Mercedes-AMG laid out its new electrified drive strategy, which is based on two pillars: Performance hybrids with a completely independent drive concept under the technology label E PERFORMANCE. Battery-electric AMG derivatives based on the new Mercedes Electric Vehicle Architecture (EVA) for luxury and premium-class vehicles. Extensive modifications to the drive,... Read more →

Kia unveiled its new EV6 electrified crossover (earlier post)—its first dedicated BEV launched under the new Kia design philosophy Opposites United. The EV6 offers a choice of multiple long-range, electric powertrain configurations. With 800V charging capability the EV6 can go from 10 to 80 percent battery charge in just 18... Read more →

bp will join BMW Group and Daimler Mobility AG in their drive to extend and improve electrification, making electric vehicle charging more convenient, simpler and seamless for drivers. Under their agreement, bp will become a 33.3% partner alongside BMW Group and Daimler Mobility AG in Digital Charging Solutions GmbH (DCS),... Read more →

To support its accelerated expansion of e-mobility in the coming years, the BMW Group will source lithium from a second leading supplier, US-based Livent. The value of the multi-year contract will total around €285 million. Livent will supply the lithium directly to the BMW Group’s battery cell manufacturers from 2022... Read more →

Germany-based specialty chemicals company LANXESS is entering the battery chemistry business. Starting next year, the Group will produce electrolyte formulations for lithium-ion batteries for the Chinese company Tinci. Guangzhou Tinci Materials Technology Co. (Tinci) is a leading global manufacturer of lithium-ion battery materials. The high-performance electrolyte formulations from Leverkusen will... Read more →

Airbus has launched the “Advanced Superconducting and Cryogenic Experimental powertraiN Demonstrator” (ASCEND) to explore the impact of superconducting materials and cryogenic temperatures on the performance of an aircraft’s electrical propulsion systems. The introduction of superconducting materials can lower electrical resistance; thus, electrical current can supply power without energy loss. When... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board (ARB) will conduct a public hearing on 20 May to consider approving for adoption of the proposed Clean Miles Standard—the first proposed regulation to address environmental requirements for ride-hailing services specifically. (Earlier post.) California’s Clean Miles Standard and Incentive Program of 2018 (SB 1014) directs... Read more →

Mercedes-Benz will build the next generation eSprinter electric van, which is based on the newly developed Electric Versatility Platform (earlier post), at three locations: North Charleston, South Carolina; and Düsseldorf and Ludwigsfelde in Germany. Based on a new platform announced at the end of 2020, the next generation of the... Read more →

Fluid Truck has ordered 40 additional electric delivery trucks from Lightning eMotors for its New York City fleet. These vehicles will be utilized by XPO Logistics and NAL Group in their support of IKEA Retail US last-mile delivery efforts. The electric trucks will service all five boroughs, IKEA said. Ten... Read more →

ExxonMobil and Porsche are testing advanced biofuels and renewable, lower-carbon eFuels as part of a new agreement to find pathways toward potential future consumer adoption. The first iteration of Esso Renewable Racing Fuel is a blend of primarily advanced biofuels and is specially formulated by ExxonMobil’s in-house team of scientists... Read more →

UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps launched a £120-million scheme to enable local transport authorities to roll out zero-emission buses. The funding is being made available through the Zero Emission Buses Regional Area (ZEBRA) scheme. The funding will deliver up to 500 zero-emission buses, supporting the government’s wider commitment to introduce... Read more →

Blue Bird Corp., one of the largest school bus makers in the US, has joined a first-of-its-kind collaboration with Audi of America, Applied Information, and Temple, Inc., to deploy cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) technology aimed at helping reduce vehicle hazards that school children face every year. The Fulton County School System,... Read more →

Teijin Limited, together with Applied Electric Vehicles (Applied EV), has developed a highly energy-efficient low-speed electric vehicle (LS-EV) prototype for autonomous driving systems and other mobility applications that are expected to help realize zero-emission mobility. (Earlier post.) The four-seat LS-EV embodies a Well-to-Wheel Zero-Emission approach that combines Teijin’s proprietary technologies... Read more →

Cranfield Aerospace Solutions (CAeS)—the UK SME leading the Project Fresson consortium—will exploit recent advances in hydrogen fuel cell technology to develop a commercially viable, retrofit powertrain solution for the nine-passenger Britten-Norman Islander aircraft. Following a rigorous assessment of hydrogen technology innovators, CAeS welcomes Ricardo UK Ltd and Innovatus Technologies Ltd... Read more →

Rolls-Royce has officially started building the world’s largest aero-engine, UltraFan. Work on the first module is underway at the DemoWorks facility in Derby, UK, and the demonstrator engine, which has a fan diameter of 140 inches, will be completed by the end of the year. Artist’s impression of the UltraFan... Read more →

Purolator is taking another step in greening its fleet with the arrival of fully electric curbside-delivery trucks in Vancouver—the first to be launched nationally by a Canadian courier company. The new 18-foot electric delivery trucks and electric–cargo bikes (e-bikes) expand Purolator’s fleet of eco-friendly vehicles already in use on the... Read more →

Schaeffler has secured a volume production order to supply electric motors to a key manufacturer in the commercial vehicle sector, starting in 2023. The 800 V motor, used in pairs in battery-powered vehicles, delivers a maximum continuous output of 180 kW and generates a maximum torque of 950 N·m. It... Read more →

Germany’s Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure is awarding €10.9 million to the KelRide project, which will further develop autonomous driving in the Kelheim district in Bavaria. The aim of the KelRide project is to introduce an autonomous on-demand ride pooling service that is integrated directly into the public... Read more →

California Assemblymembers Marc Berman (D-Menlo Park) and Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) introduced legislation to phase out the sale of new gas-powered small off-road engines (SORE), which are primarily used in lawn and garden equipment, including leaf blowers, lawn mowers, and other outdoor power equipment. AB 1346 would require new sales... Read more →

Virginia Ralph Governor Northam recently signed HB 1965, legislation establishing a low-emission vehicle (LEV) and zero-emissions vehicle (ZEV) program in Virginia, making it the 15th state to become a Clean Cars state. HB 1965 directs the State Air Pollution Control Board to implement a LEV program for criteria pollutants and... Read more →

Mercedes-Benz and Siemens will cooperate on advancing digitalization and automation in the automotive industry, supported by the State of Berlin. Mercedes-Benz AG aims to digitize its production processes. Siemens, a leading supplier in the field of automation, industrial software and smart infrastructure, will bring its expertise and technologies to the... Read more →

Baker Hughes has entered into a global exclusive licensing agreement with SRI International to use SRI’s innovative Mixed-Salt Process (MSP) for CO2 capture. SRI has received support from the US Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy (FE) and National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) in developing its MSP technology. The... Read more →

The Biden Administration announced a series of measures to support rapid offshore wind deployment, including designation of a new wind energy area and targeting the deployment of 30 GW of offshore wind by 2030. New Wind Energy Area. The Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is announcing a... Read more →

Neste, the world’s leading producer of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel, has joined the eFuel Alliance, an interest group dedicated to the industrial production of synthetic fuels based on hydrogen and CO2 from renewable sources. The eFuel Alliance is based in Berlin and Brussels and brings together companies and... Read more →

Munich-based battery analytics company TWAICE has launched its new battery model library. Containing numerous cells of different chemistries and formats, the library makes obtaining validated cell aging simulation models significantly faster and increases the flexibility of licensing models. In addition, customers benefit from the holistic analytics platform that TWAICE offers... Read more →

Mercedes-Benz is expanding its green power portfolio in cooperation with the energy supplier Enovos and the Norwegian energy producer Statkraft. From 2022 onwards, the company will purchase electricity in Germany which comes exclusively from renewable sources. A green power supply contract ensures the purchase of electricity from renewable energy sources... Read more →

The Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) is rapidly electrifying its fleet to meet sustainability goals set under the Green New Deal for Los Angeles. To meet the unique demands of these new zero-emission buses, LADOT is partnering with GMV Syncromatics and ViriCiti to develop a fleet management and maintenance... Read more →

Con Edison and its partners Lion Electric and Posi-Plus are developing the country’s first all-electric bucket truck capable of performing the full range of work that electric utilities require of such vehicles. The truck will be unique on US roads when Con Edison takes possession early next year, running entirely... Read more →

Australia-based Bass Metals has signed a binding term sheet to acquire Blackearth SA which holds an option to acquire the san Jorge Lithium Project located in Catamarca province, Argentina. UBS is now forecasting an 11-fold increase to 2030 in the amount of lithium required, as well as a 7-fold increase... Read more →

Fitch Solutions expects nickel demand for EV battery manufacturing to experience an annual average growth rate of 29.2% over 2021-2030—outpacing demand for both lithium and cobalt. This estimate is a significant increase from the market analysis firm’s 2018 forecast, due to upwards revisions in its EV sales forecasts. Nickel demand... Read more →

Power management company Eaton and Tenneco announced a joint development agreement between Eaton’s Vehicle Group and Tenneco’s Clean Air business group to produce an integrated exhaust thermal management system that will enable commercial truck and light vehicle manufacturers to meet upcoming emissions regulations. Across the globe, emission standards are tightening... Read more →

For batteries to fit into narrow and crooked spaces and to store more energy for e.g. electric mobility, flexibly adaptable cells are required. So far, however, lithium-ion battery cells have been produced in standardized formats and rigid systems. Under the AgiloBat project (earlier post) researchers in Germany have developing an... Read more →

The Swappable Battery Consortium for Electric Motorcycles has reached an agreement to standardize swappable batteries and replacement systems, allowing battery sharing and paving the way for increased adoption of electric motorcycles in Japan. The consortium was established by Honda Motor Co., Ltd., Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd., Suzuki Motor Corporation and... Read more →

A new boron-copper catalyst for the conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) into chemicals or fuels has been developed by researchers at Ruhr-Universität Bochum and the University of Duisburg-Essen. They optimized already available copper catalysts to improve their selectivity and long-term stability. The results are described by the team led by... Read more →

Norway-based Green inverstment company Saga Pure ASA has committed to subscribe for NOK 30 million (US$3.5 million) in a private placement of new shares in IC Technologies AS (ICT), which is developing a novel storage solution for liquid hydrogen and LNG. Following the private placement, Saga will have an ownership... Read more →

As water-splitting technologies improve, often using porous electrode materials to provide greater surface areas for electrochemical reactions, their efficiency is often limited by the formation of bubbles that can block or clog the reactive surfaces. Now, a study at MIT has for the first time analyzed and quantified how bubbles... Read more →

Jeep is partnering with Electrify America to create the Jeep 4xe Charging Network. Jeep-branded EV charging stations will be installed at or near the trailheads of Jeep Badge of Honor off-road trails over the next year, allowing owners to take full-advantage of their electrified Jeep SUV. Trailhead chargers coincide with... Read more →

Lion Electric (Lion), a manufacturer of all-electric medium- and heavy-duty urban vehicles, received a purchase order from Pride Group Enterprises (Pride) for the acquisition of 100 all-electric Lion6 and Lion8 trucks. The order represents Lion’s largest single order of zero-emission trucks to date. Pride will be integrating the all-electric trucks... Read more →

On 24 March 2021, China-based electric vehicle maker NIO completed its 2,000,000th NIO Power Swap in Suzhou Delivery Center, China. On 26 May 2020—slightly less than 10 months ago—NIO had completed 500,000 swaps. (Earlier post.) NIO Power Swap stations have so far powered more than 396 million kilometers of driving... Read more →

A large-scale demonstration converting biocrude to renewable diesel fuel has passed a significant test, operating for more than 2,000 hours continuously without losing effectiveness. Scientists and engineers led by the US Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) conducted the research to show that the process is robust enough... Read more →

A new study by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) on aviation fuel burn and associated greenhouse gas emissions has found that overall fuel burn and, therefore, CO2 emissions from US airlines increased by 7% from 2005 to 2019. Further, the study found that low-cost carriers (LCCs) such as... Read more →

MIT researchers and colleagues at two national laboratories have developed a sulfonamide-based electrolyte that enables stable cycling of a commercial LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 cathode with a cut-off voltage up to 4.7 V in lithium-metal batteries (LMBs). The electrolyte not only suppresses side reactions, stress-corrosion cracking, transition-metal dissolution and impedance growth on the cathode... Read more →

DERQ, an MIT-spin-off with an award-winning platform powered by patented AI and predictive analytics, is partnering with Control Technologies Group (CT Group), one of the US’ largest distributors of traffic signal control and intelligent transportation systems (ITS) equipment, for a multi-year distribution agreement. CT Group will be distributing DERQ’s leading... Read more →

Innoviz Technologies, Ltd., a provider of high-performance, solid-state LiDAR sensors and perception software, has released its Automotive Perception Platform - InnovizAPP for the automotive industry. InnovizAPP is the company’s advanced perception platform, which includes automotive-grade hardware and software that enable autonomous vehicles (AVs) to identify and classify objects. Innoviz is... Read more →

MAHLE Powertrain (MPT) is continuing its investment in battery engineering with phase 2 of its electrified powertrain strategy, ePowertrain. This latest investment follows 2019’s launch of MPT’s battery module test and analysis facility, where battery modules can be tested in an array of steady-state and dynamic climatic conditions. Phase 2... Read more →

Copenhagen, Denmark transit operator Nobina has ordered 13 electric buses from Dutch bus manufacturer Ebusco. Nobina—the largest public transport operator in the Nordics—has opted for the Ebusco 2.2 12-meter city bus with three doors. The Ebusco 2.2 has a 350 kWh battery pack supporting a range of up to 350... Read more →

Libertine FPE, the creator of Smart Engine control technology for free piston engine (FPE) generators, has secured £2.6 million (US$3.6 million) in Innovate UK funding to advance development of its range-extender concept for heavy-duty applications. Libertine says that free-piston range-extender engines can offer the efficiency of fuel cells, the durability... Read more →

Haldor Topsoe and Nel ASA have entered a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the intent to offer customers complete solution for green ammonia and methanol produced with renewable electricity. The solutions will be based on Nel’s alkaline and PEM electrolysis technologies in combination with proven ammonia and methanol technologies from... Read more →

Volvo Penta and TICO announced a joint effort in the development of fully-electric terminal truck prototypes. Together the two companies will start building the first prototypes and begin testing this year. Additionally, TICO is also partnering with Volvo Penta to offer an alternative diesel powertrain within its existing line-up. As... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) adopted its Triennial Strategic Research Plan. The plan serves as a roadmap for research planning for fiscal years 2021-2024, and ensures that CARB’s research portfolio addresses policy and program needs. The Triennial Plan guides CARB’s annual selection of research contracts, which are fulfilled through... Read more →