As part of its objective to migrate all of its industrial networks to 5G to ensure unified, “ultra-reliable” connectivity from its workstation to the aircraft cabin, Airbus is advancing its factory digitisation programme through the deployment of high-performance private 5G connectivity from Ericsson.

Through this strategic partnership, Airbus and Ericsson are accelerating the digital transformation of the aerospace industry, laying the foundation for the next generation of smart factories – fully connected, scalable and sharply focused on innovation across Europe and the world. The private 5G technology is being installed at the Airbus production site in Hamburg, with another deployment underway in Toulouse.

With a fully operational private 5G network now live in Hamburg, and a deployment at Toulouse underway, to be completed by 2026, this roll-out is part of a broader roadmap to extend private 5G across Airbus’s strategic sites in Europe – including further locations in Spain, the UK and internationally, with projects in the US and Canada pending. 

The initiative forms part of the Airbus digitisation strategy, which is aimed at strengthening manufacturing automation, traceability and operational efficiency, while meeting what the leading aircraft manufacturer assured will be the sector’s strictest safety and security standards. 

Moreover, the private 5G network will form the backbone of Airbus’s strategic transformation projects, enabling high-value industrial use cases such as internet of things (IoT) integration, intelligent management of critical equipment, real-time quality control and collaborative robotics.

Commenting on the installation, Airbus 5G expert Hakim Achouri said: “This deployment accelerates projects involving 3D simulation, augmented reality, improved traceability for parts, and predictive maintenance for our assets. The standardisation and scalability made possible by this architecture allow us to replicate the solution easily across further sites in Europe and worldwide.”

Airbus and Ericsson’s partnership in industrial connectivity also features advanced 5G standalone (SA) technology and deployment models, which are further attributed with accelerating 5G usage in office environments. Joint research and development efforts are also focusing on connected cabins, 6G, and non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) to enhance the connectivity ecosystem for aerospace and smart manufacturing applications.  

The tech provider stated that with full site coverage with private 5G, machines and operators on the production floor are set to gain true mobility, boosting productivity, process agility and end-to-end industrial control, all of which are regarded as key to realising the full potential of Industry 4.0. The private 5G solution’s built-in infrastructure automation is designed to enable rapid deployment across Airbus operations with the intended result of “significantly” shortening implementation timelines compared with traditional setups.

Ericsson believes this automation has already allowed Airbus to scale connectivity quickly and securely across multiple sites. Collaboration with the Ericsson product team has enhanced application integration, with the technology tailored to Airbus’s IT tooling and cyber security requirements. The design’s modular architecture and application programming interface (API)-driven interfaces are said to have simplified onboarding into Airbus’s existing systems, accelerating time-to-value and reinforcing robust security controls.

“Our collaboration with Airbus embodies the alliance between technological innovation and industrial excellence,” said Manish Tiwari, head of enterprise 5G and enterprise wireless solutions at Ericsson. “[We are] proud to support Airbus’s digitisation ambitions through Ericsson private 5G, offering best-in-class, secure connectivity at scale.” 

At OpenAI’s developer conference in San Francisco on Monday, CEO Sam Altman and ex-Apple designer Jony Ive spoke in vague terms about the “family of devices” the pair are currently working to develop.

“As great as phones and computers are, there’s something new to do,” Altman said on stage with Ive. The duo confirmed that OpenAI is working on more than one hardware product but finer details, ranging from use cases to specifications, remain under wraps.

“Hardware is hard. Figuring out new computing form factors is hard,” said Altman in a media briefing earlier in the day. “I think we have a chance to do something amazing, but it will take a while.”

Ive said that his team has generated “15 to 20 really compelling product” ideas on the journey to find the right kind of hardware to focus the company’s efforts on.

“I don’t think we have an easy relationship with our technology at the moment,” said Ive. “Rather than seeing AI as an extension of those challenges, I see it very differently.” Ive explained that one reason he wanted to design an AI-powered device with OpenAI is to transform the relationship people currently have to the devices they use every day.

While Ive acknowledged the potential for AI to boost productivity, efficiency doesn’t appear to be his core goal with these devices. Rather, he hopes for them to bring more social good into the world. The devices should “make us happy, and fulfilled, and more peaceful, and less anxious, and less disconnected,” he said.

Earlier reporting indicated that OpenAI is planning to manufacture a new category of hardware that doesn’t resemble a phone or laptop. In a recent preview for OpenAI staff, Altman hinted that the product would be aware of a user’s surroundings and day-to-day experiences, according to The Wall Street Journal. The device might be screenless and rely on inputs from cameras and microphones.

OpenAI also hasn’t said publicly when it plans to launch the devices, though late 2026 may reportedly be the target launch, according to the Financial Times. The publication recently reported that development of the device has been stymied by technical issues.

The ocean is Earth’s largest carbon sink, absorbing about 25% of the CO₂ released by human activities. However, this uptake contributes to ocean acidification and risks destabilizing marine ecosystems. Utilizing this carbon resource presents a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels to produce important chemicals and materials, such as plastics.

A system to capture carbon dioxide (CO₂) from seawater and convert it into biodegradable plastic precursors has been reported in Nature Catalysis. The findings suggest a potentially sustainable way to produce industrial chemicals.

Chuan Xia and colleagues engineered a two-part system that captures CO₂ from natural seawater with more than 70% efficiency and low energy consumption (around 3 kilowatt-hours per kilogram of CO₂), operating continuously for 536 hours. The carbon capture cost was found to be competitive against current technology, at US$229.9 per ton of CO₂.

First, the CO₂ was converted into pure formic acid using an electrocatalyst. This was then transformed by engineered bacteria, Vibrio natriegens, into succinic acid, which is the starting material needed to prepare poly(butylene succinate), a biodegradable thermoplastic polymer. The researchers achieved production levels of up to 1.37 grams per liter in scaled-up fermenters.

The system could also be used to produce numerous other chemicals from CO₂—for potential use in various products such as fuels, drugs and foods—by further engineering the catalysts used in each part (the electrode and the microorganism), the authors suggest. Although the system shows scalability and stability, further optimization is needed to improve yields and integration for industrial use.