Renault is are currently testing its first nine prototypes of the upcoming electric Renault 5. The platform, power train and battery of the mules are technically the same as the future production vehicle. With a design based on the Clio silhouette, the mules do not yet look like the future... Read more →

bp and Uber announced a new global mobility agreement which will see the companies work together to help accelerate Uber’s commitment to become a zero-tailpipe emissions mobility platform in the US, Canada and Europe by 2030 and globally by 2040. The agreement, thought to be an industry first between a... Read more →

Yara Clean Ammonia, a Yara International ASA company, and Enbridge Inc. signed a letter of intent to develop and construct jointly a world-scale low-carbon blue ammonia production facility as equal partners. The proposed facility, which includes autothermal reforming with carbon capture, will be located at the Enbridge Ingleside Energy Center... Read more →

Researchers at the Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung have developed a method to make sustainable steel by reducing solid iron oxides with hydrogen released from ammonia. An open-access paper on their work is published in the journal Advanced Science. In their study, the researchers show that ammonia-based reduction of iron oxide proceeds... Read more →

BMW Motorrad is introducing BMW iFace—a face recognition system that makes the previous ignition key superfluous and complements the existing Keyless Go technology. BMW iFace was developed in cooperation with Professor Dr Gerhard Lesjöh, head of the institute for ophthalmology at the University of Munich. The system offers facial recognition... Read more →

Japan has published a new biofuels policy that will allow the United States to capture up to 100% of Japan’s on-road ethanol market, according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative. According to the new biofuels policy under the Sophisticated Methods of Energy Supply Structure Act, exports of... Read more →

Nacero will transition its current pre-construction, multi-billion USD facility in Penwell, Texas—designed to produce low carbon gasoline—to the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and lower carbon aviation fuel (LCAF). When fully completed, Nacero’s facility in Texas will be the largest commercial scale facility in the US for producing SAF... Read more →

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) released for public review and comment a draft of the Roadmap of Standards and Codes for Electric Vehicles at Scale developed by the Institute’s Electric Vehicles Standards Panel (EVSP). (Earlier post.) The roadmap identifies key safety, performance, and interoperability issues; notes relevant published and... Read more →

Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares announced that the Mangualde Production Center in Portugal will enter a new era with the production of battery electric light commercial vehicles (LCV) starting in early 2025, producing the Citroën ë-Berlingo, Peugeot e-Partner, Opel Combo-e and Fiat e-Doblò models, both in light commercial and passenger versions.... Read more →

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is granting two waivers of preemption regarding four California Air Resource Board (CARB) regulations related to California’s heavy-duty vehicle and engine emission standards. Under the Clean Air Act, California is afforded broad discretion to adopt emissions requirements to meet its significant air quality challenges,... Read more →

Jervois Global Limited will suspend final construction and full concentrator commissioning at its 100%-owned Idaho Cobalt Operations mine (ICO) in Idaho (earlier post) due to continuing low cobalt prices and US inflationary impacts on construction costs. ICO’s mineral resource and reserve is the largest and highest grade confirmed cobalt orebody... Read more →

The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) awarded the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) $2 million through the Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) grant program. This grant will fund a pilot program to develop a digital inventory of curb assets and regulations in the Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA)... Read more →

PT Vale Indonesia Tbk and China’s Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co. announced an agreement with Ford Motor Co., creating a three-party collaboration to advance more sustainable nickel production in Indonesia and help make electric vehicle batteries more affordable. All three companies are making equity investments in the Pomalaa Block High-Pressure Acid... Read more →

Audi is making a clear statement that the 2024 Q8 e-tron is its flagship electrified SUV. The new 2024 Audi Q8 e-tron (earlier post) has been refined with increased driving range, higher-power and faster charging capabilities, and improved driving dynamics compared to the prior model e-tron. The Q8 e-tron delivers... Read more →

Demand for large-scale hydrogen projects from industry is steadily increasing. In response, H-TEC SYSTEMS, a subsidiary of MAN Energy Solutions, has developed a new Modular Hydrogen Platform (MHP)—a scalable system for the industrial production of green hydrogen. The standardized blocks each have an electrolysis performance of 10 MW and can... Read more →

Umicore and Blue Current, a manufacturer of silicon elastic composite solid-state batteries, have agreed to strengthen their collaboration on the development of solid-state battery technology, with Umicore investing a minority stake in the US-based start-up. This investment complements the joint development agreement (JDA) whereby both parties were able to integrate... Read more →

North American lithium producer Sayona Mining and Piedmont Lithium successfully restarted commercial spodumene concentrate production at the jointly-owned North American Lithium (NAL) project in Québec (earlier post). The $US80-million restart of NAL was completed on time and on budget and is the only major source of new spodumene production expected... Read more →

The Marshall Area Economic Development Alliance received Michigan Strategic Fund (MSF) approval of a $120.3-million Strategic Site Readiness Program performance-based grant that will support land acquisition, site preparation, water and wastewater upgrades, professional fees, administration, and necessary public infrastructure improvements required for the Ford BlueOval Battery Park in Marshall. (Earlier... Read more →

Mining.com’s EV Metal Index, which tracks the value of battery metals in newly registered passenger EVs (including full battery, plug-in and conventional hybrids) worldwide, totalled $26.9 billion in 2022—an increase of 232% compared to the prior year. As much EV battery metal business was done in 2022 than the combined... Read more →

Rio Tinto and First Quantum Minerals (FQM) have entered into an agreement to form a joint venture that will work to unlock the development of the La Granja copper project in Cajamarca, Northern Peru, one of the largest undeveloped copper resources in the world. Source: FQM La Granja is a... Read more →

DCC plc, an international sales, marketing and support services group, has partnered with Oberon Fuels, the leading producer of renewable dimethyl ether (DME) (earlier post), to advance the design, construction and operations of multiple renewable DME production plants in Europe. The companies have completed an initial feasibility study which confirmed... Read more →

Due to a steady increase in availability of new models, expanded price mix within existing models and widening eligibility of federal and state incentives, acquisition cost is starting to fade as a hurdle to EV adoption, according to J.D. Power. According to the J.D. Power EV Index (earlier post), a... Read more →

J.D. Power and Motorq, a leading connected vehicle analytics and infrastructure company, have announced a strategic alliance to provide the automotive industry with insights based on connected vehicle data. The first product from the alliance will measure real-world electric vehicle (EV) battery health. Using data provided by the vehicle itself,... Read more →

The Superbike Commission of the FIM World Superbike Championship (WorldSBK) has decided that the fuels used, as in MotoGP, must consist of at least 40% non-fossil components from the coming 2024 season. BMW Motorrad Motorsport is preparing intensively for this and is closely involved in the development of such alternative... Read more →

Lamborghini presented Revuelto, its super sports V12 hybrid plug-in HPEV (High Performance Electrified Vehicle). (Earlier post.) An output of 1015 CV is delivered from the combined power of an entirely new combustion engine together with three electric motors, alongside a double-clutch gearbox that makes its debut on a 12-cylinder Lamborghini... Read more →

Kia revealed more details of the Kia EV9, its first three-row seat electric flagship SUV (earlier post). Based on the Electric Global Modular Platform (E-GMP), the EV9 delivers a targeted all-electric range over 541 km (WLTP). Ultra-fast 800-volt charging capability enables the EV9 battery pack to be replenished with sufficient... Read more →

MAN Energy Solutions’ MAN 49/60DF dual-fuel engine has received its Type Approval after a five-day program on the testbed at company HQ in Augsburg, Germany. The Type Approval Test (TAT) was witnessed by inspectors representing the ABS, BV, CCS, DNV, LR and RINA classification societies, who signed the test protocol... Read more →

The South Carolina Department of Education will deploy 160 Thomas Built Buses (TBB) electric school buses in school districts across the state over the next year, under a new procurement finalized this month between the Department of Education and Thomas Built Buses dealer Interstate Transportation. The Department of Education’s purchase... Read more →

Nikola announced that Nikola and its dealer network have received orders for 100 Class 8 Nikola Tre hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). Deliveries of the purpose-built heavy-duty trucks will begin in Q4 2023. With a range of up to 500 miles and an estimated fueling time of approximately 20... Read more →

A study by researchers at the University of Birmingham in the UK has found that while Diesel Oxidation Catalysts (DOCs) and Diesel Particle Filters (DPFs) has been very effective in controlling the tailpipe emissions of solid particles, there has been little change in the liquid mode (<30 nm) particles, and... Read more →