Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA) in Georgia, in cooperation with Glovis America, has deployed Hyundai XCIENT heavy-duty hydrogen fuel-cell electric trucks for clean logistics operations. Initially, a total of 21 XCIENT trucks will be in operation. These Hyundai XCIENT hydrogen fuel-cell Class 8 heavy-duty trucks will transport vehicle parts... Read more →
Benchmark: Supply of mined rare earth oxides from non-Chinese sources set to grow 5.8x by 2030
05 December 2024
The rare earths supply chain is poised for greater geographical diversification as new mines and processing plants outside of China are brought into production throughout the second half of the decade, as part of on-going derisking efforts by Western governments. According to the Benchmark Rare Earths Forecast, the supply of... Read more →
SAE Industry Technologies Consortia and Joint Office of Energy and Transportation advance universal Plug & Charge with common EVPKI framework
05 December 2024
SAE Industry Technologies Consortia (ITC) and its Electric Vehicle Public Key Infrastructure (EVPKI) Consortium, along with the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation, announced a common EVPKI (Electric Vehicle Public Key Infrastructure) framework that will enable secure automatic authentication as soon as drivers plug in—a capability known as Plug &... Read more →
EVgo and GM surpass 2,000 public fast charging stalls in the US
05 December 2024
EVgo Inc., one of the US’ largest providers of public fast charging infrastructure for electric vehicles, and General Motors have surpassed 2,000 public fast charging stalls opened through their ongoing metropolitan charging collaboration. To date, EVgo and GM have built fast charging stalls in more than 390 locations in 45... Read more →
DOE releases assessment of electrolysis technology; highlighting pathways to cut the cost of hydrogen
05 December 2024
The US Department of Energy (DOE) released a report that highlights ways to reduce the cost of producing clean hydrogen via electrolysis. The report shows that electrolysis has the potential to achieve the aggressive DOE Hydrogen Shot goal of reducing clean-hydrogen production costs to $1 per kilogram (kg), and it... Read more →
ABI Research: green hydrogen costs of production to drop to US$2.5/kg by 2030, and US$1.80 by 2040
05 December 2024
The high production cost—known as the Levelized Cost of Hydrogen (LCOH)—has, to date, limited both investment in and demand for green hydrogen. However, ABI Research, a global technology intelligence firm, predicts that global LCOHs will reach a cost-competitive level by 2030 and undercut polluting alternatives by 2040, paving the way... Read more →
Formula 1 expands Sustainable Aviation Fuel investment through new Qatar Airways program
05 December 2024
Formula 1 is expanding its investment in Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) through a new program developed with Global Partner Qatar Airways. The expansion builds upon the previously announced investment alongside Global Logistics Partner DHL, and creates a broader framework for F1 teams and the FIA to participate. In total, the... Read more →
DENSO signs MoU with Canatu to advance application of carbon nanotubes
05 December 2024
DENSO Corporation recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Canatu to advance the practical application of carbon nanotube technology. By strengthening their partnership, the two companies aim to deepen their collaboration to contribute to the advancement of autonomous driving technology and the realization of carbon neutrality. As autonomous driving... Read more →
Rio Tinto signs new partnership agreement to study low carbon aluminum project in Finland
05 December 2024
Rio Tinto has entered into a partnership agreement with the Swedish investment company Vargas, Mitsubishi Corporation and other international and local industry partners to study a low carbon aluminum greenfield opportunity in Finland. As the strategic industrial partner, Rio Tinto will provide the Arctial partnership with access to its proven... Read more →
California launches its first statewide e-bike voucher project
04 December 2024
California is launching a new incentive that will provide income-eligible Californians (household income 300% of FPL) up to $2,000 toward the purchase of a new e-bike. The first installment of the launch will offer $3 million to help fund up to 1,500 e-bikes. The California E-bike Incentive Project is being... Read more →
Kyocera, a 24M Technology License Partner, to double production of SemiSolid Li-ion batteries using 24M technology by FY2026
04 December 2024
24M announced that its technology license and joint development partner, Kyocera Corporation, aims to double its production capacity for 24M SemiSolid lithium-ion residential energy storage batteries by FY2026. 24M said that Kyocera is accelerating production due to increased demand for energy storage products. (Earlier post.) In 2020, 24M and Kyocera... Read more →
Hyundai Motor Group partners with Indian Institutes of Technology to advance battery and electrification research
04 December 2024
Hyundai Motor Group is partnering with the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) to establish a collaborative research system in the fields of batteries and electrification. The three institutes include IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay and IIT Madras. The Hyundai Center of Excellence (CoE), which will be set up within IIT Delhi,... Read more →
MAN Energy Solutions announced that the development of its ME-LGIA (Liquid Gas Injection Ammonia) engine has entered a new phase with the commencement of testing of a full-scale, two-stroke engine running on ammonia at its RCC (Research Centre Copenhagen). (Earlier post.) Having already completed more than 12 months of testing... Read more →
Wright has finished final assembly of its second-generation megawatt-class motor, WM2500, built with support from DOE ARPA-E and NASA. WM2500 is a 2.5 MW (3,300+ horsepower) electric aircraft engine targeted for industry-leading power and power density. It is designed to replace the engine core of a jet engine, enabling current... Read more →
Rio Tinto and Sumitomo Metal Mining to partner on Winu copper-gold project
04 December 2024
Rio Tinto and Sumitomo Metal Mining (SMM) have signed a term sheet for a joint venture to deliver the Winu copper-gold project, located in the Great Sandy Desert region of Western Australia. Under the Term Sheet, which includes exclusivity obligations to work towards a binding definitive agreement, Rio Tinto will... Read more →
Toshiba develops a low-cost and low-environmental-impact recycling method for Li-ion battery oxide anodes
03 December 2024
Toshiba Corporation has developed a method for recycling lithium-ion battery oxide anodes at low cost and with low environmental impact. The EU Battery Regulation, which went into effect in August 2023, mandates the declaration of carbon footprints (CFP) and high levels of environmental consideration throughout the product life cycle, necessitating... Read more →
Altilium commences activities at ACT 2 EV Battery Recycling Plant
03 December 2024
Altilium has begun processing of lithium-ion battery waste at its new ACT 2 recycling facility in Plymouth, UK. The facility, the first of its kind in the UK, marks the next phase of Altilium’s scale-up strategy, leading to megascale recycling at its planned ACT 4 plant in Teesside. Showcasing the... Read more →
Aramco completes acquisition of 10% stake in Horse Powertrain
03 December 2024
Following the signing of definitive agreements on 28 June 2024 (earlier post), Aramco has completed its acquisition of a 10% equity stake in Horse Powertrain Limited based on an enterprise value of €7.4 billion. The transaction builds on Aramco’s efforts to develop new mobility solutions with the potential to reduce... Read more →
General Motors and LG Energy Solution are extending their 14-year battery technology partnership to include prismatic cell development. GM expects the prismatic cell technology developed under the agreement to power future GM electric vehicles, as part of the company’s strategy to diversify its supply chain, leveraging multiple chemistries and form factors.... Read more →
Study finds that when anticipating the end of oil, industry cuts investments and produces less
03 December 2024
A new National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) working paper by Ryan Kellogg, a professor and deputy dean for academic programs at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy finds that when oil producers anticipate a long-run decline in demand for oil, they begin investing less into exploration... Read more →
Volvo VNR Electric surpasses 10M miles in customer operations
03 December 2024
Volvo Trucks North America announced that its Class 8 Volvo VNR Electric model has surpassed 10 million miles of zero-tailpipe emissions in customer operations since commercial orders began in December 2020. Nearly 600 Volvo VNR Electric trucks are now operating across the United States and Canada by fleets of all... Read more →
Blue Bird joint venture Micro Bird to establish bus manufacturing facility in New York State
02 December 2024
Blue Bird Corporation, the leader in electric and low-emission school buses, lauds the U.S. expansion of Micro Bird’s manufacturing operations to build small and midsize buses in New York State. Micro Bird, a 50/50 joint venture of Blue Bird Corporation and Girardin, has confirmed the purchase of the Nova Bus... Read more →
Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares resigns; new CEO will be appointed in the first half of 2025
02 December 2024
Stellantis N.V. announced that the company’s Board of Directors, under the Chairmanship of John Elkann, accepted Carlos Tavares’ resignation on 1 December from his role as Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect. Tavares was expected to retire once his contract expired in early 2026. The process to appoint the new... Read more →
Researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, with colleagues in Korea and Illionois, have developed high-entropy lithium-rich layered oxide cathodes (HE-LLO) for Li-ion batteries. A paper on their work is published in Journal of Power Sources. High-entropy oxides (HEOs) are emerging as promising cathode materials for Li-ion batteries (LIBs) due to their... Read more →
Researchers improve catalyst stability for dry reforming of methane into syngas
01 December 2024
A research team led by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has found a way to thwart deactivation of catalysts for the dry reforming of methane. Dry reforming of methane converts methane and carbon dioxide into syngas, a valued mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide used by oil... Read more →
Hapag-Lloyd concludes long-term offtake agreement with GoldWind for green methanol; annual delivery of 250,000 tonnes
30 November 2024
Hapag-Lloyd has reached an agreement with Goldwind, a global strategic partner in clean energy with headquarters in Beijing, China, for the delivery of 250,000 tonnes of green methanol per year. The green methanol will consist of a blend of bio- and e-methanol, ensuring greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction of at... Read more →
ArcelorMittal slows making final investment decisions on European decarbonization plans
30 November 2024
ArcelorMittal has previously announced the intention to invest in lower carbon emissions “hydrogen ready” DRI-EAF (DIrect Reduced Iron - Electric Arc Furnace) facilities to replace several blast furnaces across its European business as a key strategic first step towards reducing emissions. In all cases, the host countries offered funding support... Read more →
Galp decides not to move forward with Aurora lithium hydroxide project
30 November 2024
Galp has decided not to proceed with the construction of the Aurora project (earlier post). Originally a 50/50 partnership between Galp and Northvolt, the latter communicated to Galp in early 2024 its decision to cease investing in Aurora. Northvolt recently filed for Chapter 11 in the US. (Earlier post.) Aurora... Read more →
Notre Dame opens world’s first Large Mach 10 Quiet Wind Tunnel
30 November 2024
Earlier this month, the University of Notre Dame marked the successful opening of a Large Mach 10 Quiet Wind Tunnel, the first and only facility of its kind in the world. The facility supplies a unique environment for exploring hypersonic flight dynamics, turbulence, flight control, and propulsion. Designed for high-quality... Read more →
BMW Group building battery recycling competence center in Germany; direct recycling
29 November 2024
BMW Group is building a Cell Recycling Competence Center (CRCC) for battery cells in Kirchroth, in the Straubing-Bogen district of Lower Bavaria, where it will implement a process referred to as direct recycling. This procedure enables residual materials from battery cell production, as well as whole battery cells, to be... Read more →