BMW i Ventures has made a strategic investment in DSP Concepts, Inc.—a startup company developing embedded digital signal processing audio solutions and a specialist in voice user interface technologies—as part of the startup’s Series A round. Christian Noske, a partner at BMW i Ventures, has joined the Company’s Board of... Read more →

The Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) will award $22 million in funding to 18 projects as part of the Macroalgae Research Inspiring Novel Energy Resources (MARINER) program. (Earlier post.) MARINER projects are to develop the tools to enable the United States to become a leading producer of... Read more →

Neste and Genève Aéroport are partnering on the introduction of renewable jet fuel into aircraft operations from Geneva International Airport; the target will be at least 1% of the annual jet fuel consumption at Genève Aéroport starting late 2018. Aviation is the fastest growing means of transport and thus emissions... Read more →

The first standard designed for the V2X (vehicle-to-everything) application layer in China has been officially released. The standard (T/CSAE 53-2107) was developed by a working group led by General Motors, together with Tsinghua University and Chang’an Auto, with the support of the China Industry Innovation Alliance for the Intelligent and... Read more →

Leading electric bus manufacturer Proterra and LG Chem co-developed a battery cell that has been optimized to meet the unique performance and safety demands of the heavy-duty vehicle market. The cell chemistry has been optimized for exceptional energy throughput capability, high charge rate acceptance, and industry leading energy density. Last... Read more →

alpha-En Corporation, a company that has developed a patent-pending process to produce high-purity thin-film lithium metal anodes and associated products sustainably, will receive an award of $750,000 from the US Department of Energy’s Office of Technology Transition Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF). This funding will be used to commercialize Argonne National... Read more →

Leclanché SA (earlier post) will develop a battery storage solution for Fastned’s fast charging electric vehicle stations, starting with a pilot at two locations. Fastned is a Dutch company installing fast charging stations for electric vehicles (EVs) in Europe (earlier post). Fastned has built and is operating 63 fast charging... Read more →

British Airways has entered a partnership with Velocys to design a series of waste plants that convert household waste into renewable jet fuel to power its fleet. The first plant will take hundreds of thousands of tonnes of household waste per-year, destined for landfill or incineration, including diapers, plastic food... Read more →

The California state legislature has passed a set of bills (AB 134 and AB 109) providing $895 million towards programs that will reduce air pollution from mobile sources which are responsible for 40% of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions. Titled the “California Clean Air Initiative,” the bills will invest the... Read more →

Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have harnessed the power of photosynthesis to convert carbon dioxide into fuels and alcohols at efficiencies far greater than plants. The achievement marks a significant milestone in the effort to move toward sustainable sources of fuel. Many systems... Read more →

Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have developed a new electrocatalyst that can directly convert carbon dioxide into multicarbon fuels and alcohols using record-low inputs of energy. The work is the latest in a round of studies coming out of Berkeley Lab tackling the... Read more →

A new analysis by the NGO Transport & Environment (T&E) concludes that diesel cars emit more CO2 than equivalent cars on a full lifecycle basis—i.e., accounting for the emissions generated during production of the vehicle and the fuel. According to the T&E analysis, an average diesel car produces emits 3.65... Read more →

Mahindra Group and Ford Motor Company have agreed to explore a strategic alliance designed to leverage the benefits of Ford’s global reach and expertise and Mahindra’s scale in India and successful operating model. The agreement between the two companies will allow each to leverage their mutual strengths during a period... Read more →

Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, and Enviral, the largest producer of bioethanol in Slovakia, have signed a license agreement on sunliquid cellulosic ethanol technology. Enviral has acquired a license to use Clariant’s sunliquid technology as part of its goal to realize a full scale commercial cellulosic ethanol plant... Read more →

Tide Buss has placed an order for 25 Volvo 7900 Electric buses for the city of Trondheim, Norway—the company’s largest order yet for its fully electric buses. The electric buses from Volvo will run on four routes in Trondheim, covering distances of between 12 and 15 km each, with operations... Read more →

Ushr Inc., a developer of high-definition (HD) mapping technology and software for autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles, has secured $10 million in Series A funding, commensurate with its spin-off from GeoDigital, Inc. Forté Ventures led the investment round with participation from EnerTech Capital, Emerald Technology Ventures, and GM Ventures. Drawing on... Read more →

The technology group Wärtsilä is introducing a new portfolio of tug designs, to be known as the Wärtsilä HYTug series, with the emphasis on environmental sustainability. Since they typically operate in or close to harbors and populated areas, tugs are particularly affected by environmental considerations, and the need for regulatory... Read more →

Ballard Power Systems has received a purchase order from Nisshinbo Holdings for a program to assess the potential development of fuel cell stacks using a Non Precious Metal Catalyst (NPMC) for use in commercial material handling applications. On 12 September, the two companies announced that they had successfully collaborated on... Read more →

AEye Inc has completed a successful live metropolitan demo showcasing its solid-state commercial LiDAR system with 360° vehicle coverage. AEye’s high performance system employs a dense 150-vertical-channel LiDAR scanner, paired with region of interest configurability, for enhanced ranges up to 300 meters. AEye is the first to announce a commercial... Read more →

The Canadian province of Ontario is electrifying its GO rail network to transform how people move around the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA), and is seeking design concepts for hydrogen-powered trains as an alternative to conventional overhead wires. A division of Metrolinx, GO Transit is the regional public transit... Read more →

XL Hybrids announced its XL3 Hybrid Electric Drive System will be installed in 52 vehicles that serve five Massachusetts state agency fleets. The hybrid-electric vehicles will be deployed at the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), Massachusetts Environmental Police, Department of Correction (DOC), Department of Developmental Services (DDS), and Department... Read more →

The EU-funded COMSYN project aims to develop a production concept for competitive bio-based fuels by means of a compact gasification and synthesis process. The target reduction of the biofuel production cost is up to 35% compared to alternative routes, which translates to less than €0.80/l ($3.62/gallon US) production cost for... Read more →

The US Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced $55 million in grant selections through the Low or No Emission (Low-No) Vehicle program, which funds the development of transit buses and infrastructure that use advanced fuel technologies. Fifty-one projects in 39 states will receive a share of the funding.... Read more →

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is investing nearly $80 million in four new Engineering Research Centers (ERCs) to create novel technology platforms in the fields of living cell-based therapies, personalized heart tissue, point-of-care health systems and fuel derived from shale gas. The NSF Engineering Research Center for Innovative and Strategic... Read more →

At a press conference in Shanghai, General Motors Chairman and CEO Mary Barra said that the company will introduce at least 10 new energy vehicles (NEVs) in China. These include the Cadillac CT6 Plug-In, the Buick Velite 5 extended-range electric vehicle and the Baojun E100 electric vehicle—all of which have... Read more →

Enerkem Inc. has started the commercial production of cellulosic ethanol. Enerkem’s facility in Edmonton, AB, Canada, is the first commercial-scale plant in the world to produce cellulosic ethanol made from non-recyclable, non-compostable mixed municipal solid waste. The company has been producing and selling biomethanol since 2016, prior to expanding production... Read more →

Honda and McLaren are ending their partnership for the FIA Formula One World Championship (F1) at the end of the 2017 season. The partnership has been ongoing since the team returned to F1 racing in 2015 and will continue to compete in the remaining races through the end of the... Read more →

The Centre for Process Innovation (CPI), a UK-based technology innovation center, Intelligent Energy and coatings supplier Haydale have been collaborating to develop novel, conductive coatings for proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell bipolar plates with the goal of further cost reductions. Intelligent Energy is leading this project in collaboration with... Read more →

The European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) has produced hydrogen gas using electricity generated from tidal energy in Orkney. EMEC said that this marked the first time that hydrogen has been created from tidal energy. By harnessing the power of the tide at EMEC’s tidal energy test site at the Fall... Read more →

Volkswagen of America Inc. is pricing the 2017 e-Golf starting at $30,495, plus $820 destination. For 2017, Volkswagen is using an updated lithium-ion battery with an increased energy capacity of 35.8 kWh, up from 24.2 kWh. The revised battery helps increase the vehicle’s range from an EPA-estimated total range of... Read more →

A European research consortium under the management of the Volkswagen Group launched the four-year L3Pilot project to test the viability of automated driving as a safe and efficient means of transportation. The project focuses on large-scale piloting of SAE Level 3 functions, with additional assessment of some Level 4 functions.... Read more →

Delphi Automotive PLC has signed a commercial partnership agreement with LeddarTech, a Canadian company developing solid-state LiDAR technology. Delphi, a leader in autonomous driving technology, and LeddarTech, a Canadian start-up focused on an advanced, proprietary signal processing technology, will collaborate to develop a low-cost, corner LiDAR solution. The core technology... Read more →

Daimler AG’s Trucks division is investing in the Israeli company StoreDot Ltd. The Tel Aviv-based company, founded in 2012, is a nanotechnology materials pioneer and a leading companies in the field of electric charging and energy-storage materials. A representative from Daimler will be appointed to StoreDot’s Board of Directors. Complementing... Read more →

Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC), part of Daimler Trucks, celebrated the global launch of the FUSO eCanter (earlier post) in New York City. The FUSO eCanter is the world’s first series-produced all-electric light-duty truck and will be delivered to customers starting this year in the US, Europe and... Read more →

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated recenetly introduced its first-announced Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) commercial solution based on 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Release 14 specifications for PC5-based direct communications, the Qualcomm C-V2X Reference Design, which will feature the 9150 C-V2X chipset with integrated GNSS capability, and include an... Read more →

Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. has licensed its Nissan Machining Roughening Process (NMRP), a proprietary technology used in making automotive engines, to German machine tool manufacturer Gebr. Heller Maschinenfabrik GmbH. By using HELLER machinery that incorporates NMRP, carmakers can mass-produce engines with highly energy-efficient cylinder bores with iron spray coating at... Read more →

Autoliv, Inc. has been selected by Geely to develop an industry leading 77GHz high-resolution radar systems for autonomous driving. Earlier this year, Geely awarded Autoliv a mono-vision camera system contract. Autoliv’s high-resolution radars allow for increased detection points, leading to improved ability to understand free space, better object separation in... Read more →

Samsung Electronics announced a strategic partnership with TTTech, a global leader in the field of robust networking and safety controls. Along with this partnership, Samsung will also make a €75-million (US$89-million) strategic investment in TTTech as the first investment from its newly established $300-million Samsung Automotive Innovation Fund (SAIF). The... Read more →

The new generation Mercedes-Benz S 560 e plug-in hybrid—the successor to the S 500 e PHEV—combines the 270 kW (367 hp) of the V6 spark-ignition engine with an electric output of 90 kW. The PHEV features combined fuel consumption of 2.1 l/100 km (112 mpg US); combined CO2 emissions of... Read more →

Renesas Electronics Corporation and Cogent Embedded Inc., a leading embedded software provider to the automotive industry, announced their joint development of a 3D surround view solution to assist drivers during parking or low-speed maneuvers. Designed for parking assist systems in entry- and mid-level cars, the new solution combines the Renesas... Read more →

Continental will accelerate initiatives based on Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) technologies (earlier post) and will conduct C-V2X field trials in select regions across the globe. Anticipating to utilize the Qualcomm C-V2X Reference Design with the integrated Qualcomm 9150 C-V2X chipset (earlier post), Continental will build connected car systems for field trials... Read more →

A123 Systems LLC, a developer and manufacturer of advanced lithium-ion batteries and systems, has invested in Solid Power Inc., a developer of solid-state battery technology. Solid Power’s technology combines an exceptionally high capacity cathode with a high capacity lithium metal anode in combination with a high ionic conductivity solid separator.... Read more →

Faurecia, one of the world's largest automotive equipment suppliers, signed a five year agreement with the CEA (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission) to collaborate in a research and development program of fuel cell stack technologies. Faurecia will benefit from more than two decades of CEA research and expertise... Read more →

Ballard Power Systems has accepted a Letter of Intent to provide FCveloCity-HD 100 kW fuel cell systems to power eight ExquiCity tram-buses being built by Van Hool NV, a Ballard partner in Europe, for delivery in Pau, France to the SMTU-PPP (Syndicat Mixte de Transports urbains – Pau Portes des... Read more →

Lightning Systems, a developer of efficiency and emissions improvement solutions for fleets, in partnership with New Eagle, a mechatronic control system provider, will introduce a full battery-electric upfit system for Ford Transit passenger wagon, van, cutaway and chassis cab models. The new LightningElectric zero-emissions package is available for Ford Transit... Read more →

On 9 August, the California Energy Commission (Energy Commission) awarded a grant of $16,362,500 to Equilon Enterprises LLC, a subsidiary of Shell Oil Company, for the introduction of seven hydrogen refueling stations in Northern California. The hydrogen refueling stations will be built in collaboration with Honda and Toyota, who will... Read more →

Chery Automobile Co., Ltd, China’s leading vehicle exporter, will launch a new model line of passenger cars and SUVs globally—with plans to begin sales in Europe within the next few years—under a new nameplate: EXEED. Chery revealed the EXEED TX—a compact SUV which will be the first model offered in... Read more →

At the Frankfurt Motor Show, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) outlined the industry’s proposal for a pathway to future CO2 reductions: a 20% CO2 reduction for passenger cars by 2030, compared to 2021. The European Commission will reveal its proposal on CO2 targets for cars post-2021 later this year.... Read more →

Ballard Power Systems has collaborated with Nisshinbo Holdings to develop a Non-Precious-Metal Catalyst (NPMC) for use in the world’s first commercialized NPMC-based proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell product. Nisshinbo and Ballard have jointly collaborated on the development of NPMC since 2013. (Earlier post.) Ballard has successfully incorporated the Non... Read more →

The US Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released new federal guidance for the implementation of autonomous driving: Automated Driving Systems (ADS): A Vision for Safety 2.0. This is the latest guidance for automated driving systems to industry and States; it replaces the earlier guidance... Read more →