Toshiba Corporation has developed a new lithium-ion battery using a cobalt-free 5V-class high-potential cathode material that significantly suppresses performance-degrading gases produced as side reactions. This battery can operate at a wide range of applications, from power tools to electric vehicles. Cobalt and nickel are widely used to stabilize the cathodes... Read more →
IBM, FuelCell Energy to use generative AI in effort to boost performance of fuel cell systems
29 November 2023
IBM and FuelCell Energy, Inc. will work together to boost the performance of FuelCell Energy’s technology using Foundation Models, a form of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI). The aim of this collaboration is to support both companies’ efforts to lead a global transition to renewable energy sources that emit little to... Read more →
NXP Semiconductors introduced the Trimension NCJ29D6, a fully integrated automotive single-chip Ultra-Wideband (UWB) family combining next-generation secure and precise real-time localization with short-range radar to address multiple use cases with a single system, including secure car access, child presence detection, intrusion alert, gesture recognition and more. Integrated by major automotive... Read more →
Arbe Robotics releases production radar processor
29 November 2023
Israel-based Arbe Robotics Ltd. has released the production version of its radar processor, which is used for OEM development projects and B-Sample radars with the production functionality of Arbe Tier-1s. Arbe’s radar processor complements the company’s production chipset portfolio which already includes production RF chips. Arbe’s patented processor chip integrates... Read more →
Wärtsilä has signed a strategic partnership agreement to provide its Fleet Electrification and Systems Integrator Services for a project to build the first electric high-speed ferries in the US. The fully electric vessels will be built for the Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA), the operator of the San Francisco Bay... Read more →
Lloyd’s Register (LR) has awarded Type Approval to BeHydro, a joint venture between CMB.TECH and Anglo Belgian Corporation (ABC), for its hydrogen-powered dual-fuel engine. It is the first Type Approval for a dual-fuel hydrogen engine. The new engine, which has a capacity of up to 2.7 megawatts (MW), offers shipowners... Read more →
The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced results of the most comprehensive analysis to date quantifying the domestic lithium resources in California’s Salton Sea region. Conducted by DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (earlier post), the analysis found that with expected technology advances, the Salton Sea region’s total resources could produce... Read more →
Euro Manganese secures $100M in financing from Orion Resource Partners to support development of Chvaletice manganese project
29 November 2023
Euro Manganese signed definitive agreements with OMRF (BK) LLC, which is managed by the Orion Resource Partners Group, for US$100 million in non-dilutive financing to advance the development of the Chvaletice Manganese Project in the Czech Republic. (Earlier post.) The US$100 million funding is split into two US$50-million components: A... Read more →
Caldera Holding licenses ORNL’s membrane solvent extraction technique to separate rare earth elements in mined ore
29 November 2023
Caldera Holding, the owner and developer of Missouri’s Pea Ridge iron mine, has entered a non-exclusive research and development licensing agreement with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to apply a membrane solvent extraction technique (MSX) developed by ORNL researchers to mined ores. MSX provides a scalable, efficient way to separate... Read more →
Altilium secures £700k+ in UK funding for research on recovery of copper and rare earths from mine waste
29 November 2023
Altilium, a UK-based clean technology group, has secured more than £700,000 (US$889,000) in UK government innovation funding for two collaborative research projects focused on the recovery of copper and Rare Earth Elements (REE) from mine waste. Building on its work to recover lithium and other critical battery materials from end-of-life... Read more →
As part of its EVs2Scale2030 initiative, EPRI—with support from truck and car manufacturers, fleet operators, the US Department of Energy (DOE), the DOE National Labs, RMI, and others—released eRoadMAP, an interactive online resource intended to help electric power companies and industry stakeholders effectively plan for the power and infrastructure needed... Read more →
Santa Maria Renewable Resources selects Topsoe for renewable fuels plant in Texas
29 November 2023
Santa Maria Renewable Resources (SMRR), a vertically integrated renewable energy and bio-based production developer, has executed license and engineering agreements for Topsoe’s Hydroflex and H2bridge technologies to produce renewable fuels at a new plant to be built in Texas. HydroFlex converts various fat, oils and greases into drop-in renewable jet... Read more →
MIT researchers and colleagues have demonstrated a way to control precisely the size, composition, and other properties of nanoparticles key to the reactions involved in a variety of clean energy and environmental technologies. They did so by leveraging ion irradiation, a technique in which beams of charged particles bombard a... Read more →
MAN Energy Solutions announced that a dual-fuel version of its MAN 175D high-speed engine, capable of operating on methanol, will be available by the end of 2026. The new variant, designated MAN 175DF-M, will be available both as newbuild and retrofit variants. MAN Energy Solutions states that the 175DF-M will... Read more →
Sales of hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and battery-electric vehicles (BEV) in the United States rose to 17.7% of new light-duty vehicle sales in third-quarter 2023, according to data from Wards Intelligence as reported by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). Sales of hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and BEVs have accounted for 15.8%... Read more →
European Investment Bank to loan Iveco Group up to €500M to suppor decarbonization of transport sector
28 November 2023
The European Investment Bank (EIB) will loan Iveco Group N.V. up to €500 million to contribute to the electrification, efficiency and safety of the transport sector through investments in research, development and innovation. A loan of €450 million represents the first tranche of the €500 million total approved by the... Read more →
Ivanhoe Mines has been granted 22,195 square kilometers of greenfield prospecting rights for exploration in the Moxico and Cuando Cubango Provinces of Angola. The extensive package of prospecting rights covers highly prospective, greenfield copper exploration ground approximately equivalent to half the size of Switzerland (41,285 km2). Ivanhoe’s exploration activities are... Read more →
DOE announces $10M funding for Critical Materials Accelerator
28 November 2023
The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) issued a $10-million funding opportunity announcement (FOA) for a Critical Materials Accelerator. Projects funded under the FOA, led by EERE’s Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office (AMMTO), will validate and prototype technologies and processes that address... Read more →
During the Williamtown Air Show in Australia, the Roulettes, the Royal Australian Air Force’s aerobatic display team, performed a first public display using Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel. The Neste-produced sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) used for this flight was supplied to the ADF by Viva Energy, an Australian energy company... Read more →
Virgin Atlantic to fly transatlantic 100% SAF flight
28 November 2023
The UK Civil Aviation Authority has issued Virgin Atlantic a permit to fly a world-first transatlantic 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) flight. Virgin Atlantic plans to fly across the Atlantic from London Heathrow to New York JFK today to test and showcase the feasibility of flying on 100% SAF. The... Read more →
Scout Motors awards €450M contract to Magna to develop electric SUV and pickup
28 November 2023
Austrian newspaper Kleine Zeitung reported that Scout Motors has awarded Magna a contract worth €450 million to develop an electric SUV and pickup truck. The report said development work at Magna in Graz and the US was underway to prepare for series production by late 2026. In March 2023, Scout... Read more →
Researchers from Cranfield University have designed a method of achieving greater thrust from the power of the waves by harnessing a vessel’s submerged flapping foils (wave-induced flapping foils) in an innovative way. An open-access paper on their work is published in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. The ocean waves have... Read more →
The E-fuel project of VTT and partners has developed a concept for producing electrofuel from green hydrogen and carbon dioxide using a combination of different methods. This paraffinic e-fuel is being tested for the first time in Finland on a diesel-powered tractor at AGCO Power’s Linnavuori factory in Nokia. The... Read more →
dynaCERT has entered into an agreement with the French team HoleShot Competition to support their MAN Dakar Rally race truck at the 2024 Dakar Classic event. The French team’s #915 MAN Dakar Classic Rally race truck has been fitted with a HydraGEN HG1 Unit that uses simple electrolysis to convert... Read more →
Li-Metal successfully demonstrates electrolyte reconditioning process for carbonate-to-metal technology
27 November 2023
Li-Metal Corp., a developer of lithium metal anode and lithium metal production technologies for next-generation batteries (earlier post), has successfully demonstrated its electrolyte reconditioning process. This process is a pivotal component supporting Li-Metal’s patented and modular carbonate-to-metal (C2M) technology, an environmentally conscious approach to lithium metal production. The electrolyte reconditioning... Read more →
Occidental and BlackRock form JV to develop world’s largest direct air capture plant; $550M investment, 500,000 tonnes of CO2 per year
27 November 2023
Occidental recently announced that BlackRock will invest $550 million on behalf of clients in the development of STRATOS, the world’s largest Direct Air Capture (DAC) facility, in Ector County, Texas. Through a fund managed by its Diversified Infrastructure business, BlackRock has signed a definitive agreement to form a joint venture... Read more →
Volkswagen (Anhui) Components Co., Ltd. (VWAC), Volkswagen Group’s first 100%-owned battery system plant in China, began production of its first high-voltage battery system. VWAC is the first battery system plant wholly invested by Volkswagen Automatic Transmission (Tianjin) Co., Ltd. With an initial annual capacity of 150,000 to 180,000 high-voltage battery... Read more →
Standard Lithium Ltd., a near-commercial lithium development company, recently shared performance results from its Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) process at its Demonstration Plant (Plant) near El Dorado, Arkansas. Initially commissioned in May 2020, the plant has operated on a 24/7 basis since then (aside from turnaround due to equipment upgrades... Read more →
Adamas Intelligence: 64.2 GWh deployed onto roads globally in September 2023
26 November 2023
In September 2023, a total of 64.2 GWh of battery capacity was deployed onto roads globally in all newly sold passenger xEVs (BEVs, PHEVs and HEVs) combined—a mere 2% increase over the previous month but a modest 24% increase over September 2022, according to Adamas Intelligence. CATL led the pack... Read more →
Series production of the Renault Trucks has begun series production of the heavy-duty electric E-Tech T and C trucks at the Bourg-en-Bresse plant. The site has been assembling the brand’s trucks for 60 years. Dedicated to regional distribution and urban construction, these vehicles are the latest addition to the manufacturer’s... Read more →