By mmillikin The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced up to $30 million to help lower the costs of the onshore production of rare earths and other critical minerals and materials from domestic coal-based resources. (DE-FOA-0002619) According to the US Geological Survey’s National Mineral Information Center, the United States imports more than 80% of its…
By mmillikin LiquidPiston, a developer of efficient engine technology and hybrid power systems, has been awarded an $8.3-million contract by Parsons Corporation to integrate its recently launched high-performance rotary X-Engine, the XTS-210 (earlier post), into a lightweight, compact 10 kW generator set to be field-tested by the Army, delivering unmatched power flexibility and portability to…
By mmillikin The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Loan Programs Office (LPO) announced a conditional commitment for a loan of up to $9.2 billion to BlueOval SK LLC (BOSK) for the construction of three manufacturing plants to produce batteries for Ford Motor Company’s future Ford and Lincoln electric vehicles. (Earlier post.) Together, the plants, one located in…
By mmillikin Komatsu has developed a concept machine for a medium-sized hydraulic excavator that combines a hydrogen fuel cell and Komatsu-developed key components. By advancing the PoC (Proof of Concept) tests it started in May 2023, Komatsu says it will accelerate its efforts to embark on the commercial production of medium-sized and large construction equipment…
By mmillikin Rheinmetall, the City of Cologne and TankE GmbH have embarked on a pilot project to install curbstone charger infrastructure in public streets. (Earlier post.) The objective of the project is to integrate and pilot test Rheinmetall curbstone chargers in two different parts of the city to validate their acceptance and their urbanistic and…
By mmillikin Eaton’s eMobility business has received a contract to supply its battery disconnect unit (BDU) in both 400- and 800-volt configurations to a global vehicle manufacturer for use in electrified passenger vehicles. Eaton’s BDU integrates its Breaktor circuit protection technology (earlier post) in electrified vehicles (EVs), which reduces complexity and cost. Eaton will be…
By mmillikin NXP Semiconductors is collaborating with TSMC to deliver the industry’s first automotive embedded MRAM (Magnetic Random Access Memory) in 16 nm FinFET technology. As automakers transition to software-defined vehicles (SDVs), they need to support multiple generations of software upgrades on a single hardware platform. Bringing together NXP’s high-performance S32 automotive processors with fast…
By mmillikin Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and BMW of North America (BMW) are collaborating to test how vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology can serve as a solution to offset growing demand on the power grid, improve reliability for electric customers, and maximize the usage of renewable energy. In addition, V2X technology could eventually enable customers…
By mmillikin Ionic Mineral Technologies, a developer of advanced silicon anode battery materials, launched its Generation 1 Ionisil nano-silicon product for Li-ion cell manufacturers. (Earlier post.) This is a drop-in solution for lithium-ion batteries that delivers high energy density and fast charging capabilities, making it suited for use in electric vehicles (EVs) and other applications…
By mmillikin Faurecia, a company of the FORVIA group, Michelin and Stellantis signed a binding agreement for Stellantis to acquire 33.3% stake in Symbio, a developer of hydrogen fuel cell systems for light- and heavy-duty vehicle applications. Faurecia and Michelin will remain shareholders with 33.3% holding each. The addition of Stellantis as a shareholder will…
By mmillikin Mercedes-Benz announced that starting in 2026, all newly developed vans from Mercedes-Benz will be based on just one single innovative, modular and scalable architecture called VAN.EA, short for Van Electric Architecture. According to the “electric-only” strategy, VAN.EA has been developed from scratch as a purpose battery-electric vehicle (BEV). All future midsize and large…
By mmillikin NuScale Power Corporation and Nucor Corporation signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to explore co-locating NuScale’s VOYGR small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) power plants to provide clean, reliable baseload electricity to Nucor’s scrap-based Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) steel mills. The companies will also explore an expanded manufacturing partnership through which Nucor, the largest…
By mmillikin The US Department of Energy (DOE) has selected Arizona State University to lead the seventh Clean Energy Manufacturing Innovation Institute. The Electrified Processes for Industry without Carbon (EPIXC) Institute will mobilize a coalition of private companies, National Labs, universities, labor unions, and community partners and will allocate up to $70 million in federal…
By mmillikin The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced that applications are open for the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Competitive Program. The EECBG Competitive Program will award $8.8 million in funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to teams of local governments and state-recognized Tribes that are ineligible for the program’s formula grant….
By mmillikin AM Batteries (AMB), a developer of lithium-ion dry-electrode technology, and Amperex Technology Limited (ATL), a producer of lithium-ion batteries, have teamed up to develop solvent-free electrode manufacturing technology for Li-ion cell production. The joint endeavor seeks to tackle some of the most critical challenges facing the Li-ion battery production industry: heavy carbon footprint,…