Hyosung and the Linde Group, a leading global provider of industrial gases, will invest 300 billion won (US$246 million) until 2022 in a joint enterprise of creating a value chain that covers everything about the setup and operation of liquid hydrogen production, transport and recharging facilities. Both companies will invest... Read more →

Berkeley Law’s Center for Law, Energy and the Environment (CLEE) released a new report “Legal Grounds: Law and Policy Options to Facilitate a Phase-Out of Fossil Fuel Production in California.” The report analyzes steps California leaders could pursue on state- and privately-owned lands to achieve this reduction. California is the... Read more →

CHAdeMO Association has released the latest CHAdeMO protocol (CHAdeMO 3.0) to its Regular members, specifying the requirements for designing the next-generation CHAdeMO chargers using the new plug harmonized with China’s GB/T protocol, allowing for maximum current of 600A. CHAdeMO 3.0 is the first publication of the next-generation ultra-high-power charging standard,... Read more →

The Volkswagen Group is pushing ahead with the integration of its plants into the Volkswagen Industrial Cloud; the aim is to further improve the efficiency of the plants and reduce production costs. (Earlier post.) The first three plants were already linked up in 2019. In 2020, the Group will integrate... Read more →

The global power semiconductor market is set for a steep decline in 2020 as demand for these components plunges from the key markets of smartphones and automotive electronics due to the COVID-19 crisis, according to Omdia. Omdia is a global technology research house established following the merger of the research... Read more →

The outbreak of COVID-19 has already impacted the automotive industry significantly, according to JATO Dynamics, a leading provider of global automotive data and insight. Global vehicle sales totalled 5.55 million units in March 2020, down by 39% from March 2019. This represents the largest year-on-year monthly decrease since 1980, when... Read more →

Toyota has sold more than 15 million hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs) worldwide since the 1997 launch of the iconic Prius, the first full hybrid mass-produced car. Now offered on 44 individual models across a wide range of size and body types, Toyota’s hybrid electric technology has reduced CO2 emissions by more... Read more →

Volvo Cars gave notice for a reduction of 1,300 white-collar positions in its Swedish operations, plus a continued review and reduction of consultancy contracts. The exact nature and amount of job reductions will be decided over the coming months in negotiations with the unions. The company’s manufacturing operations will not... Read more →

An international research collaboration has developed a novel, porous, and hydrophobic metal–organic framework (MOF) based on copper ions and carborane–carboxylate ligands that can efficiently separate biobutanol from the broth of fermented biomass needed for the fuel’s production. A paper on the work is published in the Journal of the American... Read more →

In October 2019, the London Metal Exchange (LME) released its requirements on responsible sourcing for Brands. Starting 2023, LME Brands must be compliant with the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas (OECD Guidance). (More than 500 brands from 55 countries are... Read more →

ARPA-E announced up to $28 million in funding (DE-FOA-0002337) for a new program, ULtrahigh Temperature Impervious Materials Advancing Turbine Efficiency (ULTIMATE). The ULTIMATE program will develop and demonstrate ultrahigh-temperature materials that can operate in high temperature and high stress environments of a gas turbine blade. Projects will specifically target gas... Read more →

The Colorado Energy Office (CEO), a non-regulatory department within the Governor’s Office focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions by advancing clean energy, energy efficiency and zero emission vehicles, has released the Colorado Electric Vehicle Plan 2020. Colorado released its first electric vehicle plan two years ago, establishing a target of... Read more →

SK Innovation announced plans for additional investment in its US battery business, following approval by the SK Innovation Board of Directors to fund the start of construction of a second electric vehicle battery plant in Georgia. SK Innovation has increased investment plans for its Georgia EV battery site, shown here... Read more →

Ballard Power Systems announced a purchase order from Solaris Bus & Coach S.A. for 20 of Ballard’s new 70 kilowatt heavy-duty FCmove-HD fuel cell modules. These modules will power 20 Solaris Urbino 12 hydrogen buses planned for deployment in South Holland under the Joint Initiative For Hydrogen Vehicles Across Europe... Read more →

AMPLY Power secured $13.2 million in Series A funding from investors, including Soros Fund Management and Siemens. They are joined by existing seed round investors, including Congruent Ventures, PeopleFund, and Obvious Ventures. Founded by serial entrepreneur Vic Shao, AMPLY Power is providing charging services for commercial electric vehicle fleets. Its... Read more →

Congresswoman Abby Finkenauer (IA-01) introduced the Clean Fuels Deployment Act of 2020. The bipartisan legislation, co-sponsored by Reps. Angie Craig (D-MN), Don Bacon (R-NE), and Roger Marshall (R-KS), would provide funding for installing and converting fuel pump infrastructure to deliver higher blends of ethanol (E15 and E85) and biodiesel (up... Read more →

Researchers at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) have developed a high-performance, thin-film-based solid oxide fuel cell that can operate at mid-to-low temperatures below 600 °C using butane fuels. Since butane can be liquified and thus can be stored and carried easily, the new technology could expand the... Read more →

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL), the global leading EV battery manufacturer, is expanding partnerships with VDL Bus & Coach B.V. and Quantron AG to optimize local product solutions and services for commercial vehicle electrification in Europe. The new partnerships are significant to CATL’s overseas strategy in the commercial vehicle... Read more →

Audi is offering its successful full-size station wagon A6 Avant as a plug-in hybrid: The new A6 Avant 55 TFSI e quattro has a system output of 270 kW (367 PS) (combined fuel consumption 2.1–1.9 l/100 km (112.0–123.8 US mpg); combined electric power consumption of 18.1–17.6 kWh/100 km; and combined... Read more →

Solaris will introduce a 15-meter (49-foot) Urbino electric bus to its portfolio. Up until now, Solaris offered only city buses; the 15-meter version of the Urbino will also meet requirements of inter-city transport. The Urbino 15 LE bus will be certified and offered with specs characteristic for class I vehicles—as... Read more →

Audi will not extend its commitment in the DTM touring car racing series beyond the 2020 season. The management board of AUDI AG made this decision also in light of the economic challenges due to the corona pandemic and communicated it to ITR e.V., the DTM’s umbrella organization, on Monday.... Read more →

Xpeng Motors launched its P7 long-range, high-performance, fast-charging intelligent EV sports sedan—its second production model. (Earlier post.) The P7 is immediately available for order in China, in 3 versions—4WD High Performance; Super-Long Range: (656km – 706km NEDC); and Long Range (568km NEDC)—and 8 configurations. Customer deliveries will begin at the... Read more →

The average production-weighted fuel economy for all new light-duty vehicles in model year (MY) 2019 was 95% better than in MY 1975, while average horsepower was 78% higher and weight was 1% higher, according to the 2019 EPA Automotive Trends Report. From the late 1980s to the mid-2000s, fuel economy... Read more →

Russian titanium producer VSMPO-AVISMA has cut its 2020 production plans by some 32% in response to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on key end-use markets. Citing the implications of a collapse in air travel on the need for new aircraft and repairs to the existing fleet, along with production... Read more →

Researchers at the University of Texas have discovered that introducing tellurium (Te) into a Li-Sulfur system as a cathode additive significantly improves the reversibility of Li plating/stripping by forming a tellurized and sulfide-rich solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer on the Li surface. The introduction of Te as a cathode additive in... Read more →

A comprehensive three-year scientific study into the air, water and soil impacts of hydraulic fracturing (HF) in coal seam gas (CSG) in Queensland, Australia has found little to no impacts on air quality, soils, groundwater and waterways. The study also found current water treatment technology used for treating water produced... Read more →

Researchers from Duke University have devised a computer vision algorithm for estimating ground-level PM2.5 at a high spatiotemporal resolution by directly processing global-coverage, daily, near real-time updated, micro-satellite imagery of spatial coverages significantly smaller than 1 x 1 km (e.g., 200 x 200 m) available from Planet Lab. The results appear in... Read more →

Velodyne Lidar, Inc. announced a three-year agreement with TLD, a global leader in ground support equipment. TLD uses Velodyne lidar sensors in production of its TractEasy autonomous electric baggage tractor that enables a significant increase in productivity, efficiency and labor savings in airport and industrial operations. TLD will grow its... Read more →

LG Chem will invest about 65 billion KRW (US$ 53 million) by Q1 of next year to expand the production of carbon nanotubes (CNT) by 1,200 tons at its Yeosu plant in Korea. Once the expansion is made, LG Chem will have a total production capacity of 1,700 tons. With... Read more →

Researchers from Saudi Aramco and KAUST (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology), with a colleague from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China, assessed the effects of adopting 4 hybrid architectures on the life-cycle GHG emissions of a novel high-reactivity fuel in an advanced compression-ignition engine (GCI). Their paper appears... Read more →

Last year, 85.0% of all new medium- and heavy-buses (over 3.5 tonnes) registered in the European Union were fueled by diesel; the market share of gasoline in this segment was close to zero. All alternatively-powered vehicles (APV) combined accounted for 15.0% of the EU bus market in 2019, with electrically-chargeable... Read more →

India’s National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) is inviting global expressions of interest for the supply of fuel cell buses and cars in India. Specifically, NTPC subsidiary NVVN intends to launch pilot projects with 5 fuel cell buses and 5 fuel cell cars each in Leh and New Delhi in... Read more →

ADM is currently managing ethanol production throughout its US corn processing network to focus on cash flows and to divert corn grind to other products that are in higher demand, such as alcohol for hand sanitizer. As part of this process, ADM is temporarily idling ethanol production at the company’s... Read more →

Scientists at Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) have developed an improved catalyst for the synthesis of ammonia by taking the common dehydrating agent calcium hydride and adding fluoride to it. The catalyst facilitates the synthesis of ammonia at merely 50 °C, with an extremely small activation energy of 20... Read more →

In March 2020, demand for new commercial vehicles fell by 47.3% across the EU, as measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 lead to the closure of dealerships, according to the ACEA (European Automobile Manufacturers Association). Each vehicle segment was strongly affected by the fallout of the COVID-19 outbreak and... Read more →

Researchers from the University of Western Ontario (UWO), the University of Toronto and Glabat Solid-State Battery Inc. have proposed a novel strategy to extend the electrochemical stability window (ESW) of PEO-based solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) based on their new understanding of the ESW limiting factor. A paper on their work... Read more →

Researchers at Virginia Tech have demonstrated a green and more sustainable manufacturing method for LIBs in which no hazardous organic solvent is used during electrode manufacturing and recycling. A paper on their work is published in the journal iScience. The researchers found that the electrodes fabricated via water-based processing demonstrate... Read more →

Orleans Métropole (France) has selected Irizar e-mobility for the supply of 29 Irizar ie tram zero emissions electric buses. The Irizar ie tram is an electric, bus with the appearance of a tram that combines the large capacity, ease of access and internal configuration of a tram with the flexibility... Read more →

WiTricity’s technology for wireless power transfer over distance was central to a next-generation electric mobility demonstration in Osaka, Japan, led by DAIHEN Corporation, a global leader in electric power transmission. Partners since 2016, DAIHEN licensed WiTricity’s technology to commercialize wireless charging stations for electric vehicles (EVs) and for automatic guided... Read more →

Ford Performance has unveiled a one-off Mustang Cobra Jet factory drag racer with all-electric propulsion. The battery-powered Mustang Cobra Jet 1400 prototype is purpose-built and projected to deliver more than 1,400 horsepower and more than 1,100 lb-ft (1,491 N·m) of instant torque to demonstrate the capabilities of an electric powertrain... Read more →

The BMW Group has selected SGL Carbon to produce a cover component for battery enclosures. This substantial multi-year order will include the production of an innovative glass-fiber-based cover plate for the battery housing for usage in a future plug-in hybrid model of BMW Group. Composite materials m are suited for... Read more →

Karma Automotive announced the initial development-stage completion of its Karma High-Performance E-Flex Platform, the third in a series of demonstration efforts showcasing the company’s in-house technology capabilities and E-Flex Platform initiative, a program offering mobility solutions through versatile EREV (extended range electric vehicle) and BEV (battery electric vehicle) modular platforms.... Read more →

Compared to “business-as-usual”, by September 2020 international air passenger totals could drop by as many as 1.2 billion travellers according to the latest projections from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). ICAO ran two projections compared to baseline: V-shaped path (a first sign of recovery in late May); and U-shaped... Read more →

The new Range Rover Evoque and Land Rover Discovery Sport premium compact SUVs are now available with plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) technology, with an electric-only range of up to 66 km (41 miles) and CO2 emissions as low as 32 g/km. Range Rover Evoque PHEV Badged P300e, both the... Read more →

In recent years, the automotive industry has been addressing the megatrends set to transform long-term urban mobility and the industry, but the current crisis is now re-setting priorities, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company. Connected, autonomous, shared and electric (CASE) strategies were seen by car companies as elevating... Read more →

In December 2019, ARPA-E issued a funding opportunity announcement (FOA) for a new program, Seeding Critical Advances for Leading Energy technologies with Untapped Potential (SCALEUP). (Earlier post.) The SCALEUP program aims to support the scaling of high-risk and potentially disruptive ARPA-E funded technologies across the full spectrum of energy applications.... Read more →

Ten years after ArcelorMittal introduced the first S-in motion study for fuel-powered vehicles (earlier post), it is launching a new set of S-in motion solutions for battery electric vehicles (BEVs). To visualize the smart BEV steel solutions, an online 3D car configurator is now available. The configurator shows how ArcelorMittal’s... Read more →

Canada-based DeepGreen Metals Inc., a company focused on sourcing metals with the least environmental and societal impact, has released the results of a year-long study it commissioned into the impacts of sourcing metals to produce battery cathodes and wiring for electric vehicles (EVs). Demand for certain EV battery metals is... Read more →

Audi of America (AoA) and the Audi Environmental Foundation are awarding a $100,000 grant to the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), the lead institution in the Climate Modeling Alliance (CliMA). The grant will fund researchers in their pursuit of a novel new climate model, a critical tool for understanding future... Read more →

Cummins Inc. and Tula Technology, Inc., developer of Dynamic Skip Fire cylinder deactivation technology (earlier post), collaborated on a significant technical demonstration of diesel Dynamic Skip Fire (dDSF) cylinder deactivation. By using dDSF software to control cylinder deactivation in a diesel engine, Cummins and Tula demonstrated significant reductions in emissions... Read more →