Futaba Town, Namie Town, AEON TOHOKU Co., Ltd. and Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) are partnering to establish a mobile retail business that uses a fuel cell vehicle in specified reconstruction and revitalization bases. Futaba and Namie are both in Fukushima Prefecture, and were evacuated following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power... Read more →

Following the market launch of the eActros for heavy-duty distribution transport in 2021, Mercedes-Benz Trucks is systematically pressing ahead with the introduction of additional battery-electric models for this and coming years. For the important long-haul segment, the eActros LongHaul, with a range of around 500 kilometers (311 miles) on one... Read more →

Regionalverkehr Köln GmbH (RVK), the public transport operator for Cologne, Germany, has ordered up to 100 hydrogen-powered fuel cell hybrid buses in the first phase of a procurement. This order was enabled by the recently announced funding from Germany’s Federal Ministry of Digital Affairs and Transport (BMDV). RVK already has... Read more →

Stellantis N.V. and Toyota Motor Europe N.V. (TME) announced the expansion of their existing partnership with an agreement for a new large-size commercial van, including a battery electric version. The new vehicle marks the third body type under the agreement, completing a full LCV line-up, with compact-, mid- and now... Read more →

Nippon Shokubai and Arkema are joining forces to launch feasibility studies and establish a joint venture for the construction of an industrial plant for the production of LiFSI (Lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide) ultrapure electrolyte salt, a key component of battery cells for electric mobility. Ultrapure and high performance LiFSI electrolyte salts, a... Read more →

NVIDIA announced that a range of the world’s leading computer makers are adopting the new NVIDIA Grace superchips to create the next generation of servers turbocharging AI and HPC workloads for the exascale era. Atos, Dell Technologies, GIGABYTE, HPE, Inspur, Lenovo and Supermicro are planning to deploy servers built with... Read more →

The Frontier supercomputer at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has earned the top ranking as the world’s fastest on the 59th TOP500 list, with 1.1 exaflops of performance. The system is the first to achieve an unprecedented level of computing performance known as exascale, a threshold of... Read more →

The technology group Wärtsilä, and its collaborators WEC Energy Group, (WEC), the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and Burns & McDonnell (B&McD), have been contracted to carry out hydrogen fuel testing at the A.J. Mihm power plant in Michigan. The project supports WEC’s ambition to reduce the CO2 emissions from... Read more →

Researchers led by Professor Jeff Dahn at Dalhousie University in Canada report that low-voltage NMC cells—particularly those balanced and charged to 3.8V rather than ≥4.2V—show better coulombic efficiency, less capacity fade and higher energy density compared to LFP cells and are projected to yield lifetimes approaching a century at 25... Read more →

New research has found that mixing rubber from used tires with bitumen can halve the rate of sun damage to roads. Researchers at RMIT University in Australia collaborated with Tyre Stewardship Australia (TSA) to discover the ideal blend that is both UV-resistant and withstands traffic loads, with the potential to... Read more →

CATL will supply lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries equipped with novel Cell-to-Pack (CTP) technology to Solaris to power its bus models in a bid to facilitate bus electrification. CATL’s LFP battery system features exceptionally long battery life and high thermal stability. By removing the conventional module packaging, the CTP technology... Read more →

Researchers at the University of California, Irvine have found that autonomous vehicles can be tricked into an abrupt halt or other undesired driving behavior by the placement of an ordinary object on the side of the road. The team recently A box, bicycle or traffic cone may “scare” a driverless... Read more →

Researchers at the Institute of Modern Physics (IMP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have developed an innovative method of pre-enriching uranium in seawater by membrane filtration. Uranium is the vital source for nuclear power generation. There are about 4.5 billion tons of uranium existing in seawater—1000 times more... Read more →

Airbus is sterngthening its presence in the UK with the launch of a Zero Emission Development Center (ZEDC) for hydrogen technologies. A priority for the UK ZEDC will be the development of a cost-competitive cryogenic fuel system required for the successful entry-into-service of Airbus’ ZEROe passenger aircraft (earlier post) by... Read more →

Hyliion Holdings Corp. announced that building solutions company Holcim US has ordered 10 units backed by deposits to secure Hypertruck ERX production slots. The trucks will replace existing diesel fuel vehicles supporting cement and concrete operations in Texas and Oklahoma, as well as for the transport of roofing materials. The... Read more →

A study commissioned by the Aluminum Association and conducted by FEV North America, concludes that aluminum offers significant cost savings to automakers as net-zero priorities drive vehicle development, particularly in high volume programs. The study includes an analysis of three vehicle segments—city vehicle, family crossover and pickup truck—and finds aluminum... Read more →

The BMW Group has opened a new automated steel pressing facility at the company’s Swindon (UK) plant. The new press will produce steel panels for the MINI plant in Oxford at twice the rate of the old equipment which it replaces, with the steel blanks and finished panels handled by... Read more →

Lloyd’s Register Maritime Decarbonization Hub is working with 11 leading cross-supply chain stakeholders to develop a fleet fuel transition strategy that can enable the establishment of a highly scalable Green Corridor Cluster. Initiated by the Lloyd’s Register Maritime Decarbonization Hub, The Silk Alliance brings together a diverse group of organizations... Read more →

Lilium N.V, developer of the ll-electric vertical take-off and landing (“eVTOL”) Lilium Jet, and Livent Corporation, a producer of lithium products for the battery cell industry, will collaborate on the advancement of lithium-metal technology for use in high-performance battery cells. Lilium said that collaborating with Livent, a pioneer in lithium... Read more →

The BMW Brilliance Automotive joint venture (BBA) has established a closed loop for reuse of the raw materials nickel, lithium and cobalt from high-voltage batteries that are no longer suitable for use in electric vehicles. The batteries come from fully and partially-electric development vehicles, test systems and production rejects and,... Read more →

ElDorado National (California) or ENC, a subsidiary of REV Group, announced that its Axess Battery Electric Bus (BEB) successfully passed testing conducted by the Altoona Bus Research and Testing Center (BRTC). The extensive testing looked at maintainability, reliability, safety, brake performance, structural integrity and durability, fuel/energy economy, noise, and emissions.... Read more →

Rice University chemists working with researchers at the Ford Motor Company are turning plastic parts from end-of-life vehicles into graphene via the university’s flash Joule heating process (earlier post). The Rice lab of chemist James Tour introduced flash Joule heating in 2020 to convert coal, petroleum coke and trash into... Read more →

Auto shoppers in America are more likely than ever before to consider buying a fully electric vehicle (EV), and new EV entries are responsible for much of the added consideration. These new entries, many from long-established vehicle manufacturers, are turning EV skeptics into likely EV considerers, according to the J.D.... Read more →

A consortium, including LanzaTech and Danone, has developed a new route to monoethylene glycol, (MEG), which is a key building block for polyethylene terephthalate, (PET), resin, fibers and bottles. The technology converts carbon emissions from steel mills or gasified waste biomass directly into MEG. The carbon capture technology uses a... Read more →

Canada-based dynaCERT Inc. has sold seven of its HydraGEN on-board electrolysis units ( the HG1R, 4C and 6C units) which are to be installed in Peru, Argentina and Brazil in open-pit mines on various equipment, including Caterpillar 793 and 777 Haul Trucks and a large 4.5 MW diesel generator with... Read more →

Glencore International pled guilty in the Southern District of New York to violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). In addition, as part of a separate resolution, Glencore Ltd., pled guilty in the District of Connecticut to a commodity price manipulation conspiracy. Together, Glencore and Glencore Ltd., both part... Read more →

Parkopedia, a leading connected vehicles services provider, and Uproad, a leading mobile tolling payment system, announced the integration of their platforms, automating the toll payment process for millions of drivers in the US. US drivers complete nearly 6 billion journeys along the country’s nearly 9,500km of toll roads, bridges and... Read more →

The extended drought in California could cut the state’s summer electricity generation from hydropower nearly in half compared with normal precipitation conditions, according to an analysis by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). EIA’s analysis indicates that hydropower would produce 8% of California’s electricity generation in a drought year, compared... Read more →

Continental is launching two new sensors for electrified vehicles: the Current Sensor Module (CSM) and the Battery Impact Detection (BID) system. Both new solutions focus on protecting the battery and/or on battery parameter retention. The high-voltage Current Sensor Module (CSM), which will move into production this year, measures the current... Read more →

Germany will invest up to €290 million to launch the Innovation and Technology Center for Hydrogen (Innovations- und Technologiezentrum für Wasserstoff, ITZ H2), following the positive conclusion of a feasibility study (German only). The Innovation and Technology Center for Hydrogen (ITZ) is intended to support companies in their development activities... Read more →

Lilium, developer of an all-electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) jet, is partnering with Honeywell and DENSO, who will co-develop and manufacture the Lilium Jet’s electric motor that will power the Lilium Jet’s engines. Honeywell is already developing the Lilium Jet’s avionics and flight control systems and invested in Lilium... Read more →

ZeroAvia has expanded its agreement with MHI RJ Aviation Group (MHIRJ), a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (earlier post). As part of the broader collaboration, MHIRJ will provide engineering services, aircraft integration, and its OEM experience to support the certification of ZeroAvia’s hydrogen-electric powertrain for retrofit onto airframes in the... Read more →

ZF has joined forces with Mercedes-Benz Trucks to equip its electric trucks with eWorX, ZF’s electrified Power Take-Off (PTO) system. The eWorX all-in-one solution offers vehicle body manufacturers a known mechanical interface to drive work equipment. ZF’s eWorX system features a control unit, power electronics and electric motor with optional... Read more →

Daimler Truck North America (DTNA) and Sysco Corporation (NYSE: SYY) a leading US foodservice distribution company, have signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) to deliver up to nearly 800 battery-electric Freightliner eCascadia Class 8 tractors by 2026. The first eCascadia delivery is expected to arrive at Sysco’s Riverside, California site... Read more →

Several organizations, encompassing companies, research labs, and academia, have formed the Hydrogen Opposed Piston Engine Working Group. The Working Group consists of members undertaking research and development in the field of hydrogen combustion in an opposed-piston engine. An opposed piston engine with hydrogen combustion could well provide the best-known thermal... Read more →

Battery materials company Nano One Materials has entered into a binding agreement to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Johnson Matthey (JM) Battery Materials Ltd. (JMBM Canada) for approximately C$10.25 million (US$8 million). The acquisition is fully funded and is on a cash-free, debt-free basis and is subject to... Read more →

SolarEdge Technologies and SolarEdge’s subsidiary, Kokam Limited Company, a provider of lithium-ion batteries and integrated energy storage solutions, announced the opening of “Sella 2”, a two gigawatt-hour (GWh) battery cell manufacturing facility. Located in the Eumseong Innovation City of Chungcheongbuk-Do, South Korea, Sella 2 is currently producing test cells for... Read more →

BC Transit in British Columbia, Canada has approved a $20-million contract to purchase ten 40-foot Proterra ZX5 electric transit buses and one Proterra Energy megawatt-scale EV fleet charger as part of the agency’s transition to a fully electric bus fleet. The contract includes the option for BC Transit to acquire... Read more →

Sparkz, a battery startup with exclusive licenses from Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to produce domestic cobalt-free lithium batteries (earlier post), and the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) signed a memorandum of understanding establishing a labor-management agreement that would mark one of the largest climate-tech union workforce partnerships in... Read more →

Purem by Eberspaecher is introducing efficient exhaust technology for hydrogen engines. At the Hannover Messe, the company will be presenting its H2-ICE exhaust system for the first time. The H2-ICE exhaust system for hydrogen engines from Purem by Eberspaecher. Hydrogen engines have potential as a drive type with CO2-neutral fuel,... Read more →

A project consortium funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and led by the BMW Group was launched three years ago, with small and mid-sized enterprises, large companies and research institutes. The common goal was to revolutionize metal 3D printing in standard automotive production. The 12... Read more →

The world’s first truck manufacturer to do so, Volvo is now introducing fossil-free steel in its trucks. The steel is produced by the Swedish steel company SSAB (earlier post) and the heavy-duty electric Volvo trucks will be the first to include it. The steel from SSAB is produced using a... Read more →

WeRide, a Level 4 autonomous driving technology company, announced a strategic investment from Bosch. The two parties have signed a strategic cooperation agreement and will jointly develop autonomous driving (AD) software. This cooperation will accelerate the process of developing Bosch China’s advanced driving solution, moving SAE Level 2-3 AD towards... Read more →

Power management company Eaton’s eMobility business has introduced a battery disconnect unit (BDU) that can be combined with upgraded Breaktor circuit protection technology to provide circuit protection in electrified vehicles (EVs) while reducing overall complexity and cost. When paired with the Breaktor circuit protection technology, which combines current switching and... Read more →

Volvo Cars successfully placed its second green bond to raise €500 million from a diverse set of global investors. The bond was oversubscribed three-times, despite challenging global market conditions. All proceeds are earmarked for funding and accelerating the company’s transformation towards becoming a fully electric carmaker by 2030 and becoming... Read more →

Stellantis N.V. and Samsung SDI have executed binding, definitive agreements to establish an electric-vehicle battery manufacturing facility in Kokomo, Indiana. Targeted to start in 2025, the plant aims to have an initial annual production capacity of 23 gigawatt-hours (GWh), with an aim to increase to 33 GWh in the next... Read more →

Madrid’s Municipal Transport Company (Empresa Municipal de Transportes de Madrid - EMT) has awarded another order to Irizar e-mobility, this time consisting of 90 buses. This latest order means that EMT Madrid will now have a total of 175 zero-emissions Irizar buses in its fleet. The zero-emissions Irizar vehicles will... Read more →

Topsoe intends to construct the world’s largest and most advanced industrial-scale electrolyzer production plant. The plant will produce high-temperature Solid Oxide Electrolyzer Cells (SOEC)—which have a higher energy efficiency that competing technologies. The new electrolyzer production plant, which will be constructed in Herning, Denmark, will be operational by 2024 and... Read more →

Rio Tinto and bp have agreed to work together on a one-year marine biofuel trial to help reduce carbon emissions from Rio Tinto’s marine fleet. The fuel will be trialed on Rio Tinto’s RTM Tasman vessel on a mix of Transatlantic and Atlantic-Pacific routes, in one of the longest-duration marine... Read more →

Rheinmetall, together with its Chinese joint venture KPSNC, has won a major order for transmission housings from a world-leading maker of electric vehicles. Set to run for six years, the order package encompasses millions of transmission housings. Consisting of an aluminum alloy and produced using the pressure casting method, the... Read more →