Volvo Buses is launching a new electrically-powered articulated bus that can carry up to 150 passengers and with 80% lower energy consumption compared to a corresponding diesel bus. With the Volvo 7900 Electric Articulated, Volvo Buses is making it attractive to electrify even high-frequency bus routes with large numbers of... Read more →

Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd. has started mass production for its 800V compatible high-voltage and high-output electric vehicle (EV) inverter, which increases EV practicality and enables long-distance driving. The product contributes to both comfortable acceleration performance of the vehicle and faster charging times. For this inverter, the mounting technology of the... Read more →

ArcelorMittal is adding to its family of advanced high strength steels (AHSS) for the auto industry with the development of Fortiform 980 Extragal (-GI) in North America. With the second generation of steels, body engineers had some limitations in using the higher strength grades for parts that play a role... Read more →

China-based Li-ion battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) has begun construction of its first lithium-ion battery factory in Thuringia, a state in east-central Germany. CATL has developed partnerships with a number of European companies in the automobile industry including BMW, Volkswagen, Daimler, Volvo, and Bosch. Germany is home... Read more →

XALT Energy introduced a new low-profile, high-energy-density battery pack for commercial vehicles at Busworld 2019. The flat, scalable package offers easier installation of new powertrain technologies. Production is to begin in 2021 with existing cell chemistry; the pack is upgradable with new cell chemistries under development. The XPAND Low Profile... Read more →

The European Environment Agency’s (EEA’s) “Air quality in Europe — 2019 report” shows that almost all Europeans living in cities are still exposed to air pollution levels that exceed the health-based air quality guidelines (AQGs) set by the World Health Organization (WHO). The new EEA analysis is based on the... Read more →

UK electrification company Equipmake revealed the latest version of its electric bus powertrain at Busworld Europe; the new low-floor version of its EBus electric chassis (earlier post) is aimed at double-decker applications. Equipmake’s existing low-entry EBus powertrain—designed for single deckers—has been in testing for the last 12 months and enters... Read more →

Swindon Powertrain is developing a new compact 80kW “crate” electric powertrain that will make it easier for specialist OEMs to electrify their low volume sports cars, light commercial and recreational vehicles. Swindon Powertrain’s High Power Density (HPD) EV system will ease the transition for manufacturers currently frustrated by the lack... Read more →

While physical logistics networks remain indispensable, electrification in local transport is already making an important contribution. However, widespread commercial use of electric drive on long-haul and heavy-duty routes is not yet feasible. This is where sustainable fuels play a crucial role as they could be pivotal in reducing the climate... Read more →

Ford is offering its all-electric vehicle customers North America’s largest electric vehicle public charging network—the FordPass Charging Network—with more than 12,000 places to charge, including fast charging, and more than 35,000 charge plugs—more than any other automotive manufacturer. Ford is providing two years of complimentary access. The Ford all-electric vehicle... Read more →

Germany’s BMVI (Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure) awarded €23.5 million to a set of hydrogen mobility projects ranging from forklift trucks to equipping a ride-pooling fleet to the development of a hydrogen bus and a fuel-cell-powered street sweeper. Hydrogen, fuel cells and electricity move the future. We have... Read more →

Toyota Motor will display its new, production-ready Ultra-compact BEV (battery electric vehicle) at the FUTURE EXPO special exhibition of the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show ahead of the vehicle’s planned commercial launch in Japan in 2020. The next-generation mobility solution is designed to provide short-distance mobility while limiting impact on the... Read more →

In a new study published in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology, University of Queensland researchers have highlighted the effects environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks will have on the global supply of metals without major innovations in the mining industry. Research on metal criticality has predominately assessed the supply risk... Read more →

Audi is introducing a plug-in hybrid version of its A8 L luxury sedan. The combination of plug-in hybrid drive and intelligent drive management allows distances of up to 46 kilometers (28.6 mi) (measured in accordance with WLTP) to be covered with electric drive alone. System power of 330 kW (449... Read more →

Velocys, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Velocys plc, signed an agreement with Oxy Low Carbon Ventures, LLC (OLCV), to capture CO2 from Velocys’ planned Bayou Fuels biomass-to-fuels project in Natchez, Mississippi, and securely store it underground in a geologic formation. OLCV, a wholly owned subsidiary of Occidental, will take,... Read more →

Volvo Cars introduced the XC40 Recharge, the company’s first fully electric car and the first model to appear in its brand new Recharge car line concept. The XC40 Recharge, based on the multi-award-winning and best-selling XC40 small SUV, is the first of a family of fully electric Volvos. The EV... Read more →

New Flyer of America Inc. has successfully met and supported the launch of the San Francisco Green Zone requirement, using New Flyer Connect to execute GPS-triggered (geofencing) functionality with the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) and BAE Systems PLC (BAE). Green Zones support San Francisco’s approach to greenhouse gas... Read more →

Orange EV and Dependable Supply Chain Services announced the deployment of Orange EV pure electric terminal trucks (aka yard trucks, hostlers, spotters) as the first step in fulfilling the Dependable Highway Express (DHE) plan to transform its Ontario, California facility into a sustainable, energy-efficient, emission-free freight terminal. Launching their transition... Read more →

Borealis, a leading provider of innovative polyolefin solutions; and Neste, the world’s leading provider of renewable diesel, renewable jet fuel, and an expert in delivering drop-in renewable chemical solutions, are entering into strategic co-operation for the production of renewable polypropylene (PP). The co-operation will enable Borealis to start using Neste’s... Read more →

Researchers at Zhengzhou University, Tsinghua University and Stanford University have developed a solid-electrolyte-based liquid Li-S and Li-Se (SELL-S and SELL-Se, respectively) battery system with the potential to deliver energy densities exceeding 500 Wh kg-1 and and 1,000 Wh L-1, together with the ability of low-cost and stable electrochemical performance for... Read more →

The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether Hungary's plans to grant €108 million of public support to Samsung SDI for investing in the expansion of its battery cell production facility in Göd (Hungary) is in line with EU rules on regional State aid. Public investment is... Read more →

On Tuesday, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking seeking additional comment on the recently proposed rule to establish the cellulosic biofuel, advanced biofuel, and total renewable fuel volumes for 2020 and the biomass-based diesel volume for 2021 under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS)... Read more →

According to a new report from Navigant Research, although the business model is in question, analyses indicate public charger deployments are positively affecting PEV adoption. The report analyzes the relationship between public charger deployment and plug-in EV (PEV) demand, providing an overview of upcoming industry innovations and ways industry stakeholders... Read more →

A team of researchers from the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) and the Université Paul Sabatier-Toulouse III (France) have developed a system that is capable of managing the entire traffic of a city, which will help to prevent traffic jams, while reducing the driving times of vehicles and pollution levels.... Read more →

XL, a growing provider of vehicle electrification solutions for commercial and municipal fleets, made two significant announcements designed to capitalize on the company’s current momentum and position the business for rapid, sustainable growth in 2020 and beyond. First, on 4 October, XL acquired the electrification division of Quantum Fuel Systems,... Read more →

Karma Automotive, the Southern California-based creator of luxury electric vehicles and high-tech incubator, is using its flagship company-owned store in Newport Beach, Calif., to help further its shareholder’s expertise in blockchain technology by accepting cryptocurrency as a form of payment. Karma Newport Beach now accepts Bitcoin as a form of... Read more →

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University have shown for the first time that a low-cost, non-precious metal cobalt phosphide (CoP) catalyst catalyst can split water and generate hydrogen gas for hours on end in the harsh environment of a commercial device. The electrolyzer... Read more →

Motiv Power Systems, a provider of all-electric medium-duty chassis for buses and trucks, has secured $60 million in equity funding. The Series B round of investment was led by investors GMAG Holdings Corp. and Winnebago. These funds will support the overall growth of Motiv, including opening a new engineering and... Read more →

by Michael Sivak. This is the latest in my series of analyses on the relationship between road transportation and economic activity in the United States. Of interest in this study were the changes in distance driven per inflation-adjusted GDP (gross domestic product) since the end of the Second World War.... Read more →

Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have uncovered a root cause of the growth of dendrites and whiskers that plague lithium batteries, sometimes causing a short circuit, failure, or even a fire. The team, led by Chongmin Wang, has shown that the presence of certain compounds in the electrolyte... Read more →