Ørsted and Liquid Wind AB have reached an agreement under which Ørsted will acquire a 45% ownership share of Liquid Wind AB’s FlagshipONE e-methanol project. (Earlier post.) FlagshipONE is a late-stage development project and could become the world’s first large-scale sustainable e-methanol project. Liquid Wind AB plans to establish a... Read more →

25 The technology group Wärtsilä has received its first order for newbuild methanol-fueled engines. A new Offshore Wind Installation Vessel (WIV) being built for Dutch contracting company Van Oord at Yantai CIMC Raffles shipyard in China will be powered by five Wärtsilä 32 engines capable of operating with methanol. A... Read more →

Wisk, a leading Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) company and developer of the first all-electric, self-flying air taxi in the US, has secured $450 million in funding from The Boeing Company, making it one of the most well-funded AAM companies in the world. Combined with previous funding, this investment reinforces Wisk’s... Read more →

Toshiba Electronics Europe GmbH has launched a new normally open (NO) 1-Form-A photorelay that is intended for use in a multitude of battery- and hybrid-electric vehicle applications including within the battery management system (BMS), ground fault detection and identifying faults with mechanical relays. The new TLX9160T consists of an infrared... Read more →

Benevelli, an Italy-based producer of transaxles, wheel drives and electric motors, has launched the new SMAC Serie 270, a line of IPM (interior permanent magnet) electric motors systems ideal for off-highway and eMobility vehicles. IPM motors feature a rotor embedded with permanent magnets. Compared with the SPM (surface permanent magnet),... Read more →

Rio Tinto, Turquoise Hill Resources (TRQ) and the Government of Mongolia have reached an agreement that will move the Oyu Tolgoi (OT) copper mine project (earlier post) forward, resetting the relationship between the partners and increasing the value the project delivers for Mongolia. As a result, the OT Board, comprised... Read more →

InCharge Energy, a provider of turnkey electric vehicle (EV) charging solutions for commercial fleets, introduced its latest charging hardware offering: the ICE-180. This all-in-one DC Fast Charger is compatible with all CCS and CHAdeMO EVs and is suited for auto dealers, commercial fleet charging and parking applications where higher-power DC... Read more →

Hon Hai Technology Group (Foxconn), a global leader in smart manufacturing, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indonesian Ministry of Investment/BKPM, IBC, Indika, and Gogoro to develop jointly a battery manufacturing and electric vehicle ecosystem in Indonesia. Under the MoU, Foxconn together with Gogoro (a Taiwanese company that... Read more →

ROUSH CleanTech is the first original equipment manufacturer to receive California Air Resources Board’s (CARB’s) 0.02 grams per brake horsepower-hour certification for 2022 model year vehicles. The optional ultra-low CARB certification is 90% cleaner than current emissions standards for nitrogen oxides. The new engine certification covers ROUSH CleanTech Gen 5... Read more →

Autonomous driving technology company Pony.ai has introduced its 6th generation autonomous driving (AD) system, with leading-edge sensors, NVIDIA DRIVE computing platform solutions, and styling and design features for L4 automotive-grade mass production fleets. The first model equipped with this system, Toyota S-AM, a seven-seat hybrid electric platform for autonomous mobility... Read more →

Lightning eMotors has been named as the powertrain provider for an all-electric motorhome concept—the e-RV—under development by Winnebago Industries’ Advanced Technology Group (ATG). The electric powertrain system for the e-RV was developed, integrated, and installed by Lightning eMotors. We agree with Winnebago Industries’ view that there is a significant opportunity... Read more →

Vulcan Energy Resources Limited, the company aiming to become the world’s first integrated lithium and renewable energy producer with a net zero carbon footprint (earlier post), has been granted research permit in Italy for the Cesano area located 20 km NNW of Rome. Vulcan’s current Zero Carbon Lithium Project aims... Read more →

by Michael Sivak, Sivak Applied Research. In this analysis, I examined the relation between crude-oil production and crude-oil reserves in the world overall and in the United States alone. The variable of interest was the amount of crude oil produced as a percentage of proved reserves of crude oil. (This... Read more →

Researchers at Japan’s National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) and the NIMS-SoftBank Advanced Technologies Development Center have developed a lithium-air battery with an energy density of more than 500 Wh/kg—significantly higher than currently lithium ion batteries. The research team then confirmed that this battery can be charged and discharged at... Read more →

Classification Society ClassNK has issued an Approval in Principle (AiP) for the design of an ammonia-fueled Panamax bulk carrier developed by Planning and Design Center for Greener Ships (GSC). GSC was formed in 2020 by nine shipbuilders and ClassNK Ammonia is expected to be used as decarbonized fuel for ships... Read more →

Parallel Systems, a company founded by former SpaceX engineers to reimagine the railroad system, has raised $49.55 million in Series A funds to build autonomous battery-electric rail vehicles that move freight. The round is led by Anthos Capital, and includes investments from Congruent Ventures, Riot Ventures, Embark Ventures, and others.... Read more →

Tel Aviv-based TriEye, a fabless semiconductor company that developed the first CMOS-based Short-Wave Infrared (SWIR) sensing solution, is collaborating with Tier 1 automotive supplier Hitachi Astemo to enhance the capabilities of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) for adverse weather and low-light conditions by accelerating the commercialization of TriEye technology. TriEye’s... Read more →

After declining in 2020, the combined production of US fossil fuels (including natural gas, crude oil, and coal) increased by 2% in 2021 to 77.14 quadrillion British thermal units. Based on forecasts in its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects US fossil fuel production... Read more →

Fermata Energy, a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology services provider, recently raised $40 million to accelerate the company’s growth with investment from new partners, including funds managed by global investment firm Carlyle and Verizon Ventures. The company’s V2X software technology aims to transform electric vehicles into energy-storage assets, making EV ownership more... Read more →

Zhejiang Geely Holding Group and Renault Group have signed a cooperation agreement to launch all-new vehicle lineup for the South-Korean market. Renault-Samsung Motors (RSM) will manufacture Hybrid Electric and Internal Combustion Engine Vehicles in Busan for the local market and for export. Geely Group will become a strategic partner of... Read more →

Canadian Pacific is expanding its Hydrogen Locomotive Program from one to three locomotives, with expected delivery in 2022, and has ordered eight additional 200 kW fuel cell modules from Ballard to support the expansion. Inclusive of Ballard’s announcement in March 2021, the company will provide a total of 14 fuel... Read more →

Unibuss AS, one of the biggest Norwegian carriers, has contracted for the delivery of 183 Solaris Urbino 18 electric buses for the Norwegian capital Oslo. The total value of the contract, concluded as a result of a tender, stands approximately €100 million. This marks the largest single-order yet for Solaris... Read more →

General Motors plans to invest nearly $154 million in its Western New York Lockport Components plant. The investment will be used to renovate the facility and purchase and install new machinery and equipment used in the production of the stator module, a key component in an electric motor. Ultium Drive... Read more →

Intel announced plans for an initial investment of more than $20 billion in the construction of two new leading-edge chip factories in Ohio. The investment will help boost production to meet the surging demand for advanced semiconductors, powering a new generation of innovative products from Intel and serving the needs... Read more →

Members of the Corporate Electric Vehicle Alliance presented top vehicle manufacturers, including Volvo, GM, Daimler and Toyota, with a roadmap for developing the types of electric vehicles that companies plan to acquire in the US over the next five years. The recommendations are based upon a new Ceres analysis of... Read more →

LAND, a startup electric vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Cleveland, began US production on 120 units of the District E Moto this month. The District is a two-wheeled E Moto, a transitional vehicle that performs as an e-bicycle, e-moped, and e-motorcycle through a ride mode selection interface, with a top speed... Read more →

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is developing a new ratings program that evaluates the safeguards that vehicles with partial automation employ to help drivers stay focused on the road. The safeguards will be rated “good”, “acceptable”, “marginal” or “poor”. To earn a good rating, systems will need to... Read more →

Mercedes-Benz and Luminar Technologies announced a partnership to accelerate development of future automated driving technologies for passenger cars. A central component of this is the optimal access to new technologies and global competencies. The intent of this partnership is to leverage the foundational lidar technology from Luminar with the aim... Read more →

The California Electric Transportation Coalition and California utilities announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to support a California Regional Charging Network. The MOU encourages cooperation and leadership among the California utilities to build out a regional network of chargers. The MOU was signed by the Los Angeles Department of Water... Read more →

Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) has taken delivery of 23 Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (HFCEV), marking the company’s first purchase of hydrogen-powered vehicles. The company plans to expand its fleet of HFCEVs to 50 next month, making SoCalGas among the first utilities in the nation to start... Read more →

Cummins and Isuzu Motors announced an agreement to create a prototype medium-duty, battery-electric truck to demonstrate in North America. This truck represents the first zero-emissions solution facilitated by the Isuzu Cummins Powertrain Partnership (ICPP) formed in May 2019. (Earlier post.). Through this arrangement, Cummins will integrate the Cummins PowerDrive 6000... Read more →

Factorial Energy (Factorial) has raised $200 million as part of a Series D round of funding that was led by Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis Funding will be used to accelerate commercial production and deployment of Factorial’s solid-state battery technology that is safer and offers up to 50% greater driving range than... Read more →

The California Energy Commission (CEC) awarded $13 million to the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and CALSTART to jump start California’s high-power charging infrastructure for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. The two organizations will lead a first-of-its-kind collaboration to launch the country’s first zero-emission, freight-charging corridor network. The multi-phase project, Research... Read more →

Porsche has introduced a third body variant of the Taycan electric sports car. The new Taycan Cross Turismo— which will offer five models from which to choose—combines the everyday usability of the Taycan Cross Turismo with the on-road dynamics of the Taycan sports sedan. In 2021, deliveries of the all-electric... Read more →

Honda is partnering with the V2X Suisse consortium to demonstrate the role of electric vehicles (EVs) and bi-directional charging technology in the future of energy management. Honda will supply 50 Honda e electric vehicles (earlier post) to Switzerland’s car-sharing operator, Mobility. The Honda e units will be used as part... Read more →

Honeywell and FREYR Battery signed an agreement pursuant to which FREYR will, subject to viability, leverage Honeywell’s leading technology offerings, including integrated automation, field instrumentation and security integration solutions in FREYR’s manufacturing process. As part of the collaboration, Honeywell will purchase 19 GWh of battery cells produced by FREYR from... Read more →

The Beneficial Electrification League (BEL), a Minnesota-based not-for-profit organization dedicated to increasing understanding on the benefits of electrification through education, announced a new initiative to accelerate the deployment of electric school buses (ESBs) in electric cooperative service territories throughout the country. BEL launches this coalition effort in advance of federal... Read more →

Moscow, Russia, currently runs 1000 electric public electric buses on 66 bus routes, giving it the distinction of operating the largest e-bus fleet in Europe and America. This year the Government of Moscow plans to buy 500 additional electric buses. Most of them will be purchased with the funds from... Read more →

Ford and ADT Inc. will invest in a new joint venture called Canopy that combines ADT’s professional security monitoring and Ford’s AI-driven video camera technology to help customers strengthen security of new and existing vehicles across automotive brands. The combination of our technologies and our deep security experience creates a... Read more →

Hyzon Motors, a leading supplier of heavy-duty hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric vehicles, announced a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Transform Materials, a provider of renewable hydrogen through its proprietary microwave reactor technology (earlier post). Together, Hyzon and Transform Materials will evaluate proposals to develop facilities to produce low-to-negative carbon... Read more →

GM announced new commercial applications of its HYDROTEC fuel cell technology. HYDROTEC projects, which are currently in development, from heavy-duty trucks to aerospace and locomotives, are being planned for use beyond vehicles for power generation. GM is planning multiple HYDROTEC-based power generators, all powered by GM’s Generation 2 HYDROTEC fuel... Read more →

IonQ, a developer of trapped-ion quantum computing, and Hyundai Motor Company are partnering to develop new variational quantum eigensolver (VQE) algorithms to study lithium oxides and their chemical reactions involved in battery chemistry. A VQE is a hybrid quantum-classical algorithm that aims to find the combination of values that solve... Read more →

Canada-based FLO announced the installation of the first wave of workplace electric vehicle (EV) charging stations as part of a multi-year agreement with General Motors (GM), whereby FLO provides AC Level 2 and direct current (DC) fast chargers for GM to be installed on their premises in the United States.... Read more →

Contemporary Amperex Energy Service Technology Ltd. (CAES), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL), has launched its battery swap solution EVOGO featuring modular battery swapping. Comprising battery blocks, fast battery swap stations and an app, EVOGO will be first launched in ten cities, said Chen Weifeng, general... Read more →

Honda Motor announced that, in December 2021, it signed a joint development agreement with SES Holdings Pte. Ltd.in the area of Lithium-metal rechargeable batteries. Moreover, SES plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) via a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) transaction, and through the PIPE (private investment in... Read more →

The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) has released a report prepared by the consultancy Cerulogy that explores the potential market and environmental impacts of increased capacity for renewable diesel produced by hydrotreating oils and fats in the US. The United States currently supports renewable diesel supply through the federal... Read more →

A team at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has completed a literature review on the potential value of EV managed charging. Their findings, published in Energy & Environmental Science, provide a comprehensive look at how EVs and the grid could work together as the electric and transportation sectors become... Read more →

24M Technologies, Inc. (24M) has finalized its deal, announced in December 2021 (earlier post) with Volkswagen Group (VWAG). Through the strategic partnership, Volkswagen will manufacture next-generation lithium-ion EV batteries using the 24M SemiSolid platform for use in Group electric vehicles. Volkswagen Group acquired a 25% stake in 24M and will... Read more →

The Volkswagen Group and the Bosch Group have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore the establishment of a European battery equipment solution provider. The two companies plan to supply integrated battery production systems as well as on-site ramp-up and maintenance support for battery cell and system manufacturers. The companies... Read more →

EV Connect announced the general availability of its Fleet Charging Management Platform. As a lead customer, the City of Porterville now leverages the EV Connect Fleet solution for advanced capabilities such as real-time charger and vehicle data, automatic and manual charging prioritization, and energy management to help mitigate on-peak energy... Read more →