Volkswagen has been testing the newly developed R33 BlueDiesel fuel blend at its in-house filling station in Wolfsburg since January 2018. The fuel, jointly developed by Volkswagen, the Coburg University and other project partners, contains up to 33% renewable components based exclusively on residual and waste materials and enables CO2... Read more →

A team at the University of Stirling in the UK has found new evidence of the link between air pollution and cancer as part of a new occupational health study. The team analyzed the case of a woman who developed breast cancer after spending 20 years working as a border... Read more →

Researchers at Australia’s have developed less expensive and more efficient catalysts for producing hydrogen from water-splitting. In a paper in Advanced Functional Materials, they reported introducing a low concentration of gold into Co(OH)2 followed by electrodeposition of Ni(OH)2 to yield a Co(OH)2‐Au‐Ni(OH)2 composite active in overall water splitting. This material... Read more →

E-bikes have often been optimized more with regard to costs and less with regard to best possible power delivery. Compared to other electrically powered vehicles, pedelecs therefore often perform poorly in terms of efficiency and range. Researchers at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) now want to improve e-bikes and have... Read more →

In Tokyo, Nissan unveiled the new Nissan LEAF NISMO RC, an electric race car with more than double the maximum power and torque output of its predecessor. The car, which was developed by Nissan’s racing arm, NISMO, with its race technology know-how, will officially debut on 2 December at the... Read more →

ChargePoint, the leading electric vehicle (EV) charging network, secured $240 million in Series H funding, the largest in its history. The investors reflect a diverse set of participants, from early market to institutional investors across the energy, financial, venture capital, oil and gas, utility, manufacturing, technology and automotive sectors. The... Read more →

Jeep unveiled the 2020 Jeep Gladiator pickup at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The Gladiator features Command-Trac and Rock-Trac 4x4 systems, third-generation Dana 44 axles, Tru-Lock electric front- and rear-axle lockers, Trac-Lok limited-slip differential, segment-exclusive electronic sway-bar disconnect and 33-inch off-road tires. Gladiator will offer two powertrains: a 3.6-liter Pentastar... Read more →

Volkswagen and Tesco are developing the largest UK retail electric vehicle (EV) charging network, powered by Pod Point. The partners will roll out more than 2,400 EV charging bays across 600 Tesco stores within the next three years. The charging bays will be based in Tesco Extra and Superstore car... Read more →

California is not on track to meet the greenhouse gas reductions expected under SB 375 for 2020, with emissions from statewide passenger vehicle travel per capita increasing and going in the wrong direction, according to a new report published by the California Air Resources Board (ARB). While overall, California has... Read more →

Rolls-Royce is introducing its new B36:45 medium-speed gas engines; the units feature up to 50% efficiency and low fuel consumption and emissions levels. Since Rolls-Royce delivered its first medium-speed gas engine in 1991, the Bergen engines have logged millions of operating hours in a broad range of applications in both... Read more →

Rivian, an electric vehicle manufacturer, unveiled two “Electric Adventure Vehicles”—the R1T, an all-electric pickup and the R1S, an all-electric SUV—at events surrounding the LA Auto Show this week. The R1T, a 5-passenger pickup truck, made its debut at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles on 26 November and the R1S,... Read more →

As part of a cross-industry initiative, the BMW Group, BASF SE, Samsung SDI and Samsung Electronics have launched a joint cobalt pilot project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A contract to this effect between the companies, together with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, will aim... Read more →

Project partners thyssenkrupp System Engineering GmbH, IAV GmbH, Daimler AG and the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems IKTS are developing bipolar Li-ion batteries and processes for their fabrication in the EMBATT-goes-FAB project sponsored by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. With the EMBATT battery, the... Read more →

The 2019 Kia Niro EV made its North American debut at the LA Auto Show. Energy and power for Niro EV comes from a liquid-cooled 64 kWh lithium-ion polymer battery packaged under the floor of the vehicle to allow for minimal passenger space intrusion. Combined Charging System (CCS) DC fast-charge... Read more →

Audi is presenting the battery-electric e-tron GT concept four-door coupé as a show car at the Los Angeles Auto Show. A volume-production counterpart is set to follow in around two years. The e-tron GT is Audi’s third electric vehicle, following the Audi e-tron SUV and the Audi e-tron Sportback slated... Read more →

Webasto, global systems partner to almost all automotive manufacturers, and Wanxiang A123, manufacturer of lithium-ion power batteries headquartered in Hangzhou, signed a strategic agreement enabling a long-term strategic cooperation between both companies using the combined know-how and expertise of both partners. A first joint project is the development and production... Read more →

The BMW Group unveiled the BMW Vision iNEXT concept at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The BMW Vision iNEXT represents a building block for the future of the BMW Group, encompassing technology, design and new ways of thinking that are set to filter through across the company and its brands.... Read more →

Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA) unveiled the e-Evolution Concept vehicle at the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show, marking the vehicle’s North American debut. A technical prototype, the e-Evolution Concept incorporates the strengths of a sport utility vehicle (SUV), electric vehicle (EV), and the ability to integrate new systems for... Read more →

Researchers from KAUST’s Clean Combustion Research Centerin Saudi Arabia, with colleagues at the University of Miskolc in Hungary, have found that glycerol carbonate produced from the crude glycerol byproduct of biodiesel production has great potential for enabling cleaner combustion as a fuel additive. Crude glycerol of about 10–20% by volume... Read more →

Kia Motors unveiled the new Soul EV, a completely new iteration of Kia’s award-winning electric compact crossover, at the LA Auto Show. The new Soul EV has a new liquid-cooled lithium-ion polymer 64 kWh battery pack with Combined Charging System (CCS) DC fast-charge as standard equipment. The Soul EV is... Read more →

BMW Group Thailand is localizing high voltage battery production—which comprises production of the battery modules and the battery itself—from 2019 onward at a new production facility located in WHA Chonburi Industrial Estate 2. In partnership with the Dräxlmaier Group, one of the world’s leading automotive suppliers and a strong systems... Read more →

Spain-based SEAT, a member of the Volkswagen Group, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Volkswagen Group China and Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group Corp., Ltd (JAC) to advance e-mobility in China. Under the agreement, all parties will leverage their technology and product strengths to develop a battery electric vehicle platform for... Read more →

Toyota is offering a new electric all-wheel drive system (AWD-e) on the facelifted 2019 Prius. Toyota projects fuel economy of 52 mpg city / 48 mpg highway / 50 mpg combined for the AWD-e model, and estimates that the AWD-e model—which is debuting at the LA Auto Show—could account for... Read more →

In Japan, Mazda Motor Corporation hosted the world premiere of the all-new Mazda3. The fully redesigned model will be rolled out to global markets starting from North America in early 2019. The all-new Mazda3 will be on display at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The all-new Mazda3 adopts Mazda’s new... Read more →

Toyota is introducing the Corolla Hybrid to the US market at the LA Auto Show. (Earlier post.) The new hybrid version of Toyota’s all-time best-selling car series achieves at least 50 mpg (4.7 l/100 km) combined fuel economy (projected). That makes the 2020 Corolla Hybrid the most fuel-efficient model to... Read more →

Working with Fermata Energy, a vehicle-to-grid (V2G) systems company, Nissan North America is launching a new pilot program under the Nissan Energy Share initiative which leverages bi‑directional EV charging technology to partially power its North American headquarters in Franklin, TN, and its design center in San Diego, CA. Bi-directional charging... Read more →

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have utilized a series of simulations to model the performance of twin-engine hybrid-electric general-aviation propulsion systems. Their paper appears in the Journal of Aircraft. They created a flight-performance simulator to represent accurately the true flight performance of a Tecnam P2006T on a... Read more →

Flattening year-over-year growth in gasoline demand in the United States, combined with high levels of refinery output, have contributed to low or negative motor gasoline refining margins for refiners along the East and Gulf Coasts, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). Gasoline refining margins—the difference between the spot... Read more →

Johnson Controls Power Solutions and Toshiba Infrastructure Systems & Solutions Corporation have partnered to deliver low-voltage lithium-ion solutions to meet automaker demands for improved efficiency, lower costs and less complexity. Under the agreement, Johnson Controls will collaborate with Toshiba to develop and manufacture lithium-ion batteries at its Holland, MI, plant... Read more →

Volvo Cars and Luminar, a leading start-up in the development of core sensing technology for autonomous vehicles, are demonstrating the most advanced LiDAR sensor and perception capabilities to date at this year’s Automobility LA trade show in Los Angeles. The ongoing development of LiDAR technology, which uses pulsed laser signals... Read more →

Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin are proposing a novel approach to suppress the “polysulfide shuttle” in Li-S batteries—a freestanding, three-dimensional graphene/1T MoS2 (3DG/TM) heterostructure with highly efficient electrocatalysis for lithium polysulfides (LiPSs). Cells with 3DG/TM exhibit outstanding electrochemical performance, with a high reversible discharge capacity of 1181... Read more →

The Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has reached its operational power design level by running a neutron production cycle at 1.4 megawatts. (Earlier post.) Higher power provides more neutrons for researchers who use the facility to study a wide range of materials. The achievement marks a new... Read more →

Global Bioenergies has received 13 letters of intent from French and international industrial leaders for purchases totaling 49,000 to 64,000 tons of isobutene and derivatives annually. This covers the total production capacity of the planned IBN-One plant, a joint venture with Cristal Union, the fourth-largest sugar producer in Europe. The... Read more →

Audi, Airbus and Italdesign are presenting for the first time a flying and driving prototype of “Pop.Up Next”. This innovative concept for a flying taxi combines a self-driving electric car with a passenger drone. In the first public test flight, the flight module accurately placed a passenger capsule on the... Read more →

NuScale Power signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Bruce Power L.P., Canada’s first private nuclear generator, to develop a business case to introduce NuScale’s small modular reactor (SMR) technology to the Canadian market. Through the agreement, Bruce Power will support evaluation, planning and licensing activities. This will include studies... Read more →

At the Los Angeles Auto Show, Volkswagen is showcasing two electric concepts. The I.D. BUZZ CARGO,in its auto show debut, is an electric panel van concept based on the MEB toolkit that offers up to 340 miles of range on the WLTP cycle. The electric Cargo e-Bike concept, in its... Read more →

In a referendum, the Taiwanese people voted against the government’s policy to phase out the use of nuclear energy by 2025. The referendum proposal (Case 16) asked if voters agreed to repeal Article 95 paragraph 1 of The Electricity Act: “The nuclear-energy-based power-generating facilities shall wholly stop running by 2025”?... Read more →

Steel Dynamics, Inc. will construct a new state-of-the-art, electric-arc-furnace (EAF) flat roll steel mill in the United States. The facility is anticipated to have an annual production capacity of approximately 3.0 million tons with the capability to produce the latest generation of Advanced High Strength Steel products. The project will... Read more →

Progress on increasing the use of renewable energy and improving energy efficiency is slowing across the European Union, putting at risk the EU’s ability to achieve its energy and emissions reduction targets. Rising energy consumption, particularly in the transport sector, is to blame for the slowdown, according to preliminary data... Read more →

Genovation Cars Inc., will present the GXE electric supercar at the LA Auto Show. Designed, developed and produced in the US, the GXE employs state-of-the-art batteries, inverters and electric twin motors, producing more than 800 horsepower and more than 700 lb-ft (949 N·m) of torque. Genovation Cars currently holds the... Read more →

General Motors on Monday outlined a series of major restructuring steps that it said would accelerate its transformation for the future, building on the strategy it laid out in 2015 to strengthen its core business, to capitalize on the future of personal mobility and to drive significant cost efficiencies. These... Read more →

More than 20,000 hydrogen fuel cell forklifts are now in warehouses, stores, and/or manufacturing facilities throughout the United States, according to the US Department of Energy (DOE). Hydrogen-powered forklifts offer refueling in minutes, increased performance, and zero emissions for use within warehouses and buildings. Photo credit: BMW Manufacturing Read more →

Air Liquide expects to invest more than US$150 million to build a liquid hydrogen plant in the western United States, with construction to begin in early 2019. Further, Air Liquide has signed a long-term agreement with FirstElement Fuel Inc (FEF), a leader in retail hydrogen infrastructure in the US, to... Read more →

As of October 2018, one million plug-in vehicles (PEV) have been sold in the United States, according to the US Department of Energy (DOE). PEV sales began in December 2010 with sales of the Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt. Other PEV models followed, but PEV sales remained below 5,000 per... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) will award approximately $18 million to eleven domestic advanced nuclear technology projects; project values total $25 million. The projects are cost-shared and will allow industry-led teams, including participants from federal agencies, public and private laboratories, institutions of higher education, and other domestic entities, to... Read more →

DENSO Corporation has taken a stake in Infineon Technologies AG, one of top manufacturer of in-vehicle semiconductor products, to accelerate the development of technology to achieve next-generation vehicle systems such as automated driving. With the investment, Infineon Technologies’ advanced semiconductor technologies will be combined with DENSO’s in-vehicle technologies and expertise... Read more →

by Michael Sivak. This analysis examines the recent changes in the percentage of people who work at home and changes in time spent commuting to work in the United States and in the 15 largest US cities. The source of the data is the American Community Survey—an ongoing survey by... Read more →

Henkel and RLE International will form a strategic alliance focused on becoming the premier design-in engineering solution provider for the mobility industry. Automotive megatrends and future mobility concepts driven by increasing environmental legislation, e-mobility and autonomous driving are shaping the engineering challenges of the industry: New architecture designs and solutions... Read more →

FreeWire Technologies, a developer of flexible electric vehicle (EV) charging technology, has received funding from the UK Office for Low Emission Vehicles and Innovate UK to participate in the Wireless Electric Vehicle Charging for Commercial Users competition. Supported by international energy and services company Centrica plc and delivered in partnership... Read more →

AVL List GmbH and Comau SpA, a leading company in industrial automation products and systems, have joined forces to offer innovative, modular and flexible solutions for electric and hybrid vehicle manufacturing. AVL and Comau have been cooperating since the beginning of the year on simulation, design, assembly and testing of... Read more →