The Board of Directors of Renault Group unanimously approved the signing of agreements to sell 100% of Renault Group’s shares in Renault Russia to Moscow City entity and its 67.69% interest in AVTOVAZ to NAMI (the Central Research and Development Automobile and Engine Institute). The closing of these transactions is... Read more →
European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton and European electrolyzer manufacturers last week met in Brussels to discuss how to increase industry’s capacity to produce electrolyzers used to produce clean hydrogen. The Commissioner and 20 industry CEOs signed a Joint Declaration whereby industry committed to a tenfold increase of its... Read more →
Russia-based Nornickel, the world’s largest producer of palladium and high-grade nickel and a major producer of platinum and copper, has entered into a cooperation agreement with the Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom (Rosatom). The parties agreed to cooperate in several areas. First, the parties intend to deliver strategic projects... Read more →
by Michael Sivak, Sivak Applied Research Because of the war in Ukraine, many international flights of various airlines are currently affected by the closed airspaces. Specifically, they are forced to take longer routes that avoid these airspaces, increasing the total fuel consumed. Moreover, some of them also need to reduce... Read more →
In the new environment of energy insecurity intensified by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the resulting response from the West, the UK government has released a new British Energy Security Strategy that sets out how Great Britain will accelerate the deployment of wind, new nuclear, solar and hydrogen, while supporting... Read more →
The Renault Group suspended its industrial activities in Russia on 23 March (earlier post). Regarding its stake in AVTOVAZ, Renault Group said that it is assessing the available options, taking into account the current environment, while acting responsibly towards its 45,000 employees in Russia. AVTOVAZ Group is part of the... Read more →
The Board of Directors of Renault Group has decided to suspend Renault Group activities in its manufacturing plant in Moscow as of 23 March. Regarding its stake in AVTOVAZ, Renault Group said that it is assessing the available options, taking into account the current environment, while acting responsibly towards its... Read more →
On Friday, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan signed emergency bipartisan legislation (SB1010/HB1486) to suspend immediately the state of Maryland’s gasoline and diesel tax for 30 days. This action passed both the House and Senate with unanimous support. This emergency legislation applies to the 36.1 cents per gallon tax for gasoline, and... Read more →
In the face of the emerging global energy crisis triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the countervailing barrage of economic sanctions, the International Energy Agency (IEA) is proposing a 10-Point Plan to Cut Oil Use. IEA claims that its plan would lower oil demand by 2.7 million barrels a... Read more →
Sanctioning Russian nickel will slow the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) and hinder the decarbonization of Western economies, according to GlobalData. The data and analytics company notes that such actions will simply mean Western countries will be more reliant on Russian oil and gas for longer. According to GlobalData’s Mining... Read more →
Against the background of the Russian attack on Ukraine and the resulting consequences, the Group Board of Management of Volkswagen AG has decided to stop the production of vehicles in Russia until further notice. This decision applies to the Russian production sites in Kaluga and Nizhny Novgorod. Vehicle exports to... Read more →
Ford announced that it is suspending JV operations in Russia, effective immediately, until further notice. In recent years, Ford has significantly wound down its Russian operations, which now focus exclusively on commercial van manufacturing and Russian sales through a minority interest in the Sollers Ford joint venture. As part of... Read more →
A.P. Moller – Maersk is temporarily suspending new Maersk bookings within ocean, air and intercontinental rail to and from Russia, with the exception of foodstuffs, medical and humanitarian supplies (bar dual-use items). The suspension began 1 March and covers all Russian gateway ports. Maersk will announce further details as it... Read more →
ExxonMobil is discontinuing operations at Sakhalin-1, and will make no new investments in Russia. ExxonMobil operates the Sakhalin-1 project on behalf of an international consortium of Japanese, Indian and Russian companies. (Earlier post.) In response to the situation in Ukraine, the company is beginning the process to discontinue operations and... Read more →
Equinor’s Board of Directors has decided to stop new investments into Russia, and to start the process of exiting Equinor’s Russian Joint Ventures. We are all deeply troubled by the invasion of Ukraine, which represents a terrible setback for the world, and we are thinking of all those who are... Read more →
The Board of Shell announced its intention to exit its joint ventures with Gazprom and related entities, including its 27.5% stake in the Sakhalin-II liquefied natural gas facility, its 50% stake in the Salym Petroleum Development and the Gydan energy venture. Shell also intends to end its involvement in the... Read more →
The bp board announced that bp will exit its shareholding in Rosneft, a Russian state-controlled oil and gas company. bp has held a 19.75% shareholding in Rosneft since 2013. Additionally, bp chief executive officer Bernard Looney is resigning from the board of Rosneft with immediate effect. The other Rosneft director... Read more →
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine threatens to increase costs for Europe’s vehicle industry, which is already struggling with record high lithium prices and a shortage of semiconductor chips, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. Prices for nickel, a key battery material, rose to their highest levels since 2011 this week following Russian... Read more →
In 2021, a large share of Europe’s supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) originated in the United States, Qatar, and Russia. Combined, these three countries accounted for almost 70% of Europe’s total LNG imports, according to data by CEDIGAZ, reported by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). The United States... Read more →
Moscow, Russia, currently runs 1000 electric public electric buses on 66 bus routes, giving it the distinction of operating the largest e-bus fleet in Europe and America. This year the Government of Moscow plans to buy 500 additional electric buses. Most of them will be purchased with the funds from... Read more →
Testing of the the first Russian-made articulated electric bus has begun in Moscow. After the test drive, the city plans to purchase such vehicles to service routes with high passenger traffic. The electric bendy bus has space for 135 passengers and a range of 90 kilometers; charging of the battery... Read more →
Moscow has deployed its 1000th electric bus. This electric bus has become the 400th vehicle purchased with the funds from the green bonds. The goal of the project is to show how such collaborations can help to make the city eco-friendlier as well as to draw attention to the environmental... Read more →
The 900th electric bus has hit the streets of Moscow; in November 2020, the city had launched its 500th electric bus (earlier post). The jubilee e-bus decorated with neon lights will operate in the south of the city. The vehicle was assembled at the SVARZ eco-plant by KAMAZ, which was... Read more →
L-Charge, a Russian manufacturer of mobile rapid charging infrastructure for electric vehicles, has raised investment of $1.5 mln. The funds have come from private investors attracted by the ability to charge an electric vehicle with sufficient power for 100 km in just 3-8 minutes using a hydrogen fuel cell or... Read more →
KAMAZ has presented the KAMAZ-6290 hydrogen fuel cell bus at the COMTRANS-2021 international exhibition in Moscow. There is still a lot of work to be done. In 2022, we intend to test a prototype KAMAZ hydrogen fuel cell bus in the streets of Moscow, in the environment of actual operation.... Read more →
Loop Energy, a developer and manufacturer of hydrogen fuel cell-based solutions, is partnering with METTEM-M Ltd., a developer of vehicle control systems and systems integrator, to provide hydrogen electric powertrain solutions to commercial vehicle OEMs across Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and greater Europe. The companies’ first joint... Read more →
Nornickel, the world’s largest producer of palladium and high-grade nickel and a major producer of platinum and copper; Rosatom State Corporation; and the Far Eastern Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Center (FESRC, part of Rosneft Oil Company) have signed an agreement of intent to design and build a dual-fuel diesel-LNG icebreaker... Read more →
The city of Moscow is planning to bring back river public transport after an absence of 16 years. Water transport first appeared in the city in 1923. In 1960s it was in great demand. In 2006 regular water transport on the Moskva River stopped running—only leisure trips remained. 49 bridges... Read more →
The city of Moscow, Russia is halting the purchase of diesel buses for its passenger transport fleet. Starting this year, by the decision of the Mayor of Moscow, we will not buy diesel buses, except for transportation in a special mode. Only electric buses. We will also install about 200... Read more →
As of June 2021, Moscow’s fleet of electric buses has reached 600 vehicles and will expand to 1,000 by the end of the year—more than in any other European city. Most of the battery packs and propulsion equipment for the Russian capital’s electric buses are made by Drive Electro, which... Read more →
In Russia, JSC Rusatom Overseas (a company of ROSATOM); Metalloinvest, a leading manufacturer and supplier of iron ore products and hot briquetted iron (HBI) in the world market, and one of the regional producers of high-quality steel; and Air Liquide signed a memorandum of understanding to study the possibility of... Read more →
Russian Railways, RUSNANO and the Sinara Group signed an agreement to cooperate on the development of mainline locomotives using a power plant based on hydrogen fuel cells together with lithium-ion batteries. Russian Railways will act as a potential customer of locomotives, while the Sinara Group, represented by the Sinara—Transport Machines... Read more →
Russian Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation and the EDF Group signed a strategic cooperation agreement in March 2021 to develop green hydrogen in Russia and Europe. In particular, the EDF and Rosatom agreement aims to develop initiatives in the sectors of mobility and industrial complex decarbonization, and anticipates research and... Read more →
Moscow is already the largest operator of electric buses in Europe with 600 e-buses in operation on its routes. The city plans to purchase another 1600 electric buses over next few years, with the goal of replacing the diesel fleet. Now, Russia-based heavy-duty truck vehicle manufacturer KAMAZ has opened a... Read more →
RENERA LLC, ROSATOM’s integrator company for the energy storage business (subsidiary of TVEL Fuel Company of Rosatom) is acquiring a 49% share of Enertech International, a South Korean manufacturer of electrodes, lithium-ion cells and energy storage systems. The signed agreement also includes building a facility for manufacturing of lithium-ion cells... Read more →
Moscow started to replace outdated diesel buses with electric buses in September 2018. There are now 600 electric buses on on 42 routes overall, and as replacements for traditional buses on 33 of those routes. Over the next 4 years, the city authorities are going to purhase 2675 more units... Read more →
Cummins Inc. signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with KAMAZ for the development of electrified power solutions for a new product line of KAMAZ battery-powered vehicles. Currently, KAMAZ, a Russia-based truck manufacturer, is actively developing a new electrified portfolio of battery-powered trucks and buses, while Cummins continues to expand its... Read more →
The Volkswagen Group and GAZ Group have extended their manufacturing agreement for Volkswagen and ŠKODA models in Russia until 2025. Furthermore, the Volkswagen brand will in future supply 2.0 TDI engines for GAZ light commercial vehicles, opening up new business opportunities in international markets. Additionally, Volkswagen Truck & Bus signed... Read more →
by Viktor Katona for Oilprice.com On a global level, 2015 and 2016 marked the lowest level of new conventional oil discoveries since 1952. In 2016, only 3.7 billion barrels of conventional oil were discovered, roughly 45 days of global crude consumption or 0.2 percent of global proved reserves. Globally, exploratory... Read more →
According to a new international study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 38% of black carbon in the Russian Arctic originates from transport and 35% from residential heating sources, while open fires, power plants, and gas flaring are responsible for only 12%, 9%, and 6% respectively.... Read more →
by Nick Cunningham of Oilprice.com Russia’s central bank recently warned about the growing financial risks to the Russian economy from Saudi Arabia encroaching upon its traditional export market for crude oil. Russia sends 70 percent of its oil to Europe, but Saudi Arabia has been making inroads in the European... Read more →
by Dalan McEndree for Oilprice.com Two men enter, one man leaves, two men enter, one man leaves, two men enter... —Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome November 27, oil consuming countries will celebrate the first anniversary of the Saudi decision to let market forces determine prices. This decision set crude prices on... Read more →
Ford Motor Company and St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University have reached the final phase of a large-scale, three-year research project aimed at enhancing vehicle communication technology. (Earlier post.) As a result of the work that leverages university telematics expertise in space robot communications, Ford has filed several patents on technologies... Read more →
by Dalan McEndree for Oilprice.com President Putin’s recent moves in the Middle East—to shore up Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria through deployment of combat aircraft, equipment, and manpower and build-out of air-, naval-, and ground-force bases, and the agreement in the last week with Iran, Iraq, and Syria on intelligence... Read more →
Researchers at the Skoltech Center for Electrochemical Energy Storage (CEES), a partnership between the MIT Materials Processing Center and Lomonosov Moscow State University, are focusing on the development of higher capacity batteries. CEES is a Center for Research, Education and Innovation (CREI) under the umbrella of the Skolkovo Institute of... Read more →
Nissan launched its Pathfinder range in the Russian market at the Moscow Motor Show. The Pathfinder made its debut alongside the new Russian-built Sentra sedan. Nissan’s all-new fourth-generation Pathfinder—which will be built in Russia—will be available with a standard 3.5L gasoline engine as well as the hybrid drive system. (Earlier... Read more →
Russian Government-owned Rusnano and I2BF have invested a combined $20 million in ultracapacitor maker Nesscap Energy Inc., subscribing for 50,955,000 and 2,681,842 Nesscap common shares, respectively. Nesscap will use the proceeds from this financing for the establishment of a full-scale production facility for ultracapacitors and accompanying research center in the... Read more →
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is soliciting proposals for a project to provide assistance in developing and implementing assessment and mitigation activities for diesel sources of black carbon in the Russian Arctic. EPA anticipates awarding one Cooperative Agreement from this announcement, subject to availability of funds and the quality... Read more →
The East-Prinovozemelsky blocks on the Russian Arctic shelf have estimated resources of 35.8 billion barrels of oil and 10.3 tcm of gas, according to Rosneft. Inset at upper right shows location of blocks relative to larger Arctic. Click to enlarge. Rosneft and ExxonMobil have executed a Strategic Cooperation Agreement under... 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 →