Advancements such as connectivity, big data, autonomous vehicles and artificial intelligence are driving new economic models for automakers, and most see tremendous revenue potential and consumer value in leveraging driver and vehicle data to offer mobility services, according to the 2017 KPMG Global Automotive Executive Study. The KPMG research, which... Read more →

Last Christmas, 40,000 Finnish households donated the waste fat from their Christmas hams to the charity campaign “Kinkkutemppu”—which literally translates into Ham Trick. (Earlier post.) From this waste ham fat, Neste produced 10,000 liters of Neste MY Renewable Diesel at its Porvoo refinery for sale at Neste stations. Neste donates... Read more →

ams AG, a leading provider of high performance sensor solutions and analog ICs, has launched a new version of its market-leading time-to-digital converter (TDC) offering improved speed and precision together with low power consumption. The new TDC-GPX2 also features standard low-voltage differential signaling (LVDS) and serial peripheral (SPI) interfaces, and... Read more →

Researchers at the Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg, with partners from the automotive industry (Audi, VW) and the petroleum industry (Shell, OMV) have launched the €1.46-million OTTO-R project for the production of gasoline from “green” methanol produced from CO2, water and renewable electricity. The new OTTO-R synthesis process is based on... Read more →

If West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices stabilize at or above $60 per barrel, major parts of the United States shale sector that are currently dormant will ramp up, according to an analysis by experts in the Center for Energy Studies at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.... Read more →

A team of researchers from S. Korea’s UNIST, with colleagues from Northwestern University, have successfully developed a new way to increase the activity of perovskite oxide catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and/or the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in rechargeable metal-air batteries and fuel cells simply by adding the... Read more →

Rail transport giant Alstom is investing €14 million (US$15 million), and thus taking a minority stake, in EasyMile, a start-up developing the EZ10 electric driverless shuttle. The investment forms part of the start-up’s ongoing capital increase. In parallel, Alstom and EasyMile have signed a commercial partnership agreement aiming at joining... Read more →

LG Innotek has begun series production of an improved thermoelectric module, initially for heating and cooling applications, but targeting automotive in the future. LG Innotek has increased the heating and cooling rate by 20% and decreased power consumption by 25%. The module’s temperature control range extends from - 50 ℃... Read more →

At a standards meeting held in January at Audi AG in Ingolstadt, Germany, carmakers, Tier 1 suppliers, and technology providers from around the world reached agreement on key technical and procedural elements of the upcoming SAE Recommended Practice (RP) Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) and automated parking alignment and charging of... Read more →

Germany-based Li-ion manufacturer AKASOL (earlier post) has signed a contract for the supply of Li-ion batteries to an unnamed international commercial vehicle manufacturer in Scandinavia for its entire electric bus fleet through 2023. In total, the order includes the delivery of up to 4,500 battery systems—revenue on the order of... Read more →

Researchers at Northwestern University, with a colleague from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, have developed a new computational design framework that can pinpoint optimal materials with which to coat the cathode in lithium-ion batteries. The optimized coatings have the potential to prolong the cycle-life of Li-ion batteries and surpass the... Read more →

A team from Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) in S. Korea, with colleagues from Hyundai Motors’s R&D group and the University of St. Andrews in the UK has developed a new, more thermally robust catalyst for NOx aftertreatment systems for diesel engines. A paper on their work is... Read more →

Three investor-owned California utilities—Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), Southern California Edison (SCE), and San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E)—have submitted applications to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) outlining programs and investments aimed at achieving multiple electric transportation and emission-reduction goals set by the governor and state agencies. The... Read more →

Volkswagen Truck & Bus companies have launched two truck platooning pilot projects: one, with Scania in Singapore (earlier post), the other with MAN and Schenker DB in Germany. Platooning is system in which several trucks drive in a convoy with the support of advanced driver assistance and control systems. They... Read more →

The Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) signed a multi-year strategic partnership agreement with seven Korean research institutes—KICT (Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology); KOTI (Korea Transport Institute); KIMM (Korea Institute of Machinery & Materials); KERI (Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute); ETRI (Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute);... Read more →

A startup based on work conducted at the School of Engineering and Technology at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis has received a one-year STTR Phase I grant of $225,000 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support development of a novel solid-state hydrogen storage system based on catalytically-modified porous silicon. Peter... Read more →

Engineers at The University of Nottingham are developing lightweight automotive components using new additive manufacturing processes to boost vehicle fuel efficiency, while cutting noise and CO2 emissions as part of the Functional Lattices for Automotive Components (FLAC) project. FLAC aims to achieve significant weight reductions in mass (40-80%) and optimized... Read more →

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) recently co-signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to begin testing connected and automated vehicle (CV/AV) technologies on the state highway system. The MOU delineates the guidelines that would allow TTI to test lab-proven technologies in a real-world... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board (ARB) released the proposed scoping plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% below 1990 levels by 2030—the most ambitious target in North America. (Earlier post.) The plan builds on the state’s efforts to reduce emissions and outlines the most effective ways to reach the... Read more →

National Science Foundation (NSF) Director France Córdova will participate in MobilityTalks International, a public policy forum hosted by the Washington Auto Show on 24 January. Córdova, accompanied by an NSF-funded self-driving Cadillac SRX, will highlight the essential role federal, basic, research funding plays in current and future automobile-related innovations. This... Read more →

GKN Driveline is supplying its innovative electric drive technology to StreetScooter, the electric vehicle company owned by Deutsche Post DHL Group. GKN’s Family 2 eTransmission system transmits torque from the eMotor to the wheels of a new StreetScooter zero-emission pure electric van. GKN’s system has an output torque of up... Read more →

Ford is launching a multi-million pound project designed to help improve air quality in London. The project, supported by Transport for London, features a 12-month trial of 20 new plug-in hybrid (PHEV) Transit Custom vans that reduce local emissions by running solely on electric power for the majority of city... Read more →

Nissan is with FLO, a provider of a charging ecosystem in Canada, to encourage and ease EV adoption throughout the country. The new FLO Home charging station will become the recommended residential charging station by Nissan Canada for owners of the Nissan LEAF. The FLO Home X5 is a 204V,... Read more →

MIT engineers have genetically engineered strains of the oleaginous yeast Yarrowia lipolytica to boost the production of lipids by about 25% compared to previously engineered yeast strains. Their approach could enable commercialization of microbial carbohydrate-based lipid production, supporting the renewable production of high-energy fuels such as diesel. A paper on... Read more →

US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced new Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) guidance that can improve safety and mobility by accelerating the deployment of V2I communication systems. The guidance complements DOT’s efforts to reduce crashes by advancing vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication technology announced in a proposed rule in December. V2I... Read more →

The University of Michigan (U-M) will collaborate with Chinese institutions to advance research, development and deployment of new transportation technologies and cutting-edge innovations. S. Jack Hu, U-M vice president for research, signed a research agreement with DiDi Chuxing, China’s largest rider-hailing company, to develop scholarships and innovations related to the... Read more →

Researchers at Georgia Tech have developed a simple technique for producing oxide nanowires directly from bulk materials under ambient conditions without the use of catalysts or any external stimuli. The process could significantly lower the cost of producing the one-dimensional (1D) nanostructures, enabling a broad range of uses in lightweight... Read more →

At the end of 2016, Novelis Deutschland GmbH awarded Tenova the Final Acceptance Certificate (FAC) for a state-of-the-art aluminum automotive finishing line at the Novelis Nachterstedt Plant in Germany, serving European and global automotive customers. Located adjacent to Novelis’ existing rolling mill and the world’s largest aluminum recycling center, the... Read more →

Efficient Power Conversion Corporation (EPC) announced the availability of the EPC9126, a 100 V high current pulsed laser diode driver evaluation board. The ultra fast transition gallium-nitride-on-silicon (eGaN) FETs used on the EPC9126 can drive laser diodes with high current pulses and total pulse widths as low as 5 ns,... Read more →

Scotland-based route optimization specialist Route Monkey, a unit of telematics and big data company Trakm8, is working on a new generation of transport and mobility algorithms for quantum computers. Route Monkey already works with Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh on creating and enhancing innovative algorithms for transport and travel (earlier post).... Read more →

In financial year 2016, car-sharing leader car2go grew its global customer base by 43% to 2.2 million. A car2go is rented every 1.4 seconds somewhere in the world. Berlin remains the largest car2go city, with 175,000 customers. Worldwide, the roughly 14,000 car2go vehicles were rented more than 22 million times.... Read more →

Cellulosic and biorefining technology company Edeniq has raised $7 million in equity capital. The proceeds will be used to support growth in Edeniq’s Pathway cellulosic ethanol business. The company is focusing on customer acquisition, adding resources to support existing customers, and developing technology enhancements that can potentially increase the amount... Read more →

When the California Air Resources Board (ARB) adopted the Advanced Clean Cars (ACC) program in 2012 (earlier post), the agency committed to conduct a comprehensive midterm review of three elements of the program: the zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) regulation; the 1 mg/mi particulate matter (PM) standard; and the light-duty vehicle greenhouse... Read more →

Synthetic Genomics and ExxonMobil have extended their agreement to conduct joint research into advanced algae biofuels after making significant progress in understanding algae genetics, growth characteristics and increasing oil production. ExxonMobil and Synthetic Genomics have been jointly researching and developing oil from algae for use as a renewable, lower-emission alternative... Read more →

Critical autonomous driving functions, including obstacle detection and simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM), will drive the automotive industry’s adoption of LiDAR sensors. ABI Research forecasts more than 69 million automotive LiDAR sensors will ship in 2026, fueled by declining hardware costs and the need to equip vehicles with multiple sensors... Read more →

Efficient Drivetrains, Inc. (EDI) Awarded Bus Fleet Order for the City of Efficient Drivetrains, Inc. (EDI) has received a major order for its EDI PowerDrive 6000 systems from the city of Sheyang in China. The company is supplying its drivetrain technology to Yaxing Motor Coach for integration into a fleet... Read more →

UQM Technologies received a new follow-on order from Proterra for PowerPhase HD electric drive systems, to be manufactured and shipped throughout 2017. Proterra will continue to increase its production capacity in 2017 as an increasing number of transit agencies see zero-emission buses as a credible and proven alternative to diesel,... Read more →

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) and NXP Semiconductors have launched Singapore’s first Smart Mobility Consortium to focus on testing and developing smart mobility technologies. The technologies will be tested on the NTU campus, which serves as a living test bed, bringing together 12 industry partners to form the NTU-NXP... Read more →

Sendyne, a developer of sensing, modeling/simulation and control products (earlier post), is introducing the SFP200MOD, the first turnkey module capable of precisely measuring currents from mA to kA, while simultaneously measuring three high-voltage potentials (800 V nominal, 1000 V / channel max) accurately. Designed specifically for the needs of electric... Read more →

The ASTM International Board of Directors approved the launch of a new technical committee dedicated to developing standards for the growing field of recovered carbon black (rCB). The Committee on Recovered Carbon Black (rCB) (D36) will focus on creating and updating standards in areas such as: the decomposition of scrap... Read more →

In November 2016, Volkswagen presented a major update of the Golf, featuring new engines (including a Millerized 1.5L EA211), new assistance systems and a new generation of infotainment systems (earlier post). Now, three more sporty, fuel-efficient models of the updated Golf can now be ordered in Europe: the plug-in hybrid... Read more →

XL Hybrids announced that the company has been selected by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Operational Services Division (OSD), to be a vendor on the newly released Advanced Vehicle Technology statewide contract VEH102. This multi-year contract allows public fleets nationwide to purchase the XL3 Hybrid Electric Drive System as both an... Read more →

Navigation company TomTom has acquired Autonomos, a Berlin-based autonomous driving start-up. The acquisition strengthens TomTom’s position in autonomous driving. Autonomos GmbH was founded in 2012 by former members of the intelligent systems workgroup of Freie Universitaet Berlin, a leading robotic laboratory in Germany, well known for its pioneering experiments with... Read more →

Velocys plc, the developer of smaller scale gas-to-liquids (GTL) plants, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Morimatsu (Jiangsu) Heavy Industry Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Morimatsu Industry Co., Ltd. establishing a strategic alliance. Morimatsu will be Velocys’ preferred supplier of module engineering and fabrication services for the plants. This... Read more →

In a review paper in the journal Nature Materials, Jean-Marie Tarascon (Professor at College de France and Director of RS2E, French Network on Electrochemical Energy Storage) and Clare Gray (Professor at the University of Cambridge), call for integrating the sustainability of battery materials into the R&D efforts to improve rechargeable... Read more →

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) launched the Clean Fuel Rebate for residential, electric customers who are electric vehicle (EV) drivers. PG&E serves some 16 million people in Northern and Central California. The new Clean Fuel Rebate is part of California’s statewide Low Carbon Fuel Standard initiative, which aims to... Read more →

Neste announced the rebranding of its renewable diesel fuel during a customer seminar and appreciation event in San Diego, California. Neste is replacing its “Neste Renewable Diesel” and earlier brand name “NEXBTL” with “Neste MY Renewable Diesel” brand name. Simultaneously, Neste is also updating other names in the renewable product... Read more →

General Motors is expanding its portfolio of B20-capable vehicles to include cars and crossovers, and will field the industry’s most expansive lineup of diesel-powered vehicles in 2017, John Schwegman, director of commercial product and medium duty for GM Fleet, announced at the National Biodiesel Conference. Chevrolet offers the industry’s broadest... Read more →

Exxon Mobil Corporation will more than double its Permian Basin resource to 6 billion barrels of oil equivalent through the acquisition of companies owned by the Bass family of Fort Worth, Texas, with an estimated resource of 3.4 billion barrels of oil equivalent in New Mexico’s Delaware Basin, a highly... Read more →

Thirteen leading energy, transport and industry companies have launched a global initiative in Davos to voice a united vision and long-term ambition for hydrogen to foster the energy transition. Meeting in Davos for the first time on Tuesday, the Hydrogen Council currently comprises 13 CEOs and Chairpersons from various industries... Read more →