implement global traceability of cobalt used in its batteries by applying blockchain technology across its supply chain. The technology developed by Circulor is implemented in partnership with CATL and LG Chem, Volvo Cars battery supply partners.

CATL and LG Chem are renowned battery manufacturers with long and successful track records supplying lithium ion batteries to the global automotive industry. They fulfil Volvo Cars strict sourcing guidelines in terms of technology leadership, responsible supply chains, reduction of carbon emissions and competitive cost models.

The agreements between Volvo Cars, CATL and LG Chem cover the supply of batteries over the coming decade for next generation Volvo and Polestar models, including the XC40 Recharge P8.

The Volvo Cars Tech Fund was launched in 2018 and invests in high-potential technology start-ups around the globe. It focuses its investments on strategic technology trends transforming the auto industry, such as artificial intelligence, electrification, autonomous driving and digital mobility.

The XC40 Recharge model will be available in the UAE from Q4 2021.

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Volvo Cars Tech Fund invests in blockchain technology firm Circulor - Tires & Parts News

Europe Blockchain Finance Market 2020: Drivers, Restraints, Opportunities, Threats, Trends, Applications, Growth Analysis and Forecast To 2028 – Cole…

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There was a growth of about 41.3% in the number of persons employed as ICT specialists during the period 2008-2018, which was about 12 times as high as the corresponding increase (3.4%) for total employment.

CRIFAX added a report onEurope Blockchain Finance Market, 2020-2028to its database of market research collaterals consisting of overall market scenario with prevalent and future growth prospects, among other growth strategies used by key players to stay ahead of the game. Additionally, recent trends, mergers and acquisitions, region-wise growth analysis along with challenges that are affecting the growth of the market are also stated in the report.

TheEurope Blockchain Finance Marketis anticipated to observe steady growth with many changes in the methods of production and pattern of employment in ICTs within the European Union (EU).Europe had the highest internet usage rates with about 82.5 percent of individuals in Europe using the internet as of 2019 according to International Telecommunication Union (ITU). As of 2019, the internet has penetrated and covered about 84.9 percent of the male population and about 80.3 percent of the female population. Internet access is available to about 86.5 percent of the European households and around 78 percent of European households own a computer. Further, about 18.8 inhabitants out of 100 inhabitants in Europe on an average used DSL internet subscriptions. Europe registered the highest bandwidth usage for every internet user which was 211 kilobit per second as of 2019. About 99.7 for every 100 inhabitants were covered by a mobile-cellular network. Similarly, the population covered by a 3G mobile network was 99.1 per 100 inhabitants.

The Final Report will cover the impact analysis of COVID-19 on this industry (Global and Regional Market).

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The European Union (EU) witnessed a growth in the number of ICT specialists by 39.1 percent in 2018, registering an increase of six times higher as the increase for total employment. About 2/3rds of the ICT specialists amounting to 63.1 percent had a tertiary level of education in the European Union. About 3.9 percent of the total workforce in the EU in 2018 comprised of ICT specialists. Finland recorded the highest relative share of total workforce employed as ICT specialists with 182,000 persons representing 7.2% of the total employment. During 2008-2018, the growth in the number of persons employed as ICT specialists was about 41.3% which was close to 12 times as high as the corresponding increase for total employment. Nearly half of Europeans (46%) use the internet for calling that is an increase of 20 percent from the previous year and 40 percent increase as compared to 2013.

The Final Report will cover the impact analysis of COVID-19 on this industry (Global and Regional Market).

Download a Sample Report and Figures:-https://www.crifax.com/sample-request-1010643

To provide better understanding of internal and external marketing factors, the multi-dimensional analytical tools such as SWOT and PESTEL analysis have been implemented in the Europe Blockchain Finance Market report. Moreover, the report consists of market segmentation, CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate), BPS analysis, Y-o-Y growth (%), Porters five force model, absolute $ opportunity and anticipated cost structure of the market.

About CRIFAX

CRIFAX is driven by integrity and commitment to its clients and provides cutting-edge marketing research and consulting solutions with a step-by-step guide to accomplish their business prospects.With the help of our industry experts having hands on experience in their respective domains, we make sure that our industry enthusiasts understand all the business aspects relating to their projects, which further improves the consumer base and the size of their organization. We offer wide range of unique marketing research solutions ranging from customized and syndicated research reports to consulting services, out of which, we update our syndicated research reports annually to make sure that they are modified according to the latest and ever-changing technology and industry insights. This has helped us to carve a niche in delivering distinctive business services that enhanced our global clients trust in our insights and helped us to outpace our competitors as well.

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Europe Blockchain Finance Market 2020: Drivers, Restraints, Opportunities, Threats, Trends, Applications, Growth Analysis and Forecast To 2028 - Cole...