The Shell GameChanger Accelerator Powered by NREL (GCxN), a multi-million dollar program developed in collaboration between Shell GameChanger and the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), has selected five startups to participate in the program’s fifth cohort. GCxN provides promising early-stage cleantech startups with resources to accelerate... Read more →

While the automotive industry continues to move toward fully automated, self-driving vehicles, the pace is not being matched by educational efforts that will help bring buyers into the modern mobility movement. According to the newly released J.D. Power 2021 Mobility Confidence Index (MCI) Study, consumers possess inaccurate knowledge of fully... Read more →

Two studies—led by a team from Seattle City Light, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), and Sandia National Laboratories—are exploring the potential of shifting from fossil fuel to clean hydrogen as fuel to power medium-and heavy-duty vehicles. The studies will assess the issues associated with scaling up hydrogen infrastructure large enough... Read more →

Steel production could be made with almost no carbon emissions through $278 billion of extra investment by 2050, according to a new report from research firm BloombergNEF (BNEF). Hydrogen and recycling are likely to play a central role in reducing emissions from steel production. Steel is responsible for around 7%... Read more →

Lithium-ion battery pack prices, which were above $1,200 per kilowatt-hour in 2010, have fallen 89% in real terms to $132/kWh in 2021, according to a new report from BloombergNEF (BNEF). (All prices are in real 2021 $, unless stated as nominal.) This marks a 6% drop from $140/kWh in 2020.... Read more →

Steel E-Motive, an initiative of WorldAutoSteel, the automotive group of the World Steel Association and its engineering partner Ricardo unveiled the exterior styling vision for their fully autonomous ride-hailing, ride-sharing vehicle designed to showcase the benefits of using steel for global mobility-as-a-service. The Steel E-Motive vehicle design has been optimized... Read more →

General Motors has joined the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA), adding another element to company programs that support the sustainability and human rights of the EV supply chain. IRMA advances responsible mining practice through a comprehensive set of standards covering the four principles of Business Integrity, Planning for Positive... Read more →

PPES—the joint venture between Panasonic Corporation and Toyota Motor Corporation—and Nexeon, the company developing advanced silicon materials for next generation lithium-ion batteries, have agreed to extend their funded joint development agreement (JDA). The partners will focus their work on the commercialization of e-mobility applications of lithium-ion batteries. Nexeon and PPES,... Read more →

StoreDot, the developer of extreme fast charging (XFC) battery technology for electric vehicles (EVs) (earlier post), has developed new patented technology that will allow battery cells to regenerate while they are in use, through a seamless background repair mechanism. The newly developed system includes a suite of software algorithms with... Read more →

BMW i Ventures announced a lead investment in the Series B financing round of actnano, a company that has developed a next-generation nanocoating that offers protection for electronics across the automotive and consumer electronics markets. actnano’s Advanced nanoGUARD (ANG) technology is a thin nano structure that is sprayed directly on... Read more →

Cummins Inc. has entered into an agreement with Sion Power Corporation (earlier post), a leading developer of high-energy rechargeable battery technology, to design and to supply battery cells based on their proprietary lithium-metal technology for commercial vehicle applications. Under the agreement, Sion Power will engage in a multi-year development program... Read more →

Solid-state battery company Factorial Energy (earlier post) has entered into Joint Collaboration Agreements with both Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis, each of which is also making a strategic investment in the company. Factorial’s technology offers a high level of operational safety and extends driving range by 20 to 50 percent, addressing two... Read more →

Element 1 Corporation has entered into a global agreement with NEXA Capital Partners LLC to accelerate the adoption of its methanol-to-hydrogen generators (earlier post) for fuel cell applications in aerospace and particularly electric vertical aircraft (EVA). Element 1 and NEXA are combining their expertise, along with NEXA’s capital market access,... Read more →

Initial findings from a world-first study of the impact of 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) on both engines of a commercial jet have provided promising early results, according to the participants. The ECLIF3 study (Emission and Climate Impact of Alternative Fuels) (earlier post), involving Airbus, Rolls-Royce, German research center DLR... Read more →

bp confirmed it is planning a new large-scale green hydrogen production facility in the North East of England that could deliver up to 500MWe (megawatt electrical input) of hydrogen production by 2030. To be developed in multiple stages, HyGreen Teesside is expected to match production to demand and build on... Read more →

Researchers in the US and China have developed a catalyst that solves three key problems long associated with direct ethanol fuel cells (DEFCs): low efficiency, the cost of catalytic materials and the toxicity of chemical reactions inside the cells. The team from the University of Central Florida, Oregon State University,... Read more →

At Art Basel’s 2021 Miami Beach show, BMW M GmbH presented the new BMW Concept XM; the concept car looks ahead to the most powerful BMW M car ever to go into series production, which is set to begin at the end of 2022. Electrification underpins an extraordinary driving experience... Read more →

Dana TM4, the joint venture between Dana Incorporated and Hydro-Québec, North America’s largest renewable energy producer, is establishing a new manufacturing facility in Åmål, Sweden that will initially produce electric motors for the mobility industry. This $50-million fully sustainable operation has received $10.7 million in support from the Swedish business... Read more →

Pony.ai has received approval to run paid autonomous Robotaxi services in the Beijing Intelligent Networked Vehicle Policy Pilot Zone in southeastern Beijing. With this approval, Pony.ai will be permitted to charge fees for Robotaxi services provided to the public. This represents a significant milestone on the company’s path to commercialization,... Read more →

Nine national, regional, state and city-level governments signed up to Climate Group’s newly launched initiative ZEV Pledge. The ZEV Pledge asks governments at all levels, as well as individual departments, agencies and public sector bodies, to pledge to convert their entire owned or leased fleets, where feasible, to zero-emission vehicles.... Read more →

A new report from Juniper Research has found that the automotive sensors market will grow to more than $92 billion by 2026—a 30% increase over 2021. This growth will be driven by sensors that enable automated vehicles and ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems). Sensors monitoring various vehicle safety parameters in... Read more →

Baidu, Inc., JiDU Automotive and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. announced that JiDU’s first production vehicle will feature an intelligent digital cockpit system assisted by Baidu and Qualcomm Technologies. This system is based on the 4th Generation Snapdragon Automotive Cockpit Platform from Qualcomm Technologies, together with the next generation intelligent cockpit system... Read more →

A team of researchers from the US NSF Center for Sustainable Polymers based at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities has demonstrated the use of a dual cellular–heterogeneous catalytic strategy to produce olefins from glucose. Wang et al. These renewable liquids could serve as a more sustainable replacement for today’s... Read more →

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) can leverage its abundant cobalt resources and hydroelectric power to become a low-cost and low-emissions producer of lithium-ion battery cathode precursor materials, according to a new study on a unified African supply chain by BloombergNEF (BNEF). The BNEF study—undertaken at the behest of... Read more →

Nissan Motor unveiled Nissan Ambition 2030, the company’s new long-term vision for empowering mobility and beyond. With this vision, Nissan wants to deliver strategic value by empowering journeys offering confident, exciting, and more integrated experiences to customers, and through collaborations, empower society to build a smart ecosystem with integrated mobility.... Read more →

Honda Motor recently unveiled its work on two key advanced future safety technologies being developed with the goal of realizing “zero traffic collision fatalities involving Honda motorcycles and automobiles globally by 2050”. The first is artificial intelligence (AI)-powered “Intelligent Driver-Assistive Technology” providing assistance that is suited to the ability and... Read more →

Vulcan Energy Resources (earlier post) and Stellantis have signed a binding lithium hydroxide offtake agreement to supply, starting in 2026, a minimum of 81,000 tonnes and a maximum of 99,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium hydroxide over the duration of the initial five-year agreement. The Stellantis deal marks Vulcan Energy’s fourth... Read more →

The UK Government earlier this month announced that it will support five local transport authorities with funding worth nearly £71 million (US$95 million) under the Zero Emission Bus Regional Area (ZEBRA) scheme. The investment will support the introduction of up to 335 zero-emission buses. The winning authorities were: Cambridgeshire and... Read more →

Seattle-based e-bike manufacturer Ariel Rider has raised US$14.8 million in a Serie A round, which puts the company’s valuation at US$74.0 million. Founder of Ariel Rider, Arda Onal, stated that the new investment will help the growth of Ariel Rider and will be used mainly for inventory, improving customer service,... Read more →

An international team of scientists, led by NTU Singapore, has linked increased air pollution to an uptick in cases of lung adenocarcinoma (LADC) worldwide. Lung adenocarcinoma—an aggressive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)—is a type of cancer for which research strongly suggests that genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors play a part.... Read more →