A new total cost of ownership (TCO) study from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) finds that battery-electric and fuel-cell electric commercial trucks could be economically competitive with conventional diesel trucks by 2025 in some operating scenarios. Spatial and Temporal Analysis of the Total Cost of Ownership for Class 8... Read more →

Airbus announced plans for a new CityAirbus at the company’s first Airbus Summit on “Pioneering Sustainable Aerospace” as the emerging Urban Air Mobility (UAM) market begins to firm up. The fully electric vehicle is equipped with fixed wings, a V-shaped tail, and eight electrically powered propellers as part of its... Read more →

Audi’s entry electric SUV Q4 e-tron lineup (earlier post) is ready for configuration by US buyers. The Q4 e-tron family—the MEB siblings to Volkswagen’s ID.4 models—brings three new models to Audi’s fully-electric fleet. 2022 Audi Q4 e-tron (European model shown) The Q4 50 e-tron and its Sportback variation offer Audi’s... Read more →

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has named the Volkswagen 2021 ID.4 a a 2021 TOP SAFETY PICK+. To qualify for a 2021 TOP SAFETY PICK+ award, vehicles must have good ratings in each of the Institute’s six crashworthiness evaluations. They must also have good or acceptable headlights and... Read more →

UK-based Clean Air Power, a provider of clean transport solutions, is marking its 25th anniversary working with hydrogen injection products by releasing a new range of hydrogen injectors for internal combustion engines. The range, which digitally controls hydrogen gas flow into engines, includes a high-pressure direct hydrogen injector that complements... Read more →

Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage Corporation has developed a model-based development (MBD) simulation technology that shortens verification times for automotive semiconductors by about 90%. (Verification times for simulation of three-phase inverter circuits in an automotive electric power steering system during a right turn with a duration of six seconds.) The... Read more →

Allison Transmission, a leading designer and manufacturer of conventional, electric hybrid and fully electric vehicle propulsion solutions, and Jing-Jin Electric (JJE), a China-based electrified propulsion leader in components, assemblies and systems for global automotive and commercial vehicle customers, have signed a broad, global strategic collaboration partnership agreement to accelerate the... Read more →

At the 2021 Mackinac Policy Conference, General Motors President Mark Reuss revealed GM’s group of three all-new motors that will power its Ultium-based EVs. Designed by GM, the 180kW front-drive motor, 255kW rear- and front-drive motor and 62kW all-wheel drive assist motor are part of Ultium Drive. All three motors... Read more →

At Motor Bella 2021, Bosch is introducing its new efficient 230 electric motor for commercial and medium-duty vehicles. The new 230 electric motor has a rated voltage of 800 volts and is designed for long service life. Bosch‘s electric motor 230 for commercial vehicles. During its development, Bosch engineers paid... Read more →

Electrified powertrain engineering consultancy Drive System Design (DSD) will highlight its simulation, optimization and test capabilities created in response to the significant increase in demand for EV electric drive system development, at the Cenex-LCV event at Millbrook this week. Deploying its latest electrified Powertrain Optimization Process (ePOP) simulation toolset, a... Read more →

Automotive and industrial supplier Schaeffler has opened a new production facility at its Szombathely location in the west of Hungary. The facility is Schaeffler’s first production plant fully dedicated to electro-mobility and gives the group a new center of excellence for the production of components and systems for electrified powertrains.... Read more →

Royal Dutch Shell announced its ambition to produce around 2 million tonnes of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) a year by 2025. It also aims to have at least 10% of its global aviation fuel sales as SAF by 2030. Currently, sustainable aviation fuel accounts for less than 0.1% of the... Read more →

Forest products company SCA and St1 have entered a joint venture in Sweden to produce and sell renewable HVO diesel and biojet fuel. SCA will supply tall oil to the joint venture for feedstock and will invest approximately SEK 0.6 billion (US$71.7 million) in the company. SCA and St1 will... Read more →

Plug Power is expanding its green hydrogen ecosystem to the US west coast with the construction of a new production facility in Fresno County, California. Green hydrogen is produced through the electrolysis of water with electricity generated from zero-carbon sources; only oxygen is emitted during the process. As the largest... Read more →

General Motors outlined an action plan to address the battery combustion issue afflicting the Bolt EV lineup. (Earlier post.) The action plan includes both hardware and software remedies, some of which are in place with immediate effect. LG battery plants in Holland and Hazel Park, Michigan, have resumed production. In... Read more →

Reservations for the 2023 Cadillac LYRIQ Debut Edition EV (earlier post) sold out in just over ten minutes, according to Rory Harvey, vice president, Global Cadillac. The initial response for LYRIQ has been extraordinary. Since the show car unveiling last year, more than 200,000 people have expressed interest in learning... Read more →

Honda announced an initial annual sales target of 70,000 units for the Prologue SUV, Honda’s first new volume battery-electric vehicle (BEV), when it goes on sale in 2024. Following the launch of Prologue, Honda-brand electrified vehicle sales will be boosted by the introduction of additional vehicles based on a new... Read more →

Aurora shared the first look of the Toyota Sienna hybrid powered by the Aurora Driver, designed for a convenient and comfortable ride-hailing experience. This represents a significant milestone in Aurora’s path to commercializing Aurora-powered Toyota vehicles designed specifically for ride-hailing. This modified Toyota Sienna is Toyota’s first mass-produced “Sienna Autono-MaaS”... Read more →

A team from Argonne National Laboratory and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has developed a new cobalt-free cathode for high-energy lithium-ion cells. The novel LiMn0.5Ni0.5O2 cathode with a predominant, partially-disordered lithiated-spinel structure was prepared by a low-temperature (LT) synthesis. In an open-access paper in the RSC journal Chemical Communications, the... Read more →

Toyota has introduced the new third-generation Tundra full-size pickup with two different powertrain configurations. The new, base twin-turbo 3.5-liter V6 engine produces up to 389 horsepower and 479 lb-ft (649 N·m) of torque. When paired with the new i-FORCE MAX system, the result is a combined hybrid performance output of... Read more →

Air New Zealand and Airbus have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to cooperate on a joint research project to better understand the opportunities and challenges of flying zero-emission hydrogen aircraft in New Zealand. Under the MoU, Air New Zealand will analyze the impact hydrogen aircraft may have on its... Read more →

SABIC has introduced NORYL GTX 9500 resin, a new addition to a range of unfilled NORYL GTX resin grades, which delivers excellent dimensional stability under hot and humid conditions, addressing the challenge for highly demanding automotive applications. SABIC’s NORYL GTX 9500 resin retains a better balance of mechanical properties when... Read more →

Adamas Intelligence has published its 5th semiannual State of Charge: EVs, Batteries and Battery Materials report. The report provides an overview of the global EV market’s performance over the past half-year (2021 H1) and its implications on the ever-evolving battery and battery materials supply chains. Among the findings of the... Read more →

Rio Tinto has approved a new solar farm and battery storage at Weipa in Queensland, in a move that will more than triple the local electricity network’s solar generation capacity and help provide cleaner power to Rio Tinto’s operations. The Weipa operations in Far North Queensland includes three bauxite mines,... Read more →

The technology group Wärtsilä will supply a 9.2 MW / 8.7 MWh energy storage system to Zenith Energy, an Independent Power Producer (IPP) in Australia. Zenith sells the electrical power it produces to some of the world’s largest mining companies with operations in Australia. The installed energy storage system will... Read more →

ElectraMeccanica Vehicles will begin customer deliveries of its single-occupant, three-wheeled, electric vehicle, the SOLO. The company will officially begin delivering keys to customers at a special launch event scheduled for 4 October in Los Angeles with a select group of early reservation holders along with the company’s first fleet owners.... Read more →

Toyota Motor Corporation is entering a vehicle equipped with a developmental hydrogen-powered engine (earlier post) at the five-hour-long Super Taikyu Series 2021 Powered by Hankook Round 5 Suzuka S-tai, which takes place this weekend. Just as in Round 3 and Round 4, the vehicle will be entered under the ORC... Read more →

Germany’s Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) is awarding €80 million to the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft’s National Action Plan for Fuel Cell Production. Financing is provided by the future fund of the “Concerted Action Mobility” and is intended to promote the transformation of the automotive industry—in particular the supplier industry.... Read more →

Irizar has manufactured a liquid natural gas (LNG) i4 model coach with a range of more than 1000 kilometers (621 miles) for intercity or short distance routes. This option is an addition to the range of technologies and sustainable fuels that Irizar is currently offering, including electric buses, diesel coaches,... Read more →

Expanding its portfolio of solutions for the marine electrification industry, Leclanché is introducing a new “ports and harbor” infrastructure solution enabling hybrid and fully electric vessels to fast charge when returning to port. Its first customer for the turnkey solution is Damen Shipyards Group, a globally operating company with more... Read more →