Quantum Corp. announced a new ruggedized, in-vehicle storage solution designed specifically for mobile and remote capture of video and other IoT sensor data. Quantum Mobile Storage products are available in different capacity and performance models and are designed for mobile environment such as autonomous vehicle development, where each vehicle produces... Read more →

Over the coming five years to the end of 2023, the Volkswagen Group will be spending almost €44 billion alone on the e-mobility, autonomous driving, new mobility services and digitalization in its vehicles and at its plants. This represents approximately one-third of total expenditure for the 2019-2023 planning period and... Read more →

A joint R&D team from Continental and EasyMile will commence work on solutions for driverless mobility in Singapore. Headquartered in Toulouse, EasyMile is a pioneer in the development of autonomous vehicle solutions. The new joint team’s work focus will be to develop new technology centered on perception and deep learning... Read more →

Schaeffler has begun volume production of transmissions for the electric drive in the Audi e-tron, marking a milestone for its E-Mobility business division. Developed and produced in plants in Herzogenaurach and Bühl, the product promises maximum driving pleasure while providing a high level of comfort and optimum noise performance. The... Read more →

The US Department of Energy announced $98 million in funding for 40 new projects as part of OPEN 2018, the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy’s (ARPA-E) latest open funding opportunity. OPEN solicitations are an open call to scientists and engineers for transformational technologies across the entire scope of ARPA-E’s energy mission.... Read more →

Israel-based AdaSky, pioneer in Far-Infrared technology (FIR) for autonomous vehicles, has secured $20 million from lead investor, Sungwoo Hitech Co., Ltd, a leading global automotive supplier. The investment is part of a larger round of funding, and will enable the company to expand globally. AdaSky’s solution, Viper, is an all-in-one,... Read more →

For the first time in the United States, Toyota will offer the Corolla in hybrid form. Details on the 2020 Corolla Hybrid for the US will be announced during Toyota’s press conference at the LA Auto Show in less than two weeks. Toyota unveiled new sedan models in the Corolla... Read more →

Luleå University of Technology has been granted funding by the Swedish Energy Agency for a preparatory study on the production of biojet fuel from Swedish forest–based residues. The goal is to test-fly the fuel on commercial flights in Sweden. The preliminary study will facilitate and risk minimize a first commercial... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board adopted a new emissions tracking program that will help regulators identify vehicles with excess smog-related and greenhouse gas emissions. Real Emissions Assessment Logging (REAL) is part of the amendments to the OBD (On-board Diagnostic) Regulations approved by the Board at Thursday’s hearing. OBD systems mainly... Read more →

Agilyx, developer of a process to convert waste plastics to fuels and chemicals, is collaborating with Monroe Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta Air Lines, to supply up to 2,500 barrels per day (bbl) of Agilyx’s synthetic feedstock. Agilyx derives the product, Agilyx Synthetic Crude Oil (ASCO), through a... Read more →

New Flyer of America Inc., a subsidiary of NFI Group Inc., the largest transit bus and motor coach manufacturer and parts distributor in North America, announced that New Flyer’s 60-foot articulated heavy-duty transit bus has become the first and only sixty-foot battery-electric bus to complete the Federal Transit Administration (FTA)... Read more →

The technology group Wärtsilä, Finland’s Lappeenranta University of Technology and Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD), have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the study of the development of a business case for the use of alternative fuels with Wärtsilä generating sets. The aim of the business case is to... Read more →

A team at Penn State has developed a three-dimensional, cross-linked polyethylenimine lithium-ion-affinity sponge as the lithium metal anode host to mitigate the problem of dendritic growth of the metal anode. A paper on their work is published in Nature Energy. Using metals as anodes in metal batteries is considered as... Read more →

The introduction of the low emission zone (LEZ) in London, UK, has only contributed to modest reductions in exposure to NOx from diesel vehicles, and these improvements appear to have little effect on the lung health of children, according to an open-access observational study published in the journal The Lancet... Read more →

The NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) will expand use of renewable diesel fuel, a 99% petroleum-free alternative to traditional diesel fuel. The fuel reduces CO2 emissions by 65% compared to the petroleum-based version. This move is part of the City’s efforts to phase out its use of regular... Read more →

Renewable diesel net supply to California’s fuel market has increased since the state’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) program went into effect in 2011, reaching 100 million gallons during the second quarter of 2018, or 10.1% of the total diesel supplied to California that quarter, according to the US Energy... Read more →

A team at the Clean Combustion Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia has shown that burning fuel at high pressure can significantly increase the size of the soot particles that are produced. A paper on their work is published in the Proceedings of... Read more →

Walmart and Ford are partnering on a pilot program in Miami-Dade County on the use of self-driving vehicles to deliver fresh groceries picked by Walmart personal shoppers to customers. Postmates is the delivery partner, and it already connected to Ford’s digital platform. Walmart recently ran a small pilot project with... Read more →

Daimler plans to build the Research and Development Tech Center China with a total investment of more than 1.1 billion RMB (approximately €145 million). This marks the further expansion of the company’s footprint in its single largest market and will be its second major R&D site in Beijing, following the... Read more →

Johnson Controls International plc will sell its Power Solutions business to Brookfield Business Partners L.P. together with institutional partners including Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec in a cash transaction valued at $13.2 billion. Johnson Controls has two main lines of business: Buildings and Power Solutions. After a strategic... Read more →

Following Zwickau, Volkswagen intends to change its plants at Emden and Hanover in Germany over to the production of electric vehicles. After Zwickau, Volkswagen is therefore establishing its second e-mobility center in Germany in Lower Saxony. At a works meeting held on Wednesday in Emden, HR Board Member Gunnar Kilian... Read more →

Neste has launched Neste MY Renewable Diesel for the Latvian transport market. It is produced from 100% renewable raw materials and enables up to 90% less greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventional fossil diesel. The product is available at the Neste filling station at 84 Ulmaņa gatves Street in Riga.... Read more →

Nissan’s e-POWER electrified powertrain (earlier post), available in the Serena minivan (earlier post), has been named Technology of the Year for 2019 by the Automotive Researchers’ and Journalists’ Conference of Japan (RJC). The Nissan Serena became the second model equipped with e-POWER in February 2018, following the Nissan Note e-POWER,... Read more →

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has launched the Cleaner Trucks Initiative (CTI) to further decrease NOx emissions from on-highway heavy-duty trucks and engines. The CTI will include a future rulemaking that will update the existing NOx standard which was last set in 2001 while also streamlining compliance and certification... Read more →

Ballard Power Systems has successfully closed a strategic collaboration transaction with Weichai Power Co., Ltd., initially announced in August. (Earlier post.) This strategic collaboration with Weichai—a leading automotive equipment manufacturer specializing in the production of powertrains, automobiles, intelligent logistics, automotive parts and components—underscores our high conviction in the opportunity for... Read more →

Engineering services provider FEV, and autonomous vehicle simulation solution provider Metamoto announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) under which FEV will provide technical expertise and support to help Metamoto integrate and onboard new customers onto the company’s scalable autonomous vehicle (AV) simulation offering, Simulation as a Service. Metamoto’s Simulation as... Read more →

The European Parliament approved binding 2030 target for renewables (32%) and an indicative target on energy efficiency (32.5%) that will play a crucial role in meeting the EU’s climate goals. Parliament on Tuesday confirmed the provisional agreement reached with the Council in June on energy efficiency (434 votes to 104... Read more →

The Finnish airport operator Finavia has decided to adopt Neste MY Renewable Diesel in its vehicles at Rovaniemi, Kuusamo, Ivalo and Kittilä airports. Neste MY Renewable Diesel is produced from waste and residues. The switch to renewable fuel is part of Finavia’s goal to make its airports carbon dioxide neutral... Read more →

AP&C—a GE Additive company— will begin production of aluminum alloy F357 powder in Q1 2019 with customer deliveries expected from April 2019. Aluminum F357 alloy is increasingly in demand from customers particularly from the aerospace and automotive sectors. It is known to have good weldability with high strength and toughness... Read more →

Chinese auto brand Zotye Automobile is partnering with HAAH Automotive Holdings to form a new sales and distribution company in the United States. The new company will be known as Zotye USA and headquartered in Lake Forest, California. Zotye Automobile International Co. designs, engineers, manufactures and sells the Zotye brand... Read more →

The European Parliament has backed plans for trucks to cut CO2 emissions by 2030. MEPs adopted a higher target (35%) than the European Commission (30%) for new trucks to reduce the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, with an intermediate target of 20% by 2025. Manufacturers will also have to... Read more →

The Country Hills Shopping Plaza in Torrance, California will be the site of the first DC fast charging station to open in the state as part of Electrify America’s plan to install approximately 160 charging stations in California by June 2019. Through its Cycle 1 California ZEV Investment Plan, Electrify... Read more →

Walmart.com will be offering a special Black Friday promotion for Accell’s premier electric vehicle charger (EVSE), the AxFAST Portable Electric Vehicle Charger Level 2. Regularly priced at $369.99, the AxFAST will be available at Walmart.com for $279.99 from 10-30 November and 10-30 December 2018. Supporting the SAE J1772 standard, Accell’s... Read more →

Alliance Ventures, the strategic venture capital arm of Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi, has invested in the latest round of funding in Enevate Corporation, an advanced lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery technology company based in Irvine, California. (Earlier post.) The investment reflects the capability of Enevate in advanced Li-ion batteries capable of extreme fast charging with... Read more →

The Volkswagen Group has selected South Korea-based battery manufacturer SK Innovation (SKI) as the fourth major supplier of battery cells for electric vehicles based on the Modular Electric Toolkit (MEB). SKI will supply the batteries for North America and a share of the batteries for the production of Volkswagen Group... Read more →

Mercedes-Benz has handed over the first GLC F-CELL (earlier post) vehicles to selected customers in the German market. The Mercedes-Benz GLC F-CELL (combined hydrogen consumption: 0.34 kg/100 km, combined CO2 emissions: 0 g/km, combined electrical consumption: 13.7 kWh/100 km) features both fuel cells and a battery drive which can be... Read more →

Renesas Electronics Corporation is expanding its strategic technology partnership with Mahindra & Mahindra, Ltd and Mahindra Racing, one of the ten founding teams competing in the ABB FIA Formula E Championship, for the 2018-19 season. The team is collaborating on system-level design upgrades featuring the Renesas RH850/E2x microcontroller (MCU), designed... Read more →

DuPont Industrial Biosciences (DuPont) and VERBIO North America Corporation (VNA), the US subsidiary of leading German bioenergy producer VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie AG (VERBIO), have reached terms for VNA to acquire DuPont’s Nevada, Iowa-based cellulosic ethanol plant and a portion of its corn stover inventory. Completion of the transaction is subject... Read more →

In Europe, Mercedes-Benz has added two variants of the OM654q diesel engine to the A-Class range: the A 200 d Sportand the A 220 d AMG Line. Mercedes-Benz introduced the 2.0-liter OM 654 in 2016 (earlier post). The “q” designates the presence of an extended exhaust aftertreatment with an additional... Read more →

Eaton will supply a TVS (Twin Vortices Series) air pump to manage airflow in the demonstration of the Achates Power two-stroke opposed-piston engine (OP Engine) at the upcoming Internal Combustion Engine Fall Technical Conference in San Diego. The Eaton device for the opposed piston two-stroke device is a scavenging pump,... Read more →

LG Innotek is introducing a C-V2X (Cellular-Vehicle To Everything) module based on LTE cellular communication. C-V2X technology is expected to overcome the limitation of self-driving cars that recognize the environment by relying on automotive sensors such as camera and radar. It is possible to recognize blind spots or unexpected situations... Read more →

BASF has introduced a product for the production of methanol on the basis of renewable raw materials according to the biomass balance approach. The product name is EU-REDcert-methanol. The company replaces fossil raw materials with second-generation renewable raw materials and uses waste as well as residual materials. As a result,... Read more →

On Wednesday, Audi will begin the first of eight recalls for cars with V TDI engines in Germany. Following approval by the Federal Office for Motor Traffic (KBA) the company will initially be recalling around 31,200 vehicles to the workshops. In total, around 151,000 midsize and full-size cars in Germany... Read more →

Leading global maritime technology company Kongsberg Maritime has selected Leclanché as its battery partner and supplier of customized marine energy storage solutions. The partnership contributes to Kongsberg’s new generation of hybrid power solutions, which are set to deliver efficiencies and to reduce the environmental impact of transportation with autonomous and... Read more →

Volkswagen of America, Inc. announced that its VW Car-Net mobile app added a new Apple mobile device feature, available now. The new feature includes two types of Siri commands for VW Car-Net to help owners interact with their vehicles. Available with iOS 12 on Apple devices, owners can now use... Read more →

In states with residential retail choice programs, customers can elect to purchase their electricity directly from their choice of energy suppliers, with the electricity delivered to them by their local utility. The number of customers participating in retail choice programs peaked at 17.2 million customers (13% of total residential customers)... Read more →

In a paper in the journal Progress in Energy and Combustion Science, Gautam Kalghatgi, newly retired from Saudi Aramco and a visiting professor at Imperial College London and Oxford; Howard Levinsky, Senior Principal Specialist in Combustion Processes at DNV GL Oil and Gas and Professor of Combustion Technology at the... Read more →

The Lancet’s Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD), first published more than 10 years ago, is the most comprehensive worldwide observational epidemiological study to date. It describes mortality and morbidity from major diseases, injuries and risk factors to health at global, national and regional levels. Since its inception, every new... Read more →

Researchers at the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) in South Korea have developed a new electrochemical system that fulfills two functions—seawater desalination and carbon dioxide air-capture—during the charge and discharge processes. The seawater desalination-carbon capture system utilizes a seawater battery platform, consisting of three major compartments (desalination,... Read more →

The first detailed analysis of air pollution trends in China reveals a 20% drop in concentrations of particulate pollution over the last three years (2015-2017). The open-access study is published in the journal Environmental Research Letters. A study by the University of Leeds examined measurements from more than 1,600 locations... Read more →