Stellantis N.V. and Samsung SDI have entered into a memorandum of understanding to form a joint venture to produce battery cells and modules for North America. Targeted to start in 2025, the plant aims to have an initial annual production capacity of 23 gigawatt hours, with the ability to increase... Read more →

INOVYN, a subsidiary of INEOS, plans to upgrade existing production at its Runcorn Site so that it can supply compressed fuel-cell quality hydrogen to mobility and power generation sectors. This is part of more than €2 billion investment in green hydrogen announced by INEOS earlier. (Earlier post.) INOVYN, which has... Read more →

Reaction Engines has joined the Project Fresson consortium (earlier post) led by Cranfield Aerospace (CAeS). Project Fresson aims to accelerate the journey to zero-emissions passenger-carrying aircraft through using hydrogen fuel cell technology and Reaction Engines has been selected to provide its thermal management technology (earlier post) for fuel cell cooling.... Read more →

Daimler officially started operations of its new “R&D Tech Center China” in Beijing. With an investment of 1.1 billion RMB (US$172 million), the company is further strengthening its R&D footprint and technological capabilities in the world’s biggest car market. The fully-fledged R&D center focuses on major technological trends, tailor-made innovation... Read more →

Grupo Segura, a leader in the design, development, and manufacture of metallic components for automotive applications, recently completed an R&D project which will help it meet demand from OEMs for cold stamped solutions. Together with ArcelorMittal, Grupo Segura studied how the latest ultra high strength steels (UHSS) for cold forming... Read more →

system Gentherm, a developer of innovative thermal management technologies, and Datang NXP Semiconductors Co., Ltd. (DNS) are together developing a new cell connection system, integrating the electronics for the battery module control for the global automotive market. This first-of-its-kind cell connection system will combine the single-cell monitoring integrated circuit (IC)... Read more →

SPARKZ Inc., a battery startup with exclusive licenses to produce domestic cobalt-free lithium batteries (earlier post), has won a grant for $2.6 million from the California Energy Commission (CEC) to extend its development into solid-state batteries. CEC funded the full amount possible for the first phase of the grant and... Read more →

The all-new 2022 Ford Maverick Hybrid pickup—the first standard hybrid pickup in the US—is now officially the most fuel-efficient hybrid pickup with an EPA-estimated rating of 42 mpg city. The 2.5-liter hybrid has an EPA-estimated rating of 37 mpg combined, 33 mpg highway and an EPA-estimated range of more than... Read more →

Electrify America today announced an agreement with Polestar—the electric performance car brand from Sweden—to provide new and existing drivers of the all-electric Polestar 2 fastback with no-cost 30-minute charging sessions on the US’ largest open ultra-fast DC charging network. Charging benefits for 2021 and 2022 Polestar 2 owners will be... Read more →

Hydra Energy, the Hydrogen-as-a-Service (HaaS) provider for commercial fleets looking to reduce emissions and costs with limited risk and no up-front investment (earlier post), has delivered its first hydrogen-converted, heavy-duty truck to paying fleet customer Lodgewood Enterprises. Hydra offers a proven hydrogen-diesel, co-combustion retrofit approach; the retrofitted engines can run... Read more →

Volkswagen is taking a further step in the direction of fully networked factories. A local 5G campus network is now available at its main plant in Wolfsburg that initially covers the main production development center and the pilot hall. The pilot project will test whether the 5G technology meets the... Read more →

Automotive Tier 1 supplier Gestamp has signed an agreement with ArcelorMittal to start using XCarb green steel certificates for the production of automotive components, as part of a sustainability strategy aimed at achieving decarbonization in all of its operations. Gestamp products cover the areas of body-in-white, chassis and mechanisms. With... Read more →

Johnson Matthey (JM), Echion Technologies, (Echion), Britishvolt (BV) and University College London (UCL) are grant recipients in the latest round (Round 4) of the Faraday Battery Challenge in the UK. (Earlier post.) Project CASCADE (Cathode and Anode Supply Chain for Advanced DEmonstrator) brings together these four organizations to develop a... Read more →

Carbon Recycling International (CRI) and Johnson Matthey (JM) have agreed on a long-term exclusive catalyst supply agreement for the use of JM’s KATALCO methanol catalysts in CRI’s Emissions-To-Liquids (ETL) CO2-to-methanol plants. This combined offering helps meet the urgent need to remove carbon emissions in hard-to-decarbonize sectors of the economy. Conventional... Read more →

Snam, Toyota and CaetanoBus have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU), with the aim of starting a wide-ranging collaboration to promote and accelerate the introduction of hydrogen-based mobility. United by the belief that hydrogen plays a fundamental role in the decarbonization of transportation, the companies signing the agreement—Snam and the... Read more →

China Yuchai International, a leading manufacturer and distributor of engines for on- and off-road applications in China through its main operating subsidiary, Guangxi Yuchai Machinery Company Limited (GYMCL), announced that its subsidiary Yuchai Xin-Lan New Energy Power Technology Co., Ltd. (Yuchai Xin-Lan) has entered into a cooperation agreement to further... Read more →

For the third quarter of 2021, Tesla reported best net income, operating profit and gross profit. Additionally, it achieved an operating margin of 14.6%, exceeding its medium-term guidance. This was accomplished while Tesla ASP (averaged selling price) decreased by 6% YoY in Q3 due to a continued shift in the... Read more →

The Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority of Buffalo, New York (NFTA-Metro) has issued a five-year contract to NFI subsidiary New Flyer of America, which includes a firm order for 10 Xcelsior CHARGE heavy-duty transit buses and options to purchase up to 140 additional buses. NFTA-Metro provides bus and rail transportation services... Read more →

Allison Transmission will participate in the initial public offering (IPO) of Jing-Jin Electric (JJE), a leader in electric motor, inverter, and integrated electrified propulsion systems within China—the largest electric vehicle market in the world. As part of JJE’s upcoming IPO at The Science and Technology Innovation (STAR) Board on the... Read more →

StoreDot, the developer of extreme fast charging (XFC) technology for electric vehicles (earlier post), is opening an R&D innovation hub in California. The new US-based innovation hub is being established to help StoreDot in its mission to provide automotive battery technologies that will significantly enhance the electrified vehicle ownership experience,... Read more →

Ballard Power Systems, a world leader in PEM fuel cells, and Forsee Power, a developer of smart battery systems for sustainable electromobility, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for a strategic partnership to develop fully integrated fuel cell and battery solutions, optimized for performance, cost and installation for the medium-... Read more →

Researchers in China have developed a class of IrRu-N-C catalysts, with Ir and Ru single atoms uniformly populated in nitrogen–carbon composites, that exhibits excellent CO electrooxidation reaction (COOR) behavior as well as high-efficiency single-atom catalysis toward H2 electro-oxidation. A paper on their work is published in Proceedings of the National... Read more →

Hy Stor Energy LP, together with its strategic partner Connor, Clark & Lunn Infrastructure (CC&L Infrastructure), will develop, commercialize, and operate large-scale, long-duration green hydrogen hubs that will serve as a model for green hydrogen development efforts going forward. The first major project, the Mississippi Clean Hydrogen Hub, is under... Read more →

Zeus Electric Chassis, Inc. and EAVX will join forces to develop and commercialize all-electric vocational work truck solutions. Joint development efforts will focus on integration of the JB Poindexter & Co (JBPCO) commercial truck bodies, utility truck bodies, and vehicle cargo management systems with the Zeus Power Platform, an all-electric... Read more →

One potential solution for enhancing capacity and production efficiency of lithium-ion batteries is to subdivide electrodes into dedicated functional layers. For example, a thin primer layer below the actual active anode helps to improve adhesion performance. At the same time, the overall binder content is reduced, resulting in higher energy... Read more →

Rolls-Royce, working with Boeing and World Energy, has carried out a successful test flight of its 747 Flying Testbed aircraft using 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) on a Trent 1000 engine. The aircraft flew from Tucson airport in Arizona, passing over New Mexico and Texas, with a Trent 1000 engine... Read more →

HT Aero (Huitian), an urban air mobility (UAM) company and an affiliate of XPeng (earlier post), entered into a definitive agreement with a consortium of investors to raise more than US$500 million for its Series A capital funding. The funding round is led by IDG Capital, 5Y Capital and XPeng... Read more →

An ultra-white paint incorporating barium sulfate (BaSO4) particles that is up to 98.1% reflective, developed by engineers at Purdue University, has earned a Guinness World Records title for the whitest paint. The record appears in the 2022 edition of Guinness World Records. The 98.1% reflectivity compares to a reflectivity of... Read more →

Compass Minerals, a leading global provider of essential minerals, announced the successful, third-party conversion testing of its lithium brine resource into both lithium carbonate and battery-grade lithium hydroxide, representing a significant milestone in its previously announced lithium development project. The company engaged Veolia Energy, an established technology provider, to conduct... Read more →

Keliber is a Finnish mining and battery chemical company that aims to start the sustainable production of battery-grade lithium hydroxide, utilizing its own ore, in 2024. (Earlier post.) The Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency (Tukes) has now granted a mining safety permit for Keliber’s second largest deposit, Syväjärvi. The permit,... Read more →