Volkswagen and Uber have launched a pilot project for the utilization of electric vehicles within the sustainable ride hailing service “Uber Green”. The objective of the pilot project is to use a number of year-old e-Golf vehicles which may run into three digits. Volkswagen has already been using the e-Golf... Read more →

Irizar e-mobility has signed a new contract with the Municipal Transport Company of Madrid (EMT Madrid) to supply 20 electric 12-meter Irizar ie buses. This is the third order from EMT Madrid for Irizar electric vehicles. The contract also includes the supply of 20 interoperable chargers, developed and manufactured by... Read more →

Solaris has won a tender announced by the public transport operator Miejski Zakład Komunikacyjny (MZK) in Piła for the supply of five Urbino 12 electric buses including the charging infrastructure. The deliveries will be completed in April 2022. The charging infrastructure includes three stationary plug-in chargers, a pantograph charging station... Read more →

As of September 2022, new cars must meet EU limits on NOx emissions under real driving conditions to comply with air pollution limits, the European Parliament has voted. Data on car emissions such as NOx had been obtained through laboratory tests. The EU is the first region in the world... Read more →

The UK’s driving population has veered towards increased environmental consciousness, with 76% of the population admitting that they are aware of the environmental impacts of driving. However, a recent survey by RingGo, the UK’s leading cashless parking provider, found that only two-fifths of UK drivers say that they are planning... Read more →

Groupe PSA/Opel and Total/Saft have signed an agreement for the creation of the joint venture Automotive Cells Company (ACC). Yann Vincent has been appointed Chief Executive in order to implement and develop it. Ghislain Lescuyer has been appointed Chairman of the Board. With this partnership, the parties are setting up... Read more →

In the second quarter of 2020, the market share of electrically-chargeable vehicles increased to 7.2% of total EU car sales, compared to a 2.4% share during the same period last year, according to figures from ACEA (European Automobile Manufacturers Association). Source: ACEA The overall decline in passenger car registrations as... Read more →

The European Commission presented an Action Plan on Critical Raw Materials, the 2020 List of Critical Raw Materials and a foresight study on critical raw materials for strategic technologies and sectors from the 2030 and 2050 perspectives. The Action Plan looks at the current and future challenges and proposes actions... Read more →

Ricardo experts in sustainable transport, with colleagues from E4tech and the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research Heidelberg (ifeu), have produced a comprehensive lifecycle assessment (LCA) of road vehicles on behalf of the European Commission. With the shift to new fuels and powertrain electrification it is important to use life-cycle... Read more →

VoltH2 is preparing to build a green hydrogen plant in North Sea Port and has signed a cooperation agreement for its construction in Vlissingen. North Sea Port is the 60-kilometer-long cross-border port area that stretches from Vlissingen on the North Sea coast in the Netherlands, some 32 kilometers inland to... Read more →

The operator Miejskie Przedsiębiorstwo Komunikacji (MPK) in Radom, Poland has ordered 9 additional Solaris Urbino 12 electric with the pertinent charging infrastructure. Worth nearly 28.5 million PLN (US$7.7 million), the contract will be carried out by mid-July 2021. This year, ten Solaris electric buses have made it to Radom. Apart... Read more →

Volkswagen is electrifying the eighth generation of the Golf with two new plug-in hybrid versions: the Golf eHybrid and Golf GTE. Sales of both models are starting now. The Golf eHybrid is designed for maximum comfort and delivers an output of 150 kW (204 PS). Price in Germany starts at... Read more →

Neste, the world’s largest producer of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) produced from waste and residue raw materials and Air bp, the international aviation fuel products and services supplier, have signed an agreement to offer an increased volume of sustainable aviation fuel to airport customers in 2020 and... Read more →

Hamburger Hochbahn AG has launched a tender for the delivery of up to 50 fuel cell buses for the years 2021 to 2025. The invitation to tender consists of four lots. Hochbahn will purchase both pure fuel cell hybrid buses and battery-electric buses in which the fuel cell serves as... Read more →

Hamburger Hochbahn—one of the biggest public transport carriers in Germany—has announced the list of potential suppliers of 530 electric buses to be delivered between 2021-2125. The approved suppliers are Daimler Buses, MAN and Solaris. The vehicles will be orderd in tranches over the next 5 years. Daimler Buses will be... Read more →

As the first customer of the second test phase in Germany, DB Schenker has received a battery-electric eActros from the “innovation fleet”. The global logistics services company will use the 25-ton truck for the delivery of general cargo—i.e., palletized goods that are too large and heavy for parcel delivery—in the... Read more →

BOGESTRA (Bochum-Gelsenkirchener Straßenbahnen) and HCR (Straßenbahn Herne-Castrop-Rauxel), two of Germany’s leading Public Transport Operators (PTOs), have taken delivery of the first vehicle in a joint fleet order for 22 electric buses from BYD. Despite the recent COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, deliveries remain on schedule for completion in October 2020. As a... Read more →

After about a year of intensive practical use by ten customers in Germany and Switzerland, eight of the purely battery-powered Mercedes-Benz eActros trucks are now successively going to new customers in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. They also will put the eActros through its paces in tough everyday transport operations... Read more →

The representatives of the management board of public transport operator Miejskie Zakłady Autobusowe (MZA) in Warsaw and Solaris signed a contract for the delivery of 70 low-floor city buses. The vehicles will run on CNG. The total value of the contract is more than PLN 116 million (US$31 million). MZA... Read more →

The Scottish Government is investing £300,000 (US$391,000) in a new hydrogen accelerator which will be located at the University of St Andrews. Drawing on the expertise of the University, and in partnership with institutions across Scotland, the new initiative will propel innovations in hydrogen technology and encourage knowledge-sharing to support... Read more →

The Romanian city of Ploiești has opted for 20 low-floor Solaris Trollino 12 trolleybuses. According to the contract worth PLN 36 million (US$9.6 million), the vehicles will have been delivered within two years from the signing date. The trolleybus network launched in Ploiești in 1997 is the newest of all... Read more →

Specialty chemical company Clariant and Eta Bio, a company of the Pavlovi family, running a leading business in the agricultural sector in Bulgaria, have signed a license agreement for Clariant’s sunliquid cellulosic ethanol technology. The agreement marks the fourth signed license deal for Clariant’s sunliquid technology. Eta Bio has been... Read more →

In the UK, the competition for the first £10 million (US$13 million) of a new £1-billion (US$1.3 billion) Automotive Transformation Fund has begun. The overall program will offer a share of up to £1 billion of funding for industrial research and capital projects. The aim is to support the industrialization... Read more →

Following a successful 12-month pilot project at five of its retail sites, Aral, bp’s market leading fuel retail brand in Germany, is set to roll out more than 100 ultra-fast charging points across its retail network in Germany over the next 12 months. The Aral chargers will be self-operated, powered... Read more →

Jeep is taking orders in Europe for the Renegade 4xe and Compass 4xe plug-in hybrids (earlier post)—the first electrified Jeep models in the EMEA Region. The Jeep 4xe models will debut in Jeep showrooms across Europe in September with three trim levels: ‘Limited’, ‘S’ and ‘Trailhawk’, two power levels—190 or... Read more →

Nuseed Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nufarm Limited, has executed a commercial off-take agreement with Saipol, the largest biodiesel producer in Europe, to supply Nuseed Carinata as a feedstock for certified low-carbon oil for renewable fuels and high protein non-GMO meal for livestock feed. The multi-year agreement follows the first... Read more →

Baker Hughes and Snam have successfully completed testing of the world’s first “hybrid” hydrogen turbine designed for a gas network. The test paves the way to implement adoption of hydrogen blended with natural gas in Snam’s current transmission network infrastructure. The test took place at Baker Hughes’ facility in Florence,... Read more →

Volkswagen is rolling out its own charging service to coincide with the market launch of the ID. family. With We Charge, customers will be able to charge their electric vehicles at more than 150,000 public charging points all over Europe. The We Charge charging card gives them easy access to... Read more →

Britishvolt has signed an MOU with the Welsh Government as both parties work together on plans to develop a commercially viable 30 GWh battery manufacturing plant, and supplementary 200MW solar plant, at the former RAF base at Bro Tathan, Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales. After six months of careful analysis,... Read more →

Solaris will supply 29 electric buses to Offenbach am Main. This is the second biggest order from Germany for electric buses made by Solaris. The 140,000-strong city of Offenbach, located in the German state of Hesse, ordered 20 twelve-meter Solaris Urbino 12 electric and 9 eighteen-meter, articulated Solaris Urbino 18... Read more →

By 2030 the production of hydrogen fuel by the electrolytic splitting of water—which can be carbon-free provided the electricity used in the process is produced by renewables—could become cost-competitive with currently predominant methods that require the use of natural gas as a feedstock, according to analysis by the IHS Markit... Read more →

Representatives of the municipal operator MZK Malbork (Poland) and Solaris Bus & Coach S.A. signed a contract for the delivery of six electric buses. Newly commissioned Urbino 12 electric buses will start the electrification of the city’s public transport. Emission-free buses will make it to Malbork in September 2021 at... Read more →

BMW unveiled the iX3 electric SUV (earlier post), offering full electric mobility in a BMW X model. Electric power consumption combined in the WLTP test cycle is 19.5 – 18.5 kWh/100 km. The operating range is up to 460 kilometers (285 miles) in the statutory new WLTP test cycle (up... Read more →

The Egenberger bus company in Thierhaupten, Germany has taken delivery of two Mercedes-Benz eCitaro electric buses. The Mercedes-Benz eCitaro features 2 x electric hub motor, 2 x 125 kW, 2 x 485 N·m, 12 HV battery modules, 24 kWh per HV battery module, Preventive Brake Assist, Sideguard Assist, length/width/height: 12135/2550/3400... Read more →

Four weeks after the start of ordering for the limited ID.3 1ST for pre-bookers, Volkswagen is opening the ordering system to the public on 20 July 2020. Customers in many European countries will be able to choose from seven pre-configured ID.3 models at dealerships and to order the appropriate charging... Read more →

Air pollution is lower than expected in some of the UK’s towns and cities, despite a return to almost normal traffic levels, according to a new study by researchers at the University of York. The study’s findings show that while road traffic is getting back to pre-lockdown levels, some concentrations... Read more →

PowerCell Sweden AB will participate in an EU project that will develop and operate a refuse truck with fuel cells for Renova AB, western Sweden’s leading environmental enterprise within recycling and waste management. Renova’s end customer, the City of Gothenburg, wants to increase testing of fuel-cell-powered refuse trucks. The truck... Read more →

The EU could slash truck carbon pollution by more than a fifth (22%) in a decade by requiring its main cities to have electric truck charging infrastructure, according to a new study released by European environmental NGO Transport & Environment (T&E). The analysis by T&E’s Lucien Mathieu of truck flows... Read more →

The Environment Committee of the European Parliament voted to include CO2 emissions from the maritime sector in the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS). The European Commission had put forward a proposal to revise the EU system for monitoring, reporting and verifying CO2 emissions from maritime transport (the “EU MRV Regulation”)... Read more →

Mike Manley, the CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and the current European Association of Automobile Manufacturers (ACEA) president, has sent a letter to Thierry Breton, Commissioner for the Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, European Commission, requesting a 6-month postponement of the application dates of key upcoming EU standards,... Read more →

Hyundai Motor Company shipped the first 10 units of the Hyundai XCIENT Fuel Cell, the first mass-produced fuel cell heavy-duty truck, to Switzerland. (Earlier post.) The company plans to ship a total of 50 XCIENT Fuel Cells to Switzerland this year, with handover to commercial fleet customers starting in September.... Read more →

According to provisional data published by the European Environment Agency (EEA), average CO2 emissions from new passenger cars registered in the European Union (EU), Iceland, Norway and the United Kingdom (UK), increased in 2019, for the third consecutive year. The average CO2 emissions from new vans also increased slightly. Zero-... Read more →

In an EU-funded research project, an international consortium is aiming to develop new production methods for sustainable marine fuels to replace heavy fuel oils in shipping. The use of heavy fuel oils (HFOs) contributes to global warming due to the fossil origin of these fuels and, moreover, generating non-negligible emissions... Read more →

The COBRA (CObalt-free Batteries for FutuRe Automotive Applications) project has been awarded a €11.8-million grant to develop Next Generation Cobalt-free batteries. COBRA, which aims to develop lithium, cobalt-free batteries made with new energy storage materials that incorporate intelligent sensors to help enhance their energy efficiency, is funded by the European... Read more →

Transport operator Przedsiębiorstwo Komunikacji Miejskiej (PKM) in Katowice, Poland, has signed a contract for five Solaris Urbino 12 electric buses to be supplied in the second quarter of 2021. . These will join the 10 already commissioned by the capital of Silesia. At the beginning of the year, Solaris supplied... Read more →

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed a €125-million loan with Umicore, the Belgian-based global materials technology and recycling group, to finance part of the greenfield production facility for cathode materials in Poland. The cathode materials will be supplied to battery manufacturers of high-tech lithium-ion batteries that are primarily used... Read more →

As expected, new car registrations in Europe faced a steady decline in April. Volume fell from 1.34 million units in April 2019 to 292,600 vehicles in April 2020, according to JATO Dynamics. This represents the lowest monthly level since the 1970s, and the worst result among the big three markets:... Read more →

Swiss energy storage company Leclanché SA announced a strategic reorganization which will convert the company into a market-oriented, research-driven, software and systems integration company with expanded production and R&D capabilities based on a partnership agreement with Eneris Group. Eneris Group will make direct investments in Leclanché totaling up to CHF... Read more →

Cracow, Poland public transport operator Miejskie Przedsiębiorstwo Komunikacyjne S.A. (MPK) has signed a contract for the purchase of 50 Solaris Urbino 18 electric buses. The new electric buses will expand the existing fleet of 400 Solaris vehicles of varying configurations, cruising the streets of Cracow—including 28 electric buses. The order... Read more →

Solaris and the Romanian city of Craiova (Romania’s sixth-largest city) have signed a contract for the delivery of 16 18-meter articulated Urbino 18 electric buses. The articulated vehicles will make it to Craiova in the first half of 2021. The purchase marks the first use of electric buses in the... Read more →