The US Department of Energy (DOE) is awarding $19 million in funding to 12 cost-shared research projects focused on batteries and vehicle electrification technologies to enable extreme fast charging. (DE-FOA-0001808, earlier post.) Selected research projects are focused on developing electric vehicle systems that can recharge rapidly at high power levels,... Read more →

US imports of biomass-based diesel, which include biodiesel and renewable diesel, totaled 14.1 million barrels in 2017, a 36% decrease from 2016, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). Although increasing Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) targets have driven increased biomass-based diesel demand in recent years, imports fell in 2017... Read more →

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has completed the first and most intensive phase of review for NuScale Power’s design certification application (DCA). NuScale’s is the first and only small modular reactor (SMR) application to ever undergo NRC review. This major achievement brings NuScale Power closer to introducing the country’s... Read more →

The UK-based Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) opened its tenth funding competition, making up to £30 million (US$ 41 million) available for the development of low-carbon powertrain technology in the UK. APC 10 is seeking proposals for UK based R&D projects that significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions and improve air quality.... Read more →

A team at the University of Denver has measured the emissions from two in-use California heavy-duty truck fleets—at the Port of Los Angeles and the Cottonwood weigh station in Northern California—using the On-Road Heavy-Duty Measurement System in 2013, 2015 and 2017. A report on their findings is published in the... Read more →

Vivergo Fuels has reopened its ethanol plant in the UK following a four-month shut-down period due to what it called unfavorable trading conditions driven in part by Government inaction on the future of renewable fuels and current market conditions. The Vivergo Fuels plant in East Yorkshire is the UK’s largest,... Read more →

Shell has partnered with the Airflow Truck Company to collaborate on a hyper-aerodynamic, fuel-efficient Class 8 concept truck: Starship. This next-generation concept truck features a custom, aerodynamic design and aims to demonstrate improvements in fuel economy for Class 8 trucks. Starship will undertake a cross-country run, carrying a full cargo... Read more →

Ammonia (NH3) has been drawing attention as a carbon-free alternative fuel. NH3 could be widely used in thermal power generation and industrial furnaces as an alternative to gasoline and light oil. However, compared with fossil fuels, NH3 has a high ignition temperature; a low combustion rate and N2O/NOx production. To... Read more →

China-based renewable energy and technology company Envision is to become the majority team owner of DS Virgin Racing, one of the founding and most successful racing teams in Formula E. Headquartered in Shanghai, Envision owns the world’s largest Energy IoT platform, EnOS, currently managing 100GW of energy assets globally. It... Read more →

The Japanese government’s new biofuel policy will allow imports of ETBE (Ethyl Tert-Butyl Ether) made from US corn-based ethanol. ETBE is an oxygenated gasoline fuel component and ether. ETBE, conventionally derived from ethanol (47% v/v) and isobutylene (53% v/v), features properties including high octane, low boiling point and low vapor... Read more →

A study by researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the University of São Paulo revealed that a beltway constructed to divert heavy-duty diesel vehicles traffic in the Brazilian city of São Paulo improved air quality and public health in the city. The study was published in the... Read more →

The Los Angeles Metro Board of Directors approved a plan last week to begin charging solo motorists in designated clean air vehicles (CAVs) a discounted toll to use the ExpressLanes on the 10 and 110 freeways, beginning in late 2018. Under the change, drivers in clean air vehicles without enough... Read more →

Volkswagen showcased three new drive systems at the Vienna Motor Symposium: the new 48 V mild hybrid system that will debut on the eighth-generation Golf in 2019 (earlier post); new high-tech diesel engines that will also be available as hybrid variants; and an advanced natural gas engine. The technologies showcased... Read more →

The United States exported nearly 1.4 billion gallons of fuel ethanol in 2017, surpassing the previous record of 1.2 billion gallons set in 2011, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). US imports of ethanol in 2017 increased compared with 2016 but remained relatively small at 77 million gallons,... Read more →

Shell Offshore Inc., a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc, made its final investment decision for Vito, a deep-water development in the US Gulf of Mexico with a forward-looking, break-even price estimated to be less than $35 per barrel. This decision sets in motion the construction and fabrication of a... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has selected 13 projects to receive approximately $60 million in federal funding for cost-shared research and development for advanced nuclear technologies. Of that, $40 million will go to NuScale Power to further its commercialization of small modular reactor technology. (Earlier post.) These selections are... Read more →

Aspiring European battery gigafactory developer Northvolt (earlier post) has begun the the construction of Northvolt Labs. Once completed in 2019, the scale-up and research facility will be used to develop, test and industrialize lithium-ion battery cells before large-scale production. The facility will enable fully process representative manufacturing and allow a... Read more →

Ballard has engaged UQM for contract assembly of FCveloCity-HD 85-kilowatt Ballard fuel cell modules to be deployed in the US. UQM, in Longmont, Colorado, has capacity in its TS16949 certified manufacturing facility where it will contract assemble the fuel cell modules for Ballard. UQM has been a long time supplier... Read more →

The US Department of Energy has chosen a team led by a chemical engineer from the University of Houston for a $2-million project to develop and optimize a lower-cost, more efficient catalyst to eliminate unreacted methane in natural gas fuel. Primarily made up of methane, natural gas is a cleaner... Read more →

Opel is introducing a new advanced diesel in the Grandland X compact sport utility vehicle (SUV). The new 1.5-liter, four-cylinder, turbocharged diesel is more powerful and more economical than the engine it replaces. The new powertrain is designed to meet strict future emissions requirements through the use of an innovative... Read more →

A team led by researchers at the University of Tsukuba in Japan has fabricated non-noble-metal electrodes for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) for electrochemical water splitting using a bicontinuous and open porous NiMo alloy covered by nitrogen-doped (N-doped) graphene with nanometer-sized holes. This noble-metal-free HER catalyst exhibits performance almost identical... Read more →

A new joint venture between Magna and Beijing Hainachuan Automotive Parts Co., Ltd. (BHAP) has been formed and has already netted new door module business for a German OEM in China. The announcement was made at the Beijing Auto Show by executives from both companies. Magna-BHAP door module The Magna... Read more →

Magna and its partner Innoviz Technologies (earlier post) will supply the BMW Group with solid-state LiDAR for upcoming autonomous vehicle production platforms. The new-business award is one of the first in the auto industry to include solid-state LiDAR for serial production. While Magna has demonstrated via its MAX4 platform the... Read more →

US Energy Secretary Rick Perry and François Jacq, Chairman of France’s Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), have signed two Statements of Intent (SOIs). The signing ushers in a new era of DOE-CEA research and development (R&D) cooperation with enhanced collaboration in the area of advanced fast neutron sodium-cooled... Read more →

Continental is expanding its global development activities for the safe launch of automated driving. The engineers are now testing their prototype vehicles on autobahns in Lower Saxony under real traffic conditions. The prototypes are always monitored and operated by a development expert in the driver’s seat. Continental is developing sensors,... Read more →

Autotalks, an Israel-based fabless semiconductor company devoted to vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications (earlier post), has joined the Connected Motorcycle Consortium (CMC). Autotalks will work with other CMC members to help realize the vision of a uniform motorcycle platform for V2M (Vehicle-to-Motorcycle) communication. Specifically, Autotalks and other CMC members will work together... Read more →

Researchers at Zhejiang University of Technology in China have fabricated magnesium borate (of the form Mg2B2O5) nanowire-enabled poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)-based solid-state electrolytes (SSEs) for solid-state lithium-ion batteries (SSLIBs). As reported in their paper in the ACS journal Nano Letters, these SSEs have enhanced ionic conductivity and a large electrochemical window.... Read more →

TOYOTA Connected (TC) is launching TOYOTA Connected Europe (TCEU). The new start-up company, based in London, will support the growing adoption of new mobility businesses in Europe with products and services tailored to the unique needs of the market. TOYOTA Connected North America’s CEO, Zack Hicks, will be the Chairman... Read more →

Volkswagen will launch a 48V mild hybrid version of its globally best-selling Volkswagen Golf, offering a sustainable, efficient and powerful alternative. The introduction of new hybrid systems in the eighth generation of Golf vehicles will mark a new era for the brand with regard to drive technology. The Volkswagen brand’s... Read more →

Bosch says that its engineers have refined existing diesel technolgoies to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) so significantly that they already comply with future limits. Even in RDE (real driving emissions) testing, emissions from vehicles equipped with the newly premiered Bosch diesel technology are not only significantly below current... Read more →

In Japan, Aichi Prefecture, Chita City, Toyota City, Chubu Electric Power, Toho Gas, Toyota Motor Corporation, and Toyota Industries have launched the Chita City and Toyota City Renewable Energy-use Low-carbon Hydrogen Project. The project is a first step toward realizing the 2030 vision of a low-carbon hydrogen supply chain formulated... Read more →

AVM (Advanced Vehicle Manufacturing) will unveil the first vehicle in its line of fast-charging, all-electric, mid-size shuttle buses, the EV27, at the upcoming Advanced Clean Expo (ACT) Expo 2018 in Long Beach, California. In about the same time it takes to fill up a gas tank, AVM’s 100% electric, low-floor... Read more →

Three energy companies have agreed to fines totaling $785,000 following investigations by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). All three companies violated provisions of the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS). SK Energy Americas agreed to a $395,000 penalty for failure to meet the carbon intensity target for 2014. Alon USA... Read more →

The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) has awarded New Flyer a contract for 10 Xcelsior hydrogen fuel cell electric, forty-foot, heavy-duty transit buses (10 equivalent units). OCTA and New Flyer are partners in the Fuel Cell Electric Bus Commercialization Consortium (FCEBCC) project. This project is sponsored by a grant from... Read more →

California’s 34th retail hydrogen station is has opened in Ontario, located at the western end of the Inland Empire. The Ontario station provides 100% renewable hydrogen to fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) drivers and is the first station in Southern California to provide all major alternative transportation fuels; it also... Read more →

Honda Motor staged the world premiere of the Everus EV Concept, a concept car for a China-exclusive electric vehicle (EV) model, at the 2018 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition. The Everus EV Concept is a concept model for the first mass-production EV model Honda will introduce exclusively in China, which is... Read more →

SEAT, a member of the Volkswagen Group, has put a fleet of electric eMii prototypes into circulation to launch an electric carsharing service aimed at the more than 1,000 employees of the SEAT Metropolis:Lab Barcelona and the Pier 01 Barcelona Tech City. The eMii is a SEAT version of the... Read more →

Nissan unveiled the Nissan Sylphy Zero Emission, Nissan’s first electric car made in China for Chinese consumers, at Auto China 2018 in Beijing. The Sylphy offers a drive range of 338 kilometers (210 miles), according to official Chinese standards, based on SMVIC results referencing NEDC standards and depending on driving... Read more →

Samsung Electronics has begun mass producing 10-nanometer (nm)-class 16-gigabit (Gb) LPDDR4X DRAM for automobiles. The latest LPDDR4X features high performance and energy efficiency while significantly raising the thermal endurance level for automotive applications that often need to operate in extreme environments. The 10nm-class DRAM will also enable the industry’s fastest... Read more →

The BMW Group is extending the reach of its all-electric mobility offering to the company’s core brands. The BMW Concept iX3—presented for the first time at the Auto China 2018 show in Beijing—offers a look ahead to the expansion of the model line-up in this area. The first BMW brand... Read more →

Kia Motors Corporation’s Chinese joint venture, Dongfeng Yueda Kia Motors Co., Ltd (DYK), revealed two new models at Auto China 2018: the Kia YI PAO urban SUV, designed and built exclusively for sale in China, and the new K5 Plug-in Hybrid. The K5 PHEV sedan. Re-engineered for China, the new... Read more →

Researchers from South Dakota School of Mines & Technology (SDSMT) are heading a project to to investigate methane cycling in deep and extreme environments and to develop new biological routes using previously unexplored and novel microorganisms from extreme environments for converting methane into value-added products such as liquid biofuels, biopolymers,... Read more →

Audi is presenting the new Q5L at the Beijing Motor Show. The long version of the successful SUV—Audi’s first long-wheelbase SUV—is aimed specifically at customers in China. Buyers can choose between five equipment lines and two performance versions of the 2.0 TFSI—the quattro all-wheel drive system is standard. Audi customers... Read more →

Toyota Motor plans to introduce to the Chinese market plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) versions of its Corolla and Levin passenger cars in 2019 and a battery electric vehicle (BEV) model based on its C-HR / IZOA compact SUV in 2020. (To be sold in China as a C-HR by... Read more →

New Flyer Industries Canada ULC and New Flyer of America Inc., subsidiaries of New Flyer Industries Inc. (NFI Group), the largest transit bus and motor coach manufacturer and parts distributor in North America, have signed on to the Shared Mobility Principles for Livable Cities. New Flyer is the first bus... Read more →

Volvo Cars aims for fully electric cars to make up 50% of its sales by 2025, the company announced in Beijing. The announcement builds on Volvo Cars’ 2017 announcement that all new models released from 2019 will be available as either a mild-hybrid, plug-in hybrid or battery-electric vehicle. New Volvo... Read more →

Efforts to improve the fuel efficiency of new cars sold in the European Union (EU) stalled in 2017 compared to 2016, according to provisional data published today by the European Environment Agency (EEA). While past years have seen steady declines, new passenger cars registered in 2017 emitted on average 0.4... Read more →

Visteon Corporation will provide a SmartCore-based integrated cockpit domain controller (earlier post) to Geely Auto for its new electric vehicle platform. The SmartCore system for Geely will integrate Geely’s GKUI intelligent ecosystem service solution for advanced cloud-based infotainment capabilities in addition to instrument cluster and head-up display features. This is... Read more →

On the eve of the 2018 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition, Volkswagen Group announced that it its joint-venture partners will invest around €15 billion ($18.3 billion) through 2022 in China on e-mobility, autonomous driving, digitalization and new mobility services. Volkswagen sold almost 3.2 million vehicles in China in 2017—the most successful... Read more →

The Alliance Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi announced it is one of the partners of DiDi Auto Alliance (the D-Alliance), which was formed by DiDi Chuxing, the top Chinese mobile transportation platform. The DiDi Auto Alliance is an intelligent ride-sharing alliance initiated by DiDi that empowers and redefines smart mobility. By promoting the new... Read more →