April 19, 2022
Young start-up E-Load has inaugurated its first powerful public charging station in the industrial zone ‘Europark’ in Houthalen. The Limburg-based company plans to install at least five similar charging stations in the province and is already negotiating with the cities of Genk and Hasselt. The official inauguration took place on Saturday in the presence of […]
April 19, 2022
The Mexican parliament yesterday approved a law as a first step to nationalize the country’s lithium reserves, the primary metal used for EV batteries today. According to the specialized website Mining technology, Mexico has significant resources in the northern state of Sonora. In Bacadéhuachi, in the state of Sonora, the Anglo-Canadian exploration company Bacanora Minerals […]
April 19, 2022
Spain is gearing up its efforts in hydrogen as a sustainable alternative to oil in the northern part of the country, spanning from the Basque Country over Navarra and Aragon to Catalonia. Beginning of this month, it announced the creation of the ‘Ebro Hydrogen Corridor’, with a network of 20 hydrogen filling stations by 2025 […]
April 19, 2022
Volvo Cars has invested StoreDot, an Israeli company developing extreme-fast charging battery technology for electric cars. The investment was made through the Volvo Cars Tech Fund, its venture capital arm. StoreDot is working on a pioneering technology that, according to the company, should result in batteries that can charge to 160 km of pure electric […]
April 15, 2022
The Belgian marine service provider, Jan De Nul, has started the construction works of the Saint-Nazaire offshore wind farm project in France. It will be the first offshore wind farm on French territory. For Jan De Nul, it’s the first offshore assignment in France. De Nul’s jack-up vessel ‘Vole au vent’ will transport the 80 […]
April 15, 2022
In the first quarter of 2022, the operational benefit of the Volkswagen group rose to €8,5 billion, a 77% increase compared to last year. Nevertheless, the manufacturing giant stays prudent about the future because of the chip shortage, the Ukrainian war, and the reviving pandemic situation in China. Meanwhile, VW is also working on improving […]
April 14, 2022
Like many manufacturers, Porsche is working on a bidirectional V2G (Vehicle-to-Grid) charging system. This means the vehicle can store electricity in its battery, but it can also feed power back into the grid at peak times to balance the grid. The question is whether this system offers a structural solution, or is it just a […]
April 14, 2022
The Mercedes Vision EQXX prototype for the electric sedan of the future has recently proven its 1 000 km + range in real driving conditions. After a 1 008 km long drive from the research center in Sindelfingen (Stuttgart) to Cassis (French riviera), the car had some 140 km range left. Driving from Germany to […]
April 14, 2022
According to several sources, Renault is thinking of a possible spin-off and IPO of its electric car business. According to them, the Renault management is exploring the possibility of splitting the company into two entities for the internal combustion and electric car businesses. At a recent press conference, CEO Luca de Meo confirmed the internal […]
April 13, 2022
Persistent rumors situate the assembly of the (all-electric) successor of the Alpine A110 sports car at the Lotus factory in Norfolk, UK. The small British sports car brand, now part of the Chinese Geely Group, is already partnering with Renault in developing the electric platform for the future ‘Berlinette’ A110. The new two-seater sports car […]
April 13, 2022
Hyundai plans to make the onboard charger from the Ioniq 5 suitable for bidirectional charging, enabling V2G (Vehicle-to-Grid) technology. In addition, Hyundai will soon introduce a new electric model equipped with V2G technology from the beginning. The new vehicle is probably the Ioniq 6, which will be presented soon. The electric sedan will be the […]
April 12, 2022
Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares brought a special guest to the Formula E Grand Prix in Rome over the weekend: a barely camouflaged prototype of the fully electric Maserati GT Folgore. Only a few stretches of tape covered the prototype while it was coasting along the banks of the river Tiber. The GT Folgore will be […]
April 12, 2022
As the number of electric vehicles (EVs) is growing, the need for clear charging rules is rising too. For example, in Arnhem (north of Holland), a court has condemned an EV owner to finally pay the fine he got in 2020 for occupying a charging point for too long. The EV owner had refused to […]
April 12, 2022
At its first ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) Conference, Mercedes presented an ambitious plan to reduce carbon emissions by more than half, Well to Wheel (WTW), being thus over the entire life cycle of each car, by the end of this decade. In addition, 70% of the energy used must be renewable. There needs to […]
April 12, 2022
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has hinted in a tweet – what else? – that his company should move into the extraction and refinement of lithium, the anode material used in the battery cells of its cars. The price of the material has gone through the roof, but that is not caused by a shortage, according […]
April 12, 2022
Japanese car manufacturer Honda is investing €37 billion in developing and producing EVs. By 2030, it wants to have 30 EVs on offer, representing a total annual production of two million vehicles per year. Last year, the manufacturer announced that it would not sell ICE cars anymore as of 2040. “Honda is striving to be […]
April 11, 2022
At Ford’s Otosan production site in Turkey, production of the 100% electrically powered Transit will get started. Ford has big plans to electrify its commercial vehicle fleets, and the market is also responding positively, with 5 000 orders already in the Ford Pro order book. Ford is running a broad pilot project with pre-production models […]
April 11, 2022
Mercedes’ Chief Technical Officer Markus Schäfer, talking to the American magazine Road&Track, says, “there’s still a significant initial cost penalty to a battery-electric vehicle over an internal combustion car.” According to Schäfer, that’s not going away anytime soon. EVs may not get much cheaper over the next few years, and batteries could even increase in […]
April 08, 2022
The British government has revealed its new energy policy and strategy, given the recent events in the energy market and the Ukrainian war. The UK wants to accelerate nuclear power again, and besides pushing for more wind and solar power, it will also stay developing its fossil fuel winnings in the North Sea. At the […]
April 08, 2022
There’s a big chance that in 2026, F1 race cars will also be driven by Audi and Porsche engines/motors. If all goes as predicted, Porsche will be delivering to Red Bull and Audi to McLaren; other racing teams may follow. This is excellent news for the new owner of the ‘F1 circus’, American Liberty Media, […]
April 07, 2022
The affordable car is almost gone, and electrification is another big hurdle for the species. Some manufacturers want to do something about this, preferably spreading the risk and working together. Now joining the movement are GM and Honda. General Motors and Honda are expanding their cooperation into developing a range of affordable electric cars based […]
April 07, 2022
Two French industrial companies aim to replace all freight diesel locomotives on the non-electrified parts of the French rail network. Train manufacturer, Alstom, is set to develop a heavy-load fuel-cell locomotive, while energy provider Engie will produce and supply emission-free hydrogen from renewable energies. The new train’s first runs are scheduled for 2025. “Our ambition […]
April 07, 2022
Porsche has invested an additional $75 million in the international developer of electric fuels, HIF Global. The German carmaker wants to import climate-neutral e-fuel from their plant in Chile to keep the internal combustion engine alive in the 911 and make racing sustainable. There’s no denying it. While Porsche is at the forefront of developing […]
April 07, 2022
German ‘green’ energy supplier RWE Renewables intends to build Europe’s biggest grid backup battery with a 200 megawatts capacity in Rotem (Dilsen-Stokkem) in Belgium. To compare: Belgium’s largest backup battery so far is the Terhills ‘Virtual Power Plant’ (VPP) in Eisden, delivering 18,2 MW with 140 big Tesla batteries. RWE initially was going to build […]
April 06, 2022
Jaguar Land Rover has announced the appointment of Thomas Müller as the new Executive Director of Product Engineering. The engineer joins Jaguar Land Rover from the Volkswagen Group, where he held various management positions in Audi’s technical development. He succeeds former Chief Technology Officer Nick Rogers, who left the company in December 2021. Thomas Müller […]
April 05, 2022
More than eight out of ten cars sold in Norway are now fully electric. With PHEVs added to the mix, the figures even surpass 90%. Best-sellers are the Tesla Model Y and Model 3. Norway is paving the way for Europe more than ever, where electric cars accounted for a little lower than 10% last […]
April 05, 2022
Rolls-Royce has completed its winter testing of the first electric model, the Spectre. About a quarter of the 2,5 million test kilometers planned for the battery-electric car has to be driven in (very) cold circumstances. The first rumors about the actual drive system are also popping up, like having four electromotors instead of the more […]
April 04, 2022
Taiwan’s biggest motorbike, scooter, and quad manufacturer Kymco has launched a concept to offer cities a backup power solution for the most crucial traffic lights and street lights in case of grid power failure: integrated scooter battery swapping stations. By incorporating an Ionex swap station into urban street lights and traffic lights, eventually charged by […]
April 04, 2022
The [email protected] project, the brainchild of BASF Antwerp and Air Liquide in the harbor of Antwerp for the capturing, transport, and storage of CO2 emissions in the empty gas field in the North Sea, will receive 356,9 million euros support from the European Innovation Fund (EIF). On Friday, the agreement for the subsidy was signed. […]
April 04, 2022
The Belgian government will be releasing 240 million euros to promote commuting by bicycle in the coming years. This was decided during the budget review, says Minister of Mobility Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo). In addition, the government will also release 30 million euros to ease the transport cost of employees. And last but not least, public […]
April 04, 2022
No, it wasn’t an April fools’ joke. On Friday, April 1st, EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton appealed to European carmakers, asking them to continue manufacturing combustion engine cars despite their ban in the EU from 2035. “Even if Europe bans the sale of internal combustion engines, other countries in the world will continue to […]
April 04, 2022
China’s second-biggest independent automaker next to Geely, BYD or Build Your Dream in English, announced on Sunday that it had stopped ultimately making cars with only an internal combustion engine (ICE). BYD will only continue to produce smaller ICE engines for its plug-in hybrids, next to battery-electric models, the sole focus left. On Twitter, BYD […]
April 01, 2022
The Flemish Minister of Mobility, Lydia Peeters (Open Vld), rejects the idea of introducing a maximum speed limit of 100 km/hour on the highways. Yesterday, we wrote that Groen, Flanders’ green political party, had suggested introducing a temporary speed limit of 100 kph on the highways. The measure would improve safety, save money and fuel, […]
April 01, 2022
As Italian worker unions were quite anxious about the future of Stellantis factories in Italy, CEO Carlos Tavares has now confirmed that the ‘Oser 2030’ plan is not thinking about closing any plant before 2030. Nevertheless, certain plants will have to be transformed into the production of electric vehicles. Tavares hasn’t yet delivered a detailed […]
March 31, 2022
Carrefour will install 3 000 charging points for electric vehicles in the car parks of its 400-plus Carrefour Market supermarkets by 2025. On Wednesday, the French multinational retail corporation announced that the franchise supermarkets should also be equipped. According to the press release, Carrefour will thus become France’s leading electric charging network, with more than […]
March 31, 2022
Stijn Bex, Flemish MP for political party Groen, wants to lower the maximum speed on highways to 100 kilometers/hour. “Driving slower is less consuming.” According to Bex, the measure could save about 0,7 to 1,5 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers. The measure should only apply during the daytime. Björn Rzoska, leader of the parliamentary […]
March 31, 2022
Audi Netherlands announced on Thursday it will stop selling from April 2022 all TDI diesel models to focus on plug-in hybrids, fully battery-electric, and TFSI turbo gasoline models. The Dutch never were diesel addicts, and the demand for it in the premium segment shrank to a mere one percent last year. Audi Netherlands sees no […]
March 31, 2022
According to a report, General Motors has received more reservations than previously expected for its GMC Hummer electric pickups and SUVs. More than 65 000 in total so far. Orders for the Hummer pickup are unlikely to be fulfilled before 2024. Duncan Aldred, GMC’s global vice president, commented on reservations and delivery of the vehicles […]
March 30, 2022
A new study in six major European markets by Transport and Environment (T&E) shows that today’s electric vans are, on average, 25% cheaper per km to operate than diesel vans. That is €0,15/km for the e-van versus €0,20/km for the diesel van. In another study published simultaneously, most fleet owners show to be prepared to […]
March 30, 2022
Theion, a global battery manufacturing start-up of lithium-sulfur cathode technology, announced the upcoming commercial availability of its Crystal Battery for applications, beginning with the aerospace sector. At the same time, it mentioned the appointment of Dr. Ulrich Ehmes as CEO. Dr. Ehmes has a long track record of industrializing battery production at companies like Swiss-listed […]
March 30, 2022
In its ongoing transformation into a global performance car brand, Lotus has launched its first product, which is considered a milestone for the company. “The all-new and all-electric Lotus Eletre is a striking and progressive Hyper-SUV – the first of a new breed of pure electric SUVs,” says the press release. “It takes the core […]
March 29, 2022
Chinese CATL, the biggest battery manufacturer in the world, has announced that it will launch a new generation of its cell-to-pack battery (CTP), internally called Kirin. The company says it is ready for mass production and that its battery outperforms by 13% Tesla’s next-generation pack with 4 860 cells. The news was ushered out at […]
March 29, 2022
Dutch fast-charging provider Fastned managed to double its revenue related to EV charging in 2021 to €12,4 million, +98% compared to the year before. But that doesn’t mean profitability yet. The net loss was still €24,6 million. The yearly report shows that the focus is still on expanding rapidly throughout Europe. Last year, Fastned opened […]
March 29, 2022
Supported by new research, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) calls on all EU member states to urgently step-up investments in infrastructure for electrically chargeable cars, vans, trucks, and buses. “The auto industry is already placing hundreds of models of low- and zero-emission vehicles on the market, but has serious concerns about the slow deployment […]
March 29, 2022
Two Belgian bike manufacturers, Ellio and Ahooga, are joining forces. The first is a small start-up from Louvain producing a two-wheel-drive speed-pedelec; the second is a more extensive and somewhat older Brussels (Uccle) start-up building electric city bikes. Today, they’re launching a joint project, a speed-pedelec from Ellio with the hipster design touch from Ahooga. […]
March 25, 2022
Flanders wants to force a new ‘peak capacity tariff’ to calculate the part of every household’s electricity invoice for grid maintenance and managing by July 1st, 2022. But from several quarters in the energy sector and politics, pressure rises to ask the Flemish energy regulator VREG to postpone this by one year due to soaring […]
March 25, 2022
Honda has presented its next electrified model for Europe with the Civic e:HEV. This year, the eleventh-generation Honda Civic model for Europe, the Civic e:HEV, will be launched. The Japanese car manufacturer is also keeping to its announcement to electrify the entire model portfolio in Europe by the end of 2022. The model name reveals […]
March 25, 2022
The Japanese carmaker Nissan has announced that it will refrain from investing in Euro 7-compliant pure combustion vehicles. Instead, the Japanese company will only introduce new passenger cars in Europe with partially or fully electric drives from 2023. The company expects 75% of its new cars in the region to be electrified by the 2026 […]
March 24, 2022
Now that fuel prices are peaking, Dutch motorists are driving more slowly on highways. Probably to save fuel. The Dutch office for traffic data NDW (Nationaal Dataportaal Wegverkeer) noticed that last week, the average speed on 37% of Dutch highways was 1 km/hour lower than before the war in Ukraine began. Researchers of NDW analyzed […]
March 24, 2022
Mercedes has acquired a third of the Automotive Cells Company (ACC) shares as an equal partner, a joint venture with Stellantis and Saft (TotalEnergies). ACC also announced that it would increase its output to 120-gigawatt hours per year across its entire production chain. The joint venture will build a third factory in Italy to meet […]
March 24, 2022
Several demo cars of the BMW iX5 Hydrogen are traveling around Europe to gather support (financial and other) from all kinds of instances. BMW sees FCEVs as an exciting alternative for BEVs in the far future, and this move illustrates BMW’s belief in the technical solution. Last week, we talked with Jürgen Guldner, Vice President […]
March 23, 2022
The German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, DLR) has developed a ‘groundbreaking’ new concept of a lightweight plug-in fuel cell vehicle combining a 48 kWh rechargeable battery and a 45 kW fuel cell to offer a 1 000 km range. New letter words to learn: PFCV, PFCEV, PHFCEV? The Interurban Vehicle (IUV) […]
March 23, 2022
A team of Belgian researchers is analyzing the effects of offshore wind farms on marine life. The nature reserve of the Princess Elisabeth Zone in the North Sea can only be used for energy production if the impact on plant and animal life is limited. The ‘EDEN 2000’ research project – ‘Exploring options for a […]
March 23, 2022
As one of the first journalists in Europe, we were able to drive the first Subaru EV, the Solterra, on a closed test circuit in Aldenhoven, near Aachen (Germany). This spring, the Solterra arrives on the market together with the Toyota bZ4x, its twin brother. But to say that Solterra is a mere copy of […]
March 22, 2022
The US State of Washington has passed a bill banning the sale, purchase, and registration of new gasoline-powered vehicles of the model year 2030 or later. If it becomes law, Washington will phase out internal combustion vehicles five years earlier than other ‘leading’ states like, for example, California. The transportation package is called ‘Move Ahead […]
March 21, 2022
The International Energy Agency (IEA) warns of an oil crisis caused by the invasion in Ukraine and spurs governments to take action and consumers to change their behavior. It has presented a ten-point plan to cut oil use. Working from home, restrictions on access to city centers by car, cheaper public transportation, more carpooling, reduced […]
March 21, 2022
Lydia Peeters (Open Vld), Flemish Minister for Mobility, has finished the promised mapping of new potential semi-public charging points for Flanders. Local governments can now consult the map that shows in hexagonal areas of approximately 200 meters the best locations for installing those public chargers. Today, with some 640 added this year until March, Flanders’ […]
March 21, 2022
Porsche has officially confirmed that it intends to offer its mid-engine 718 sports car exclusively in all-electric form by the middle of the decade. In addition, the sports car brand will also invest in its own High-Power Charging infrastructure. The announcement was made when Porsche presented its business figures for 2021. Porsche CEO Oliver Blume: […]
March 18, 2022
Flanders and Germany are betting on faster adoption of hydrogen to cut gas reliance from Russia. Flanders wants to convert natural gas from Norway to hydrogen in the port of Ghent, while Germany is starting a feasibility study for transporting H2 from Norway through a pipeline. The Flemish minister-president said that hydrogen is the only […]
March 18, 2022
The Ministers for the Environment of the European Union have reached an agreement in Brussels on the rules for using and reusing industrial batteries and batteries for domestic use. Future batteries should be more sustainable, reusable, and have a longer life-span. This implies that the production, use, and processing of used batteries has to become […]
