Asahi Kasei, Gentari Hydrogen Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of PETRONAS clean energy arm Gentari Sdn Bhd (Gentari), and JGC Holdings Corporation (JGC) have completed a detailed feasibility study for production of up to 8,000 tonnes per year of green hydrogen using a 60 megawatt (MW) class alkaline water electrolyzer... Read more →

BYD and Uzavtosanoat JSC (UzAuto) signed an agreement to establish a joint venture company producing new energy vehicles (NEVs). The new joint venture company, which will manufacture best-selling NEVs including the DM-i super hybrid models and related parts, is anticipated to be based in Uzbekistan. Founded in 1995, BYD is... Read more →

Hon Hai Technology Group (Foxconn), a global leader in smart manufacturing, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indonesian Ministry of Investment/BKPM, IBC, Indika, and Gogoro to develop jointly a battery manufacturing and electric vehicle ecosystem in Indonesia. Under the MoU, Foxconn together with Gogoro (a Taiwanese company that... Read more →

Malaysia Airlines, the national carrier of Malaysia, operated its inaugural flight using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in partnership with PETRONAS Dagangan Berhad (PDB) and Neste. The flight marks Malaysia Airlines’ commitment to make SAF the cleaner and more viable energy option for regular flights by 2025. The historic flight MH7979... Read more →

A study conducted by Associate Professor Alberto Salvo from the Department of Economics at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences found that households respond to ambient air pollution by increasing electricity consumption, which in turn increases the carbon emissions that are co-produced in supplying... Read more →

The Toyota Mobility Foundation (TMF) and its Thai partners in the Ministry of Transport, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, Metropolitan Police Bureau, Chulalongkorn University and Grab Thailand will launch a project to ease traffic congestion on Rama4 Road. It will be known as the “Rama4 Model.” This project was initiated as an... Read more →

WiTricity, a pioneer in wireless power transfer over distance, has entered into licensing and technology transfer agreements with Green Power, a leading South Korea-based supplier of power electronics and high power wireless charging systems for various applications. The agreements allow Green Power to leverage WiTricity’s innovative technology and reference designs... Read more →

BMW Group Thailand has inaugurated local high-voltage battery production plant in partnership with the DRÄXLMAIER Group, one of the world’s leading automotive suppliers and a partner of BMW Group since 1966. BMW Group Thailand launched the local assembly lines in July 2019 at the DRÄXLMAIER Group plant. The high-voltage battery... Read more →

Korea Gas Corp. (KOGAS), the state-run natural gas supplier and a major global importer of LNG, plans to spend 4.7 trillion won (US$4.01 billion) to build hydrogen-producing facilities by 2030. Under the plan, KOGAS will construct 25 hydrogen-producing facilities and pipelines totaling 700 kilometers to transport the gas. By 2030,... Read more →

Thirty-seven percent of Southeast Asian consumers planning to buy a car are open to purchasing an electric vehicle, according to a Nissan-commissioned study by Frost & Sullivan. The finding demonstrates the region’s strong potential to speed up the electrification of mobility. Customers in the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia emerged as... Read more →

Autonomous vehicle (AV) software developer nuTonomy (earlier post) and Groupe PSA have entered a strategic partnership through which nuTonomy will seamlessly integrate its software system into customized PEUGEOT 3008s for on-road testing of fully autonomous cars in Singapore. The PEUGEOT 3008 was recently named 2017 European Car of the Year.... Read more →

ST Engineering announced several initiatives to advance Singapore’s Smart Mobility 2030 vision of a smart transportation network and to strengthen its leadership in the development of autonomous vehicle (AV) technologies. First, ST Engineering has launched the Singapore Autonomous Vehicles Consortium to facilitate and to strengthen collaboration between industry partners and... Read more →

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore), JTC and SMRT Services Pte Ltd (SMRT) have joined forces to develop innovative solutions that seamlessly integrate multiple modes of transportation, for better connectivity and accessibility. This is in line with the Government’s aim of making Singapore a living lab to develop and test... Read more →

Grab, the leading ride-hailing platform in Southeast Asia, launched its “Grab 4 Indonesia” 2020 master plan, endorsed by Badan Koordinasi Penanaman Modal (BKPM), the Government of Indonesia’s Investment Coordinating Board. Under the plan, Grab will invest US$700 million in Indonesia over the next four years to support Indonesia’s goal of... Read more →

The Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) signed a multi-year strategic partnership agreement with seven Korean research institutes—KICT (Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology); KOTI (Korea Transport Institute); KIMM (Korea Institute of Machinery & Materials); KERI (Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute); ETRI (Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute);... Read more →

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) and NXP Semiconductors have launched Singapore’s first Smart Mobility Consortium to focus on testing and developing smart mobility technologies. The technologies will be tested on the NTU campus, which serves as a living test bed, bringing together 12 industry partners to form the NTU-NXP... Read more →

Scania will design the world’s first full-scale autonomous truck platooning operations, based on its own advanced technology. The platoon will traffic public roads while transporting containers between port terminals in Singapore. The aim is to organize convoys of four trucks—with the following three trucks behind the lead truck autonomously driven,... Read more →

A new case-based research report produced by the GSMA—Building Digital Societies in Asia: Making Transportation Smarter—indicates that the successful implementation of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) in the capital city of Thailand could reduce travel times between two to four days per commuter per year. In addition, CO2 emissions contributed by... Read more →

BMW Group and Nanyang Technological University (NTU Singapore) launched a new electromobility research program, involving the all-electric BMW i3 and plug-in hybrid sports car BMW i8. This new research program will be conducted at the Future Mobility Research Lab located on the NTU campus, which is the BMW Group’s first... Read more →

Energy demand growth moves to Asia. Source: IEA. Click to enlarge. The newly released 2013 edition of the IEA World Energy Outlook (WEO) depicts a world in which some long-held tenets of the energy sector are being rewritten; importers are becoming exporters, while exporters are among the major sources of... Read more →

New Duramax 4-cylinder diesel. Click to enlarge. Chevrolet Sales Thailand introduced the new-generation MY14 Duramax four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine in 2.5- and 2.8-liter variants. The new Duramax engine was engineered in Europe and the US, with global application as one of its developmental objectives. Applications include powering the Colorado pickup truck... Read more →

Positioning the Rising 15. Source: Ricardo Consulting. Click to enlarge. A study by Ricardo Strategic Consulting has concluded that while sluggish automotive demand in Europe, Japan and North America will be balanced by the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) markets through 2020, thereafter the ‘Rising-15’ nations become the engine... Read more →

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is providing $300 million towards a project that will replace 100,000 gasoline-burning tricycles in the Philippines with electric tricycles, or E-Trikes. About 3.5 million gas-fueled motorcycles and tricycles are currently operating in the Philippines, typically serving as short-distance taxis, with the average tricycle driver earning... Read more →

Singapore will implement a new Carbon Emissions-Based Vehicle Scheme (CEV) on 1 January 2012, providing rebates to qualified new cars, taxis, and imported used cars with low carbon emissions, and imposing an equivalent surcharge on higher emitting vehicles. This new scheme will replace the existing Green Vehicle Rebate (GVR) scheme... Read more →

The Ray EV. Click to enlarge. Kia Motors has introduced Korea’s first production electric vehicle from a major manufacturer. At the Frankfurt Motor Show earlier this year, Yang Woong-chul, vice president of the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group, said that within the group, Kia will focus on electric cars, while Hyundai will... Read more →

A new study on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with the conversion and degradation of peatland in palm oil plantations in Southeast Asia has determined that past studies have generally significantly underestimated emissions associated with palm oil grown on peatland. This has resulted in underestimation of the indirect land use... Read more →

Alpheon eAssist Click to enlarge. GM Korea introduced the Alpheon eAssist, the first hybrid vehicle from the company and the first hybrid vehicle in its segment in Korea. The new Alpheon eAssist, which will go on sale in November, offers improved fuel economy of 25% and reduced CO2 emissions of... Read more →

Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) and Toyota Central R&D Labs., Inc., have developed a simulator able to predict tropospheric ozone concentrations across the whole of South and East Asia. The project was carried out in collaboration with Tsinghua University in China, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in India, and the... Read more →

An additional 3 billion Asians could enjoy higher living standards by 2050, but only if Asia sustains its present growth momentum and addresses significant multigenerational challenges and risks, according to a new report commissioned by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The draft report says that as the global economy’s center... Read more →

One of the electric buses. Click to enlarge. The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) has started commercial operation of full-size battery electric buses on the Mt. Namsan circular routes as of 21 December. SMG has worked on the project to develop full-sized electric buses with local technology over the last one... Read more →

Total PEV sales in Asia-Pacific. Click to enlarge. According to a new report from Pike Research, the various national-level initiatives and programs to promote the awareness of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) in the Asia-Pacific region will help make the region the largest market worldwide for electrified vehicles, led by strong... Read more →

Turnover of the US fleet under the three models of penetration. The circles represent the year in which new vehicle sales equal 100% alternative powertrains/fuel. Source: Belzowski and McManus. Click to enlarge. The US and China—as well as Western Europe, Japan and Brazil—could turnover more than 90% of their vehicle... Read more →

Cruze BEV on the road. Click to enlarge. General Motors announced a demonstration project (earlier post) to explore market needs and customer acceptance of battery electric vehicles in Korea. The project involves a fleet of electric vehicles based on the Chevrolet Cruze. The Cruze EV is equipped with a 31... Read more →

Time average mixing ratio (ppbv) of hydrogen cyanide (HCN) near 13.5 km during boreal summer (June- August) derived from satellite instrument observations. Arrows denote winds at this level derived from meteorological analysis, showing that the HCN maximum is linked with the upper tropospheric Asian monsoon anticyclone. Source: Randel et al.,... Read more →

Inbicon biomass refinery. Click to enlarge. Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding (MES), one of Japan’s leading heavy industries, and Inbicon, a Danish cellulosic ethanol technology, signed a license agreement for the Inbicon Biomass Refinery technology. The agreement grants Mitsui the right to build a number of biomass refineries in Southeast Asia... Read more →

Southeast Asia, one of the most vulnerable regions in the world to climate change—due to its long coastlines, high concentration of population and economic activity in coastal areas, and heavy reliance on agriculture, natural resources, and forestry—is likely to suffer more from climate change than the global average, according to... Read more →

Sasol will build coal-to-liquids plants in Indonesia with a targeted combined capacity of 1.1 million barrels per day. Production is expected to begin in 2015, according to Indonesia’s Department of Energy and Mineral Resources. Feasibility studies are currently underway. Although a member of OPEC since 1962, Indonesia became a net... Read more →

ANG storage material. Click to enlarge. Source: Energtek Energtek Inc., the Department of Energy (DOE) of the Republic of the Philippines, and the Philippines National Oil Company Exploration Corporation launched a project for the conversion of three-wheel vehicles to natural gas-powered systems with adsorbed natural gas (ANG) storage, in the... Read more →

The Bosch Group has set itself a target of €22 billion (US$31 billion) in sales in the Asia-Pacific (A-P) region by 2015, which is projected to represent 25% of total sales. For 2007, Bosch expects its A-P sales to climb 8.5% from 2006 to €7.4 billion (US$10.5 billion). Between 2008... Read more →

Scientists urged Asia-Pacific nations to study the issue of biofuels with greater care, saying that there is an urgent need to support the current rush toward major decisions on biofuel policies in the region with solid research and unbiased information about their potential benefits, impact, and risks. This appeal came... Read more →

Launch of the E-Jeepneys. Click to enlarge. The Makati City (Philippines) government, GRIPP (Green Renewable Independent Power Producer), and Greenpeace launched a pair of electric jeepneys (E-Jeepneys) into service trials. Makati City is the financial hub of the Philippines. Philippine renewable energy firm Solar Electric Company designed the two E-Jeepneys.... Read more →

More than 80% of Asian car consumers are aware of some form of alternatively fueled vehicle, with Toyota and Honda being the brands most associated with alternative vehicle development, according to a recent Synovate Motoresearch Alternative Fuels consumer study. In the first syndicated study of its kind, Synovate Motoresearch surveyed... Read more →

Brazil will provide Indonesia with technical help to produce sugarcane ethanol under a pact just signed by the two nations. Indonesia, with the fourth-largest population in the world (behind China, India, and the United States), wants to revitalize its agriculture sector and reduce its dependence on oil. A member of... Read more →

New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark announced that a Biofuel Sales Obligation will be set at 3.4% of the annual energy content of total annual gasoline and diesel sales by 2012. The original proposal for an obligation mooted in September 2006 had proposed a 2.25% target by 2012. New Zealand... Read more →

TNA. The Thai Energy Ministry has set a revised biodiesel consumption target for the country of 500,000 liters (132,000 gallons US) per day for 2007, increasing to 4 million liters (1.06 million gallons US) per day by the end of 2011. That would offset as much as 7% of diesel... Read more →

Philippines President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo recently signed into law a mandatory biofuels standard. Republic Act 9367 requires a 5% ethanol blend for gasoline within two years, increasing to 10% within four years under the approval of a new National Biofuels Board. A 1% biodiesel blend for diesel is required within 3... Read more →

Shortly after the signing of sixty-seven contracts representing US$12.4 billion in investment for biofuels development in Indonesia earlier in January (earlier post), more potential Asian biofuel projects in Indonesia and in the Philippines are emerging. Reuters reports that Japan’s Kanematsu Corp. is considering building an ethanol plant in Indonesia that... Read more →

Sixty-seven contracts representing US$12.4 billion in investment for biofuels development in Indonesia were signed in a ceremony in Jakarta, Indonesia this morning. The signing, conducted under the auspices of a program called the Joint Initiative for Biofuel Development, was attended by 9 Ministers of the Indonesian government and was hosted... Read more →

The nipah palm (Nypa fruiticans). Malaysia’s Pioneer Bio Industries Corp Sdn Bhd will invest RM 1.4 billion (US$ 399 million) to set up the first of some 15 envisioned plants to produce ethanol from nipah palm trees (Nypa fruiticans). Nipah palm ethanol is produced by the fermentation of the sap... Read more →

Gulf Times. Pakistani busmakers are cutting the prices of their locally produced and compressed natural gas (CNG) buses by 15% following the government’s decision early in December to zero-rate sales tax on the import and supply of all buses which can carry 40 or more passengers, including CNG buses. As... Read more →