Conventional water electrolysis for the production of hydrogen faces technological challenges to improve the efficiency of the water-splitting reaction for the sluggish oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Noble metal-based ruthenium oxide (RuO2) and iridium oxide (IrO2) are used to enhance the oxygen generation rate. However, these noble metal catalysts are very... Read more →

Yachts de Luxe (YdL) of Singapore has placed a commercial 10-year worldwide contract with OXIS Energy valued at $5 million to build the world’s first luxury boat to be powered by Lithium-Sulfur (Li-S) battery cells and battery systems technology. The objective is to achieve a range between 70 and 100... Read more →

The BMW Group has founded IDEALworks GmbH—a fully-owned subsidiary—headquartered in Munich. The aim is to become a leading supplier of autonomous robotics solutions in the logistics sector. The name “IDEAL” stands for Industry-Driven Engineering for Autonomous Logistics. In founding IDEALworks, we are creating a new business segment for our logistics... Read more →

Hexagon Purus signed a multi-year master frame agreement with Everfuel to deliver multiple units of newly designed 45-foot hydrogen distribution systems. The systems will be used to transport hydrogen to refueling stations serving hydrogen fuel cell electric passenger car fleets (e.g. taxis), trucks and buses. At signing, Everfuel ordered its... Read more →

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) has approved draft new mandatory regulations to cut the carbon intensity of existing ships. This builds on current mandatory energy efficiency requirements to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions from shipping. The MEPC also agreed the terms of reference for assessing... Read more →

Italy-based global energy infrastructure operator Snam signed an agreement with funds managed by Blackstone Tactical Opportunities for the purchase of a strategic stake of approximately 33% in Industrie De Nora S.p.A., a global supplier of clean energy and water treatment technologies, based on a 100% enterprise value of approximately €1.2... Read more →

Volkswagen says that it is actively engaging in improving artisanal cobalt mining conditions in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as well as the living conditions for people in the surrounding communities. Cobalt is an important raw material for the production of electric vehicle batteries. Artisanal mining involves risks to... Read more →

General Motors announced that Factory ZERO, Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Center, the company’s all-electric vehicle assembly plant, is the first automotive plant in the US to install dedicated 5G fixed mobile network technology. Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband service is operating now at Factory ZERO, with its exponential increases in both bandwidth and... Read more →

Willis Towers Watson, a leading global advisory, broking and solutions company, has acquired Acclimatise, the market leader in climate change adaptation advisory and analytics services, to meet growing demands from corporates, Governments and financial institutions. Willis Towers Watson’s Climate and Resilience Hub (CRH) has expanded its scope to help clients... Read more →

Daimler AG and Geely Holding, the respective parent companies of Mercedes-Benz AG and Volvo Cars, plan to collaborate on developing highly efficient powertrain systems for next-generation hybrid vehicle applications. The companies expect to work together on hybrid powertrain solutions to enhance their global competitiveness and create economies of scale. Areas... Read more →

For several years now, the Norway-based marine and maritime technology company Havyard Group has carried out research and development work on hydrogen propulsion for large vessels, for example through the Pilot E project, in order to develop a large-scale maritime hydrogen project. Havyard’s complete hydrogen system for ships will be... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the California Energy Commission (CEC) announced that the application period is now open for the “Zero-Emission Drayage Truck and Infrastructure Pilot Project.” (GFO-20-606) Eligible applicants to this competitive solicitation include local air districts, California-based public entities, and California-based non-profit organizations. The total funding... Read more →

Nuvve Corporation, a vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology company, and Lion Electric, an original equipment manufacturer of all-electric heavy-duty vehicles based in Québec, are collaborating to launch vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology as a standard feature of Lion’s zero-emission school buses. Lion recently launched LionA, an all-electric mini school bus, on top of an... Read more →

DENSO Corporation, the world’s second-largest mobility supplier, has selected Foretify, Foretellix’s advanced coverage driven verification platform, to enhance safety and reduce both development costs and time-to-market for its new ADAS and automated driving solutions. Foretify includes: A Measurable Scenario Description Language (M-SDL) used to describe both scenarios and coverage goals... Read more →

The US Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is seeking public comment on the potential development of a framework of principles to govern the safe behavior of automated driving systems (ADS) in the future. The advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) was submitted to the Federal Register... Read more →

Applied Information, Inc., a leading provider of intelligent transportation infrastructure solutions, announced the availability of full Cellular Vehicle to Everything (C-V2X) Connected Vehicle Roadside Units (RSU) and Onboard Units (OBU) with an automatic upgrade to 5G NR when the technology becomes available. The company also announced it would buy installed... Read more →

BASF has developed a modified polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) specifically for radar sensor applications in vehicles: Ultradur RX. With good resistance against media such as splash water, oils or salt, Ultradur offers exceptional protection for sensor housings. In addition, the new material shields the sensitive electronics in the housings against disturbing... Read more →

In a brief describing the suspension of the new ID.4 electric SUV, Volkswagen noted that the ID.4 uses the new, networked Vehicle Dynamics Manager (VDM) introduced with the new Golf. In front-wheel drive Golfs, the VDM coordinates and activates the functions of the electronically controlled front-axle locking differential (standard in... Read more →

Volvo Cars is partnering with Waycare Technologies to enable data from Volvo’s Hazard Light Alert and Slippery Road Alert to be shared anonymously with transportation municipalities and the popular Waze navigation app. From model year 2021, Hazard Light Alert and Slippery Road Alert will allow certain Volvo cars to communicate... Read more →

General Motors Co. Chairman and CEO Mary Barra said that the company will offer 30 all-electric models globally by mid-decade; 40% of the company’s US entries will be battery electric vehicles by the end of 2025. Barra also announced an increase in GM’s financial commitment to EVs and AVs (autonomous... Read more →

South Korea’s Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), in collaboration with Pukyong National University and Chosun University, has embarked on a joint research project to develop the next-generation of batteries for electric vehicles (EVs). This project was selected for the first-half 2020 Samsung Research Funding Program for Future... Read more →

A study by researchers at The Ohio State University suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic had varying effects on demand for public transit in US cities. While demand for public transit dropped about 73% across the country after the pandemic hit, the reduction didn’t impact all cities equally, according to the... Read more →

With the rapid expansion of Scania’s electrified range of trucks, buses and engines, the company plans to, over several years, invest more than 1 billion SEK (US$116 million) in a battery assembly plant in Södertälje, Sweden. The initial step is a 18,000-square meter facility and the construction will start early... Read more →

Nuvera Fuel Cells, LLC, a provider of fuel cell power solutions for motive applications, announced the commercial availability of the Nuvera E-60 Fuel Cell Engine, the latest addition to the E-series family for vehicle electrification. With Nuvera’s latest high-performance fuel cell stacks at its core, the E-60 engine model enables... Read more →

Panasonic, energy company Equinor and industrial group Hydro have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to form a strategic partnership to explore possibilities for establishing a sustainable and cost-competitive European battery business. The companies will work together towards summer 2021 to assess the market for lithium-ion batteries in Europe and... Read more →

The BMW Group is speeding up the shift towards electromobility and strengthening its global network for production of electrified vehicles. The company is investing €400 million in a new vehicle assembly at the main plant in Munich. The new assembly in Munich will be built on the site currently used... Read more →

The US Department of Energy announced $16 million in funding for 17 projects as part of Phase 1 of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy’s (ARPA-E) Ultrahigh Temperature Impervious Materials Advancing Turbine Efficiency (ULTIMATE) program. ULTIMATE teams will develop ultrahigh temperature materials for gas turbine use in the aviation and power... Read more →

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted new rules for the 5.9 GHz band (5.850-5.925 GHz) to make new spectrum available for unlicensed uses, such as Wi-Fi, and to improve automotive safety. Specifically, the new band plan designates the lower 45 megahertz (5.850-5.895 GHz) for unlicensed uses and the upper 30... Read more →

An internationally operating maker of premium automobiles has awarded HASCO KSPG Nonferrous Components (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (KPSNC), a joint venture of Rheinmetall Automotive AG, a major order for electromotor housings. The housings, designed for a water-cooled synchronous motor with four different performance levels, will be installed in the OEM’s entire... Read more →

Landi Renzo, the American subsidiary of Landi Renzo Group, the global leader in eco-fuel advanced systems for the automotive industry, received California Air Resources Board (CARB) Certification for the Heavy Duty Ford CNG/RNG 7.3L engine, which covers Class 4-7 vehicles. Supported vehicles include the F-450/550, F-650/750, F-53/59 and E-450. The... Read more →

Li-Cycle Corp., North America’s largest lithium-ion battery recycling company, closed a Series C equity funding round to fund the development of its Rochester, New York Commercial Hub and to drive expansion into international markets. Moore Strategic Ventures LLC led the financing round, terms of which were not disclosed. The need... Read more →

GM is launching OnStar Insurance. GM’s new insurance agency, OnStar Insurance Services, will be the exclusive agent for OnStar Insurance. OnStar Insurance Services intends to leverage its unique understanding of the vehicles GM produces to offer a secure, fair, personalized and easy-to-use digital insurance experience for drivers. We aim to... Read more →

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed that the government will accelerate the ban on the sale of new gasoline and diesel vehicles, bringing it forward by ten years to 2030, as part of a “Green Industrial Revolution.” The sale of hybrid cars will be allowed until 2035. Johnson announced the... Read more →

Broader collaboration among key stakeholders and a new generation of finance solutions will be needed to electrify trucks and buses at scale by 2050, according to a report released today by Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), MJ Bradley and Vivid Economics. To ensure and accelerate the transition, we must move beyond... Read more →

Ride Vision is launching globally the first collision-avoidance technology for motorcycles, an AI-based system for motorcycle safety. Ride Vision is buttressed by $7 million in Series A funding, totalling $10 million to-date, as well as a partnership with Continental AG. There are more than 700 million motorcycles on the road... Read more →

The California Center for Jobs & The Economy has released an updated report (earlier post) on vehicle sales and the progress of ZEV sales in the state for Q3 2020. The report is based on sales data from the California New Car Dealers Association (CNCDA). The data show total new... Read more →

California electric utilities are teaming up with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to offer the California Clean Fuel Reward (CCFR), a point-of-sale price reduction of up to $1,500 for the purchase or lease of any eligible new Battery Electric or Plug-in Hybrid vehicle (BEV or PHEV) from a participating... Read more →

Eastman and Gruppo Maip, a leading international plastics formulator and compound producer based in Turin, Italy, will partner to formulate new sustainable polymer solutions for automotive interior applications. This will enable an exclusive portfolio of formulations based on Eastman’s Advanced Circular Recycling technology, offering a range of both bio-based and... Read more →

The MINI brand presented the MINI Vision Urbanaut—a digital concept vehicle intended to provide an example of MINI’s possible future directions. MINI sees its future self primarily as an enabler of and companion for unforgettable times—what we might call ‘MINI moments’. The MINI Vision Urbanaut uses three curated MINI moments—“Chill”,... Read more →

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia’s national science research agency, has joined the Joint Industry Partnership (JIP) of the Supercritical Transformational Electric Power (STEP) project known as STEP Demo. The STEP project seeks to demonstrate power generation plants enabled by supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) technology that can... Read more →

ChargePoint, one of the world’s largest electric vehicle (EV) charging networks, now works with Apple CarPlay, taking another step towards making the transition to electric mobility more seamless for drivers. This new integration brings essential EV charging data inside the vehicle, allowing drivers to easily access charging information directly from... Read more →

Tritium, a provider of DC fast charging technology for electric vehicles (EVs), has unveiled its MSC (Modular Scalable Charging) hardware platform—the first platform to enable scalable electric vehicle charging networks. The MSC platform provides customers with the flexibility to increase the power level of their charger as EV charging capabilities... Read more →

A new hydrocarbon study led by researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory contradicts conventional wisdom about how methane is trapped in rock, revealing a new strategy to access the valuable energy resource more easily. Their open-access study is published in Nature’s new Communications Earth & Environment journal. Partners include the... Read more →

Westport Fuel Systems Inc. announced a follow-on contract for new product development work with its current European-based original equipment manufacturer (OEM) partner to apply Westport HPDI 2.0—the company’s LNG system for heavy-duty diesel vehicles—to an updated base engine platform. The program will incorporate new features for the resulting HPDI 2.0... Read more →

The Premier of Québec François Legault, and the Minister of the Environment and the Fight against Climate Change and Minister responsible for the Laval region, Benoit Charette, unveiled the 2030 Green Economy Plan (PEV 2030) and its first 2021-2026 implementation plan, with an envelope of $6.7 billion over five years.... Read more →

ElringKlinger AG and the Dutch vehicle manufacturer VDL Bus & Coach BV have agreed on a strategic partnership for the development and industrialization of fuel cell stacks and systems for mobile and stationary applications. ElringKlinger AG will focus on the customer-specific development and production of fuel cell stacks. VDL will... Read more →

The second-generation Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicle (FCEV), which made its debut in 2019 at the Los Angeles Auto Show, will arrive in US dealerships—in California and Hawaii—in December. With a significant change in styling, this Mirai will offer multiple grades for the first time—XLE and Limited—and is based... Read more →

Southern California Edison (SCE) is the US’ first utility to receive and to test the eCascadia, the Freightliner Class 8 electric truck (earlier post). The Class 8 truck will be used for a material transport test, which will include moving heavy utility equipment such as transformers, wire reels and switch... Read more →

Electrify Canada has officially expanded into the province of Alberta with the opening of a new station in the Rocky Mountain town of Canmore. The new station, located just off of Highway 1 at The Shops of Canmore, was designed to provide easy access to high speed electric vehicle (EV)... Read more →

Electrify America’s ultra-fast charging network now offers Plug&Charge payment technology, which allows electric vehicle (EV) owners to begin a charge without reaching for their wallet, smartphone or bank card. After a brief online registration, drivers can automatically pay for charging by simply plugging in their EV. The charger communicates with... Read more →