The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company introduced RangeMax RSD EV, Goodyear’s first electric vehicle-ready tire compatible with EV and gas- or diesel-powered regional work vehicles. The RangeMax RSD EV is Goodyear’s best regional drive tire for energy efficiency. Equipped to handle the higher load capacities of EVs, RangeMax RSDEV was... Read more →

Dutch semiconductor designer and manufacturer NXP Semiconductors will offer Qnovo’s SpectralX technology as part of its e-mobility enablement solutions for electric vehicles (EV) in 2023. SpectralX is intelligent battery management system (BMS) software that uses predictive analytics to improve battery performance, range, and safety in several types of EVs with... Read more →

Stellantis announced a $155-million investment in a copper project located in Argentina, which will make a major contribution to the company’s plan to become carbon net zero by 2038. The company is acquiring a 14.2% equity stake in McEwen Copper, a subsidiary of Canadian mining company McEwen Mining, which owns... Read more →

The BMW Group’s light metal foundry in Landshut has once again been certified by an independent party for its sustainable use of aluminum—meeting the standards of the aluminum Stewardship Initiative (ASI), an international non-profit organisation supported by environmental and industrial associations, aluminum producers and processing companies. The ASI defines sustainability... Read more →

Volvo Cars plans to open a brand new Tech Hub in Krakow, Poland’s second-largest city. It will be a key software development center and play a crucial role in the company’s strategic ambitions to be a fully electric brand by 2030 and a leader in new technology, not least through... Read more →

Li-Cycle Holdings Corp. and the US Department of Energy (DOE) Loan Programs Office (LPO), through its Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) program, have entered into a conditional commitment for a $375-million loan. The conditional commitment follows DOE technical, market, financial and legal due diligence and marks another significant milestone endorsing... Read more →

Honda Motor has reached a basic agreement with Ascend Elements, a US-based company with expertise in technologies for recycling of battery resources. (Earlier post.) The companies intend to collaborate toward stable procurement of resources from recycled lithium-ion batteries in North America necessary for Honda electrified vehicles, including EVs. Through this... Read more →

The BMW Group presented the first BMW iX5 Hydrogen vehicles in a pilot fleet that will go into service this year. The fleet of less than 100 vehicles will then be employed internationally for demonstration and trial purposes for various target groups. This active driving experience will therefore be the... Read more →

California led the nation in plug-in vehicle (PEV)— both all-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles—registrations in 2022 with 27.55 per thousand people, according to the US Department of Energy (DOE). The average for the US was 8.66 registrations per thousand people in 2022. Seven states and the District of Columbia... Read more →

Evonik is investing in a production plant expansion for fumed aluminum oxide at its site in Yokkaichi, Japan. The facility will be the company’s first alumina plant in Asia, focusing on the production of specialty solutions for lithium-ion battery technologies, used for electric vehicles. Evonik’s AEROXIDE, an aluminum oxide for... Read more →

Geely Auto Group officially launched a new high-end electrified product series:Geely Galaxy. The first car from the Geely Galaxy range, the Galaxy L7 long-range PHEV SUV was unveiled along with a fully electric concept model, the “Galaxy Light.” Galaxy light electric concept At the launch ceremony, Geely Auto also unveiled... Read more →

Strategic Biofuels has selected Johnson Matthey’s (JM’s) Fischer Tropsch (FT) CANS technology—co-developed with bp—for its Louisiana Green Fuels project (LGF) in Caldwell Parish, Louisiana. Located on a 327-acre site at the Port of Columbia, the LGF plant plans to convert 1 million tons of forestry waste feedstock into cleaner-burning renewable... Read more →

As part of Nissan Ambition 2030, Nissan announced its plan to 23 electrified vehicles, including 15 EVs, by 2030. In response to changes in customer needs and the business environment, Nissan has revised its plan to accelerate electrification further. Nissan will increase the number of models to meet the growing... Read more →

A new briefing paper from Imperial College London estimates that in 2021, 52% of all small particle pollution from road transport came from tires and brakes. The researchers, from Imperial College London’s Transition to Zero Pollution (TZP) initiative, warn that even though electric vehicles remove the problem of fuel emissions,... Read more →

by Michael Sivak, Sivak Applied Research This post provides calculations of the approximate energy and environmental costs for flying ultralong distances nonstop against strong headwinds. The calculations were performed on flights in both directions between New York (JFK) and Auckland (AKL)—one of the longest current nonstop routes. (The distance between... Read more →

The US Department of Transportation announced that the National Center for Sustainable Transportation (NCST), housed at the UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS-Davis), would receive $20 million to lead a group of seven universities studying transportation effects on the environment. The funding was granted as part of the Department... Read more →

Global metal and mining major Rio Tinto has commenced a recruitment campaign for University graduates from Australia and New Zealand, as it seeks to attract the best and brightest minds across a range of disciplines, including engineering, data science, advanced technology, business and geology. Commencing in early 2024, successful applicants... Read more →

The US Department of Transportation (DOT) is awarding up to $435 million in grant awards for 34 University Transportation Centers (UTC). UTCs advance transportation expertise and technology in the varied disciplines that comprise the field of transportation through education, research, and technology transfer activities. Project focus areas include, but are... Read more →

The Spallation Neutron Source (earlier post) at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory set a world record when its linear accelerator reached an operating power of 1.55 megawatts, which improves on the facility’s original design capability. The accelerator’s higher power provides more neutrons for researchers who use the... Read more →

SEAT S.A. is leading the development of the Small BEV family for the Volkswagen Group and will start producing fully electric vehicles by 2025 for different brands. SEAT will invest €3 billion in the conversion of its Martorell plant for the production of small EVs. About 12,000 people work in... Read more →

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing has revealed a revised GR010 HYBRID Hypercar for the 2023 season, when it will defend its number one status against new competitors at the Le Mans 24 Hours and the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). The team’s run of success, which so far includes five consecutive Le... Read more →

Valmet Automotive has started the series production of battery systems in Kirchardt, the Finnish company’s first battery plant in Germany. The plant near Heilbronn manufactures high-voltage systems for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. The current first program for the Kirchardt plant is a small-series production of modules, packs and the... Read more →

The new MINI Cooper SE Convertible (combined power consumption: 17.2kWh/100 km according to WLTP) (earlier post) will be the first series model to be produced with alloy wheels that are made entirely from recycled aluminum. The first use of 100% secondary aluminum for light-alloy wheels on a series-production vehicle is... Read more →

The Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) UK, with experts and stakeholders from industry, academia and funding and support bodies, has published an updated power electronics value chain which shows an end-to-end supply chain view of materials and components required for volume manufacturing of automotive inverters, converters, and onboard chargers. APC has... Read more →

Researchers at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) and US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory have developed a lithium-air battery with a solid electrolyte. The battery is rechargeable for 1000 cycles with a low polarization gap and can operate at high rates. A paper on their work is... Read more →

Nissan is now using two battery electric vehicle (BEV) heavy-duty, Class 8 trucks to deliver new vehicles from the Port of Los Angeles (POLA)to dealerships in the Los Angeles region. Nikola and Kenworth will each provide trucks that will pull traditional car haulers. The program is being conducted in collaboration... Read more →

China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) officially launched China’s first methanol-to-hydrogen and hydrogen refueling service station in Dalian, China. An upgrade from the previous fueling station offering oil, gas, hydrogen, electric charging services, the integrated complex can produce 1,000 kilograms of hydrogen a day, with a purity of 99.999%. Sinopec’s... Read more →

Bell Textron announced that the Bell 505 completed its first flight fueled solely by 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), marking the first single-engine helicopter to fly with 100% SAF. Bell collaborated with Safran Helicopter Engines, Neste, GKN Aerospace and Virent to make this Bell 505 flight possible. To achieve this... Read more →

Solid-state battery electrolytes need to be able to transport lithium ions rapidly. This can be achieved by developing a percolating pathway in the solid electrolyte or by increasing the mobility of the carrier ions. However, standard design methods have limited the selection of dopants and complicated the synthesis. Now, researchers... Read more →

Ford Motor Company, LG Energy Solution and Koç Holding signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) to form a new joint venture subject to final agreement by all the parties to create one of Europe’s largest commercial electric vehicle battery cell facilities near Ankara, Turkey. The new joint venture will... Read more →

MAHLE Powertrain is working with White Motorcycle Concepts (WMC) to develop a fully electric three-wheeled motorcycle suited to the requirements of police, emergency first responders and last-mile delivery fleets. Supported by a grant from the Niche Vehicle Network, supported by the Department for Transport and Innovate UK, the project will... Read more →

Eaton’s eMobility business has introduced a 3-in-1 battery pack vent valve for electrified vehicle (EV) batteries. The valve is capable of three unique functions, including a battery case leak-check mechanism, as well as passive and active venting to provide overpressure relief for a vehicle’s battery pack. Eaton’s 3-in-1 battery vent... Read more →

The US Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E) announced up to $10 million in funding to develop new technologies and tools to reduce the environmental impact of aviation. The funding, part of the ARPA-E broad Exploratory Topics FOA, is for the Predictive Real-time Emissions Technologies Reducing... Read more →

Amogy Inc., a developer of emission-free, energy-dense ammonia power solutions (earlier post), signed a letter of intent and a lease with Sustainable Energy Catapult Center in Norway to initiate testing operations for Amogy’s 200kW ammonia-to-power platform at the recently-launched testing facility for new and sustainable energy solutions in Stord, Norway.... Read more →

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Microengineering and Microsystems IMM are developing ammonia-based systems for a mobile, decentralized energy supply in the infrastructure, transportation and industry sectors. Several of the research projects were showcased for the first time at the recent Hannover Messe. An alternative to fossil fuels is power-to-X... Read more →

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, through its Energy Transition Fund (CI ETF I), has acquired a majority stake in a blue ammonia project, which will be developed alongside US-based Sustainable Fuels Group (SFG). The financial terms of the transaction are not disclosed. The project has entered into an agreement with International-Matex Tank... Read more →

SK Inc. Materials and ExxonMobil signed a Heads of Agreement (HOA) for SK Inc. Materials to pursue the offtake of blue ammonia from ExxonMobil’s planned low-carbon hydrogen project at its integrated complex in Baytown, Texas. SK seeks to import blue ammonia produced from ExxonMobil to South Korea in support of... Read more →

In January 2023, state taxes and fees on gasoline and diesel fuel averaged $0.3163 per gallon (gal) of gasoline and $0.3388/gal of diesel fuel, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). These taxes have increased in 13 states since July 2022. Data source: US Energy Information Administration, federal and... Read more →

French start-up Hyliko plans to integrate Toyota’s second-generation hydrogen fuel cell modules into heavy-duty trucks for their zero-emission fleet offering. This latest cooperation into the truck sector further expands Toyota’s portfolio of partnerships where it provides its fuel cell technology for hydrogen solutions across diverse sectors including trains, buses, generators... Read more →

BASF, a leading battery materials producer, has entered into a long-term collaboration agreement with Tenova Advanced Technologies (TAT) of Yokneam, Israel, for its battery recycling prototype plant in Schwarzheide, Germany. Both companies agreed to optimize jointly the hydrometallurgical recycling process, leveraging TAT’s novel process for the recovery and production of... Read more →

Aqua Metals has recovered high-purity lithium hydroxide (LiOH) from lithium-ion battery black mass at the company’s Li AquaRefining recycling facility located at the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center (TRIC). (Earlier post.) The production and availability of the first recycled lithium hydroxide at scale will help close the supply chain loop for critical... Read more →

Electra Vehicles, a B2B electric vehicle AI software company headquartered in Boston that produces Cloud and onboard software to optimize the performance of electric vehicle battery systems, raised $21 million in an oversubscribed investment round. The round is led by United Ventures, the Italian venture capital firm specializing in digital... Read more →

United has launched the United Airlines Ventures Sustainable Flight Fund, an investment vehicle designed to support start-ups focused on decarbonizing air travel by accelerating the research, production and technologies associated with sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The fund starts with more than $100 million in investments from United and its inaugural... Read more →

Belgian solid-state Lithium battery technology company SOLiTHOR and aerospace company Sonaca signed a bilateral Memorandum of Agreement jointly to develop safe, high-density rechargeable solid-state Lithium battery systems for Regional Aircraft and Urban Air Mobility. This partnership will also expand to satellite systems as well as defense systems. This alliance will... Read more →

Battery and advanced materials company Talga Group (earlier post), with 100% owned graphite resources in Sweden, has received firm commitments for a placement of new fully paid ordinary Talga shares to raise A$40 million (US$27.3 million) before costs. Proceeds will be used to fund the Vittangi Anode Project early works,... Read more →

The SAFE Center for Strategic Industrial Materials (C-SIM) released the first report in a series of policy papers regarding the various issues impacting domestic primary aluminum production: The US Aluminum Industry’s Energy Problem and Energy Solution. Aluminum demand will continue to grow as the economy transitions to a more sustainable... Read more →

Mercedes-Benz outlined its plans as the architect of its own operating system MB.OS, which will be introduced mid-decade with the new MMA platform (Mercedes Modular Architecture). MB.OS is designed and developed in-house to retain full control over the customer relationship, ensure data privacy, and to leverage the unique integration of... Read more →

Free hydrogen in nature—i.e., the natural formation and storage of molecular hydrogen—is widely thought to be rare. However, as interest in hydrogen as a needed zero-carbon fuel grows, so is interest in the potential for geologic hydrogen as a primary resource. In addition to increasing scientific interest in the field,... Read more →

Hydrogen development, given its application across various industries, is indispensable to attaining energy transition, meeting decarbonization goals, and positioning leading companies as market experts. In 2022, green hydrogen production capacity reached more than 109 kilotons per annum (ktpa) worldwide, representing 44% growth compared to 2021, according to data and analytics... Read more →

The BMW Group intends to source aluminum with significantly reduced CO2 emissions from Rio Tinto’s hydro-powered operations in Canada starting in 2024 and has signed a memorandum of understanding to this effect. Compared to conventionally manufactured aluminum, this approach can save around 70% of CO2 emissions. The planned supply volumes... Read more →