Transportation News

A solar-ready holiday home disappears into a Czech forest

Apr 13, 2021: When Czech architecture firm NEW HOW Architects was asked to design a holiday home in the Ore Mountains, it decided to craft a nature-inspired home that would go against the trend of white plaster houses in the area.

French government to ban short domestic flights in favor of trains

Apr 13, 2021: The French government is planning to end all short flights for routes that could be traveled in 2.5 hours or less by train in order to reduce carbon emissions.

Nepal's rhino population is on the rise

Apr 13, 2021: The 2021 numbers are up 16% for a total of 752 rhinos, according to results released by Nepal’s government this week.

Charlotte McCurdy, Phillip Lim design carbon-neutral algae sequin dress

Apr 13, 2021: Fashionable materials like sequins don’t have to come at a cost to the environment.

Virtual Pollinator Park shows a future with or without pollinators

Apr 13, 2021: What will the world be like once pollinating insects, like the honeybee, are gone?

Group14 Technologies launches commercial manufacturing factory in US for lithium-silicon anode materials

Apr 13, 2021: US-based Group14 Technologies, a global provider of silicon-carbon composite materials for lithium-ion markets, announced the launch of its first commercial-scale 27,000-square foot US manufacturing factory to meet demand for higher-performing lithium-silicon anode materials. The new factory, located at Group14 HQ in Woodinville, Washington, also will house a new R&D center,...

NVIDIA’s automotive pipeline now exceeds $8B for DRIVE AI-based mobility solutions

Apr 13, 2021: Volvo Cars, Zoox and SAIC are among the growing number of leading transportation companies using the newest NVIDIA DRIVE solutions to power their next-generation AI-based autonomous vehicles. NVIDIA’s design-win pipeline for NVIDIA DRIVE now totals more than $8 billion over the next six years, reflecting a growing range of next-generation...

New partnership to advance high-temperature PEM fuel cells; focus on heavy-duty applications

Apr 13, 2021: A new partnership comprising Los Alamos National Laboratory, Advent Technology Holdings Inc., Brookhaven National Laboratory, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) will work over the next few years to bring to market high-temperature proton exchange membrane (HT-PEM) fuel cells. Traditional PEM fuel cells have a relatively low operating temperature,...

ABB to provide power and propulsion solution for 10 all-electric ferries

Apr 13, 2021: ABB has secured a contract with Spanish shipbuilder Astilleros Gondán to supply the all-electric power solution for fast 40-meter urban passenger ferries transporting up to 540 passengers each across Lisbon’s Tagus river. The 10 new ferries will be operated by the public ferry company Transtejo, S.A. and will replace the...

Altom receives first order for hydrogen trains in France

Apr 13, 2021: The Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Grand Est and Occitanie regions in France have signed the first order for dual-mode electric-hydrogen trains in France. Acting on behalf of the four regions, SNCF Voyageurs has placed an order with Alstom for the first 12 dual mode electric-hydrogen trains (plus two optional trainsets) in the...

Leclanché develops 65 Ah high-energy lithium-ion pouch cell for electric and hybrid bus and truck applications

Apr 13, 2021: Leclanché SA has developed a new, high-energy 65 Ah lithium-ion pouch cell to meet the demands of bus and truck manufacturers seeking increased range and operating time for fully electric and hybrid-electric vehicles. Leclanché’s new high energy, 65 Ah lithium-ion pouch cell is designed for energy intensive applications. It features...

Li-ion battery recycling and manufacturing startup Battery Resourcers completes $20M Series B

Apr 13, 2021: Battery Resourcers, a vertically integrated lithium-ion battery recycling and manufacturing company, recently completed a $20-million Series B equity round with financing led by Orbia Ventures, the venture capital arm of the multinational Orbia, and participation from other investors including At One Ventures, TDK Ventures, TRUMPF Venture, Doral Energy-Tech Ventures andJaguar...

REE Automotive signs strategic collaboration agreement with Magna; Modular Electric Vehicles with REEcorner technology

Apr 13, 2021: REE Automotive Ltd (REE) announced a strategic collaboration agreement with Magna International to bring to market Modular Electric Vehicles (MEVs) for tech companies and new electric mobility players under the “Powered by REE” brand. The strategic collaboration will explore the combination of REE’s REEcorner technology (earlier post) with Magna’s vehicle...

Baker Institute: China positioning itself to dominate world’s copper supply

Apr 13, 2021: China is positioning itself to dominate the global supply of copper, a material in high demand as the world transitions to alternative energy systems, according to experts from Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. “If China’s dominance of rare earth element supplies is the global energy transition’s ‘elephant in...

Total begins producing sustainable aviation fuel in France

Apr 13, 2021: Total has begun producing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at its La Mède biorefinery in southern France and its Oudalle facility near Le Havre. The biojet fuel, made from used cooking oil, will be delivered to French airports starting in April 2021. Total will also be able to produce SAF as...

Juneau Capital Transit puts first all-electric bus in service

Apr 13, 2021: Juneau residents will begin to see Capital Transit’s first battery-electric bus in service and on the road tomorrow. This is the first electric bus owned and operated by a public transit agency in Alaska. Capital Transit unveiled the bus, manufactured in California by Proterra, during an event on Monday. Juneau...

Redevelopment project brings major green space to Tokyo

Apr 12, 2021: Set for completion in 2023, the Toranomon-Azabudai Urban Redevelopment Project is a collaboration between urban landscape developer Mori Building Co. and luxury hotel operator Aman.

Harmful algal blooms release "Very Fast Death Factor" into air

Apr 12, 2021: A new study shows that the dangerous anatoxin-a, produced by cyanobacteria and found in algal blooms, can be released into the air, posing serious health risks.

Do we really need to mine the deep seas to power EVs?

Apr 12, 2021: Electric vehicle manufacturers are turning to deep sea mining for metals necessary for EV batteries. But this can be detrimental to these ecosystems.

An airy multigenerational home shows adaptive reuse done right

Apr 12, 2021: OEOOO has transformed and expanded a disused farmhouse into the Hehl Tenne House, a warm and inviting multigenerational home wrapped in timber inside and out.

Wright-inspired home has trees growing through the roof

Apr 12, 2021: Dubbed the House in Repino, the project will focus on minimizing the removal of existing trees.

New machine learning method accurately predicts battery state of health

Apr 12, 2021: Researchers from the Smart Systems Group at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, UK, working together with researchers from the CALCE group at the University of Maryland in the US, have developed a new method to estimate battery health irrespective of operating conditions and battery design or chemistry, by feeding artificial intelligence...

Lexus to display new LF-Z Electrified concept at Auto Shanghai 2021

Apr 12, 2021: Lexus plans to display the LF-Z Electrified Concept at Auto Shanghai 2021, which opens on 19 April 19 in Shanghai, China. Unveiled in late March, the LF-Z Electrified is a BEV concept vehicle that is symbolic of Lexus’s brand transformation and incorporates driving performance, styling, and advanced technology set to...

Insight LiDAR develops first gesture detection sensing technology for autonomous vehicle LiDAR systems

Apr 12, 2021: Insight LiDAR announced that its product, Insight 1600, is the first LiDAR with the combined high resolution and velocity detection to enable pedestrian gesture recognition. The new capability can be used by AV perception teams to predict the actions of pedestrians quickly and accurately. When humans drive, we’re constantly scanning...

Plug Power invited to submit Part II Application for proposed $520M DOE loan guarantee for green hydrogen production network

Apr 12, 2021: Plug Power Inc. has been invited to submit a Part II Application for a loan guarantee under the US Department of Energy (DOE) Title XVII Loan Guarantee Program. The invitation for the Part II application is for a proposed $520-million loan guarantee from the DOE to support the use of...

National labs M2FCT researchers outline prospects and challenges for hydrogen fuel-cells in heavy-duty transportation

Apr 12, 2021: In 2020, the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO) launched the Million Mile Fuel Cell Truck Consortium (M2FCT) to leverage the potential opportunity fuel cells in the heavy-duty vehicle (HDV) market and to align with the H2@Scale vision for clean and affordable hydrogen across multiple...

LG Energy Solution and SK Innovation to end all legal disputes over EV batteries in US and Korea

Apr 12, 2021: LG Energy Solution and SK Innovation have agreed to settle all legal disputes relating to EV batteries in the United States and Korea. As a result, all litigation between the companies, which began in April 2019, is resolved. In this agreement, the two companies agreed to the following terms. SK...

Researchers find abundance of oil-eating bacteria in northeast Atlantic

Apr 12, 2021: A team of scientists from Heriot-Watt University has found the waters in the Faroe-Shetland Channel (FSC) are teeming with oil-eating bacteria. The FSC is a deepwater sub-Arctic region where the oil and gas industry has been active for the last 40 years. An open-access paper on the research was published in...

Toyota moves mobility services in Europe under Cologne-based KINTO Europe

Apr 12, 2021: Toyota Motor Europe (TME) has started KINTO Europe GmbH, a limited liability company with headquarters in Cologne, Germany. Toyota Financial Services Corporation (TFSC), Japan, holds 51% of the company’s shares, with the remaining 49% owned by TME. Both TME and TFSC are wholly owned by Toyota Motor Corporation, based in...

NTSB picks mandatory collision avoidance and connected vehicle technologies as one of most wanted transportation safety improvements

Apr 11, 2021: The National Transportation Safety Board has released its 2021 – 2022 Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements; one of the 10 items in the list was “Require Collision Avoidance and Connected Vehicle Technologies on All Vehicles”. These technologies include forward-collision warning and automatic emergency braking, which can warn the...

Shell Gamechanger Accelerator Powered by NREL selects two green hydrogen startups for fourth cohort

Apr 11, 2021: The Shell GameChanger Accelerator Powered by NREL (GCxN) has selected three additional startups to participate in the program. The new companies are focused on creating electrochemical systems that can help reduce carbon emissions in hard-to-decarbonize sectors and represent the program’s fourth cohort. GCxN provides promising cleantech startups with technical resources...

Tohoku team develops new electrolyte to support rechargeable calcium batteries

Apr 11, 2021: Scientists from Tohoku University have developed a new fluorine-free calcium (Ca) electrolyte based on a hydrogen (monocarborane) cluster that could potentially realize rechargeable Ca batteries. An open-access paper on the work is published in Nature’s Scientific Reports. High-energy-density and low-cost calcium (Ca) batteries have been proposed as ‘beyond-Li-ion’ electrochemical energy...

Solaris to deliver another 6 electric buses to Szczecin

Apr 11, 2021: Solaris will supply an additional six electric Solaris buses to Szczecin. The total value of the order settled at more than PLN 16.5 million (US$4.33 million). Last year Solaris won a tender of the city of Szczecin for the supply of 8 articulated electric Urbino buses. The company also placed...

Hyliion forms Hypertruck Innovation Council to support development of CNG/RNG-fueled electrified powertrain

Apr 11, 2021: Hyliion, a developer of electrified powertrain solutions for Class 8 semi-trucks, has formed the Hypertruck Innovation Council, a group of fleet, logistics, and transportation industry leaders that will actively support the development of Hyliion’s Hypertruck powertrain solution. Representing more than 100,000 Class 8 commercial trucks globally, the Council will collaborate...

Syzygy Plasmonics raises $23M Series B to electrify chemical manufacturing; photocatalytic reactor for hydrogen production

Apr 10, 2021: Syzygy Plasmonics, a technology company developing a high-performance photocatalyst for the industrial gas, chemical and energy industries, announced a $23-million Series B financing led by Horizons Ventures with participation from new global investors including Equinor Ventures. (Earlier post.) Licensed from Rice University, Syzygy’s “antenna-reactor” plasmonic photocatalyst has been published in...

UPS to purchase 10 eVTOL aircraft from BETA, with option for up to 150

Apr 10, 2021: Through its UPS Flight Forward subsidiary, UPS plans to purchase electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft from Beta Technologies (BETA) as part of its innovation-driven strategy to identify new ways to help small businesses with sustainable solutions. BETA’s ALIA-250 is the result of 3 years of design and development....

Iron ore leader Fortescue pushing green hydrogen, ammonia and electricity projects

Apr 10, 2021: Australia-based Fortescue Metals Group, one of the world’s largest producers of iron ore, recently revised its emissions reduction goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030—10 years earlier than its previous target. Fortescue Future Industries (FFI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fortescue, will be a key enabler of this target through the...

Starfire Energy closes major funding round; green ammonia and hydrogen solutions

Apr 10, 2021: Starfire Energy, a Colorado-based developer of modular chemical plants for the carbon-free production of ammonia and hydrogen, has closed a major funding round. The investment round was led by AP Ventures, a significant investor in breakthrough hydrogen technologies, and included New Energy Technologies, Chevron Technology Ventures, Osaka Gas USA, and...

Canada launches hydrogen strategy steering committee

Apr 10, 2021: Seamus O’Regan Jr., Canadaa’s Minister of Natural Resources, announced the Hydrogen Strategy Implementation Strategic Steering Committee, which will advance and measure the progress outlined in the Hydrogen Strategy for Canada launched in December 2020. (Earlier post.) The committee, co-chaired by Natural Resources Canada and the Canadian Hydrogen and Fuel Cell...

MHO-Co to head consortium to develop green solutions for shipping; fuel cells and batteries

Apr 10, 2021: Denmark-based shipping company MHO-Co is heading a consortium that will spend €4.5 million during the next three years on developing green solutions for the future of the maritime industry. Together with Aalborg University, among others, and with grants from the Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Program (EUDP), MHO-Co will test...