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 →

Lithium price rises accelerated in the first half of September as surging demand and raw material supply concerns combined to push Chinese domestic prices up to their highest levels since mid-2018 according to data from Benchmark’s Lithium Price Assessment. Lithium hydroxide and carbonate price rises accelerated to new levels in... Read more →

Stellantis is exploring two new connected safety notification technologies—Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) and Safety Cloud—in North America, giving drivers advanced notification warnings of potential hazards in their path. Greater connectivity speeds, improved hardware and expanded software expertise have opened new opportunities for Stellantis with safety systems being one of the... Read more →

As part of its more than $30-billion investment in electrification through 2025, Ford is exploring all-electric, purpose-built law enforcement vehicles. To demonstrate that a vehicle with an electric powertrain can deliver strong performance and stand up to demanding police duty cycles, the company is submitting an all-electric police pilot vehicle... Read more →

Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation will deliver 20 units of the all-electric eCanter truck to the Australia Post fleet. In October, Australia Post will become the first local customer to integrate the electric light-duty truck into its daily operations. Australia Post is a government business enterprise providing postal services... Read more →

Royal Dutch Shell will build an 820,000-tonnes-a-year biofuels facility at the Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Rotterdam, the Netherlands, formerly known as the Pernis refinery. Once built, the facility will be among the largest in Europe to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel made from waste. Shell expects... Read more →

BASF SE (BASF) and Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL) announced a strategic partnership on battery materials solutions, including cathode active materials (CAM) and battery recycling. The collaboration aims at developing a sustainable battery value chain, in support of CATL’s localization in Europe and contributes to achieving both companies’ global... Read more →

South Africa-based Sibanye-Stillwater will establish a joint venture company with Australia-based ioneer with respect to ioneer’s Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Project. Sibanye-Stillwater will contribute US$490 million for a 50% interest in the joint venture, with ioneer maintaining a 50% interest and retaining the operational management responsibility for the joint venture. The... Read more →

Solvay announced the installation completion of its new thermoplastic composites (TPC) manufacturing facility at its Greenville, South Carolina site. At full production capacity, the new line will add more than 30 positions at the 27,000-square-foot facility. The project represents a major milestone in Solvay’s efforts to industrialize its TPC capacity.... Read more →

Hyundai Motor Group introduced Factory Safety Service Robot, a robot for industrial site safety, and announced its pilot operation at Kia’s plant in South Korea. The Robot is based on Boston Dynamics’ quadruped robot, Spot, with applied artificial intelligence (AI), autonomous navigation, teleoperation technologies, and computing payload (AI Processing Service... Read more →

Lucid Group announced that the Lucid Air Dream Edition Range has received an official EPA rating of 520 miles of range. It is the longest-range electric vehicle ever rated by the EPA, delivering at least 100+ miles of additional range over its closest competitor. One of two distinct versions of... Read more →

Volta Trucks has raised €37 million (US$44 million) in a Series B funding round. Existing investor Luxor Capital Group led the round. Pre-orders for the Volta Zero now exceed 2,500 vehicles, with an order value of more than €600 million (US$706 million), having doubled in the past three months. The... Read more →

The first Ford F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck pre-production units have begun leaving the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center; the all-electric F-150 Lightning goes on sale next spring. With 150,000 reservations for F-150 Lightning to date, Ford said it is investing an additional $250 million in the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center,... Read more →

Ballard Power Systems launched the FCmove-HD+ fuel cell module. FCmove-HD+ is designed for buses and medium- and heavy-duty trucks, and is the latest product in Ballard’s 8th generation heavy-duty power module portfolio. Ballard has been developing a family of FCmove products since 2019 to serve the commercial vehicle market. The... Read more →

New Flyer of America has received a new contract from the Lane Transit District (LTD) in Oregon for 19 battery-electric forty-foot Xcelsior CHARGE NG heavy-duty transit buses. The order includes six depot chargers and commissioning by New Flyer Infrastructure Solutions, supporting electric bus deployment in Eugene-Springfield, Oregon, and Metro Area... Read more →

Jacobs Vehicle Systems and Tula Technology have signed a cooperation agreement to accelerate the development of Jacobs Cylinder Deactivation (CDA) valve actuation technology in conjunction with Tula’s Dynamic Skip Fire (DSF) control algorithms (earlier post). Cylinder Deactivation leverages Jacobs’ well-established componentry to disable engine valves in selected cylinders allowing a... Read more →

Xtreme Diesel Performance (XDP), an automotive parts manufacturer and retailer based in Wall Township, New Jersey, with a sales distribution center in Las Vegas, Nevada, has agreed to stop manufacturing and selling parts for diesel pickup trucks that, when installed, bypass, defeat, or render inoperative EPA-approved emission controls and harm... Read more →

Romeo Power and Dynexus Technology, a provider of battery sensing solutions and data-driven battery intelligence, will collaborate to integrate Dynexus Technology’s actionable battery performance and health sensors into Romeo Power’s battery ecosystem. The technology developed by Dynexus will initially be utilized for incoming cell quality control and end-of-line verification, as... Read more →

TWAICE, a provider of predictive analytics software that optimizes the development and operation of lithium-ion batteries, and pepper motion GmbH (formerly etrofit), a company offering solutions for the electrification (retrofitting) of used and new commercial vehicles such as trucks in distribution transport, buses in local public transport (LPT) and municipal... Read more →