A study commissioned by the Aluminum Association and conducted by FEV North America, concludes that aluminum offers significant cost savings to automakers as net-zero priorities drive vehicle development, particularly in high volume programs. The study includes an analysis of three vehicle segments—city vehicle, family crossover and pickup truck—and finds aluminum... Read more →

The BMW Group has opened a new automated steel pressing facility at the company’s Swindon (UK) plant. The new press will produce steel panels for the MINI plant in Oxford at twice the rate of the old equipment which it replaces, with the steel blanks and finished panels handled by... Read more →

Lloyd’s Register Maritime Decarbonization Hub is working with 11 leading cross-supply chain stakeholders to develop a fleet fuel transition strategy that can enable the establishment of a highly scalable Green Corridor Cluster. Initiated by the Lloyd’s Register Maritime Decarbonization Hub, The Silk Alliance brings together a diverse group of organizations... Read more →

Lilium N.V, developer of the ll-electric vertical take-off and landing (“eVTOL”) Lilium Jet, and Livent Corporation, a producer of lithium products for the battery cell industry, will collaborate on the advancement of lithium-metal technology for use in high-performance battery cells. Lilium said that collaborating with Livent, a pioneer in lithium... Read more →

The BMW Brilliance Automotive joint venture (BBA) has established a closed loop for reuse of the raw materials nickel, lithium and cobalt from high-voltage batteries that are no longer suitable for use in electric vehicles. The batteries come from fully and partially-electric development vehicles, test systems and production rejects and,... Read more →

ElDorado National (California) or ENC, a subsidiary of REV Group, announced that its Axess Battery Electric Bus (BEB) successfully passed testing conducted by the Altoona Bus Research and Testing Center (BRTC). The extensive testing looked at maintainability, reliability, safety, brake performance, structural integrity and durability, fuel/energy economy, noise, and emissions.... Read more →

Rice University chemists working with researchers at the Ford Motor Company are turning plastic parts from end-of-life vehicles into graphene via the university’s flash Joule heating process (earlier post). The Rice lab of chemist James Tour introduced flash Joule heating in 2020 to convert coal, petroleum coke and trash into... Read more →

Auto shoppers in America are more likely than ever before to consider buying a fully electric vehicle (EV), and new EV entries are responsible for much of the added consideration. These new entries, many from long-established vehicle manufacturers, are turning EV skeptics into likely EV considerers, according to the J.D.... Read more →

A consortium, including LanzaTech and Danone, has developed a new route to monoethylene glycol, (MEG), which is a key building block for polyethylene terephthalate, (PET), resin, fibers and bottles. The technology converts carbon emissions from steel mills or gasified waste biomass directly into MEG. The carbon capture technology uses a... Read more →

Canada-based dynaCERT Inc. has sold seven of its HydraGEN on-board electrolysis units ( the HG1R, 4C and 6C units) which are to be installed in Peru, Argentina and Brazil in open-pit mines on various equipment, including Caterpillar 793 and 777 Haul Trucks and a large 4.5 MW diesel generator with... Read more →

Glencore International pled guilty in the Southern District of New York to violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). In addition, as part of a separate resolution, Glencore Ltd., pled guilty in the District of Connecticut to a commodity price manipulation conspiracy. Together, Glencore and Glencore Ltd., both part... Read more →

Parkopedia, a leading connected vehicles services provider, and Uproad, a leading mobile tolling payment system, announced the integration of their platforms, automating the toll payment process for millions of drivers in the US. US drivers complete nearly 6 billion journeys along the country’s nearly 9,500km of toll roads, bridges and... Read more →

The extended drought in California could cut the state’s summer electricity generation from hydropower nearly in half compared with normal precipitation conditions, according to an analysis by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). EIA’s analysis indicates that hydropower would produce 8% of California’s electricity generation in a drought year, compared... Read more →

Continental is launching two new sensors for electrified vehicles: the Current Sensor Module (CSM) and the Battery Impact Detection (BID) system. Both new solutions focus on protecting the battery and/or on battery parameter retention. The high-voltage Current Sensor Module (CSM), which will move into production this year, measures the current... Read more →

Germany will invest up to €290 million to launch the Innovation and Technology Center for Hydrogen (Innovations- und Technologiezentrum für Wasserstoff, ITZ H2), following the positive conclusion of a feasibility study (German only). The Innovation and Technology Center for Hydrogen (ITZ) is intended to support companies in their development activities... Read more →

Lilium, developer of an all-electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) jet, is partnering with Honeywell and DENSO, who will co-develop and manufacture the Lilium Jet’s electric motor that will power the Lilium Jet’s engines. Honeywell is already developing the Lilium Jet’s avionics and flight control systems and invested in Lilium... Read more →

ZeroAvia has expanded its agreement with MHI RJ Aviation Group (MHIRJ), a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (earlier post). As part of the broader collaboration, MHIRJ will provide engineering services, aircraft integration, and its OEM experience to support the certification of ZeroAvia’s hydrogen-electric powertrain for retrofit onto airframes in the... Read more →

ZF has joined forces with Mercedes-Benz Trucks to equip its electric trucks with eWorX, ZF’s electrified Power Take-Off (PTO) system. The eWorX all-in-one solution offers vehicle body manufacturers a known mechanical interface to drive work equipment. ZF’s eWorX system features a control unit, power electronics and electric motor with optional... Read more →

Daimler Truck North America (DTNA) and Sysco Corporation (NYSE: SYY) a leading US foodservice distribution company, have signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) to deliver up to nearly 800 battery-electric Freightliner eCascadia Class 8 tractors by 2026. The first eCascadia delivery is expected to arrive at Sysco’s Riverside, California site... Read more →

Several organizations, encompassing companies, research labs, and academia, have formed the Hydrogen Opposed Piston Engine Working Group. The Working Group consists of members undertaking research and development in the field of hydrogen combustion in an opposed-piston engine. An opposed piston engine with hydrogen combustion could well provide the best-known thermal... Read more →

Battery materials company Nano One Materials has entered into a binding agreement to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Johnson Matthey (JM) Battery Materials Ltd. (JMBM Canada) for approximately C$10.25 million (US$8 million). The acquisition is fully funded and is on a cash-free, debt-free basis and is subject to... Read more →

SolarEdge Technologies and SolarEdge’s subsidiary, Kokam Limited Company, a provider of lithium-ion batteries and integrated energy storage solutions, announced the opening of “Sella 2”, a two gigawatt-hour (GWh) battery cell manufacturing facility. Located in the Eumseong Innovation City of Chungcheongbuk-Do, South Korea, Sella 2 is currently producing test cells for... Read more →

BC Transit in British Columbia, Canada has approved a $20-million contract to purchase ten 40-foot Proterra ZX5 electric transit buses and one Proterra Energy megawatt-scale EV fleet charger as part of the agency’s transition to a fully electric bus fleet. The contract includes the option for BC Transit to acquire... Read more →

Sparkz, a battery startup with exclusive licenses from Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to produce domestic cobalt-free lithium batteries (earlier post), and the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) signed a memorandum of understanding establishing a labor-management agreement that would mark one of the largest climate-tech union workforce partnerships in... Read more →

Purem by Eberspaecher is introducing efficient exhaust technology for hydrogen engines. At the Hannover Messe, the company will be presenting its H2-ICE exhaust system for the first time. The H2-ICE exhaust system for hydrogen engines from Purem by Eberspaecher. Hydrogen engines have potential as a drive type with CO2-neutral fuel,... Read more →

A project consortium funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and led by the BMW Group was launched three years ago, with small and mid-sized enterprises, large companies and research institutes. The common goal was to revolutionize metal 3D printing in standard automotive production. The 12... Read more →

The world’s first truck manufacturer to do so, Volvo is now introducing fossil-free steel in its trucks. The steel is produced by the Swedish steel company SSAB (earlier post) and the heavy-duty electric Volvo trucks will be the first to include it. The steel from SSAB is produced using a... Read more →

WeRide, a Level 4 autonomous driving technology company, announced a strategic investment from Bosch. The two parties have signed a strategic cooperation agreement and will jointly develop autonomous driving (AD) software. This cooperation will accelerate the process of developing Bosch China’s advanced driving solution, moving SAE Level 2-3 AD towards... Read more →

Power management company Eaton’s eMobility business has introduced a battery disconnect unit (BDU) that can be combined with upgraded Breaktor circuit protection technology to provide circuit protection in electrified vehicles (EVs) while reducing overall complexity and cost. When paired with the Breaktor circuit protection technology, which combines current switching and... Read more →

Volvo Cars successfully placed its second green bond to raise €500 million from a diverse set of global investors. The bond was oversubscribed three-times, despite challenging global market conditions. All proceeds are earmarked for funding and accelerating the company’s transformation towards becoming a fully electric carmaker by 2030 and becoming... Read more →