Researchers at the US Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis (JCAP) have shown that recycling carbon dioxide into valuable chemicals and fuels can be economical and efficient using a single copper catalyst. The work appears in the journal Nature Catalysis. …... Read more →

NIO Inc. officially launched the NIO ES6 on December 15, 2018 during the annual NIO Day celebration in Shanghai. The electric SUV starts at a pre-subsidy price of 358,000 RMB (US$52,000), and is available now for public pre-order via the NIO app, with delivery to start in June 2019. The... Read more →

Xtalic Corporation, a leader in providing nano-scale metal alloys and coatings, has entered the electric vehicle market with products that extend the life of connectors in electric battery chargers by up to 40 times. Founded by the head of the Department of Material Science and Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute... Read more →

Cyber hacks might cost the auto industry roughly $24 billion within five years, according to a new study by Upstream Security, which specializes in cloud-based security protection. Upstream studied the impact of more than 170 documented, Smart Mobility, cyber incidents reported between 2010-2018 and projected future trends based on that... Read more →

The €7.9-million (US$8.9-million), 43-month Lithium Sulfur for Safe Road Electrification (LISA) project will launch 1 January 2019 in Europe. The overall goal is to design and manufacture a lithium-sulfur technology that will enable safe electrification of EV applications. The partners involved in the LISA project are LEITAT (co-ordinators), OXIS Energy... Read more →

Lithium-chalcogen batteries—e.g., lithium-sulfur (Li-S) and lithium selenium (Li-Se) systems— are promising candidates for high energy electrical storage solution. Earlier this year, a team of researchers at the General Motors Research and Development Center in Warren, MI, with colleagues at Optimal CAE and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), reported demonstrating a... Read more →

24M, part of a team that received $3.5 million in funding from ARPA-E in 2016 to further the development of the next generation of high-energy-density, low-cost batteries (earlier post), has raised a $21.8 million Series D to accelerate the deployment of its simple, capital-efficient, low-cost manufacturing process and the development... Read more →

Volkswagen is bundling its entire range of intelligent driver assistance technologies under the new umbrella brand IQ.DRIVE. Before Christmas, Volkswagen will be launching a 360° marketing campaign for the new brand in Germany, consisting of TV commercial and posters as well as printed and online advertisements. Other European markets are... Read more →

Soot from road traffic in emerging countries can reach high altitudes, where it can be transported over long distances and thus contributes to global warming, according to the findings of a study performed by an international team of researchers in the Bolivian cities of La Paz (the seat of government),... Read more →

According to United Nations forecasts, two-thirds of the world’s population will be living in cities by 2050. To offer personal mobility to people living in places where space is at a premium, Schaeffler is working on technology concepts such as the Schaeffler Mover for which the technology group has developed... Read more →

Municipal transport operator MPK in Poznań, Poland and Solaris Bus & Coach signed a contract for the delivery of 21 electric buses: 15 articulated and 6 standard length. Pursuant to the agreement the whole order is to be completed by the end of February 2020. The total contract value is... Read more →

Porsche has commissioned a fully electric MAN eTGM (earlier post) for logistics operations at its Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen site. The truck is the first vehicle of this kind that has gone into series production in Germany. Both Porsche and MAN are members of the Volkswagen Group. The electric 32-tonne truck will soon... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board on Friday approved the Innovative Clean Transit regulation (ICT) (earlier post)—a first-of-its-kind regulation in the US that sets a statewide goal for public transit agencies to gradually transition to 100% zero-emission bus (ZEB) fleets by 2040. The ICT is part of a statewide effort to... Read more →

HYON AS has, together with partners, been awarded grants under Norway’s PILOT-E scheme for the development and realization of two maritime projects; a high-speed ferry and a short-sea freighter. The ambitions of both projects are to realize zero-emission propulsion via fuel cells using cost-efficient hydrogen produced from electrolysis based on... Read more →

Continental announced the completion of a joint Cellular V2X trial in Japan together with Ericsson, Nissan, NTT DOCOMO, OKI and Qualcomm Technologies. The companies have successfully conducted Japan’s first C-V2X testing in the country using 5.8 GHz as the experimental radio frequency for direct communication. The use cases were designed... Read more →

Argonne chemists have identified a new catalyst that maximizes the effectiveness of platinum. Platinum—which offers unrivaled activity and stability for electrochemical reactions, such as the conversion of hydrogen and oxygen into water and electricity in fuel cells—is both scarce and expensive. Scientists are searching for alternative practical fuel cell catalysts... Read more →

Ballard Power Systems has received a purchase order from Porterbrook Leasing Company Limited, a leading participant in the rail leasing market, for an FCveloCity-HD fuel cell module and related support to power a HydroFLEX train in the UK. Earlier this year, UK Rail Minister Jo Johnson MP challenged the rail... Read more →

Hyundai has taken two out of the ten spots in the 2019 WardsAuto 10 Best Engine competition with the all-new 2019 NEXO FCEV fuel cell vehicle and 2019 Kona Electric CUV. (Earlier post.) This marks the tenth time Hyundai has earned a WardsAuto 10 Best Engine recognition since the awards’... Read more →

In 2016, ZF and Venturi formed a technology partnership for the FIA Formula E. For the fifth season of the championship, ZF has developed an electric driveline for Venturi that includes an electric motor as well as newly developed transmission and power electronics. New Formula E rules this year will... Read more →

Fulcrum BioEnergy has selected Gary, Indiana as the location of its Centerpoint BioFuels Plant, which will convert municipal solid waste (MSW) into low-carbon, renewable transportation fuel. Fulcrum has developed and demonstrated a proprietary thermochemical process that converts MSW feedstock into low-carbon renewable transportation fuels including jet fuel and diesel. The... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved Electrify America’s plan to invest its second $200 million in California Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) infrastructure and education programs. In finding that Electrify America’s Cycle 2 California ZEV Investment Plan meets or exceeds all requirements of the 2.0L Partial Consent Decree, CARB moved... Read more →

In Germany, the FastCharge research consortium (earlier post) has presented a prototype for a charging station with an output of up to 450 kW in Jettingen-Scheppach, located near the A8 motorway between Ulm and Augsburg. The new charging station is suitable for electric models of all brands with the European... Read more →

Neste Corporation will invest approximately €1.4 billion to add additional renewable products production capacity in Singapore. The decision is based on a growing global market demand for low-carbon solutions in transport and cities, aviation, polymers and chemicals. Singapore expansion. The investment will extend Neste’s renewable product overall capacity in Singapore... Read more →

Mercedes-Benz Cars has entered into a power purchase agreement with Statkraft, Europe’s largest producer of renewable energy, enabling Mercedes-Benz Cars to source electricity directly from wind farms in Germany, whose subsidies from the Renewable Energy Act (EEG) expire after 2020. Because the agreement with Mercedes-Benz Cars will contribute to the... Read more →

FEV and automotive supplier SEG—formerly the starter motor and generator division of the Bosch Group—have developed a 48V mild hybrid Mercedes AMG A45 concept vehicle. The 48V mild hybridization is powered by the Boost Recuperation Machine (BRM) from SEG Automotive. A 48V belt starter generator—the BRM from SEG Automotive—replaces the... Read more →

The European Union has chosen the MOBILus consortium, comprising the city of Barcelona, SEAT and 46 other cities, businesses and universities in 15 European countries, to develop the Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC) on Urban Mobility, an initiative that is tasked with developing innovations in urban mobility in the European... Read more →

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd (CATL), a leading global supplier and manufacturer of lithium-ion battery products for electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage facilities, is renewing its commitment to the US market by opening its first North American sales and service facility. CATL has established partnerships with several US-based businesses... Read more →

A consortium of researchers led by Caltech, in partnership with MIT; the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS); and JPL, which Caltech manages for NASA, seeks to build a new type of climate model that is designed to provide more precise and actionable predictions. Leveraging recent advances in the computational and data... Read more →

Volvo Trucks will introduce all-electric Volvo VNR regional-haul demonstrators in California next year, operating in distribution, regional-haul and drayage operations. Sales of the VNR Electric in North America will begin in 2020. The Volvo VNR Electric demonstration units will be based on the proven propulsion and energy storage technology currently... Read more →

by Michael Sivak. This analysis was conducted to examine changes in traffic volume on rural and urban roads in the United States from 1991 through 2016. The raw data for the analysis were lane length (which takes into account all roadway lanes of travel) and distance traveled, both from the... Read more →