BMW i Ventures announced a strategic investment in Vera, a company developing innovative data-centric security technology for business of all sizes. Vera has helped some of the world’s leading companies protect their most critical data, without sacrificing visibility and control. Over the past year, Vera has been focused on scaling... Read more →

Small, light and electrically-powered vehicles will likely be core to city and regional commuter transport in future, alongside public transport. As part of the Next Generation Car (NGC) project, researchers from the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) have developed an innovative concept for small vehicles:... Read more →

Audi is now the first premium manufacturer to produce automobiles completely free of wastewater. At its site in San José Chiapa, Mexico, the company is using a new water treatment process that collects 100 percent of the wastewater produced there, purifies it and feeds large volumes of clean water back... Read more →

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Marine Machinery & Equipment Co., Ltd. (MHI-MME), a group company of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has developed new models of its MET Turbochargers for diesel engines. The MET-MBII axial-flow turbocharger series mainly for two-stroke engines is smaller and lighter than the existing MET-MB series, with a... Read more →

Volkswagen Truck & Bus AG has renamed itself TRATON AG. Founded in 2015 as Volkswagen Truck & Bus GmbH, TRATON now comprises the brands MAN, Scania, Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus and RIO. Within its first initial years, the Group has already made significant progress by focusing on its Global Champion... Read more →

Delta, a global provider of power and thermal management solutions, has commenced work on a research program, with 50% cost-share by the US Department of Energy (DOE), to develop a solid-state transformer (SST)-based extreme fast EV charger (XFC) with industry-leading capacity up to 400 kW to provide capable EVs a... Read more →

UQM Technologies, Inc. has received an order from Lightning Systems for UQM’s eDT 220 electric propulsion systems for use in several new projects, including Class 6 vehicles for Zeem Solutions, located in New York, and a city bus program for Via Mobility, located in Boulder, Colorado. Shipments are currently expected... Read more →

A new study on ultra-low emission natural gas heavy-duty engines found that the new Cummins-Westport 11.9-liter engine achieved California’s lowest smog-forming emissions standard, and maintained those emissions during all types of driving. Cycle averaged NOx emissions for the ISX12N 400 equipped truck. Source: UCR. The study, prepared by researchers at... Read more →

HORIBA Group, a leading global provider of analytical and measurement systems, has committed $9 million to the Advanced Power and Energy Program at the University of California, Irvine to establish the Horiba Institute for Mobility and Connectivity. HIMAC will focus research and education efforts on combining formerly disparate energy and... Read more →

Aemetis will be implementing the Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation ZEBREX zeolite membrane dehydration system at the 60 million gallon per year Aemetis fuel ethanol plant in Keyes, California. The Aemetis plant upgrade is the first ZEBREX system installation in North America and is the largest implementation of the ZEBREX system worldwide.... Read more →

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has issued a special High Performance Computing for Manufacturing (HPC4Mfg) call for proposals for projects aimed at addressing key challenges in US steel and aluminum manufacturing. (Earlier post.) Funding of up to $1.2 million will be made available from the Advanced Manufacturing Office of the... Read more →

Mitsubishi Motors’ 2019 Outlander PHEV, featuring a redesigned powertrain, is now on sale in Japan. The 2019 model, unveiled earlier this year at the Geneva show (earlier post), features a more advanced PHEV system that gives this SUV a stronger EV flavor. Mitsubishi made improvements to 90% of the major... Read more →

Findings in a study by researchers in the US and Singapore indicate that annual economic damage from air pollution to photovoltaic site operators and investors worldwide—specifically from the reduction in insolation resulting from PM2.5 concentrations—could be in the billions of dollars. As reported in the journal Energy & Environmental Science,... Read more →

Traffic-related air pollutants can lead to a short-term loss of power and long-term reduction in lifetime for proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC). However, while research has been carried out on the reaction mechanisms, the impact of this for vehicles has not been studied extensively under real-world conditions. A team... Read more →

Ballard Power Systems has entered into a strategic collaboration with Weichai Power Co., Ltd. which includes: A substantial equity investment by Weichai in Ballard of approximately $163 million, representing a 19.9% interest in the company and reflecting a price based on a 15% premium to the 30-day VWAP; Establishment of... Read more →

Perceptive Automata, a provider of human behavior prediction software for machines, joined the AWare ecosystem of Renovo, a mobility software technology company. Automated mobility fleet deployments using Renovo’s AWare OS can now gain access to Perceptive Automata’s algorithms to enable the safer deployment of automated vehicles and a smoother ride... Read more →

Ford’s ride-sharing shuttle service Chariot launched its first European routes tailored for companies and campuses this week. Chariot, which began operating in London earlier this year, is a ride-sharing minibus service that connects commuters living and working in areas underserved by public transport with nearby transit hubs. Now, Chariot is... Read more →

With car2go, moovel, mytaxi/Intelligent Apps (mytaxi, beat, Clever Taxi and Chauffeur Privé), the mobility portfolio in the segment of Daimler Financial Services counted 24.4 million customers as of July 30, 2018. This represents an increase of 64% (compared to the previous year). The number of transactions reached 95.3 million in... Read more →

A KAIST research team has developed a fully dispersed Rh ensemble catalyst (ENS) that shows better performance at lower temperatures than commercial diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC). This newly developed ENSs could improve low-temperature automobile exhaust treatment. Precious metals have been used for various heterogeneous reactions, but it is crucial to... Read more →

The Volkswagen Group has acquired a minority stake in the technology development company FDTech GmbH. The company, which has its headquarters in Chemnitz and was established in 2017, currently employs about 30 experts and develops algorithms for systems in the field of automated and autonomous driving with a focus on... Read more →

Imperial said that it plans to apply advanced technologies and improvements in efficiency to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions intensity of its operated oil sands facilities. The application of next-generation oil recovery technology at Imperial’s Cold Lake in-situ operations; improvements in reliability at its Kearl mining facility; and continuous improvements... Read more →

Tydrolyte LLC is introducing a patent-pending electrolyte solution for automotive, motive, and stationary storage lead-acid battery manufacturers. Tydrolyte is a less toxic drop-in replacement for sulfuric acid in lead batteries. The global lead battery market is expected to reach $84.46 billion by 2025 according market research firm Grand View Research.... Read more →

The California Assembly has passed Senate Bill 100—a bill to move California to 100% renewable and zero-carbon energy by 2045. This bill—known as The 100 Percent Clean Energy Act of 2018—increases the Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) requirement from 50% by 2030 to 60% and creates the policy of planning to... Read more →

S&W Seed Company announced the integration of proprietary sorghum germplasm in the US and Brazil that it previously acquired from NexSteppe, Inc. The NexSteppe germplasm, which S&W acquired in April 2018, is a scalable, reliable and sustainable feedstock solution for the forage, grain, biofuels, biopower and bio-based product industries. Integration... Read more →

PRIME Coalition, a 501(c)(3) public charity funding tech start-ups that fight climate change, closed three new investments: Opus 12 in Berkeley, CA; Mallinda in Denver, CO; and Lilac Solutions in Oakland, CA. With these investments, PRIME has now funded nine start-up companies through 11 financing rounds mobilizing more than $17... Read more →

Ford employees are now using cameras mounted on drones to safely and efficiently inspect high-rise gantries, pipework and roof areas at the company’s Dagenham Engine Plant in the UK. Previously, the team carried out this necessary maintenance work by using automated extendable platforms and scaffolding to check 40-meter-long gantries that... Read more →

A rebate project to increase public access to high-powered charging stations for plug-in electric vehicles (EVs) throughout Southern California launched this week in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Up to $29 million is now available through the Southern California Incentive Project (SCIP) to install charging stations in... Read more →

Eberspaecher Exhaust Technology International GmbH and China Yuchai International Limited will form a joint venture company: Eberspaecher Yuchai Exhaust Technology. The JV Company will produce and sell exhaust emission control systems for Chinese commercial vehicles to meet the highest domestic emission standard, China National 6. The new exhaust emission control... Read more →

Westport Fuel Systems Inc. has entered into definitive development and supply agreements with Weichai Westport Inc. (WWI) to develop, to market, and to commercialize a heavy-duty, natural gas engine featuring the Westport HPDI 2.0 technology, based on one of Weichai Power Co., Ltd.’s (Weichai Power) heavy-duty engine platforms. Weichai Power... Read more →

Alternative-fuel technology company ROUSH CleanTech has developed the first available propane autogas engine certified to California Air Resources Board’s (CARB’s) optional low oxides of nitrogen emissions standard for heavy-duty engines with 0.02 grams per brake horsepower-hour (g/bhp-hr). (Earlier post.) The engine is 90% cleaner than the current Environmental Protection Agency’s... Read more →

Ryze Renewables announced that construction is underway for two renewable diesel production facilities in Nevada. Once operational, these plants will manufacture high-cetane (80+) renewable diesel fuel from agricultural oils and animal fats, using a patented catalytic hydrogenation technology that the company says is more efficient than current conversion processes. Ryze... Read more →

Wind River, a provider of IoT software for safety-critical domains including automotive, announced collaboration plans with Hyundai Autron to develop a software framework for safe, automated and autonomous driving leveraging intellectual property from Wind River’s automotive software portfolio and the HYUNDAI AUTRON ODIN product offering. Using IP from both companies,... Read more →

Researchers from China and the US have found that long-term exposure to air pollution impedes cognitive performance in verbal and math tests. In a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), they report that the effect of air pollution on verbal tests becomes more pronounced as... Read more →

Singapore-based Grab, a provider of on-demand transportation and a mobile payments platform, and SP Group (SP) announced a strategic partnership in which Grab will bring in 200 new fast-charging electric vehicles (EVs) and use SP’s fast-charging network. In January, Grab and Hyundai announced a strategic partnership focused on new opportunities... Read more →

Adding to the list of health issues associated with PM2.5 pollution, new open-access research published in PLOS ONE suggests that PM2.5 is connected with chronic kidney disease (CKD), which occurs when a person’s kidneys become damaged or cannot filter blood properly. Similar to smoking, air pollution contains harmful toxins that... Read more →

Seed oil components of an ornamental flower could provide a direct pathway for designing a new class of environmentally friendly lubricants. Researchers at the School of Science at IUPUI (Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis) identified the compound in the seed oil of the Orychophragmus violaceus, which is produced in a manner... Read more →

Rajesh Shende, Ph.D., associate professor in the chemical and biological engineering department at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology has received a $2.16-million grant from the Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office to research and demonstrate cost-effective ways to turn waste from biorefineries, such as ethanol plants, into... Read more →

Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) and Uber Technologies, Inc. (Uber) have agreed to expand their collaboration with the aim of advancing and bringing to market autonomous ride-sharing as a mobility service at scale. To accomplish this, technology from each company will be integrated into purpose-built Toyota vehicles to be deployed on... Read more →

Only 12-30% of the energy put into a conventional car is used to move the car down the road, according to the US Department of Energy (DOE). The rest of the energy is lost to engine inefficiencies or used to power accessories. Source: US Department of Energy and US Environmental... Read more →

Aisin Seiki Co. and Denso Corporation have reached a basic agreement to establish a new joint venture company to develop and sell electrification driving modules. The company will be capitalized with the participation ratio of Aisin 50% and Denso 50%. The two companies also reached a basic agreement with JTEKT... Read more →

Boeing successfully completed the first suite of synchronized unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flight tests using new on-board autonomous command and control technology developed by Boeing in Australia. Conducted at a regional Queensland airfield, the test flights saw five UAV test beds equipped with Boeing’s new on-board system safely complete in-air... Read more →

CHAdeMO Association and the China Electricity Council (CEC) will jointly develop a next generation Ultra-Fast charging standard. CEC is China’s official association of utilities in charge of their national regulations and standards related to electricity. The two entities will sign a Memorandum of Understanding on 28 August in Beijing to... Read more →

The Nissan Sylphy Zero Emission, the first Nissan electric car made for China (earlier post), has begun rolling off the production line. The start of production by Dongfeng Nissan Passenger Vehicle Co. (Dongfeng Nissan), Nissan’s joint venture with Dongfeng Motor Group Co., Ltd., coincides with another milestone—the companies have built... Read more →

Brazil-based Ambev Brewery, owner of brands such as Skol, Brahma, Antarctica and Guaraná, announced that by 2023, it will use 1,600 electric trucks made by Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus (VWCO) to transport beverages. With the partnership, about 35% of the fleet serving the brewery will consist of clean energy-powered vehicles,... Read more →

To reinforce its competitiveness in core technologies of future vehicles, Hyundai Mobis is investing 8 billion won (US$7.2 million) in StradVision, a Korean startup, which possesses deep learning-based camera image detection technology. With this investment, Hyundai Mobis aims to work with StradVision for developing advanced camera detection technology required to... Read more →

The use of lithium metal as an anode offers a range of benefits for those seeking rechargeable high-energy density systems: ultrahigh theoretical capacity (3860 mAh g−1); low density (0.59 g cm−3); and the most negative electrochemical potential (−3.040 V vs standard hydrogen electrode). However, viable application has been hampered by... Read more →

Asahi Kasei and its subsidiary Asahi Kasei Engineering Corp. have received an order from Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corp. for a 10 MW alkaline water electrolysis system in a single unit to be installed at the Fukushima Hydrogen Research Field in Namie, Futaba, Fukushima, Japan. Development of the large-scale... Read more →

ABS has confirmed the successful conversion of a slow-speed marine diesel engine to operate on ethane as a fuel. Navigator Gas, in partnership with Charterer Borealis, engine manufacturer MAN Energy Solutions, cargo system and fuel gas supply system supplier TGE and ABS, completed the successful conversion of the Navigator Aurora’s... Read more →

Three of the marine sector’s major technology companies—WinGD, Wärtsilä and GTT—will collaborate in making the use of LNG (liquified natural gas) fuel a viable option for ship owners and operators. By combining their expertise and experience, the three companies deliver an effective, streamlined approach for achieving compliance with environmental legislation.... Read more →

Chemists from the University of Waterloo have successfully resolved two of the most challenging issues surrounding lithium-oxygen batteries, and in the process created a working battery with near 100% coulombic efficiency. The new work, published in Science, shows that four-electron conversion for lithium-oxygen electrochemistry is highly reversible. The Waterloo team... Read more →