By mmillikin Israel-based IRP Systems, a provider of electric powertrain products, raised $17 million in Series B funding. The round was led by Chinese VC Fosun RZ capital, with additional funds provided by JAL ventures, previous investor Entrée Capital, Tal Capital, Union Tech Ventures, Cendana Capital and Allied Group subsidiary Champion Motors, the Israeli direct…
By mmillikin While there is global potential to generate renewable energy at costs already competitive with fossil fuels, a means of storing and transporting this energy at a very large scale is a roadblock to large-scale investment, development and deployment. Ammonia produced from renewables can be a viable liquid fuel replacement for many current-day uses…
By mmillikin The joint venture between Volkswagen Group and the Swedish battery producer Northvolt AB (earlier post) is gaining further momentum. Volkswagen itself will erect the buildings and infrastructure for the joint venture’s “Northvolt Zwei” factory that is to produce lithium-ion battery cells, in order to leverage synergies at the Salzgitter site—based on the existing…
By mmillikin Researchers at the University of Texas have discovered that introducing tellurium (Te) into a Li-Sulfur system as a cathode additive significantly improves the reversibility of Li plating/stripping by forming a tellurized and sulfide-rich solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer on the Li surface. The introduction of Te as a cathode additive in Li-S batteries greatly…
By mmillikin Charging-as-a-service provider AMPLY Power is managing the charging of electric buses for Eastern Contra Costa Transit Authority, which is operating under the name Tri Delta Transit. AMPLY identified 40% of annual energy savings its managed charging software platform could realize, while guaranteeing vehicles were charged and ready to work each day. AMPLY expects…
By mmillikin by Michael Sivak, Sivak Applied Research. This brief note analyzes the changes in the price of gasoline during the first 13 weeks of 2020 and compares them with the changes during the first 13 weeks of 2019. The raw data (the average retail price of regular gasoline) came from the U.S. Energy Information…
By mmillikin Ford Motor Company, in collaboration with GE Healthcare, will begin producing in Michigan the Airon pNeuton model A ventilator with the goal to produce 50,000 of the needed units within 100 days and up to 30,000 a month thereafter as needed. Established in 1997, Airon Corporation is a privately held company; its patented…
By mmillikin People continuously exposed to air pollution are at increased risk of dementia, especially if they also suffer from cardiovascular diseases, according to a study at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden published in the journal JAMA Neurology. Patients with cardiovascular diseases who live in polluted environments may require additional support from care providers to prevent…
By mmillikin NASA has released a series of concept images of the all-electric X-57 Maxwell airplane (earlier post), showcasing aspects of its final Mod IV configuration during different flight modes. The artist’s concept image shows NASA’s first all-electric X-plane, the X-57 Maxwell, flying shortly after takeoff in its final configuration over NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research…
By mmillikin Bosch Healthcare Solutions, together with Randox Laboratories Ltd., has developed one of the world’s first fully automated molecular diagnostic tests for COVID-19. The coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is posing major challenges for healthcare systems and medical institutions worldwide. An ability to rapidly diagnose the virus is of invaluable help in curbing its exponential spread in…
By mmillikin Ford Motor Company, joining forces with firms including 3M and GE Healthcare, is lending its manufacturing and engineering expertise to expand quickly production of urgently needed medical equipment and supplies for healthcare workers, first responders and patients fighting COVID-19. In addition, Ford plans to assemble more than 100,000 face shields per week and…
By mmillikin Solaris has secured another contract for the delivery of electric buses on the Polish market. The city of Bolesławiec has ordered two electric 8.9m buses and two stationary chargers. Worth a gross of nearly 4.8 million PLN (US$1.1 million), the contract will be carried out in February 2021. Two Urbino 8.9 LE electric…
By mmillikin Momentum Dynamics Corporation, a developer of high-power wireless charging for electric vehicles, and CEVT, an innovation company for Zhejiang Geely Holding Group based in Sweden, have demonstrated high-power wireless charging on a passenger vehicle with autonomous parking. This demonstration highlights autonomous parking combined with high-power autonomous charging in a commercially-available vehicle. This passenger…
By mmillikin By Michael Sivak, Sivak Applied Research. This is my latest update on the recent changes in the number of registered vehicles in the United States. In the previous analysis, I examined the data from 1984 through 2017. This analysis adds new calculations for 2018. The focus in this series is on vehicles per…
By mmillikin Neste, the leading provider of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel, and an expert in delivering drop-in renewable chemical solutions, has acquired a minority stake in Sunfire GmbH, a developer of high-temperature electrolysis technology. The company’s patented technology allows the production of renewable hydrogen as well as the direct conversion of water and…