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Hapag-Lloyd concludes long-term offtake agreement with GoldWind for green methanol; annual delivery of 250,000 tonnes

Hapag-Lloyd has reached an agreement with Goldwind, a global strategic partner in clean energy with headquarters in Beijing, China, for the delivery of 250,000 tonnes of green methanol per year. The green methanol will consist of a blend of bio- and e-methanol, ensuring greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction of at... Read more →


ArcelorMittal slows making final investment decisions on European decarbonization plans

ArcelorMittal has previously announced the intention to invest in lower carbon emissions “hydrogen ready” DRI-EAF (DIrect Reduced Iron - Electric Arc Furnace) facilities to replace several blast furnaces across its European business as a key strategic first step towards reducing emissions. In all cases, the host countries offered funding support... Read more →


Galp decides not to move forward with Aurora lithium hydroxide project

Galp has decided not to proceed with the construction of the Aurora project (earlier post). Originally a 50/50 partnership between Galp and Northvolt, the latter communicated to Galp in early 2024 its decision to cease investing in Aurora. Northvolt recently filed for Chapter 11 in the US. (Earlier post.) Aurora... Read more →


Notre Dame opens world’s first Large Mach 10 Quiet Wind Tunnel

Earlier this month, the University of Notre Dame marked the successful opening of a Large Mach 10 Quiet Wind Tunnel, the first and only facility of its kind in the world. The facility supplies a unique environment for exploring hypersonic flight dynamics, turbulence, flight control, and propulsion. Designed for high-quality... Read more →


BMW Group building battery recycling competence center in Germany; direct recycling

BMW Group is building a Cell Recycling Competence Center (CRCC) for battery cells in Kirchroth, in the Straubing-Bogen district of Lower Bavaria, where it will implement a process referred to as direct recycling. This procedure enables residual materials from battery cell production, as well as whole battery cells, to be... Read more →


Volkswagen’s new Tayron SUV (earlier post) has entered production at the Wolfsburg plant in Germany. Customers will be able to choose from seven efficient engines, including two next-generation plug-in hybrid drives (eHybrid). These offer electric ranges of more than 100 kilometers and long traveling distances of up to 850 km... Read more →


Orange County to buy 40 hydrogen fuel cell buses, 10 electric

The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) Board of Directors approved the purchase of 50 new zero-emission buses, marking a major milestone in an ongoing effort to transition the bus fleet to 100% zero-emission technology by 2040. The purchase, unanimously approved by the board on Monday, 25 November, includes 40 hydrogen... Read more →


Volkswagen Group and SAIC Motor extend joint venture agreement until 2040; focus on accelerating electrification strategy

The Volkswagen Group is strengthening its successful 40-year partnership with SAIC Motor for the long term. In Shanghai, both companies signed an extension of their joint venture agreement until the year 2040. The original joint venture agreement was valid until 2030. By extending the agreement, the partners are creating early... Read more →


CSIRO electrolyzer pilot demonstrates efficiency and durability at Bluescope Steel Plant

CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, has successfully trialed its hydrogen production technology at BlueScope’s Port Kembla Steelworks in New South Wales, demonstrating affordable and renewable hydrogen can be generated at scale to help decarbonize heavy industry. CSIRO’s tubular solid oxide electrolysis (SOE) technology has clocked 1000 hours of successful operation... Read more →


LR announces partnership with Samsung Heavy for floating production and storage system for green ammonia

Lloyd’s Register (LR) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) for the joint development of a floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) system for green ammonia.  The FPSO process has been widely used in the oil and gas industries, but its application for ammonia is relatively... Read more →


Topsoe and Aramco to advance low-carbon hydrogen solutions using eREACT

Topsoe and Aramco signed a joint development agreement (JDA) to produce low-carbon hydrogen, also referred to as blue hydrogen, using Topsoe’s eREACT technology in Aramco’s Shaybah NGL facility. The JDA underlines the two parties’ strategic collaboration and ambitions to bring carbon-reducing technology to the market. This collaboration will further demonstrate... Read more →


Consortium led by MAHLE developing hydrogen engines for off-road applications

Vehicle manufacturers, suppliers, and science, as well as small and medium-sized companies, including DEUTZ, KIT, The German Aerospace Center (DLR), Purem by Eberspaecher, Claas, Braunschweig University of Technology, Liebherr, Nagel, Umicore, NGK and Castrol, have joined forces to investigate the cross-application use of hydrogen-engine powertrain concepts for construction and agricultural... Read more →


Daimler Buses has been confirmed by Hamburger Hochbahn AG as the sole supplier of up to 350 fully electric Mercedes-Benz eCitaro and eCitaro G city buses. Over the next five years, the new solo and articulated buses are to be delivered to the northern German city of Hamburg. The Mercedes‑Benz... Read more →


Rivian receives conditional commitment for up to $6.6B Loan from DOE’s ATVM program

EV manufacturer Rivian Automotive received conditional commitment from the US Department of Energy’s Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing (ATVM) Loan Program for a loan of up to $6.6 billion (including $6 billion of principal and approximately $600 million of capitalized interest). If finalized, the loan would support the construction of Rivian’s... Read more →


DOE to award up to $2.2B to two regional hydrogen hubs

The US Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced up to $2.2 billion in award commitments for two Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs (H2Hubs) that will help accelerate the commercial-scale deployment of low-cost, clean hydrogen. The two awardees—Gulf Coast H2Hub and Midwest H2Hub—are part of DOE’s H2Hubs program, which was created by... Read more →


Hygenco selects Topsoe as technology licensor for first phase of planned green ammonia complex in India

Topsoe has signed an agreement with developer Hygenco to provide its dynamic ammonia technology for Hygenco’s upcoming green ammonia plant in Gopalpur, Odisha, India. Hygenco will utilize Topsoe’s advanced dynamic green ammonia technology, allowing for flexible and efficient operations while optimizing overall performance. This technology will support Hygenco’s ambition of... Read more →


Commerce Department awarding Intel up to $7.9B to support multiple projects in Arizona, New Mexico, Ohio, and Oregon

The US Department of Commerce awarded Intel Corporation up to $7.865 billion in direct funding under the CHIPS Incentives Program’s Funding Opportunity for Commercial Fabrication Facilities. The award follows the previously signed preliminary memorandum of terms, announced on 20 March 2024, and the completion of the Department’s due diligence. The... Read more →


Technology group Wärtsilä is part of a new research project exploring innovative technology for cleaner, more energy-efficient engines utilizing a closed loop combustion cycle. The research will focus on the use of argon—a non-toxic ideal gas present in the atmosphere—to increase efficiency of balancing engines. The co-innovation project is run... Read more →


BMW Group enables automated driving in-plant for new vehicles

The BMW Group is systematically advancing the digitalisation and automation of its production processes within the BMW iFACTORY framework. Since 2022, the company has been testing Automated Driving In-Plant (AFW) for new vehicles at its largest European plant in Dingolfing. Following successful CE certification, the pilot project is now transitioning... Read more →


Veloz’s Q3 2024 California EV Market Report showcases a continued rise in electric vehicle (EV) adoption statewide. According to the latest data from the California Energy Commission (CEC), 115,897 new EVs were sold, propelling California past the milestone of 2 million cumulative EVs sold. California’s new EV market share reached... Read more →


General Motors launches Cadillac Formula 1 Team and power unit

General Motors and TWG Global have reached an agreement in principle with Formula 1 to bring a Cadillac team to the series in 2026. GM is also launching an F1 power unit that will put the Cadillac Formula 1 Team on the path to being a “full works” team.mdbuilding its... Read more →


Mitsubishi backs battery-swapping company Ample with $25M

Battery-swapping company Ample has secured a $25-million investment from Mitsubishi Corporation. Mitsubishi’s support will help Ample scale its battery-swapping infrastructure worldwide, giving drivers everywhere access to efficient, reliable energy. Mitsubishi Corporation will collaborate closely with Ample, leveraging their expertise in mobility, renewable energy, energy storage, and battery reuse and recycling... Read more →


Henkel and Celanese collaborate to offer adhesives made from captured CO2 emissions

Henkel Corporation, a global leader for adhesives, sealants and functional coatings, and Celanese Corporation, a global chemical and specialty materials company, have announced a partnership to enhance circularity in emulsion production by utilizing carbon capture-based materials. Earlier this year, Celanese launched a carbon capture and utilization (CCU) project at its... Read more →


West Virginia University team uses neat ammonia use in a heavy-duty diesel engine converted to spark ignition focused on lean operation

A team of researchers from West Virginia University (WVU) investigated the potential for fueling neat ammonia to a single-cylinder heavy-duty four-stroke research diesel engine converted to natural gas spark ignition operation. A paper on their findings is published in the journal Fuel. Although ammonia, as a non-carbon fuel, is seen... Read more →


Sandia, Toyota researchers explore knock propensity of methanol-to-gasoline (MTG) fuel

Researchers from Sandia National Laboratories and Toyota Motor have used a surrogate for a methanol-to-gasoline (MTG) fuel to study numerically the effects of gasoline composition on knock propensity and on the sensitivity of knock to thermal and fuel stratification, to oxygen dilution and to nitric oxide from exhaust gas recirculation... Read more →


Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have produced kerosene-range fuels from C2-4 olefins and mixtures thereof via (co–)oligomerization. An open-access paper on their study is published in the journal Fuel. —Fuchs et al. A very promising pathway [for the production of SAF] is the methanol- or dimethyl ether... Read more →


SkyDrive and SAI Flight Unveil plans for commercial electric air taxi routes in South Carolina, confirm pre-order of 10 eVTOL aircraft

Japan-based eVTOL manufacturer SkyDrive and Greenville Downtown Airport,South Carolina’s busiest general aviation hub, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) jointly to develop innovative business opportunities utilizing the SKYDRIVE eVTOL aircraft. The collaboration will focus on advancing air-cargo, air-taxi, and emergency service use cases, paving the way for a new era... Read more →


Kia America unveiled the high-performance 2026 Kia EV9 GT SUV at the LA Auto Show. With an estimated 501 horsepower propelled through dual electric motors mounted front and rear, the EV9 GT is targeted to hit 60 mph in 4.3 seconds and represents the most powerful three-row SUV Kia has... Read more →


New study identifies path to design stable, durable polymer membranes for clean energy

Electrolytes that convert chemical to electrical energy underly the search for new power sources with zero emissions. Among these new power sources are fuel cells that produce electricity. Fuel cells are often heavy, which is a problem because lighter power sources enable more energy efficient fuel cell-powered vehicles. Therefore, scientists... Read more →


NETL researchers convert coal tar pitch into graphene for improved supercapacitors

NETL researchers have developed a low-cost process for converting coal tar waste into a high-quality graphene—material that can increase performance of energy-storing supercapacitor systems by up to 55%. Supercapacitors store electrical energy and, in some ways, are comparable to batteries. One primary difference is that supercapacitors can be charged and... Read more →


Canadian Pacific Kansas City and ATCO EnPower, a division of Canadian Utilities Limited, have completed construction of hydrogen production and refueling facilities in Calgary and in Edmonton; the facilities are fully operational. As part of its Hydrogen Locomotive Program, CPKC is retrofitting a number of diesel locomotives with hydrogen fuel... Read more →


LG Chem and ExxonMobil sign MOU for lithium offtake

Exxon Mobil Corporation and LG Chem have signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) for a multiyear offtake agreement for up to 100,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate. The lithium will be supplied from ExxonMobil’s planned project in the US to LG Chem’s cathode plant in Tennessee, which LG Chem... Read more →


Northvolt files for Chapter 11 in US

Northvolt AB and certain of its subsidiaries voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in the United States. By enabling the company to restructure its debt, scale the business to current customer needs and secure a sustainable foundation for continued operation, these Chapter 11 filings are intended to help Northvolt to... Read more →


Argonne leads $50M sodium-ion innovation push

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded $50 million over the next five years to establish the Low-cost Earth-abundant Na-ion Storage (LENS) consortium. Led by DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory, the consortium includes DOE’s Brookhaven National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories and SLAC... Read more →


EPA proposes tighter limits on NOx emissions from new stationary combustion turbines

The US Environmental Protection Agency proposed to strengthen limits on emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) from most new, modified, and reconstructed fossil fuel-fired stationary combustion turbines. The proposal would ensure that new turbines built at power plants or industrial facilities—especially large ones that could operate for decades—would be among the... Read more →


Audi’s e-tron GT family now includes an S e-tron GT model as the entry to the 2025 line up and an even more extreme RS e-tron GT performance derivative. As the first fully electric RS performance model and the electric halo performance car for Audi, the 2025 RS e-tron GT... Read more →


Liquid Wind raises €44M in Series C with Uniper, HYCAP and Samsung Ventures to meet increasing demand for low-carbon fuels

Swedish eFuel facility developer Liquid Wind raised €44 million in Series C financing led by Uniper, HYCAP Fund I SCSp (“HYCAP”) and Samsung Ventures. The financing will support the development of 10 eFuel facilities by 2027 as part of the company’s vision of reaching 500 facilities globally by 2050. The... Read more →


Researchers at Rice University have found a new way to improve a key element of thermophotovoltaic (TPV) systems, which convert heat into electricity via light. Using an unconventional approach inspired by quantum physics, Rice engineer Gururaj Naik and his team designed a thermal emitter that can deliver high efficiencies within... Read more →


CARB’s updated $34.9M incentive plan focuses on getting small businesses and fleets into zero-emissions technology

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved a $34.94-million incentives funding plan that will continue support ongoing efforts to increase access to medium- and heavy-duty zero-emission trucks, buses, and equipment, with a focus on small businesses. The 2025 Funding Plan for Clean Transportation Incentives increases funding for small businesses that... Read more →


Honda Motor unveiled the demonstration production line for all-solid-state batteries, which is being developed independently by Honda toward mass production. The line was constructed on the property of Honda R&D Co., Ltd. (Sakura), located in Sakura City, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. While conducting technical verification to establish a mass production process... Read more →


GE Vernova announces its first 100% hydrogen-fueled aeroderivative gas turbine solution

GE Vernova announced that the LM6000 gas turbine, included in the GE Vernova LM6000VELOX packaged solution is planned to operate on 100% hydrogen at the Whyalla hydrogen power plant in the Upper Spencer Gulf, South Australia. GE Vernova announced it has secured an order with ATCO Australia for four LM6000VELOX... Read more →


Vulcan and BASF form partnership to explore regional geothermal potential, lithium extraction

Vulcan, a company using naturally occurring geothermal heat to extract lithium from underground geothermal brine and then convert it into battery-grade material, and BASF have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore the use of geothermal energy at the chemical company’s Ludwigshafen site as part of a strategic partnership. The... Read more →


Graphjet Technology begins operations at agricultural waste-to-graphite Facility in Malaysia

Graphjet Technology, a manufacturing company focusing on carbon-based materials, producing artificial graphite from biomass waste residues from the process of palm oil, announced the start of operations at its first commercial-scale green graphite facility located in the Subang District in Malaysia. This facility is the world’s first commercial-scale plant capable... Read more →


Hyundai Motor Company unveiled IONIQ 9, a three-row, all-electric SUV with expansive interior space. IONIQ 9 follows the IONIQ 5 and IONIQ 6, both triple winners at the World Car of the Year Awards in 2022 and 2023 respectively. IONIQ 9 is underpinned by Hyundai Motor’s E-GMP architecture, with enhanced... Read more →


Volkswagen of America unveiled the all-new 2025 Tiguan, the automaker’s best-selling nameplate in the US. The 2025 Tiguan features bolder styling, more power, and enhanced fuel efficiency. The Tiguan has been fully redesigned on the MQB evo platform with all-new sheet metal, a shorter rear overhang, and a slight wheelbase... Read more →


GlobalData: critical minerals shortages threaten international energy transition goals

The global transition to clean energy is gaining momentum, heavily relying on renewable technologies such as solar PV cells and wind turbines, alongside energy transition solutions like hydrogen, energy storage, and carbon capture. This shift has triggered an unprecedented surge in demand for critical minerals, posing significant challenges in achieving... Read more →


Corteva announces intent to partner with bp to develop low carbon intensity bio-feedstock for SAF production

Global pure-play agriculture company Corteva Inc. announced a collaboration with bp on the companies’ shared intent to form a crop-based biofuel feedstock joint venture (JV). The JV envisaged by Corteva and bp would produce and deliver crop-based biofuel feedstocks to help meet the anticipated growth in demand for sustainable aviation... Read more →


US Geological Survey researchers have developed a new model to assess how disruptions of critical mineral supplies may affect the US economy. Using the model, the researchers estimate there could be a $3.4 billion decrease in US GDP if China implements a total ban on exports of gallium and germanium,... Read more →


Stellantis N.V. unveiled the STLA Frame platform, a BEV-native, multi-energy platform engineered for full-size body-on-frame pickup trucks and SUVs—a critical segment in North America and select global markets. STLA Frame platform is designed to deliver class-leading range of up to 690 miles/1,100 km with the REEV and 500 miles/800 km... Read more →