Large-scale deployment of battery electric vehicle (BEV) and photovoltaic (PV) electricity technologies could raise electricity costs by increasing peak evening electricity demand and causing overgeneration of electricity during midday. A new study by MIT researchers examines these risks and how they amplify or mitigate each other. The researchers used data... Read more →

JCB publicly unveiled its new port fuel injected, 4.8L inline-four hydrogen combustion engine (448 ABH2)—the company’s zero-carbon emissions solution for construction and agricultural equipment—at the Conexpo 2023 show in Las Vegas as part of the International Fluid Power Exposition (IFPE). JCB is investing £100 million in the project to produce... Read more →

Yamaha Motor made an investment in Andes Ag, Inc., a US-based startup pursuing research into beneficial microorganism technologies to remove CO₂ from the air. This marks the first investment made through the US$100-million Yamaha Motor Sustainability Fund established in June last year specifically for investing in early stage companies working... Read more →

A team from Lehigh University has developed a Lewis acid-base interaction–derived hybrid sorbent with polyamine-Cu(II) complex (Polyam-N-Cu2+) enabling more than 5.0 mol of CO2 capture/kg sorbent—nearly two to three times greater capacity than most of the DAC sorbents reported to date. The sorbent is mechanically strong, chemically stable, and amenable... Read more →

Scientists have transformed single-cell algae into functional perovskite materials. The team led by scientists at the B CUBE—Center for Molecular Bioengineering at TU Dresden—converted mineral shells of algae into lead halide perovskites with tunable physical properties. The new perovskites have unique nano-architectures unachievable by conventional synthetic production. The method can... Read more →

Poland-based Hynfra has signed a framework cooperation agreement with Amarenco MENA, a major developer of renewable energy projects in the Middle East and North Africa and part of Amarenco Group. The strategic partnership is aimed at building infrastructure for the production of hydrogen and its derivatives, primarily ammonia, using electrolysis... Read more →

Emerging lithium producer Sayona Mining Limited reported the successful production of the first saleable spodumene (lithium) concentrate at its North American Lithium (NAL) operation in Québec, Canada. NAL is a brownfield open pit mining operation with a concentrator, with more than C$400 million having been invested in the operation by... Read more →

Saudi Arabia-based Aramco, one of the world’s leading integrated energy and chemicals companies, and Linde Engineering, a global leader in the production and processing of gases, signed an agreement jointly to develop a new ammonia cracking technology. The collaboration between the two companies will combine Linde Engineering and Aramco’s experience... Read more →

The Volkswagen Group’s PowerCo broke ground for construction of its second PowerCo cell factory. Gigafactory Valencia will start production of the unified cell in 2026 and will directly employ more than 3,000 people in the future, with a further up to 30,000 indirect jobs potentially being created at suppliers and... Read more →

As a result of acquisitions and investment, Cummins is focusing on three key areas for hydrogen: the production of green hydrogen; the management and transportation of hydrogen; and the application of hydrogen in engines and fuel cells. At Con Expo, Accelera, the new brand for Cummins’ New Power business segment,... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) will award $590 million to renew its four existing Bioenergy Research Centers (BRCs). This funding will help support the Department’s research into the next generation of sustainable, cost-effective bioproducts and bioenergy from domestic biomass resources. Each of the four centers, led by a National... Read more →

Verkehrsbetriebe Hamburg-Holstein GmbH (VHH) is ordering up to 100 electric buses from MAN Truck & Bus. VHH also recently ordered 95 Mercedes-Benz Citaro E electric buses, with an option for 155 more. (Earlier post.) VHH has already called for the first 48 eBuses from the new framework agreement with MAN.... Read more →

Volvo Trucks has delivered its first heavy electric truck to Rabat, Morocco. The customer is the refuse collection company Arma, and this is the first heavy battery-electric truck from a global manufacturer to be in commercial operation in Africa. The truck is a Volvo FE Electric, one of six all-electric... Read more →

Public transport provider Verkehrsbetriebe-Hamburg-Holstein GmbH (VHH) has ordered 95 Mercedes-Benz eCitaro/eCitaro G buses. The first of the fully electrically powered and locally emission-free buses is expected to be delivered by the end of this year, while the other vehicles will be delivered in the first half of 2024. In addition,... Read more →

Volvo Buses is changing its business model in Europe and will apply the same successful model as it has in several other markets. This means that Volvo Buses will focus its production on chassis and together with external bodybuilders offer customers in Europe a complete range of city and intercity... Read more →

Altilium Metals, a UK clean energy group, plans to accelerate the development of the UK’s largest EV battery recycling plant, following completion of a six-month feasibility study, funded partly by the UK government’s Automotive Transformation Fund, and the first successful demonstration of its proprietary technology at its newly opened analytical... Read more →

Aqua Metals has successfully recovered high-purity nickel from lithium battery black mass using its proprietary Li AquaRefining process, utilizing electricity, and without a polluting smelter or the significant chemical waste typical in recycling. (Earlier post.) The company’s unique solution for recovering all valuable metals in lithium battery recycling supports a... Read more →

Blink Charging, a manufacturer, owner, operator and provider of electric vehicle (EV) charging equipment and services, was awarded an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract by the United States Postal Service (USPS) to sell up to 41,500 EV charging units to support EV charging infrastructure for the USPS as part... Read more →

Nikola Corporation said that its move to transition battery manufacturing from Cypress, Calif. to its Coolidge, Ariz. manufacturing facility—following the acquisition of Cypres-based Romeo Power (earlier post)—is expected to be complete by April 2023, months ahead of the original schedule. T he ability to expedite this process further supports Nikola’s... Read more →

The European Commission (EC) unveiled two draft laws in response to the US subsidies that the Commission fears are luring European clean-tech companies to North America. The European Critical Raw Materials Act would help the bloc secure supply of the metals needed to build batteries, wind turbines and other green... Read more →

A pre-print study by European environmental scientists assesses the direct impact of the recent sabotage of the undersea Nord Stream pipelines on marine ecosystem. The explosions that ripped open the gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea last September released more than 100,000 tonnes of methane—which was widely covered in the... Read more →

Chart Industries and ZEV Stations executed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) enabling the two companies to collaborate on novel deployment for US-based, multimodal hydrogen stations with Chart equipment. Working together, the companies’ goal is development of fast-fuel multiple modes for heavy-duty transportation at the same station, uniting different standards of... Read more →

Controlled Thermal Resources (CTR) (earlier post) and Fuji Electric Corp. of America (FEA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to complete multiple Equipment, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contracts for the delivery of geothermal power facilities at CTR’s Hell’s Kitchen Lithium and Power Project located in Imperial County, California. The EPC contracts... Read more →

Toyota’s #32 ORC ROOKIE GR Corolla H2 Concept (hydrogen-powered Corolla) (earlier post), which was scheduled to participate in the ENEOS Super Taikyu Series 2023 Powered by Hankook Round 1 Suzuka to be held on 18 and 19 March 2023, will not be racing. During a private test run at Fuji... Read more →

At CONEXPO, Cummins showcased its new fuel-agnostic 15-liter engine platform with hydrogen, natural gas and advanced diesel engines offering low-to-zero carbon fuel capability. The next-generation engine is designed to accelerate the decarbonization of heavy-duty off-highway applications. Cummins’ all-new platform takes internal combustion to a new level, capable of meeting future... Read more →

Mercedes-Benz Trucks development and test engineers tested the operational readiness of the eActros LongHaul and eActros 300 as a tractor unit under extreme conditions at temperatures down to minus 25 degrees Celsius in Rovaniemi, in northern Finland. (In Rovaniemi, the Arctic Circle (66°33′45.9″ N) runs through Santa Claus Village, 8km... Read more →

The Volkswagen brand provided a first glimpse of an all-electric Volkswagen with a starting price of less than €25,000: the ID. 2all concept car. The electric vehicle features front-wheel drive, range of up to 450 km, innovative technological features such as Travel Assist, IQ.LIGHT or Electric Vehicle Route Planner and... Read more →

BMW’s upcoming eigth generation of the 5 Series will offer all-electric and plug-in hybrid variants as well efficient gasoline and diesel engines with 48V mild hybrid technology. At the BMW Group Annual Conference 2023, Oliver Zipse, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG, announced further details of the... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) will award up to $750 million for research, development, and demonstration efforts to reduce the cost of clean hydrogen. (DE-FOA-0002922) This funding launches the first tranche of implementation of two provisions of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which authorizes $1 billion for research, development, demonstration,... Read more →

The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy announced a $156-million funding opportunity (DE-FOA-0002997) that will advance high impact applied research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) projects to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across the US industrial sector. In 2020, the industrial sector accounted for 33%... Read more →