Air pollution is classified as carcinogenic to humans given its association with lung cancer, but there is little evidence for its association with cancer at other body sites. However, in a new large-scale prospective study led by the Barcelona Institute of Global Health (ISGlobal), an institution supported by the “la... Read more →

The eighth edition of UN Environment’s Emissions Gap report, released ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn, finds that national pledges only bring approximately one-third of the reduction in emissions required by 2030 to meet climate targets, with private sector and sub-national action not increasing at a rate... Read more →

Renesas Electronics will open a “New Energy Vehicle Solution Center” in China, directly under the China Business Unit to accelerate engagement with the Chinese new energy vehicle (NEV) market. China has positioned EVs, PHVs, and fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) as “NEVs” and considers this sector to be a strategic... Read more →

Renesas Electronics Corporation announced that its automotive technologies will drive Toyota Motor Corporation’s autonomous vehicles, which are presently under development and scheduled for commercial launch in 2020. Selected by Toyota and Denso Corporation, Renesas’ autonomous-driving vehicle solution for Toyota’s autonomous vehicles combines the R-Car system-on-chip (SoC), which serves as an... Read more →

One of the elements modern diesel engines require to become energy-efficient and clean are precisely controllable injection nozzles using piezo crystals. How exactly these crystals work has not been fully understood to date. In a project funded by the Austrian Science Fund FWF, a group of researchers from the Materials... Read more →

LeydenJar Technologies BV, a spin-out from Dutch energy research center ECN, has produced a pouch-cell prototype Li-ion cell using the pure silicon anode technology developed at ECN. ECN says that its technology can increase the storage capacity of rechargeable Li-ion batteries by 50%; LeydenJar was incorporated to bring the technology... Read more →

A trip between Seoul to Busan in less than 30 minutes could be a reality, thanks to ‘U-Loop’, the near-supersonic train—similar to Elon Musk’s Hyperloop—designed by a team of researchers at UNIST. Powered by magnetic attraction, the U-Loop capsule would move at nearly 1,000 km/h. A prototype of this new... Read more →

Concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere surged at a record-breaking speed in 2016 to the highest level in 800,000 years, according to the World Meteorological Organization’s Greenhouse Gas Bulletin. Globally averaged concentrations of CO2 reached 403.3 parts per million in 2016, up from 400.00 ppm in 2015 because of... Read more →

Earlier this month, UK Business Secretary Greg Clark announced the consortium of UK universities that will form the Faraday Battery Institute, a new £65-million (US$86 million) research institute responsible for battery research and technology. The Institute will bring together the expertise and insight from its 7 founding partner universities, industry... Read more →

Velocys plc announced that production at ENVIA Energy’s Oklahoma City gas-to-liquids plant has reached an operational capacity of 200 barrels per day (bpd), passing a key capacity milestone. (Earlier post.) The plant will continue ramping up to its target operational capacity of 250 bpd. Finished, saleable products (premium renewable waxes,... Read more →

Toyota Research Institute (TRI) has signed an agreement with GoMentum Station to test autonomous vehicle technology at the 5,000-acre autonomous vehicle proving grounds located in Concord, California. Managed by the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA), this partnership enables TRI to expand closed course testing of its two-prong approach to vehicle... Read more →

Element 1 Corp (e1), a developer of hydrogen generation technology, has signed a purchase contract with Blue-G New Energy Science and Technology Corporation in Beijing to deliver an e1 hydrogen generator designed to provide up to 500 liters per minute of high-purity hydrogen on board a fuel cell bus. The... Read more →

TrafficCast and DENSO have signed a joint development agreement with the goal of combining TrafficCast’s Bluetooth signal detection with DENSO’s Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) device for V2X communications. The result would enable complementary sensor functionality in a single roadside device by combining two wireless technologies: TrafficCast’s BlueTOAD Spectra RSU... Read more →

Growth Energy announced that in five months, US drivers have surpassed another billion miles on E15 (gasoline with 15% ethanol), bringing the total miles driven across the US to 2 billion. More than 1,000 stations across the country are currently offering E15 to consumers—nearly triple the number of stations from... Read more →

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) are partnering with the city of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, to develop UrbanSense, a comprehensive sensor network and real-time visualization platform that helps cities evaluate trends in urban activity. The project, initiated by ORNL’s Urban Dynamics Institute (UDI), centers on... Read more →

Researchers from France and Germany are proposing a new concept for the dynamic tuning of the structure of platinum nanoparticles on catalytic converters to enhance their performance—especially after cold starts and in urban traffic—and to reduce the consumption of expensive noble metal. The method is based on the interaction between... Read more →

The US Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy (FE) and the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) announced that the University of North Dakota has been awarded a 2-year, $1.5-million contract to sample and characterize US coal-based resources containing high concentrations of rare earth elements (REEs). The university will also... Read more →

Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) is licensing its GRAS-Di (Genotyping by Random Amplicon Sequencing-Direct) DNA analysis technology that can dramatically accelerate selective breeding to Kazusa DNA Research Institute, Eurofins Genomics K.K., and GeneBay Inc. (Earlier post.) The licensees will put the technology to practical use in contract-based analysis businesses in Japan... Read more →

Based on their findings in a new study, researchers from the University of Washington and the University of Minnesota suggest that modifying urban form—as a means of affecting motor vehicle usage—may be a strategy to mitigate urban air pollution. Their paper appears in the ACS journalEnvironmental Science & Technology. They... Read more →

Chassix, Inc., a global automotive supplier of precision casting and machining solutions, signed a definitive agreement to acquire BENTELER Automotive Farsund’s lightweight aluminum low-pressure automotive casting business. BENTELER Automotive Farsund’s casting business consists of a highly automated aluminum foundry in Farsund, Norway, designing and producing lightweight aluminum structural castings. The... Read more →

A new study by a team from the University of Pennsylvania and MIT suggests it will be easier for cities to reduce CO2 emissions coming from residential energy use rather than from local transportation. This reduction will happen mostly thanks to better building practices, not greater housing density. The study... Read more →

GTT, A France-based engineering company specializing in cryogenic containment systems for the shipping and storage of LNG, has received a new order from Samsung Heavy Industries regarding a Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU). Delivery is scheduled in late 2020. This contract is the sixth FSRU order obtained by GTT... Read more →

DENSO Corporation has selected Cypress Semiconductor’s 6-Channel automotive PMIC (power-management ICs) and FL-S Serial NOR flash memory solution to enable the latest stereo vision sensor for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). The DENSO stereo vision sensor uses image processing techniques to detect obstacles of different shapes and lane lines, as... Read more →

Virginia Commonwealth University researchers have devised a new lithium superionic conductor with Li+ conductivity comparable with that of the organic liquid electrolytes. In a paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), they report that cluster-based lithium superionic conductors can have very high conductivities of 10−2 to... Read more →

Hitachi Solutions, Ltd. C2X Middleware Platform, which uses wireless communication between two vehicles or between a road and a vehicle, supports Japan’s ITS (Intelligent Transport Systems) standards. As a result, together with the support it already provides in Europe and America, it will support the major ITS (Intelligent Transport Systems)... Read more →

Researchers in China have developed a novel free-piston linear generator (FPLG) to recover exhaust waste heat efficiently from a vehicle engine. The FPLG can be used in a small-scale organic Rankine cycle (ORC) system and can directly convert the thermodynamic energy of working fluid into electricity. In a paper published... Read more →

Mitsui & Co., Ltd. and Daimler AG have invested in The Mobility House AG—a leading Germany-based provider of EV charging solutions and operator of stationary energy storage systems built with EV batteries. A close business relationship has existed between Daimler and The Mobility House since as early as 2012. Since... Read more →

Navigation technology company, TomTom, and Japanese mapping company, ZENRIN, intend to collaborate on traffic services and mapping in Japan. TomTom Traffic offers up-to-date information on road conditions such as traffic jams, roadworks and accidents. This information can be used by drivers to help them to find the most optimal route... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) broke ground on its new state-of-the-art Southern California headquarters. The 380,000-square-foot building will be home to one of the largest and most advanced vehicle emissions testing and research facilities in the world. Construction costs of $419 million, which include $108 million for specialized laboratory... Read more →

Fiat has kicked off a bio-methane-fueled “Tour de France” to highlight the environmental benefits of the fuel, and to consolidate its natural gas vehicle leadership in Europe. FCA offers six Fiat cars (Panda, Punto, Doblò, 500L, 500L Wagon and Qubo) and five Fiat Professional commercial vehicles (Fiorino, Doblò Cargo, Ducato,... Read more →

HERE Technologies and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (MELCO) intend to link their advanced location technologies for autonomous vehicles into a powerful integrated service offering for automakers. According to their preliminary agreement, the companies aim to offer services to support cars with ADAS (advanced driver assistance systems) on the road today right... Read more →

Cobalt is one of the key components in production of electrified vehicles and is used in significant quantities in high-voltage batteries for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. The challenge facing companies that work with cobalt as a raw material is that risks related to environmental standards and human rights cannot... Read more →

The Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI) has made its first three investments, moving forward the organization’s commitments to spur the growth of promising low carbon technologies. (Earlier post.) OGCI Climate Investments is the $1-billion investment fund established last year by OGCI to invest in promising technologies and business models... Read more →

Mercedes-Benz started its “Intelligent World Drive” at the Frankfurt International Motor Show (IAA) in September to adapt more highly automated driving functions to national user and traffic practices. After the start in Germany, the test vehicle based on the new production S‑Class is now under test in the heavy traffic... Read more →

Lightning Systems is accepting pre-orders for its new all-electric LightningElectric system for Ford Transit. (Earlier post.) The LightningElectric battery conversion package is available for Ford Transit as part of Ford Motor Company’s eQVM program. The product will be available first on heavy-duty Transits with a 10,360-pound gross vehicle weight rating... Read more →

The Alliance to Save Energy has chartered a national commission of business, government and civil society leaders that will work together to develop a pathway and recommendations to reduce energy use in the US transportation sector by 50% by 2050 while meeting future mobility needs. The “50 by 50” Commission,... Read more →

Magna is using a torsional welding process for joining thermoplastic materials in order to help automakers cut weight and costs. The torsional welding process, developed by Magna for automotive applications at its exteriors plant in Liberec, Czech Republic, in collaboration with Telsonic Ultrasonics, features a high-speed twisting motion that creates... Read more →

Kansas City International Airport and BYD, North America’s largest electric bus manufacturer, announced delivery of the airport’s four battery-electric 30-ft. coach buses—the first electric buses for airport passenger service in the US. The buses will serve as parking lot shuttles, bringing passengers to the airport terminals. BYD customized the buses... Read more →

Achates Power, the developer of next-generation two-stroke compression-ignition opposed-piston (OP) engines (earlier post) announced that OGCI Climate Investments has invested in the company’s Series-D round. This investment closes the Series-D offering through which Achates Power has raised $29.8 million to accelerate the company’s growth, commercialization and continued technology development. The... Read more →

Scientists from Stanford University and the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have captured the first atomic-level images of dendrites that can pierce the barrier between battery compartments and trigger short circuits or fires. Dendrites and the problems they cause have been a major barrier to developing new, high... Read more →

The BMW Group officially commissioned BMW Battery Storage Farm Leipzig, which will connect up to 700 BMW i3 high-capacity batteries. The large-scale battery storage system at the Leipzig plant will give batteries previously installed in BMW i3 cars a second life and put them to profitable use in a sustainable,... Read more →

As part of the EU-funded THOMSON (Mild Hybrid cOst effective solutions for a fast Market penetratiON) project, Ricardo is pursuing research that aims to reduce the development cycle time of hybrid vehicles through the use of simulation for the simultaneous optimization of mechanical, thermal and electrical energy efficiency. The €11.7-million... Read more →

Mercedes-Benz is introducing a newly developed four-cylinder gasoline engine that delivers the performance of a high-capacity six-cylinder engine but with significantly reduced fuel consumption for the E‑Class Coupé and Cabriolet. The engine generates 220 kW/299 hp from a displacement of 1991 cc. In the E 350 Coupé if achieves fuel... Read more →

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation has begun mass-producing the auto industry’s first crankshaft-mounted integrated starter-generator (ISG) system for 48V hybrid vehicles, which will be mounted in Mercedes-Benz vehicles. The system will be on display during 45th Tokyo Motor Show 2017. Belt-driven system ISG systems use a belt to transfer power from the... Read more →

Nissan demonstrated a prototype of its most advanced autonomous driving technology, planned for real-world use from 2020, on public roads in Tokyo using a modified INFINITI Q50 sports sedan. The technology enables the vehicle to operate autonomously on urban roads and freeways, beginning when the driver selects a destination using... Read more →

NEVS AB and DiDi Chuxing, the world’s leading mobile transportation platform, have formed strategic partnership and finalized a number of steps towards an extensive cooperation. One of the common goals is to develop an electric vehicle, fully optimized for the mobility services that DiDi is offering, and also initiating a... Read more →

ON Semiconductor is introducing a CMOS image sensor platform that brings new levels of performance and image quality to automotive applications such as ADAS, mirror replacement, rear and surround view systems, and autonomous driving. The Hayabusa platform features a ground-breaking 3.0-micron backside illuminated pixel design that delivers a charge capacity... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) announced that Bombardier, a Canada-based company that designs, manufactures and sells recreational vehicles, power sports engines and other motorized equipment, has been fined $783,000 for importing and delivering illegal vehicles in violation of state law. Acting on a tip from the US EPA, CARB... Read more →

by Nick Cunningham for Oilprice.com Oil prices appear to be stuck in the $50s per barrel, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t serious supply risks to the market. An unexpected disruption could occur at any moment, as has happened in the past, leading to a sudden and sharp jump in... Read more →

Enel S.p.A., through its US subsidiary EnerNOC, has acquired California-based eMotorWerks, a North American supplier of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, called JuiceBox, and owner and operator of JuiceNet, an Internet of Things (IoT) platform for the smart management of EV charging and other distributed energy storage facilities. Through the... Read more →