Battery manufacturer Britishvolt has signed a Memorandum of Understanding [MoU] with China-based BTR for the supply of synthetic graphite and silicon oxide to be used in selected phases of Britishvolt’s battery manufacturing processes. This announcement follows on from Britishvolt’s securing a portion of its cobalt requirements from strategic partner Glencore... Read more →

The Slovakian carrier Dopravný podnik Bratislava (DPB) has opted for four hydrogen buses to be manufactured and delivered by Solaris. This is the first order placed under a framework agreement. These buses will be the first hydrogen buses in Slovakia. According to a framework agreement concluded by DPB with the... Read more →

Moscow is now actively developing its charging infrastructure for electric buses. Currently there are 202 charging structure in the city; Moscow will install another 115 ultra-fast charging stations for electric buses. Ultra-fast charging stations for Moscow electric buses. The electric buses can be fully charged in 6-10 minutes—enough to ride... Read more →

Archer Aviation successfully completed all of its “critical azimuth” flight tests, marking the completion of the second of three key phases of flight testing. The purpose of these tests are to validate the crosswind capabilities of Archer’s eVTOL aircraft configuration and flight control systems. The company has now successfully flown... Read more →

Skyports Infrastructure, an Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) infrastructure developer, and AirAsia’s Advanced Air Mobility, a dedicated unit of AirAsia Aviation Group Limited (the aviation arm of Capital A), have signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) to explore the development of air taxi infrastructure in Malaysia. The partnership between AAM industry... Read more →

This week, CAF started dynamic track testing of the hydrogen-powered demonstrator train being developed for the FCH2RAIL project. FCH2RAIL is a consortium of CAF, DLR, Toyota, Renfe, ADIF, CNH2, IP and Stemmann-Technik. This demonstrator train is based on one of Renfe’s commuter trains, in which a new power generation system... Read more →

Volkswagen Group China unveiled its first electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) passenger drone prototype, as part of its strategy to explore and break new ground in fully electric and sustainable individual mobility concepts. In 2020, Volkswagen Group China launched a Vertical Mobility project to explore the next generation of... Read more →

A team of researchers from CoorsTek Membrane Sciences and SINTEF in Norway, and Universitat Politècnica de València in Spain, has demonstrated a 36-cell well-balanced proton ceramic reactor stack enabled by a new interconnect that achieves complete conversion of methane with more than 99% recovery to pressurized hydrogen, leaving a concentrated... Read more →

Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Hungarian Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Hui Zhang, Vice President of NIO Europe Office, jointly announced that NIO Power Europe Plant in Pest megye, with investment from NIO, will commence operation in September. With a footprint of around 10,000 square meters, NIO Power Europe Plant, as... Read more →

A study led by UCLA researchers developed a method for predicting platinum alloys’ potency and stability—two key indicators of how they will perform as catalysts in hydrogen fuel cells. Then, using that technique, they designed and produced an alloy that yielded excellent results under conditions approximating real-world use. The findings... Read more →

Autonomous driving technology company Pony.ai announced a strategic joint venture with SANY Heavy Truck (SANY), a subsidiary of SANY Heavy Industry, China’s number-one heavy equipment manufacturer and the third-largest heavy equipment manufacturer globally. Pony.ai and SANY will collaborate to create a world-leading autonomous truck brand. The two companies will deeply... Read more →

The Group is presenting the first two track sections for testing autonomous vehicles and assistance systems at the new BMW Group Future Mobility Center in Sokolov, the Czech Republic. At the new test site, the BMW Group will continue to advance electrification, digitalization and automated driving. The proving ground in... Read more →

Ford Pro launched the first electric pickup truck purpose-built for police: the 2023 Ford F-150 Lightning Pro Special Service Vehicle (SSV). Ford has been providing police departments with vehicles for more than 70 years. Currently, Ford Pro customers include more than 12,000 police departments across the country and its police... Read more →

The General Authority for Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE), The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (TSFE), The Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC), The New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA) and India-based ReNEW Power company have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish a project to produce green fuels; the investment... Read more →

Iberdrola and bp intend to form a strategic collaboration to expand fast EV public charging infrastructure significantly as well as to develop large-scale green hydrogen production hubs in Spain, Portugal and the UK. Accelerating EV fast charging. Iberdrola and bp plan to form a joint venture that intends to invest... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) will award up to $165 million to expand US geothermal energy deployment. The Geothermal Energy from Oil and Gas Demonstrated Engineering (GEODE) initiative (DE-FOA-0002632) solicits an administrator to establish and lead a consortium that will facilitate collaborative research, development, and demonstration (RD&D). Goals for... Read more →

Tritium DCFC is partnering with EVCS, an EV fast-charging network operator on the West Coast, to deploy 300 new chargers across California, Oregon, and Washington. The order consists of 300 50kW Tritium RTM fast chargers, making the total Tritium DC fast charger contribution to the EVCS network more than 800.... Read more →

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, which supplied essential products for NASA’s Apollo program, including the Apollo 11 mission which landed on the moon 53 years ago, will continue that tradition—focusing on lunar vehicle tires—by joining Lockheed Martin in its development of a lunar mobility vehicle in partnership with General... Read more →

LightMAT has announced its annual funding opportunity for 2022 for the automotive industry to leverage technical assistance from US Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratories. LightMAT is seeking proposals that identify key technical challenges limiting the use of lightweight materials that can further improve the energy efficiency of conventional and... Read more →

ConnectDER, the developer of a meter collar that integrates between the home’s electric meter socket and the meter itself, will supply Siemens with a proprietary plug-in adapter for electric vehicle chargers. The new device will enable electric vehicle (EV) owners to charge EVs by connecting chargers directly through the meter... Read more →

The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Loan Programs Office (LPO) has closed a $102.1-million loan to Australia-based Syrah Technologies LLC for the expansion of its Syrah Vidalia Facility in Louisiana—a processing facility that produces graphite-based active anode material (AAM), a critical material used in lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles (EVs)... Read more →

In its Q2 letter to shareholders, solid-state battery company QuantumScape reported successfully building and testing ts first prototype 24-layer cells. The 24-layer cells show similar early capacity retention behavior to the company’s earlier single-, four-, 10- and 16-layer cells. This is an important result because, as we have previously indicated,... Read more →

bp has opened its first ultra-fast-charging facilities aimed at medium and heavy-duty electric trucks. Operated by bp’s Aral brand, the retail site at Schwegenheim in Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany now has two 300 kW ultra-fast chargers intended for electric trucks, powered by 100% renewable energy. Situated on the major B9 road, the... Read more →

The Mercedes-Benz battery-electric eActros has now been approved as a truck-and-trailer combination with a total weight of 40 tons. The combination has been handed over to Logistik Schmitt for endurance testing. The vehicle is already available to order for customers in this configuration. Since the start of testing in 2019,... Read more →

California-based ChargePoint, a leading electric vehicle (EV) charging network, is partnering with Charge Across Town and the State of California to deploy hundreds of EV chargers at multifamily properties such as apartment buildings and condo complexes across the state. Providing EV charging infrastructure at multifamily buildings will make it easier... Read more →

Yamato Transport and Commercial Japan Partnership Technologies Corporation (CJPT) will begin studying the standardization and commercialization of replaceable and rechargeable cartridge batteries. The introduction of commercial battery electric vehicles (BEVs) poses several challenges, including recharging times that are longer than refueling times for conventional gasoline and diesel vehicles, as well... Read more →

Hyundai and Kia signed joint research agreements with six Korean research institutes and formed a consultative body to develop mobility solutions to explore the surface of the moon. The announcement follows Korea’s successful launch of a domestically produced rocket in June. We have taken the first step towards transforming our... Read more →

Although the current 10-fold price spike of lithium is giving the electric vehicle market a sharp short-term shock, a study by a team from Tsinghua University indicates that it will not hinder transportation electrification in the long run. Despite tight supply and high-point price fluctuation of lithium, the electric vehicle... Read more →

MINI presented the MINI Concept Aceman, an initial preview of its future model generation’s new design. The production version of the Aceman will slot in below the MINI Countryman and above the MINI Cooper in the lineup. The first MINI crossover model for the premium small cars segment is striking,... Read more →

EAVX, Morgan Olson and REE Automotive began hosting the first live demonstrations and customer evaluations of Proxima Powered by REE, the newly announced fully drive-by-wire walk-in electric step van. The joint events highlight the benefits of the newly-designed EAVX and Morgan Olson body paired with REE’s fully-flat, modular P7 chassis... Read more →

Daimler Truck’s Mercedes-Benz eEconic for municipal use is going into series production at the Wörth site in the southern Rhineland-Palatinate. Within a short period of time, the second model of the battery-electric Mercedes-Benz trucks will roll off the production line in Wörth, following the series launch of the eActros for... Read more →

Volkswagen of America (VWoA) has started of production of its all-electric ID.4 compact SUV in Chattanooga, Tenn., the company’s first electric vehicle assembled in the United States. The ID.4 is Volkswagen Group’s most popular all-electric model, with 190,000 units delivered to customers globally since its launch in 2021. Volkswagen aims... Read more →

Through continued development of its next-generation lithium-metal cell technology, Cuberg has achieved a near-doubling of cycle life of its cells alongside improvement in energy and power. Testing of 5 Ah pouch cells by an independent third party confirmed that cycle life has been extended from 370 to 672 cycles with... Read more →

The US Department of Energy Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) and Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) have issued a request for information (RFI) (DE-FOA-0002790) on challenges and opportunities for vehicle-integrated photovoltaics (VIPV) or vehicle-added (or attached) PV (VAPV) systems. As the market for solar-powered vehicles grows, VIPV/VAPV have opportunities to add... Read more →

Stora Enso and Northvolt have entered into a Joint Development Agreement to create a sustainable battery featuring anode produced using lignin-based hard carbon produced from Nordic forest wood. The aim is to develop the world’s first industrialized battery featuring anode sourced entirely from European raw materials, lowering both the carbon... Read more →

Neste, the world’s leading producer of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel produced from waste and residue raw materials, has agreed to acquire 100% of Walco Foods, an Irish trader of animal fats. The transaction is subject to the fulfillment of customary closing conditions and regulatory approval. This is another... Read more →

ExxonMobil has made two new discoveries offshore Guyana to the southeast of the Liza and Payara developments in the Stabroek block. The discoveries at Seabob and Kiru-Kiru are the sixth and seventh in Guyana this year, with the total number of discoveries in Guyana at more than 25. (Earlier post.)... Read more →

By most measures, production of uranium concentrate (U3O8) remained at or near all-time lows in the United States during 2021, at 21,000 pounds—less than 1% of the post-2000 production high of 4.9 million pounds U3O8 in 2014, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). As domestic production has declined,... Read more →

General Motors announced two major Li-ion battery supply chain agreements, one with LG Chem for cathode active material (CAM), and one with Livent for the supply of battery-grade lithium hydroxide. GM now has contractual commitments secured with strategic partners for all battery raw material to support our goal of 1... Read more →

Lower Saxony's Environment Minister Olaf Lies presented the funding notification of €2.375 million for Uniper’s planned hydrogen pilot project at the Krummhoern natural gas storage site. The climate crisis and the war against Ukraine are forcing us to push ahead with the energy transition at top speed. It has long... Read more →

NTT Anode Energy Corporation announced a joint research and development project to study safety measures for the mass transportation of hydrogen through existing pipeline infrastructure. The study, being performed in collaboration with the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology and Toyota Tsusho is expected to contribute to the... Read more →

Mercedes-Benz Trucks, together with its project partner, the services division of Netze BW, has opened a charging park for customers near the Application Information Center (BIC) in Wörth am Rhein. At the eTruck Charging Park, electric truck customers can now test charging stations and charging concepts from various manufacturers as... Read more →

Steel produced by electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmakers in the US has a carbon intensity that is approximately 75% lower than traditional blast furnace steelmakers. This is the finding of an independent study of steelmakers worldwide conducted by CRU Group, a global business intelligence firm specializing in metals manufacturing. The... Read more →

Lithium and battery technology company Energy Exploration Technologies announced a $450-million investment commitment from Global Emerging Markets (GEM). The proceeds from this capital investment will further the company’s commercialization efforts of its direct lithium extraction and refinery technologies. Created in 2018, EnergyX is a startup focused on providing efficient, sustainable... Read more →

Gevo has closed on the purchase of approximately 245 acres near Lake Preston, South Dakota for its first commercial scale sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) facility, Net-Zero 1. The site, initially optioned for purchase by Gevo in December of 2020, is very favorable for producing low-carbon SAF. Gevo expects to break... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced $3 million in funding for 10 high-performance computing projects that will advance cutting-edge manufacturing and clean energy technologies. As part of the High-Performance Computing for Energy Innovation (HPC4EI) initiative, the selected projects will leverage the expertise and computing capabilities of the U.S. National... Read more →

The United States became the world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter during the first half of 2022, according to data from CEDIGAZ. reported by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). Compared with the second half of 2021, US LNG exports increased by 12% in the first half of 2022,... Read more →

New research led by the University of Pittsburgh unveils the atomic-scale friction of a single tungsten asperity, or rough edge, in real time, showing atomic motion for the first time with electron microscopy. The work, completed by two labs in the Swanson School of Engineering, was recently published in the... Read more →

Researchers at the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have found a way to build high-temperature superconducting magnets made of material that conducts electricity with little or no resistance at temperatures warmer than before. Such powerful magnets would more easily fit within the tight space inside... Read more →

Researchers at Cornell have developed a coupled transportation–power system framework for incorporating a wireless charging road system into the real-time electricity market. In addition, they propose an optimization-based control strategy to manage the energy storage system in a cost-efficient manner. Their paper is published in the journal Applied Energy. Wireless... Read more →