PT Vale Indonesia Tbk and China’s Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co. announced an agreement with Ford Motor Co., creating a three-party collaboration to advance more sustainable nickel production in Indonesia and help make electric vehicle batteries more affordable. All three companies are making equity investments in the Pomalaa Block High-Pressure Acid... Read more →

Audi is making a clear statement that the 2024 Q8 e-tron is its flagship electrified SUV. The new 2024 Audi Q8 e-tron (earlier post) has been refined with increased driving range, higher-power and faster charging capabilities, and improved driving dynamics compared to the prior model e-tron. The Q8 e-tron delivers... Read more →

Demand for large-scale hydrogen projects from industry is steadily increasing. In response, H-TEC SYSTEMS, a subsidiary of MAN Energy Solutions, has developed a new Modular Hydrogen Platform (MHP)—a scalable system for the industrial production of green hydrogen. The standardized blocks each have an electrolysis performance of 10 MW and can... Read more →

Umicore and Blue Current, a manufacturer of silicon elastic composite solid-state batteries, have agreed to strengthen their collaboration on the development of solid-state battery technology, with Umicore investing a minority stake in the US-based start-up. This investment complements the joint development agreement (JDA) whereby both parties were able to integrate... Read more →

North American lithium producer Sayona Mining and Piedmont Lithium successfully restarted commercial spodumene concentrate production at the jointly-owned North American Lithium (NAL) project in Québec (earlier post). The $US80-million restart of NAL was completed on time and on budget and is the only major source of new spodumene production expected... Read more →

The Marshall Area Economic Development Alliance received Michigan Strategic Fund (MSF) approval of a $120.3-million Strategic Site Readiness Program performance-based grant that will support land acquisition, site preparation, water and wastewater upgrades, professional fees, administration, and necessary public infrastructure improvements required for the Ford BlueOval Battery Park in Marshall. (Earlier... Read more →

Mining.com’s EV Metal Index, which tracks the value of battery metals in newly registered passenger EVs (including full battery, plug-in and conventional hybrids) worldwide, totalled $26.9 billion in 2022—an increase of 232% compared to the prior year. As much EV battery metal business was done in 2022 than the combined... Read more →

Rio Tinto and First Quantum Minerals (FQM) have entered into an agreement to form a joint venture that will work to unlock the development of the La Granja copper project in Cajamarca, Northern Peru, one of the largest undeveloped copper resources in the world. Source: FQM La Granja is a... Read more →

DCC plc, an international sales, marketing and support services group, has partnered with Oberon Fuels, the leading producer of renewable dimethyl ether (DME) (earlier post), to advance the design, construction and operations of multiple renewable DME production plants in Europe. The companies have completed an initial feasibility study which confirmed... Read more →

Due to a steady increase in availability of new models, expanded price mix within existing models and widening eligibility of federal and state incentives, acquisition cost is starting to fade as a hurdle to EV adoption, according to J.D. Power. According to the J.D. Power EV Index (earlier post), a... Read more →

J.D. Power and Motorq, a leading connected vehicle analytics and infrastructure company, have announced a strategic alliance to provide the automotive industry with insights based on connected vehicle data. The first product from the alliance will measure real-world electric vehicle (EV) battery health. Using data provided by the vehicle itself,... Read more →

The Superbike Commission of the FIM World Superbike Championship (WorldSBK) has decided that the fuels used, as in MotoGP, must consist of at least 40% non-fossil components from the coming 2024 season. BMW Motorrad Motorsport is preparing intensively for this and is closely involved in the development of such alternative... Read more →

Lamborghini presented Revuelto, its super sports V12 hybrid plug-in HPEV (High Performance Electrified Vehicle). (Earlier post.) An output of 1015 CV is delivered from the combined power of an entirely new combustion engine together with three electric motors, alongside a double-clutch gearbox that makes its debut on a 12-cylinder Lamborghini... Read more →

Kia revealed more details of the Kia EV9, its first three-row seat electric flagship SUV (earlier post). Based on the Electric Global Modular Platform (E-GMP), the EV9 delivers a targeted all-electric range over 541 km (WLTP). Ultra-fast 800-volt charging capability enables the EV9 battery pack to be replenished with sufficient... Read more →

MAN Energy Solutions’ MAN 49/60DF dual-fuel engine has received its Type Approval after a five-day program on the testbed at company HQ in Augsburg, Germany. The Type Approval Test (TAT) was witnessed by inspectors representing the ABS, BV, CCS, DNV, LR and RINA classification societies, who signed the test protocol... Read more →

The South Carolina Department of Education will deploy 160 Thomas Built Buses (TBB) electric school buses in school districts across the state over the next year, under a new procurement finalized this month between the Department of Education and Thomas Built Buses dealer Interstate Transportation. The Department of Education’s purchase... Read more →

Nikola announced that Nikola and its dealer network have received orders for 100 Class 8 Nikola Tre hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). Deliveries of the purpose-built heavy-duty trucks will begin in Q4 2023. With a range of up to 500 miles and an estimated fueling time of approximately 20... Read more →

A study by researchers at the University of Birmingham in the UK has found that while Diesel Oxidation Catalysts (DOCs) and Diesel Particle Filters (DPFs) has been very effective in controlling the tailpipe emissions of solid particles, there has been little change in the liquid mode (<30 nm) particles, and... Read more →

A new hydrogen compressor developed at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) can improve the efficiency and reliability of hydrogen compression used in the refueling of fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). The SwRI-developed linear motor-driven reciprocating compressor (LMRC) is designed to compress hydrogen as a fuel source for FCEVs and other hydrogen-powered... Read more →

Two Nissan LEAF electric vehicles (EVs) at the Plymouth State University (PSU) provided 1 MWh of energy to the PSU’s ALLWell Center, offsetting some of the building’s electricity needs, over a six-month period. The university is taking part in an utility rate program developed by its local utility New Hampshire... Read more →

FREYR Battery has entered into discussions on a potential strategic coalition with Glencore, Caterpillar, Siemens and Nidec to pursue the scale-up of sustainable battery solutions across Europe, North America, and beyond. The non-binding alliance may establish guiding principles including: A shared vision of battery technology as critical to the energy... Read more →

Mazda Motor Corporation has joined the Research Association of Biomass Innovation for Next Generation Automobile Fuels in Japan as a full member. The Research Association was established on 1 July 2022 by ENEOS Corporation, Suzuki Motor Corporation, Subaru Corporation, Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd., Toyota Motor Corporation, and Toyota Tsusho Corporation.... Read more →

United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Japan’s Ambassador to the United States, Tomita Koji, signed a critical minerals agreement. The agreement builds on the 2019 US-Japan Trade Agreement and will strengthen and diversify critical minerals supply chains and promote the adoption of electric vehicle battery technologies. In particular, the... Read more →

Cummins and Leclanché signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to offer customers a wide range of hybrid, battery-only and fuel cell package solutions in marine and rail applications utilizing a variety of power sources such as engines, hydrogen fuel cells, battery packs and racks, as well as other components. The... Read more →

E-Tech Resources, a rare earth exploration and development company developing its Eureka Rare Earths Project in Namibia, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire an 85% interest in exclusive prospecting license 8748 (EPL 8748). EPL 8748 is located in the Erongo Mining Corridor of Namibia which lies adjacent to,... Read more →

The European Council and the European Parliament have reached a provisional political agreement on the Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR). The objective of the proposed regulation is threefold: To ensure that there is a sufficient infrastructure network for recharging or refueling road vehicles or ships with alternative fuels; to provide... Read more →

CALSTART launched Communities in Charge, an incentives project funded by the California Energy Commission’s Clean Transportation Program, and supported in partnership with GRID Alternatives and Tetra Tech. This incentives project is designed to transform electric vehicle (EV) charging accessibility and accelerate the market with the rapid installation of light-duty electric... Read more →

Greenhouse gases such as methane absorb primarily long-wave radiation, trapping heat from Earth’s surface and preventing it from radiating out into space—thus making the planet hotter. However, greenhouse gases also absorb short-wave radiation incoming from the sun. A new study by researchers from the University of California, Riverside and colleagues... Read more →

Canada-based Rock Tech Lithium officially broke ground for its lithium conversion plant in Guben, Germany (earlier post), from which it will supply Mercedes-Benz with battery-grade lithium hydroxide (LiOH) starting in 2026 (starting with a qualification period). Lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LiOH⋅H2O) is a crucial precursor for the production of lithium-ion battery... Read more →

VinFast delivered the first 27 VF 9 all-electric SUVs to its customers at an event in Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The delivery events took place approximately 1 year after introducing the VF 9 model to the public. The first batch of VF 9s, produced and... Read more →

Schaeffler has begun production of its electric wheel hub motors; three manufacturers of compact municipal vehicles are gearing up to incorporate the motors into their production lines in the coming months. All the components needed for propulsion and braking are integrated directly into the wheel rim, rather than being positioned... Read more →

by Michael Sivak, Sivak Applied Research This brief post examines vehicle miles traveled in the United States from 2019 (the last year before the pandemic) through 2022. The raw data came from FHWA. The data are for all vehicles, and they are not adjusted for the changes in population. (Population-adjusted... Read more →

University of California, Riverside (UCR) environmental engineers will soon serve as referees in California’s drive for heavy-duty trucks to meet the state’s tailpipe emission standards. The referee program will provide testing services for vehicles potentially operating with tampered emissions control systems and/or testability issues. Operating under the California Air Resources... Read more →

Liontown Resources, an emerging battery minerals producer based in Australia, has rejected an unsolicited, conditional and non-binding indicative proposal from Albemarle Corporation, in which Albemarle would acquire all of the shares in Liontown at a price of A$2.50 per share—valuing the company at approximately US$3.7 billion. The proposal represented a... Read more →

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL), a global leader of new energy innovative technologies, and HGP Storage, LLC (HGP), a company specializing in the development of advanced battery energy storage systems (BESS), announced an agreement on the supply of more than 450 MWh of BESS. Both parties have also agreed... Read more →

Researchers from the University of Twente in The Netherlands have developed a new high-entropy perovskite oxide (HEO) as a high-activity electrocatalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER)—the key kinetically limiting half-reaction in several electrochemical energy conversion technologies, including green hydrogen generation. In an open-access study in the journal ACS Nano,... Read more →

Researchers from the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI) and Kumoh National Institute of Technology (KIT), have developed a low-cost production technology for silicon disulfide (SiS2) for solid-state electrolytes (argyrodite-type) that has potential to accelerate the commercialization of all-solid-state batteries (ASSBs). The team’s findings from the silicon disulfide study were published... Read more →

United States Steel Corporation announced that its new electrical steel product, InduX, will begin production at its Big River Steel facility in the summer of 2023 with the commissioning of its new non-grain oriented (NGO) electrical steel line. InduX electrical steel is a very wide, ultra-thin, and light-weight steel, having... Read more →

BHP has signed an agreement for piloting of carbon capture and utilization technology with China’s HBIS Group Co., Ltd (HBIS), one of the world’s largest steelmakers and a major iron ore customer of BHP. As part of this new project, HBIS and BHP will trial pilot-scale demonstrations of carbon capture... Read more →

A.P. Moller-Maersk (Maersk) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG) on strategic cooperation for Shanghai Port methanol marine fuel project. The two parties will explore green methanol fuel vessel-to-vessel bunkering operation after Maersk’s green methanol container vessels being delivered in 2024. Maersk has set a... Read more →

Now in its second-generation, the Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel cell vehicle delivers an EPA-estimated zero tailpipe emission range of 402 miles on the Mirai entry-level XLE grade. The 2023 XLE grade has a starting MSRP of $49,500. An Advanced Technology Package, which includes Bird’s Eye View camera, front and rear... Read more →

Viritech, a developer of high-performance hydrogen powertrain solutions for the automotive industry, is extending its cooperation with Haydale, a global technology solutions company and a developer of functionaliZed graphene-enhanced nanomaterials. The two companies will work together on solutions for hydrogen pressure vessels for the automotive industry, initially focusing on commercial... Read more →

Lilium N.V., developer of an all-electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) jet, has teamed with Collins Aerospace to design, develop and build the Lilium Jet’s inceptors—the sidestick system used by the pilot to control the aircraft. Collins Aerospace is a leader in technologically advanced and intelligent solutions for the global... Read more →

Norwegian Hydrogen is establishing a new subsidiary named Vireon, aiming to become the largest operator of hydrogen refueling stations for heavy transport in the Nordics. The first Vireon refueling station in Norway will be ready in 2023, and the green hydrogen will be supplied by Norwegian Hydrogen. The company has... Read more →

SK On will partner with Korea’s largest cathode material company EcoPro, and Chinese battery materials producer GEM to build a battery core material production facility in Saemangeum, South Korea. The three companies together will spend up on 1.21 trillion won (US$934 million) for what will be their second joint venture... Read more →

IBC Advanced Technologies, a developer of highly selective separations products, engineered systems and processes based on Molecular Recognition Technology, announced Phase One results of the Direct Lithium to Product (DLP) pilot plant currently operating at Salar de Maricunga, Chile. The Pilot Plant has undergone validation testing and begun Phase One... Read more →

The German government and the EU Commission reached agreement on the inclusion of internal combustion engines fueled by CO2-neutral fuels—eFuels—late Friday evening. The agreement clears the way for the adoption of the 100% zero emissions limits for 2035. (Earlier post.) Early in March, Germany’s Federal Minister of Transport Dr. Volker... Read more →

A study by MathPro Inc., prepared for the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), has found that hydrotreating is an inexpensive approach to produce near-zero naphthalenes petroleum jet fuel (PJF) for contrail abatement. The report estimates an incremental cost of 0.09 to 0.12 USD/gallon (~€0.03/L) to hydrotreat fossil jet fuel... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) and Stellantis launched of the Battery Workforce Challenge, which includes a three-year collegiate engineering competition; vocational training; youth education in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM); and career and technical education. Managed by Argonne National Laboratory for DOE and co-sponsored by Stellantis, this government... Read more →

Ford’s BlueOval City EV and battery manufacturing campus in West Tennessee (earlier post) begins production in 2025, will be home to Ford’s second-generation electric truck, code-named Project T3, and will be capable of producing 500,000 EV trucks a year at full production. Ford and partner SK On are investing $5.6... Read more →