Greenhouse gases such as methane absorb primarily long-wave radiation, trapping heat from Earth’s surface and preventing it from radiating out into space—thus making the planet hotter. However, greenhouse gases also absorb short-wave radiation incoming from the sun. A new study by researchers from the University of California, Riverside and colleagues... Read more →

Canada-based Rock Tech Lithium officially broke ground for its lithium conversion plant in Guben, Germany (earlier post), from which it will supply Mercedes-Benz with battery-grade lithium hydroxide (LiOH) starting in 2026 (starting with a qualification period). Lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LiOH⋅H2O) is a crucial precursor for the production of lithium-ion battery... Read more →

VinFast delivered the first 27 VF 9 all-electric SUVs to its customers at an event in Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The delivery events took place approximately 1 year after introducing the VF 9 model to the public. The first batch of VF 9s, produced and... Read more →

Schaeffler has begun production of its electric wheel hub motors; three manufacturers of compact municipal vehicles are gearing up to incorporate the motors into their production lines in the coming months. All the components needed for propulsion and braking are integrated directly into the wheel rim, rather than being positioned... Read more →

by Michael Sivak, Sivak Applied Research This brief post examines vehicle miles traveled in the United States from 2019 (the last year before the pandemic) through 2022. The raw data came from FHWA. The data are for all vehicles, and they are not adjusted for the changes in population. (Population-adjusted... Read more →

University of California, Riverside (UCR) environmental engineers will soon serve as referees in California’s drive for heavy-duty trucks to meet the state’s tailpipe emission standards. The referee program will provide testing services for vehicles potentially operating with tampered emissions control systems and/or testability issues. Operating under the California Air Resources... Read more →

Liontown Resources, an emerging battery minerals producer based in Australia, has rejected an unsolicited, conditional and non-binding indicative proposal from Albemarle Corporation, in which Albemarle would acquire all of the shares in Liontown at a price of A$2.50 per share—valuing the company at approximately US$3.7 billion. The proposal represented a... Read more →

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL), a global leader of new energy innovative technologies, and HGP Storage, LLC (HGP), a company specializing in the development of advanced battery energy storage systems (BESS), announced an agreement on the supply of more than 450 MWh of BESS. Both parties have also agreed... Read more →

Researchers from the University of Twente in The Netherlands have developed a new high-entropy perovskite oxide (HEO) as a high-activity electrocatalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER)—the key kinetically limiting half-reaction in several electrochemical energy conversion technologies, including green hydrogen generation. In an open-access study in the journal ACS Nano,... Read more →

Researchers from the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI) and Kumoh National Institute of Technology (KIT), have developed a low-cost production technology for silicon disulfide (SiS2) for solid-state electrolytes (argyrodite-type) that has potential to accelerate the commercialization of all-solid-state batteries (ASSBs). The team’s findings from the silicon disulfide study were published... Read more →

United States Steel Corporation announced that its new electrical steel product, InduX, will begin production at its Big River Steel facility in the summer of 2023 with the commissioning of its new non-grain oriented (NGO) electrical steel line. InduX electrical steel is a very wide, ultra-thin, and light-weight steel, having... Read more →

BHP has signed an agreement for piloting of carbon capture and utilization technology with China’s HBIS Group Co., Ltd (HBIS), one of the world’s largest steelmakers and a major iron ore customer of BHP. As part of this new project, HBIS and BHP will trial pilot-scale demonstrations of carbon capture... Read more →

Now in its second-generation, the Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel cell vehicle delivers an EPA-estimated zero tailpipe emission range of 402 miles on the Mirai entry-level XLE grade. The 2023 XLE grade has a starting MSRP of $49,500. An Advanced Technology Package, which includes Bird’s Eye View camera, front and rear... Read more →

Viritech, a developer of high-performance hydrogen powertrain solutions for the automotive industry, is extending its cooperation with Haydale, a global technology solutions company and a developer of functionaliZed graphene-enhanced nanomaterials. The two companies will work together on solutions for hydrogen pressure vessels for the automotive industry, initially focusing on commercial... Read more →

Lilium N.V., developer of an all-electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) jet, has teamed with Collins Aerospace to design, develop and build the Lilium Jet’s inceptors—the sidestick system used by the pilot to control the aircraft. Collins Aerospace is a leader in technologically advanced and intelligent solutions for the global... Read more →

SK On will partner with Korea’s largest cathode material company EcoPro, and Chinese battery materials producer GEM to build a battery core material production facility in Saemangeum, South Korea. The three companies together will spend up on 1.21 trillion won (US$934 million) for what will be their second joint venture... Read more →

IBC Advanced Technologies, a developer of highly selective separations products, engineered systems and processes based on Molecular Recognition Technology, announced Phase One results of the Direct Lithium to Product (DLP) pilot plant currently operating at Salar de Maricunga, Chile. The Pilot Plant has undergone validation testing and begun Phase One... Read more →

The German government and the EU Commission reached agreement on the inclusion of internal combustion engines fueled by CO2-neutral fuels—eFuels—late Friday evening. The agreement clears the way for the adoption of the 100% zero emissions limits for 2035. (Earlier post.) Early in March, Germany’s Federal Minister of Transport Dr. Volker... Read more →

A study by MathPro Inc., prepared for the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), has found that hydrotreating is an inexpensive approach to produce near-zero naphthalenes petroleum jet fuel (PJF) for contrail abatement. The report estimates an incremental cost of 0.09 to 0.12 USD/gallon (~€0.03/L) to hydrotreat fossil jet fuel... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) and Stellantis launched of the Battery Workforce Challenge, which includes a three-year collegiate engineering competition; vocational training; youth education in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM); and career and technical education. Managed by Argonne National Laboratory for DOE and co-sponsored by Stellantis, this government... Read more →

Ford’s BlueOval City EV and battery manufacturing campus in West Tennessee (earlier post) begins production in 2025, will be home to Ford’s second-generation electric truck, code-named Project T3, and will be capable of producing 500,000 EV trucks a year at full production. Ford and partner SK On are investing $5.6... Read more →

WinGD will supply 10X92DF-M methanol-fuelled engines to four 16,000 TEU container vessels to be built for COSCO SHIPPING Lines at COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry (Yangzhou) Co. Ltd. These vessels will be delivered from 2025 and will feature WinGD’s first X92DF-M engines in China. The methanol engines will be delivered from... Read more →

In February, API’s industry data showed petroleum demand of 19.8 million barrels per day (Mb/d) at its second highest for the month since 2020, a rebound in oil production and record level exports, with reductions in inventories and domestic refining activities when compared to January 2023. The monthly growth in... Read more →

LG Energy Solution will invest approximately KRW 7.2 trillion (US$5.5 billion) to construct a battery manufacturing complex in Queen Creek, Arizona. The complex will consist of two manufacturing facilities—one for cylindrical batteries for electric vehicles (EV) and another for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) pouch-type batteries for energy storage systems (ESS).... Read more →

Following months of promising test results, battery researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory are recommending that the solid-state battery industry focus on a technique known as isostatic pressing as it looks to commercialize next-generation solid-state batteries. In an open-access focus review paper for ACS Energy Letters,... Read more →

The results of the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of greenhouse gas emissions and primary energy demand of the cars tested by Green NCAP in 2022 show that the current and continuous trend towards larger and heavier cars, significantly increases the negative impact on climate and energy demand. This drives not... Read more →

Porsche will manufacture the future all-electric version of the fourth-generation Cayenne at Volkswagen Slovakia’s multi-brand location in Bratislava. After the Taycan (since 2019), the Macan (in 2024) and the 718 (middle of the decade), the Cayenne will become the sports car manufacturer’s fourth model line with an all-electric powertrain. Prototype... Read more →

Archer Aviation and United Airlines plan to launch the first air taxi route in Chicago, between O’Hare International Airport (ORD) and Vertiport Chicago. Vertiport Chicago, North America’s largest vertical aircraft take off and landing facility, is located in the Illinois Medical District near the Chicago Loop. This site was selected... Read more →

The technology group Wärtsilä and WEC Energy Group have successfully tested the capabilities of a Wärtsilä engine running on 25 vol% hydrogen-blended fuel. The tests, which were completed in October 2022, were conducted at WEC Energy Group’s 55 MW A.J. Mihm power plant in Michigan using an unmodified Wärtsilä 18V50SG... Read more →

Amprius Technologies, developer of the Silicon Anode Platform for batteries, has verified a lithium-ion cell delivering energy density of 500 Wh/kg, 1300 Wh/L, resulting in unparalleled run time. At approximately half the weight and volume of state-of-the-art, commercially available lithium-ion cells, the new battery cell delivers potential industry-disrupting performance with... Read more →