Nidec Corporation and Renesas Electronics Corporation agreed to join forces on the development of semiconductor solutions for a next-generation E-Axle (X-in-1 system) that integrates an EV drive motor and power electronics for electric vehicles (EVs). The 3-in-1 unit E-Axle integrates a motor, inverter, and gearbox (reduction gear). To realize high-performance... Read more →

Volvo Cars reported global sales of 60,398 cars in May, up 31% compared with the same month last year. The company’s fully electric cars were the main contributor to the growth, rising 196% during the period to 10,826 units (). Figures from May 2022 were negatively affected by lower production... Read more →

Green Battery Minerals (GEM) and Volt Carbon Technologies (VCT) have signed a preliminary mineral processing agreement. GEM had provided Volt Carbon with a single 5 kilogram sample of crushed feedstock that was obtained from GEM’s 100%-owned Berkwood Graphite project in Québec, Canada. Volt Carbon processed the sample using its proprietary... Read more →

Technology group Wärtsilä’s new patented and proprietary technology Wärtsilä Ammonia Release Mitigation Systems (WARMS) has received Approval in Principle from classification society DNV. The approval in principle covers its use on ships fueled by ammonia with the DNV Class notation gas fueled ammonia or on gas tankers fueled by ammonia... Read more →

Swiss marine power company WinGD and Japanese shipbuilder and technology developer Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. have signed a memorandum of understanding to enter into a partnership on ammonia-fueled vessels. The project will see WinGD applying its X-DF-A ammonia-fueled engines to a range of vessel designs, with Mitsubishi both designing the... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) released the US National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap, a framework for accelerating the production, processing, delivery, storage, and use of clean hydrogen. The document explores opportunities for clean hydrogen to contribute to national decarbonization goals across multiple sectors of the economy. The Strategy... Read more →

General Motors plans to invest more than $1 billion in two of its Flint, Michigan, manufacturing sites—Flint Assembly and Flint Metal Center—to prepare those plants for production of the next-generation internal combustion engine (ICE) heavy-duty trucks. Product details and timing related to GM’s future HD trucks are not being released... Read more →

ABB E-mobility announced details of its new HVC360 fleet charging solution. While the growing number of public charging points is excellent news for EV drivers, these alone do not meet the needs of electric fleets. Despite comprising just 4% of vehicles, buses and trucks contribute 40% of global transport emissions,... Read more →

SK Signet celebrated the grand opening of its EV charger manufacturing facility in Plano. This facility will expand US-based manufacturing and R&D for electric vehicle charging equipment to support the growth of America’s EV infrastructure. The project was originally announced in November 2022 by SK Signet and the City of... Read more →

Constellation Energy has set an industry record for blending high concentrations of hydrogen with natural gas, further evidence that hydrogen can be an effective tool to lower greenhouse gas emissions. Working with Siemens Energy and EPRI, the hydrogen blending test was conducted at Constellation’s Hillabee Generating Station, a three-unit, 753-megawatt... Read more →

Researchers from Tokyo Tech have developed a tin-based metal–organic framework (MOF) that can photocatalytically reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) into formate under visible light. The tin-based MOF exhibited a high apparent quantum yield of 9.8% and carried out extremely selective photoreduction without needing an additional photosensitizer. This could prove extremely useful,... Read more →

Carbon removal company Equatic recently spun out from the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering’s Institute for Carbon Management to deploy the first technology that combines CO2 removal and carbon-negative hydrogen generation. Alongside the launch, Equatic entered into a pre-purchase option agreement with Boeing. Under the agreement, Equatic will remove 62,000... Read more →

Researchers from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) and Saudi Aramco have published a study attempting to identify the best strategy for hydrogen internal combustion (IC) engines. Their paper appears in the journal Fuel. The team used computational simulations to evaluate the combustion and emission characteristics of four... Read more →

Amprius Technologies, the developer of the next-generation lithium-ion battery Silicon Anode Platform, announced that it and the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC) mutually agreed to end the negotiation of a previously announced cost-shared demonstration project. (Earlier post.) Amprius thanked the DOE for... Read more →

EcoCeres, an Asia-based bio-refinery company, announced its first shipment of 100% agricultural waste-produced cellulosic ethanol to the European markets, a milestone the company achieved after commissioning another facility in China. EcoCeres can produce a diverse range of renewable biofuels, covering Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), Hydro-treated Vegetable Oil (HVO) and Cellulosic... Read more →

The legislation signed by President Biden to raise the debt ceiling also ratified and approved all permits and authorizations necessary for the construction and initial operation of the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) and directed the applicable federal officials and agencies to maintain such authorizations. Further, and not later than 24... Read more →

Fuel cell systems company Advent Technologies Holdings signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Safran Power Units, a leader in auxiliary power systems and turbojet engines. Leveraging Advent’s proprietary Ion Pair Membrane Electrode Assembly (MEA) technology, and Safran Aerospace knowledge and capabilities, this new collaboration will seek to advance the... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced $46 million in funding (DE-FOA-0002809) to eight companies advancing designs and research and development for fusion power plants. These awardees will work to acheive important technical and commercialization milestones to advance successful design of a fusion pilot plant (FPP) to move fusion toward... Read more →

PPG has inaugurated a battery pack application center (BPAC) in Tianjin, China. The $30-million facility features a full range of capabilities to test the application of PPG coatings technologies, materials and systems for electric vehicle (EV) battery packs, allowing customers to accelerate the development of new EV technologies. The new... Read more →

Russia-based Nornickel, the world’s largest producer of palladium and high-grade nickel and a major producer of platinum and copper, presented its eleventh review of the nickel and platinum group metals (PGM) markets based on the fundamental analysis of world economic and industry data. Nickel. In early 2023, nickel has been... Read more →

General Motors and POSCO Future M announced the second phase of their Ultium CAM joint venture, an investment projected to exceed US$1 billion to increase production capacity of cathode active materials (CAM) in North America and integrate precursor materials production. pCAM is a specifically engineered combination of processed raw materials... Read more →

PowerCell has signed an agreement with Robert Bosch GmbH to manufacture the S3 fuel cell stack for PowerCell. PowerCell thereby increases its production capacity significantly and focuses on scaling up the assembly and deliveries of fuel cell systems as well as development of the next generation of fuel cell stacks.... Read more →

Volkswagen of America unveiled the three-row ID. Buzz in Huntington Beach, California. Paying homage to the iconic Volkswagen Microbus, the three-row ID. Buzz has been tailored specifically for North America. It offers a longer wheelbase than the two-row European vehicle that debuted in 2022 (earlier post), plus a bigger battery... Read more →

Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. (TEPCO HD) and Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) have developed a stationary storage battery system (1 MW output, 3 MWh capacity) that combines TEPCO’s operating technology and safety standards for stationary storage batteries and Toyota’s system technology for electrified vehicle storage batteries. This system will... Read more →

Rio Tinto has successfully completed the full transition of its heavy machinery from fossil diesel to renewable diesel at its Boron, California operation, making it the first open pit mine in the world to achieve this milestone. The change to renewable diesel brings an anticipated CO2 equivalent reduction of up... Read more →

ABB introduced ABB Dynafin, a new propulsion system concept breaking new ground for efficiency in the marine industry. Inspired by the dynamic motions of a whale’s tail, the innovative concept is the result of more than a decade of research, development, and testing. ABB estimates the first prototype to be... Read more →

Fisker announced that as of 31 May, the all-electric Fisker Ocean Extreme (starting price $68,999) has an Environmental Protection Agency-estimated total range of 360 miles on standard 20" wheels and tires, exceeding Fisker’s previous estimates. The EPA values confirm that the Fisker Ocean Extreme, including the limited edition Fisker Ocean... Read more →

ZEV Stations, a B-Corporation with a novel approach to bring high-throughput hydrogen fueling and electric charging at the same location, received a Notice of Proposed Award (NOPA) for a $4-million funding grant by the California Energy Commission (CEC) to design, build and test a first-of-its-kind multimodal medium- and heavy-duty hydrogen... Read more →

The US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Sandia National Laboratories, co-leads of the Heliostat Consortium, announced seven awardees from a request for proposals (RFP) aimed at achieving DOE’s goals for heliostat cost reduction, sustained multifaceted innovation, and improved solar field performance. Heliostats are mirrors that... Read more →

Ford Next is collaborating with Uber to deliver a new lease option for rideshare drivers going electric. Called Ford Drive, the pilot program offers flexible access to Ford Mustang Mach-E models and has launched in San Diego, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. A flexible lease allows rideshare drivers to select... Read more →