Nissan launched the all-new Note Aura premium compact car in Japan, with sales planned to start in autumn. The all-new Note Aura comes exclusively with Nissan’s e-POWER electrified powertrain (earlier post), a key part of the company’s electrification strategy under the Nissan NEXT global business transformation plan. The all-new vehicle... Read more →

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is developing a prototype hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) based on the new Land Rover Defender, with testing scheduled to begin this year. The FCEV concept is part of Jaguar Land Rover’s aim to achieve zero tailpipe emissions by 2036, and net-zero carbon emissions across... Read more →

Airbus has established Zero-Emission Development Centers (ZEDCs) at its sites in Bremen (Germany) and in Nantes (France). The goal of the ZEDCs is to achieve cost-competitive cryogenic tank manufacturing to support the successful future market launch of ZEROe (earlier post) and to accelerate the development of hydrogen-propulsion technologies. In September... Read more →

GE Aviation and Safran launched a technology development program targeting more than 20% lower fuel consumption and CO2 emissions compared to today’s engines. The CFM RISE (Revolutionary Innovation for Sustainable Engines) program will demonstrate and mature a range of new, disruptive technologies for future engines that could enter service by... Read more →

Researchers at Argonne National Laboratory, with colleagues from Lawrence Berkeley, Oak Ridge, and National Renewable Energy labs, and the University of Tennessee, have published a comprehensive analysis of the total cost of ownership (TCO) for 12 sizes of vehicles ranging from compact sedans up to Class 8 tractors with sleeper... Read more →

The Alameda Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) has awarded New Flyer of America Inc. an order for 20 zero-emission, hydrogen fuel cell-electric 40-foot Xcelsior CHARGE H2 heavy-duty transit buses. The purchase was made through California’s State Cooperative Procurement, for which New Flyer was selected as a top-scoring approved supplier... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced $200 million in funding over the next five years for electric vehicles, batteries, and connected vehicles projects at DOE national labs and new DOE partnerships to support electric vehicles innovation. The $200 million in funding to national labs, subject to appropriations, seeks to... Read more →

New research from IHS Markit shows that the average age of light vehicles in operation (VIO) in the US has risen to 12.1 years this year, increasing by nearly 2 months during 2020 and elevated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The increase in average age will further drive vehicle maintenance opportunities... Read more →

Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has launched a new Joint Industry Program (JIP) to investigate energy storage systems for the grid. JIP efforts will include developing new test cycles for batteries employed in grid applications, estimating the life span of batteries and their potential for failure, and reducing likelihood of battery... Read more →

by Michael Sivak, Sivak Applied Research. Among the variables included in my ongoing monthly monitoring of key transportation indexes is revenue passenger miles for domestic flying. That monitoring has shown a huge pandemic-related drop in flying during the spring of 2020 and a gradual rebound later in 2020 and in... Read more →

Swiss research intsitute Empa’s future mobility demonstrator, “move”, is investigating three paths for CO2 reduction in road traffic—electric mobility, hydrogen mobility and synthetic fuels—against the background of a rapidly changing energy system. All these concepts have advantages and drawbacks in terms of energy, operation and economics. In order to use... Read more →

FCC Medio Ambiente and Irizar will start production of the first 10 Irizar ie urban electric trucks to be used for collection of refuse. Production of these 10 units includes 4×2 and 6×2 of two and three-axle versions. The Irizar ie urban truck incorporates in-house technology developed by the Irizar... Read more →

China-based NIO received European Whole Vehicle Type Approval (EWVTA) for the NIO ES8, its smart electric flagship 3-row SUV. The EWVTA certification marks an essential foundation for NIO’s entry into Norway and the European market at large. The NIO ES8 S8 seats 6 or 7 (captain’s chairs or bench in... Read more →

The Port of Los Angeles and its partners rolled out five new hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) and introduced two hydrogen fueling stations. Under the $82.5-million Shore-to-Store (S2S) project, more than a dozen public and private sector partners have teamed up for a 12-month demonstration of the zero-emissions Class... Read more →

The European Commission’s Joint Research Center (JRC) published a policy brief showing that delivery of large amounts of renewable hydrogen over long distances could be cost-effective. This finding is important because access to sufficient amounts of renewable hydrogen at low cost is essential for achieving a climate neutral Europe by... Read more →

German Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier and Federal Minister of Research Anja Karliczek, together with their Australian counterpart, Energy Minister Angus Taylor, have signed a letter of intent to establish a “Germany Australia Hydrogen Accord” to facilitate a green hydrogen supply chain between the countries. Germany is looking to... Read more →

Egypt is planning to invest up to $4 billion in a project to generate green hydrogen via electrolysis, according to a report in Arab News, citing the Egyptian Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mohamed Shaker. The project is currently in the feasibility studies stage, in consultation with the Sovereign... Read more →

The first half of 2021 has seen a tidal wave of announcements of new electrodeposited copper foil mill projects, as well as second- and third-phase expansions at existing mills, according to market consultancy Roskill. The majority of the projects are targeted at making copper foil for lithium-ion batteries to meet... Read more →

Canada-based NEO Battery Materials Ltd.—which intends to become a silicon anode materials supplier to the EV industry—entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with South Korean silicon powder manufacturer, Korea Metal Silicon Co., Ltd (KMS) to pursue strategic opportunities for the advancement of low-cost, scalable silicon anodes through leveraging the... Read more →

NVIDIA will acquire DeepMap, a startup dedicated to building high-definition maps for autonomous vehicles. Maps that are accurate to within a few meters are good enough when providing turn-by-turn directions for humans. AVs, however, require much greater precision. They must operate with centimeter-level precision for accurate localization, the ability of... Read more →

The Connecticut General Assembly has passed HB 6688, a bill that imposes a highway use tax (HUT) on every carrier for operating, or causing to be operated, certain heavy, multi-unit motor vehicles (Class 8-13) on any highway (i.e., not just limited-access highways) in the state. The bill now heads to... Read more →

Lexus announced the world premiere of the all-new NX, the first model of Lexus’ next-generation range. Under the “Lexus Electrified” initiative, the new NX accelerates the proliferation of electrified models by being Lexus’ first Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV); the NX is also offered as a Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV).... Read more →

Norway-based battery cell maker FREYR AS and Alussa Energy Acquisition Corp., disclosed that FREYR is in negotiations with a major multinational industrial conglomerate (the JV Partner) potentially to develop battery production facilities in North America. This development was noted by FREYR Battery in its 9 June 2021 filing of a... Read more →

Soot particles from oil and wood heating systems as well as road traffic can pollute the air in Europe on a much larger scale than previously assumed. This is what researchers from the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS) conclude from a measurement campaign in the Thuringian Forest in Germany.... Read more →

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it will reconsider the previous administration’s decision to retain the particulate matter (PM) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) (earlier post), which were last strengthened in 2012. EPA is reconsidering the December 2020 decision because it says that available scientific evidence and... Read more →

Vertical Aerospace, developer of the VA-X4 eVTOL aircraft (earlier post), announced investments from American Airlines, Avolon, Honeywell and Rolls-Royce, who have invested in the PIPE and are part of Vertical’s strategic partner ecosystem; Microsoft’s M12, 40 North and Rocket Internet SE have also invested in the business. Commercial partnerships and... Read more →

Ten leading German corporations are jointly founding the Quantum Technology and Application Consortium (QUTAC). The goal of the newly founded consortium is to identify, develop, test, and share applications for quantum computing and to identify funding needs. Specifically, applications for the technology, chemical and pharmaceutical, insurance and automotive industries are... Read more →

Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL), a subsidiary of NFI Group Inc. (NFI), unveiled its first electric three-axle double deck bus for North America. The Enviro500EV CHARGE is the North American all-electric version of the world’s best-selling double deck bus, and is produced by NFI subsidiary Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL). An electric... Read more →

Northvolt announced the signing of a $2.75-billion private placement to finance further battery cell production capacity and R&D efforts in order to meet the increasing demand of customers engaged in the transition to decarbonized, electric solutions. The private placement was co-led by new investors AP funds 1-4, via the co-owned... Read more →

OneD Battery Sciences is introducing its SINANODE process. SINANODE seamlessly integrates into existing manufacturing processes to fuse silicon nanowires onto commercial graphite powders, tripling the energy density of the anode while halving its cost per kWh, according to the company. The higher energy density increases battery range while nanowires shorten... Read more →