Volvo Cars reported global sales of 59,154 cars in November, up 12.0% compared with the same month last year. Overall underlying demand for the company’s cars continues to remain robust, especially for its Recharge range of pure electric and plug-in hybrid cars. Sales of Recharge units were up 44.2% year-on-year.... Read more →

EPRI, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Southern Company Research and Development, and Deep Isolation recently were recently awarded $2.8 million from by the US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E) for a joint nuclear research and development project focused on nuclear fuel management options to... Read more →

Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume and the Canadian Minister for Innovation, Science and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne, signed an Addendum to the non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) of August this year (earlier post) to identify suitable sites for a cell factory in Canada. The two parties will continue their cooperation in the... Read more →

A consortium led by Toyota Motor Manufacturing (UK) Ltd (TMUK) will receive funding from UK Government through the Advanced Propulsion Center (APC) for the development of a hydrogen fuel cell-powered Hilux pickup. HiluxH2 In collaboration with Ricardo, ETL, D2H and Thatcham Research, Toyota will adopt second-generation Toyota fuel cell components... Read more →

The BMW Group is commencing production of its BMW iX5 Hydrogen model. Manufacture of the small-series hydrogen-powered vehicle is taking place in the pilot plant at its Munich Research and Innovation Centre (FIZ). The first Sports Activity Vehicle (SAV) featuring hydrogen fuel cell technology has already completed a program of... Read more →

With the continued global turmoil experienced over the past few years, the prices of almost everything are rising. This has been especially true for the rare earth materials used in the manufacturing of electric motors for electric vehicles (EVs). The price of neodymium has remained fairly constant from 2013-2020, but... Read more →

NuScale Power, along with Shell Global Solutions (Shell) and industry participants will develop and assess a concept for an economically optimized Integrated Energy System (IES) for hydrogen production using electricity and process heat from a NuScale VOYGR small modular reactor (SMR) power plant. The project entitled, “Development and Demonstration of... Read more →

Germany’s Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) has approved the Mercedes-Benz and Bosch highly automated parking system for use in the P6 parking garage run by APCOA at Stuttgart Airport. This makes it the world’s first highly automated driverless parking function (SAE Level 4) officially to be approved for commercial use.... Read more →

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a multipart proposal for required volumes of biofuel under the Renewable FUel Standard (RFS) for the next one to three years and on a series of modifications to the program. The agency is seeking public input on the proposal to help shape the... Read more →

The Blue Ribbon Commission on Lithium Extraction in California (Lithium Valley Commission) submitted its report of findings and recommendations to the state Legislature. The report recommends accelerating transmission planning; improving permitting; and securing funding for infrastructure investments and economic development incentives to support industry growth and job training. Established by... Read more →

Through its venture capital fund BMW i Ventures, the BMW Group has taken a stake in Colorado-based Jetti Resources. Founded in 2014, Jetti Resources has developed a pioneering process for copper extraction that utilizes previously unused ore from existing copper mines. BMW’s goal is to foster responsible and resource-conserving copper... Read more →

Airbus is developing a hydrogen-powered fuel cell engine. The propulsion system is being considered as one of the potential solutions to equip its zero-emission aircraft that will enter service by 2035. Airbus will start ground and flight testing this fuel cell engine architecture onboard its ZEROe demonstrator aircraft towards the... Read more →

Airbus and Renault Group signed a research and development agreement which aims at enhancing transversalities and synergies to accelerate both companies’ electrification roadmaps, improving their respective range of products. This partnership will help Airbus mature technologies associated with future hybrid-electric aircraft. As part of this partnership, Airbus’ and Renault Group’s... Read more →

Researchers from Renmin University and Tsinghua University in China have developed a novel shape-memorized current collector (SMCC), which can successfully brake battery thermal runaway at the battery internal overheating status. Unlike traditional current collectors made of commercial copper foils, SMCC is made of a micropatterned shape memory micron-sized film with... Read more →

In November, Tesla opened its EV charging connector design—called the North American Charging Standard (NACS)—to charging network operators and vehicle manufacturers. (Earlier post.) Now, the Charging Interface Initiative (CharIN e.V.) and its CharIN North America Chapter (operating as CharIN Inc.), issued a response. CharIN is the largest global association focused... Read more →

Honda will produce an all-new hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) based on the recently launched, all-new Honda CR-V starting in 2024 at its Performance Manufacturing Center (PMC) in Marysville, Ohio. This new zero-emissions vehicle will contribute to Honda’s previously announced goal to make battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and FCEVs... Read more →

Following on from their joint presentation at the Future Battery Forum 2022, Ellen Carey, Vice President of Global Policy and Public Affairs at Circulor, and Fredrika Klarén, Global Head of Sustainability at Polestar, discuss the successful collaboration between their two companies, and how blockchain traceability will play a key role... Read more →

Alstom has demonstrated the highest grade of automation on a shunting locomotive near Breda, the Netherlands, in partnership with Dutch infrastructure manager ProRail and Belgian rail freight operator Lineas. This grade of automation (GoA4) means fully automated starting, driving, stopping, and the handling of unanticipated obstacles or events without the... Read more →

Norway-based FREYR Battery plans to make a public offering of 13,500,000 of its Ordinary Shares, without nominal value, in an underwritten registered public offering. FREYR expects to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 2,025,000 additional Ordinary Shares as part of this offering. FREYR intends to use... Read more →

Honda plans to expand the capabilities of its previously announced Honda Sensing 360 and Honda Sensing Elite advanced safety and driver assistive systems. The improved Honda Sensing 360 system will begin rolling out in the second half of the decade and will be standard on all new Honda and Acura... Read more →

MAHLE is successfully establishing itself as a supplier for e-mobility. One bestseller for the company in this area is the electric A/C compressor, for which Mahle has already secured numerous series orders in the passenger car and commercial vehicle sectors. The total order volume is approximately €1.4 billion. Most recently,... Read more →

Canadaa-based Prairie Lithium has commissioned the third iteration of its Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) pilot plant at the Emerald Park testing facility. The DLE pilot is designed to process deep subsurface brines sourced from Prairie Lithium’s Fall 2022 drilling program when 600 m3 of lithium rich brine was reserved for... Read more →

The CIRCLES (Congestion Impacts Reduction via CAV-in-the-loop Lagrangian Energy Smoothing) Consortium, comprising Vanderbilt University, UC Berkeley, Temple University and Rutgers University-Camden, in coordination with Nissan North America and Tennessee Department of Transportation, recently concluded a five-day open-track experiment testing an artificial-intelligence-equipped cruise control system designed to increase fuel savings and... Read more →

LanzaTech and Sumitomo Riko Company have entered into a joint-development agreement to reuse rubber, resin and urethane waste for the production of a key chemical intermediate, isoprene. Isoprene is produced by plants, and along with its polymers, is the main component of natural rubber. Natural rubber is widely regarded as... Read more →

Hyundai Motor Group signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with SK On to secure a supply of EV batteries in North America. Under the MOU, both parties will cooperate to provide SK On batteries to the Group’s plants in the US after 2025 for the EV production. Further details on... Read more →

Rio Tinto is planning to invest a further $600 million in renewable energy assets in the Pilbara as part of the company’s efforts to decarbonize its Western Australian iron ore operations. The investment will fund the construction of two 100MW solar power facilities as well as 200 MWh of on-grid... Read more →

Equatorial Guinea’s Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons and the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC’s) Ministry of Hydrocarbons signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the Angola Oil & Gas (AOG) 2022 Conference & Exhibition to develop existing synergies across their respective upstream, downstream, energy infrastructure and logistics sectors. The... Read more →

Nissan launched the fully-revamped Serena in Japan. Sales of gasoline-powered models will start this winter, and e-POWER models are to start in spring. The Serena features the second-generation e-POWER system, now equipped with an all-new, specially developed 1.4 L engine. The system delivers more powerful and smooth acceleration with less... Read more →

Rolls-Royce and easyJet report the world’s first run of a modern aero engine on hydrogen. The ground test was conducted on an early concept demonstrator using green hydrogen created by wind and tidal power. It marks a major step towards proving that hydrogen could be a zero carbon aviation fuel... Read more →

The technology group Wärtsilä has entered into a joint development agreement with Hycamite TCD Technologies, a privately-owned Finnish company specializing in the development of technology for the thermo-catalytic decomposition (TCD) of methane to produce clean hydrogen and solid carbon. The two companies will work together to enable cost-effective production of... Read more →

Fusion Fuel and Electus Energy have entered into an exclusive joint venture agreement to develop a large-scale green hydrogen project in Bakersfield, California. The proposed project is a roughly 75 MW solar-to-hydrogen facility using Fusion Fuel’s HEVO technology (earlier post), capable of producing up to 9,300 tons of green hydrogen... Read more →

Hyundai Mobis plans to invest $926 million in an Electric Vehicle (EV) Power Electric system plant in Bryan County that will eventually employ at least 1,500 people. The EV Power Electric system plant will expand Hyundai Mobis’ current footprint in Georgia. Hyundai Mobis has operated a manufacturing facility with almost... Read more →

Finland-based Keliber’s long-planned lithium project is progressing into the construction phase, as preparatory work on the lot of the lithium hydroxide refinery will be kicked off before Christmas. The refinery will be built in Kokkola Industrial Park (KIP), and it will produce lithium hydroxide. Starting the construction of the refinery... Read more →

A UK consortium has been awarded £7.7 million (US$9.3 million) from the Net Zero Innovation Portfolio (NZIP) of the UK Government’s Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to develop a hydrogen storage demonstrator, in which hydrogen is absorbed on a depleted uranium bed, which can then release the... Read more →

All-electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) traveled a combined 19.1 billion miles on electricity in 2021, according to the US Department of Energy (DOE). This includes all miles traveled in EVs and the electric portion of miles traveled in PHEVs. Total electric miles were still less than... Read more →

Using only inexpensive earth-abundant raw materials, a team from Rice’s Laboratory for Nanophotonics, Syzygy Plasmonics Inc. and Princeton University’s Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment have created a scalable photocatalyst that can convert ammonia into hydrogen fuel. The research is published in Science. We show that plasmonic photocatalysis can... Read more →

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) recently adopted a five-year, statewide, $1-billion transportation electrification program. The decision provides a unified policy-driven funding structure for utility transportation electrification efforts through 2030, and prioritizes investments in charging infrastructure for low-income, tribal, and underserved utility customers. Under the decision, 70% of the funds... Read more →

Business Finland has awarded €2.3 million in R&D funding to Elomatic Oy’s project development company Green NortH2 Energy. With the loan, the Finland-based company is developing a green hydrogen and ammonia production concept. Green NortH2 Energy intends to set up the first green ammonia production plant in Naantali. Green NortH2... Read more →

Desktop Metal, a leader in mass production additive manufacturing (AM) solutions, received a $9-million order from a major German automaker for binder jet additive manufacturing systems used for mass production of powertrain components. This is the second order from the same automaker in less than 12 months, bringing the total... Read more →

Neste and CIM, part of NOVEN Group in France, the leading independent French group of companies providing oil storage and supply services, are collaborating to enable the supply of Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel into France. The collaboration enables fuel marketing companies to comply with the French mandate for sustainable... Read more →

The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has issued Venezuela General License (GL) 41, authorizing Chevron Corporation to resume limited natural resource extraction operations in Venezuela. GL 41 authorizes: Production and lifting of petroleum or petroleum products produced by the Chevron JVs, and any related... Read more →

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, will expand the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) (earlier post) London-wide. The expansion will come into effect on 29 August 2023 and will operate across all London boroughs up to the existing Low Emission Zone boundary for large and heavy vehicles. On 8 April... Read more →

Vietnam-based EV manufacturer VinFast held a ceremony to mark its first batch of exports of electric vehicles: 999 VF 8s headed to the United States. This batch is being transported by the Silver Queen—a Panamanian charter ship—and is expected to arrive in a California port about 20 days after departing... Read more →

The BMW Group is building a high-voltage battery assembly for the vehicles of the NEUE KLASSE at its site in Hungary. The battery assembly will be located on the site of the Debrecen vehicle plant, which started construction about six months ago. The BMW iFACTORY is also about ensuring short... Read more →

ABB has secured its first order from COSCO Shipping, China’s largest shipping company, for in-line permanent magnet shaft generator systems. Compared with traditional diesel generator sets (single unit), the permanent magnet shaft generator system will yield fuel savings of up to 17%. Permanent magnet shaft generators are small, light, and... Read more →

Buick will introduce its first electric vehicle in China developed on GM’s Ultium platform later this year. Deliveries of the five-seat SUV will begin in the first half of 2023. It will be followed by a second Ultium-empowered EV, also next year. The announcement came shortly after GM announced plans... Read more →

A Siemens Energy-led consortium has begun work in Newcastle, UK on a new £3.5 million (US$4.24 million) ammonia cracker prototype designed to produce green hydrogen at industrial scale. The prototype will use ammonia to deliver 200kg of hydrogen a day—enough to power around 5-10 hydrogen fuel cell-electric buses. The ammonia... Read more →

Fusion Fuel has entered the centralized electrolyzer market with the introduction of its HEVO-Chain solution. Rather than relying on a traditional cell-stack, the HEVO-Chain builds off Fusion Fuel’s proprietary HEVO architecture (earlier post), enabling the system to operate at higher efficiency—roughly 49 kWh / kg of hydrogen—and avoid the losses... Read more →

Airbus is developing innovative cryogenic hydrogen storage tanks to support future aircraft fueled by liquid hydrogen. Liquid hydrogen needs to be stored at -253 °C. In its simplest terms, says Airbus, there are two main technologies that enable an aircraft to fly directly with hydrogen. You can power an engine... Read more →

At its Dakar debut in January 2022, the Audi RS Q e-tron (earlier post) series hybrid set standards in efficiency and competitiveness of e-mobility in motorsport. In the next step, the three desert prototypes with electric drive and energy converter will run in the 2023 Dakar Rally with an innovative... Read more →