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Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Infinium, an electrofuels company (earlier post). The agreement, which builds on MHI’s 2021 investment in Infinium (earlier post), will focus on exploring the deployment of Infinium’s proprietary electrofuels technology in the Japanese market. Infinium electrofuels are classified as ultra-low... Read more →


DOE, GM, Mathworks launch EcoCAR Electric Vehicle Challenge; 15 universities selected

The US Department of Energy (DOE), in coordination with General Motors (GM) and MathWorks, announced the launch of the EcoCAR Electric Vehicle (EV) Challenge, a collegiate research and experimental learning competition that challenges hundreds of students to engineer novel technologies for battery electric vehicles through a combined $6-million investment. GM... Read more →


As part of a broader initiative to accelerate the use of sustainable technologies in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, Bridgestone Americas (Bridgestone) announced plans to debut Firestone Firehawk race tires made with guayule natural rubber grown and extracted at the company’s guayule R&D facilities in Arizona. (Earlier post.) The guayule race... Read more →


Benchmark: Li-ion battery pipeline could exceed 6 TWh by end of decade

Global lithium ion production capacity could reach over 6,000 GWh (6 TWh) by the end of the decade based on current plans, as companies accelerate gigafactory construction in Europe and the US, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. Total lithium-ion capacity existing or being built has doubled since the beginning of... Read more →


Aston Martin announces Racing.Green. sustainability strategy

Aston Martin announced its new sustainability strategy, Racing.Green. Launched on Earth Day, Racing.Green. formalizes core principles, aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, that reflect Aston Martin’s established approach to sustainability and sets new targets across all aspects of the business. The company is joining a list of companies committing... Read more →


Researchers in China develop high-voltage-resistant electrolyte for ultrahigh voltage Li metal batteries

Researchers in China have developed a high-voltage-resistant (HV electrolyte) for use in ultrahigh-voltage lithium metal batteries. As reported in an open-access paper in the RSC journal Energy & Environmental Science, Li||LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 (NCM811) cells, which can work in a wide operating temperature range from −30 to 70 °C, have capacity retentions... Read more →


China-based battery giant CATL officially launched its EVOGO battery swap services (earlier post) in Xiamen, southeast China’s Fujian Province, making it the world’s first EVOGO city. The first four fast battery swap stations that have started operation are located in Siming District, Huli District and Haicang District of Xiamen. The... Read more →


Li-Cycle completes commercial agreements with LG Chem and LG Energy Solution; $50M investment; 20,000t of recovered nickel over 10 years

Li-Cycle Holdings Corp. completed commercial agreements with LG Energy Solution, Ltd. for the supply of manufacturing scrap for recycling and with each of LG Energy Solution (LGES) and LG Chem, Ltd. (LGC) for the sale of nickel sulfate from Li-Cycle’s Rochester Hub. With the execution of these agreements, LGC and... Read more →


Li-Cycle has selected Veolia Water Technologies as a partner for its lithium-ion battery recycling plant in Rochester, New York. The facility will utilize Veolia’s HPD evaporation and crystallization technology to process recycled lithium-ion battery materials. Veolia’s HPD crystallization technology is key in a final stage of the battery recycling process... Read more →


Two pan-European projects—the ZEFER (Zero Emission taxi Fleets for European Rollout) and H2ME2 (Hydrogen Mobility Europe) projects, both funded by Europe’s Clean Hydrogen Partnership—have deployed 100 hydrogen taxis in Copenhagen with app-based taxi company DRIVR. The Toyota Mirais run on green hydrogen from renewable energy, following the installation and opening... Read more →


Hexagon Purus to acquire 40% stake in Cryoshelter’s liquid hydrogen storage business

Hexagon Purus, which among its portfolio offers hydrogen high-pressure Type 4 cylinders and storage systems, has entered into an agreement to acquire 40% of Cryoshelter GmbH’s liquid hydrogen business. The transaction is in conjunction with Hexagon Composites’ acquisition of a 40% stake in Cryoshelter’s liquid natural gas (LNG) business. Cryoshelter’s... Read more →


Magna opening Slovakia plant for ADAS and electrification systems

Magna is expanding its ADAS and electrification footprint with the opening of a new plant in Kechnec, Slovakia. The brownfield facility will support two European automakers and new global entrant. Covering an area of approximately 22,000 square meters, the facility is expected to begin operations in the fourth quarter of... Read more →


Seeing Machines, Magna develop rear-view mirror-based Driver Monitoring System

Seeing Machines, an advanced computer vision technology company that designs AI-powered operator monitoring systems, is collaborating with Magna on a demonstrator that features a fully integrated Driver Monitoring System (DMS) combining camera, electronics, and interior mirror technology. The demonstrator combines Magna’s industry leading mirror technology, camera design, integration, and packaging... Read more →


Audi and Navistar have partnered to develop further and demonstrate potential safety-enhancing C-V2X technology in Navistar emergency vehicles and school buses. The partnership allows for both companies to develop use cases and safety enhancing demonstrations in close collaboration as members of the Volkswagen Group. First deployments are expected to begin... Read more →


Audi has unveiled plans for the Audi urbansphere concept car. Designers and engineers initially created the Audi urbansphere for use in traffic-dense Chinese megacities, although the concept is also suitable for any other metropolitan center in the world. In these urban areas, where personal space is in particularly short supply,... Read more →


The Lincoln Star Concept made its global debut, hinting at the brand’s design language for its future electric vehicles. By mid-decade, Lincoln plans to deliver three new fully electric vehicles, meaning that more than half of its global volume will be zero emissions vehicles, and it will add a fourth... Read more →


The global push to convert the world to electric vehicles will cause supply chain complexities that could undermine the alternative energy transition in the United States, according to a new report from Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. The detailed report—Need Nickel? How Electrifying Transport and Chinese Investment are... Read more →


Estonian startup UP Catalyst secures €2.09M; sustainable carbon nanomaterials and graphite from CO2

Estonian startup UP Catalyst, a company developing a method to produce sustainable carbon nanomaterials and graphite from CO2, has closed a successful pre-seed round of €500,000, in addition to €1.59 million in grant funding secured earlier this year. The pre-seed round was led by Sunly, a developer of wind and... Read more →


Start-Up MOBI LATAM partners with EnergyX to develop Bolivian domestic lithium battery supply chain

Bolivian micro-mobility and clean energy startup MOBI has partnered with American direct lithium extraction company Energy Exploration Technologies Inc. (EnergyX) (earlier post). Both companies will work towards creating a Bolivian domestic lithium battery supply chain to develop the region’s electric mobility market. Bolivia is lithium-rich; the USGS estimates identified lithium... Read more →


DeepRoute.ai, an international autonomous driving technology company, announced a leading-edge Robotaxi fleet comprising 30 SAIC Motor MARVEL R SUVs equipped with DeepRoute’s proprietary L4 Driver 2.0 solution. This fleet distinguishes itself from other Robotaxis in its sleek rooftop design, replacing the traditional bulky sensor suite. With a 360-degree view and... Read more →


BMW unveiled the seventh generation of its 7 Series, including the first all-electric i7 XDrive60. (Earlier post.) Three models are available at launch, including the i7 EV. The 2023 BMW 740i is powered by a thoroughly upgraded version of the iconic B58 3-liter TwinPower Turbo inline six-cylinder engine. Now dubbed... Read more →


Lexus unveiled details of the all-new 2023 RZ 450e, the brand’s first global Battery EV (BEV). The 2023 Lexus RZ 450e is expected to go on sale towards the end of 2022. As Lexus’ first global BEV model, the all-new RZ marks Lexus’ transition into a BEV-centered brand (targeting 100%... Read more →


DOE and partners announce V2X collaboration

The US Department of Energy (DOE) and partners announced the Vehicle to Everything (V2X) Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which will bring together resources from DOE, DOE national labs, state and local governments, utilities, and private entities to evaluate technical and economic feasibility as we integrate bidirectional charging into energy infrastructure.... Read more →


Refuel Energy to build 3000 bpd RD, SAF plant in Southern Ontario using Topsoe technologies

Refuel Energy Inc. is planning to build a 3,000 barrels per day (bpd) renewable fuel plant (Refuel YYZ) in Southern Ontario. Refuel YYZ will produce renewable diesel (RD), sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), and renewable hydrogen for the domestic market. The proposed facility would supply the aviation and terrestrial fuel needs... Read more →


Sandia, Los Alamos: cycloalkanes strong candidates for reducing aviation emissions

Scientists at Sandia National Laboratories and Los Alamos National Laboratory have recently published research data demonstrating how cycloalkanes, when used in jet fuel, may reduce condensation trail formation and soot emissions as compared to current fuels. The team detailed its findings in an open-access paper published in Frontiers in Energy... Read more →


Two private bus companies from Bavaria—Busreisen Ettenhuber GmbH and Martin Geldhauser GmbH & Co KG.—have ordered a total of 10 Solaris Urbino 12 hydrogen buses. 5 Urbino 12 hydrogen buses have been ordered by the carrier Busreisen Ettenhuber GmbH, and another 5 units will head to the bus company Martin... Read more →


New company Statevolt plans $4B 54GWh gigafactory in Imperial Valley; local lithium and geothermal from Hell’s Kitchen

Lars Carlstrom, the founder-CEO of Italvolt, announced the launch of a new company, Statevolt, which will construct a 54GWh Gigafactory in Imperial Valley, southern California with an expected CapEx of $4 billion. To launch the new facility, Statevolt has also signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Controlled Thermal Resources... Read more →


California “gasoline superuser” bill advances; focusing ZEV incentives on reducing gasoline use

The California Assembly Transportation Committee passed a landmark ZEV incentive reform bill, AB 2816, by a 6-2 vote on Monday. The bill, introduced by Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), directs the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to maximize the climate and equity impacts of the state’s Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV)... Read more →


In-use emissions report for Achates heavy-duty OP diesel shows substantial margin to most stringent EPA NOx proposed regulation

Achates Power has released initial in-use NOx measurements from the cleaner, heavy-duty diesel engine it developed in a project funded by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and several partners. Achates Power previously announced the opposed-piston has entered fleet service with WALMART Corporation in a Peterbilt 579 tractor. (Earlier post.)... Read more →


IonQ and Hyundai Motor expand partnership to use quantum computing for object detection

Quantum computing company IonQ and Hyundai Motor Company are partnering to apply quantum machine learning to image classification and 3D object detection for future mobilities. Image classification and 3D object detection are foundational steps toward the next generation of mobilities, including autonomous vehicles. Together, IonQ and Hyundai will look to... Read more →


LG Magna e-Powertrain celebrates groundbreaking of new facility in Mexico; electric powertrain components for GM from 2023

LG Magna e-Powertrain, a joint venture (JV) between LG Electronics (LG) and Magna International Inc. (Magna), celebrated the groundbreaking of its new plant in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico. Scheduled for completion in 2023, the new facility will produce inverters, motors, and on-board chargers to support General Motors’ electric vehicle (EV) production.... Read more →


Toyota will invest $383 million in four of its US manufacturing plants—in Alabama, Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee—to support the production of four-cylinder engines, including options for hybrid electric vehicles. Toyota customers want vehicles that are fuel-efficient and electrified. These investments allow us to meet customer needs and quickly respond to... Read more →


Adamas Intelligence forecasts global demand for NdFeB magnets to increase at CAGR of 8.6% through 2035; shortages of alloys, powders, REE expected

In its new Rare Earth Magnet Market Outlook to 2035 report, Adamas Intelligence forecasts that global demand for NdFeB magnets will increase at a CAGR of 8.6%, bolstered by double-digit growth from electric vehicle and wind power sectors. This will translate to comparable demand growth for the rare earths elements... Read more →


The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasts that retail gasoline prices will average $3.84 per gallon this summer driving season—April through September—compared with last summer’s average price of $3.06/gal. After adjusting for inflation, this summer’s forecast national average price would mark the highest retail gasoline and diesel prices since 2014.... Read more →


Mexico-based global construction materials company CEMEX is partnering with integrated chemicals and energy company Sasol ecoFT and renewable energy company ENERTRAG to combine CO2 with hydrogen to produce sustainable aviation fuel. This project is part of CEMEX’s Future in Action program to reduce its carbon footprint and contribute to a... Read more →


Volvo Cars Tech Fund makes strategic investment in extreme fast charging battery company StoreDot

Volvo Cars, through the Volvo Cars Tech Fund, has made a strategic investment in StoreDot, the pioneer of extreme fast charging technologies for electric vehicles. (Earlier post.) StoreDot is on track to begin mass producing its “100in5” cells as early as 2024, achieving 100 miles of charge in just five... Read more →


Penske orders 750 Ford E-Transit cargo vans for rental and leasing fleet

Penske Truck Leasing has ordered 750 all-electric Ford E-Transit cargo vans. The company is taking delivery of its first several vehicles in the next several weeks. The move follows successfully piloting the vehicles late last year. Penske’s first Ford E-Transit vehicles will be made available in Southern California with other... Read more →


Frito-Lay debuts pilot for upcoming electric fleet in Carrollton, TX

Frito-Lay announced a new electric fleet that will serve the Dallas Fort Worth area, specifically Carrollton. The first pilot Ford eTransit truck has arrived just in time for Earth Day, with 40 arriving later this summer. The trucks will deliver locally and reduce Frito-Lay’s annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. With... Read more →


The Rice lab of materials scientist Ming Tang has analyzed nano- and micro-scale interactions within lithium iron phosphate cathodes through modeling and imaging offered by the transmission X-ray microscopy capabilities at Brookhaven National Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory. Their paper, published in the journal ACS Energy Letters, supports theories Tang... Read more →


Researchers at the Clemson Nanomaterials Institute (CNI) and their collaborators from the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning (SSSIHL) in India discovered a novel way to combine curcumin—the substance in turmeric—and gold nanoparticles to create an electrode that requires 100 times less energy to convert ethanol or methanol into... Read more →


Battery startup licenses ORNL electrolyte and thin-film coating technologies

Several electrolyte and thin-film coating technologies, developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, have been licensed by BTRY, a battery technology company based in Virginia, to make batteries with increased energy density, at lower cost, and with an improved safety profile in crashes. The enabling technologies, called Safe Impact Resistant Electrolytes,... Read more →


The Nikkei reports that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI)is moving ahead with its plans to develop and commercialize nuclear microreactors—reactors small enough to be delivered on trucks—by the end of the next decade. At 3 meters tall and 4 meters wide, the microreactors will weigh less than 40 tons. The reactor... Read more →


Researchers report one-pot catalytic conversion of cellulose to methanol

Methanol—a bio-based platform molecule that can be used directly as a fuel or fuel additive, and can also be used to produce bulk chemicals and drop-in fuels—is currently mainly produced from methane and coal via an indirect syngas route. Now, a team of researchers in China reports a novel approach... Read more →


New lignin-based jet fuel blend component opens way for 100% drop-in SAF

Researchers from the University of Dayton, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and Natural Resources Canada have generated a lignin-based jet fuel (LJF) blend component composed of mostly C6–C18 mono-, di-, and tri-cycloalkanes. The product could complement five existing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) pathways (ASTM D7566 annexes) to enable a 100%... Read more →


A joint research team from Tohoku University and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has made a significant advance towards high-voltage metal-free lithium-ion batteries by using a small organic molecule: croconic acid. An open-access paper on their work is published in the journal Advanced Science. Unlike conventional lithium-ion batteries,... Read more →


Live trial of 5G connected car concept in Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia recently hosted a live trial of a new driver and pedestrian safety concept that allows near-real-time notification of roadway hazards through 5G and edge technologies. This trial is one of three conducted internationally by a public-private collaboration, organized by the 5G Automotive Association (5GAA) and eight... Read more →


The DEUS Vayanne production-oriented electric hypercar concept made its world debut last week at the New York International Auto Show. DEUS Automobiles was established in Vienna, Austria, in 2020. Vayanne is the result of the three-way collaboration between DEUS Automobiles, Italdesign, and Williams Advanced Engineering with a shared goal of... Read more →


A nationwide research study by Volta Inc., an EV charging network, has found that EV adoption is dependent upon highly visible EV chargers that are conveniently located at the places drivers already frequent. The findings go beyond price and range anxiety to understand top barriers to switching to electric: Visibility... Read more →


Galp and Northvolt select Setúbal for Aurora advanced lithium conversion unit

Galp and Northvolt selected the port city of Setúbal, Portugal (southeast of Lisbon on the northern bank of the Sado River estuary) as the location for their Aurora lithium conversion plant (earlier post), which aims to become a steppingstone for the development of an integrated lithium-battery value-chain in Europe. The... Read more →