Rio Tinto and bp have agreed to work together on a one-year marine biofuel trial to help reduce carbon emissions from Rio Tinto’s marine fleet. The fuel will be trialed on Rio Tinto’s RTM Tasman vessel on a mix of Transatlantic and Atlantic-Pacific routes, in one of the longest-duration marine... Read more →

SAKOR Technologies recently provided Nexteer Automotive with a dynamometer test system designed to test high-speed motors and inverters in hybrid and electric vehicle designs. Nexteer, a multibillion-dollar global steering and driveline business, will use the dynamometer system to test its new line of complete electric vehicle propulsion systems. The system... Read more →

NI and key partners have deployed a fleet of vehicles in Europe, the United States and China that will enable ADAS/Autonomous Driving engineering teams to address top challenges related to data volume, quality, access and utilization. The vehicles are equipped with the high-performance in-vehicle data recording and storage solution from... Read more →

Test and measurement company TOYO Corporation announced that a major US automotive manufacturer recently selected TOYO’s vehicle-in-the-loop simulator (ViLS) for testing and validating its next generation of electric vehicles (EVs) and autonomous vehicles. The ViLS allows automotive engineers to perform a wide variety of vehicle, environmental, and road testing under... Read more →

The Commonwealth of Virginia recently hosted a live trial of a new driver and pedestrian safety concept that allows near-real-time notification of roadway hazards through 5G and edge technologies. This trial is one of three conducted internationally by a public-private collaboration, organized by the 5G Automotive Association (5GAA) and eight... Read more →

The all-electric Rolls-Royce Spectre has concluded winter testing 55km from Arctic Circle. Temperatures at the facility used by the marque, located in Arjeplog, Sweden, drop to -26 ˚C (-14.8 ˚F) and are further cooled to -40 ˚C (-40 ˚F). The EV has completed 25% of its 2.5 million km testing... Read more →

Hyundai is establishing a Safety Test and Investigation Laboratory (STIL) at its Michigan-based research and development center, Hyundai America Technical Center, Inc. (HATCI). The new facility will further augment existing safety testing and analysis. A field crash investigation lab, high voltage battery lab, forensics lab, 500m track and a Vehicle... Read more →

DSM Engineering Materials has expanded its Comparative Tracking Index (CTI) test laboratory with equipment to validate tracking resistance to voltages up to 1,500V AC and 1,000V DC. High-voltage component manufacturers have shown significant interest in collaborating with DSM on this testing for voltages between 600 and 1,500V. High-voltage charging systems... Read more →

Using a microscopic method for measuring electrical potential, a team of scientists at Sandia National Laboratories may have discovered how to identify rate-limiting processes in solid-state batteries. The findings are detailed in a paper in American Chemical Society Energy Letters. The performance of solid-state electrochemical systems is intimately tied to... Read more →

Hyzon Motors announced a joint demonstration project with Zhangjiagang Haili Terminal Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Fortune 500 company Sha Steel Group, the 4th largest steel company and the largest private steel enterprise in the world. Under the demonstration agreement, Hyzon Motors expects to supply 49-ton hydrogen fuel cell heavy-duty... Read more →

SciAps, already a global leader in handheld analyzers for fossil fuel-based energy industries, now offers its technology to the emerging electric vehicle, strategic metals, and overall green economy industries with a targeted line of next-generation handheld XRF (X-Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy) and LIBS (Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy) analyzers, in response to... Read more →

Nissan has expanded its Michigan-based engineering center, Nissan Technical Center North America (NTCNA), with a more than $40-million Safety Advancement Lab for vehicle safety testing. The new lab brings more efficiency to the vehicle development process and furthers Nissan’s goal of reaching a future with virtually zero fatalities. The Safety... Read more →

SAKOR Technologies provided the University of Houston’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering with a dynamometer test system designed to test motor and inverter designs for use in hybrid and electric vehicle applications. The system features dual opposin 7.5 kW AccuDyne four-quadrant AC motoring dynamometers, variable frequency drives, and a... Read more →

Electrified powertrain engineering consultancy Drive System Design (DSD) will highlight its simulation, optimization and test capabilities created in response to the significant increase in demand for EV electric drive system development, at the Cenex-LCV event at Millbrook this week. Deploying its latest electrified Powertrain Optimization Process (ePOP) simulation toolset, a... Read more →

Stellantis is exploring two new connected safety notification technologies—Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) and Safety Cloud—in North America, giving drivers advanced notification warnings of potential hazards in their path. Greater connectivity speeds, improved hardware and expanded software expertise have opened new opportunities for Stellantis with safety systems being one of the... Read more →

The Federal Consortium for Advanced Batteries (FCAB) released the Pre-application Battery Test Manual, which defines a series of tests to characterize performance and life behavior for advanced batteries. The manual is based on broad technical needs across multiple applications and was developed to provide federal sponsors and battery end users... Read more →

Honda will start a testing program for autonomous vehicles in September 2021, taking a step toward an autonomous vehicle mobility service (MaaS) business in Japan, which Honda is planning to launch under collaboration with Cruise and General Motors. The testing program for autonomous vehicles mobility service technologies will be conducted... Read more →

Hyzon, a supplier of hydrogen fuel cell-powered heavy vehicles, announced that ZeroAvia has placed an order for Hyzon Motors’s next generation, high-performance lightweight fuel cell. ZeroAvia will evaluate the fuel cell for use in its zero-emission aircraft development program, which focuses on hydrogen-electric solutions. ZeroAvia selected Hyzon’s fuel cell stack... Read more →

Chevron USA, through its Chevron Products Company division, Delta Air Lines, and Google announced a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to track sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) test batch emissions data using cloud-based technology. Sustainable aviation fuel is produced from biofeedstocks that can reduce lifecycle carbon intensity significantly when compared to conventional... Read more →

Foretellix, a platform provider automating the testing, verification and validation for automated driving systems (ADAS and AV), has secured $32 million in its latest series B funding round, bringing its total raised capital to more than $50 million. The round was led by MoreTech Ventures, with participation from several strategic... Read more →

Autonomous delivery company Nuro is investing $40 million to develop two new facilities in southern Nevada—an end-of-line manufacturing facility and a closed-course test track—to commercialize and scale production of the company’s third-generation autonomous vehicle. Totaling more than 125,000 square feet of space and more than 80 acres of property development,... Read more →

SAE International has released J2464: Electric and Hybrid Electric Vehicle Rechargeable Energy Storage System (RESS) Safety and Abuse Testing, a revised recommended practice for establishing safe battery systems. Originating in 1999 when the industry recognized the need for safety and abuse testing of battery systems in the mobility sector, the... Read more →

Universal Hydrogen, magniX, Plug Power and AeroTEC have established a Hydrogen Aviation Test and Service Center at Grant County International Airport in Moses Lake, Washington. The center will focus on the test flight and certification of Universal Hydrogen’s retrofit conversion of a Dash-8 regional turboprop aircraft, scheduled for entry into... Read more →

Rolls-Royce has launched a new major investment project with Purdue University to develop new test facilities for high-altitude and hybrid-electric engines to power the next generation of US military aircraft. Gas turbine engine test cells must offer flexible operation to qualify engines for customer use. However, true high-altitude test cells... Read more →

Keysight Technologies announced the Scienlab SL1700A Series, the next-generation battery pack test system for high voltage battery packs—up to 1500 V for automotive and industrial application. Customers need labs with multiple test channels to develop batteries, but space and power supplies are limited. Keysight’s SL1700A Series utilizes new high voltage... Read more →

Bosch Engineering has developed a new high-voltage lab rig (HVLR) for fast, efficient and safe testing of electric vehicle power electronics in the development lab. The system integrates a high-voltage power supply and electronic safety functions for the circuit of the component under test in a portable compact control cabinet.... Read more →

Leaders of Mcity at the University of Michigan conducted the first demonstration of a protocol designed to prove that highly automated vehicles are safe before testing moves on to public roads. The Mcity ABC Test is a concept methodology for an independent and standardized way for automakers and state and... Read more →

Keysight Technologies, a technology company that delivers advanced design and validation solutions, announced the new Keysight C-V2X Autonomous Drive Emulation (ADE) solution, which enables functional, protocol and radio frequency (RF) measurements on 3GPP Release14 C-V2X devices from the Keysight UXM 5G Wireless Test platform. Achieving the goal of fully autonomous... Read more →

SAKOR Technologies Inc., a leading provider of high-performance dynamometer systems, has developed a series of dynamometer systems for customers required to test and verify the level of efficiency of electric motors in accordance with a variety of national and international standards, including IEC 60034-2-1; IEEE 112B; and Canadian standard C390-93.... Read more →

Test and measurement systems company HORIBA Automotive has introduced its electrification offering, incorporating solutions for the different stages of vehicle development and evaluation, including material characterization, component, system and full vehicle testing. Solutions are available for the full range of vehicle types, from light- to heavy-duty vehicles and off-highway equipment.... Read more →

MAHLE Powertrain (MPT) is continuing its investment in battery engineering with phase 2 of its electrified powertrain strategy, ePowertrain. This latest investment follows 2019’s launch of MPT’s battery module test and analysis facility, where battery modules can be tested in an array of steady-state and dynamic climatic conditions. Phase 2... Read more →

Freudenberg Sealing Technologies (FST) has expanded its material testing capabilities to include performance and compatibility evaluations of the rubber, elastomers and thermoplastics used to seal and safely maintain lithium-ion batteries. The company has installed equipment and adopted new testing protocols in its Plymouth, Mich., Central Laboratory that will provide conclusive... Read more →

High-voltage batteries, electronics, and other vehicle components are exposed to a variety of punishing environmental influences during their life cycle. FEV, a leading global service provider in vehicle and powertrain development for hardware and software, supports manufacturers and suppliers with a comprehensive test facility capable of accounting for virtually all... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has begun work on the Grid Storage Launchpad (GSL), a $75-million facility located at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland, Washington that will boost clean energy adaptation and accelerate the development and deployment of long-duration, low-cost grid energy storage. The planned facility will... Read more →

Chalmers University of Technology and RISE are now commencing construction of Sweden’s electromobility test center: Swedish Electric Transport Laboratory (SEEL). SEEL will have three plants in Gothenburg, Nykvarn and Borås. Through close collaboration between the twin owners Chalmers University of Technology and RISE, the Swedish government and the industrial partners... Read more →

Nuvera Fuel Cells, LLC, a provider of fuel cell power solutions for motive applications, has expanded its hydrogen fuel cell engine testing capabilities with the commissioning of a large-scale durability test facility in Italy. The new automated facility, located at the SIAD S.p.A. main plant in Osio, was designed, constructed... Read more →

Automotive test system supplier AB Dynamics has showcased its capability to replicate simulated swarm tests quickly and accurately in the real world and vice-versa. By using a common toolchain, complex scenario testing can be transferred from one environment to the other with centimeter accuracy. This enables the testing and development... Read more →

Southwest Research Institute has expanded its capability to evaluate internal combustion engine aftertreatment catalysts, integrating an existing SwRI technology with a mass spectrometer. A mass spectrometer identifies a molecule by analyzing its mass-to-charge ratio, detecting chemicals invisible to other instruments. Researchers added the mass spectrometer to SwRI’s Universal Synthetic Gas... Read more →

An international team of researchers has demonstrated a combination of techniques that allows for the precise measurement of ions moving through a Li-ion battery. Using the Advanced Photon Source (APS), a US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science User Facility at DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory, these researchers have not... Read more →

Testing electrified and autonomous vehicles in public passenger transit is the goal of the RABus collaboration project. In the cities of Mannheim and Friedrichshafen, RABus self-driving buses will be tested in regular urban road traffic. Researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) will accompany project work by studying demand, acceptance,... Read more →

UK-based electrified powertrain engineering consultancy Drive System Design (DSD) announced a strategic expansion of its test facilities, adding two further test cells for high-performance hybrid axles and e-machines. The move reflects a growing demand for outsourced test capacity suitable for electrified powertrains, as the industry prioritizes its development in response... Read more →