FT : Britain in talks with six companies about gigafactories

Britain in talks with six companies about gigafactories
Ford, LG and Samsung among groups examining making batteries for electric vehicles in UK

Six companies are in talks with the UK about building so-called gigafactories for production of batteries for electric cars, in moves that could secure the future of Britain’s automobile industry.

Carmakers Ford and Nissan, conglomerates LG and Samsung, and start-ups Britishvolt and InoBat Auto are in discussions with the UK government or local authorities about locations for potential factories and financial support, according to people briefed on the talks.

While Britishvolt has gone public with its project, the other companies’ discussions with the government or councils about gigafactories have so far been private. The plans by Nissan, the largest carmaker in the UK, were revealed by the Financial Times last month.

The British government has put securing car battery investment at the heart of efforts to sustain the country’s auto industry, as ministers pursue ambitious plans to cut carbon emissions.

The government’s plan to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030 and hybrids by 2035 will require the UK’s vehicle plants to shift to producing electric models.

“We need gigafactories to sustain UK car manufacturing for the long term,” said Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, a trade body.


A UK business department spokesperson said the government was “dedicated to securing gigafactories, and continue to work closely with investors and vehicle manufacturers to progress plans to mass produce batteries in the UK”.

British research institutions, such as the Battery Innovation Center and the Faraday Institute, are seen as key levers to attract investment in battery manufacturing.

But the UK risks being outgunned by the EU, which has prepared a large incentive package to woo battery makers.

While the UK government has a £500m fund to help finance battery plants, the EU has assembled a €2.9bn war chest, with countries such as France and Germany offering additional money to augment their attractiveness.

So far, there are 38 planned gigafactories across Europe, according to green lobby group Transport & Environment. Only one has been disclosed in the UK: Britishvolt’s project.

“There’s a de facto competition between the UK and Europe, and whoever wins the gigafactories wins the auto business,” said Andy Palmer, vice chair of InoBat.

The UK auto industry has recorded plant closures in recent times and been buffeted by Brexit, but it still produced 1.3m cars a year before the coronavirus pandemic hit.

The sector’s push towards electrification means the remaining UK plants must secure locally made batteries or risk losing out on manufacturing new models.

Petrol and diesel engines made in one location are often then shipped across the world before being fitted into cars on assembly lines, but the heavy weight of batteries means they need to be produced close to vehicle plants in order to minimise transport costs.

While the talks between companies interested in making batteries and the UK government raise hopes it can secure investments, none of the discussions have been finalised.

One of the most surprising interventions has been by Ford, which has not made cars in the UK for almost 20 years but has a plant manufacturing engines for vans at Dagenham.

In talks with the British government, which are at an early stage, Ford has indicated it is exploring making batteries in the UK that would then be shipped to Turkey for use in a planned electric version of its Transit van, said people familiar with the discussions.

This proposal echoes current Ford practice where its engines made in Dagenham go into diesel Transit vans assembled by the company in Turkey.

Ford may make parts of battery modules in Britain — including cells — before shipping them to Turkey for final work and installation.

A Ford spokesperson said it would “confirm the battery supplier for the Transit . . . closer to its launch”, due in 2023.

Last month, Ford announced plans to form a battery joint venture with SKI, a Korean manufacturer.

A location has yet to be identified by Ford for where batteries would be made in the UK, although it is unlikely to be at one of the company’s existing British sites.

When identifying potential gigafactory locations, power — particularly renewable energy — is a major consideration because the process of making batteries is very energy intensive.

This issue may mean that north-east England, which has good access to the electricity grid, has a better chance of securing plants than the Midlands, the traditional centre of the UK auto industry.

Nissan’s negotiations with the government about building a battery plant at its Sunderland manufacturing complex hinge on energy costs, said people briefed on the talks. The company wants to cut its energy costs to increase the competitiveness of the site.

In the Midlands, local authorities have put together a plan to turn the old Coventry airport into a battery plant.

Having submitted a planning application, the councils now want to bid for part of the government’s £500m fund to try to secure a battery maker.

InoBat is in talks with the local authorities in the Midlands to locate a facility on the disused Coventry airport, said two people briefed on the negotiations.

The company wants to focus on producing a limited number of batteries for high performance vehicles.

Andy Street, the former John Lewis boss who is now mayor of the West Midlands, said he “will not rest until the West Midlands has the gigafactory it needs”.

Britishvolt rejected the old Coventry airport because of insufficient power, said people with knowledge of the decision.

Its proposed manufacturing site in Blyth in Northumberland is next to a power interconnector bringing renewable energy from Iceland.

But Britishvolt faces questions about its plans: unlike LG and Samsung, the start up does not have proven in-house battery technology.

People close to Britishvolt said it was in talks with more than 10 potential customers.

LG and Samsung, two of the largest global players in battery manufacturing that have plants across Europe, are both in early stage talks with the UK government about investments, said people familiar with the matter.

However, LG and Samsung are only likely to proceed if they have deals with major carmakers. The groups did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

With Nissan tied into an exclusive contract with its Chinese battery partner Envision, the largest available UK customers for battery makers are Jaguar Land Rover and BMW’s Mini.

JLR, which unveiled plans this year to phase out petrol and diesel engines by 2035, will probably be the key to Britain securing investments by battery makers.

JLR chief executive Thierry Bolloré told a Financial Times’ conference last month that “the goal is to have the full value chain as close as possible in the UK”, but did not elaborate further on British sourcing plans for batteries.

BMW’s Mini plant in Oxford currently makes one electric model using batteries imported from Germany, but may ultimately expand production.

“When and if you bring more electric production to Oxford is not decided yet,” said Mini boss Bernd Körber.

Stellantis, which owns the Vauxhall plant at Ellesmere Port, is also in talks with the government to make an electric car at the site but has yet to engage in battery sourcing discussions, said one person briefed on the situation.

>>> US After Hours Summary: ORCL -4.7% falls on weak guidance as co plans to dou

After Hours Summary: ORCL -4.7% falls on weak guidance as co plans to double Cloud CapEx spend in FY22; HRB -2.2% and LZB -1.8% also lower on earnings

After Hours Gainers:
Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: STEP +0.6%
Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to news: MFA +2% (increases dividend), SPRO +1% (initiates two Phase 1 trials of SPR206), ETON +0.9% (acquires US and Canadian rights to ZENEO hydrocortisone needleless autoinjector), WRB +0.9% (declares $0.50/sh special dividend; also increases regular dividend), MITT +0.9% (increases dividend), C +0.5% (CFO says revenue from trading operations will probably fall, according to Bloomberg), MITK +0.3% (authorizes $15 mln share repurchase plan), BV +0.1% (acquries Baytree Landscape Contractors)

After Hours Losers:
Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: ORCL -4.7% (guides AugQ EPS below consensus as co expects to roughly double Cloud CapEx spend in FY22), HRB -2.2% (also increases dividend by 4%; changes fiscal year-end from April 30 to June 30), LZB -1.8%, AZRE -0.1%
Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to news: APRN -13% (stock offering), NMG -7.2% (stock offering), RBLX -7.1% (reports May 2021 key metrics), APTX -2.9% (provides update on NYX-783 development program), ED -0.9% (stock offering), BLK -0.7% (BLK and Cassini Systems announce strategic partnership for Aladdin), PMT -0.5% (files mixed securities shelf offering), T -0.2% (provides update on its outlook; expects WarnerMedia to benefit from improvements in ad revs in 2H21), SBUX -0.1% (announces several leadership changes including new COO), GIII -0.1% (COO to transition to senior strategic advisor)

>>> US Close Dow -0,27% S&P -0,20% Nasdaq -0,71% Russell -0,26%

Closing Stock Market Summary

The S&P 500 declined 0.2% on Tuesday and traded slightly lower the entire the session, except for the opening tick, which marked an all-time high for the benchmark index. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (-0.3%) and Russell 2000 (-0.3%) performed similarly, while the Nasdaq Composite (-0.7%) underperformed.  

Trading conviction was largely lacking in front of the Fed's policy decision tomorrow, although the S&P 500 energy sector (+2.1%) couldn't be stopped as oil prices ($72.07/bbl, +1.16, +1.6%) continued to rise. The information technology (-0.6%), communication services (-0.5%), and real estate (-1.0%) sectors underperformed.

Today's economic calendar featured a 1.3% m/m decline in retail sales for May (Briefing.com consensus -0.6%), a 0.8% m/m increase in the Producer Price Index (PPI) for May (Briefing.com consensus 0.5%), and 0.8% m/m increase in industrial production for May (Briefing.com consensus 0.7%). 

The year-over-year increase in total PPI was 6.6%, yet the Treasury market (or stock market) barely reacted to the hotter-than-expected inflation data. The 10-yr yield settled unchanged at 1.50%, which was below the 1.53% level it reached soon after the hot CPI report last week. 

It's fair to say the market was expecting producer inflation to be running a little hot given the inflation pressures highlighted in previous economic data and the incessant inflation commentary in recent weeks. Judgement might have been reserved for what the Fed has to say about inflation expectations and monetary policy tomorrow. 

In other developments, the U.S. and EU agreed to suspend their tariff dispute regarding Boeing (BA 246.54, +1.40, +0.6%) and Airbus, and New York lifted its state-mandated COVID restrictions after the state reached its goal of 70% adult vaccinations. 

The 2-yr yield increased one basis point to 0.16%. The U.S. Dollar Index was unchanged at 90.52. Copper futures fell 4.2%, or $0.19, to $4.34/bbl amid profit-taking interest, leaving it down 7% this month. 

Reviewing Tuesday's large batch of economic data, which featured the Retail Sales report for May and the Producer Price Index for May:

  • Total retail sales fell 1.3% in May ( consensus -0.6%) after an upwardly revised 0.9% increase in April (from 0.0%). Excluding autos, retail sales fell 0.7% (consensus 0.5%) after an upwardly revised flat reading for April (from -0.8%).
    • The key takeaway from the report is that decreases were recorded in almost all discretionary categories. However, April figures benefited from healthy upward revisions, which raised the bar for the May report. On a year-over-year basis, retail sales were up 28.1%.
  • The Producer Price Index for final demand increased 0.8% m/m in May (consensus 0.5%) after increasing 0.6% in April. The Producer Price Index for final demand, less food and energy rose 0.7% m/m (consensus 0.5%) for the second consecutive month. On a year-over-year basis, the Producer Price Index for final demand was up 6.6% in May versus 6.2% in April while the Producer Price Index for final demand, less food and energy was up 5.3% in May versus 4.6% in April.
    • The key takeaway from the report is that it showed a continuation of broad-based price pressures at the producer level, which will fuel continued concerns about overall inflation.
  • Total industrial production increased 0.8% in May (consensus 0.7%) after a downwardly revised 0.1% uptick in April (from 0.7%). The capacity utilization rate increased to 75.2% (consensus 75.1%) from a downwardly revised 74.6% in April (from 74.9%).
    • The key takeaway from the report is that it showed a rebound in motor vehicle assemblies, which is an encouraging sign about a sector that has been significantly impacted by the semiconductor shortage. Total industrial production was up 16.3% yr/yr, but still 1.4% below its pre-pandemic (February 2020) level. The capacity utilization rate of 75.2% is 4.4 percentage points below its long-run average.
  • The NAHB Housing Market Index for June decreased by two points to 81 (Briefing.com consensus 83.0).
  • The Empire State Manufacturing Survey decreased to 17.4 in June (consensus 20.0) from 24.3 in May.
  • Business inventories decreased 0.2% m/m in April (consensus -0.1%) following a downwardly revised 0.2% increase (from +0.3%) in March.

Looking ahead, investors will receive the FOMC Rate Decision, Housing Starts and Building Permits for May, Export and Import Prices for May, and the weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index on Wednesday. 

  • Russell 2000 +17.5% YTD
  • S&P 500 +13.1% YTD
  • Dow Jones Industrial Average +12.1% YTD
  • Nasdaq Composite +9.2% YTD

FT : Vivendi/Dan Loeb: gatecrashers have slim chance of beating Bolloré

Vivendi/Dan Loeb: gatecrashers have slim chance of beating Bolloré
Activist investors must keep their nerve to influence the party

Good parties attract gatecrashers. Vivendi’s proposed spin off of Universal Music Group is as grand a fête as you can imagine. No wonder Daniel Loeb is in on the fun that has attracted fellow activists such as Francesco Trapani of Bluebell Capital.

One attraction may be hostility among some independent shareholders to the French media conglomerate’s plan for a complicated demerger of the world’s biggest music label. Another could be the chance to mess with a transaction involving fellow activist Bill Ackman. 

But on the face of it, there is not much gatecrashers can do to stop the music. Billionaire and former Vivendi chair Vincent Bolloré holds 30 per cent of voting rights.

The separation will be via a “dividend-in-kind” structure. This will mean 60 per cent of Universal’s equity being spun off and listed in Amsterdam. Vivendi shareholders will receive shares as a special dividend.

The problem is that minority shareholders face big tax liabilities. It explains why Bluebell has asked Vivendi to pay shareholders an additional cash dividend of about €3.3bn.

It is a legitimate gripe. Even more so given that Vivendi is in talks to sell half of its remaining 20 per cent stake in Universal to Ackman’s “blank cheque” company. Investors are right to ask why Ackman should be able to buy into UMG without incurring similar tax liabilities. 

The question is what leverage dissenters can exert to extract better terms or even derail the UMG separation altogether.

Vivendi needs only a simple majority of 50 per cent to approve the spin-off. Bolloré’s holding company owns a 27 per cent stake in Vivendi, controlling the group with 29.73 per cent of the voting rights. A big backlash from minorities would be required to defeat him.

Activist investors should stay on board even so. Bolloré could be tempted to use proceeds from the Ackman deal to fund a buyback of Vivendi’s shares, extending his control over the business. Determined gatecrashers have stamina as well as cool nerves.

(ZH) Michael "Big Short" Burry: This Is The Greatest Bubble Of All Time In All T

Michael "Big Short" Burry: This Is The Greatest Bubble Of All Time In All Things "By Two Orders Of Magnitude"

Earlier this year, none other than Michael 'Big Short' Burry confirmed BofA's greatest fears, as he picked up on the theme of Weimar Germany and specifically its hyperinflation, as the blueprint for what comes next in a lengthy tweetstorm cribbing generously from Parsson's seminal work, warning that:
"The US government is inviting inflation with its MMT-tinged policies. Brisk Debt/GDP, M2 increases while retail sales, PMI stage V recovery. Trillions more stimulus & re-opening to boost demand as employee and supply chain costs skyrocket."
"The life of the inflation in its ripening stage was a paradox which had its own unmistakable characteristics. One was the great wealth, at least of those favored by the boom..Many great fortunes sprang up overnight...The cities, had an aimless and wanton youth"
"Prices in Germany were steady, and both business and the stock market were booming. The exchange rate of the mark against the dollar and other currencies actually rose for a time, and the mark was momentarily the strongest currency in the world" on inflation's eve.
"Side by side with the wealth were the pockets of poverty. Greater numbers of people remained on the outside of the easy money, looking in but not able to enter. The crime rate soared."
"Accounts of the time tell of a progressive demoralization which crept over the common people, compounded of their weariness with the breakneck pace, to no visible purpose, and their fears from watching their own precarious positions slip while others grew so conspicuously rich."
"Almost any kind of business could make money. Business failures and bankruptcies became few. The boom suspended the normal processes of natural selection by which the nonessential and ineffective otherwise would have been culled out."
"Speculation alone, while adding nothing to Germany's wealth, became one of its largest activities. The fever to join in turning a quick mark infected nearly all classes..Everyone from the elevator operator up was playing the market."
"The volumes of turnover in securities on the Berlin Bourse became so high that the financial industry could not keep up with the paperwork...and the Bourse was obliged to close several days a week to work off the backlog" robinhooddown
"all the marks that existed in the world in the summer of 1922 were not worth enough, by November of 1923, to buy a single newspaper or a tram ticket. That was the spectacular part of the collapse, but most of the real loss in money wealth had been suffered much earlier."
"Throughout these years the structure was quietly building itself up for the blow. Germany's #inflationcycle ran not for a year but for nine years, representing eight years of gestation and only one year of #collapse."
His punchline: the above was "written in 1974 re: 1914-1923" and then makes the ominous extrapolation that "2010-2021: Gestation" adding that "when dollars might as well be falling from the sky...management teams get creative and ultimately take more risk.. paying out debt-financed dividends to investors or investing in risky growth opportunities has beaten a frugal mentality hands down."
And, as if reading from the same playbook, Paul Tudor Jones warned yesterday that things are "bat shit crazy" and if Jay Powell
“The idea that inflation is transitory, to me ... that one just doesn’t work the way I see the world."
All of which led to Burry's latest tweet warning this morning...
"People always ask me what is going on in the markets. It is simple. Greatest Speculative Bubble of All Time in All Things. By two orders of magnitude. #FlyingPigs360"
In other words: "Brace!"
So what are you going to do about it?
Tudor Jones had some simple advice: "buy commodities, buy crypto, buy gold."

>>> Makor Weekly Share Class Comment



From: research@oscargruss.com At: 06/15/21 18:43:59
To: Laurent Chekroun (MAKOR SECURITIES PAR )
Subject: Makor Weekly Share Class Comment

 

DISCLAIMER This information represents neither an offer to buy or sell any security nor, because it does not take into account the differing needs of individual clients, investment advice. Those seeking investment advice specific to their financial profiles and goals should contact their Oscar Gruss & Son Incorporated sales representative. Oscar Gruss & Son Incorporated believes this information to be reliable, but no representation is made as to accuracy or completeness. This information does not analyze every material fact concerning a company, industry, or security. Oscar Gruss & Son Incorporated assumes that this information will be read in conjunction with other publicly available data. Matters discussed here are subject to change without notice. There can be no assurance that reliance on the information contained here will produce profitable results. A security denominated in a foreign currency is subject to fluctuations in currency exchange rates, which may have an adverse effect on the value of the security upon the conversion into local currency of dividends, interest, or sales proceeds. The value of securities and depositary receipts of foreign issuers that are denominated in United States dollars are also influenced by fluctuations in currency exchange rates. © 2021 Oscar Gruss & Son Incorporated. All rights reserved.

WSJ : Alibaba Falls Victim to Chinese Web Crawler in Large Data Leak

Alibaba Falls Victim to Chinese Web Crawler in Large Data Leak
Software developer scrapes 1.1 billion pieces of user data, including IDs and phone numbers, over eight months

A Chinese software developer trawled Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. ’s popular Taobao shopping website for eight months, clandestinely collecting more than 1.1 billion pieces of user information before Alibaba noticed the scraping, a Chinese court verdict said.

The software developer began using web-crawling software he designed on Taobao’s site starting in November 2019, gathering information including user IDs, mobile-phone numbers and customer comments, according to a verdict released this month by a district court in China’s central Henan province. When Alibaba noticed the data leaks from Taobao, one of China’s most-visited online retail sites, the company informed the police, the court said.

An Alibaba spokeswoman said the company proactively discovered and addressed the incident and was working with law enforcement to protect its users. She wouldn’t elaborate on how many people were affected. No user information was sold to a third party and no economic loss occurred, she said.

About 925 million people use Alibaba’s Chinese retail platforms at least once a month, according to the company.

While the developer didn’t obtain encrypted information such as passwords, some of the data he scraped, including phone numbers and a portion of usernames, isn’t publicly presented on the website.

Chinese legal experts say a data leak involving mobile-phone numbers would have more far-reaching consequences in China than in other parts of the world. In China, where people are required to register with real name identification before obtaining a mobile phone number, such numbers are considered by law to be personal information, said Annie Xue, a Beijing-based lawyer at GEN law firm.

In addition, Chinese consumers sign up for most of the internet services they use with their mobile phones, and knowing a person’s cellphone number would make it easier for a bad actor to pin down someone’s social-media accounts and other personal information, said Clement Chen, an assistant professor of law at the University of Hong Kong.

Hangzhou-based Alibaba has come under enhanced scrutiny from regulators since late last year, when authorities called off a blockbuster initial public offering of its financial affiliate Ant Group Co. days before the scheduled listing.

Huge consumer data leaks have become commonplace in China in recent years, as the country’s data-security regulation struggles to catch up with its technology advancements. Personal information from these leaks is often sold on the black market for pennies and has resulted in a fledgling privacy movement among Chinese citizens.

Chinese lawmakers have pushed for more oversight to better protect personal data. Last week, China passed a new data-security law to enhance Beijing’s control over data flows within the country and improve consumer data protection. The law, along with proposed legislation modeled on the European Union’s data-protection regulation, is intended to reinforce data rules such as the cybersecurity law introduced in 2017.

The Henan court filing, dated in May but released this month, indicated that the software developer, surnamed Lu, passed the phone numbers he collected to his employer. The employer, who operated a company doing promotions for sellers on Taobao, used the information to target clients and claim coupons from Taobao. The two were each sentenced to more than three years in prison. It isn’t uncommon for Chinese court rulings to be publicly released months after the verdict, and published rulings typically include only people’s surnames.

Though Alibaba wasn’t blamed in the ruling, the company could still face administrative penalties under the 2017 cybersecurity law, said You Yunting, a senior partner at Shanghai Debund Law Offices. Alibaba declined to comment on whether it had informed users of the incident.

Since Ant’s IPO was called of, antitrust regulators have levied a record $2.8 billion fine against Alibaba for abusing its dominant position in the country’s online retail space and have asked Ant to overhaul its businesses to fall in line with regulation.

Large global tech companies including Facebook Inc. have also had to contend with data leaks. In April, Facebook blamed “malicious actors” for scraping data including names and phone numbers of more than 530 million users. Legal and privacy experts said then that the social-media firm chose to describe the incidents as data scraping instead of hacking to avoid triggering laws and rules in various jurisdictions requiring companies to report data breaches to regulators and the public.

FT : Brittany unveils plans for cross-Channel electric ‘flying’ ferries

Brittany unveils plans for cross-Channel electric ‘flying’ ferries
Operator in talks with US start-up about introducing 180mph ‘seagliders’ by end of decade

Electric ferries could be skimming just above the surface of the English Channel by the end of the decade under plans unveiled by Brittany Ferries.

The ferry operator has signed a letter of intent with a US technology start-up to explore the operation of “seaglider” services between the UK and France.

The agreement with Boston-based Regent includes an option for the delivery in 2028 of two flying ferries with wings, which can carry 155 passengers at speeds of 180mph, Brittany said on Tuesday.

The announcement comes as transport companies are increasingly willing to explore unproven new technologies, particularly to help cut carbon emissions.

American Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and aircraft lessor Avolon last week made a preliminary commitment to buy up to 1,000 electric air taxis from a British start-up, while United Airlines evoked memories of Concorde when it ordered 15 supersonic aircraft from US start-up Boom Supersonic.

Seagliders fly on a cushion of air above the waves at a low altitude, similar to hovercrafts, which used to carry passengers and cars between the south of England and France.

The concept is based on Soviet Navy “ekranoplans”, large naval craft developed in the late 1980s that flew a few feet above sea level and were dubbed “Caspian Sea monsters” but never made it into widespread use.

Regent has yet to unveil a “wing-in-ground effect vehicle” that has carried commercial passengers, but promises to by 2025 and says it has secured $465m in provisional orders from airlines and ferry companies. 

Its backers include Peter Thiel’s investment fund and Caffeinated Capital, an early investor in Denver-based Boom. 

Brittany Ferries, which is in development discussions with Regent, conceded there were “many technological, practical and regulatory milestones” to be cleared before flying ferries were zipping across one of the most congested waterways in the world.

“We hope this may help bring commercial success in the years that follow. Who knows? This could be the birth of ferries that fly across the Channel,” said Frédéric Pouget, ports and operations director for Brittany Ferries.

While the potential to carry passengers at scale using new technology is still theoretical, studies forecast big opportunities for the sector over the next few decades.

A study by consultancy Roland Berger predicts the passenger urban air mobility market will generate revenues of almost $90bn a year by 2050, with 160,000 commercial passenger drones flying in the skies.

Investment in start-ups also reached $907m in the first half of 2020, almost 20 times the level in all of 2016, the report said.

The study said regulation was “no longer viewed as a major industry barrier”, noting that aviation authorities around the world, such as the EU Aviation Safety Agency and the US Federal Aviation Administration, were working with eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) manufacturers and others to implement workable regulations.

But despite bullish projections, the flying taxi market faces several challenges, from gaining public acceptance to building the necessary infrastructure and meeting regulatory demands.

Individual vehicles would also need to secure the relevant certification from air safety regulators, although the regulatory requirements for flying ferries could be different.

The UK’s Civil Aviation Authority is working to keep pace with rapid developments in drone technology, and has encouraged innovation in areas, including artificial intelligence and autonomous flying.