Remote-controlled robots could one day build giant solar farms in space, according to a recent trial in the UK. British startup Space Solar conducted the test at the UK Atomic Energy Authority’s (UKAEA) facilities on the University of Oxford’s Culham Campus, which hosts several fusion research initiatives. The company used two remotely operated robotic arms to assemble a section of the support structure for its future solar power satellite. The device aims to beam the Sun’s energy from space to Earth.  According to Space Solar, the trial proved that robotics can assemble gigawatt-scale solar power satellites. Sam Adlen, the startup’s…

This story continues at The Next Web

Earlier this month, the father of a wealthy cryptocurrency entrepreneur was abducted in Paris while walking his dog. The attackers, wearing balaclavas, forced him into a van, later severing one of his fingers and sending a video of the mutilation to his son alongside a demand for millions of euros in ransom. The incident joined a growing list of violent crimes in France linked to crypto wealth. Victims have included a prominent entrepreneur and his wife who were held hostage, a man doused in petrol, and a child targeted in an attempted abduction. As fear spreads within France’s crypto community,…

This story continues at The Next Web

Human organs could be bioprinted for transplants within 10 years, according to Lithuanian startup Vital3D. But before reaching human hearts and kidneys, the company is starting with something simpler: regenerating dog skin. Based in Vilnius, Vital3D is already bioprinting functional tissue constructs. Using a proprietary laser system, the startup deposits living cells and biomaterials in precise 3D patterns. The structures mimic natural biological systems — and could one day form entire organs tailored to a patient’s unique anatomy. That mission is both professional and personal for CEO Vidmantas Šakalys. After losing a mentor to urinary cancer, he set out to…

This story continues at The Next Web

The European Commission has unveiled ambitious plans to cut red tape and make the EU a more attractive place for tech businesses to scale.  Launched today, the EU Startup and Scaleup Strategy comes as the bloc scrambles to attract and retain tech startups amid stiff competition from the US and Asia.  Under the new initiative, the EU has laid out a five-point plan to close the gap with its rivals. It’s also in talks to deploy a public-private fund of at least €10bn under the new strategy, Reuters reports.  Here’s the lowdown: 1. Making rules less painful European startups regularly…

This story continues at The Next Web

Swedish foodtech startup Millow has opened its first commercial-scale factory at a former LEGO production hall in Gothenburg.  The facility will use a patented dry fermentation process in which mycelium — the root-like structure of fungus — feeds on oats in a bioreactor. There, it rapidly grows into a meat alternative that can replace everything from beef mince to doner kebab. Millow aims to produce 500kg of the so-called mycoprotein per day at the site once fully operational later this year. The company’s founders hope its product, also called Millow, will iron out the kinks in the alternative meat sector. …

This story continues at The Next Web