Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 3:53 PM on Monday, January 6th, 2020
SPONSOR: Tartisan Nickel (TN:CSE)
Kenbridge Property has a measured and indicated resource of 7.14
million tonnes at 0.62% nickel, 0.33% copper. Tartisan also has
interests in Peru, including a 20 percent equity stake in Eloro
Resources and 2 percent NSR in their La Victoria property. Click her for more information
Demand for nickel in PH to spike due to growing demand for electric vehicles
The nickel industry in the Philippines can expect a brighter prospect for 2020 as the global demand is expected to increase for the manufacturing of electric vehicles (EVs).
Cha Olea, Philippine Nickel Association (PNIA) executive director,
said in an interview on Friday that the association has seen an
increasing trend for electric vehicles worldwide, including the
Philippines, leading to a possible industry boom as a result of a shift
from fossil-run vehicles to more environment friendly electricity-run
vehicles to curb carbon emission.
“The primary component of EV battery is nickel because of the
batteries,†she said. Aside from nickel, Olea said the batteries also
need cobalt and magnesium, but 50 percent of the batteries for EVs are
made of nickel.
The executive added that manufacturing plants’ demand for stainless steel, which is also derived from nickel, would increase.
Members of the European Union targets to totally eradicate carbon
emission by 2030, while the United States has been slowly replacing
fossil-run vehicles with EVs, by offering incentives to owners of
electric vehicles.
“Nickel has a very good prospect in the future, especially that
Europe’s direction by 2030 is zero carbon emission. They are shifting to
electric vehicles,†Olea said.
She said the Philippines is one of the biggest producers of nickel in
the world, producing an estimated volume of 30 million metric tons last
year. Of which, around 90% had been exported to China while the
remaining 10% to Japan, Australia, and EU.
“Globally, they are looking for Philippines. Of course, we have to position ourselves strategically,†she said.
She noted that in the Philippines, some public utility vehicles had been replaced with e-tricycles and e-jeepneys.
Olea said at least 70% of the nickel ore extracted from the
Philippines would be used for stainless steel, 3% for other components,
6% for batteries of EVs, 2% for castings, 6% for plating, 9% non-ferrous
metals, and 4% for alloy steel.
She said the new opportunities in the global market would benefit the
domestic nickel industry. According to her, the mining industry in the
Philippines employs some 250,000 workers. (Antonio L. Colina IV /
MindaNews)
Tags: CSE, nickel, nickel demand, stocks, tsx, tsx-v Posted in All Recent Posts | Comments Off on Tartisan #Nickel $TN.ca – Demand for nickel to spike due to growing demand for electric vehicles #EV $ROX.ca $FF.ca $EDG.ca $AGL.ca $ANZ.ca
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 2:22 PM on Monday, January 6th, 2020
Patient Self-Monitoring Extends Physicians’ Reach for Proactive Monitoring of Atrial Fibrillation Recurrence and any Arrhythmia.
Confirms market traction with orders being placed by physician groups for the newly launched HeartCheck™ CardiBeat Handheld ECG monitor and GEMS™ Mobile Smartphone app for prescribed in-home arrhythmia monitoring
Dr. Yaariv Khaykin, Physician Lead at PACE and Chief Medical Information Officer at Southlake Regional Health Centre, stated, “We are very excited at the opportunity to introduce the use of this home-based ECG/arrhythmia monitoring technology to our patients empowering them to take greater charge of their health.”
TORONTO, ONTARIO / January 6, 2020 / CardioComm Solutions, Inc. (TSX VENTURE:EKG) (“CardioComm” or the “Company“), a global provider of consumer heart monitoring and electrocardiogram (“ECG“) device and software solutions, confirms market traction with orders being placed by physician groups for the newly launched HeartCheck™ CardiBeat Handheld ECG monitor and GEMS™ Mobile Smartphone app for prescribed in-home arrhythmia monitoring.
Partners in Advanced Cardiac Evaluation (“PACE“),
the largest arrhythmia practice in Ontario (Canada) placed a first order
of the HeartCheck™ CardiBeat Handheld ECG monitors and is recommending
its patients to use the devices for one year of in-home, self-monitoring
with an emphasis on detecting a recurrence of Atrial Fibrillation (“AF“)
following cardiac ablation treatment for AF. The Company confirms that
additional hospital affiliated physician groups have also purchased the
HeartCheck™ CardiBeat ECG devices for evaluation in their respective
practices with additional orders expected in early 2020.
AF is a life-threatening arrhythmia that is difficult to treat.
Cardiac ablation is a procedure commonly used to correct AF; however, AF
recurrence after ablation is common and can be “silent”, occuring
without any symptoms, discomfort or warning to the patient (See Note 1).
PACE patients will use the GEMS™ Mobile Smartphone app to record ECGs
taken by the HeartCheck™ CardiBeat which will then be automatically
forwarded by CardioComm’s SMART Monitoring ECG service directly into the
patient’s cardiologist’s Electronic Medical Record (“EMR”). Should any
submitted ECG recordings show a recurrence of AF or a presence of other
cardiac arrhythmias, the patients are contacted by PACE and follow-up
visits scheduled. ECG reports generated through GEMS™ Mobile are
eligible for medical service reimbursement in both Canada and the US.
Dr. Yaariv Khaykin, Physician Lead at PACE and Chief Medical
Information Officer at Southlake Regional Health Centre, stated, “We are
very excited at the opportunity to introduce the use of this home-based
ECG/arrhythmia monitoring technology to our patients empowering them to
take greater charge of their health.”
The GEMS™ Mobile app is available in Android and Apple Smartphone
compatible versions as a free downloadable app and allows users to
generate unlimited ECG reports to show to their physician. The app also
allows users to request their ECG to be reviewed by CardioComm’s SMART
Monitoring ECG reading service where the user does not have direct
connectivity to their treating physician.
To learn more about CardioComm’s products and for further updates
regarding HeartCheck™ ECG device integrations, please visit the
Company’s websites at www.cardiocommsolutions.com and www.theheartcheck.com.
CardioComm Solutions’ patented and proprietary technology is used in
products for recording, viewing, analyzing and storing
electrocardiograms for diagnosis and management of cardiac patients.
Products are sold worldwide through a combination of an external
distribution network and a North American-based sales team. CardioComm
Solutions has earned the ISO 13485:2016 MDSAP certification, is HIPAA
compliant and holds clearances from the European Union (CE Mark), the
USA (FDA) and Canada (Health Canada).
This release may contain certain forward-looking statements and
forward-looking information with respect to the financial condition,
results of operations and business of CardioComm Solutions and certain
of the plans and objectives of CardioComm Solutions with respect to
these items. Such statements and information reflect management’s
current beliefs and are based on information currently available to
management. By their nature, forward-looking statements and
forward-looking information involve risk and uncertainty because they
relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the
future and there are many factors that could cause actual results and
developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by
these forward-looking statements and forward-looking information.
In evaluating these statements, readers should not place undue
reliance on forward-looking statements and forward-looking information.
The Company does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking
statements and forward-looking information contained in this release
other than as required by applicable laws, including without limitation,
Section 5.8(2) of National Instrument 51-102 (Continuous Disclosure Obligations).
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as
that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts
responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Tags: EKG, mhealth, small cap stocks, stocks, tsx, tsx-v Posted in CardioComm Solutions | Comments Off on Physician Groups Order The Heartcheck(TM) Cardibeat For In-Home Arrhythmia And Atrial Fibrillation Monitoring – CardioComm Solutions $EKG.ca $ATE.ca $TLT.ca $OGI.ca $ACST.ca $IPA.ca
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 10:34 AM on Monday, January 6th, 2020
SPONSOR:ThreeD Capital Inc. (IDK:CSE)
Led by legendary financier, Sheldon Inwentash, ThreeD is a
Canadian-based venture capital firm that only invests in best of breed
small-cap companies which are both defensible and mass scalable. More
than just lip service, Inwentash has financed many of Canada’s biggest
small-cap exits. Click Here For More Information.
Hundreds of Institutions Are Already Investing in Crypto: Coinbase CEO
According to the CEO of one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges
globally, institutions are already actively investing in the emerging
asset class and the trend is likely to continue throughout 2020.
Will institutions further bolster the crypto market in 2020?
Prior to 2019, institutional investors only really had Bitcoin
Investment Trust (GBTC) by Grayscale and CME Group’s futures market to
invest in bitcoin.
“We’ve already started to see small institutions enter the
cryptocurrency space. Hundreds have joined Coinbase Custody in the past
18 months. I would expect this rapid growth to continue in 2020, with
larger and larger institutions coming on board. Eventually just about
every financial institution will have some sort of cryptocurrency
operation, and most funds will keep a portion of their assets in
cryptocurrencies, partially due to the uncorrelated returns.â€
“Bakkt will be likely first a trickle and then a flood. The reality
is that most regulated futures contracts get low adoption on day1 simply
b/c not all futures brokers are ready to clear it, many ppl want to
wait and see, the tickers are not even populated on risk systems, etc,â€
Three Arrows Capital CEO Su Zhu said.
Independent funds seeing more institutional inflow
Despite a noticeable decrease in deal value in the latter half of
2019, in October of last year, Anthony Pompliano of Morgan Creek Digital
said that the firm’s crypto fund secured $60 million from institutional
investors.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 9:21 AM on Monday, January 6th, 2020
SPONSOR: NORTHBUD (NBUD:CSE)
Sustainable low cost, high quality cannabinoid production and
procurement focusing on both bio-pharmaceutical development and
Cannabinoid Infused Products. Learn More.
Teas and edibles and vapes, oh my!
By: Kyle Mack
The latest in cannabis products will be available for legal sale in Ontario.
The Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS) is releasing 59 new products
including edibles, beverages, lotions, and concentrates in stores today
but online Jan 16.
Prices of edibles range from $7.50 to $16 per item while beverages
can cost between $4 to $10 and vapes falling between $25 – $125. Daniel
Safayeni, Director of Policy at The Ontario Chamber of Commerce has
previously released a statement on the THC limit per edible stating,
“The OCC supports a THC limit of 10-milligrams per discrete unit of
edibles, as well as the sale of multi-packs or multiple products—up to a
maximum of 100-milligrams of THC per package—within child-proof
packaging. As we outline in the report, single-packs are costly, while
multi-packs would allow licensed producers to create economies of scale.
The proposed regulations, however, limit the amount of THC per package
to only 10 milligrams, which is significantly lower than illegal
alternatives and lower in other U.S. jurisdictions where recreational
cannabis is legalâ€.
The THC cap may act as a barrier to shifting cannabis shoppers from
making illicit purchases, where higher THC contents can be found.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 2:38 PM on Friday, January 3rd, 2020
SPONSOR: NORTHBUD (NBUD:CSE)
Sustainable low cost, high quality cannabinoid production and
procurement focusing on both bio-pharmaceutical development and
Cannabinoid Infused Products. Learn More.
Edibles, vapes and tea coming to legal Ontario cannabis shops Monday
Ontario’s cannabis distributor says dozens of new marijuana products will be available in retail shops starting Monday but supplies will be limited.
Unveiled 59 new items today including a variety of vapes, edibles and a tea.
TORONTO – Ontario’s cannabis distributor says dozens of new marijuana products will be available in retail shops starting Monday but supplies will be limited.
The Ontario Cannabis Store unveiled 59 new items today including a variety of vapes, edibles and a tea.
The products will be available in the province’s legal cannabis
retail stores starting next week and Cannabis edibles to hit store
shelves in January.
The distributor estimates that products will be in short supply until March as manufacturers ramp up production to meet demand.
The number of products will grow to 100 in the coming months as they receive regulatory approval.
The OCS says the new selection will help it combat black market sales across the province.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 12:21 PM on Friday, January 3rd, 2020
SPONSOR: Tartisan Nickel (TN:CSE)
Kenbridge Property has a measured and indicated resource of 7.14
million tonnes at 0.62% nickel, 0.33% copper. Tartisan also has
interests in Peru, including a 20 percent equity stake in Eloro
Resources and 2 percent NSR in their La Victoria property. Click her for more information
THE nickel mining industry group is bracing for the possible increase in the global demand of nickel brought about by the boom of electric vehicles.
“The direction globally is really the EV (electric vehicle) industry and we have that global competitiveness because more than 50 percent of the component of the entire electric vehicle is really nickel. The batteries itself and the body need more nickel,†Philippine Nickel Industry Association (PNIA) Executive director Charmaine Capili said in a press conference, Friday. Capili explained battery companies are currently experimenting on putting more nickel mineral in batteries for electric vehicles.
“At present, the composition of the battery that is being used is six nickel, two cobalt, and two magnesium. [By] Late 2018, they already tried to use eight nickel, one cobalt, and one magnesium because they said it has lower production cost and higher efficiency, but they still have to test the durability and further its efficiency,†she said.
She said the growing demand for nickel is also foreseen in the goal of European countries to have zero-carbon emission by 2030 by shifting to electric vehicles.
She added that the demand is not only exclusive to other countries as it has been observed in the Philippine transportation.
“Daghang mga LGUs (local government units) karon nga naga-shift na especially sa Manila e-trike, e-jeep (A lot of LGUs right now are shifting into using electric-powered tricycle and electric-powered jeepneys),†Capili said.
Apart from batteries, she said the stainless steel used for the body of electric vehicles also has nickel in it.
Although the Philippines is one of the largest producers of the mineral’s ore along with Indonesia which is leading in the industry, she admitted there are still factor preventing the country to compete globally.
She said among the challenges are the limitations of exploring other areas because of the moratorium imposed by Executive Order (EO) 79.
“May limitations po sa explorations, no new permits. Kung ano lang yung na approved [areas] for existing operations, doon lang (We are only allowed to mine on those areas approved for operations),†she said.
“We have 9 million hectares available in the Philippines for minerals that is copper, gold, nickel. But the Philippines right now is only maximizing only 2 percent out of the 9 million [hectares], and out of the 2 percent, only 1 to 1.5 percent is operating. There is a very big potential,†she said citing data from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources – Mines and Geoscience Bureau (DENR-MGB).
She shared other challenges confronting the industry is the amount of resources, the low grade of nickel, high cost of electricity to process the mineral, and the technologies of extracting ores or for processing it.
Capili bared that to address these issues, PNIA, an association of seven mining companies operating in Surigao, Palawan, and Agusan is working with the DENR and the Department of Trade and Industry to establish a Nickel Industry Roadmap.
She said the roadmap also aims to create stable policies for the nickel mining industry and other industries reliant on nickel as well as programs that promote the sustainability of nickel mining in the country.
She also hoped that the moratorium will be lifted soon for the country to be globally competitive.
“Hopefully, by middle of this year, we can already share and launch the roadmap but we are still creating the composition of the Technical Working Group because we want to get inputs from the government, business sectors, European Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines, the Electric Vehicles Association of the Philippines, other nongovernmental organizations and academe,†she said.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 11:36 AM on Friday, January 3rd, 2020
SPONSOR:ThreeD Capital Inc. (IDK:CSE)
Led by legendary financier, Sheldon Inwentash, ThreeD is a
Canadian-based venture capital firm that only invests in best of breed
small-cap companies which are both defensible and mass scalable. More
than just lip service, Inwentash has financed many of Canada’s biggest
small-cap exits. Click Here For More Information.
Why 2020 will be a big year for crypto
2020 is going to be a big year for crypto.Â
The “Crypto Winter†of 2018/2019 flushed out much (but certainly not all) of the nonsense, and the market has significantly matured over the last few years.
In 2020, I expect accelerating crypto asset adoption, and key
building blocks will come into place for crypto to achieve its long-term
potential of revolutionizing how value is stored and transferred around
the world.
I think my 85 theses from ~7 months ago have aged pretty well. Here, I’ll focus on the 15 most impactful developments I expect to see in 2020.
Institutional Investing
The Global Macro Investors Come In
Ray Dalio clearly laid out the global macro thesis for crypto when he said:
“So, the big question worth pondering at this time is which
investments will perform well in a reflationary environment accompanied
by large liabilities coming due and with significant internal conflict
between capitalists and socialists, as well as external conflicts. It is
also a good time to ask what will be the next-best currency or
storehold of wealth to have when most reserve currency central bankers
want to devalue their currencies in a fiat currency system.â€
Ray’s conclusion was to buy gold. In 2020, I believe large global
macro hedge fund investors (potentially even Ray) will publicly take the
position that bitcoin is a logical asset to hold if you believe this
narrative.
Traditional Asset Managers Continue to Trickle In
I am very encouraged by the State Street survey indicating 94% of their clients hold digital assets or related products, and a survey of endowment funds in which 94% of them stated that they invested in crypto assets over the last year.
I expect these types of traditional asset managers to continue to
show strong interest in crypto in 2020, but do not expect massive
inflows from this segment.
The primary reason for this is that portfolio manager incentives are not conducive to encouraging large crypto allocations. Currently,
crypto is still a non-consensus investment. If a portfolio manager gets
behind investing in crypto, and it does well, they probably get a nice
bonus (but not the types of payouts available to those investing their
own money or 2/20 hedge funds); however, if it does poorly (or they lose
money in an operational issue like an exchange hack), they get fired
for losing client funds in “magical internet money.â€
The portfolio manager who sticks with the consensus position of not
taking a meaningful bet on crypto keeps their cushy job. Eventually, I
believe the consensus will shift to the position that crypto has a role
to play in a diversified portfolio, but not this year.
For active retail traders looking for quick gains, long-tail altcoin
trading was once the place to find the volatility and potential they
sought.
Now, with altcoins down 90%+ from highs, active traders are
increasingly moving to leveraged bitcoin derivatives trading, which
offers the volatility they seek, in an asset that is not on its way to
zero.
I expect volumes on U.S. regulated crypto derivatives exchanges
(e.g., CME, Bakkt) to grow strongly, but the center of activity this
space will continue to come from exchanges that cater to non-U.S. retail
traders (BitMEX and the like).
Stats Get Stacked (and Earn Interest)
While derivatives are great for active traders, the more important
developments for those accumulating crypto are those that enable them to
easily grow their holdings.
In 2020, this will happen in two ways: 1) The ability to earn crypto
for retail activity will accelerate as more ecommerce and payment
companies integrate this into their offerings, and 2) Crypto holdings
will increasingly migrate to places where they earn interest, such as
BlockFi, Celsius, and Voyager.
Automated Tax-Loss Harvesting Becomes Available
Crypto taxes are a disaster not only due to the horrendous reporting
from many exchanges but also because investors are missing out on the
ability to significantly reduce their taxes via automated tax-loss
harvesting.
Personal Capital and robo-advisors made tax-loss harvesting
mainstream for traditional assets, and in 2020, this will finally come
to crypto (along with better tax reporting).
Market Structure
Fewer Exchanges, More Brokerages
The number of crypto exchanges exploded over the last few years. In
2020, I expect this to rationalize. Exchanges are inherently network
effect businesses (liquidity begets liquidity), and smaller players will
fall behind, and either be acquired, fold, or pivot their business
models.
I expect those that excel at acquiring and servicing customers will
become brokerages and source their liquidity from other exchanges or
large liquidity providers.
Use of Third-Party Custodians Increases
Exchanges and brokerages will increasingly use third-party custodians
as they focus on their core competencies. This will make the market
safer (as assets are custodied with best-in-class providers) and will
eventually increase capital efficiency, as assets held at major
custodians will provide buying power across multiple exchanges.
The emergence of instant crypto settlement solutions (think
Silvergate Exchange Network for crypto) from large crypto custodians
will also be a major development in 2020, and further increase the
utility of market participants holding their assets with these
custodians.
Crypto Friendly Banks Scale
Obtaining fiat banking accounts and payment services has been, and
will continue to be, one of the biggest issues for crypto companies.
Around the world, large risk adverse banks will continue to shy away
from banking the crypto industry, providing an opening for new entrants
and smaller players to fill the gap as technology-driven intermediaries,
or full-stack de novo banks. In 2020, I expect some new entrants to run
into significant issues with regulators, while those that are able to
navigate regulatory pressures will scale impressively.
Lending Market Grows
The crypto lending/borrowing market flourished in 2019, let by companies such as Genesis, BlockFi, and Celsius.
I expect volumes will continue to significantly expand in 2020 across
several vectors: 1) Traders borrowing crypto to short and overcome
capital inefficiencies, 2) Investors borrowing dollars using their
crypto as collateral (much more tax efficient then selling), and 3)
Crypto companies becoming de facto banks by taking stablecoin deposits
and making stablecoin loans.
Counterparty Risk Flares Up
The counterparty risks from holding assets with exchanges (e.g.,
hacks) and payment processors (e.g., Bitfinex / Crypto Capital debacle)
have been the most notable to date.
This year, counterparty risk from defaults by uncollateralized crypto
borrowers and from direct counterparties failing to deliver on trades
(i.e., Herstatt Risk) could also come to light if we see significant
downside volatility.
These are likely to be smaller flare-ups vs. systematic blow-ups and
will help the market mature as market participants become more
discerning in selecting counterparties and using solutions to minimize
these risks.
Stablecoins
USD Stablecoin Market Cap and Volumes Accelerate
Tether’s remarkable resilience has demonstrated insatiable demand by
market participants not directly served by U.S. banks to have USD
denominated accounts to settle trades and store value. Despite
significant regulatory uncertainty, I expect Tether’s market cap to
continue to continue to grow in 2020.
The regulated fiat-backed USD stablecoin market (USDC, TUSD, PAX)
will experience huge growth rates (off a relatively small base) as they
become the money transfer rail for use cases the need a solution that 1)
is regulated and 2) runs on a open network (anyone with a crypto wallet
can send/receive).
This will be a compelling position that sits between the Silvergate
Exchange Network (regulated + closed network) and Tether (unregulated +
open network).
International Stablecoins Grow
I expect stablecoins for many other major currencies will also start
to gain traction as a regulated, open money movement rail for those
currencies.
Longer term, things get really interesting as liquid markets develop
between stablecoins of various currencies and provide a 24/7, global,
highly efficient FX market that is accessible to everyone (and sidesteps
the correspondent banking system). Eventually, I expect the market cap
of stablecoins will surpass that of bitcoin.
Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) Remain Mostly Conceptual
Most contemplated CBDCs are significantly different than stablecoins
such as USDC. With CBDCs, the recordkeeping of the value owned by
individuals and businesses is centralized with a central bank. There are
only a few situations where a central bank / government is likely to
take over this recordkeeping function (e.g., China).
I do not expect any major CBDCs to be launched in 2020 (other than
small scale PoCs) but do expect significant developments in 2021 and
beyond.
Emerging Markets Usage
Emerging Market Adoption Continues to Grow
The adoption of crypto assets in markets with hyperinflation has
grown significantly and will continue to do so. The interesting question
will be if bitcoin or stablecoins emerge as the primary winner in these
regions.
My heart hopes that it’s bitcoin, but my head says it will be stablecoins.
DeFi
Impressive Innovation, Little Adoption
The most innovative developments in crypto continue to be in DeFi
(decentralized lending, derivatives, exchange, prediction markets,
etc.), but 2020 breakout growth in this area is highly unlikely.
Currently, these solutions simply do not solve problems better than
centralized options, and each of the smart contract platforms have
issues that will complicate adoption (with ETH it is the complexity of
their development roadmap).
It was exactly a year ago that the Farm Bill legalized CBD and hemp,
the latter a cousin to cannabis as it comes from the same plant. Of
course, there were specified guidelines, such as hemp can be sold as
long as the maximum THC (the psychoactive compound in cannabis that
gives users their high) count is .3 percent; anything that contains more
will be federally classified as illegal marijuana.
The legalization has spawned a booming cottage industry. But just
like with the federally illegal cannabis market, problems proliferate
for CBD and hemp entrepreneurs. For one thing, many vendors, retailers,
advertisers, manufacturers and banks are still not fully apprised that
hemp, for instance, is legal. Because of this misunderstanding, these
prospective partners balk at working with hemp entrepreneurs, thinking
they’ll be subject to the same penalties they would working with
cannabis businesses.
CBD has not been immune to these setbacks, either. Despite its
legality, the FDA has clamped down on businesses that sell CBD as food
additives or label it as a dietary supplement. According to the food
watchdog, CBD’s safety for use in human or animal food is inconclusive,
requiring more data until proven otherwise.
In a press release, Patrick McCarthy, CEO and co-founder of ValidCare,
a provider of market intelligence and research for the hemp-derived
product industry, offered a few intriguing predictions for the space in
2020. Do you agree? Please let me know.
Safety Product Assurance
“Today’s consumer cares about where the products they put in, and on,
their bodies come from. From big breweries to boutique ice creams,
mainstream brands showcase their farmers in their advertising and market
organic, cruelty-free and hyper-local manufacturing practices on their
packaging to assure consumers their products are natural, safe and worth
a premium price. This trend will hit the hemp industry next, as
consumers demand information on plant origin, farming practices, product
composition and sustainability.â€
Baby Boomer Consumption Escalates
“The AARP crowd is one of the largest demographics using hemp-derived
CBD for chronic joint pain and sleep. Expect this trend to increase as
Boomers seek to replace prescription and OTC pharmaceuticals with
hemp-derived products — and to lobby for coverage and/or reimbursement
through FSAs, HSAs and supplemental MediCare policies.â€
Hemp As Mental Health Aid
“Today, one in five Americans report they use hemp-derived CBD for
‘mental health reasons’ such as anxiety. In 2020, we’ll see even more
people ditch Prozac prescriptions for non-impairing hemp-derived CBD to
support their mental health goals. Expect brands targeting this audience
to commission research on hemp-derived CBD’s functional benefits for
mental health.â€
Paving The Way For Minor Supplements
“CBD was this decade’s craze, but as the market for cannabidiol
becomes oversaturated, product companies will introduce other
interesting minor cannabinoids like CBN and CBG, already touted as
having functional benefits tied to sleep and appetite. Expect the FDA to
voice concerns about these ‘cannabis derived compounds’ and mirror its
communication to industry and the public about the need for these
products to be properly vetted for safety and use – and for product
companies to market them nonetheless.â€
Invasion of the Great White North
“Last year we witnessed a number of marijuana companies diversifying
products and risks by introducing hemp-based wellness lines. In 2020,
expect our Northern neighbors to take advantage of the depressed
financial market and invest or buy U.S.-based hemp companies as a way to
enter the U.S. market.â€
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 11:35 AM on Tuesday, December 31st, 2019
SPONSOR: Tartisan Nickel (TN:CSE)
Kenbridge Property has a measured and indicated resource of 7.14
million tonnes at 0.62% nickel, 0.33% copper. Tartisan also has
interests in Peru, including a 20 percent equity stake in Eloro
Resources and 2 percent NSR in their La Victoria property. Click her for more information
The battery decade: How energy storage could revolutionize industries in the next 10 years
Over the last decade a surge in lithium-ion battery production has
led to an 85% decline in prices, making electric vehicles and energy
storage commercially viable for the first time in history.
Batteries hold the key to transitioning away from fossil fuel
dependence, and are set to play a greater role in the coming decade.
UBS estimates that over the next ten years the energy storage market
in the United States could grow to as much as $426 billion, and there
are many ways to buy into the surge, including chemical companies,
battery cell makers, car companies, solar companies and utility
companies.
“Capturing the massive economic opportunity underlying the shift to
controls and battery-based energy systems requires that planners,
policymakers, regulators, and investors take an ecosystem approach to
developing these markets,†sustainability-focused research firm Rocky
Mountain Institute said recently.
What a difference a decade can make. In 2010, batteries powered our
phones and computers. By the end of the decade, they are starting to
power our cars and houses too.
Over the last ten years, a surge in lithium-ion battery production
drove down prices to the point that — for the first time in history —
electric vehicles became commercially viable from the standpoint of both
cost and performance. The next step, and what will define the next
decade, is utility-scale storage.
As the immediacy of the climate crisis becomes ever more apparent,
batteries hold the key to transitioning to a renewable-fueled world.
Solar and wind are playing a greater role in power generation, but
without effective energy storage techniques, natural gas and coal are
needed for times when the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t howling.
And so large scale storage is instrumental if society is to shift away
from a world dependent on fossil-fuel.
watch now
VIDEO08:13
The battery industry is exploding — here’s how it’s changing our world
UBS estimates that over the next decade energy storage costs will
fall between 66% and 80%, and that the market will grow to as much as
$426 billion worldwide. Along the way entire ecosystems will grow and
develop to support a new age of battery-powered electricity, and the
effects will be felt throughout society.
Changing electrical grid
If electric vehicles grow faster than expected, peak oil demand could
be reached sooner than expected, for instance, while more
green-generated power will alter the makeup of the electricity grid.
In a recent note to clients, Cowen analysts said that the grid will
“see more changes over the next ten years than it has in the prior 100.â€
The growing energy storage market offers no shortage of investing
opportunities, especially as government subsidies and regulations assist
the move towards clean energy. But like other highly competitive
markets — such as the semiconductor space in the 1990s — the battery
space hasn’t always provided the best return for investors. A number of
battery companies have gone bankrupt, underlining the fact that a
society-altering product might not reward shareholders.
“Eventually this will come down to some industry leaders who make
some money,†JMP Securities’ Joe Osha said. “I think all these companies
are going to do a good job of delivering declining prices for [electric
vehicle] manufacturers over the course of the next 5-10 years. I am not
so sure that they are going to generate great stockholder returns in
the process.â€
That said, while it might be tricky to invest in pure-play battery
companies, there are opportunities to target companies that stand to
benefit from the shift to a low-carbon world. For example, Sunrun is the largest residential solar company in the United States, while NextEra Energy is one of the country’s largest renewable power companies and is currently building out its utility-scale storage.
As scientists alter the chemical makeup of batteries and companies
make bets on what could be the next breakthrough technology, Dan
Goldman, founder at clean tech-focused venture capital firm Clean Energy Ventures,
said that areas like innovative battery management systems are a good
bet for investors since they can work with any battery technology.
“Capturing the massive economic opportunity underlying the shift to
controls and battery-based energy systems†requires that not only
planners, policymakers and regulators but investors “take an ecosystem
approach to developing these markets,†researchers from Rocky Mountain Institute wrote in Breakthrough Batteries: Powering the Era of Clean Electrification.
Batteries: the new star of science
Battery technology in its simplest form dates back more than two
centuries. The word itself is an umbrella term since batteries come in
all shapes and sizes: lead-acid, nickel-iron, nickel-cadmium,
nickel-metal hydride, etc.
Lithium-ion batteries — which itself can be a catchall term — were
first developed in the 1970s, and first commercialized by Sony in 1991
for the company’s handheld video recorder. They’re now found in
everything from iPhones to medical devices to planes to the
international space station.
Tags: CSE, nickel, nickel demand, stocks, tsx, tsx-v Posted in Tartisan Nickel | Comments Off on Tartisan #Nickel $TN.ca – The battery decade: How energy storage could revolutionize industries in the next 10 years $ROX.ca $FF.ca $EDG.ca $AGL.ca $ANZ.ca
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at 10:56 AM on Tuesday, December 31st, 2019
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an integrated ecosystem. Click here for more information.
The Major Edtech Trends In 2020, According To VCs In India
Indians spend tens of billions on education every year
With disposable incomes continuing to rise, there is a massive prize for the startups that achieve success in this space
According to Anirudh Damani, managing partner, Artha Venture Fund, the key to success for an edtech startup will be to sell directly, thereby keeping a short feedback loop
India, being one of the youngest countries in the world and boasting a
rapidly-growing startup ecosystem, offers a widely untapped opportunity
for many sectors, both locally and globally. Venture capitalists have
gravitated to the Indian market in great numbers in the past decade to
pour capital into this opportunity, pushing startups towards scalability
in every sector. Edtech is no different, and in recent years, this
sector has become one of the biggest opportunities for tech startups in
the Indian context.
As Unitus Ventures’ senior associate Sunitha Viswanathan told Inc42,
the large market of close to 250 Mn students in the K-12 segment and
over 10 Mn youth graduating every year mean that India is the land of
massive potential for edtech disruption.
“Given the huge lopsided teacher: student ratio, this can only be
solved by using tech. Hence, there is a necessity more than a choice.
And rightly so,†she added.
While we spoke to edtech startups about the trends
they expect to observe in 2020, we also wanted to take the VC view and
what they expect from the ecosystem in the new year. What will be the
factors that make or break edtech startups in 2020.
Factors For Success In Edtech
Indians spend tens of billions on education every year. With
disposable incomes continuing to rise, there is a massive prize for the
startups that achieve success in this space. According to Anirudh Damani,
managing partner, Artha Venture Fund, the key to success for an edtech
startup will be to sell directly, thereby keeping a short feedback loop.
“That will allow them to innovate faster, adapt, and cater to their
end-user requirements quicker. Therefore, in my opinion, selling
directly to end-users is the key to creating success in the edtech
space,†he added.
Sajith Pai,
director, Blume Ventures further said that the increased focus on
regional language learning and data analytics will play an important
role in the success of edtech startups in 2020, just like it did in
2019.
Edtech’s Focus On Increasing User Adoption In 2020
Omkar Kulkarni,
the head of GMC Calibrator (Gray Matters Capital’s Digital Accelerator
Program, suggests four areas that edtech startups in India need to focus
on in the near future:
Gain engagement by learning insights through user behaviour analytics
Highlighting common user patterns to improve product and monetisation at early stage
Cut reliance on digital marketing to reach out to users
Deliver content through a human-centric design process to increase engagement
Blume’s Pai further added that products that teach with a mix of
technology and human intervention will be able to generate faster
adoption while keeping costs low and scalability high.
“Also, college admissions and employability are becoming highly
competitive and thus big stress points for parents and students. Thus,
education platforms that can create FOMO among students (or parents) –
either by having a large number of students on board or by having the best students onboard, attract more customer adoption faster,†Pai told Inc42.
Pranjal Kumar,
CFO and head of Education Fund at Bertelsmann, believes that being
outcome focussed i.e. credentials, test results, job placements etc will
deliver a higher chance of success for edtech startups. “High-quality
product with high average-order-value and the right balance of online
and offline, depending on the target learner and segment of education
should be the focus in the near future for edtech startups.â€
7 Trends For Indian VCs In Edtech In 2020
Indian edtech startups are currently focussing on all fronts — B2B,
B2C, B2B-B2C and C2C. The most prominent sub-sectors have been test
preparation, online certification, skill development, online discovery,
STEAM kits, and enterprise solution among others.
According to Datalabs by Inc42, in terms of
the number of unique edtech businesses funded between January 2014 and
September 2019, skill development-focused startups have been the most
preferred. However, capital inflows into the test preparation and online
certification segments are comparatively higher. Together, these two
sub-sectors make up for 91% of the total funding in edtech startups.
This shows an imbalance in terms of business models in the Indian edtech
ecosystem.
However, according to Bertelsmann’s Kumar, a few more models are
expected to see a lot of innovation in the near future. He said
bootcamps with or without job assurance, higher education, online
programme management models, K-12 tutoring will be huge markets and are
currently starved of quality teaching both in curricular as well as
co-curricular subject.
Here’s what VCs told us to expect in 2020.
Skilling Startups
The pace of change in technology continues to accelerate. Therefore,
education is no longer just the standard 12+4+2 experience. There’s a
need for continuous education that will re-skill or up-skill the workers
of today for the challenges of tomorrow. Startups that provide
platforms to teach, train, and engage the working population to improve
their skills will do very well.
AI Transformation
AI in edtech can help understand better how learning actually
happens. If we can understand how one learns the steps in quadratic
equations, then this can be used in classrooms by teachers to deliver it
more effectively. This will help define pedagogy more tightly
OTT Educators
Even though we hear a lot of buzzwords like artificial intelligence,
virtual reality and blockchain, it is the exponential increase in
viewership of the likes of TikTok, YouTube and other OTT platforms that
will see a trend of content creators delivering educational content on
OTT platforms to improve discoverability, reach and scale.
Parents To Invest More
Another challenge for edtech platforms is the cost aspect for
families. As far as high school education is concerned, VCs see parents
getting more accustomed to spending on tech products for cognitive
learning as well as a change in focus of parents from traditional
curriculum to 21st-century skills.
Unbundling Of Education
Don’t hope for an edtech superapp. Venture capitalists see startups
providing customers (students and teachers) specific standalone services
(test prep, counselling, professional and vocational training among
others) rather than a combined / bundled product which does it all.
Vernacular Learning
Just over 10% of India’s population can speak English. To build large
businesses that can capture greater value, incorporating vernacular
learning is key. As seen in the OTT, media and entertainment space,
regional language learning will be one of the biggest trends in 2020,
according to the VCs that Inc42 spoke to.
Learning for ‘Yearning’
Learning programmes that cater to non-professional interests, or those that work with passion projects and hobbies will see an uptick according to investors. These may or may not lead to employment-related outcomes, but will be about holistic individual skill development, which will be critical for the edtech ecosystem as well as startups at large.
