The BMW Group is investing €800 million in Plant San Luis Potosí in Mexico for integration of fully-electric models of NEUE KLASSE and construction of local high-voltage battery assembly. BMW Group Plant SLP We are systematically gearing our production network towards electromobility. In Mexico, we are investing 800 million euros... Read more →

California State Senators Anthony J. Portantino (D-25) and Josh Newman (D-29) introduced Senate Bill 301, a bill sponsored by the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA), to create a financial rebate program for converting gas and diesel-powered motor vehicles into zero-emissions-vehicles (ZEVs). If enacted, SB 301 will offer Californians up to... Read more →

Volvo Cars reported global sales of 48,520 in January, up 2% compared to the same month last year. Sales of Volvo Cars´ Recharge models of fully electric and plug-in hybrid cars increased by 31% in January year-on-year, accounting for 40.7% of all Volvo cars sold globally during the month. The... Read more →

In 2022, Adamas Intelligence calculated that $3.8 billion worth of magnet rare earth oxides—i.e., NdPr, Dy and Tb oxides—were consumed globally in NdFeB alloys for energy-transition-related applications, including EV traction motors and wind power generators. The total value of rare earth oxides consumed for the energy transition each year quadrupled... Read more →

The Government of Canada announced federal investments totalling nearly $15 million (US$11.2 million) for the installation of more than 2,350 EV chargers, 2,100 of which will be installed across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). This funding was provided to 32 organizations, including municipalities, multi-resident buildings (MURBs), private firms and utilities.... Read more →

Freudenberg e-Power Systems and LG Energy Solution have signed a multi-year contract for the supply of lithium-ion battery modules. With a total capacity of 19 GWh, Freudenberg is expanding its capacities to meet rising demand and ensure the best possible supply for its customers in commercial vehicle applications, such as... Read more →

The Pole to Pole expedition team and Nissan unveiled an adventure-ready version of the new Ariya electric SUV (earlier post), which will undertake a 10-month, 27,000km trip from the magnetic North Pole to the South Pole. (Earlier post.) British adventurers Chris and Julie Ramsey will cross 14 countries, through Canada,... Read more →

BMW Group Plant Leipzig’s first cell coating line has gone into series operation as e-component production at the site continues to gain momentum. By 2024 the two existing module assembly lines will be complemented by a third, as well as four more cell coating lines and two more high-voltage battery... Read more →

Wolfspeed and ZF announced a strategic partnership that includes the creation of a joint innovation lab to drive advances in Silicon Carbide (SiC) systems and devices for mobility, industrial and energy applications. The partnership also includes a significant investment by ZF to support the planned construction of the world’s largest... Read more →

Vitesco Technologies, a leading international supplier of modern powertrain technologies and electric mobility solutions, has joined the Polestar 0 project, an initiative to create the world’s first completely climate-neutral vehicle. (Earlier post.) Vitesco Technologies has been selected as a collaboration partner to develop the power electronics with the target to... Read more →

Nissan Motor will hold Nissan Futures at its Global Headquarters Gallery from 4 February to 1 March. As part of the event launch, Nissan unveiled a physical concept model of its Max-Out EV convertible. The model was previously shown in virtual form as part of the Nissan Ambition 2030 vision... Read more →

The new, all-electric 2023 Hyundai IONIQ 6 has completed final EPA testing with the IONIQ 6 SE Long Range RWD trim receiving an EPA-estimated range of 361 miles. The IONIQ 6 SE AWD achieved an EPA-estimated range of 316 miles. EPA testing also confirmed a 140 combined MPGe rating for... Read more →

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a Final Determination under Section 404(c) of the Clean Water Act (CWA) that blocks the development of Northern Dynasty Mineral’s proposed Pebble copper and gold mining project in Alaska. The ruling prohibits certain waters in the South Fork Koktuli River and North Fork... Read more →

With its new EV supply chain coming online, Ford says it is significantly increasing production of the Mustang Mach-E this year to help reduce customer wait times and to take advantage of streamlined costs to reduce prices across the board, making Mustang Mach-E even more accessible to customers and keeping... Read more →

South Korea-based POSCO Chemical signed a contract to supply Samsung SDI with high-nickel NCA cathode materials for electric vehicle batteries for 10 years from this year to 2032. This 40-trillion won ($32.6-billion) contract is the largest and longest-term order since the creation of POSCO Chemical. With this contract, POSCO Chemical... Read more →

POSCO Chemical can now use its cathode manufacturing technology, a national core technology, in its overseas production bases. South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy recently held an Industrial Technology Protection Committee meeting and approved the overseas export of “technology used in designing, manufacturing, and processing cathode with nickel... Read more →

Microvast Holdings, a designer, developer, and manufacturer of lithium-ion battery solutions, and REE Automotive signed a supply and purchase agreement through which Microvast, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Microvast Gmbh, will offer MV-C Gen 4 HpCO high-energy lithium-ion battery packs for “Powered by REE” EV platforms. With its vertical integration capabilities,... Read more →

In the first half of 2022, motors with oil cooling became the dominant form in the electric car market, taking 50% market share, according to a report from IDTechEx. The downside of oil cooling is the addition of extra components and typically, the water-glycol circuit still exists to remove the... Read more →

onsemi signed a strategic agreement with Volkswagen AG to provide modules and semiconductors that enable a complete electric vehicle (EV) traction inverter solution for VW’s next-generation platform family. The semiconductors are part of an overall system optimization and provide a solution that will support the front and rear traction inverters... Read more →

US Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland signed Public Land Order 7917 withdrawing approximately 225,504 acres in the Superior National Forest in northeastern Minnesota from disposition under the United States mineral and geothermal leasing laws for a 20-year period, subject to valid existing rights. The Biden Administration said that this... Read more →

Audi has presented the activesphere crossover study with electric drive and quattro. As the fourth model in the series, the Audi activesphere concept marks the culmination of sphere concept vehicles, following on from the Audi skysphere roadster in 2021, and both the Audi grandsphere sedan, and the Audi urbansphere space... Read more →

Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) will invest SEK 65 million ($6.3 million) into the production of electric wheel loaders from its plant in Arvika, Sweden. The Arvika factory specializes in the production of medium and large wheel loaders and has already been successful in driving down its carbon emissions. A... Read more →

The Genesis GV60 (earlier post) is based on the brand’s Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP), the innovative features of which help deliver greater efficiency, performance and driving pleasure. The use of silicon carbide boosts energy efficiency by 3% and range by 5%. Using an ultra-fast charger and under optimal conditions, E-GMP... Read more →

Renault is launching electric retrofit kits in France in partnership with R-FIT. These kits can be installed on the popular Renault 4, Renault 5 and first generation Twingo. The Renault 5 electric retrofit kit will go on sale in France in September 2023 while the kit for the Twingo will... Read more →

IVECO BUS, a brand of Iveco Group N.V., signed a framework agreement with the Flemish government-owned public transport enterprise De Lijn for the sale of a first batch of 65 E-WAY full electric city buses and further batches up to a total of 500 vehicles. The vehicles will be deployed... Read more →

Polestar is giving the 5-door electric performance fastback, Polestar 2, a major update. For the 2024 model year, the premium compact EV features a new high-tech front end that reflects the design language premiered by Polestar 3, substantial performance increases with all-new electric motors, even more powerful batteries, sustainability improvements... Read more →

Tesla will invest an additional $3.6 billion in Nevada to continue growing Gigafactory Nevada with two new factories: a 100 GWh 4680 cell (earlier post) factory (with capacity to produce enough batteries for 1.5 million light duty vehicles annually), as well as its first high-volume Semi factory. Semi is Tesla’s... Read more →

A report prepared by the Climate and Community Project, a climate policy think tank, with researchers from UC Davis, suggests that the United States can achieve zero emissions transportation while limiting the amount of lithium mining necessary by reducing the car dependence of the transportation system, decreasing the size of... Read more →

Statevolt, a battery startup seeking to build hyperlocal gigafactories, has acquired a 135-acre site in Imperial Valley, California, as the location for its 54 GWh Gigafactory. (Earlier post.) The business will manufacture batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) and storage applications using resources and supply chains sourced entirely in the US.... Read more →

Honda Motor and GS Yuasa have reached a basic agreement toward collaboration for a high-capacity, high-output lithium-ion battery. The two companies will discuss specifics with the goal of establishing a joint venture company by the end of 2023. In order to address the rapidly growing demand for batteries, the two... Read more →

Volta Trucks confirmed customer production orders for the first 300 manufacturing slots of its full-electric Volta Zero, with an associated revenue of more than €85 million. Series production Volta Zeros are due to start rolling off the line of the company’s contract manufacturing facility in Steyr, Austria, in early Q2... Read more →

One of India’s oldest and largest electric two-wheeler manufacturers, Hero Electric, announced a long-term partnership with Maxwell Energy Systems for its advanced Battery Management Systems (BMS). As part of this partnership, Maxwell will supply more than a million units of its BMS over the next three years to support Hero... Read more →

bp pulse, bp’s electric vehicle (EV) charging business, has announced the first charging corridor for medium- and heavy-duty electric trucks (E-Trucks) in Europe. Six public charging locations with ultra-fast 300kW charge points aimed at E-Trucks have been launched along a 600km stretch of the Rhine-Alpine corridor across Germany. The corridor... Read more →

TAE Technologies, the world’s largest private fusion energy company, has spun-out a new subsidiary, TAE Power Solutions. TAE Power Solutions intends to deliver a novel technology to improve fundamentally the reliability, efficiency, longevity, and affordability of electric-powered products, from vehicles to renewable energy storage. The proprietary technology platform is derived... Read more →

Lightyear, the developer of solar electric vehicles, will redirect its focus and resources completely towards the development and production of Lightyear 2, its intended mass-market model. This means the suspension of the production of Lightyear 0, the first production solar car. Accordingly, Lightyear has submitted the request to the court... Read more →

Developers at the Porsche Group are working on new concepts for brake force distribution which will enable better braking energy recuperation in electric vehicles without compromising comfort. Chassis developers are challenged by electrification on two fronts: Batteries make the vehicles heavier but, on the other hand, the vehicles often exhibit... Read more →

Hertz has launched a new public-private partnership initiative, Hertz Electrifies, aimed at accelerating the transition to electric vehicles, while creating economic opportunity and environmental benefits for communities. In partnership with mayors across the US, Hertz will bring its EV fleet to US cities, while supporting the build-out of charging infrastructure.... Read more →

California announced that 18.8% (345,818 units) of all new cars sold last year in California were ZEVs. A small number of those ZEV sales (3.89%, or 3,303 units) were made to out-of-state buyers. 40% of ZEVs sold in the US are sold in California. Snapshot of CEC’s ZEV Sales dashboard.... Read more →

Under an expanded Joint Development Agreement, BMW Group and Solid Power have added a research and development license as a basis for their common next steps. This license enables BMW to establish an all solid-state battery (ASSB) prototype line in its Cell Manufacturing Competence Center (CMCC) in Parsdorf near Munich.... Read more →

General Motors plans to invest $918 million in four US manufacturing sites, including $854 million to prepare these facilities to produce the company’s sixth-generation Small Block V-8 engine and an additional $64 million in Rochester, New York and Defiance, Ohio for castings and components to support EV production. $579 million... Read more →

Leading battery manufacturer CATL and EV maker NIO have signed a five-year comprehensive strategic cooperation agreement. The comprehensive strategic cooperation agreement further deepens CATL's strategic partnership with NIO. The two parties will advance technological cooperation in new brands, new projects and new markets, improve supply-demand coordination, propel overseas expansion, and... Read more →

J.D. Power has introduced the J.D. Power EV Index, an analytics tool to track the growing EV market in the United States. Each month, the index will arrive at one number (on a 100-point scale) to make it easy to understand the progress to parity of EVs with traditional internal... Read more →

Leclanché SA has reduced the cobalt content in NMCA as cathode material from 20% to 5% and manufacture the electrodes using an environmentally friendly water-based process. In doing so, Leclanché completely dispenses the use of the highly toxic organic solvents (NMP) that are otherwise common in the production process. Leclanché... Read more →

Forum Mobility, a zero-emission trucking solutions provider, announced the closure of a $15-million Series A funding round, and a new $400-million joint venture, both led by a fund sponsored by CBRE Investment Management, to provide comprehensive, zero-emission charging and vehicle solutions to drayage truck fleets and drivers. Homecoming Capital also... Read more →

The UK Government has published an Electric Vehicle Smart Charging Action Plan. The plan sets out steps being taken to seize on the significant potential of smart charging and make it the preferred method of long duration charging by 2025. Smart charging harnesses the potential of energy use data and... Read more →

A Michigan Tech project to help mines in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and Minnesota achieve net-zero emissions while extracting critical minerals from mine tailings has received $2.5 million from the US Department of Energy (DOE) Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E) MINER program. (Earlier post.) In addition to reducing carbon... Read more →

Sweden-based international mining and minerals group LKAB has identified significant deposits of rare earth elements in the Kiruna area in the far north of Swedish Lapland (some 200 km north of the Arctic Circle). Following successful exploration, the company is reporting mineral resources of rare earth metals in the Per... Read more →

As part of a new package of product updates, Volvo Cars has improved both the range (WLTP) and charging for the all-electric XC40 Recharge and C40 Recharge compared with the outgoing model year, increasing range by as much as 60 kilometers on some variants. Furthermore, three new powertrains are offered... Read more →

StoreDot, a developer of extreme fast charging high energy batteries for electric vehicles, announced that its XFC batteries and systems are now being tested by more than 15 global automotive brand manufacturers, and that it has additional potential manufacturing partnerships in the pipeline for this year. These OEMs encompass leading... Read more →

The CEA and Renault Group have jointly developed a new electronic power converter architecture directly integrated into the vehicle’s charger. The result of nearly three years of research and the subject of 11 joint patents, this power converter, developed from innovative materials and more compact, will reduce energy losses by... Read more →