A.P. Moller - Maersk (Maersk) will add 300 electric trucks to its North American network, making it the largest heavy-duty electric truck deployment to date. The trucks will be delivered between 2023 - 2025 for use by Maersk’s North American warehousing, distribution and transportation business called Performance Team – A... Read more →

The cost of electrifying commercial fleets can be a significant barrier. Although many millions of dollars in electric vehicle grants are available each year to help with the cost of going electric, the grant programs are often complex, and the application process is time-consuming and very competitive. To help medium-... Read more →

In its Annual Energy Outlook 2022 (AEO2022) Reference case, which reflects current laws and regulations, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects that renewable diesel supply (domestic production and net imports) will exceed biodiesel supply in the near term. EIA projects that renewable diesel supply will increase to 130,000 barrels... Read more →

Electrify America has described a new design vision for some of its future charging stations intended to exceed electric vehicle (EV) customer expectations. In addition to this new, customer-focused design evolution, the company will be introducing its next-generation charger with functional design updates to improve the hands-on charging experience for... Read more →

The Renault Group suspended its industrial activities in Russia on 23 March (earlier post). Regarding its stake in AVTOVAZ, Renault Group said that it is assessing the available options, taking into account the current environment, while acting responsibly towards its 45,000 employees in Russia. AVTOVAZ Group is part of the... Read more →

Curb, a ride-hailing app for licensed taxi and for-hire rides in North America, announced the execution of a strategic partnership agreement with Uber that will enable Curb-connected drivers to receive trip requests from Uber users. The integration will provide wider transportation options for riders and more trips for drivers as... Read more →

The Audi Environmental Foundation is developing filters for urban runoff in conjunction with the Technical University of Berlin (TUB). The filters prevent tire wear particles and other environmentally harmful substances from being washed into sewers and bodies of water along with rainwater. Initial field and lab tests have now demonstrated... Read more →

Gevo has signed a “take-or-pay” agreement with Delta Air Lines, Inc. to supply 75 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) per year for seven years. Based on current assumptions, including those around future pricing of commodities and the future values of certain environmental benefits, Gevo estimates that the agreement... Read more →

General Motors has begun retail production of the 2023 Cadillac LYRIQ (earlier post) at GM’s Spring Hill, Tennessee, assembly plant. GM announced a commitment to invest $2 billion in Spring Hill Assembly in October 2020. An additional $2.3 billion is being invested in an all-new battery cell manufacturing plant at... Read more →

The BMW Group is publishing the world’s largest data set to streamline and accelerate significantly the training of artificial intelligence in production. The synthesized AI dataset—known as SORDI (Synthetic Object Recognition Dataset for Industries)—consists of more than 800,000 photorealistic images. These are divided into 80 categories of production resources, from... Read more →

Stellantis, TotalEnergies/Saft and Mercedes-Benz have finalized the agreement to bring Mercedes-Benz onboard as a new, equal partner of Automotive Cells Company (ACC). (Earlier post.) The partners have committed to increase ACC’s industrial capacity to at least 120 GWh by 2030. By then, its French (Billy-Berclau/Douvrin) and German (Kaiserslautern) plants will... Read more →

Stellantis N.V. and LG Energy Solution (LGES) have executed binding, definitive agreements to establish the first large-scale, domestic, electric-vehicle battery manufacturing facility in Canada. The resulting joint venture company will produce lithium-ion battery cells and modules to meet a significant portion of Stellantis’ vehicle production requirements in North America. The... Read more →

Charging speeds for electric vehicles (EVs) vary widely, from as little as 15 minutes using an ultra-rapid 350 kW charger, to as much as 24 hours when relying on a domestic wall outlet. OEMs are working on extending the charging rate up to 3 C (or even beyond) by using... Read more →

On 16 March 2022, the Antelope Valley Transit Authority Board of Directors, along with the California Air Resources Board (CARB), hosted a celebration recognizing AVTA becoming the first all-electric transit agency in North America. The 87-vehicle fleet consists of BYD electric buses, New Flyer’s Motor Coach Industries (MCI) coaches, and... Read more →

GreenPower Motor Company, a manufacturer and distributor of electric medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, launched the Nano BEAST: a purpose-built, battery-electric, Type A school bus with a range of up to 150 miles per charge. GreenPower’s Nano BEAST Type A School Bus The Nano BEAST’s (Battery Electric Automotive School Transportation) clean-sheet... Read more →

The Board of Directors of Renault Group has decided to suspend Renault Group activities in its manufacturing plant in Moscow as of 23 March. Regarding its stake in AVTOVAZ, Renault Group said that it is assessing the available options, taking into account the current environment, while acting responsibly towards its... Read more →

Proterra Inc announced a strategic, multi-year supply agreement with The Shyft Group to power its Blue Arc purpose-built Class 3 electric delivery van and EV chassis with Proterra’s battery technology. Blue Arc’s EV chassis features a Proterra battery system. The Blue Arc delivery van is a 100% battery-electric Class-3 commercial... Read more →

StoreDot, the developer of extreme fast charging (XFC) battery technology for electric vehicles, reports being the first company to test silicon-dominant cells for more than 1000 cycles. Using a specially designed testing form factor, StoreDot has now achieved 1250 cycles with cells that are taken to 80% of charge in... Read more →

NVIDIA has started production of its NVIDIA DRIVE Orin autonomous vehicle computer, showcased new automakers adopting the NVIDIA DRIVE platform, and unveiled the next generation of its NVIDIA DRIVE Hyperion architecture. The company also announced that its automotive pipeline has increased to more than $11 billion over the next six... Read more →

In preparation for the launch of its all-new 2023 bZ4X battery electric SUV (earlier post) later this year, Toyota Motor North America, Inc. will work with ChargePoint, Inc. to offer customers home and public EV charging solutions. For home charging, bZ4X customers will have the option to purchase a ChargePoint... Read more →

Volvo Trucks North America’s customer WattEV has ordered 50 Class 8 Volvo VNR Electric trucks to launch its Truck-as-a-Service (TaaS) model in California. WattEV’s TaaS model provides shippers and carriers access to battery-electric trucks at a per-mile rate, including charging, that is on par with the total cost of operating... Read more →

The International Lithium Association (ILiA), the not-for-profit industry association representing the global lithium value chain, announced a wide-ranging agreement with TDi Sustainability to explore standards and environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues in the lithium industry. The transition to lower-carbon transport and power will require a vast quantity of lithium... Read more →

LG Energy Solution (LGES) is investing $1.7 billion and creating 1,200 jobs at its current location in Holland. Michigan. LGES’ expansion will quintuple the plant’s capacity to help produce battery components into the future as Michigan’s electric vehicle industry grows. The LGES expansion announcement comes two months after GM announced... Read more →

Graphex Technologies, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Graphex Group Limited, announced that, as part of its previously announced collaboration with Emerald Energy Solutions LLC (EES), the Emerald Business Park (EBP) in the City of Warren has been selected for the future site of a new 150,000 square-foot graphite processing... Read more →

Volkswagen is rolling out ID. Software 3.0 with new functions for tis all-electric ID. models, enhancing user experience and optimizing charging capacity. By using swarm data and the most recent generation of driver assistance systems, Volkswagen is also taking the next step towards automated driving. Buyers of new cars will... Read more →

The Volkswagen Group and Salzgitter AG—which have been partners for more than 60 years—signed a Memorandum of Understanding under which Volkswagen will become one of the first customers for the low-CO2 steel that Salzgitter AG plans to produce on a new production route at its headquarters in Lower Saxony from... Read more →

MAN Energy Solutions and classification society DNV have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). Effective immediately, the MoU is due to run for a period of three years. Under its terms, the two companies will—by 30 June 2022—detail action plans within the fields of decarbonization, the hydrogen value-chain and digitalization.... Read more →

Geely is testing the world’s first methanol hybrid sedan in sub -40 °C (-40 ˚F) Arctic conditions in the frigid northern Chinese province of Heilongjiang. Geely’s latest Methanol Hybrid Emgrand is based on Geely Auto’s fourth-generation B-Segment Modular Architecture (BMA) Emgrand sedan. The new Emgrand runs on 100% clean methanol... Read more →

DHL has confirmed new strategic collaborations with bp and Neste, to provide more than 800 million liters (211 million gallons US) of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) to DHL Express within the next five years, with the new agreements forming one of the largest SAF deals in aviation to date. These... Read more →

Rolls-Royce has signed an agreement with Air bp that will reduce lifecycle carbon emissions for gas turbine tests carried out at three sites and support one of the organization’s key sustainability commitments. The agreement ensures that all of the aviation fuel supplied for engine testing at Rolls-Royce facilities in Derby... Read more →

Uppsala-based sodium-ion battery company Altris AB (earlier post) raised €9.6 million in a Series A funding round. The funding secures Altris’ production scale-up of the company’s innovative battery cathode material, Fennac, to 2,000 tonnes, enabling 1 GWh of sustainable batteries and further research and development of sodium-ion batteries to take... Read more →

Israel-based StoreDot, the developer of extreme fast charging (XFC) technologies for electric vehicles, has secured a multi-million-dollar investment from Ola Electric, India’s leading EV manufacturer. Ola Electric is planning to incorporate and manufacture StoreDot’s fast charging battery technologies for future vehicles in India. Ola Electric joins StoreDot’s global strategic partners,... Read more →

BASF has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Zhejiang REEF Technology Co., Ltd. to develop state-of-the-art recyclate formulations for applications used in the automotive, packaging and consumer industries. The plastics industry is seeking ways to incorporate higher content of recycled polymeric material in all major applications to meet sustainability goals,... Read more →

The all-electric F-150 Lightning has completed final EPA testing; some F-150 Lightning customers will benefit from an increase in range ahead of launch this spring. F-150 Lightning XLT and Lariat trims with the extended range battery deliver an EPA-estimated range of 320 miles while the F-150 Lightning Platinum has an... Read more →

ArcelorMittal will invest more than €300m, with the support of the French government, to create a new production unit for electrical steels at its Mardyck site in the north of France. This investment will create more than 100 direct jobs. With this new unit, which will specialize in the production... Read more →

Honda opened its new $124-million wind tunnel facility in Ohio, ushering in a new era of development testing capabilities for Honda and Acura products, as well as the company’s race vehicles. The new Honda Automotive Laboratories of Ohio (HALO) facility, located at the independent Transportation Research Center Inc. (TRC) in... Read more →

Volkswagen will commit $7.1 billion over the next five years in the North American region (NAR) (Canada, Mexico, United States) to boost its product portfolio, regional R&D and manufacturing capabilities. By locally integrating its combustion-engine (ICE) and electric vehicle (EV) assembly, American-focused engineering, battery know-how, and software development, Volkswagen aims... Read more →

A research study for the Bureau of Transportation Statistics focused on the number of daily trips taken in the United States. In 2021, 52% of all trips, including all modes of transportation, were less than three miles, with 28% of trips less than one mile. Just 2% of all trips... Read more →

Taking it’s title as the world’s longest mid-span and highest tower suspension bridge, the 1915Çanakkale Bridge was officially opened in a ceremony attended by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on 18 March 2022. The bridge was completed 18 months ahead of schedule. Tendered by the Turkish Ministry of Infrastructure and... Read more →

The Saudi Arabian Oil Co. (Aramco) has joined Carbon Hub, a research initiative led by Rice University to develop sustainable uses of hydrocarbons. Launched in 2019, Carbon Hub supports a zero-emissions future where clean hydrogen energy and advanced carbon materials are coproduced efficiently and sustainably from hydrocarbons. Aramco has joined... Read more →

Scientists from Sandia National Laboratories have developed a new gallium-nitride (GaN) diode that can shunt excess electricity within a few billionths of a second while operating at a record-breaking 6,400 volts—a significant step towards protecting the nation’s electric grid from an electromagnetic pulse (EMP). The team published the fabrication and... Read more →

In an open access paper published in Nature Communications, researchers from the University of Wollongong in Australia report that their capillary-fed electrolysis cell demonstrates water electrolysis performance exceeding commercial electrolysis cells, with a cell voltage at 0.5 A cm−2 and 85 °C of only 1.51 V, equating to 98% energy... Read more →

Joby Aviation, a California-based company developing all-electric aircraft for commercial passenger service, announced the completion and subsequent approval of its first Systems Review and its first Compliance Review by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). These reviews, completed at the end of last year, were recently granted approval by the FAA,... Read more →

Sparkz, a battery startup with exclusive licenses from Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to produce domestic cobalt-free lithium batteries (earlier post), will begin construction in 2022 of a Gigafactory in West Virginia to commercialize its zero-cobalt battery. Sparkz will focus on creating a strong and diverse workforce capable of competing... Read more →

In a new study published in Physical Review Letters, researchers from Korea’s Institute for Basic Science (IBS) suggest that quantum charging of EV batteries will cut the charging time from ten hours to three minutes at home. A pictorial illustration of today’s electric vehicle versus the future vehicle based on... Read more →

Mercedes-Benz and Bosch showcased automated valet parking at the InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown featuring the all-electric EQS sedan from Mercedes-EQ. Automated valet parking technology from Bosch and Mercedes-Benz is at the core of the demonstration in Los Angeles. It features INTELLIGENT PARK PILOT in the EQS from Mercedes-EQ and integration... Read more →

On Friday, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan signed emergency bipartisan legislation (SB1010/HB1486) to suspend immediately the state of Maryland’s gasoline and diesel tax for 30 days. This action passed both the House and Senate with unanimous support. This emergency legislation applies to the 36.1 cents per gallon tax for gasoline, and... Read more →

Researchers from Ames Laboratory and Texas A&M University have trained a machine-learning (ML) model to assess the stability of new rare-earth compounds. The framework they developed builds on current state-of-the-art methods for experimenting with compounds and understanding chemical instabilities. A paper on their work is published in Acta Materialia. Machine... Read more →

The all-electric BMW iX and i4 are the first BMWs with available 5G support via Personal eSIM. An eSIM, or embedded SIM is a SIM card built into in a mobile device—cell phone, tablet, smartwatch—that allows connectivity to a cellular network without a physical, removable SIM card. Personal eSIM allows... Read more →

Toyota Motor is entering three differently fueled vehicles in the ENEOS Super Taikyu Series 2022 Powered by Hankook Round 1 Suzuka 5-Hour Endurance Race (Suzuka 5-Hour Race), which takes place from 19 to 20 March 2022: a hydrogen engine-equipped Corolla, a new GR86-based vehicle that uses a biomass-derived carbon-neutral fuel... Read more →