Ways2H Inc., a global producer of renewable hydrogen from the world’s worst waste streams, and Ford, Bacon & Davis, a leader in energy facility engineering, procurement and construction (EPC), are collaborating to design and to build waste-to-hydrogen facilities in California and other locations in the United States, to produce renewable... Read more →

SunHydrogen, the developer of a technology to produce renewable hydrogen using sunlight and water, has extended its sponsored research agreement with the University of Iowa through 31 August 2020. The current extension will allow the company to increase focus on its more efficient GEN 2 hydrogen production technology which is... Read more →

Solid-oxide fuel-cell manufacturer Bloom Energy and Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI), a part of Samsung Group, have signed a joint development agreement (JDA) to design and to develop fuel cell-powered ships. The two companies will work together to realize their vision of clean power for ships and a more sustainable marine... Read more →

The Advanced Hydrogen Energy Chain Association for Technology Development (AHEAD) has started the world’s first international demonstration operation to transport hydrogen using methylcyclohexane. (Earlier post.) This project is subsidized by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) and will conduct a demonstration operation for the construction of an... Read more →

The US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE) announced a request for information (RFI) (DOE-FOA-0002358) on challenges and opportunities in the upstream and midstream critical-materials battery supply chains. In this RFI, DOE specifically seeks input on the current state of the battery cathode materials... Read more →

Truck manufacturer Navistar Inc. has paid $2 million to resolve allegations that it altered heavy-duty vehicle engines from their certified design, potentially causing excess diesel emissions and negatively impacting air quality. The Illinois-based company modified its vehicle calibrations from their certified design through “running changes” in the engines of its... Read more →

Total US petroleum exports have been increasing over the last 10 years, reaching an all-time high of 8.5 million barrels per day (mmbd) in 2019. The United States exported 1.2 mmbd of petroleum to Mexico in 2019, which was 14% of total US petroleum exports, according to the US Energy... Read more →

In a new report, Omdia forecasts the overall delivery robot market will grow from $121.0 million in 2019 to $2.2 billion by 2025. The outlook for delivery robots, delivery drones, and autonomous delivery vehicles will be driven by robust demand from e-commerce fulfillment, food & beverage sales, and logistics. The... Read more →

Mercedes-Benz Vans is introducing a new 2.0-liter 4-cylinder diesel engine for the Sprinter Cargo Van. This powertrain produces 161 hp and 266 lb-ft 9360 N·m) of torque and is paired with a 7-speed automatic transmission. The 2.0-liter 4-cylinder diesel Cargo variant will join the versatile Sprinter lineup in the US... Read more →

Gasoline consumption in the United States is now more than halfway back to pre-COVID-19 levels as motorists get back on the road amid at least a partial recovery of the US economy, according to OPIS, an IHS Markit company. Fill-ups at the pump hit the rock bottom in the second... Read more →

The central component of the electrolyzer, which has a major influence on efficiency and reliability, is an ion-conducting membrane. Evonik has now developed a novel anion exchange membrane (AEM), which should contribute to the breakthrough of electrolytic production of hydrogen. Anion exchange membrane (AEM) electrolysis can potentially combine the beneficial... Read more →

Using radar commonly deployed to track speeders and fastballs, researchers have developed an automated system that will allow cars to peer around corners and spot oncoming traffic and pedestrians. Researchers combined artificial intelligence and radar used to track speeders to develop a system that will allow vehicles to spot hazards... Read more →

In connection with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, satellite measurements made headlines showing how much the air pollutant nitrogen dioxide (NO2) had decreased in China and northern Italy. In Germany, traffic density is the most important factor. However, weather also has an influence on NO2 concentrations, according to a... Read more →

UNSW Sydney has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Dutch electric bus manufacturer Ebusco to further research and development of sustainable transport in Australia. This new collaboration with Ebusco will help make significant advances in areas such as renewable energy and manufacturing—both areas of research strength at UNSW. We... Read more →

Xpeng Motors has begun China-wide delivery of its new P7 super-long range, high-performance, smart EV sports sedan to customers. This follows the receiving of the official production license on 19 May from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology for its new own-built, wholly-owned factory, the Zhaoqing Xpeng Motors Intelligent... Read more →

France and Germany have announced plans for major green stimulus packages as the countries emerge from lockdown and seek to get their economies moving again. Other EU countries, including Spain and Holland have also announced revitalization plans with strong green elements. France has announced an automotive industry bailout package worth... Read more →

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has granted petitions to add 1-bromopropane (1-BP) to the list of hazardous air pollutants regulated under the Clean Air Act (CAA). This is the first time since 1990 that EPA has granted a petition to add a hazardous air pollutant to the CAA. Petitioners... Read more →

The BMW Group has officially opened its new Additive Manufacturing Campus. The new center brings together production of prototype and series parts under one roof, along with research into new 3D printing technologies, and associate training for the global rollout of toolless production. The €15-million campus will allow the BMW... Read more →

In China, Baojun launched the E300 and E300 Plus electric vehicles, which have a range of 305 kilometers (190 miles). Six variants are priced between RMB 64,800 (US$9,200) and RMB 84,800 (US$12,000). The E300 has a synchronous fixed ratio gearbox and rear-engine layout, generating 40 kW of maximum power and... Read more →

The US Army Contracting Command–Detroit Arsenal announced that GM Defense LLC, a subsidiary of General Motors, has been awarded the production contract to build, field and sustain the Army’s new Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV). The total production ISV contract award value is $214.3 million to procure the initial Army Procurement... Read more →

Ford has revealed its all-new F-150 pickup. The new F-150 targets the most towing, payload, torque and horsepower of any light-duty full-size pickup, introduces all-new features to increase customer productivity, has new connected vehicle innovations such as over-the-air updates, and offers an available all-new 3.5-liter PowerBoost hybrid powertrain with Pro... Read more →

According to provisional data published by the European Environment Agency (EEA), average CO2 emissions from new passenger cars registered in the European Union (EU), Iceland, Norway and the United Kingdom (UK), increased in 2019, for the third consecutive year. The average CO2 emissions from new vans also increased slightly. Zero-... Read more →

Three UC Riverside engineers have received a $1.2-million grant from the National Science Foundation to develop a new generation of energy-efficient, energy-elastic, and real-time-aware GPUs suitable for use in resource-constrained environments such as emerging embedded and autonomous systems, including aerial drones and autonomous vehicles. The three Marlan and Rosemary Bourns... Read more →

The end of production of the Golf Variant concludes the Volkswagen Zwickau plant’s 116-year history of building combustion engine vehicles. The last model with a combustion engine—a seventh-generation Golf R Estate with 2.0-liter gasoline engine—left the assembly line on Friday at the Zwickau car factory. Going forward, only electric models... Read more →

The first electric school bus in Poland will carry children to classes in Godzianów near Łódź. The purchase of the electric school bus was subsidized by NFOŚiGW (the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management). Solaris will supply the electric bus to the Municipality of Godzianów in October this... Read more →

A group of leading shipping industry companies are taking the next step to develop new fuel types and technologies by launching the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping. The founding company partners behind this initiative are ABS, A.P. Møller - Mærsk, Cargill, MAN Energy Solutions, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries,... Read more →

In an EU-funded research project, an international consortium is aiming to develop new production methods for sustainable marine fuels to replace heavy fuel oils in shipping. The use of heavy fuel oils (HFOs) contributes to global warming due to the fossil origin of these fuels and, moreover, generating non-negligible emissions... Read more →

The Manufacturers of Emission Controls Association (MECA) released a new report quantifying a county level MOVES emissions inventory in the continental US (CONUS) 48 states and subsequent air quality modeling report of a potential scenario should the US EPA Cleaner Trucks Initiative (CTI) be finalized as a national program at... Read more →

SunGas Renewables Inc., a supplier of proven biomass gasification systems, announced a strategic alliance with Hatch, Ltd., a global advisory, development consulting, multidisciplinary engineering and project delivery firm. The alliance will leverage both organizations’ technical expertise, engineering capabilities and market knowledge to accelerate the deployment of SunGas’ biomass gasification systems.... Read more →

Hyliion Inc., a developer of electrified powertrain solutions for Class 8 commercial vehicles, launched its Hypertruck Electric Range Extender (ERX), a long-haul, natural-gas series-hybrid electric powertrain. The launch of the Hypertruck ERX is anchored by Agility, one of the world’s leading logistics companies with $5.2 billion in revenue and offices... Read more →

New Zealand’s first company dedicated to the supply of green hydrogen, Hiringa Energy, and global trading and investment enterprise, Mitsui & Co. have signed a strategic alliance agreement to pursue jointly hydrogen-related commercial projects in New Zealand. Hiringa Energy is developing hydrogen production projects using electrolysis. Hiringa is also developing... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board has adopted a first-in-the-world rule—the Advanced Clean Trucks(earlier post)—requiring truck manufacturers to transition from diesel trucks and vans (Class 2b to Class 8) to electric zero-emission trucks beginning in 2024. By 2045, every new truck sold in California will be zero-emission. The proposed regulation has... Read more →

Fewer wild animals, including threatened mountain lions, are becoming roadkill during shelter-in-place orders, according to a study on three states from the University of California, Davis. Using traffic and collision data collected from California, Idaho and Maine, the researchers found that wildlife-vehicle conflict has declined by 21-56 percent from early... Read more →

New York City Transit Authority has selected BAE Systems to supply 435 electric hybrid power and propulsion systems for its new fleet of transit buses, reducing carbon emissions and fuel consumption. The Series-E systems will be produced at BAE’s manufacturing facilities in Endicott, New York, which provide more than 1,300... Read more →

Volkswagen will offer a plug-in hybrid drive generating 160 kW (218 PS) for the updated Arteon product line for the first time, in addition to offering TSI (gasoline) and (in some markets) TDI (diesel) options. The Arteon has been the Volkswagen Gran Turismo since 2017. Volkswagen is now unveiling a... Read more →

Electric vehicles (EVs) will be a major disruptor for the US electric power sector, with the number of EVs in the US projected to increase from 1.5 million in 2020 to 10–35 million by 2030. A new study released by economists at The Brattle Group concludes that an investment in... Read more →

Electrify America has completed the installation of its first cross-country route, which allows electric vehicle (EV) drivers to travel from coast to coast using the largest open DC fast-charging network in the United States. It is the first of two cross-country routes the network will complete this year, and spans... Read more →

BYD has completed the delivery of 10 battery-electric K9S buses to Link Transit in Wenatchee, Washington, a milestone for the company as production ramps up following a temporary plant closure in Mid-March from the COVID-19 pandemic. The final two buses of the order were recently delivered, joining the eight others... Read more →

The Orange County Transportation Authority board has approved a draft plan outlining how the agency will convert the OC Bus fleet to 100% zero-emission technology by 2040. OCTA’s zero-emission bus rollout plan will now be submitted to the California Air Resources Board. OCTA has already gradually transitioned its fleet over... Read more →

Ricardo North America (Ricardo), engineering specialists in advanced propulsion, software and thermal management, has added to its powertrain design and development expertise with the launch of a team in Southern California and a partnership with opposed-piston engine developer Achates Power. The announcement follows Ricardo’s recent partnership agreement with Excel Engineering... Read more →

With more than $32 million in pending orders from commercial and government fleets, commercial electric vehicle supplier Lightning Systems is more than tripling the size of its manufacturing, research and development facility in Loveland, Colorado. Lightning moved its headquarters, manufacturing, and R&D into the former Hewlett-Packard/Agilent campus in southwest Loveland... Read more →

Ford Motor Company intends to achieve carbon neutrality globally by 2050, while setting interim targets to address climate change challenges more urgently. Carbon neutrality refers to achieving zero carbon emissions by balancing such emissions with carbon removal. To achieve its goal, Ford will focus initially on three areas that account... Read more →

Cummins Inc. will form a joint venture with NPROXX, a designer, developer and manufacturer of Type 4 pressure vessels for the storage of hydrogen under high pressure, for hydrogen storage tanks. The joint venture will continue under the name NPROXX. NPROXX was formed in 2018 in a split from EMS,... Read more →

Stanford University scientists have proposed a design strategy for electrolytes that enable anode-free Li metal batteries with single-solvent single-salt formations at standard concentrations. Based on the results reported in a paper in the journal Nature Energy, the design concept provides a promising path to high-energy, long-cycling Li metal batteries, the... Read more →

The COBRA (CObalt-free Batteries for FutuRe Automotive Applications) project has been awarded a €11.8-million grant to develop Next Generation Cobalt-free batteries. COBRA, which aims to develop lithium, cobalt-free batteries made with new energy storage materials that incorporate intelligent sensors to help enhance their energy efficiency, is funded by the European... Read more →

Constellium SE has expanded its portfolio of advanced aluminum solutions with the launch of Aheadd, a new offer for high performance aluminum powders that exceed industry standards for additive manufacturing productivity and component properties. Constellium’s new powders are designed and tailored based on customer needs for a wide range of... Read more →

Silicon-Valley-based Ampcera announced a low-cost flexible solid electrolyte (SE) membrane technology for solid-state batteries (SSBs). Unlike conventional lithium ion batteries (LIBs) that include a flammable liquid or gel polymer electrolyte, SSBs use a safe SE and promise to double the driving range of electric vehicles when loaded with the same... Read more →

As the number of heavy-duty vehicles increases, roads are being subjected to even higher loads, usually requiring replacement after ten to twelve years. An innovative bitumen additive from BASF has been designed to help roads last longer. BASF has spent several years developing the additive together with the Institute of... Read more →

Mercedes-Benz and NVIDIA plan to enter into a cooperation to create a new in-vehicle computing system and AI computing infrastructure. Starting in 2024, this will be rolled out across the fleet of next-generation Mercedes-Benz vehicles, enabling them with upgradable automated driving functions. The new software-defined architecture will be built on... Read more →

Workhorse Group Inc. has successfully completed Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) testing for its C650 and C1000 all-electric delivery vans. FMVSS testing for both the C650 and C1000 vans had been delayed by complications related to the COVID-19 pandemic. With facilities and supporting manpower restored, the testing was officially... Read more →