UK-based Aeristech has introduced a new 48V electric supercharger capable of continuous operation at high boost levels. Independently validated by Ricardo and MAHLE Powertrain UK, the technology provides greater efficiency and easier packaging than a mechanical supercharger or a two-stage turbocharger. Aeristech said it overcame the thermal management issues that... Read more →

Daimler reports that the two-year eMERGE real-world trial of 146 smart fortwo electric drive vehicles has been completed. Those taking part in the project were private and business customers in Berlin, Potsdam and North Rhine-Westphalia. The lowest average energy consumption per vehicle over one year was 10.4 kWh/100 km, while... Read more →

To enhance its leading active safety and automated driving capabilities, Delphi has acquired software company Ottomatika, and has made a strategic investment in 3D LiDAR sensing leader, Quanergy. These strategic moves strengthen Delphi’s advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) applications and could help speed the adoption of automated vehicles. Ottomatika, Inc.... Read more →

European manufacturer Skeleton Technologies announced the availability of a new 24V Engine Start Module (SkelStart ESM), which uses high-performance ultracapacitor technology to ensure engine start at any time, in any conditions. The SkelStart ESM is designed in a form factor that fits with European vehicles and can easily be fitted... Read more →

The Energy Department’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) announced $14.5 million in funding for five projects in ARPA-E’s newest program, the Traveler Response Architecture using Novel Signaling for Network Efficiency in Transportation (TRANSNET). Many travelers’ and commuters’ transportation choices waste significant amounts of energy due to traffic complications, convenience and... Read more →

ON Semiconductor has introduced a new series of image co-processors to enable high dynamic range (HDR) 1080p automotive camera systems. Designed to work in conjunction with the company’s high performance 2 megapixel (MP) and 1.2 MP image sensor devices, the new AP020x series of co-processors enable a full range of... Read more →

President Obama issued an Executive Order establishing the National Strategic Computing Initiative (NSCI). The NSCI is a whole-of-government effort designed to create a cohesive, multi-agency strategic vision and Federal investment strategy, executed in collaboration with industry and academia, to maximize the benefits of high-performance computing (HPC) for the United States.... Read more →

Delphi has made a minority investment in Tula Technology, the developer of Dynamic Skip Fire cylinder deactivation technology. (Earlier post.) The software-enabled powertrain technology integrates advanced digital signal processing with advanced powertrain controls to create a variable displacement engine. DSF allows the engine’s cylinders to fire or skip (deactivate) on... Read more →

Gevo, Inc. announced that Express Lube of Fredericksburg, Texas, is the first US service station to sell gasoline blended with Gevo’s renewable isobutanol at the pump. Gevo anticipates this to be the first of many retail locations to offer the product as the company rolls out its isobutanol to the... Read more →

BYD Company Ltd. and Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL), Europe’s fastest growing bus and coach builder, have formed a new alliance and confirmed a £19-million (US$30-million) deal that will see the introduction of London’s first large-scale, zero-emission, single deck bus fleet. This will also be the single largest fleet of full-size... Read more →

A new study by a team at the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) has found that the top metropolitan markets in the US for electric vehicles tend to be characterized by a combination of relatively progressive promotional activities; more extensive charging infrastructure per capita; greater consumer incentives; and a... Read more →

Canada has aligned new vehicle and fuel standards with the United States to cut air pollution from on-road vehicles. Canada’s Tier 3 regulations will introduce more stringent air pollutant emission standards for new passenger cars, light-duty trucks and certain heavy-duty vehicles (such as delivery vans) starting with the 2017 model... Read more →

CalCharge, a California initiative designed to accelerate breakthrough energy storage technologies, welcomed six new member companies, including Bosch and Toyota Motor Corporation. The newly announced charter members, Bosch and Toyota, along with general members Blue Current, Ensor, EnZinc and ITN Energy Systems will have access to CalCharge’s programs, services and... Read more →

Rice—the staple food for more than half of the world’s population—is one of the largest manmade sources of atmospheric methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Now, however, with the addition of a single gene from barley (SUSIBA2), a team of researchers in China, Sweden and the US has engineered a strain... Read more →

UNICA, the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association, this week submitted formal comments to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) opposing the agency’s proposed reductions (relative to the volumes originally specified) to the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) volume targets for 2014, 2015 and 2016—and especially the volume target for advanced biofuels. (Earlier... Read more →

Caterpillar Inc. will begin independently designing and manufacturing its vocational truck product family at its plant in Victoria, Texas. The plant, which opened in 2012, currently produces hydraulic excavators. Caterpillar launched its first vocational truck, the CT660, in the North American market in 2011. Two more models have since been... Read more →

A market study recently published by Transparency Market Research (TMR) projected that revenue from the global marine hybrid propulsion market will rise from US$2.24 billion in 2013 to US$4.46 billion in 2022—an 8.02% CAGR. The research report, titled “Marine Hybrid Propulsion Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends,... Read more →

For the 2016 model year, Volkswagen is offering a number of advanced driver assistance (ADAS) features that were only previously available on the premium Touareg SUV, and is also adding some new ones that democratize driver assistance for the compact sedan and compact hatchback classes. These features include: Forward Collision... Read more →

The combined average age of all light vehicles on the road in the US has climbed slightly to 11.5 years, based on a snapshot of vehicles in operation (VIO) taken 1 January 2015, according to IHS Automotive. Registrations for light VIO in the US also reached a record level of... Read more →

Global Bioenergies announced that its bio-isobutene process has reached 70% of the commercial yield at R&D scale. The targeted commercial yield is 3.84 tons of low-cost, industrial-grade sugar for 1 ton of high-purity high-value bio-isobutene. This is a huge milestone. Yield was our priority, and we have been working hard... Read more →

GM OnStar has fielded more than 1 billion requests from customers, who interact by phone, mobile app or embedded cellular service in their cars and trucks. Launched nearly 19 years ago as an industry-first service that would place a call from the vehicle when an air bag deployed, OnStar today... Read more →

Ricardo formally opened its new £10-million (US$15.6-million) Ricardo Vehicle Emissions Research Center (VERC) as part of the company’s centenary celebrations at its world headquarters in Shoreham-by-Sea, UK. The new Ricardo VERC is designed to accommodate the development requirements of the next generation of more environmentally friendly and fuel-efficient road-going vehicles.... Read more →

BRUSA Elektronik AG, an automotive Tier 1 power electronics supplier, has licensed Qualcomm Incorporated’s Halo (earlier post) patented inventions to commercialize Wireless Electric Vehicle Charging (WEVC) systems for Plug-In Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (EVs). Under the terms of the agreement, Qualcomm granted to BRUSA a royalty-bearing patent license to develop,... Read more →

UPS announced agreements for up to 46 million gallons of renewable diesel over the next three years, constituting a 15-fold increase over prior contracts and making UPS one of the largest users of renewable diesel in the world. Neste, Renewable Energy Group (REG) and Solazyme will supply renewable diesel to... Read more →

Aclima, Inc., a San Francisco-based company that designs and deploys environmental sensor networks, is partnering with Google Earth Outreach to map and better to understand urban air quality. Google Street View cars can be equipped with Aclima’s mobile sensing platform to measure nitrogen dioxide; nitric oxide; ozone; carbon monoxide; carbon... Read more →

In a new study, Roland Berger Strategy Consultants explores the strategy of module consolidation as a solution for the feature- and function-driven increasing complexity of vehicle electronic architectures. Consumers increasingly expect the latest and greatest in electronics and safety when purchasing a car, regardless of type. Whether it’s an instrument... Read more →

Intel Corporation and Micron Technology, Inc. unveiled 3D XPoint technology, a non-volatile memory that has the potential to revolutionize any device, application or service that benefits from fast access to large sets of data. Now in production, 3D XPoint technology is a major breakthrough in memory process technology and the... Read more →

Leclanché, the Swiss/German manufacturer of Li-ion cells and systems (earlier post), has acquired Belgian battery-maker Trineuron. The acquisition strengthens Leclanché’s product range and system integration capabilities, and will allow Leclanché to increase its offering in terms of Battery Management Systems (BMS) and module design for demanding transport applications, such as... Read more →

Chevrolet has introduced the diesel version (earlier post) of its 2016 Colorado midsize pickup truck. (Colorado is the 2015 Motor Trend Truck of the Year and Cars.com’s Best Pickup Truck of 2015.) With 369 lb-ft of torque (500 N·m) generated by the all-new 2.8L Duramax turbo-diesel, the Colorado’s maximum trailering... Read more →

Gulf Racing Fuels announced that its Gulf MARINE biofuel with isobutanol (earlier post) is one of the first fuels on the market to comply with the recent biofuel recommendations issued last week by the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) and the American Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC). (Earlier post.) Gulf... Read more →

Five years after first establishing a strategic cooperation, Daimler and the Renault-Nissan Alliance have expanded their collaboration with the start of a manufacturing joint venture in Aguascalientes in central Mexico. The new business entity COMPAS (Cooperation Manufacturing Plant Aguascalientes) is 50:50 owned by Daimler and Nissan. The partners will invest... Read more →

Researchers at Purdue University have discovered a previously unknown type of metal deformation—sinuous flow—and a potentially simple method to suppress it. The results, reported in a paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), could lead to more efficient machining and other manufacturing advances by significantly reducing... Read more →

Cummins Westport Inc. is introducing its new 2016 ISB6.7 G, a 6.7-liter MidRange, factory-built, dedicated natural gas engine (earlier post), to the Type C School bus market at the North American School Bus Show – STN Expo Conference and Trade Show in Reno, Nevada. The ISB6.7 G natural gas engine... Read more →

General Motors and SAIC Motor are enhancing their partnership through an agreement jointly to develop the core architecture and engine of a new vehicle family targeting global growth markets. GM expects the partnership will result in significant development cost savings and optimized total vehicle cost. GM’s Chevrolet brand will invest... Read more →

CarUnity, the brand-agnostic carsharing concept powered by Opel (earlier post), currently, roughly one month after its launch, has around 1,500 cars available on the new platform, mainly in the Rhine-Main area, which is Opel’s home turf. The free app already has over 5,000 registered users. We have taken a strategically... Read more →

The Mayor of London has indicated that the impact of auxiliary engines could be included in future air quality monitoring in London. This would be the first time that pollutants from secondary vehicle engines, such as on refrigerated trucks, will be measured and reported by a UK governmental body. Dearman... Read more →

Technip Italy SpA announced the finalization of a joint agreement with Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and Assiut Oil Refining Company (ASORC) for the $1.5-billion modernization project of the Assiut refinery, Upper Egypt. The investment aims to maximize diesel production, and will introduce the most modern refinery technologies in Upper... Read more →

Sandia National Laboratories and San Francisco’s Red and White Fleet are partnering in a project—SF-BREEZE (San Francisco Bay Renewable Energy Electric vessel with Zero Emissions)—to develop a high-speed, hydrogen-fuel-cell-powered passenger ferry and refueling station. The hydrogen refueling station is planned to be the largest in the world and serve fuel... Read more →

US bespoke carbon fiber workshop Vitesse AuDessus has introduced a line of one-piece, full carbon-fiber wheels. Each handcrafted wheel weighs just over 13 lbs (6kg) on average. The improvements in performance and handling dynamics netted by reduced unsprung weight is a function of lowered translational and rotational inertia; this translates... Read more →

by Gaurav Agnihotri for Oilprice.com The undisputed king of oil and gas is making some moves that could change the face of the global refining sector. In June 2015, Saudi Arabia pumped a record 10.564 million barrels a day, a record level. As if being the world’s biggest exporter of... Read more →

The BMW Group is the first manufacturer to bring the EnLighten App, by Connected Signals, into the car. Drivers of BMW Vehicles with iOS Devices will be able to see traffic signal data on the vehicle’s display in real time. The EnLighten app makes driving in cities easier by helping... Read more →

Researchers at Texas A&M have developed a two-step, one-pot conversion of CO2 and epoxides (highly reactive compounds with a three-membered ring made of two carbon atoms and one oxygen atom) to polycarbonate block copolymers that contain both water-soluble and hydrophobic regions and can aggregate into nanoparticles or micelles. A paper... Read more →

In addition to developing its own innovative premium vehicles and technologies with a focus on sustainability, BMW i also serves within the BMW Group as an incubator for innovation reaching beyond the brand’s vehicles. As one example, a drive unit swing arm, now entering production at the HNF eBike factory... Read more →

Amyris, Inc. signed definitive agreements for the conversion and restructuring of approximately $175 million of debt, to be converted to Amyris common stock, with an additional $5 million of debt converted into joint venture ownership by its joint-venture partner, Total. Simultaneously, Amyris signed definitive agreements for a $25-million private placement... Read more →

BRUSA Elektronik AG is offering its Planetary Traction Drive DTSP1—a fully integrated electric vehicle drivetrain combining motor and gearbox—with its higher power HSM1-10.18.22 Hybrid Synchronous Motor, offering 220 kW (295 hp) maximum power (145 kW/194 hp continuous) and up to 460 N·m (339 b-ft) peak torque (270 N·m/199 lb-ft continuous).... Read more →

The US National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems (CBET) has issued a funding opportunity announcement (PD 15-7644) for the award of an estimated $13,093,000 to support fundamental engineering research that will enable innovative processes for the sustainable production (and storage) of electricity and fuels.... Read more →

In a consent order with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has acknowledged violations of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act’s requirements to repair vehicles with safety defects and will submit to federal oversight, buy back some defective vehicles from owners, and pay up to $105 million... Read more →

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) officially announced, after several days of press reports, that Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc., (MMNA) a wholly owned subsidiary of MMC in the United States, is preparing to end production of its sole production model—Outlander Sport—at its Bloomington-Normal, Illinois plant at the end of November 2015.... Read more →

The Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology (BCST) of the National Research Council (NRC) will host an interactive, multidisciplinary public workshop scheduled for May 2016 that will focus on identifying gaps and opportunities in catalysis research in an era of shifting feedstocks from crude oil to natural gas for chemical... Read more →

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems (CBET) has issued a new $4.8-million funding opportunity announcement (PD 15-1401) to advance research in catalytic engineering science and to promote the development of beneficial catalytic materials and reactions. Research in the Catalysis and Biocatalysis program should... Read more →