Tula Technology, Inc., a tech leader in improving propulsion efficiency and reducing emissions in passenger cars and commercial vehicles, announced that the one-millionth vehicle utilizing its award-winning Dynamic Skip Fire (DSF) technology (earlier post) was produced in November 2020. Unlike cylinder deactivation strategies that shut off a fixed number of... Read more →

Volkswagen’s plug-in hybrid version of its Tiguan SUV—the Tiguan eHybrid (earlier post)—is now available to configure and order in Europe; the starting price in Germany is €42,413.11 (US$51,500). The Tiguan eHybrid has an all-electric range (WLTP) of up to 50 km (31 miles). In Hybrid mode, the electric motor supports... Read more →

LiquidPiston, Inc. (LPI), developer of advanced rotary diesel and multi-fuel internal combustion engines, announced the award of a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract with the United States Army to develop the X-Engine platform to power Small Tactical Generators ranging from 2-5 kW. (Earlier post.) This contract comes on the... Read more →

Solid Power, a developer of all solid-state batteries for electric vehicles, announced that its Louisville, Colo. facility is producing 20 Ah multi-layer all solid-state lithium metal batteries on the company’s continuous roll-to-roll production line. In October, Solid Power had announced the production and delivery of the company’s first-generation multi-layer, multi-ampere... Read more →

Europe’s truck manufacturers have concluded that by 2040 all new trucks sold need to be fossil free in order to reach carbon-neutrality by 2050. It will be possible to meet this target provided the right charging/refueling infrastructure is built and a coherent policy framework is put into place, including comprehensive... Read more →

Daimler Truck AG, IVECO, OMV, Shell and the Volvo Group have committed to work together to help create the conditions for the mass-market roll-out of hydrogen trucks in Europe. The partners signed a collaboration agreement—H2Accelerate—under which the participants will work together to: Seek public support to fund early pre-commercial projects... Read more →

Rio Tinto, a leading global mining and metals company, and Nippon Steel Corporation, Japan’s largest steel producer, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) jointly to explore, develop and demonstrate technologies to transition to a low-carbon emission steel value chain. The purpose of the partnership is to explore a breadth... Read more →

BASF and global mining and metallurgy group Eramet will jointly assess the development of a state-of-the-art nickel and cobalt hydrometallurgical refining complex. Such a development would include a High-Pressure Acid Leaching (HPAL) plant and a Base Metal Refinery (BMR). The HPAL would be located in Weda Bay, Indonesia, while the... Read more →

Canada-based Neo Lithium Corp. (NLC) announced the closing of a previously announced equity investment by China-based Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL), whereby CATL, through a subsidiary controlled by CATL, subscribed for 10,217,503 common shares of Neo Lithium at a price of C$0.84 per common share for gross proceeds to... Read more →

Cyient, a global engineering, manufacturing, and digital transformation and technology solutions company, signed an MoU with Decipher, a Perth-based company that provides a cloud monitoring and governance platform for tailing storage facilities. Cyient will support Decipher with the global rollout of its cloud mining platform for tailings and rehabilitation monitoring.... Read more →

Grön Fuels, LLC’s renewable diesel and jet fuel option facility at the Port of Greater Baton Rouge is based on Topsoe’s proprietary HydroFlex hydrotreating and H2bridge hydrogen technologies, including an option to capture ~1 million tons per year of bio-CO2 for carbon sequestration in suitable deep saline aquifers located below... Read more →

Enel Green Power, through its North American renewable subsidiary Enel Green Power North America, Inc. (EGPNA), and Maire Tecnimont S.p.A., through its subsidiary dedicated to the deployment of technologies for the energy transition, NextChem, signed today a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to support the production of green hydrogen via electrolysis... Read more →

In 2022, Mercedes-Benz’ global portfolio will include eight all-electric Mercedes-EQ models. The global Mercedes-Benz production network is ready for the company’s electric product offensive and is integrating its Mercedes-EQ models into series production in its existing plants. The EQS, the first electric luxury sedan from Mercedes-Benz, will start in the... Read more →

Volkswagen 2.0 TDI diesel for Euro 6d; SCR twin-dosing Volkswagen continues to refine its most important diesel engine, the 2.0-liter TDI. With SCR twin dosing technology in the exhaust gas system, the diesel unit now undercuts the Euro 6d emission standard limits while also running quietly and smoothly, according to... Read more →

A multi-institutional research team led by materials scientists from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has designed a highly active and durable catalyst that doesn’t rely on costly platinum group metals (PGM) to spur the necessary chemical reaction. The new catalyst contains cobalt interspersed with nitrogen and carbon. When compared to... Read more →

British Airways (BA) has teamed up with ZeroAvia, a leading innovator in decarbonizing commercial aviation (earlier post), in a project to explore how hydrogen-powered aircraft can play a leading role in the future of sustainable flying. The collaboration, which reflects the importance of sustainability at British Airways, will see ZeroAvia... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board approved $28 million in Air Quality Improvement Program (AQIP) funding to support two popular statewide incentive programs aimed at bringing the cleanest vehicle technologies to low-income and underserved communities. California’s Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP) provides incentives to purchase the... Read more →

Volkswagen plans to connect its production facilities in Chattanooga (TN), Puebla and Silao (Mexico) with the global Industrial Cloud initiative from the Volkswagen Group and Amazon Web Services (AWS). The Industrial Cloud is an IT industrial platform, designed to gather and analyze data from all connected Volkswagen Group facilities on... Read more →

As industry, governments and regulators strive to decarbonize transportation of all kinds, hydrogen is becoming the focus of significant additional interest both as a fuel and as an energy vector and store. Two new services from RiCK—Ricardo’s online knowledge system—are being launched to help executives, engineers, scientists and regulators navigate... Read more →

A team led by Professor Cheong Ying Chan at Hong Kong University Of Science And Technology (HKUST) Energy Institute, has proposed a novel cathode design concept for lithium-sulfur (Li-S) battery that substantially improves the performance of this kind of promising next-generation battery. A paper on their work is published in... Read more →

PEUGEOT Sport and TOTAL have released the main technical characteristics of the powertrain of their Hypercar LMH for the FIA World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC)—the PEUGEOT HYBRID4 500KW. The main features of the PEUGEOT HYBRID4 500KW are: Hybrid technology, with a mid-rear, 2.6-liter, 500 kW (680 horsepower), twin- turbo, V6,... Read more →

Wear and tear from brakes, tires and road surfaces will soon overtake car exhaust fumes as the leading source of fine particles released into the air by road traffic, according to a new OECD report. Heavy electric vehicles with long-distance batteries could compound the problem even as they slash emissions... Read more →

Porsche Digital is expanding its product portfolio. The digital assistant “Sounce” offers an improved ability to detect noise—for example, during vehicle component tests. Among other things, the aim is to improve the development and production of components in the automotive industry. The technology, which uses deep learning methods, can reliably... Read more →

Bosch is introducing a continuously variable transmission (CVT) with Bosch push belt, specially designed for electric vehicles: the CVT4EV. CVT4EV is a compact variable ratio transmission that supports the performance demands of electric vehicles for a wider audience. The system improves the economy and performance of the electric powertrain, while... Read more →

Velodyne Lidar introduced the Velarray M1600, a solid-state lidar sensor designed to serve mobile robotic applications. The sensor is the latest in a new line of Velarray products and first in the new M-series. It is built using Velodyne’s proprietary micro-lidar array architecture (MLA) and leverages Velodyne’s manufacturing partnerships for... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board recently approved first-in-the-nation rules to curb the impact of hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants. HFCs are synthetic gases that are used in a variety of applications, but mainly to replace ozone-depleting substances in aerosols, foams, refrigeration and air-conditioning. HFCs are considered to be super pollutants because they... Read more →

Minneapolis-based Xcel Energy will work with Idaho National Laboratory to demonstrate a system that uses a nuclear plant’s steam and electricity to split water. (Earlier post.) The resulting hydrogen will initially be used at the power plant, but it could eventually be sold to other industries. The new project is... Read more →

FCA Italy S.p.A., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V., and ENGIE EPS, and Italian technology player in energy storage, hydrogen and e-mobility, have been awarded with 25 MW of capacity in the context of the tender process held by the Italian grid operator Terna. The innovative grid service,... Read more →

Siemens Energy, Duke Energy and Clemson University have teamed up to study the use of hydrogen for energy storage and as a low- or no-carbon fuel source to produce energy at Duke Energy’s combined heat and power plant located at Clemson University in South Carolina. The US Department of Energy... Read more →

In China, Buick launched the 2021 GL8 Avenir family featuring industry-leading vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology and the 2021 GL8 ES with advanced driver assist technology. Both multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs) are available at Buick dealers across China. With the rollout of the 2021 GL8 Avenir, Buick is among the first automotive brands... Read more →