onsemi signed a strategic agreement with Volkswagen AG to provide modules and semiconductors that enable a complete electric vehicle (EV) traction inverter solution for VW’s next-generation platform family. The semiconductors are part of an overall system optimization and provide a solution that will support the front and rear traction inverters... Read more →
The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced up to $47 million in funding (DE-FOA-0002920) to accelerate the research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) of affordable clean hydrogen technologies. Projects funded under this opportunity will reduce costs, enhance hydrogen infrastructure, and improve the performance of hydrogen fuel cells—advancing the Department’s Hydrogen Shot... Read more →
US Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland signed Public Land Order 7917 withdrawing approximately 225,504 acres in the Superior National Forest in northeastern Minnesota from disposition under the United States mineral and geothermal leasing laws for a 20-year period, subject to valid existing rights. The Biden Administration said that this... Read more →
The University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL), an independent provider of broad-based testing and standards conformance services for the networking industry, is partnering with Microchip Technology to expand testing for the 1000BASE-T1 PCS and PHY Control market to help further compliance for the automotive industry. The adoption of Ethernet... Read more →
Topsoe and Steeper Energy, a developer of biomass conversion technologies, signed a global licensing agreement for a complete waste-to-fuel solution. The agreement combines Topsoe’s technologies in renewable fuels and hydrogen production as well as decades of experience in engineering with Steeper’s proprietary Hydrofaction technology and industry know-how. With the agreement,... Read more →
The US Department of Energy (DOE) will award some $118 million in funding for 17 projects to accelerate the production of sustainable biofuels. Made from widely available domestic feedstocks and advanced refining technologies, energy-dense biofuels provide a pathway for low-carbon fuels that can lower greenhouse gas emissions throughout the transportation... Read more →
Audi has presented the activesphere crossover study with electric drive and quattro. As the fourth model in the series, the Audi activesphere concept marks the culmination of sphere concept vehicles, following on from the Audi skysphere roadster in 2021, and both the Audi grandsphere sedan, and the Audi urbansphere space... Read more →
Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) will invest SEK 65 million ($6.3 million) into the production of electric wheel loaders from its plant in Arvika, Sweden. The Arvika factory specializes in the production of medium and large wheel loaders and has already been successful in driving down its carbon emissions. A... Read more →
Mercedes-Benz is the world’s first automotive company to bring SAE Level 3 conditionally automated driving to the US, with Nevada being the first state to confirm the compliance of the system with state regulations. The Mercedes-Benz DRIVE PILOT system is the first and only SAE Level 3 system in a... Read more →
ExxonMobil’s majority-owned affiliate Imperial Oil will invest about $720 million (US$560 million) to move forward with construction of the largest renewable diesel facility in the country. (Earlier post.) The project at Imperial’s Strathcona refinery near Edmonton is expected to produce more than one billion liters of renewable diesel annually—about 20,000... Read more →
NEO Battery Materials, a low-cost silicon anode materials developer that enables longer-running, rapid-charging lithium-ion batteries (earlier post), is under the process to establish NBM America, a US subsidiary, in February. NBM America will be fully owned by NEO Battery Materials and will actively seek US expansion opportunities that include the... Read more →
The Genesis GV60 (earlier post) is based on the brand’s Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP), the innovative features of which help deliver greater efficiency, performance and driving pleasure. The use of silicon carbide boosts energy efficiency by 3% and range by 5%. Using an ultra-fast charger and under optimal conditions, E-GMP... Read more →
MAHLE Powertrain is leading a project to develop sustainable propulsion solutions to retrofit to high-performance marine vessels where battery and other electrified technologies may not prove practical. The collaboration with the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), the University of Nottingham and Clean Air Power will initially target search and rescue... Read more →
Renault is launching electric retrofit kits in France in partnership with R-FIT. These kits can be installed on the popular Renault 4, Renault 5 and first generation Twingo. The Renault 5 electric retrofit kit will go on sale in France in September 2023 while the kit for the Twingo will... Read more →
Despite only about 25% of car travel happening after dark, almost half of fatal accidents occur at night. As vehicles become more advanced and even autonomous, the ways of detecting and avoiding these collisions must evolve too. Current systems are often complicated, resource-intensive or work poorly in the dark. But... Read more →
Nikola Corporation has created a new global brand, HYLA, to encompass the company’s energy products for producing, distributing and dispensing hydrogen to fuel its zero-emissions trucks. The HYLA brand represents Nikola’s hydrogen-focused energy business by supporting our fuel cell electric vehicles and those of other OEMs. Hydrogen energy is the... Read more →
Researchers from the University of Birmingham have designed a novel adaptation for existing blast furnaces that could reduce CO2 emissions from the steelmaking industry by nearly 90%. This reduction is achieved through a closed-loop carbon recycling system, which could replace 90% of the coke typically used in current blast furnace-basic... Read more →
IVECO BUS, a brand of Iveco Group N.V., signed a framework agreement with the Flemish government-owned public transport enterprise De Lijn for the sale of a first batch of 65 E-WAY full electric city buses and further batches up to a total of 500 vehicles. The vehicles will be deployed... Read more →
In its January 2023 Short-Term Energy Outlook, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasts that crude oil production in the United States will average 12.4 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2023 and 12.8 million b/d in 2024, surpassing the previous record of 12.3 million b/d set in 2019. In... Read more →
Polestar is giving the 5-door electric performance fastback, Polestar 2, a major update. For the 2024 model year, the premium compact EV features a new high-tech front end that reflects the design language premiered by Polestar 3, substantial performance increases with all-new electric motors, even more powerful batteries, sustainability improvements... Read more →
Tesla will invest an additional $3.6 billion in Nevada to continue growing Gigafactory Nevada with two new factories: a 100 GWh 4680 cell (earlier post) factory (with capacity to produce enough batteries for 1.5 million light duty vehicles annually), as well as its first high-volume Semi factory. Semi is Tesla’s... Read more →
Hitachi Astemo, Trend Micro and its subsidiary VicOne have expanded their collaboration to provide security solutions for connected cars, aiming for commercialization by 2025. Hitachi Astemo’s division that develops in-vehicle components for connected cars has been working with Trend Micro on the joint development of security solutions for connected cars... Read more →
In its 2023 Strategic Update, Albemarle Corporation raised its forecast for 2030 global lithium demand (LCE, lithium carbonate equivalent) to 3.7MMt—an increase of 15% from its previous forecast due to the impact of the US “Inflation Reduction Act” and strong EV demand. Albemarle also estimates the 2030 mined supply to... Read more →
A report prepared by the Climate and Community Project, a climate policy think tank, with researchers from UC Davis, suggests that the United States can achieve zero emissions transportation while limiting the amount of lithium mining necessary by reducing the car dependence of the transportation system, decreasing the size of... Read more →
Statevolt, a battery startup seeking to build hyperlocal gigafactories, has acquired a 135-acre site in Imperial Valley, California, as the location for its 54 GWh Gigafactory. (Earlier post.) The business will manufacture batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) and storage applications using resources and supply chains sourced entirely in the US.... Read more →
Honda Motor and GS Yuasa have reached a basic agreement toward collaboration for a high-capacity, high-output lithium-ion battery. The two companies will discuss specifics with the goal of establishing a joint venture company by the end of 2023. In order to address the rapidly growing demand for batteries, the two... Read more →
Contemporary Amperex Intelligence Technology (Shanghai) Limited (CAIT-SH), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CATL, and the Yichun Economic and Technological Development Zone Management Committee held a signing ceremony for the CATL Integrated Intelligent Chassis (CIIC) Production Base Project in the city of Yichun, Southeast China’s Jiangxi Province. CIIC skateboard chassis integrates battery... Read more →
Volta Trucks confirmed customer production orders for the first 300 manufacturing slots of its full-electric Volta Zero, with an associated revenue of more than €85 million. Series production Volta Zeros are due to start rolling off the line of the company’s contract manufacturing facility in Steyr, Austria, in early Q2... Read more →
Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have created a new system—the least costly to date—that efficiently captures CO2 and converts it into methanol. The new PNNL carbon capture and conversion system brings the cost to capture CO2 down to about $39 per metric ton. The... Read more →
One of India’s oldest and largest electric two-wheeler manufacturers, Hero Electric, announced a long-term partnership with Maxwell Energy Systems for its advanced Battery Management Systems (BMS). As part of this partnership, Maxwell will supply more than a million units of its BMS over the next three years to support Hero... Read more →