A team from Chung Yuan Christian University in Taiwan has fabricated a novel Fe3V3O8 (FVO) anode material for Na/Li-ion storage using hydrothermal technology for the first time. The electrochemical results indicated that the initial sodiation capacity of the FVO anode is as high as 805 mA h g−1 at 100... Read more →

The performance of Hempel’s silicone-based hull coating solution, Hempaguard X7, and its ability to accelerate decarbonization efforts in the maritime industry are now third-party validated by DNV. Hempaguard X7 is a high solids, advanced fouling defense coating based on ActiGuard technology which utilizes the added effect of advanced hydrogel silicone... Read more →

SODA.Auto, a developer of software-defined vehicle (SDV) technologies, has launched its SDV Grant Program, a new initiative designed to empower automotive startups driving innovation in the industry. The program will provide five automotive startups with specialized SDV grants, valued £50,000 each (US$63,000), along with access to engineering tools, mentorship, and... Read more →

Toyota Texas is expanding its footprint with a $531-million investment that will bring more than 400 new, high-quality jobs to San Antonio. The new on-site 500,000-square-foot facility will be dedicated to drivetrain parts production, further affirming Toyota’s commitment to reinvesting profits in its US operations. For nearly two decades, Toyota... Read more →

BMW Manufacturing opened its new press shop at the Spartanburg, South Carolina, plant as it prepares to assemble the new BMW X3 Sports Activity Vehicle (earlier post). The press shop will stamp sheet metal parts for the new BMW X3, which made its North American debut during the ceremony. These... Read more →

BMW launched the fourth-genetation of its X3 featuring major improvements in efficiency and dynamic performance with the wide-ranging model line-up. The portfolio of powertrains comprises not just highly efficient gasoline and diesel engines, but also a latest-generation plug-in hybrid system that enables the new BMW X3 30e xDrive (consumption, weighted... Read more →

New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced $32 million is now available for shared electric transportation solutions such as micro mobility, shuttles, and ridesharing services. The new $32-million Clean Mobility Program, administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), will competitively award funding to local governments, transit... Read more →

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Department of Energy (DOE) announced that applications are open for $850 million in federal funding for projects that will help monitor, measure, quantify and reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas sectors. (DE-FOA-0003256) Oil and natural gas facilities are the... Read more →

Researchers at North Carolina State University have created a new class of materials called “glassy gels” that are very hard and difficult to break despite containing more than 50% liquid. Coupled with the fact that glassy gels are simple to produce, the material holds promise for a variety of applications.... Read more →

The US Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) will award $60 million in grants under the Saving Lives with Connectivity: Accelerating V2X Deployment program to advance connected and interoperable vehicle technologies. The grants to recipients in Arizona, Texas and Utah will serve as national models to accelerate and spur... Read more →

Amprius Technologies, the developer of the Silicon Anode Platform for next-generation lithium-ion batteries, announced a strategic initiative to increase rapidly the global production capacity of its SiCore offering (earlier post) through new manufacturing partnerships. SiCore batteries are based on a proprietary silicon anode material system delivering high-energy-density silicon anode batteries.... Read more →

cellcentric, the fuel cell joint venture founded in 2021 between Daimler Truck AG and the Volvo Group, has begun pilot production for fuel cell systems at the Esslingen-Pliensauvorstadt site, taking another significant step towards large-scale production. cellcentric is working towards supplying fuel cells on a large scale by the end... Read more →

BMW has cancelled a long-term €2-billion order for battery cells from Northvolt. A BMW spokesman said that the two companies, which have been collaborating on technology for years (earlier post), have jointly decided to concentrate Northvolt’s activities on the goal of developing next-generation battery cells. Report of the cancellation initially... Read more →

The German Aerospace Center (DLR) is receiving €130 million from the German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV) for the construction of the power-to-liquids technology platform (PtL). The research facility in Leuna, Saxony-Anhalt, is intended to research and develop technologies for the production of electricity-based fuels on an industrial... Read more →

The Arizona Sedona-Oak Creek Airport Authority (SOCAA)—in partnership with leading aviation fuel supplier, Avfuel Corporation, and the airport’s fixed base operator (FBO), Red Rock Aviation—now offers sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The airport is Avfuel’s first location to offer SAF in the state of Arizona, positioning it as a leader in... Read more →

The global market for platinum group metals (PGMs)—which include platinum, palladium, rhodium, iridium, osmium and ruthenium—will record a 4.47% increase between now and 2029, according to market research firm Mordor Intelligence. In part, market growth will come from growing demand for PGMs in green technologies, including hydrogen energy technologies, in... Read more →

TotalEnergies, operator of OML 58 onshore license in Nigeria with a 40% interest, together with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Ltd (NNPCL, 60%), have taken the Final Investment Decision (FID) for the $550-million development of the Ubeta gas field. Located about 80 km northwest of Port Harcourt in Rivers state,... Read more →

Toshiba Corporation and Sojitz Corporation of Japan, and Brazil’s CBMM, the world’s leading producer of niobium, have completed development of a next-generation lithium-ion battery that uses niobium titanium oxide (NTO) in the anode. (Earlier post.) They unveiled a prototype E-bus powered with the new battery (SCiB Nb), which realizes an... Read more →

The world’s leading used cooking oil (UCO) producer, China, will soon run out of waste oil, as demand from Europe and the US outstrips supply, a new Transport & Environment (T&E) study shows. Stratas Advisors’ research, on behalf of T&E, looks at the collection capacity of the world’s leading UCO... Read more →

Topsoe, ABB and Fluor have formed an alliance to design a standardized concept for building Topsoe’s next Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cells (SOEC) factory. The aim is to develop processes continuously to reduce costs, enhance safety, and secure an efficient project execution via a standardized approach. Momentum for green hydrogen projects... Read more →

Lhyfe has built and will operate a green hydrogen production plant for Deutsche Bahn (DB) in Tübingen. The electrolysis plant in the innovation hub of DB Energie, a Group subsidiary, has an annual production capacity of up to 30 tons (installed electrolysis capacity of 1 MW). The green electricity comes... Read more →

Sumitomo Rubber Industries (SRI), in collaboration mainly with Makina Saito, Associate Professor at Tohoku University; Takaki Hatsui, Group Director at RIKEN; and Yoshitaka Yoda, Senior Scientist at the Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, has developed a new synchrotron radiation technique capable of measuring atomic, molecular, and nanostructure motion in a... Read more →

Chinese market sentiment in early May overestimated consumer demand for rare earths oxides, resulting in the first price increases for rare earths dysprosium (Dy) and praseodymium neodymium (PrNd) oxide this year, according to the latest assessment by Benchmark. This was the first time rare earths prices had recovered after a... Read more →

Technology group Wärtsilä launched the world’s first large-scale 100% hydrogen-ready engine power plant. The IEA World Energy Outlook 2023 shows that hydrogen is an essential component of future power systems. According to the report, the pathway to reach net zero emissions by 2050 requires 17 Mt of hydrogen to be... Read more →

Electrification, renewables and artificial intelligence are global megatrends converging and driving unprecedented demands for advanced power semiconductors capable of optimizing energy conversion and management. In a strategic move toward addressing these demands, onsemi plans to establish a state-of-the-art, vertically integrated silicon carbide (SiC) manufacturing facility in the Czech Republic. The... Read more →

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have successfully demonstrated the first 270-kW wireless power transfer to a light-duty electric vehicle. The demonstration used a Porsche Taycan and was conducted in collaboration with Volkswagen Group of America using the ORNL-developed polyphase wireless charging system. (Earlier post.)... Read more →

Air pollution now ranks as the second leading risk factor for death, accounting for 8.1 million deaths globally according to HEI’s new State of Global Air 2024 report. The new report provides a comprehensive analysis of data for air quality and health impacts for countries around the world in 2021.... Read more →

With the introduction of an autonomous transport vehicle at its press plant, BMW Group Plant Regensburg is moving forward with digitalization and automation of its manufacturing processes, thereby taking a further step towards the digital and intelligently connected BMW iFACTORY. The driverless platform truck, with its electric drive train, will... Read more →

BASF, a global player in battery materials and recycling, and WHW Recycling have entered an agreement on the processing of cathode and anode waste to make battery cell production in Europe more sustainable. WHW Recycling, a joint venture between Walch Holding and Štefan Hanigovský, owner of the Slovakian waste management... Read more →

LD Carbon, a producer of recovered carbon black, closed a $28-million Series C funding round led by Toyota’s growth fund, Woven Capital, with participation by Meritz Securities, Investwith, Industrial Bank of Korea, Hyundai Motor Group ZER01NE, Elohim Partners and New Main Capital. LD Carbon will use the investment to scale... Read more →

The global energy transition has lost momentum in the face of increasing uncertainty worldwide, according to a new World Economic Forum (WEF) report. While 107 of the 120 countries benchmarked in the report demonstrated progress on their energy transition journeys in the past decade, the overall pace of the transition... Read more →

More than 48,000 deer, thousands of Pacific newts, close to 100 mountain lions and many thousands of other animals are killed each year by vehicles on California roads, according to the 2024 “roadkill report” from the University of California, Davis’ Road Ecology Center. The 11th annual report, “Roadkill, A Preventable... Read more →

SAFFiRE Renewables LLC plans to break ground on its pilot plant to turn agriculture residue into a scalable biofuel business near Liberal, Kansas, in late 2024. In 2023, the company negotiated a license agreement for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL’s) deacetylation and mechanical refining (DMR) process, a technology seen... Read more →

Chevron Lummus Global LLC (CLG) announced its ISOTERRA technology has been selected for a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) project in China. CLG will provide the technology license, engineering services, and supply proprietary equipment and catalysts for this facility. We are honored to be entrusted with advancing China's sustainability goals through... Read more →

Topsoe is supplying its HydroFlex technology to Canadian startup Braya Renewable Fuels, which converted a former petroleum refinery to produce renewable diesel in Come By Chance, Canada. Braya anticipates initial production capacity of 18,000 barrels per day of renewable diesel, with future plans to expand production capacity, add sustainable aviation... Read more →

Polestar is expanding its commercial footprint and retail operations across existing and new markets, as its model line-up continues to grow. Polestar is accelerating its geographic expansion and plans to enter seven new markets during 2025. France is the largest volume market for electric cars in the EU after Germany... Read more →

Toyota Motor North America (Toyota) and local energy utility Pepco are working together on vehicle-to-grid (V2G) research for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) using a Toyota bZ4X. This collaborative effort will explore bidirectional power flow technology that will allow BEV owners to not only charge their vehicle’s battery but also send... Read more →

Argonne National Laboratory projects that battery cell production in North America will exceed 1,200 GWh of capacity by 2030. That is enough to supply 12 to 15 million new EVs annually assuming average battery capacities of 80 to 100 kWh per vehicle. In the United States, much of the battery... Read more →

Lhyfe, a producer of green and renewable hydrogen, delivered 350 kg of green hydrogen to natural gas expert Géométhane for it to test injecting hydrogen into salt caverns at its Manosque site in the south of France. The injection, which was completed within the day, is a key test for... Read more →

MEIJO NANO CARBON agreed to a capital and business alliance with SK Inc. Materials, a materials company of SK Group, a major Korean conglomerate. MEIJO NANO CARBON is a start-up company that manufactures and sells high quality high-crystallinity and high-purity single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT). High-crystallinity and high-purity SWCNTs are expected... Read more →

TIER IV, a developer of open-source software and autonomous driving technology, and Suzuki have entered into a capital and business alliance aimed at accelerating the development and commercialization of autonomous driving technology to enhance regional mobility solutions. By combining TIER IV’s scalable software platforms with Suzuki’s expertise in manufacturing, the... Read more →

Researchers have developed a tool to predict how new high-entropy alloys will behave under high-temperature oxidative environments. Development of new alloys is important for the aerospace and nuclear power industries. These alloys aim to achieve design goals such as strength, toughness, resistance to corrosion and so on. Specifically, researchers seek... Read more →

PowerCell introduced the Marine System 225, a powerful, compact and advanced maritime power generation system that builds on the success of the Marine System 200. Designed with the extensively validated fuel cell stack platform, the Marine System 225 represents a significant upgrade for maritime applications. Marine System 200 is a... Read more →

The Department of Defense (DoD) engages in operations far from United States territories, necessitating expansive logistics tails and substantial power generation equipment in order to operate effectively. In the near future, the DoD likely will continue to operate in distant and disbursed locals and face increased threats and obstacles to... Read more →

Volkswagen AG and Vulcan Green Steel (VGS) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a partnership for low-carbon steel—a key element of Volkswagen’s green steel strategy. The volumes of low-carbon steel that Volkswagen AG expects to order will cover a significant proportion of total steel requirements and will be... Read more →

Eatron Technologies and Syntiant are introducing new system-on-chip that integrates Eatron’s Intelligent Software Layer into Syntiant’s low-power NDP120 Neural Decision Processor to provide a low-power battery management solution for light mobility, industrial and consumer electronics applications. The integration-friendly AI-BMS-on-chip can unlock 10% additional capacity and enhance battery lifespan by up... Read more →

TECO 2030 together with BLOM Maritime and Samskip have received a grant for a pre-project aiming to retrofit Samskip’s vessel Kvitnos with TECO 2030 fuel cells and hydrogen fuel. This project aims to reduce emissions from this LNG-fueled vessel, which currently operates on a weekly multipurpose service from Rotterdam, The... Read more →

German carrier Oberbergische Verkehrgesellschaft (OVAG) has ordered 15 Solaris hydrogen buses. These vehicles will enhance the public transport fleet in the German city of Gummersbach. The contract will be executed in 2025. The 15 Solaris Urbino 12 hydrogen buses are equipped with fuel cells with a total power of 70... Read more →

NTT DATA Japan Corporation and DENSO Corporation signed a memorandum of understanding to form a strategic partnership for the development of in-vehicle software. The two companies will hire more advanced software engineers and upskill current engineers at both companies to create a globally deployable software-oriented mobility service platform, which will... Read more →

MAHLE SmartBike Systems, the eBike company of automotive component supplier MAHLE, has launched its new X30 drive system for eBikes. The new MAHLE X30 system consists of motor, battery, HMI (human machine interface) and other components and extends the X-Series system platform. MAHLE X30 system The highlight is the new... Read more →