The technology group Wärtsilä is participating in a consortium of Finnish research organisations and leading companies researching means for developing radical new solutions for clean and efficient marine and off-road transport. The project is expected to run until spring 2023, and has been granted funding of €7.9 million by Business... Read more →

India-based Ola Electric unveiled the Ola Hypercharger Network, the charging network for its upcoming electric two-wheeler products starting with the Ola Scooter to be launched in the coming months. Ola plans to offer the most comprehensive set of charging options to its electric vehicle customers through a combination of widely... Read more →

Tirupati Graphite plc, a fully integrated specialist graphite producer and graphene developer with operations in Madagascar and India, has opened its second mine in Madagascar at the Vatomina Project, where it remains on track to start commissioning the first 9,000 tpa processing plant in Q2 2021. Madagascar offers weathered, low-cost... Read more →

In the first quarter of 2021, hybrid electric vehicles made up 18.4% of total passenger car sales in the EU, almost doubling their market share in a year, according to data from the European Association of Automobile Manufacturers (ACEA). Demand for electrically-chargeable cars also increased in Q1: battery-electric vehicles made... Read more →

Researchers from the University of Houston, with colleagues at the University of São Paolo in Brazil, have demonstrated how copper-resistant bacterium from a copper mine in Brazil convert CuSO4 (copper sulfate) ions into zero-valent Cu (metallic copper). An open-access paper on their research is published in Science Advances. Gracioso et... Read more →

California Governor Gavin Newsom has directed the Department of Conservation’s Geologic Energy Management (CalGEM) Division to initiate regulatory action to end the issuance of new permits for hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) by January 2024. Additionally, Governor Newsom requested that the California Air Resources Board (CARB) analyze pathways to phase out oil... Read more →

ExxonMobil and Global Clean Energy have expanded their five-year agreement to increase ExxonMobil’s purchase of renewable diesel to up to 5 million barrels per year. ExxonMobil will be the exclusive buyer of renewable diesel from Global Clean Energy’s biorefinery in Bakersfield, California, which is on schedule to begin production in... Read more →

DHL Express announced a partnership with Fiat Professional, purchasing the first 100 units of Fiat’s new E-Ducato, introduced to the public on Earth Day. With a range of more than 200 km, the E-Ducato is well-suited for last mile logistics. In line with the recently launched Sustainability Roadmap of DPDHL... Read more →

Bye Aerospace announced an eight-seat all-electric twin turbo-prop class airplane, the eFlyer 800. Performance estimates for the eFlyer 800 include up to 320 knot cruise speed, 35,000 feet ceiling and 500 nm range with 45-minute IFR reserves at normal cruise speed of 280 knots. Safety features include two wing-mounted electric... Read more →

Orocobre Limited and Galaxy Resources have entered into a binding Merger Implementation Deed (MID) under which Orocobre will acquire 100% of the shares in Galaxy. The resulting company will have a A$4-billion (US$3.1-billion) market capitalization, making it the fifth-largest by capitalization. The merged entity will also be the fifth-largest lithium... Read more →

EVLOMO Incorporated and Rojana Industrial Park Public Co., Ltd. announced plans to setup an 8 GWh Lithium Battery plant in the EEC of Thailand. Together, the companies will invest up to a total of $ 1.06 billion through a new joint venture company. In this new JV company, Rojana Industrial... Read more →

Snam4Mobility, a Snam Group company active in sustainable mobility, and Wolftank Hydrogen, a company of the Austrian Group Wolftank-Adisa dedicated to hydrogen and renewable energy production and distribution plants, have started a collaboration aimed at boosting hydrogen mobility through the construction of refueling stations for cars, buses and trucks. Following... Read more →

Allison Transmission and Emergency One (UK) Ltd, the market leader in the United Kingdom in the manufacture, service and support of fire and rescue vehicles, announced a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The two companies will integrate the Allison eGen Power 100D electric axle into Emergency One’s fire rescue and... Read more →

Bosch, the supplier of technology and services, is combining the internet of things (IoT) with artificial intelligence (AI)—thus, AIoT—and believes electromobility will allow it to develop new business opportunities on the back of the profound technological and ecological changes currently occurring. “Bosch came through the first year of the coronavirus... Read more →

A new report sponsored by ABB Robotics and authored by the automotive intelligence unit of Ultima Media auggests that concerns over EV battery supply to meet the escalation in demand poses serious risk to the growth of market share of electric vehicles, despite plans for 80 new global battery gigafactories.... Read more →

Nacero has licensed Topsoe TIGAS (Topsoe Improved Gasoline Synthesis) technology for its multi-billion USD natural-gas-to-gasoline facility in Penwell, Texas to produce 100,000 barrels per day of gasoline component ready for blending into US commercial grades. The plant will produce cleaner gasoline from low-cost natural gas, captured bio-methane from farms and... Read more →

thyssenkrupp has signed a contract with Illinois-based CF Industries to supply a 20 megawatt alkaline water electrolysis plant to produce green hydrogen at their Donaldsonville, Louisiana, manufacturing complex. The work is expected to begin in the second half of 2021 and finish in 2023. thyssenkrupp 20MW electrolyzer CF Industries will... Read more →

Toyota Motor Corporation is developing a hydrogen combustion engine in an effort to move toward a carbon-neutral mobility society. It has installed the engine—a 1.6L in-line three-cylinder turbo with intercooler—on a racing vehicle based on Toyota’s Corolla Hatchback, which it will enter in competition under the ORC ROOKIE Racing banner.... Read more →

US President Joe Biden announced a new target for the United States to achieve a 50-52% reduction from 2005 levels in economy-wide net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2030. According to the most recent GHG inventory from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), US GHG emissions in 2019 (after accounting... Read more →

Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) will convert 200 new Ford F-250 service pickup trucks to run on renewable natural gas (RNG). The service trucks will be outfitted with the newest Landi Renzo Eco Ready equipment, a California Air Resource Board (CARB)-certified ultra-low emissions vehicle system. Equipping these 200 service vehicles... Read more →

The Arizona legislature passed, and Governor Doug Ducey has signed, Arizona H.B. 2485, which establishes an Urban air mobility study committee. This is the first urban air mobility (UAM) state legislation, according to Hyundai Motor Group’s Urban Air Mobility Division. The UAM study committee will: Review current AZ laws that... Read more →

Faurecia, Groupe Renault, Knauf Industries, Simoldes, and Coşkunöz, in association with IBM, have signed a partnership contract for the deployment of XCEED (eXtended Compliance End-to-End Distributed), a blockchain-based shared solution to trace the compliance of thousands of parts assembled in a vehicle in almost real time. (Earlier post.) This move follows... Read more →

The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has proposed to withdraw its portions of the Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule issued under the Trump Administration (earlier post), which, among other things, sought to preempt states, including California, from issuing their own greenhouse gas emissions standards and zero-emissions vehicle... Read more →

Universal Hydrogen announced $20.5-million Series A financing round led by prominent Silicon Valley venture fund, Playground Global, with the investor syndicate comprising Fortescue Future Industries, Coatue, Global Founders Capital, Plug Power, Airbus Ventures, JetBlue Technology Ventures, Toyota AI Ventures, Sojitz Corporation, and Future Shape. Founded in 2020 by aviation industry... Read more →

A new report commissioned by Advanced Energy Economy (AEE) projects that California’s electric transportation (ET)-related workforce will nearly double by 2024. With an estimated 3,900 ET-related businesses in 2019, California is already the leading state in electric transportation. The report, “Electrifying California: Economic Potential of Growing Electric Transportation,” was prepared... Read more →

A team of transportation and policy experts from the University of California released a report to the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) outlining policy options to significantly reduce transportation-related fossil fuel demand and emissions. Those policy options, when combined, could lead to a zero-carbon transportation system by 2045, while also... Read more →

Renesas Electronics Corporation and SiFive, Inc., the industry leader in RISC-V processors and silicon solutions, announced a strategic partnership to develop next-generation, high-end RISC-V solutions for automotive applications. The partnership will also include SiFive licensing the use of their RISC-V core IP portfolio to Renesas. RISC-V is an open standard... Read more →

Allison Transmission’s eGen Flex, its next generation electric hybrid propulsion solution (earlier post), will be put into revenue service at New York City Transit (NYCT) in May. The eGen Flex system—comprising the drive unit, inverter and rechargeable energy storage system—includes full electric drive capability for up to 10 miles, depending... Read more →

The production model 2023 Cadillac LYRIQ EV has made its debut. With testing of Cadillac’s inaugural electric luxury SUV running ahead of schedule, the brand announced that customers may place order reservations beginning in September 2021, with initial availability starting the first half of 2022. A 12-module, 100 kWh battery... Read more →

EV technology developer Battle Motors has acquired commercial vehicle OEM Crane Carrier Company. Battle Motors was founded by Michael Patterson, the founder of Romeo Power; Paul Marsolan, co-founder and former CTO of InAuth, Inc.; and Nick Sampson, co-founder of Faraday Future and former head of vehicle engineering at Tesla. Crane... Read more →

Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) will demonstrate a combination of technologies that will produce hydrogen from renewable natural gas (RNG) at SunLine Transit Agency’s hydrogen fueling station in Thousand Palms, California. The research project, called “H2 SilverSTARS,” will produce renewable hydrogen to fuel SunLine’s fleet of 17 hydrogen fuel cell... Read more →

Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) and H2U Technologies are testing a new electrolyzer, called the Gramme 50, for the production of green hydrogen. According to early analysis, the cost target of the new technology is half that of current electrolyzers and the total cost of ownership over its life is... Read more →

Chevron USA, through its Chevron Products Company division (Chevron), and Toyota Motor North America, Inc. signed a memorandum of understanding to explore a strategic alliance to catalyze and lead the development of commercially viable, large-scale businesses in hydrogen, with the goal to advance a functional, thriving global hydrogen economy. Chevron... Read more →

A new $2-million project at the University of Michigan aims to develop easier and more cost-effective ways to make recyclable lightweight automotive sheet metals. “The Clean Sheet Project” seeks to develop new design tools and establish best practices for material producers and carmakers with a focus on recycling from start... Read more →

ELYSIS has selected the Alma smelter, operated by Rio Tinto in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, Québec, for the first installation and demonstration of its inert anode technology at a commercial size of 450 kiloamperes (kA)—a common capacity for modern, full-scale smelters. ELYSIS is a joint venture company, led by Rio Tinto and Alcoa,... Read more →

Mercedes-Benz is switching to a more powerful generation of lithium-ion batteries in its electric buses (earlier post). The first eCitaro G articulated buses have now been delivered to Hanover’s transport operator, ÜSTRA. They are part of a large-scale order and also an important element of a plan to electrify bus... Read more →

LG Chem has launched the largest carbon nanotube (CNT) manufacturing plant in Korea. The company is actively targeting the rapidly growing CNT market, widely used as the material for cathodes in electric vehicle batteries. LG Chem announced that the 1,200 metric tons (MT) expansion of Yeosu CNT 2nd Plant—representing an... Read more →

NOHMs Technologies (Nano Organic Hybrid Materials), a provider of advanced electrolyte products for next-generation lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries (earlier post), has relaunched as Sionic Energy, transforming its business to deliver complete advanced battery cell designs that incorporate its technologies into a drop-in, rapidly commercialized, low-cost, high performance, safer Li-ion technology. Sionic’s... Read more →

Factorial Energy, a start-up solid-state battery technology company, emerged from stealth mode with a 40Ah solid-state battery cell for electric vehicles (EVs) and other applications. Factorial also announced the appointment of senior industry leaders with deep technical and automotive experience to its leadership team. Factorial Energy is naming Joe Taylor... Read more →

UK-based OXIS Energy, a developer of Li-S battery technologies (earlier post), says it will deploy solid-state Lithium Sulfur (Li-S) cells and battery systems to its clients and partners worldwide by Autumn 2021 for use in trials, proof of concept and demonstrator battery systems for the Aviation, Marine, Defence and Heavy... Read more →

UK-based Nyobolt, the developer of ultra-fast charging niobium-based battery technology, has expanded its global footprint with the opening of its first US office. Backed by Microsoft investor David Marquardt, former CEO of DuPont Marc Doyle, and leading technology investors, William and Andy Matthes, the expansion comes two months after the... Read more →

SVOLT Energy Technology, a global advanced technology company and spin-off of Chinese automobile manufacturer Great Wall Motors, is the first to begin commercialization of lithium-ion batteries (LIB) utilizing metallic thin-film separator technology from Soteria Battery Innovation Group (BIG). SVOLT cells made with Soteria aluminum metallized film demonstrate life after nail... Read more →

The Love’s Family of Companies, Cargill and their affiliates have entered into a 50/50 joint venture to produce and market renewable diesel. The joint venture is called Heartwell Renewables and will result in the construction of a new production plant and more than 50 jobs in Hastings, Nebraska. The plant... Read more →

Saint-Gobain, the global technical material expert, will partner with the Israeli battery technology start-up Addionics to develop next generation solid-state lithium-ion batteries with novel electrode components under the Israel - US BIRD Energy program. The partnership aims to offer major improvements in EV battery performance, such as longer driving range,... Read more →

Crowley Engineering Services has completed the design of the first fully electric US tugboat with autonomous technology. The Crowley design, powered by the expertise of recently integrated subsidiary Jensen Maritime, leverages a large electric battery system and power-saving technology to operate in a fully electric mode while producing zero air... Read more →

Johnson Matthey (JM) is partnering with Finnish Minerals Group to support development of its previously announced second eLNO cathode materials (earlier post) commercial plant, which will be in Finland, powered solely by renewable energy and incorporating an innovative effluent treatment solution. Johnson Matthey also has signed a term sheet for... Read more →

A global shortage of semiconductors—caused by manufacturing delays that some semiconductor makers blame on a faster-than expected recovery from the coronavirus pandemic—has forced automakers to adjust or cancel production over the past months. Now SEMI, the largest global trade association for the design and manufacture of semiconductors, and the Center... Read more →

An innovative fuel cell system based on high-temperature proton exchange membrane (HTPEM) technology from Blue World Technologies (earlier post) is being constructed for testing at the Alfa Laval Test & Training Center in Aalborg, Denmark. The test installation will explore the technology’s potential as a source of marine auxiliary power.... Read more →

The BMW iX electric SUV (earlier post) has its world premiere at the Auto Shanghai 2021 show. Market launch in China will get underway over the course of 2021. The BMW iX is first model in the brand’s line-up to feature the new Operating System 8 and the latest generation... Read more →

In March, BMW presented the Neue Klasse generation of vehicles, to be launched by the middle of this decade, which will be clearly focused on all-electric drivetrains. For the Neue Klasse, the BMW Group is developing the next generation of its battery technology. (Earlier post.) With the Neue Klasse, we... Read more →