By mmillikin Gevo has entered into a long-term agreement to supply its renewable alcohol-to-jet fuel (ATJ) to Avfuel Corporation, effective 1 July 2018. Avfuel is a leading global supplier of aviation fuel and services to all industry consumer groups, servicing more than 3,000 locations worldwide. The agreement with Avfuel is Gevo’s first long-term commercial supply…
By mmillikin The Volkswagen Group is increasing its stake in solid-state energy company QuantumScape Corporation (earlier post) and forming a new joint venture with the intention of paving the way for the next level of battery power for long-range e-mobility. Volkswagen will invest US$100 million in QuantumScape and will become the innovative enterprise’s largest automotive…
By mmillikin Tour Engine, the startup developing novel split-cycle engine technology (earlier post), is working on a 5 kW natural gas unit under Phase II funding from the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E). The additional $2.59 million in funding, awarded earlier this year under ARPA-E’s GENSETS program, follows on Tour’s progress during Phase…
By mmillikin Audi AG and Hyundai Motor Group will partner on the development of fuel cell technology. The two companies plan to cross-license patents and grant access to non-competitive components. The agreement is currently subject to approval from the applicable regulatory authorities. Through their collaboration, both partners aim to bring the fuel cell to volume…
By mmillikin Magna intends to form two new joint ventures with Beijing Electric Vehicle Co. Ltd (BJEV)—a subsidiary of the BAIC Group for electric cars—for the engineering and complete vehicle manufacturing of electric vehicles. Over the coming months, Magna and BJEV will work with authorities to implement legally binding joint-venture agreements which will govern the…
By mmillikin The Toronto Transit Commission, the third largest transit agency in North America and the most heavily used system in all of Canada, purchased ten Proterra Catalyst E2 buses in support of the transit agency’s goal to convert its entire fleet of 1,926 buses to zero-emission buses by 2040. Canada has around 24,000 public…
By mmillikin BMW has selected TTTech Auto, a high-tech company specializing in leading safety software and hardware platforms for automated driving, as its development partner for level 3 and 4 automated driving functions. TTTech Auto will contribute its extensive cross-industry software and functional safety experience to this project. As we develop a modular, non-exclusive platform…
By mmillikin The Chicago Transit Board awarded a $32-million contract to Proterra for the purchase of 20 new, all-electric buses. The new electric buses will give the CTA one of the largest electric bus fleets in the country. CTA has been testing two electric buses since 2014, when the agency became the first in the…
By mmillikin Ford introduced two new taxis: the new 2019 Transit Connect Taxi and Ford’s most fuel-efficient, purpose-built taxi, the 2019 Fusion Hybrid Taxi. Transit Connect Taxi, when equipped with available 1.5-liter EcoBlue diesel engine, is targeted to return an EPA-estimated Highway rating of at least 30 mpg. Actual mileage will vary. Final EPA-estimated ratings…
By mmillikin BASF Venture Capital GmbH is to invest in LanzaTech. Using special microbes, LanzaTech has developed a technology for gas fermentation that first enables ethanol to be produced from residual gases containing carbon monoxide and hydrogen. By re-using waste streams instead of incinerating them, industrial companies can reduce carbon dioxide emissions. LanzaTech’s patented technology…
By mmillikin Both air travel and the use of ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft are on the rise in cities around the world. Global demand for air travel is expected to double by 2035, and new airport infrastructure investments and modernization upgrades—costing tens of billions of dollars—are anticipated. In a new study, NREL…
By mmillikin The BMW Group sold more than a million vehicles worldwide (1,003,573 / +1.6%) in the first five months of 2018—the Group’s best Jan-May performance to date. This record result was achieved despite the ongoing global ramp-up of BMW X3 production and volatility in China due to changes in import duties. These factors contributed…
By mmillikin by Michael Sivak. One of the hallmarks of the good life in developed countries is the freedom to move about as we choose in personal vehicles. However, as populous developing countries are gaining in economic power, people in those countries are asking for the same mobility that people in developed countries enjoy. Consequently,…
By mmillikin Leading steel and mining company ArcelorMittal has begun construction of new premises at its site in Ghent, Belgium, to house a new installation which will convert carbon-containing gas from its blast furnaces into bioethanol. The technology in the gas conversion process, which utilizes microbes that feed on carbon monoxide to produce bioethanol, was…
By mmillikin The National Transportation Safety Board issued its preliminary report in the investigation of the fatal crash of a Tesla on US Highway 101 in Mountain View, California on 23 March 2018. According to performance data downloaded from the crash vehicle, a 2017 Tesla Model X P100D, the driver was using traffic-aware cruise control…