Mercom Capital Group, LLC, a global clean energy communications and consulting firm, released its report on funding and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity for the global Battery Storage, Smart Grid, and Energy Efficiency sectors for the third quarter (Q3) and first nine months (9M) of 2020. Global corporate funding (including... Read more →

Japan-based Bridgestone, the world’s largest tire manufacturer, has launched “A Layered Journey”—a new global campaign highlighting the company’s efforts to incorporate sustainability in its value chain with a focus on the sustainable procurement of natural rubber. The campaign travels from the forest where rubber trees are tapped for latex, continuing... Read more →

AFWERX, the US Air Force’s innovation catalyst (earlier post), is seeking solutions from public and private industries; commercial sectors; government; and academia for the Department of Defense (DoD) Reimagining Energy Challenge to modernize and create the future of resilient energy production, transmission, utilization and storage for the US Air Force.... Read more →

Chart Industries, a leading independent global manufacturer of liquefaction and cryogenic equipment servicing multiple applications in the energy and industrial gas markets, including hydrogen, made a €30-million Strategic Cornerstone Investment in McPhy, a leading manufacturer and supplier of carbon-free hydrogen production and distribution equipment. Chart will hold around 4.3% of... Read more →

In Indonesia, state miners MIND ID (Mining Industry Indonesia) and Aneka Tambang (ANTAM); state utility Perusahan Listrik Negara (PLN); and state oil company Pertamina have agreed to form a new venture: Indonesia Battery Holding. Indonesia Battery aims to be involved in the whole battery value chain, including producing battery minerals... Read more →

The Port of Rotterdam Authority, the Port of Amsterdam, North Sea Port Netherlands, Drechtsteden, the Port of Antwerp and De Vlaamse Waterweg intend to set up a single shore-based power system for inland shipping and the river cruise industry. This will contribute to the user-friendliness of this facility, which is... Read more →

In September 2020, the EU passenger car market registered the first increase of the year, according to figures from the European Association of Automobile Manufacturers (ACEA). Registrations grew by 3.1% last month to reach 933,987 new cars sold across the European Union. The four largest markets, however, posted mixed results.... Read more →

Canada investing $20M in Terrestrial Energy to support development of Integral Molten Salt SMR Canada’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, Hon. Navdeep Bains, announced a $20 million investment in Terrestrial Energy to accelerate development of the company’s Integral Molten Salt Reactor (IMSR) power plant. This is the first such... Read more →

Recycling Technologies, a specialist plastic recycling technology provider; Neste, the leading provider of renewable diesel, sustainable aviation fuel, and a forerunner in drop-in renewable and circular chemical solutions; and Unilever, the consumer goods manufacturer, will collaborate to develop further and to harness chemical recycling to recover and to reuse plastic... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced more than $27 million in funding for 12 projects that will support the development of advanced plastics recycling technologies and new plastics that are recyclable-by-design. As part of DOE’s Plastics Innovation Challenge, these projects will also help improve existing recycling processes that break... Read more →

Since September 2015, the Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority (THEA) has been working with the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) as a Connected Vehicle Pilot site. The next step in the Connected Vehicle space is to begin working with the auto industry manufacturers. To that end, THEA is proud to... Read more →

The US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Critical Materials Institute (CMI) announced selections totaling up to $4 million for four research and development projects to partner with industry to address challenges in establishing domestic supply chains for critical materials. Critical materials are used in many products important to the US economy... Read more →

Proterra announced a $200-million investment led by Cowen Sustainable Advisors LLC (CSI) along with supporting investments from Soros Fund Management, Generation Investment Management, and Broadscale Group. The new investment comprises $150 million from CSI and investments totaling $50 million from Soros Fund Management, Generation Investment Management, and Broadscale Group. The... Read more →

Members of the hydrogen and fuel cell industry formally announced a new alliance to effect rapid deployment of zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks, buses, locomotives, vessels, aircraft and off-road equipment throughout the Western United States. The Western States Hydrogen Alliance (WSHA) is made up of leading figures in the... Read more →

ArcelorMittal Europe provided some details of the CO2 technology strategy that will enable it to offer its first green steel solutions to customers this year (30,000 tonnes); scale up this offering in coming years (to reach 120,000 tonnes in 2021 and 600,000 tonnes by 2022); deliver its 30% CO2 emissions... Read more →

While tires remain one of the most recycled products in the US, end-of-life markets are not keeping pace with the annual generation of scrap tires, according to a new report released by the US Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA). The 2019 Scrap Tire Management Report—USTMA’s 14th—reveals that almost 76% of scrap... Read more →

The California Sustainable Energy Entrepreneur Development (CalSEED) program announced that the fourth cohort of innovative clean energy concepts has been approved by the California Energy Commission (CEC); 28 companies out of 212 were selected to receive grants of $150,000 each. The awardees went through a rigorous process including a review... Read more →

Electrify America is investing $3 million to provide education and awareness programs for low-income and disadvantaged communities throughout California on the benefits of driving zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) and available cash incentives. The latest announcement brings Electrify America’s total investment in California community-based programs to $5.7 million over the past... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced up to $65 million through its Connected Communities funding opportunity announcement (FOA) to expand DOE’s network of grid-interactive efficient building communities nationwide. (DE-FOA-0002206) As our Nation’s energy system continues to undergo dramatic transformations, there is a growing need for solutions that integrate and... Read more →

Verisk, a leading data analytics provider, announced that Ford Motor Company has joined the Verisk Data Exchange. Owners of eligible Ford and Lincoln vehicles will soon have easy access to usage-based insurance programs from the many US auto insurers that connect to the Exchange—including three of the ten largest US... Read more →

by Michael Sivak, Sivak Applied Research. This brief analysis examines the relative cost of the energy from milk and gasoline. The unifying approach involves the use of a common measure of energy—British thermal units (Btu). A cup of whole milk contains 150 Calories of energy. Thus, there are 2,400 Calories... Read more →

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) is a central element of the digital transformation process at the BMW Group. The BMW Group already uses AI throughout the value chain to generate added value for customers, products, employees and processes. The BMW Group continues to follow global developments in terms of... Read more →

Daimler Insurance Services and Swiss Re have entered into a strategic partnership for automotive and mobility insurance and launched a new company called Movinx. Both shareholders of the 50/50 joint venture will leverage their complementary expertise to establish a new business model. The aim is to develop fully digital automotive... Read more →

Workhorse Group Inc., a provider of cost-effective drone-integrated electric vehicles to the last-mile delivery sector, has entered into a note purchase agreement (NPA) under which it will sell $200 million aggregate principal amount of its 4.0% Senior Secured Convertible Notes due 2024 to two institutional lenders. The proceeds of the... Read more →

With the support of a grant from the Department of Energy, Miao Yu, the Priti and Mukesh Chatter ’82 Career Development Chair of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, will develop a novel porous material capable of capturing even very small concentrations of CO2 in the air and... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced more than $7 million in funding for Michigan-based cybersecurity company The Dream Team LLC (DTLLC) to develop a first-of-its-kind infrastructure that protects the electric grid from cyber-attacks on electric vehicles (EV) and electric vehicle charging systems. Once developed, testing of the electric roadways... Read more →

Brightmark LLC and Chevron have formed a joint venture, Brightmark RNG Holdings LLC, to own projects across the United States to produce and market dairy biomethane, a renewable natural gas (RNG). Equity investments by each company in the new venture will fund construction of infrastructure and commercial operation of dairy... Read more →

A new study by a team from San Jose State University and Stanford University has found that—even under heightened damage estimates—the additional mitigation costs of limiting global warming to 1.5 °C (relative to 2.0 °C) are higher than the additional avoided damages this century under most parameter combinations considered. An... Read more →

The technology group Wärtsilä has been awarded a major contract to supply and construct a plant for production of CO2-neutral liquid transport fuels. The plant will liquefy gas from the natural gas grid to produce carbon-neutral LNG. It will have a capacity of approximately 100,000 tons per year and located... Read more →

Self Financial, a fintech company, has compared the running costs of electric and non-electric vehicles in each state. Across the US the average annual cost of running an electric vehicle is $2,721.96, while gasoline vehicles cost an average of $3,355.90 per year to run—a difference of $633.94 annually. However, these... Read more →

Owning a plug-in electric vehicle today will save consumers thousands of dollars compared to owning a gas-powered vehicle, according to a new analysis by Consumer Reports comparing electrics to CR’s top-rated vehicles, as well as the best-selling, most efficient, and best-performing gasoline-powered vehicles on the market. The analysis found lifetime... Read more →

U-Haul has purchased its first million gallons of renewable propane, which is available to customers at U-Haul autogas facilities across Southern California. U-Haul, the largest retailer of propane in the US, teamed with national distributor Suburban Propane Partners, L.P., to supply the fuel. Suburban Propane also recently invested in renewable... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced funding for three domestic projects that will accelerate advanced nuclear technology development. These projects, valued at $26.9 million including industry cost-share contributions, will allow industry-led teams to advance the state of domestic commercial nuclear capability. Two awards will advance flexible operation of light-water... Read more →

Audi Hungaria, in cooperation with E.ON Hungaria, officially started operation of Europe’s biggest photovoltaic roof installation. Since the start of the year, the site in Győr has used only green power. In 2012 Audi’s Hungarian plant opened a geothermal facility to supply most of its heat requirements. The remainder is... Read more →

Dachser is now making all its deliveries to the heart of the southwest Germany city Freiburg emission-free, using a combination of Fuso eCanters, StreetScooters, and cargo bikes. Taking transportation as a whole, this new service reduces CO2 emissions per shipment by 26%. In the city center of Freiburg, Germany, Dachser... Read more →

Ipsos’ new 2020 Global Mobility Navigator Study, focusing on Electrification, found global interest remained on par with the numbers from 2019. However, the study reveals there has been an increase in interest in the US and Chinese markets. Source: Ipsos Ipsos attributes this increased interest can be attributed to the... Read more →

The California Independent System Operator (CAISO), California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), and California Energy Commission (CEC) issued a Preliminary Root Cause Analysis of the August 2020 heat wave and rotating outages in California, finding that resource planning targets have not evolved to keep pace with extreme weather events, and that... Read more →

Developing lithium from the Salton Sea in California can help anchor a multi-billion dollar domestic electric vehicle battery supply chain and inject thousands of jobs and billions of dollars into California’s economically disadvantaged Imperial Valley, according to a new report from New Energy Nexus. The report, Building Lithium Valley: Opportunities... Read more →

The US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) and the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy’s Directorate General for Climate and Energy issued a statement of intent (SOI) to collaborate on collecting, analyzing, and sharing information on hydrogen production and infrastructure technologies.... Read more →

As the global energy market shifts from coal, petroleum fuel, and natural gas to more environmentally friendly primary energy sources, hydrogen is becoming a crucial pillar in the clean energy movement. Developing safe and cost-effective storage and transportation methods for hydrogen is essential but complicated given the interaction of hydrogen... Read more →

With demand for lithium set to increase over the next decade, Roskill has calculated, using its in-house analysis, that CO2 emissions from lithium production are set to triple by 2025 versus current levels and to grow by a factor of six by 2030, with the vast majority of this coming... Read more →

Developed and periodically updated by Michael Sivak, Sivak Applied Research. Last updated on October 19, 2020. The new values since the previous update are in blue. The changes are in percent relative to the corresponding month in 2019. They are adjusted for both population and 2020 being a leap year... Read more →

Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have demonstrated that noble metal atoms may assemble to form clusters under certain conditions. These clusters are more reactive than the single atoms and, hence, exhaust gases can be much better removed. The results are reported in Nature Catalysis. Noble metal catalysts... Read more →

Crop switching and relocation of crop production to different states could prevent up to half of predicted losses in agricultural profits from climate change impacts according to new research conducted by the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science... Read more →

BASF SE is investing €16 million into Pyrum Innovations AG, a technology company specialized in the pyrolysis of waste tires, headquartered in Dillingen/Saar, Germany. With the investment, BASF will support the expansion of Pyrum’s pyrolysis plant in Dillingen and the further roll out of the technology. Pyrum is currently running... Read more →

Black & Veatch has joined the Center for Hydrogen Safety (CHS), a global nonprofit that supports and promotes the safe handling and use of hydrogen across industrial and consumer applications. Black & Veatch is an employee-owned engineering, procurement, consulting and construction company with a more than 100-year track record of... Read more →

Chart Industries and fuel cell manufacturer Plug Power Inc. executed a master supply agreement for Chart to supply liquid hydrogen storage and transport equipment to Plug and its subsidiaries. In conjunction with the agreement, Chart received $7.8 million of equipment orders from Plug that are booked in the third quarter... Read more →

BASF now has the worldwide distribution rights for RheoFalt smart additives to modify asphalt and bitumen manufactured by the Netherlands-based company Ventraco. Excluded from the agreement are Belgium, Luxembourg and The Netherlands, where Ventraco will continue to supply the products. RheoFalt HP-AM, a powerful rejuvenator, enables 100% recycling of old... Read more →

California Governor Gavin Newsom this week signed Assembly Bill 1657, which will create a Blue Ribbon Commission on Lithium Extraction in California. The commission will comprise 14 members appointed by a combination of the California Energy Commission, other state agencies, Assembly Speaker, and Senate Committee on Rules. The Blue Ribbon... Read more →

EIT InnoEnergy announced a €4.2-million A+ investment in Elaphe Propulsion Technologies Ltd. (Elaphe), a developer of electric in-wheel-drive technology for electric vehicles. The investment will serve as a springboard to secure further growth. Elaphe’s approach to the in-wheel powertrain system is a fully modular platform, combining the in-wheel powertrain with... Read more →