Fully electric with record-breaking battery power
Hull 096 has over 275 tons of batteries and an energy storage system (ESS) with more than 40 megawatt-hours of capacity. According to Incat, this makes it the largest battery installation ever on a ship. The ESS is four times larger than any maritime battery system built to date.
Power from the batteries drives eight electric water jets, allowing the ship to travel across the river in 90 minutes. The charging infrastructure will be built on both sides of the route to ensure seamless operation.
Work will continue on the ship’s interior, including installing a 24,757-square-foot (2,300-square-meter) duty-free retail deck. Incat says it will be the world’s largest shopping area on any ferry.
Australia’s role in global maritime innovation
The launch of Hull 096 was celebrated by Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff, who praised the ship as a symbol of innovation and global leadership in zero-emission technology.
“Hull 096 will set a new global benchmark for clean, sustainable maritime transport and positions Tasmania as a global leader in the push toward zero-emission technology,” Rockliff said, reported the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
“Through hard work, determination, and ingenuity, Incat has built a globally significant battery-electric ship from their yard in Tasmania.”
Incat Chairman Bob Clifford, who has worked in the marine industry for nearly 70 years, said this was the most significant achievement in the company’s history.
“I’ve been in the marine business for nearly 70 years, and there is not the slightest doubt this is the biggest moment in that history,” Clifford said. “The electric ship industry is going to be huge.”
Incat CEO Stephen Casey added, “We’re not just building a ship – we’re building the future. Hull 096 proves that large-scale, low-emission transport solutions are not only possible, they are ready now. This is a proud day for Tasmania and for Australian manufacturing.”
Meanwhile, Dr. Liam Davies, a sustainability and urban planning lecturer at RMIT University, told The Guardian that the new ship’s regular ferry route could serve as a valuable case study to evaluate the effectiveness of electric vehicle shipping.
Apple’s Services segment—which includes the App Store, Apple TV+, Apple Music, Apple Pay, and iCloud—also delivered a quarterly record of $26.65 billion in revenue, up 11.8% from the previous year. Still, the figure came in just shy of the analysts’ forecast of $26.70 billion, according to StreetAccount.
However, the company’s performance in Greater China told a different story. Sales in the region declined 2.3% to $16 billion in the fiscal second quarter ending March 29, falling short of the $16.83 billion average estimate.
The drop highlights Apple’s mounting challenges in one of its most crucial markets, amid weakening demand and intensifying local competition.
As per a Reuters report, Plans are underway to move all iPhone production for the U.S. market to India by the end of 2026, a significant shift from the current 10% production share. This move aims to reduce exposure to Chinese tariffs and geopolitical uncertainties.
Compounding these challenges, Apple is grappling with legal setbacks. A federal judge recently ruled that the company violated a 2021 injunction related to its App Store policies, potentially opening the door for Epic Games’ “Fortnite” to return to the App Store and challenging Apple’s control over in-app payments.
“The electrical architecture system in a vehicle is one of the most challenging areas from an assembly perspective,” said Terry Woychowski, president at Caresoft Global, likening vehicle wiring to “copper anacondas.”
Ford shifts focus to current platform
While the FNV4 project is shelved, Ford is not abandoning its software ambitions.
The automaker says it will integrate learnings from FNV4 into its existing architecture and continue development through its California-based skunkworks team. That group is tasked with building advanced software and cost-efficient electric vehicles.
“We are committed to delivering fully connected vehicle experiences across our entire lineup, regardless of powertrain, while many others in the industry are bringing the most advanced tech only to electric vehicles,” a Ford spokesperson told Reuters.
The Draper engine’s storability and quick-launch capability makes it well-suited to the Golden Dome missile defense system. The Golden Dome was introduced by the Trump administration in a January executive order. The system, inspired by Israel’s Iron Dome system, will be designed as a missile shield capable of intercepting hypersonic and cruise missile attacks.
Though the Draper engine will likely be used for the Golden Dome, reports also emerged last month that SpaceX has been tipped to build the defense system. Since those reports came to light, a group of 42 Democratic lawmakers have published an open letter expressing their concerns over a conflict of interest regarding Musk’s potential role in the Golden Dome system. Musk donated over $250 million to Trump’s election campaign.
The transfer route and destination underscore the logistical integration between NATO and Ukraine in wartime sustainment operations.
Visual evidence, widely circulated on open-source intelligence platforms, depicted at least three shrink-wrapped F-16 airframes, sans wings, tail sections, and radomes, being loaded onto the transport aircraft.
The TWZ analysis mentioned that the aircraft appears to be an older Block 15 Air Defense Fighter (ADF) variant, formerly assigned to the Air National Guard.
Although the US Air Force declined to specify the number or precise configuration of airframes involved, the presence of characteristic ‘bird-slicer’ IFF antennas supports the assessment of their Block 15 lineage.
The aircraft was almost certainly drawn from the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, the US military’s primary storage and reclamation site for retired aircraft.
“Over the last 5 to 10 years, we’ve basically gotten to the point where we effectively discourage businesses from trying to limit the targeting. It used to be that a business would come to us and say like, “Okay, I really want to reach women aged 18 to 24 in this place”, and we’re like, ‘Okay. Look, you can suggest to us…’”, he said.
“If they really want to limit it, we have that as an option. But basically, we believe at this point that we are just better at finding the people who are going to resonate with your product than you are. And so, there’s that piece.”
Zuckerberg also claimed that Meta aims to take total control over the creative process of advertising to deliver the required results. This model, known as “infinite creative”, allows its AI to continuously generate and refine ad content, with the potential to reshape the traditional advertising landscape entirely.
Fully electric with record-breaking battery power
Hull 096 has over 275 tons of batteries and an energy storage system (ESS) with more than 40 megawatt-hours of capacity. According to Incat, this makes it the largest battery installation ever on a ship. The ESS is four times larger than any maritime battery system built to date.
Power from the batteries drives eight electric water jets, allowing the ship to travel across the river in 90 minutes. The charging infrastructure will be built on both sides of the route to ensure seamless operation.
Work will continue on the ship’s interior, including installing a 24,757-square-foot (2,300-square-meter) duty-free retail deck. Incat says it will be the world’s largest shopping area on any ferry.
Australia’s role in global maritime innovation
The launch of Hull 096 was celebrated by Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff, who praised the ship as a symbol of innovation and global leadership in zero-emission technology.
“Hull 096 will set a new global benchmark for clean, sustainable maritime transport and positions Tasmania as a global leader in the push toward zero-emission technology,” Rockliff said, reported the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
“Through hard work, determination, and ingenuity, Incat has built a globally significant battery-electric ship from their yard in Tasmania.”
Incat Chairman Bob Clifford, who has worked in the marine industry for nearly 70 years, said this was the most significant achievement in the company’s history.
“I’ve been in the marine business for nearly 70 years, and there is not the slightest doubt this is the biggest moment in that history,” Clifford said. “The electric ship industry is going to be huge.”
Incat CEO Stephen Casey added, “We’re not just building a ship – we’re building the future. Hull 096 proves that large-scale, low-emission transport solutions are not only possible, they are ready now. This is a proud day for Tasmania and for Australian manufacturing.”
Meanwhile, Dr. Liam Davies, a sustainability and urban planning lecturer at RMIT University, told The Guardian that the new ship’s regular ferry route could serve as a valuable case study to evaluate the effectiveness of electric vehicle shipping.
Apple’s Services segment—which includes the App Store, Apple TV+, Apple Music, Apple Pay, and iCloud—also delivered a quarterly record of $26.65 billion in revenue, up 11.8% from the previous year. Still, the figure came in just shy of the analysts’ forecast of $26.70 billion, according to StreetAccount.
However, the company’s performance in Greater China told a different story. Sales in the region declined 2.3% to $16 billion in the fiscal second quarter ending March 29, falling short of the $16.83 billion average estimate.
The drop highlights Apple’s mounting challenges in one of its most crucial markets, amid weakening demand and intensifying local competition.
As per a Reuters report, Plans are underway to move all iPhone production for the U.S. market to India by the end of 2026, a significant shift from the current 10% production share. This move aims to reduce exposure to Chinese tariffs and geopolitical uncertainties.
Compounding these challenges, Apple is grappling with legal setbacks. A federal judge recently ruled that the company violated a 2021 injunction related to its App Store policies, potentially opening the door for Epic Games’ “Fortnite” to return to the App Store and challenging Apple’s control over in-app payments.
“The electrical architecture system in a vehicle is one of the most challenging areas from an assembly perspective,” said Terry Woychowski, president at Caresoft Global, likening vehicle wiring to “copper anacondas.”
Ford shifts focus to current platform
While the FNV4 project is shelved, Ford is not abandoning its software ambitions.
The automaker says it will integrate learnings from FNV4 into its existing architecture and continue development through its California-based skunkworks team. That group is tasked with building advanced software and cost-efficient electric vehicles.
“We are committed to delivering fully connected vehicle experiences across our entire lineup, regardless of powertrain, while many others in the industry are bringing the most advanced tech only to electric vehicles,” a Ford spokesperson told Reuters.
The Draper engine’s storability and quick-launch capability makes it well-suited to the Golden Dome missile defense system. The Golden Dome was introduced by the Trump administration in a January executive order. The system, inspired by Israel’s Iron Dome system, will be designed as a missile shield capable of intercepting hypersonic and cruise missile attacks.
Though the Draper engine will likely be used for the Golden Dome, reports also emerged last month that SpaceX has been tipped to build the defense system. Since those reports came to light, a group of 42 Democratic lawmakers have published an open letter expressing their concerns over a conflict of interest regarding Musk’s potential role in the Golden Dome system. Musk donated over $250 million to Trump’s election campaign.
The transfer route and destination underscore the logistical integration between NATO and Ukraine in wartime sustainment operations.
Visual evidence, widely circulated on open-source intelligence platforms, depicted at least three shrink-wrapped F-16 airframes, sans wings, tail sections, and radomes, being loaded onto the transport aircraft.
The TWZ analysis mentioned that the aircraft appears to be an older Block 15 Air Defense Fighter (ADF) variant, formerly assigned to the Air National Guard.
Although the US Air Force declined to specify the number or precise configuration of airframes involved, the presence of characteristic ‘bird-slicer’ IFF antennas supports the assessment of their Block 15 lineage.
The aircraft was almost certainly drawn from the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, the US military’s primary storage and reclamation site for retired aircraft.
“Over the last 5 to 10 years, we’ve basically gotten to the point where we effectively discourage businesses from trying to limit the targeting. It used to be that a business would come to us and say like, “Okay, I really want to reach women aged 18 to 24 in this place”, and we’re like, ‘Okay. Look, you can suggest to us…’”, he said.
“If they really want to limit it, we have that as an option. But basically, we believe at this point that we are just better at finding the people who are going to resonate with your product than you are. And so, there’s that piece.”
Zuckerberg also claimed that Meta aims to take total control over the creative process of advertising to deliver the required results. This model, known as “infinite creative”, allows its AI to continuously generate and refine ad content, with the potential to reshape the traditional advertising landscape entirely.