A large-scale study has found that high levels of air pollution adversely effect ovarian reserve—a term widely adopted to reflect the number of resting follicles in the ovary and thus a marker of potential female fertility. Results from the Ovarian Reserve and Exposure to Environmental Pollutants (ORExPo study), a real-world... Read more →

Foresight Autonomous Holdings Ltd., a developer of automotive vision systems, has signed a multi-phase technological cooperation agreement with a Chinese Tier One supplier to develop smart mobility solutions for the Chinese automotive industry, and specifically for two Chinese vehicle manufacturers (OEMs). According to the agreement, Foresight will collaborate with the... Read more →

Bloom Energy, a developer of solid oxide fuel cell power generators, announced the ability of its Energy Servers to operate on renewable hydrogen. Current Bloom Energy Servers generate electricity using natural gas or biogas as fuel. At peak times, some US states and countries already have more renewable power than... Read more →

Cummins Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire, through a wholly-owned subsidiary, all the issued and outstanding shares of fuel-cell systems provider Hydrogenics Corporation for US$15.00 per share in cash, other than shares already owned by The Hydrogen Company, representing an enterprise value of approximately $290 million. Following... Read more →

As of 1 July 2019, the Volkswagen Group will introduce a worldwide Sustainability Rating for its suppliers. This will enable the company to assess the sustainability conduct of its business partners in its supply chain with regard to risks relating to human rights, environmental protection and corruption. We are convinced... Read more →

The state of Virginia will allocate more than $12 million in state funding to deploy electric transit buses in three Virginia localities, using nearly $9 million from the Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust (VW Trust) that the Commonwealth received as part of its settlement with Volkswagen. In total, 17 electric buses... Read more →

The Keeling Curve Prize (KCP) has selected 10 winners for 2019, among them Opus 12 (Berkeley, California) which is developing a device that recycles CO₂ into cost-competitive chemicals and fuels. (Earlier post.) The Opus 12 process—based on the electrochemical reduction of CO2—combines CO₂, water and electricity to produce higher-energy carbon-based... Read more →

The average age of light vehicles in operation (VIO) in the US has risen again this year to 11.8 years, according to new research from business information provider IHS Markit. This acceleration of average age can easily be seen when looking across the last 17 years. From 2002-2007, the average... Read more →

Volkswagen is entering the growing car sharing sector with the launch of WeShare in Berlin today. With 1,500 e-Golf vehicles, the Volkswagen brand is bringing onto the roads a 100% electric fleet; all the vehicles will be operated on green power. The e-Golfs will be followed by 500 additional e-up!... Read more →

Three years after embarking upon rigorous evaluation of a pool of more than 400 candidates (earlier post), researchers with the US Department of Energy (DOE) Co-Optimization of Fuels & Engines (Co-Optima) initiative have identified the six blendstocks—di-isobutylene, ethanol, fusel alcohol blend, isobutanol, isopropanol, and n-propanol—that exhibit the greatest potential to... Read more →

ExxonMobil and Global Thermostat signed a joint development agreement to advance technology that can capture and concentrate carbon dioxide emissions from industrial sources, including power plants, and the atmosphere. The companies will evaluate the potential scalability of Global Thermostat’s carbon capture technology for large industrial use. If technical readiness and... Read more →

Highview Power has developed a modular cryogenic energy storage system—the CRYOBattery—that is scalable up to multiple gigawatts of energy storage and can be located anywhere. This technology reaches a new benchmark for a levelized cost of storage (LCOS) of $140/MWh for a 10-hour, 200 MW/2 GWh system. Highview Power says... Read more →

Mobility services company MONET Technologies Inc. has concluded capital and business partnership agreements with Isuzu Motors Limited , Suzuki Motor Corporation, Subaru Corporation, Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd. and Mazda Motor Corporation (“Mazda”), respectively. Isuzu, Suzuki, Subaru, Daihatsu and Mazda each plan to invest in MONET by August 2019 and acquire... Read more →

Alliance Ventures, the strategic venture capital arm of Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi, has invested in The Mobility House, a technology company that provides a platform for integrating vehicle batteries into power grids using intelligent charging, energy and storage solutions. That investment is the latest by Alliance Ventures in start-up, early-stage development and entrepreneurs... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board (ARB) approved a rule that will require fixed route airport shuttles serving the state’s 13 largest airports to transition to 100% zero-emission vehicles by 2035. The regulation applies to public and private fleets, including parking facilities, rental car agencies and hotels. With almost 1,000 airport... Read more →

At the second-annual Climate Mayors Summit in Honolulu, Hawaii, 127 cities and 15 counties from across 38 states joined the Climate Mayors Electric Vehicle Purchasing Collaborative, and committed to purchasing more than 2,100 electric vehicles by the end of 2020. The Collaborative also announced plans to place a competitive bid... Read more →

The benefits of living in a walkable neighborhood could be diminished by increased exposure to traffic-related air pollution, suggests a study led by St. Michael’s Hospital in Canada and ICES, a non-profit research institute that uses population-based health information to produce knowledge on a broad range of health care issues.... Read more →

Boeing and start-up Kitty Hawk Corporation have entered a strategic partnership to collaborate on future efforts to advance safe urban air mobility. The strategic partnership will bring together the innovation of Kitty Hawk’s Cora air taxi division with Boeing’s scale and aerospace expertise. Cora is an electric, autonomous fully fledged... Read more →

The Artois-Gohelle transport authority (SMT-AG) has inaugurated France’s first refueling station for hydrogen buses. The entire clean hydrogen production, storage and distribution chain is equipped with McPhy technologies. The SMT-AG has attributed to ENGIE, via its subsidiary GNVERT, the design, supply, installation and maintenance of the Houdain-Divion hydrogen gas distribution... Read more →

The US Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy (FE) has selected 12 projects to receive approximately $44.5 million in federal funding for cost-shared research and development (R&D) under funding opportunity announcement DE-FOA-0001990, Advanced Technologies for Recovery of Unconventional Oil & Gas Resources. In 2018, crude oil and natural gas... Read more →

Germany-based AKASOL, a manufacturer of high-performance lithium-ion battery systems for commercial vehicles, plans to open a production facility in the metro Detroit area of Michigan. Opening dedicated operations in North America comes in response to specific demand for the firm’s high energy battery modules from major international manufacturers and will... Read more →

The Government of Canada is investing $275 million to support LNG Canada’s major liquefied natural gas (LNG) complex in Kitimat, British Columbia. This $40-billion project represents the largest single private sector investment in the history of the country. The federal investment will include $220 million to help fund highly energy-efficient... Read more →

Saudi Aramco and Air Products recently inaugurated the first hydrogen fueling station in Saudi Arabia at Air Products’ new Technology Center in the Dhahran Techno Valley Science Park. The pilot station will fuel an initial fleet of six Toyota Mirai fuel cell electric vehicles with high-purity compressed hydrogen. This pilot... Read more →

Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna, and the Chair of the California Air Resources Board, Mary Nichols, today signed a new cooperation agreement to advance cleaner vehicles and fuels. The transportation sector is the source of nearly a quarter of Canada’s carbon emissions and more than 40%... Read more →

Hyundai Motor Company signeda memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco). The MOU provides a framework to accelerate expansion of a hydrogen ecosystem in the Korean and Saudi Arabian markets, and to explore the use of advanced non-metallic materials in various fields including the automotive industry.... Read more →

Global Bioenergies closed its capital increase, launched on 20 June 2019 and conducted through a public offer without preferential subscription rights and without priority subscription period for shareholders, for a total amount (issue premium included) of approximately €17 million (US$19.2 million). The company will use the funds to: complete the... Read more →

Saudi Aramco and its affiliates signed 12 agreements with major South Korean companies to reinforce relationships with South Korea, expand international operations, and support the region’s energy security with the expansion of Arabian crude oil supply to Asian markets. Among these agreements is a partnership with Hyundai Motor on hydrogen.... Read more →

Scientists from the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University have taken the first images of carbon dioxide molecules within a molecular cage—part of a metal-organic framework (MOF), with great potential for separating and storing gases and liquids. Cryo-EM (cryogenic electron microscopy) images show a slice through... Read more →

thyssenkrupp has made the investment decision to build a new auto components plant in Hungary. A new production facility for components is to be built in Pécs in the southwest of the country. The investment is worth around €50 million. The site will make highly efficient valve train parts and... Read more →

Audi’s updated Q7 SUV will have the company’s 48V mild-hybrid system (MHEV) as standard. In customer operation, this technology can reduce consumption by up to 0.7 liters per 100 kilometers. Its central component, the belt alternator starter (BAS), powers a 48-volt main electrical system in which a compact lithium-ion battery... Read more →

BYD has expanded its North American operations with the opening of its first bus assembly plant in Canada. The 45,000-square-foot facility in Newmarket is the first new electric bus plant to open in Ontario in a generation. While the Newmarket facility is BYD’s first Canadian assembly plant, the company is... Read more →

Voltaiq, a developer of advanced battery analytics solutions, has released, in partnership with Total Battery Consulting, an industry survey examining many of the challenges and opportunities battery manufacturers, suppliers and integrators currently face. The global battery industry is facing unprecedented growth and change. Over the next decade, as we continue... Read more →

Fairfax County, Virginia, and Dominion Energy are partnering on an autonomous electric shuttle pilot tentatively planned for the Merrifield area in Fairfax County. Last week, the demonstration project moved a step closer to implementation with the award of a grant from the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (VDRPT)... Read more →

The City of Arcadia, California and Connected Signals, Inc. are introducing new smart signal priority systems for the city’s mass transit system. The program integrates Arcadia’s existing systems with Connected Signals’ patent-pending vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) technology to improve mobility. The technology reduces traffic signal delays, and uses artificial intelligence to anticipate... Read more →

Efacec was chosen by Allego to supply and install 90 ultra-fast chargers in the Central Europe region over the next two years. This contract is part of the project that is being developed by a consortium, led by Allego, which aims to create an ultra-fast charging network in Europe. The... Read more →

Volvo Active Driver Assist (VADA) 2.0, a comprehensive collision mitigation system, will be made standard in the new Volvo VNR and VNL models, and available on VNX models, later this year. The system enhances the original VADA platform by integrating radar and camera capabilities to help drivers maintain a safe... Read more →

Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA), the fastest-growing Asian brand in the US for the second consecutive year, will relocate its headquarters from Cypress, California, to Franklin, Tennessee, a suburb of Nashville. The move is part of an ongoing plan to reinvent every aspect of Mitsubishi Motors in the US,... Read more →

In the next several months, Hyundai dealers in the US that subscribe to CDK Global’s Hailer service can offer Hyundai owners easy access to Lyft rides while their vehicles are being serviced. The Lyft rides can either be offered free of charge or at a cost that can be automatically... Read more →

The BMW Group is accelerating its electromobility expansion program, with the 25 electrified models to be introduced by 2023, two years earlier than the initial 2025 target. With flexible vehicle architectures for fully-electric, plug-in hybrid and combustion engine drive trains, the company is able to respond quickly to changing conditions.... Read more →

According to provisional data published by the European Environment Agency (EEA), the average CO2 emissions from new passenger cars registered in the European Union (EU) in 2018 increased for the second consecutive year, reaching 120.4 grams of CO2 per kilometer. For the first time, the average CO2 emissions from new... Read more →

In parallel with the advancing electrification of its fleet, Volkswagen Group and its brands continue to rely on CNG (compressed natural gas) as an alternative drive technology for decarbonizing road transport; Volkswagen Group[ has revised and expanded its product range again with this in mind. Volkswagen Group currently offers the... Read more →

SLD Laser, a company commercializing visible laser-based light sources and blue laser products, has demonstrated ultra-compact, high-power, high-brightness, fiber-coupled blue laser modules for materials processing applications including copper welding for battery production for electric vehicles and consumer electronic devices, as well as 3D printing. SLD’s blue laser light modules feature... Read more →

Registrations of pure electric, plug-in hybrid and hybrid cars totalled 94,000 units in 18 European markets in May 2019, counting for 7.1% of the total volume, up from 5.3% in May 2018, according to figures from JATO Dynamics. The majority of registrations came from hybrid vehicles, but the growth was... Read more →

FCA launched Uconnect Market, a new in-vehicle commerce platform that gives customers the opportunity to order food, find the nearest gas station, save money on fuel purchases and make dinner reservations, all from their vehicles. With the new platform, FCA owners will be able to order (and pay for) food... Read more →

In 2012, less than one percent of all cars and light-duty trucks were produced with a non-hybrid stop/start system. Through 2015, cars had the greatest share of stop/start systems installed. After 2015, the greatest share of start/stop systems was installed on light-duty trucks, rising to 35.7% of all light-duty trucks... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced $13 million in funding for 27 projects in atmospheric sciences in an effort to improve models for predicting weather and climate. Through analysis of extensive observational data, projects aim to deepen understanding of the complex processes of cloud formation and dynamics and their... Read more →

Boeing announced a US$1-million investment in Brazil’s efforts to establish a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) industry. The investment will focus on initiatives that maximize social, economic and environmental benefits to local communities engaged in the development of feedstock that can be used to produce sustainable aviation fuel. In 2018, the... Read more →

A team at S. Korea’s KAIST has engineered an oleaginous bacterium, Rhodococcus opacus, to produce fatty acids (FFAs), fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEEs) and long-chain hydrocarbons (LCHCs). A paper on their work is published in the journal Nature Chemical Biology. Culture conditions were optimized to produce 82.9 g l−1 of triacylglycerols from... Read more →

A new study published in Nature Communications by researchers from IIASA, Boston University, and the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice found that by mid-century, climate change will increase the demand for energy globally, even with modest warming. The world is dependent on energy both for human wellbeing and society’s continued... Read more →

UK Natural History Museum Head of Earth Sciences Prof Richard Herrington and fellow expert members of SoS MinErals (an interdisciplinary program of NERC-EPSRC-Newton-FAPESP funded research) recently wrote a letter to the UK Committee on Climate Change pointing out that meeting UK electric car targets for 2050 would require production of... Read more →