Researchers at Stony Brook University, with colleagues from The City College of New Tyork, Alloy Surfaces and Innoveering, explored the catalytic partial oxidation (CPOX) reforming of three potential transportation-relevant fuels—gasoline, diesel, and natural gas—for use in low-temperature combustion (LTC) engines. They report their results in a paper in the journal... Read more →

Researchers at the University of have developed an unusually rapid method to deliver cost-effective algal biocrude in large quantities using a specially-designed jet mixer. The new kind of jet mixer extracts lipids from algae with much less energy than the older extraction method, a key discovery that now puts this... Read more →

A team of researchers from Hanyang University in South Korea has demonstrated that surface modification of graphite using amorphous Al2O3 is an efficient way to improve the fast charging capability of graphite anode materials for lithium ion batteries. Schematic illustration of the proposed synthetic route for Al2O3 coated on a... Read more →

Commercial workboat engines are staying in service more than two times longer than predicted by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), according to new research from the Diesel Technology Forum (DTF) and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). This finding reveals important opportunities for clean air improvements, especially in large port cities... Read more →

For use in fuel cell vehicles, hydrogen has to be free of any contaminants that could damage the fuel cell. Professor Andreas Schütze and his research team at Saarland University are collaborating with research partners—the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE and Hydac Electronic GmbH—to develop a sensor system... Read more →

Scientists at Tokyo Tech and Okayama University have improved the performance of LiCoO2 cathodes in Li-ion batteries by decorating them with BaTiO3 nanodots. They also elucidated the mechanism behind the measured results, concluding that the BaTiO3 nanodots create a special interface through which Li ions can circulate easily, even at... Read more →

UK-based Reaction Engines has received further endorsement of its SABRE (Synergetic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine) design (earlier post) via its collaboration with ESA and the UK Space Agency (UKSA). The two agencies recently reviewed the preliminary design of the demonstrator engine core of the Synergetic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine (SABRE), which Reaction... Read more →

A team of scientists including researchers at the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have identified the causes of degradation in nickel-rich layered cathode material (LiNi1‐x‐yMnxCoyO2) (NMC) for lithium-ion batteries, as well as possible remedies. Their findings, published in the journal Advanced Functional... Read more →

The US Securities and Exchange Commission charged Volkswagen AG, two of its subsidiaries, and its former CEO, Martin Winterkorn, for defrauding US investors, raising billions of dollars through the corporate bond and fixed income markets while making a series of deceptive claims about the environmental impact of the company’s “clean... Read more →

Petroleum refineries in the US Gulf Coast increasingly rely on merchant suppliers, rather than their own production, to provide the hydrogen used to reduce the sulfur content of fuel, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). As global demand for distillate fuel oil has increased and sulfur content regulations... Read more →

In an event in Los Angeles, Tesla unveiled its upcoming Model Y electric crossover. Model Y, leveraging Model 3 technology, is a mid-size SUV that will start, according to Tesla, at $39,000 for the Standard Range version, and will also come in Long Range, Dual-Motor All-Wheel Drive, and Performance variants.... Read more →

United European Car Carriers (UECC), jointly owned by Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) and Wallenius Lines, has signed a contract for the construction of two new generation PCTC (Pure Car And Truck Carrier) with China Ship Building Trading Co., Ltd and Jiangnan Shipyard Group Co. Ltd. The vessels will be... Read more →

The Gläserne Manufaktur in Dresden is continuing to develop into the Volkswagen Group’s primary test location for trialing innovative technologies. In conjunction with the Wolfsburg and Emden factories, the Gläserne Manufaktur is part of a “technical center” project. The primary idea is to achieve automation of complex work steps within... Read more →

Toyota announced it will exceed its 2017 pledge to invest $10 billion in the US over five years with a new commitment to reach nearly $13 billion over the same period. Of that, Toyota announced nearly $750 million in five different states, with more to come. The new investments include... Read more →

Penske Truck Leasing has taken delivery of its first FUSO eCanter elctric light-duty truck from Daimler. Penske received its fully electrified Freightliner eM2 truck from Daimler Trucks North America in the US end of last year. (Earlier post.) Penske plans to operate the light duty trucks from FUSO for urban... Read more →

The new Volkswagen Golf Variant TGI with three natural gas tanks. Golf Variant 1,5 TGI fuel consumption natural gas CNG in kg/100 km: urban 4.7 /extra-urban 3.0 / combined 3.6; CO2 emissions in g/km: 99; efficiency class: A+. › No need to compromise on space: Golf Variant TGI1 with space-saving... Read more →

Volkswagen’s ID. electric vehicle, the first to be based on the MEB, will be presented at the IAA later this year, with pre-bookings for the launch edition opening on 8 May. “Given the interest in the ID. family shown by our dealers, I think it is possible that the launch... Read more →

A new report from Allison+Partners, a global marketing and communications agency, suggests that changing definitions of transportation and an influx of new mobility solutions are paving the way for the birth of a new culture—the mobility culture. Resulting from the intersection of transportation and technology, this cultural shift will be... Read more →

Researchers have identified two strains of diesel-degrading bacteria in pristine Antarctic soil and their optimal working conditions. This insight could potentially inform bioremediation efforts in the region. An open-access paper on the work appears in the journal Microbial Cell Factories. Pollution from petroleum hydrocarbons such as diesel, which is widely... Read more →

Nanoparticles particles in air pollution inhaled by pregnant women may damage fetal cardiovascular development, according to a study by Rutgers researchers. What a mother inhales affects her circulatory system, which is constantly adapting to supply adequate blood flow to the fetus as it grows. Exposure to these pollutants can constrict... Read more →

Fiat-Chrysler of America (FCA) will recall more than 850,000 gasoline-powered passenger cars and SUVs due to a problem with their catalytic converters. The recall was announced after an investigation by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). There are about 50,000 of these vehicles... Read more →

From 2017 to 2018, PEV sales doubled in North America, and sales in Europe and China increased 39% and 77%, respectively, according to a new report from Navigant Research. In 2019, multiple deployments of long-range battery EVs (BEVs) in crossover classes, as well as Tesla reaching full-scale production on the... Read more →

Porsche is investing more than €600 million (US$677 million) to expand its factory in Leipzig. A new body shop with a total area of 75,500 square meters will produce the vehicle bodies for the next generation of the Macan—which will be a fully electric series—from the beginning of the next... Read more →

New Flyer of America Inc. and New Flyer Industries Canada ULC, subsidiaries of NFI Group Inc. (“NFI”), the largest bus manufacturer in North America, unveiled the Xcelsior CHARGE H2—ts fuel cell-electric heavy-duty transit bus—and announced that both the forty-foot and sixty-foot model have successfully completed the Federal Transit Administration (FTA)... Read more →

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) are considering the possibility of further collaborating on international space exploration. As a first step, JAXA and Toyota have reached agreement to further cooperate on and to accelerate their ongoing joint study of a manned, pressurized rover that employs... Read more →

Michelin and Faurecia signed a Memorandum of Understanding to create a joint venture bringing together all of Michelin’s fuel-cell-related activities—including its subsidiary Symbio—with those of Faurecia. Symbio, a Faurecia Michelin Hydrogen Company will be owned equally by Faurecia and Michelin. This French joint venture will develop, produce and market hydrogen... Read more →

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed regulatory changes to allow gasoline blended with up to 15% ethanol (E15) to be sold to 2001 and newer vehicles year-round across the country. The proposal takes advantage of the 1-psi Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) waiver for the summer months that has historically... Read more →

In a coordinated effort to accommodate the ever-increasing demand for the transportation of goods while also reducing its impact on society, Volvo Group collaborated closely with several key California stakeholders to demonstrate Eco-Drive technology as part of its involvement in the Zero Emission Drayage Truck Demonstration Project. The project, led... Read more →

The Volkswagen Group is now planning to launch almost 70 new electric models in the next ten years instead of the 50 previously planned. As a result, the projected number of vehicles to be built on the Group’s electric platforms in the next decade will increase from 15 million to... Read more →

Rechargeable lithium metal batteries with increased energy density, performance, and safety may be possible with a newly-developed, solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI), according to Penn State researchers. The SEI is key to the stabilization of lithium metal anodes for rechargeable batteries; however, the SEI is constantly reforming and consuming electrolyte with cycling.... Read more →