Swindon Powertrain is developing a new compact 80kW “crate” electric powertrain that will make it easier for specialist OEMs to electrify their low volume sports cars, light commercial and recreational vehicles. Swindon Powertrain’s High Power Density (HPD) EV system will ease the transition for manufacturers currently frustrated by the lack... Read more →

While physical logistics networks remain indispensable, electrification in local transport is already making an important contribution. However, widespread commercial use of electric drive on long-haul and heavy-duty routes is not yet feasible. This is where sustainable fuels play a crucial role as they could be pivotal in reducing the climate... Read more →

Ford is offering its all-electric vehicle customers North America’s largest electric vehicle public charging network—the FordPass Charging Network—with more than 12,000 places to charge, including fast charging, and more than 35,000 charge plugs—more than any other automotive manufacturer. Ford is providing two years of complimentary access. The Ford all-electric vehicle... Read more →

Germany’s BMVI (Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure) awarded €23.5 million to a set of hydrogen mobility projects ranging from forklift trucks to equipping a ride-pooling fleet to the development of a hydrogen bus and a fuel-cell-powered street sweeper. Hydrogen, fuel cells and electricity move the future. We have... Read more →

Toyota Motor will display its new, production-ready Ultra-compact BEV (battery electric vehicle) at the FUTURE EXPO special exhibition of the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show ahead of the vehicle’s planned commercial launch in Japan in 2020. The next-generation mobility solution is designed to provide short-distance mobility while limiting impact on the... Read more →

In a new study published in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology, University of Queensland researchers have highlighted the effects environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks will have on the global supply of metals without major innovations in the mining industry. Research on metal criticality has predominately assessed the supply risk... Read more →

Audi is introducing a plug-in hybrid version of its A8 L luxury sedan. The combination of plug-in hybrid drive and intelligent drive management allows distances of up to 46 kilometers (28.6 mi) (measured in accordance with WLTP) to be covered with electric drive alone. System power of 330 kW (449... Read more →

Velocys, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Velocys plc, signed an agreement with Oxy Low Carbon Ventures, LLC (OLCV), to capture CO2 from Velocys’ planned Bayou Fuels biomass-to-fuels project in Natchez, Mississippi, and securely store it underground in a geologic formation. OLCV, a wholly owned subsidiary of Occidental, will take,... Read more →

Volvo Cars introduced the XC40 Recharge, the company’s first fully electric car and the first model to appear in its brand new Recharge car line concept. The XC40 Recharge, based on the multi-award-winning and best-selling XC40 small SUV, is the first of a family of fully electric Volvos. The EV... Read more →

New Flyer of America Inc. has successfully met and supported the launch of the San Francisco Green Zone requirement, using New Flyer Connect to execute GPS-triggered (geofencing) functionality with the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) and BAE Systems PLC (BAE). Green Zones support San Francisco’s approach to greenhouse gas... Read more →

Orange EV and Dependable Supply Chain Services announced the deployment of Orange EV pure electric terminal trucks (aka yard trucks, hostlers, spotters) as the first step in fulfilling the Dependable Highway Express (DHE) plan to transform its Ontario, California facility into a sustainable, energy-efficient, emission-free freight terminal. Launching their transition... Read more →

Borealis, a leading provider of innovative polyolefin solutions; and Neste, the world’s leading provider of renewable diesel, renewable jet fuel, and an expert in delivering drop-in renewable chemical solutions, are entering into strategic co-operation for the production of renewable polypropylene (PP). The co-operation will enable Borealis to start using Neste’s... Read more →

Researchers at Zhengzhou University, Tsinghua University and Stanford University have developed a solid-electrolyte-based liquid Li-S and Li-Se (SELL-S and SELL-Se, respectively) battery system with the potential to deliver energy densities exceeding 500 Wh kg-1 and and 1,000 Wh L-1, together with the ability of low-cost and stable electrochemical performance for... Read more →

The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether Hungary's plans to grant €108 million of public support to Samsung SDI for investing in the expansion of its battery cell production facility in Göd (Hungary) is in line with EU rules on regional State aid. Public investment is... Read more →

On Tuesday, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking seeking additional comment on the recently proposed rule to establish the cellulosic biofuel, advanced biofuel, and total renewable fuel volumes for 2020 and the biomass-based diesel volume for 2021 under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS)... Read more →

According to a new report from Navigant Research, although the business model is in question, analyses indicate public charger deployments are positively affecting PEV adoption. The report analyzes the relationship between public charger deployment and plug-in EV (PEV) demand, providing an overview of upcoming industry innovations and ways industry stakeholders... Read more →

A team of researchers from the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) and the Université Paul Sabatier-Toulouse III (France) have developed a system that is capable of managing the entire traffic of a city, which will help to prevent traffic jams, while reducing the driving times of vehicles and pollution levels.... Read more →

XL, a growing provider of vehicle electrification solutions for commercial and municipal fleets, made two significant announcements designed to capitalize on the company’s current momentum and position the business for rapid, sustainable growth in 2020 and beyond. First, on 4 October, XL acquired the electrification division of Quantum Fuel Systems,... Read more →

Karma Automotive, the Southern California-based creator of luxury electric vehicles and high-tech incubator, is using its flagship company-owned store in Newport Beach, Calif., to help further its shareholder’s expertise in blockchain technology by accepting cryptocurrency as a form of payment. Karma Newport Beach now accepts Bitcoin as a form of... Read more →

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University have shown for the first time that a low-cost, non-precious metal cobalt phosphide (CoP) catalyst catalyst can split water and generate hydrogen gas for hours on end in the harsh environment of a commercial device. The electrolyzer... Read more →

Motiv Power Systems, a provider of all-electric medium-duty chassis for buses and trucks, has secured $60 million in equity funding. The Series B round of investment was led by investors GMAG Holdings Corp. and Winnebago. These funds will support the overall growth of Motiv, including opening a new engineering and... Read more →

by Michael Sivak. This is the latest in my series of analyses on the relationship between road transportation and economic activity in the United States. Of interest in this study were the changes in distance driven per inflation-adjusted GDP (gross domestic product) since the end of the Second World War.... Read more →

Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have uncovered a root cause of the growth of dendrites and whiskers that plague lithium batteries, sometimes causing a short circuit, failure, or even a fire. The team, led by Chongmin Wang, has shown that the presence of certain compounds in the electrolyte... Read more →

The US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (CCDC) Ground Vehicle Systems Center (GVSC) and General Motors announced a new cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) which aims to strengthen GM’s and the Army’s automotive cybersecurity expertise over the next two years. This marks the first automotive cybersecurity partnership of its... Read more →

Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus (VWCO) announced its partners for its first mass-produced electric truck: the 14-tonne e-Delivery. Partners are Bosch, CATL, Moura, Semcon, Siemens, Weg, Meritor and Eletra. All are part of the e-Consortium in VWCO’s development and production complex in Resende (RJ). VWCO announced the formation of the e-Consortium... Read more →

From 14 October to 8 November 2019, throughout the Paris-Saclay urban campus, a panel of some 100 people will use Groupe Renault’s on-demand car service as part of the ‘Paris-Saclay Autonomous Lab’ project. The objective of this experiment is to test the technical aspects of this on-demand mobility service, and... Read more →

Buick launched the VELITE 6 PLUS MAV (multi-activity vehicle) electric vehicle in China. The newest member of the VELITE 6 family, the VELITE 6 PLUS has a constant-speed range of up to 410 kilometers (255 miles) under New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) conditions on a single charge. This enables it... Read more →

Electric bus manufacturer Proterra has introduced a multi-dispenser charging solution which enables Proterra charging systems to have multiple low-profile charging dispensers paired with a single Power Control System (PCS). With less hardware to purchase and less equipment to install, the multi-dispenser charging solution lowers the cost of infrastructure for customers.... Read more →

The Audi A6 allroad is making its US return in 2020 with a specially tuned adaptive air suspension and quattro with ultra technology. The 2020 A6 allroad is standard equipped with a turbocharged 3.0-liter TFSI engine and Mild Hybrid Electric Vehicle (MHEV) technology that work in tandem to efficiently produce... Read more →

Shortly following on the global debut of the electric Taycan in September, Porsche is presenting the third version of the electric sports car: the Taycan 4S. The new model is available with two battery sizes: the Performance battery (79.2 kWh) models with up to 390 kW (530 PS) or the... Read more →

Researchers at the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory have developed a new electrolyte mixture and a simple additive that stabilizes silicon anodes during cycling. An open-access paper on their work is published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. Based on these test results, we have every reason... Read more →

The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Grainger College of Engineering intend to form the Midwest Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Coalition to raise awareness of the potential for hydrogen and fuel cells to provide energy resilience and security, reduce emissions and foster... Read more →

The technology group Wärtsilä will engineer, supply, and install complete battery hybrid packages in two offshore supply vessels owned by the Norway-based operator Atlantic Offshore. The upgrading project will be carried out at the Fitjar shipyard in Norway. By converting the vessels to hybrid propulsion, the owners will benefit through... Read more →

Germany-based Sunfire has signed a cooperation agreement with the French energy major Total SA. Sunfire will provide a megawatt-scale high temperature electrolyzer for use in industrial environments as part of the E-CO2MET research and development project. The company will also be responsible for the integration at the site as well... Read more →

Engineers at the University of Waterloo have developed decision-making and motion-planning technology to limit injuries and damage when self-driving vehicles are involved in unavoidable crashes. A paper on their work is published in IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems. A motion planning method for autonomous vehicles confronting emergency situations where... Read more →

Global sales of BMW Group electrified models (fully-electric and plug-in hybrid) increased by 10.1% in September year-on-year to 16,035 units—due in part to the new BMW 330e. Sales of electrified vehicles for the first nine months have dropped by 1% at 96,570 units, compared to the same period last year.... Read more →

Engine company DEUTZ AG has purchased Futavis GmbH, a development service provider for battery management hardware and software. The purchase of Futavis GmbH enables DEUTZ AG to incorporate batteries, a crucial core component, in its electrification strategy. Futavis has extensive technical expertise in electronics, software, battery technology, and battery testing... Read more →

Modern piston assemblies are subject to high demands in terms of both loading and lifetime; in addition, there is the environment-friendly demand for low engine emissions. KS Kolbenschmidt has developed its LITEKS concept for particularly low-friction piston systems installed in highly loaded gasoline engines. The supplier is now introducing its... Read more →

A new material that can selectively capture CO2 molecules and efficiently convert them into useful organic materials has been developed by researchers at Kyoto University, along with colleagues at the University of Tokyo and Jiangsu Normal University in China. They describe the material in an open access paper in the... Read more →

France’s Constitutional Council, the highest constitutional authority in the country, ruled in favor of excluding palm oil from the list of biofuels that enjoy tax incentives. The decision enters into force on 1 January, 2020. Oil company Total has estimated it is worth between €70 million and €80 million per... Read more →

The US Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and The University of Toledo have entered into a memorandum of understanding for collaborative research into the advanced design and manufacturing of high-strength, intelligent, lightweight materials for use by the automotive sector. The partnership brings together the manufacturing, carbon fiber and... Read more →

In China, the recently opened Airbus China Innovation Center (ACIC) battery lab is looking to power a new generation of electric-powered aerial vehicles. Asia is the global epicenter of battery development and production, with Japan and Korea as the worldwide leaders. However, China is rapidly catching up to the traditional... Read more →

Airbus and LM Industries, the the parent company of Local Motors and Launch Forth, have formed Neorizon to provide disruptive and innovative products with an initial focus on local mobility and autonomy. The Neorizon microfactory is intended to build products at unprecedented speeds through the combination of co-creation and cutting-edge... Read more →

Aerojet Rocketdyne has entered into a Space Act Agreement with NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center to design and manufacture a lightweight rocket engine thrust chamber assembly using innovative additive manufacturing processes and materials. The goal of the project is to reduce manufacturing costs and make a thrust chamber that is... Read more →

A new Co-Optimization of Fuels & Engines (Co-Optima) report describes the top ten biofuel-derived blendstock candidates. These top candidates, when blended with petroleum and used in a boosted spark ignition (BSI) engine, will offer environmental benefits and boost energy efficiency all while being available at a competitive price. One of... Read more →

Vitesco Technologies, the drivetrain business of Continental, has signed agreements with Groupe PSA and Hyundai to supply the first fully integrated electric axle drive system for various volume-production models. Production of the new electric drive system at Vitesco Technologies plant in Tianjin, China, has already started. First fully integrated electric... Read more →

In the US, Toyota announced it will extend its hybrid battery warranty from 8 years / 100,000 miles to 10 years from date of first use/150,000 miles, whichever comes first. This extension is valid for all new model year 2020 Toyota hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and fuel cell electric vehicles. All... Read more →

The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), Hydrogen Europe and the International Road Transport Union (IRU) are jointly calling on European policy makers to ramp up investments in EU-wide hydrogen refueling infrastructure for fuel cell electric vehicles. Fuel cell vehicles can contribute positively to the overall decarboniZation agenda of the EU.... Read more →

In Tokyo, the Toyota Mobility Foundation (TMF) called for research proposals from Japan for 2019 under the Hydrogen Research Initiative established in 2017. This initiative is part of TMF’s goal to promote sustainable mobility. It recognizes that pairing carbon-free hydrogen systems with renewable energies contributes to energy sustainability. It also... Read more →

Toyota will preview the next generation of its Mirai fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) at the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show. “Mirai Concept,” a final-stage development model of the second-generation Mirai will be on view at “Future Expo” from 24 October until 4 November at Megaweb. The re-designed Mirai features significantly... Read more →