The Talga Bar

funfact

"Business leaders at the top of the income list​

Mining profiles and business profiles - but also a dolt focusing on technology that improves the safety of modern cars.

We have the latest list of top earners in Luleå.

XY is the Luleå resident with the highest earned income in the 2023 tax year. His income was just over 7.9* million.

The current tax assessment calendar applies to earned income in 2023. At the top of the list is XY with an earned income of almost eight million. XY has a long background in the mining industry, including as technical director at LKAB, Kaunis Iron and for a period he was also chairman of the board of Talga AB. He is now working on..." rbPW

*corresponds to about €790,000

The winner is:

cosors said:

"Sources: Honda, Nissan seen inking merger soon​

6 hours ago
Sources say Honda Motor and Nissan Motor are expected to sign a basic merger agreement soon. Japan's second- and third-largest automakers are considering forming a holding company to improve competitiveness by sharing technologies and costs.
The two companies agreed in August to develop common software platforms and standardize parts in electric vehicles including sharing model specifications and parts supply.
Discussions about a strategic partnership in areas such as electrification were announced earlier in March.
The automakers face intensifying competition from foreign rivals. Tesla of the US and China's BYD are taking the lead in EVs, autonomous driving and software development.
Nissan's net profit plunged almost 94 percent in the six months through September from a year earlier, partly due to sluggish sales in the US.
The automaker said last month that it will reduce global production capacity by 20 percent and cut 9,000 jobs by March 2027. It also announced management changes last week, including naming a new chief financial officer.
Nissan is the top shareholder in Mitsubishi Motors."
The merger talks with Honda may include discussions about whether Mitsubishi would be included in the possible holding company."

Sources: Honda, Nissan seen inking merger soon | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News

Sources say Honda Motor and Nissan Motor are expected to sign a basic merger agreement soon. Japan's second- and third-largest automakers are considering forming a holding company to improve competitiveness by sharing technologies and costs.

www3.nhk.or.jp

Click to expand...

It seems the merger is off.

"Honda-Nissan Merger In Serious Trouble After Nissan Rejects Offer​

Feb 4, 2025


Back on December 18, 2024, we ran a story about Honda and Nissan entering into talks on a possible merger to save a struggling Nissan.

A lot can change in seven weeks. According to one of Japan’s daily newspapers, Yomiuri Shimbun, dark clouds have now begun to hover over the merger talks between Honda and Nissan. The newspaper points out that Honda approached Nissan with a proposal to make Nissan a subsidiary, but Nissan, which would lose control of its management, strongly opposed the idea. This development could lead to the talks breaking down altogether.
On 4 February, a Nissan executive, who did not wish to be named, said, “It is almost impossible to meet the conditions acceptable to the shareholders of both sides. It no longer seems possible to merge.”

Honda Is Impatient With Nissan’s Hesitation​

In December last year, the two companies announced that they would enter into talks to establish a new joint holding company in August 2026 and delist both companies. This latest update comes as a struggling Nissan has yet to convince Honda that the company is on track for a successful business restructure, a premise the two companies had agreed upon before the planned merger.

However, Honda, impatient with Nissan’s delay, took the initiative by proposing that Nissan become its subsidiary and leaned towards a policy of forcing it to carry out the restructuring. Honda's proposal is expected to come up against vehement opposition from Nissan over concerns that its autonomy could be challenged. In its defense, Nissan noted that it gained more flexibility and autonomy after its long-time French partner Renault agreed in 2023 to reduce its stake in the Japanese automaker.

A Breakdown In The Talks Seems Unavoidable​

The Nissan side has been in intermittent talks since the end of last week, and is coming to the conclusion that it will not accept the subsidiary idea. Honda, for its part, has said that if their approach is rejected, a breakdown of the talks will be unavoidable.

The two companies had initially planned to indicate the direction of talks by the end of January, but on January 31 they announced that they would postpone the discussions until mid-February.

On February 4, Nissan stated, “We hope that the talks will not break down, but [a business merger] is tough.” Meanwhile, Honda said, “Nissan lacks a sense of urgency. We don’t think Honda can afford to negotiate with them any longer.”

In November last year, Nissan, hit by a rapid deterioration of its performance, announced that it would cut 9,000 jobs worldwide and reduce its global production capacity by 20 percent. But Honda sees these moves as insufficient and sluggish in execution.

Mitsubishi To Sit Back, See How Things Pan Out​

At a press conference in December, Honda President Toshihiro Mibe stated that “unless (Honda and Nissan) can become two independent companies, the consideration of business integration will not be feasible.” That thought now seems to have changed a little.

Mitsubishi Motors, Nissan’s largest shareholder, had also considered joining the talks on the merger, but is leaning towards maintaining its independence for the time being. At its financial results press conference on February 3, Mitsubishi said it would decide on the nature of its involvement after Honda and Nissan's decision was known."

Talga is so damn quiet right now.. I hope they are cooking in the background with those offtake and financing deals.. and don't want to get trapped spilling the beans by accident. One can only hope.

"Sensational discovery of critical metals in China "changes everything""

"Sweden's trump card: These minerals can save Europe"

"Export ban to the West - critical minerals go to Russia instead
...
Although China repeatedly denies its involvement in the war against Ukraine, documents show that Beijing plays a key role in keeping the Russian war machine running."

"Renault's trying to do with EV battery fire safety what Volvo did with seatbelts​

Carmaker offers patents for its 'Fireman Access' system out for free, cuts the time it takes to put out an electric car's battery fire

Someone give Renault a gold star, or ten. The carmaker has made its 'Fireman Access' patents freely available to the car industry in a move reminiscent of Volvo’s 1959 seatbelt-design sharing.
The Fireman Access system enables firefighters to rupture the protective membrane around an EV or plug-in hybrid’s battery pack and douse the thing in water, pronto. The mechanism is a button that can be pushed with the pressure of the water hose.

In figures published by QBE last May, there was a 33 per cent increase in electric car fires in the UK between 2022 and 2023. Relatively speaking these numbers (89 to 118 incidents) are low, not just in light of the increasing number of EVs and PHEVs on the roads, but also when compared to fuel-related fires. Want the stats? In 2022, of the 18,991 UK road vehicle fires, only 239 were battery-related.
Though car fires are usually down to dodgy fuel systems, EV batteries can cause more dramatic fires and are more difficult to deal with. It’s all to do with something called 'thermal runaway'. Basically, the battery short circuits, overheating and releasing highly flammable gases which ignite. It’s dangerous since it only takes one cell to start it, then the others contagiously follow suit. Not good.

To date, the Fireman Access and Renault's SD switch – which acts like a fuse to decouple the car's electrics from the battery pack (which has also been developed with firefighters) – has helped cut the response time in dealing with electrified vehicle battery fires from hours to minutes, in turn enabling Fireman Sam to get back in his truck and onto the next emergency.
Renault boss Luca de Meo said: "Fireman Access is a practical demonstration of what can be achieved by combining our expertise as a manufacturer with the skills of the men and women who keep us safe every day.

"I'm delighted to be making this innovation freely available, because when it comes to a subject like safety, we need to break down all the barriers. This move is also in keeping with the commitment made alongside the United Nations, to make mobility safer, all over the world."
The carmaker hopes all seven patents – already available on Alpine, Dacia, Mobilize and Renault models – will get adopted by other carmakers and create a standardised safety feature going forward.
Like that wasn't enough, Renault's also used its work with firefighters to train them to be more aware of how modern cars are set up using virtual reality workshops. Like we said, gold stars at the ready.
Renault isn't the only one looking at ways to deal with overheating batteries though. A division of Stellantis US had a patent approved for an EV exhaust recently. The idea there is to vent the gases, e.g. hydrogen, that could combust, while simultaneously releasing the pressure that could create heat."