September 8, 2021

Moroccan wind + sustainable computing project continues development under a new name

Soluna Technologies Ltd. is now called Harmattan Energy, Ltd.

NEW YORK, Sept. 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Soluna Technologies, Ltd., known for the 900 megawatt (MW) wind farm and blockchain computing center under development in Dakhla, Morocco, is now called Harmattan Energy, Ltd. The Chief Executive Officer, John Belizaire renamed the company after Mechanical Technology, Inc. (MTI) acquired Soluna Computing — a spin-out focused on eliminating wasted renewable energy using sustainable computing — to become Soluna Holdings on August 12, 2021. The Harmattan Wind project in Morocco was not included in MTI’s acquisition of Soluna.

Harmattan Energy, Ltd. will hold the Harmattan Wind project and manage all development activities.

“Harmattan inspired our entire business model for Soluna, and it will be an important proving ground as the first-of-its-kind, vertically integrated wind, and blockchain computing project,” said Belizaire. “This project has the potential to be the largest in Africa, taking advantage of an enormous wind resource. Our business model of renewable energy development paired with sustainable computing can unlock economic opportunity across the continent.”

Named after the easterly trade winds of West Africa, Harmattan will continue developing the wind farm on over 10,000 hectares including on-site data centers that use renewable energy to power blockchain computing. Harmattan Energy will generate clean energy for high-intensity, batchable computing processes. This business model is solving two growing problems. First, it creates a beneficial use for “curtailed,” or wasted renewable energy. Second, it provides a pathway to make energy-intensive computing more sustainable.

Harmattan Energy, Ltd. will continue with previously conceived plans through its subsidiary A.M Wind, SARL to develop a Center of Excellence, create jobs, and partner with local stakeholders that include government, local organizations, and utility partners in Morocco.

The company retains its original shareholders, Brookstone Partners. It will be overseen by Matt Lipman, Managing Director at Brookstone. Mr. Belizaire will serve as interim CEO, until a replacement is named. The first phase of development of 100 MW is planned to start construction in 2022.

About Harmattan Energy, Ltd.

Formerly known as Soluna Technologies Ltd., Harmattan Energy, Ltd., was founded in 2018, and then renamed in 2021. Harmattan develops vertically integrated, utility-scale projects that combine its own renewable energy power plants with dispatchable computing facilities focused on cryptocurrency mining and cutting-edge blockchain applications. Soluna’s flagship project, Harmattan Wind, is a 900 MW wind site located in Morocco. The record-breaking productivity of the site brings a clean, low-cost, sustainable infrastructure layer to the blockchain.

Led by a world-class team of technologists and renewable energy experts, Harmattan’s mission is to better the world by making renewable energy the primary power source using computing as a catalyst.

Harmattan is headquartered in New York City, with offices in Morocco.

September 8, 2021

Medwish.com lance un plan mondial d’expédition gratuite pour livrer du matériel médical aux hôpitaux

SHANGHAI, 8 septembre 2021/PRNewswire/ — Medwish.com, la place de marché en ligne d’équipements médicaux B2B, a annoncé aujourd’hui que la livraison serait offerte sur plus de 10 000 produits médicaux dans l’ensemble de ses 14 sous-catégories, allant des lits d’hôpitaux, des moniteurs, des nébuliseurs à compresseur, des concentrateurs d’oxygène et du système de diagnostic par ultrasons jusqu’aux incubateurs à secousses, brancards hydrauliques, ventilateurs médicaux, caméras NIR 4K, défibrillateurs, etc.

Pendant la pandémie de COVID-19, les frais de fret international ont augmenté de 500 % dans la plupart des pays par rapport à l’année dernière. Cela a rendu extrêmement difficile l’exportation de dispositifs médicaux. De nombreux plans d’acquisition d’ingénierie hospitalière sont bloqués en raison du montant élevé des frais. L’augmentation du fret international aura un sérieux impact sur les exportations d’équipement au cours des prochains mois de 2021.

Medwish.com, une place de marché B2B professionnelle dans le domaine médical, est déterminé à amener plus de 400 fabricants d’équipements médicaux de Jiangsu à rejoindre sa plateforme afin de mettre en place une promotion d’expédition gratuite de septembre à décembre en réponse à la forte augmentation des frais d’expédition internationaux.

Face aux épidémies qui sévissent à l’étranger et à l’augmentation des frais de fret internationaux, Medwish.com s’associe à ses partenaires et est prêt à mettre de côté ses intérêts à court terme pour livrer des dispositifs médicaux au monde entier le plus rapidement possible afin de lutter contre l’épidémie. Dans le même temps, les clients du monde entier sauront qu’à Zhangjiagang, qui fait partie de la ville de Suzhou, dans la province de Jiangsu, il existe une plateforme médicale prête à établir une connexion entre les pays dont les frais de fret sont élevés.

« La promotion devrait commencer le 1^er septembre et durer 120 jours jusqu’au 31 décembre 2021. Le volume des transactions sur medwish.com devrait dépasser au moins 200 millions de dollars américains (1,3 milliard de yuans). Il est prévu que 1 200 conteneurs de 40 pieds de haut soient expédiés, pour une valeur d’environ 18 millions de dollars américains (environ 120 millions de yuans). S’il y a davantage de fournisseurs et de clients, il y aura davantage d’avancées », déclare Fola Wu, PDG de Medwish.com.

À propos de Medwish.com

La plateforme « MEDWISH » (www.medwish.com) est une place de marché mondiale B2B axée sur la fourniture et l’achat d’équipements et de dispositifs médicaux. L’équipe de Medwish coopère avec les principaux prestataires de services mondiaux dans des domaines tels que la logistique, l’assurance, le financement, le dédouanement, le paiement international, etc. Cette place de marché médicale élimine les difficultés des acheteurs mondiaux en intégrant des chaînes d’approvisionnement de haute qualité. Les acheteurs de Medwish.com travaillent essentiellement dans des hôpitaux récemment construits ou sont des agents étrangers.

Site web : www.medwish.com

Photo : https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1609312/1.jpg

September 8, 2021

Dickey’s Executes Monumental International Franchise Deal to Expand in Africa

Texas-style barbecue restaurant announces master agreement to open eight new locations across Botswana by 2032

Dallas, Texas, Sept. 07, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Dickey’s Barbecue Pit international expansion efforts are showing no signs of slowdown as the world’s largest barbecue concept is bringing its slow-smoked meats and savory sides to more of Africa!

Dickey’s announced today that the company signed a Master agreement with exclusive rights to grow its Africa presence by opening eight locations in Botswana over the span of a decade. The new locations will join Dickey’s first Africa restaurant in Cairo, Egypt. Dickey’s continues to expand its global footprint with additional locations open in Japan, Singapore, Philippines and United Arab Emirates and Master development agreements in place in Abu Dhabi, Australia, Brazil, Dubai, Pakistan, Myanmar, Taiwan and Georgia.

Located in the business district of Botswana’s capital, Gaborone, Dickey’s 1,575-square-foot flagship location will offer dine-in seating for up to 60 guests, carryout, and delivery. In addition to serving its traditional American menu, Botswana’s first Dickey’s will also feature local favorites such as lamb shank.

“The owner operators offer a firm understanding of the cultural and financial factors related to Botswana and Dickey’s,” said Jim Perkins, vice president of international development and support at Dickey’s. “One of the Owner/Operators gained personal experience with the brand a few years ago while visiting her now husband who was studying at a University in Texas, which aided in driving this relationship forward during the pandemic. I could not be happier with their experience and energy – it is outstanding!”

The new Owner/Operators will travel to Dallas to attend Dickey’s training program – Barbecue University. While in the U.S., they will take advantage of visiting the various footprints that Dickey’s offers, including traditional brick-and-mortar, food trucks, non-traditional locations and more.

To learn more, follow Dickey’s Barbecue Pit on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Download the Dickey’s Barbecue Pit app from the Apple App Store or Google Play.

About Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants, Inc. 

Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants, Inc., the world’s largest barbecue concept, was founded in 1941 by Travis Dickey. For the past 80 years, Dickey’s Barbecue Pit has served millions of guests Legit. Texas. Barbecue.™ At Dickey’s, all our barbecued meats are smoked onsite in a hickory wood burning pit. Dickey’s proudly believes there’s no shortcut to true barbecue and it’s why they never say bbq. The Dallas-based, family-run barbecue franchise offers several slow-smoked meats and wholesome sides with ‘No B.S. (Bad Stuff)’ included. The fast-casual concept has expanded worldwide with international locations in the UAE and Japan. Dickey Family Restaurant brands have over 550 locations nationwide. In 2016, Dickey’s won first place on Fast Casual’s “Top 100 Movers and Shakers” list, was named a Top 500 Franchise by Entrepreneur in 2018 and was named to Hospitality Technology Industry Heroes in 2021. Led by CEO Laura Rea Dickey, who was named among the country’s 50 most influential women in foodservice in 2020 by Nation’s Restaurant News and was recognized as one of the top 25 industry leaders on Fast Casual’s 2020 Top 100 Movers and Shakers list, Dickey’s Barbecue Pit has also been recognized by Fox News, Forbes Magazine, Franchise Times, The Wall Street Journal and QSR Magazine. For more information, visit www.dickeys.com.

Attachments

Chrissy Bachman
Dickey's Barbecue Pit
469-580-0459
[email protected]

September 8, 2021

HolyGrail 2.0, l’initiative relative aux filigranes numériques visant à révolutionner le recyclage des emballages plastiques, franchit une étape importante

Les essais semi-industriels commenceront lors de la prochaine phase de l’initiative européenne relative aux filigranes numériques, pilotée par l’AIM, l’Association des Industries de Marque, et alimentée par l’Alliance to End Plastic Waste.

BEAVERTON, Oregon, 7 septembre 2021/PRNewswire/ — Digimarc Corporation (NASDAQ: DMRC) annonce aujourd’hui son entrée en phase d’essais semi-industriels, marquant la prochaine étape de développement de la solution de tri intelligent des déchets sur laquelle porte HolyGrail 2.0, l’initiative relative aux filigranes numériques dirigée par l’AIM, l’Association des Industries de Marque, et propulsée par l’Alliance to End Plastic Waste.

Les essais semi-industriels ayant débuté, HolyGrail 2.0 est sur la bonne voie pour lancer la phase très attendue de démonstration sur le marché et d’essais à l’échelle industrielle. Les produits filigranés numériques pourraient être déployés en magasin au Danemark, en France et en Allemagne au premier semestre de 2022.

En tant que fournisseur désigné de technologie de filigranes numériques, Digimarc travaille avec les deux fournisseurs de machines Pellenc ST et Tomra afin de développer des modules pour leurs unités de tri par détection. Des tests sont prévus en octobre 2021 dans deux sites d’essai. De plus, des démonstrations du prototype de l’unité de tri par détection auront lieu à l’Amager Resource Centre (ARC), à Copenhague, les 19 octobre et 18 novembre 2021. Les parties intéressées peuvent s’inscrire ici .

Cette étape importante marque la deuxième année du projet HolyGrail 2.0, qui compte maintenant plus de 130 entreprises et organisations provenant de part et d’autre de la chaîne de valeur de l’emballage.

Lire le communiqué de presse

À propos de Digimarc
Digimarc Corporation (NASDAQ: DMRC) est un pionnier et un leader dans le domaine des solutions de filigrane numérique et de l’identification automatique des médias, notamment le conditionnement, les imprimés commerciaux, les images numériques, l’audio et la vidéo. Digimarc aide les clients à améliorer l’efficacité, la précision et la sécurité des chaînes d’approvisionnement physiques et numériques. Visitez www.digimarc.com et suivez-nous sur LinkedIn et Twitter pour en savoir plus.

À propos de l’initiative relative aux filigranes numériques HolyGrail 2.0
L’ initiative relative filigranes numériques HolyGrail 2.0 , pilotée par l’AIM (l’Association des Industries de Marque) et propulsée par l’Alliance to End Plastic Waste, est un projet pilote ayant pour objectif de démontrer, d’une part, que les filigranes numériques sont techniquement viables pour le tri précis des déchets d’emballage et, d’autre part, que l’analyse de rentabilité est économiquement viable à grande échelle. Les filigranes numériques sont des codes imperceptibles de la taille d’un timbre-poste qui couvrent la surface des emballages de biens de consommation et qui contiennent un large éventail d’attributs. Leur principe est le suivant : lorsqu’un emballage entre dans une installation de tri des déchets, le filigrane numérique est détecté et décodé sur la ligne de tri par une caméra haute résolution, qui peut ensuite, selon les attributs transférés (p. ex., produit alimentaire ou non alimentaire), placer l’emballage dans les flux appropriés. En rendant les flux de tri plus efficaces et plus précis, leur utilisation se traduit donc par des matières recyclées de meilleure qualité qui profitent à l’ensemble de la chaîne de valeur de l’emballage.

Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/461519/digimarc_logo.jpg

Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMjg_GuLDZI

Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1609147/Holy_Grail_2_Point_0_Logo.jpg

September 8, 2021

Vaccinate and Return to Play

Deputy President David Mabuza has called on all South African citizens to heed the call to vaccinate in order to reduce the rate of infections, hospitalisation and deaths.

Mabuza was speaking at the launch of the Vaccination Social Mobilisation campaign, in partnership with the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture under the theme ‘Return to Play – it’s in your hands’.

Mabuza said that they have partnered in their collective commitment to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic by reaching out to communities through this campaign.

“If we are to revive our vibrant creative industries, if we are to return to our theatres, stadiums to play and enjoy, it is important that our vaccination programme is accelerated to reach as many people as possible,” Mabuza said.

The Deputy President was flanked by Sports, Arts and Culture Minister, Nathi Mthethwa; Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo and Gauteng Premier David Makhura, among others.

Mabuza said government has no doubt that with the active participation of leaders and practitioners in the creative sectors and sport, the campaign will reach every village, suburb and every street corner to get South Africans vaccinated.

“As part of this social mobilisation programme, we must reach out to educate communities about the benefits of vaccines, and dispel myths and the spread of fake and untrue conspiracy theories about vaccines. In that way, we will ensure that we eliminate vaccine hesitancy and save more lives in the process.

“As a country, we must contribute to the global fight against COVID-19, and revive sport and the creative industries to contribute to economic recovery and reconstruction,” Mabuza said.

The Deputy President said the country’s response to containing the spread of COVID-19 infections necessitated the implementation of restrictions, which impacted on the economy as a whole, while ensuring lives are saved.

“The restrictions related to entertainment and sporting venues have made it difficult for some of our artists to sustain themselves. With limited fiscal resources from government, no amount of support could be enough to compensate for the negative impact of COVID-19 on sustainable incomes and livelihoods.

“While government made contributions to lessen the negative impact on incomes, we are under no illusion this dealt with all the problems that the creative sectors faced,” Mabuza said.

He commended the commitment and resilience of artists and the creative sector as a whole for supporting government efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 and prevent the loss of lives.

Population immunity

The Deputy President said the path to saving lives and economic recovery depends on the accelerated roll-out of the vaccination programme to reach the required levels of population immunity.

“For those countries who have reached population immunity, including the United Kingdom and Germany, normalcy is returning as they are now able to attend the sporting and cultural events of their choice. In the process, there are positive impacts on their economies,” Mabuza said.

He said Africa has a long way to go to reach the levels of vaccination that allow it to follow suit.

“The social mobilisation campaign that we are launching today must assist us to ramp up our vaccination programme to reach a required target of herd immunity, so that we are able to open sport and entertainment venues.

“A vaccinated nation is what it will take to once again open the stadium for the popular Soweto Derby. A vaccinated nation is what it will take to open the Cape Town Jazz Festival, Macufe and other prominent music events on our calendar, and indeed, a vaccinated nation is what it will take to open the Durban July and other similar events,” Mabuza said.

Mabuza said government will continue to work with the scientific community and ensure that its decision-making processes are based on empirical science, which states clearly that vaccines save lives.

Reclaiming normalcy

Delivering his remarks, Dhlomo said the Department of Health is grateful to be part of the event, where leaders are making a commitment to join hands with government to save lives and livelihoods.

Dhlomo reiterated that it is clear vaccination is the only way to reclaim some form of normality to life.

The Deputy Minister said Gauteng is currently vaccinating 75 000 people a day and the province would like to push that number to 100 000 a day.

Meanwhile, Makhura announced that the Gauteng province is officially out of the third wave.

“We can only fully return to some new normality when we have vaccinated between 67% and 80% of our population. Vaccines are the most powerful game changer in our hands.

“This is a very empowering [campaign] theme, which calls on all of us to play our part. The theme emphasises the power of collective action and ability of people in every sector to take their destiny and future into their own hands,” Makhura said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

September 8, 2021

Central Energy Fund, Sasol sign gas MOU

The Central Energy Fund (CEF) has signed a memorandum of understanding with chemicals and energy giant, Sasol.

The MOU is aimed at securing future gas supply options and infrastructure critical to the gas market.

The agreement comes at least two months after the CEF announced that its subsidiary, iGas, had exercised pre-emptive rights to acquire 30% of Sasol’s shares in the Republic of Mozambique Pipeline Company (ROMPCO) gas pipeline joint venture.

CEF Group Chief Executive, Dr Ishmael Poolo, said the agreement was signed with the prospect of protecting future gas supply in the country and creating jobs.

“At the core of achieving our strategic mandate of ensuring security of supply is domestic job creation and an approach to the just energy transition that fosters increasing domestic value addition.

“In this regard, gas remains a critical component in our country’s just energy transition journey, and our continued collaboration with Sasol in unlocking growth in the gas space remains critical for us in contributing to the achievement of an optimal energy mix,” Poolo said.

Sasol Executive Vice President for Energy Business, Priscillah Mabelane, said collaborations are necessary to sustain the energy sector.

“Sasol has had a long-standing relationship with CEF through our well-established partnership in the ROMPCO pipeline and looks forward to commencing this next stage of growth in gas together.

“Gas is instrumental in enabling a just energy transition in South Africa and requires immediate attention to introduce additional supply to South Africa. Currently, the country’s gas supply comes from the Pande-Temane gas fields in Mozambique, which will need to be supplemented in the long-term, as these reserves begin to mature,” said Mabelane.

A statement released by the gas company highlighted the importance of gas for South Africa.

“Gas is a significant contributor to South Africa’s energy mix and its importance is expected to grow. Preliminary global benchmark case studies indicate that countries experiencing growth in demand for gas have opted for increasing the number of import locations to serve regional markets via pipeline.

“Both companies will explore developing multiple low-cost gas import locations around the country,” the statement said.

Source: South African Government News Agency