Maersk Growth has made a leading venture investment in Prometheus Fuels, a Silicon Valley-based startup with a promising direct air capture-technology to enable cost efficient, carbon neutral eFuels for shipping (earlier post). The minority investment in Prometheus Fuels will support A.P. Moller - Maersk’s work to execute on the strategy... Read more →

University of California San Diego nanoengineers, in collaboration with researchers at LG Energy Solution, have developed a battery that combines a solid-state electrolyte and an all-silicon anode. The initial rounds of tests show that the new battery is safe, long lasting, and energy dense. It holds promise for a wide... Read more →

Embark Trucks, a developer of autonomous technology for the trucking industry, is collaborating with Cummins to accelerate the integration of next-generation truck components and controls in self-driving trucks. Under this collaboration, Embark is testing Cummins’ automated driving system (ADS) powertrain interface to manage powertrain operations. The integration of the platform-agnostic... Read more →

PACCAR has teamed up with Aurora, a leading autonomous driving technology company, and FedEx to launch a commercial pilot of autonomous trucks in linehaul trucking operations. This is the first collaboration of its kind between a truck manufacturer, an autonomous technology developer and a logistics provider. PACCAR’s autonomously enabled trucks... Read more →

Global infrastructure consulting firm AECOM signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Spanish renewables group Iberdrola, and Italian partners Cinque International and Ancitel Energy and Environment, to upgrade Italy’s historic Apennine diesel railway with hydrogen trains. This project aims to aid economic growth for the Apennine region. AECOM and its... Read more →

Cummins announced that its hydrogen-fueled internal combustion engine (H2-ICE) program is beginning development of a medium-duty 6.7-liter and a heavy-duty 15-liter engine. We’ve established significant goals as part of our PLANET 2050 sustainability strategy, including a target of zero emissions. Reducing well-to-wheels carbon emissions requires innovation of both energy sources... Read more →

Eaton’s Vehicle Group has introduced a new zero-leak Compact Combo Valve that safely vents harmful evaporative fuel vapors in the tank by stacking a Fill Limit Vent Valve (FLVV) and a new Zero-Leak Grade Vent Valve (GVV). A key benefit of the Compact Combo is reduced fuel vapor permeation. The... Read more →

Volkswagen Group China is commencing construction of a battery system production factory in Hefei (Anhui province). VW Anhui Components Company is the first battery system plant to be wholly owned by the Group in China. The initial annual capacity will be 150,000 to 180,000 high-voltage battery systems for Volkswagen Anhui’s... Read more →

Honda and Google have agreed to integrate Google’s in-vehicle connected service into an all-new model that will come to market in the second half of 2022 in North America. Honda and Google have been collaborating since 2015 with the broader automotive industry to introduce the Android platform to automobiles. As... Read more →

The City of Long Beach, California has entered into a public-private partnership with Mercedes-Benz Research & Development North America, with support from Mercedes-Benz USA Urban Mobility Solutions, and Xtelligent to develop transportation technology systems that will improve urban transportation management and enhance liveability and environmental sustainability in and around the... Read more →

Constellium SE will supply aluminum structural components for the recently introduced all-electric Ford F-150 Lightning that is expected to be available Spring 2022. The F-150 Lightning, and all F-Series pickup trucks, extensively use high-strength aluminum alloys. Constellium-supplied structural components for the F-150 Lightning include the windshield header, rocker, radiator support,... Read more →

MAHLE Powertrain and Allotrope Energy have unveiled a new battery technology which offers ultra-fast recharging coupled with good power density. By combining the benefits of supercapacitors and traditional lithium-ion batteries, the new lithium-carbon technology enables a full charge to be delivered in a similar time to refuelling an internal combustion-powered... Read more →

6K, a developer of microwave plasma technology for the production of advanced materials for energy storage and additive manufacturing powders (earlier post), closed a $51M Series C financing round. With this investment, 6K will complete its Battery Development Center of Excellence, adding 33,000 sq ft of state-of-the-art product development space... Read more →

Lyten, an advanced materials company, introduced its LytCell EV lithium-sulfur (Li-S) battery platform. The technology is optimized for the electric vehicle market and is designed to deliver three times (3X) the gravimetric energy density of conventional lithium-ion batteries. Lyten, which has just emerged from stealth mode, worked with the US... Read more →

Just weeks after Lotus confirmed it will be launching a new family of EV performance cars, it has revealed the new lightweight chassis technology that will underpin the electric sports car in the range. The new structure has been developed through Project LEVA (Lightweight Electric Vehicle Architecture), announced last October... Read more →

A new white paper published by the Argonne National Laboratory Collaborative Center for Energy Storage Science (ACCESS) outlines a clear set of battery requirements and research and development needs to accelerate the commercialization of electric propulsion for aviation—from air taxis in the near term to 737 class aircraft in the... Read more →

Vertical Aerospace, a British eVTOL manufacturer, and Marubeni Corporation, a leading Japanese integrated trading and investment business conglomerate have reached an agreement to explore Advanced Aerial Mobility (AAM) travel solutions focused on the application of Vertical’s flagship electric aircraft, the VA-X4 (earlier post), in the Japanese market. Marubeni has also... Read more →

YASA spin-out Evolito, a new company developing and manufacturing direct- and indirect-drive electric motors and power electronics for aerospace applications, launched publicly as a privately-owned business. Evolito was spun out earlier this year by YASA (the pioneer of automotive axial-flux electric motors acquired by Mercedes-Benz in July 2021) exclusively to... Read more →

Lilac Solutions, a lithium extraction technology company, announced the first close of a $150-million Series B financing led by Lowercarbon Capital and funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. Additional new investors include Mercuria Energy Trading and Valor Equity Partners; existing investors Breakthrough Energy Ventures and The... Read more →

Ford Motor Company and Redwood Materials are collaborating to build out battery recycling and a domestic battery supply chain for electric vehicles. Ford and Redwood’s goal is to make electric vehicles more sustainable, drive down the cost for batteries, and ultimately help make electric vehicles accessible and affordable for more... Read more →

E.ON and Volkswagen have introduced the E.ON Drive Booster, built by Volkswagen Group Components in operation. As a flexible fast charger, it requires no civil engineering work or adjustments to the grid connection and can charge two electric vehicles simultaneously with up to 150 kW. This means the expansion of... Read more →

Electric Last Mile Solutions, a pure-play commercial electric vehicle company focused on redefining productivity for the last mile, has received a binding purchase order for 1,000 units of its Urban Delivery vehicle from its strategic distribution partner, Randy Marion Automotive Group. Start of production for the Urban Delivery took place... Read more →

General Motors and Amazon plan to introduce the OnStar Guardian skill for Amazon Alexa, a new feature that will provide a voice-enabled connection to Emergency-Certified OnStar Advisors at home through compatible Alexa-enabled devices. The OnStar Guardian skill for Amazon Alexa is part of the OnStar Guardian platform, which aims to... Read more →

A new total cost of ownership (TCO) study from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) finds that battery-electric and fuel-cell electric commercial trucks could be economically competitive with conventional diesel trucks by 2025 in some operating scenarios. Spatial and Temporal Analysis of the Total Cost of Ownership for Class 8... Read more →

Airbus announced plans for a new CityAirbus at the company’s first Airbus Summit on “Pioneering Sustainable Aerospace” as the emerging Urban Air Mobility (UAM) market begins to firm up. The fully electric vehicle is equipped with fixed wings, a V-shaped tail, and eight electrically powered propellers as part of its... Read more →

Audi’s entry electric SUV Q4 e-tron lineup (earlier post) is ready for configuration by US buyers. The Q4 e-tron family—the MEB siblings to Volkswagen’s ID.4 models—brings three new models to Audi’s fully-electric fleet. 2022 Audi Q4 e-tron (European model shown) The Q4 50 e-tron and its Sportback variation offer Audi’s... Read more →

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has named the Volkswagen 2021 ID.4 a a 2021 TOP SAFETY PICK+. To qualify for a 2021 TOP SAFETY PICK+ award, vehicles must have good ratings in each of the Institute’s six crashworthiness evaluations. They must also have good or acceptable headlights and... Read more →

UK-based Clean Air Power, a provider of clean transport solutions, is marking its 25th anniversary working with hydrogen injection products by releasing a new range of hydrogen injectors for internal combustion engines. The range, which digitally controls hydrogen gas flow into engines, includes a high-pressure direct hydrogen injector that complements... Read more →

Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage Corporation has developed a model-based development (MBD) simulation technology that shortens verification times for automotive semiconductors by about 90%. (Verification times for simulation of three-phase inverter circuits in an automotive electric power steering system during a right turn with a duration of six seconds.) The... Read more →

Allison Transmission, a leading designer and manufacturer of conventional, electric hybrid and fully electric vehicle propulsion solutions, and Jing-Jin Electric (JJE), a China-based electrified propulsion leader in components, assemblies and systems for global automotive and commercial vehicle customers, have signed a broad, global strategic collaboration partnership agreement to accelerate the... Read more →

At the 2021 Mackinac Policy Conference, General Motors President Mark Reuss revealed GM’s group of three all-new motors that will power its Ultium-based EVs. Designed by GM, the 180kW front-drive motor, 255kW rear- and front-drive motor and 62kW all-wheel drive assist motor are part of Ultium Drive. All three motors... Read more →

At Motor Bella 2021, Bosch is introducing its new efficient 230 electric motor for commercial and medium-duty vehicles. The new 230 electric motor has a rated voltage of 800 volts and is designed for long service life. Bosch‘s electric motor 230 for commercial vehicles. During its development, Bosch engineers paid... Read more →

Electrified powertrain engineering consultancy Drive System Design (DSD) will highlight its simulation, optimization and test capabilities created in response to the significant increase in demand for EV electric drive system development, at the Cenex-LCV event at Millbrook this week. Deploying its latest electrified Powertrain Optimization Process (ePOP) simulation toolset, a... Read more →

Automotive and industrial supplier Schaeffler has opened a new production facility at its Szombathely location in the west of Hungary. The facility is Schaeffler’s first production plant fully dedicated to electro-mobility and gives the group a new center of excellence for the production of components and systems for electrified powertrains.... Read more →

Royal Dutch Shell announced its ambition to produce around 2 million tonnes of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) a year by 2025. It also aims to have at least 10% of its global aviation fuel sales as SAF by 2030. Currently, sustainable aviation fuel accounts for less than 0.1% of the... Read more →

Forest products company SCA and St1 have entered a joint venture in Sweden to produce and sell renewable HVO diesel and biojet fuel. SCA will supply tall oil to the joint venture for feedstock and will invest approximately SEK 0.6 billion (US$71.7 million) in the company. SCA and St1 will... Read more →

Plug Power is expanding its green hydrogen ecosystem to the US west coast with the construction of a new production facility in Fresno County, California. Green hydrogen is produced through the electrolysis of water with electricity generated from zero-carbon sources; only oxygen is emitted during the process. As the largest... Read more →

General Motors outlined an action plan to address the battery combustion issue afflicting the Bolt EV lineup. (Earlier post.) The action plan includes both hardware and software remedies, some of which are in place with immediate effect. LG battery plants in Holland and Hazel Park, Michigan, have resumed production. In... Read more →

Reservations for the 2023 Cadillac LYRIQ Debut Edition EV (earlier post) sold out in just over ten minutes, according to Rory Harvey, vice president, Global Cadillac. The initial response for LYRIQ has been extraordinary. Since the show car unveiling last year, more than 200,000 people have expressed interest in learning... Read more →

Honda announced an initial annual sales target of 70,000 units for the Prologue SUV, Honda’s first new volume battery-electric vehicle (BEV), when it goes on sale in 2024. Following the launch of Prologue, Honda-brand electrified vehicle sales will be boosted by the introduction of additional vehicles based on a new... Read more →

Oshkosh Corporation, a leading developer and manufacturer of mission-critical vehicles and essential equipment, and Carnegie Foundry, a robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) venture studio headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pa., announced a strategic partnership and Oshkosh Corporation investment in Carnegie Foundry to accelerate innovation in autonomy and robotics. Carnegie Foundry has an... Read more →

Aurora shared the first look of the Toyota Sienna hybrid powered by the Aurora Driver, designed for a convenient and comfortable ride-hailing experience. This represents a significant milestone in Aurora’s path to commercializing Aurora-powered Toyota vehicles designed specifically for ride-hailing. This modified Toyota Sienna is Toyota’s first mass-produced “Sienna Autono-MaaS”... Read more →

A team from Argonne National Laboratory and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has developed a new cobalt-free cathode for high-energy lithium-ion cells. The novel LiMn0.5Ni0.5O2 cathode with a predominant, partially-disordered lithiated-spinel structure was prepared by a low-temperature (LT) synthesis. In an open-access paper in the RSC journal Chemical Communications, the... Read more →

Toyota has introduced the new third-generation Tundra full-size pickup with two different powertrain configurations. The new, base twin-turbo 3.5-liter V6 engine produces up to 389 horsepower and 479 lb-ft (649 N·m) of torque. When paired with the new i-FORCE MAX system, the result is a combined hybrid performance output of... Read more →

Air New Zealand and Airbus have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to cooperate on a joint research project to better understand the opportunities and challenges of flying zero-emission hydrogen aircraft in New Zealand. Under the MoU, Air New Zealand will analyze the impact hydrogen aircraft may have on its... Read more →

SABIC has introduced NORYL GTX 9500 resin, a new addition to a range of unfilled NORYL GTX resin grades, which delivers excellent dimensional stability under hot and humid conditions, addressing the challenge for highly demanding automotive applications. SABIC’s NORYL GTX 9500 resin retains a better balance of mechanical properties when... Read more →

Adamas Intelligence has published its 5th semiannual State of Charge: EVs, Batteries and Battery Materials report. The report provides an overview of the global EV market’s performance over the past half-year (2021 H1) and its implications on the ever-evolving battery and battery materials supply chains. Among the findings of the... Read more →

Rio Tinto has approved a new solar farm and battery storage at Weipa in Queensland, in a move that will more than triple the local electricity network’s solar generation capacity and help provide cleaner power to Rio Tinto’s operations. The Weipa operations in Far North Queensland includes three bauxite mines,... Read more →

The technology group Wärtsilä will supply a 9.2 MW / 8.7 MWh energy storage system to Zenith Energy, an Independent Power Producer (IPP) in Australia. Zenith sells the electrical power it produces to some of the world’s largest mining companies with operations in Australia. The installed energy storage system will... Read more →

ElectraMeccanica Vehicles will begin customer deliveries of its single-occupant, three-wheeled, electric vehicle, the SOLO. The company will officially begin delivering keys to customers at a special launch event scheduled for 4 October in Los Angeles with a select group of early reservation holders along with the company’s first fleet owners.... Read more →