IonQ announced the next stages of its partnership with Hyundai Motor Company to develop the vehicles of the future. Hyundai Motor Company and IonQ will work to develop on IonQ’s quantum computers machine vision algorithms capable of conducting object detection on three dimensional data from autonomous vehicles. Additionally, the two... Read more →

The Faraday Institution launched the Battery Parameter eXchange (BPX), an open standard for physics-based lithium-ion battery models. The standard defines the battery parameters, the equations that use the parameters, and the reporting of experimental measurements used to validate the reported parameters. The BPX standard additionally supports inclusion of experimental data... Read more →

Continental and Security Matters (SMX), an innovative tech platform specializing in digital tracking using unalterable chemical-based barcodes, have succeeded for the first time in verifying beyond doubt a marker substance for natural rubber in a tire, and thus throughout the entire production process. The dedicated marker technology, which both companies... Read more →

Euro Manganese (EMN), a Canada-based company developing the Chvaletice Manganese Project in the Czech Republic (earlier post), released the results from a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study comparing the global warming potential (GWP) of EMN’s high-purity manganese products from the Chvaletice Project with those produced by the incumbent industry in... Read more →

Australian express freight company, Team Global Express, has placed an order for 36 Volvo FL Electric trucks. This is Volvo’s largest electric truck order to date in Australia. The trucks will hit the streets of Sydney during the first quarter of 2023. The Volvo FL Electric model will be equipped... Read more →

Volkswagen will make an initial investment of some €460 million in its Wolfsburg factory at the Group headquarters by the beginning of 2025. This investment is primarily earmarked for preparations to produce the new ID.3. The compact electric car will be leaving the assembly line in Wolfsburg from 2023—initially in... Read more →

GM marked the official launch of its Dealer Community Charging Program with the installation of the first community charging stations in Wisconsin and Michigan. Since the program was announced in late 2021, nearly 1,000 GM dealers have enrolled—representing almost a quarter of all GM dealers in North America. The program... Read more →

Stellantis and its dealership network across the United States are moving toward their electrified future. Working with its 2,600-plus dealers, the company is focusing on the dealership transition to electric-vehicle sales and service, offering consulting and on-site evaluation of electric-vehicle (EV) integration needs within every area of the dealership business.... Read more →

The Department of the Interior announced results from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM’s) wind energy auction for five leases offshore California. (Earlier post.) The lease sale represents the third major offshore wind lease sale this year and the first ever for the Pacific region. The sale drew competitive... Read more →

In BMW vehicles with BMW Operating System 7 and 8, a new service for convenient payment processing of parking fees is now available in Germany and Austria. Other European countries will follow. With the parking payments function, upon arrival in a parking zone, the vehicle automatically detects whether the service... Read more →

Amprius Technologie, a developer of ultra-high energy density lithium-ion batteries with its Silicon Nanowire Anode Platform, announced that an independent third-party testing lab has validated Amprius’ 390 Wh/kg polymer electrolyte cell by successfully passing the nail penetration test per the requirements of section 4.7.4.4. of the MIL-PRF-32383 (Military Performance Specification).... Read more →

Mercedes-Benz Vans, together with Austrian Post, is testing fine particle filter technology developed in cooperation with MANN+HUMMEL in real-life operations. In August, two eSprinter operated by Austrian Post (Österreichische Post), the country’s major provider of postal services, were equipped with integrated fine particle filters in the front module. Since then,... Read more →

In addition to conventional drive units and components, the Mercedes-Benz Stuttgart-Untertürkheim plant is already responsible for the production of batteries and axles for plug-in hybrids and fully electric Mercedes-EQ models. The production and assembly of electric drive units from 2024 onwards was part of the plant’s vision for the future... Read more →

Ultium Cells LLC, the battery cell manufacturing joint venture of LG Energy Solution and General Motors is investing an additional $275 million in the Ultium Cells Spring Hill plant to expand the facility’s battery cell output by more than 40 percent, from 35 gigawatt-hours to 50 GWh, when the plant... Read more →

BWP, LiCAP and Siemens have entered a strategic partnership to manufacture and commercialize innovative dry electrode manufacturing systems for the battery cell industry. BW Papersystems (BWP), a division of Barry-Wehmiller, is a capital equipment manufacturer for multiple industries. LiCAP Technologies, Inc. (LiCAP) is a developer of cost-effective and sustainable dry... Read more →

FREYR Battery and Nidec Corporation, a globally leading producer of high-efficiency electric motors and a leader in the energy storage systems (ESS) space, have established a downstream joint venture, now called Nidec Energy AS. The newly established Nidec Energy aims to develop and supply highly competitive, integrated battery energy storage... Read more →

Rising raw material and battery component prices and soaring inflation have led to the first increase in lithium-ion battery pack prices since BloombergNEF (BNEF) began tracking the market in 2010. After more than a decade of declines, volume-weighted average prices for lithium-ion battery packs across all sectors have increased to... Read more →

Volkswagen of America is beginning to roll out software updates for the ID.4 EV in the US. New features to enhance the charging experience and further improve system performance will be available on MY21 and certain MY22 vehicles. This first update is a prerequisite for future features. Eligible vehicle owners... Read more →

A new study from Juniper Research found that MaaS (Mobility‑as‑a‑Service) will generate revenue of $92 billion globally by 2027; up from $20 billion in 2022. Growing by 357% over the period, the main drivers will be the cost and convenience of MaaS solutions and the increased investment into MaaS infrastructure.... Read more →

Renault has become the first car brand to offer the Waze application directly integrated into the vehicle’s multimedia system. The integration of Waze into the OpenR Link multimedia system with integrated Google and therefore visible on the 12-inch vertical screen of the All-new Austral and Mégane E-Tech electric naturally offers... Read more →

Toyota engineers have created a prototype hydrogen engine road car—the Corolla Cross H2 Concept. By equipping the 1.6l 3-cylinder turbo engine from the GR Corolla with high-pressure hydrogen direct injection engine technology from motorsport activity, and adding the hydrogen tank packaging know-how from Mirai, Toyota was able to create a... Read more →

Ford Pro and Deutsche Post DHL Group recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding to accelerate the deployment of electrified vans used for logistics operations worldwide. Underscoring the planned collaboration, Ford Pro will equip Deutsche Post DHL Group with more than 2,000 E-Transit electric delivery vans worldwide by the end of... Read more →

UP Catalyst, an Estonia-based company developing a method to produce sustainable carbon nanomaterials and graphite from CO2 (earlier post), says that it can produce carbon-negative graphite, consuming 3.7 tons of CO2 per ton of graphite material produced. Conventional production of graphite not only takes place far away from battery manufacturing... Read more →

Scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have demonstrated a new technique, modeled after a metabolic process found in some bacteria, for converting CO2 into liquid acetate, a key ingredient in “liquid sunlight” or solar fuels produced through artificial photosynthesis. The work, reported in a paper in Nature Catalysis,... Read more →

Phillips 66 Company has applied for three California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) Tier 2 fuel pathways for renewable gasoline derived from soybean oil and canola oil. The carbon intensities range from 58.48 gCO2e/MJ to 63.35 gCO2e/MJ, depending upon feedstock and transportation mechanism. Phillips 66 also filed a separate application... Read more →

StoreDot, a developer of extreme fast charging (XFC) batteries for electric vehicles (earlier post), announced that independent battery lab Shmuel De-Leon Energy (SDLE) successfully validated the performance of the StoreDot technology. SDLE subjected StoreDot’s production-ready 30Ah pouch cell XFC batteries to a series of in-depth tests, confirming the technology’s commercialization... Read more →

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a new hydrothermal synthesis method that makes a cobalt-free cathode material (LiNi0.9Mn0.05Al0.05O2, NMA) with more uniform, round, tightly packed particles than is common in today’s cathodes, maintaining more stability throughout a charging cycle. The result is a more... Read more →

General Motors has opened Canada’s first full-scale electric-vehicle manufacturing plant in Ontario. With investment support from both the Canadian and Ontario governments, GM has completely retooled the CAMI Assembly plant as the new global manufacturing home of BrightDrop’s fully electric delivery vans. BrightDrop also announced the commencement of commercial operations... Read more →

Synova, SABIC Global Technologies B.V., an affiliate of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), and Technip Energies recently signed a Joint Development and Cooperation Agreement to collaborate on the development and realization of a commercial plant which will produce olefins and aromatics from plastic waste. The plant will use a combined... Read more →

Cepsa—the Spain-based multinational oil and gas company—will invest more than €3 billion to establish the Andalusian Green Hydrogen Valley, creating the largest green hydrogen hub in Europe in southern Spain. The project, part of Cepsa’s 2030 strategy Positive Motion, will contribute to Europe’s energy security and independence, in line with... Read more →