Mercedes‑Benz announced a strategic repositioning of its motorsport activities: the company will conclude its participation in DTM at the end of 2018 and enter Formula E in the 2019/20 season. Mercedes-Benz will thus compete in Formula 1, the pinnacle of motorsport combining high technology and the most demanding competitive challenge;... Read more →

Enzymes, called [FeFe]-hydrogenases, efficiently turn electrons and protons into hydrogen; they are thus a candidate for the biotechnological production of the potential energy source. For years, researchers had assumed that a highly unstable intermediate state had to exist in the reaction. No one was able to verify this. Until now.... Read more →

According to a new report from Navigant Research, more than $80 billion is expected to be spent on global EV infrastructure development by the end of 2025, leading to the development of nearly 230 GW of charging capacity. Rising PEV penetration across multiple vehicle types and into a wider variety... Read more →

Washington State University (WSU) researchers have developed a unique biofilm reactor that recycles gasses and uses less water and lower light than typical reactors. The new reactor grows algae more efficiently—in days instead of weeks—and makes the algae more viable for several industries, including biofuels. The main fatty acids produced... Read more →

Globetouch and Verizon Telematics plan to launch upgraded network solutions that will be used by General Motors in connection with the continued global expansion of OnStar’s industry-leading connected vehicle services. Globetouch will integrate its open platform GControl with OnStar to enable reliable, high-quality connectivity and regulatory compliance for OnStar services.... Read more →

XL Hybrids announced a new set of customers are installing its XL3 Hybrid Electric Drive Systems. Fleets benefit from a 20% reduction in CO2 emissions and an up to 25% increase in fuel economy. New municipalities deploying the XL3 system include the City of Long Beach, Calif., and Dakota County,... Read more →

BASF has improved the process for manufacturing Lupranol (polyether polyol) so that car components which are made of BASF polyurethane systems emit an average of 20% less aldehyde. This allows automotive suppliers, that manufacture acoustic parts, seats and steering wheels or back-foam instrument panels and doors to meet the increasing... Read more →

A research team at Japan’s National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) and Nagaoka University of Technology has developed a new high-strength magnesium sheet alloy (Mg–1.1Al–0.3Ca–0.2Mn–0.3Zn) that has excellent room-temperature formability comparable to that of the aluminum sheet metal currently used in body panels of some automobiles. The magnesium alloy becomes... Read more →

Suzuki Motor has selected Hitachi Automotive Systems’ lithium-ion battery module for the new Swift Hybrid SG and Swift Hybrid SL; the new models were launched on 12 July 2017. The lithium-ion battery module features high performance and reliable battery cells combined into a single unit with a voltage detection substrate... Read more →

The UK’s Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC), in conjunction with Innovate UK, has launched a competition to facilitate funding of the UK’s first automotive battery manufacturing development center. The new facility, which will be funded through the £246-million (US$321-million) Faraday Challenge, will allow pioneering battery technology to be scaled up suitable... Read more →

Bosch and Daimler are demonstrating automated valet parking at the Mercedes-Benz Museum parking garage in Stuttgart. With a command from a smartphone, drivers can now automatically park cars in their assigned spots without having to monitor the vehicles’ movements. The pilot solution at the Mercedes-Benz Museum parking garage is the... Read more →

Researchers in Sweden and Italy have devised a simple strategy to address the issues currently hampering commercialization of high-energy density Li-sulfure batteries, including limited practical energy density, life time and the scaling-up of materials and production processes. In a paper in the Journal ChemSusChem they report that using a novel... Read more →

General Motors has launched GM Dev Client, an industry-first app that gives approved developers who have created in-vehicle applications the ability to test them in a real GM vehicle. In-vehicle app testing is the next step for app developers who have already created a proof of concept using GM’s next-generation... Read more →

China-based GAC Motor has introduced its all-electric GE3 SUV into the Chinese market; the GE3 made its international debut at the 2017 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in January. The GE3 is based on a new EV platform and positioned as a medium- to high-end electric SUV. The smart... Read more →

Hitachi Chemical Co., Ltd. is acquiring a large portion of the Thai Storage Battery Public Company Limited (TSB Company), a manufacturer of automotive and industrial lead-acid storage batteries mainly in Southeast Asia, with a high market share in Thailand and elsewhere. Hitachi Chemical intends to utilize TSB’s brand power, manufacturing... Read more →

On Sunday, the BMW Group issued a strong rejection of German media reports charging that the company had colluded with Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche and Daimler on the design and pricing of diesel exhaust systems and that its diesel emission systems did not function properly. On Friday, manager magazine reported that... Read more →

A new study, part of the Atlanta Commuter Exposures (ACE) Study, has assessed on-roadway in-cabin particulate pollution (PM2.5) collected from scripted rush hour commutes on highways and on non-highway side streets. Reported in the journal Atmospheric Environment, the study found that levels of some forms of harmful particulate matter inside... Read more →

Japan’s Asahi Shimbun reports that Toyota will begin mass production of EVs in China in 2019, using the C-HR crossover (earlier post) as the base. The report says that production volume will be determined by regulations and available subsidies, but that initial volumes will likely be more than 1,000 units... Read more →

A recent project demonstrated a 100 kW fuel cell generator with 72 kg of hydrogen storage for marine applications. Project goals were to demonstrate the use of the generator in the maritime environment, identify areas requiring additional research and development, analyze the business case, and address regulatory and other market... Read more →

by Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com Like many industries today, the oil industry is trying to sell its many job opportunities to the fastest growing portion of the global workforce: Millennials. But unlike any other industry, oil and gas is facing more challenges in persuading the environmentally-conscious Millennials that oil is... Read more →

In China, SAIC-GM-Wuling officially launched the Baojun E100, the brand’s first fully-electric vehicle. Available in two variants, it is priced as low as RMB 35,800 (US$5,290) after national and local subsidies. Separately, Buick brought to market the all-new Regal for China. Ten variants, including a hybrid electric, are available priced... Read more →

Kia Motors posted its best six-month sales period in Europe, with half-year sales surpassing 250,000 for the first time in the company’s history. Hybrid and electric vehicles accounted for 7.5% of European sales so far this year, up from just one per cent in the first six months of 2016,... Read more →

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) and the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) Institute of Transport Research signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Berlin that aims to promote cooperation between the two institutions in the field of sustainable urban mobility. The MoU provides... Read more →

Audi is offering its customers in Europe and other markets—outside of the US and Canada—a retrofit program for cars with EU5 and EU6 diesel engines. A total of up to 850,000 cars worldwide with six-cylinder and eight-cylinder diesel engines (V6/V8 TDI, EU5/EU6) will get new software. This will further improve... Read more →

Although silicon is a very attractive anode material because of its higher energy density, its huge volume change over repeated charge−discharge cycles rapidly degrades cycle life. As an alternative approach to mitigate the well-known drawbacks of silicon while retaining the energy density advantages, silicon monoxide (SiOx, x ≈ 1) has... Read more →

Saitama City (Japan), Honda Motor and Yamaha Motor will begin evaluation testing towards the expansion of the use of electric motorcycles. As part of Saitama City’s “E-KIZUNA Project” policies to promote the spread of electric vehicles, this collaborative initiative by the three parties also aims to resolve the issues in... Read more →

Announced in 2016, the Battery500 consortium, led by the US Department of Energy (DOE) Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), intends to build a battery pack with a specific energy of 500 Wh/kg, compared to the 170-200 Wh/kg per kilogram in today’s typical EV battery. (Earlier post.) Achieving this goal would... Read more →

Silicon anodes can deliver 3~5-times higher capacities compared with current graphite anodes in lithium-ion batteries. However, their volume expands enormously during each charge-discharge cycle, leading to fractures of the electrode particles or delamination of the electrode film, both resulting in rapid capacity decay. Typical charge-discharge numbers for microparticle-size Si anodes... Read more →

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach released the draft of their proposed 2017 Clean Air Action Plan (CAAP) Update. The document outlines a new set of aggressive near-term and long-term strategies for the nation’s busiest harbor complex to further reduce harmful air pollution from all port-related sources, assist... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) filed a consent decree for its final settlement with the Volkswagen Group of America (VW). The company will be required to pay an additional $153.8 million to California over the company’s use of illegal defeat devices in 2009-2016, 2.0 and 3.0 liter diesel passenger... Read more →

German Federal Minister Alexander Dobrindt has approved a further €22.2 million (US$25.5 million) for thirteen new research projects as part of the “Research program on automation and networking in road traffic”. Among them are projects on digital test fields in Berlin and Düsseldorf as well as on the digital test... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) will issue a funding opportunity (DE-FOA-0001791) for projects to design and to test advanced carbon capture technologies. The objectives of the FOA are to support pilot scale testing of transformational solvent- or membrane-based carbon dioxide capture technologies and to support design work for a... Read more →

Global automotive and industrial supplier Schaeffler will create an independent E-Mobility business division as of January 1, 2018 to bring together all the products and system solutions for hybrid and pure battery electric vehicles. Klaus Rosenfeld, CEO of Schaeffler AG, made the announcement during the company’s Capital Markets Day in... Read more →

Volvo Cars plans to set up a new joint venture technology company with Geely Holding, the Chinese car group, to share existing and future technology, to deepen industrial synergies and to provide the economies of scale that will allow them to develop next generation electrified vehicle technology more rapidly. According... Read more →

Leclanché North America, part of Switzerland's Leclanché SA; eCAMION, based in Toronto; and SGEM, based in Geneva; will partner to develop and to install a network of 34 fast-charging stations along the Trans-Canada Highway (TCH). The project, designed to encourage the adoption of electric vehicles in Canada, entails an investment... Read more →

In an initial step toward developing a comprehensive global impact assessment framework for PM2.5 emissions, an international team of researchers from the US and Europe has characterized the primary PM2.5 intake fraction—the long-term population intake mass per unit mass emitted into different indoor and outdoor environments. Intake fractions from residential... Read more →

The BMW Group was the top seller of electric mobility in Germany the first half of 2017, with just under 5,000 units registered; registrations are about 175% over the same period in 2016. The Group has 8 eletrified vehicles in the market. The most popular electric vehicle in the BMW... Read more →

Autonomous vehicle technology company Nauto (earlier post) closed a $159-million Series B financing round, led by a subsidiary of SoftBank Group Corp. and Greylock Partners. Other participants include previous strategic investors BMW iVentures, General Motors Ventures, Toyota AI Ventures and the venture unit of global financial services and insurance provider... Read more →

The US House Subcommittee on Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection, chaired by Rep. Bob Latta (R-OH), today held a markup to advance bipartisan self-driving legislation. This draft legislation passed out of the subcommittee by voice vote. The legislation clarifies the federal and state roles for regulating highly automated vehicles (HAVs)... Read more →

The new Nissan LEAF EV will feature e-Pedal, a driver-selectable option enabling full one-pedal driving. Actuated with the flip of a switch, e-Pedal allows drivers to accelerate, decelerate and stop using just the e-Pedal. Nissan says that e-Pedal technology is the first one-pedal operation that allows drivers to bring the... Read more →

Mercedes-Benz’ new S-Class will enter the market this month with an all-new engine range (diesel and gasoline variants of 6-cylinder in-line engines and a new V8 biturbo gasoline engine) with a series of new technologies for electrification of the powertrain (earlier post), including a 48V system (S 450 and S... Read more →

Audi is providing public demonstration drives on board an Audi A7 piloted driving concept nicknamed “Jack”. Selected brand customers and fans will get their first experience of piloted driving on the A9 north of Munich. The customer trips in “Jack” start in the myAudi Sphere at Munich airport. The route... Read more →

Researchers at George Washington University led by Dr. Stuart Licht have demonstrated the first facile high-yield, low-energy synthesis of macroscopic length carbon nanotubes (CNTs)—carbon nanotube wool—from CO2 using molten carbonate electrolysis (earlier post). The resulting CNT wool is of length suitable for weaving into carbon composites and textiles and is... Read more →

Mercedes-Benz has unveiled its new pickup truck—the first from a premium manufacturer—the X-Class. There are three design and equipment variants to choose from as well as four- or six-cylinder engines, rear-wheel drive and engageable or permanent all-wheel drive, a six-speed manual transmission and a seven-speed automatic transmission. The market launch... Read more →

Sevcon, Inc., a designer and manufacturer of controls and battery chargers for electric and hybrid vehicles, has entered into a definitive merger agreement with BorgWarner Inc. BorgWarner will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Sevcon’s common stock for $22.00 per share in cash and all of the outstanding shares... Read more →

Tata Motors has designed and developed bio-methane engines (5.7 SGI & 3.8 SGI) for LCV, ICV & MCV buses, three of which were on display at an event in Pune, India. The presented model was the Tata LPO 1613 with 5.7 SGI NA BS-IV IOBD-II compliant technology, fueled with renewable... Read more →

Federal-Mogul Powertrain is extending its crankshaft bearing portfolio with a new high performance polymeric coating, IROX 2, that will debut at the 2017 IAA show in Frankfurt, Germany later this year. The newly developed product provides enhanced seizure performance with steel crankshafts. IROX 2 joins Federal-Mogul’s family of IROX technologies... Read more →

The Daimler Board of Management has approved a comprehensive plan for diesel engines consisting of a substantial expansion of the current service action for vehicles in customers’ hands as well as a rapid market launch of the completely new OM 654 diesel engine family (earlier post). Since March, Mercedes-Benz has... Read more →

BMW i Ventures has made a strategic investment in GaN Systems, a fabless power transistor company at the forefront of semiconductor technology. Gallium Nitride (GaN) is a wide band gap (WBG) semiconductor material that allows for higher energy efficiency, smaller form factors and higher performance. GaN devices offer a number... Read more →

In Germany, legislation banning permits for new cars and light trucks with internal combustion engines as of 2030 is currently under consideration. A new study by the ifo Institute projects that such a ban could lead to significant losses in terms of jobs and added value in Germany. More than... Read more →