IHS Markit forecasts that annual global investments in green hydrogen—hydrogen production powered by renewable sources—will exceed US$1 billion by 2023. The elevated investment outlook is attributed to falling costs and policy support from governments looking to shift towards low-carbon economies. Operating capacity for splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen through... Read more →

A team led by researchers at the University of Washington Tacoma, UW and Washington State University Puyallup have found that a highly toxic oxidation product of tire rubber particles turns streams toxic and may be responsible for the annual die-offs observed among migrating adult salmon across the US Pacific Northwest.... Read more →

Continental Structural Plastics (CSP) has fine-tuned its carbon fiber RTM (resin transfer molding) (CF-RTM) process to the point that a premium automaker will be using the technology for closures on future vehicle platforms. These doors will feature both inner and outer panels as well as structural reinforcements molded using CSP’s... Read more →

BMW Group will end its involvement in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship at the end of the coming season. BMW has consistently supported the Formula E project from the beginning, and has enjoyed victories and podiums with the BMW i Andretti Motorsport team. BMW Group has always used... Read more →

Porsche, Siemens Energy and partners are developing and implementing a pilot project—the “Haru Oni” project—in Chile that is expected to yield the world’s first integrated, commercial, industrial-scale plant for making synthetic climate-neutral fuels (eFuels). Electrolyzers will use wind power to produce green hydrogen. In a second step, plans call for... Read more →

AUDI AG plans a total investment of approximately €35 billion, in spite of a difficult business environment, to 2025. Some €17 billion of that, amounting to half of the investment sum, is allocated to future technologies alone. Audi has earmarked approximately €15 billion for electromobility and hybridization, thus underlining the... Read more →

Daimler Truck AG and Beiqi Foton Motor Co., Ltd. jointly announced that both partners will produce and distribute Mercedes-Benz tractors for an advanced market segment in China. Based on Daimler Trucks’ global platform strategy, the companies’ joint venture Beijing Foton Daimler Automotive Co., Ltd. (BFDA) will localize new heavy-duty tractor... Read more →

Effective immediately, Mercedes-Benz Bank, together with the insurance partner R+V/KRAVAG, is offering new insurance policies especially for electric vans. Customers thus profit from modules that have been specially adapted to the requirements and characteristics of electric vehicles. The full coverage insurance includes coverage for inductive charging plates, charging cables and... Read more →

Volvo Group Venture Capital AB has invested in Flock Freight, a technology company based in Solana Beach, California, that pools shipments to fill unused trailer space. The company uses algorithms to match multiple LTL (less than a truckload) shipments into one shared truckload that eliminates all terminals and hubs, improving... Read more →

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) has joined a wide-ranging corporate-academic partnership in a zero-emission initiative called the “Wind Hunter Project,” seeking new applications for hydrogen fuel and wind power. In addition to MOL, the participants include Ouchi Ocean Consultant, Inc.; the National Maritime Research Institute (NMRI) of National Institute of... Read more →

Researchers from the University of Houston and the Toyota Research Institute of North America (TRINA) report in Nature Energy that they have developed a new cathode and electrolyte—previously the limiting factors for a high-energy magnesium battery—to demonstrate a magnesium battery capable of operating at room temperature and delivering a power... Read more →

General Motors Co. announced it has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Nikola Corporation for a global supply agreement to provide GM’s Hydrotec fuel cell system for Nikola’s Class 7/8 semi-trucks. The MoU replaces the previous agreement announced 8 September 2020. (Earlier post.) At that time, Nikola and GM... Read more →

The Québec Government is awarding funding totaling CAD 5.943 million (US$4.55 million) to a non-profit organization Bioénergie La Tuque (BELT) under a program called Technoclimat from Transition Énergétique Québec (TEQ) for a project to develop and demonstrate the potential of producing advanced biofuels from locally-sourced forestry waste in La Tuque,... Read more →

by Toby Gill, CEO, Intelligent Power Generation. With battery storage able to provide a unique role in balancing a renewable electricity grid, Toby Gill, CEO of Intelligent Power Generation, asks could innovations in green hydrogen and biofuel technologies contribute to a more optimized and economical energy mix? The growth of... Read more →

While cobalt prices have shown positive signs of late, there are nuances within the market which highlight the key fundamentals that will likely decide cobalt’s future price trend—which is taking its cues less and less from the industrial metal supply chain, according to a new report from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.... Read more →

Royal DSM will start a strategic partnership with Neste to enable the production of high performance polymers made from sustainable feedstock. This enables DSM and its customers to reduce the carbon footprint of their own products while supporting the industry to transition to a circular economy. In the new strategic... Read more →

ŠKODA AUTO has begun series production of the electric ENYAQ iV at its main plant in Mladá Boleslav. The battery-electric SUV is the first ŠKODA series production model based on the Volkswagen Group’s Modular Electrification Toolkit (MEB). (Earlier post.) The ENYAQ iV is ŠKODA’s first series-production model that was designed... Read more →

Volkswagen Group Logistics will be using certified fuel from vegetable residues for certain new car shipments via marine routes. The fuel is produced from materials such as used oil from restaurants and the food industry. The first car freighter was refueled for the first time with this oil in mid-November... Read more →

Groupe Renault is creating the REFACTORY in Flins, the first European circular economy site dedicated to mobility. By 2030, it will employ more than 3,000 people in dedicated professions. The implementation of this industrial and commercial ecosystem will take place gradually between 2021 and 2024, replacing the production of new... Read more →

TTTech Auto—a provider of software and hardware platforms for automated driving and beyond, applicable in series production programs—has expanded its development scope and altered its structure based on three distinct pillars. These include a newly set-up Car.OS unit that will focus on forward-looking technology; a scaled-up customer programs unit; and... Read more →

Despite the trend toward transportation electrification, the lithium industry has had a rough few years. In its new Lithium Outlook to 2030 report, Roskill notes that the prolonged downward trend for lithium compound and mineral concentrate prices has caused a difficult environment for many lithium producers since 2018. In 2019,... Read more →

Buick’s vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology made its debut at the Guangzhou International Automobile Exhibition. Later this year, Buick will become the first brand in China officially to roll out the market-ready technology on a production vehicle, a Buick GL8. V2X technology has a crucial role to play in improving safety and... Read more →

By making use of a previously undesired side effect in oil recovery, researchers at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (TUAT) have developed a method that yields up to 20% more heavy oil than traditional methods. A paper on the work is published in the ACS journal Energy & Fuels.... Read more →

Cummins, in conjunction with European Hydrogen Week, shared new research showing that more than half of the United Kingdom (UK) commuters would be willing to travel to work on a train or bus powered by hydrogen to lower their carbon footprint and reduce emissions. Nearly half of commuters in Belgium... Read more →

A large number of components in automobiles are made from plastics; these have to meet exacting safety, heat-resistance and quality requirements. That is why, so far, only petroleum-based materials have been suitable for manufacturing plastic components in automobiles that are subjected to particularly intensive wear. Such materials are not recyclable... Read more →

XL Fleet announced that Farmbro Inc., an Ontario-based upfitting solutions service provider specializing in commercial and work vehicles, expects to double its sales volume from approximately 1,000 XL unit installations in 2020 to more than 2,000 in 2021 to meet the increasing demand for fleet electrification in Canada. As part... Read more →

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reached settlements with two Iowa companies for allegedly tampering with car engines to render emissions controls inoperative, in violation of the federal Clean Air Act. According to EPA, Menzel Enterprises Iowa Inc. of West Des Moines installed “defeat devices” in at least five... Read more →

Most Europeans living in cities are still breathing air that is dangerous to their health, according to the European Environment Agency (EEA) in a new report; governments are not doing enough to cut toxic emissions at source, campaigners warn. Data show that harmful emissions, especially from farming and domestic heating,... Read more →

Australia and Germany have released national hydrogen strategies to help grow the development of renewable hydrogen as a clean source of energy. UNSW Sydney will lead a consortium of Australian research and industry partners, who will work together with partners in Germany to test the feasibility of a renewable energy-based... Read more →

Hyundai Motor Company and INEOS signed a memorandum of understanding to explore new opportunities to accelerate the global hydrogen economy. Hyundai and INEOS will jointly investigate opportunities for the production and supply of hydrogen as well as the worldwide deployment of hydrogen applications and technologies. Both companies will initially seek... Read more →

Researchers at Imperial College London have developed a membrane-based extraction system for the production of biofuels which uses less than 25% of the energy of current processes and produces ten times more biofuel with more than 99.5% purity. The open-access findings are published in the RSC journal Energy & Environmental... Read more →

The Architecture Reference for Cooperative and Intelligent Transportation (ARC-IT) version 9.0 is a major release of the US National ITS Architecture Reference that fully defines and upgrades the four architecture views that were initially defined in ARC-IT 8.0. This includes changes to support vehicle automation content inspired by research results... Read more →

Hexagon Purus signed a multi-year master frame agreement with Everfuel to deliver multiple units of newly designed 45-foot hydrogen distribution systems. The systems will be used to transport hydrogen to refueling stations serving hydrogen fuel cell electric passenger car fleets (e.g. taxis), trucks and buses. At signing, Everfuel ordered its... Read more →

Italy-based global energy infrastructure operator Snam signed an agreement with funds managed by Blackstone Tactical Opportunities for the purchase of a strategic stake of approximately 33% in Industrie De Nora S.p.A., a global supplier of clean energy and water treatment technologies, based on a 100% enterprise value of approximately €1.2... Read more →

General Motors announced that Factory ZERO, Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Center, the company’s all-electric vehicle assembly plant, is the first automotive plant in the US to install dedicated 5G fixed mobile network technology. Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband service is operating now at Factory ZERO, with its exponential increases in both bandwidth and... Read more →

Daimler AG and Geely Holding, the respective parent companies of Mercedes-Benz AG and Volvo Cars, plan to collaborate on developing highly efficient powertrain systems for next-generation hybrid vehicle applications. The companies expect to work together on hybrid powertrain solutions to enhance their global competitiveness and create economies of scale. Areas... Read more →

The US Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is seeking public comment on the potential development of a framework of principles to govern the safe behavior of automated driving systems (ADS) in the future. The advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) was submitted to the Federal Register... Read more →

Applied Information, Inc., a leading provider of intelligent transportation infrastructure solutions, announced the availability of full Cellular Vehicle to Everything (C-V2X) Connected Vehicle Roadside Units (RSU) and Onboard Units (OBU) with an automatic upgrade to 5G NR when the technology becomes available. The company also announced it would buy installed... Read more →

Volvo Cars is partnering with Waycare Technologies to enable data from Volvo’s Hazard Light Alert and Slippery Road Alert to be shared anonymously with transportation municipalities and the popular Waze navigation app. From model year 2021, Hazard Light Alert and Slippery Road Alert will allow certain Volvo cars to communicate... Read more →

General Motors Co. Chairman and CEO Mary Barra said that the company will offer 30 all-electric models globally by mid-decade; 40% of the company’s US entries will be battery electric vehicles by the end of 2025. Barra also announced an increase in GM’s financial commitment to EVs and AVs (autonomous... Read more →

A study by researchers at The Ohio State University suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic had varying effects on demand for public transit in US cities. While demand for public transit dropped about 73% across the country after the pandemic hit, the reduction didn’t impact all cities equally, according to the... Read more →

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted new rules for the 5.9 GHz band (5.850-5.925 GHz) to make new spectrum available for unlicensed uses, such as Wi-Fi, and to improve automotive safety. Specifically, the new band plan designates the lower 45 megahertz (5.850-5.895 GHz) for unlicensed uses and the upper 30... Read more →

GM is launching OnStar Insurance. GM’s new insurance agency, OnStar Insurance Services, will be the exclusive agent for OnStar Insurance. OnStar Insurance Services intends to leverage its unique understanding of the vehicles GM produces to offer a secure, fair, personalized and easy-to-use digital insurance experience for drivers. We aim to... Read more →

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed that the government will accelerate the ban on the sale of new gasoline and diesel vehicles, bringing it forward by ten years to 2030, as part of a “Green Industrial Revolution.” The sale of hybrid cars will be allowed until 2035. Johnson announced the... Read more →

Broader collaboration among key stakeholders and a new generation of finance solutions will be needed to electrify trucks and buses at scale by 2050, according to a report released today by Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), MJ Bradley and Vivid Economics. To ensure and accelerate the transition, we must move beyond... Read more →

Ride Vision is launching globally the first collision-avoidance technology for motorcycles, an AI-based system for motorcycle safety. Ride Vision is buttressed by $7 million in Series A funding, totalling $10 million to-date, as well as a partnership with Continental AG. There are more than 700 million motorcycles on the road... Read more →

The California Center for Jobs & The Economy has released an updated report (earlier post) on vehicle sales and the progress of ZEV sales in the state for Q3 2020. The report is based on sales data from the California New Car Dealers Association (CNCDA). The data show total new... Read more →

California electric utilities are teaming up with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to offer the California Clean Fuel Reward (CCFR), a point-of-sale price reduction of up to $1,500 for the purchase or lease of any eligible new Battery Electric or Plug-in Hybrid vehicle (BEV or PHEV) from a participating... Read more →

The MINI brand presented the MINI Vision Urbanaut—a digital concept vehicle intended to provide an example of MINI’s possible future directions. MINI sees its future self primarily as an enabler of and companion for unforgettable times—what we might call ‘MINI moments’. The MINI Vision Urbanaut uses three curated MINI moments—“Chill”,... Read more →

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia’s national science research agency, has joined the Joint Industry Partnership (JIP) of the Supercritical Transformational Electric Power (STEP) project known as STEP Demo. The STEP project seeks to demonstrate power generation plants enabled by supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) technology that can... Read more →