September 26, 2023
Almost 2 800 residents of the Lower Bavarian municipality of Straßkirchen were called upon in a referendum to vote on BMW’s planned battery assembly in the village. The result was a clearer ‘yes’ than previously thought. A clear majority of Straßkirchen residents voted in favor of building the new BMW Group facility. With over 75% […]
September 26, 2023
Despite climate ambitions to phase out carbon emissions by 2050, fossil companies continue to invest in new oil pipelines and platforms, shale gas projects, and even coal mines. To finance these activities, they increasingly rely on the cooperation of the banks. That is what the newspaper De Tijd revealed on Tuesday, based on research from […]
September 25, 2023
The French mining company Eramet and waste management specialist Suez have decided on Dunkirk, near the Belgian border, for the location of their EV battery recycling plant. The first part of the plant is scheduled to be operational by 2025, with a capacity of up to 50 000 tons of battery packs per year. Eramet […]
September 25, 2023
Dutch energy supplier Eneco is to withdraw from the Brussels residential market. No more new customers will be accepted, and existing contracts will not be renewed after expiry. According to Eneco, the decision results from overly complex regulations and overprotection of customers. As a result, conditions are no longer profitable and unsustainable in the short […]
September 25, 2023
The Vietnamese electric car manufacturer VinFast has now set the fourth quarter of 2023 as the target for the start of deliveries in Europe. The introduction has been postponed several times. At the same time, VinFast presented its first official business figures after it went IPO in August. In the fourth quarter of 2023, the […]
September 25, 2023
Kawasaki has unveiled its first two production electric motorcycles: the Ninja e-1 and the Z e-1. Both models are meant for city use with a 9 kW motor, which makes them equivalent to the 125 cc class and around 72 km of range. Electric motorcycles are slowly gaining traction, with models like the Harley-Davidson LiveWire […]
September 25, 2023
All new Jaguars sold in North America from 2025 will come with the North American Charging Standard (NACS). I-Pace drivers will receive an adapter to use the supercharger network. Jaguar is looking to become an all-electric brand starting in 2025. In the US, Canada, and Mexico, its new electric cars will come with the North […]
September 22, 2023
Limburg-based Giga Storage Belgium will construct a large-scale battery farm in Ophoven (Kinrooi). With a 300 megawatt capacity, it will be the largest battery farm in Europe, capable of providing 165 000 families with electricity for four hours. Large storage capacity with batteries is essential to absorb fluctuations in supply and demand in the electricity […]
September 21, 2023
Gas network operator Fluxys Belgium, Pipelink, Socofe, and the Federal Participation and Investment Company (SFPIM) join forces to create ‘Fluxys c-grid’, a CO2 network operator that must support the industry “in its transition efforts toward a low CO2 emission future”. Pipelink is a subsidiary of the Port of Antwerp-Bruges, and Socofe is the investment vehicle […]
September 21, 2023
The Prime Minister of the UK, Rishi Sunak (Conservatives), is attempting to water down the UK policy to ban the sale of new combustion vehicles in 2030. The British car industry doesn’t seem happy at all with this policy change. “To give us more time to prepare, I’m announcing that we’re going to ease the […]
September 20, 2023
A 3,5-year EU project, GIANTS (Green Intelligent Affordable New Transport Solutions), aims to develop technology solutions that will enable the production of affordable LEVs or light electric vehicles (categorized L5, L6, and L7) for urban transport worldwide. Two major car manufacturers are also involved. How can the millions of tuk-tuks in the world’s cities be […]
September 19, 2023
At the top of Hongtu Daban in Tibet, a Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo EV conquered a new record for the greatest altitude change by an electric car: 5 573,979 meters. The Porsche Taycan has secured a new Guinness World Record after completing an extreme 2 783-kilometer journey that saw it go from the lowest natural […]
September 19, 2023
Amsterdam Schiphol Airport has started the construction of a brand-new Car Rental Service Center. It will be the Netherlands’ largest car rental company facility, accommodating about 2 500 vehicles and able to charge some 300 EVs simultaneously. The building is expected to be finished by the end of 2024. Schiphol is transforming the former P4 […]
September 19, 2023
Gotion High-Tech, a Chinese battery cell manufacturer and Volkswagen partner, now also builds its battery packs in Göttingen. The first battery products are to be delivered to customers in October. “Our Göttingen factory’s production line is highly automated, with an overall automation level of nearly 70% and close to 80% in the module assembly stage,” […]
September 19, 2023
Volkswagen reportedly wants to stop vehicle production in Dresden after more than 20 years. The site is to be retained, and the 300 or so employees will be given other tasks, among others, in the area of innovative production and testing. VW is building the ID.3 in the so-called ‘Gläserne Manufaktur’ or Transparent Factory. According […]
September 18, 2023
Carmakers can sell small electric cars made in Europe for € 25 000 while making a profit, new research from Transport & Environment (T&E) shows. Falling production costs and battery prices would make mass-market B-segment vehicles feasible to electrify by 2025, according to the study by Transport & Environment (T&E) based on analysis by the […]
September 18, 2023
Not all battery packs in EVs age at the same level. According to research by the Future Mobility department of Thomas More High School, the variation can mount up to 8% annually on specific packs. This is much worse than the rule of thumb prescribing 70% capacity after usage of eight years and could severely […]
September 18, 2023
Xpeng will be the next Chinese manufacturer to launch an electric van on the domestic market from the end of this year. It will bear the model designation Xpeng X9 and will go on sale later this year. The first undisguised pictures and technical key data have now emerged from the Chinese Ministry of Industry […]
September 15, 2023
British oil company BP continues to set ambitious targets for its network of ultra-fast charging stations. By 2030, it wants to roll out 20 000 High Power Charging (HPC) points for cars and a network of low-carbon mobility hubs for medium and heavy-duty vehicles. It will do this with Germany’s largest service station network, Aral, […]
September 15, 2023
Danish container shipping company Maersk has launched the world’s first container ship to run on green methanol in its fleet. The ship, the ‘Laura Maersk’ was christened in Copenhagen by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “This ship embodies Europe’s decision to be a pioneer in the fight against climate change,” von der Leyen […]
September 14, 2023
BMW, Honda, and Ford are combining forces in the US and have founded ChargeScape, a joint venture that connects energy providers and EV customers from the brands. The three automakers have been researching the possibility of a standard charging service network for some time and have turned their findings into a business. ChargeScape is not […]
September 13, 2023
On Tuesday, the Members of the European Parliament (MEP) updated the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) to raise the share of renewables in the EU’s final energy consumption to 42,5% by 2030. Member states should strive to achieve 45%. The legislation will also speed up procedures to grant permits for new renewable energy power plants, such […]
September 12, 2023
Allego, founded in 2013 in the Netherlands as part of grid operator Alliander and now a pan-European EV network with 34 000 chargers, says it is finally phasing out CHAdeMO chargers as only 4,12% of EVs today are still equipped with the Japanese system. Only the Nissan Leaf and the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV are still […]
September 12, 2023
Dutch fast-charger network Fastned has signed its first contract in Italy with highway managing A4 Holding Group to build a large charging station along the A4 Brescia – Padova highway in northern Italy, close to the Brescia Est exit. It’s the 8th European country where Fastned has established its presence. Fastned already operates 275 fast […]
September 07, 2023
On Wednesday, Avery Dennison, a leading global packaging and materials manufacturer, commissioned Europe’s largest Concentrated Solar Thermal (CST) platform and thermal storage unit at its production plant in Turnhout, Belgium. The project collaborates with Limburg-based Azteq, an organization that builds, develops, and maintains CST facilities. The renewable energy project contains a CST platform with 2 […]
September 07, 2023
Flemish Minister of Mobility and Public Works Lydia Peeters (Open VLD) has launched a call for innovative pilot projects on charging infrastructure. She allocates two million euros for this. The call focuses on exploratory and innovative pilot projects of a limited scale that can be scaled up afterward: mobile charging systems, private shared charging systems, […]
September 01, 2023
Further details about Jaguar’s new start as an electric brand from 2025 start to trickle down. According to a portal report, the three models Jaguar plans, based on the new electric platform JEA (in an early stage named Panthera), will be a four-seater GT, a luxury SUV, and a large sedan. The usually well-informed British […]
August 31, 2023
Renault CEO Luca de Meo has given more details about when the electric car business will split from the rest of the company and its planned Initial Public offering (IPO). The split will take place on 1 November 2023. From then on, Ampere will be separated from the Renault Group, but the ownership structure will […]
August 30, 2023
All thirteen Provincial Education Flanders secondary technical schools will launch the training ‘charging station installer’ on the first of September. A Flanders’ first. Some manufacturers will support them. “Training will be the biggest challenge in the sector.” Flanders faces a significant energy transition, and we need a faster rollout of charging infrastructure in Flanders. There’s […]
August 30, 2023
Under the name Blue Plug Chargers, Hyundai will start building its own supercharger through its subsidiary, Hyundai Kefico. In its home market, the company wants to get to terms with the more successful rollout of Tesla, which also manufactures high-power chargers. In 2021, Hyundai announced the launch of its own supercharger network under the name […]
August 30, 2023
Wallonia has almost finalized mapping out the EV stations needed for its 262 communities, Le Soir writes on Monday: 2.448 access points capable of at least two EVs charging simultaneously at 11 kW. The Walloon Region allocates €15 million in subsidies and prepares a tender to realize these public charging stations in the next two […]
August 30, 2023
More and more experts warn that European countries struggle to persuade people to switch from ICE cars to EVs. Europe sells ten times more electric cars today than it did six years ago (source: IEA), but its fleet is cleaning up too slowly to meet the agreed climate goals. “What we have learned is that […]
August 29, 2023
The California-based electric car manufacturer Fisker has announced that it has launched in three new European markets: Belgium, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. The company has already launched in Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, as well as in Canada and the United States. Deliveries of the first car, the Ocean SUV, […]
August 29, 2023
Mercedes is on track, building its own global fast-charging park. In Europe, where the brand aims at 200 charging points, the car brand announced that it will open its first hub in Mannheim in October 2023. The charging station must set new standards for fast, convenient, and sustainable charging. The rollout of its own charging […]
August 29, 2023
In an interview with the Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung, the CEO of the Swedish/Swiss technology group ABB, Björn Rosengren, says that the time has definitely come to buy an electric car. The development of charging infrastructure is gaining momentum, so the biggest hurdle is disappearing. “Due to Covid-19, I’ve been unable to travel to […]
August 29, 2023
Chinese electric car manufacturer Xpeng signed a strategic partnership with shared mobility provider Didi. The deal includes the development of a new small electric car brand (project name Mona) and an investment by Xpeng in Didi. Xpeng wants to launch a new EV brand in 2024. It is currently being developed under the project name […]
August 25, 2023
Swedish lithium-ion battery manufacturer Northvolt and world-leading metal recycler EMR have built a battery recycling facility in Hamburg (Germany). The brand-new site will recycle the vast number of EV batteries that will reach their end of life. The site was officially inaugurated on August 24 by the First Mayor of Hamburg, Peter Tschentscher. The 12 […]
August 24, 2023
Frank Energie, a new Dutch energy supplier, wants to conquer Belgium after the Netherlands, with dynamic hourly prices to allow EV owners to charge at home when prices are at their lowest, for instance. CEO Hans van der Woude does not hide his ambitions: After further growth in Belgium, Spain, and France, the start-up wants […]
August 24, 2023
On Wednesday, Norway opened the world’s first floating wind farm explicitly built to power offshore oil and gas installations and is now supplying electricity to oil and gas fields Snorre and Gullfaks in the Norwegian North Sea – 140 km off the Norwegian coast. Crown Prince Haakon of Norway gave the symbolic green light by […]
August 24, 2023
According to an analysis commissioned by Greenpeace, twelve of Europe’s leading fossil fuel companies are deceiving the public about their willingness to curb their climate-damaging impact by transitioning to renewable energy sources. Greenpeace calls for strict regulation of fossil fuel companies to prevent even more fossil-fuelled climate destruction. The report, titled “The Dirty Dozen: The […]
August 23, 2023
Renault developed the Plug Inn app to bring electric car users from any brand together in the hope of a better and easier charging solution. The app allows users to open up their smart private charge point at home to other users and monetize it. This community-based app is available in France. In Belgium, there’s […]
August 23, 2023
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has partnered with Wykes Engineering Ltd., a specialist in renewable energy, to develop one of the biggest energy storage systems in the UK to harness solar and wind power using second-life Jaguar I-PACE batteries. One single Wykes Engineering BESS (Battery Energy Storage System) can store up to 2,5 MWh of energy […]
August 22, 2023
During GM’s second-quarter earnings call in July, CEO Mary Barra reportedly said the company is launching a new strategy called “Winning with Simplicity”. It’s meant to lower design and engineering costs and reduce complexity in vehicle orders and manufacturing. GM is aiming to cut trim levels in half to create “fewer part numbers to simplify […]
August 22, 2023
German premium car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz will reportedly upgrade its EQE and EQS electric models to an 800-volt electrical system from 2025 onward, allowing charging capacities over 200 kW. According to media reports, the switch to 800-volt system voltage is part of a larger upgrade of the EVA2 platform, which will then be called EVA2M. EVA2 […]
August 21, 2023
The team at Croatian car builder Rimac Automobili continues to showcase why its all-electric Nevera hypercar is the fastest production EV on the planet. It has just achieved the latest lap record at the world-renowned Nürburgring track. Since 2009, Rimac Automobili has continued to develop and deliver some of the most exciting and technologically advanced electric hypercars in […]
August 18, 2023
Dutch fast-charging company Fastned begins to see its vast investment efforts bear fruit, saying it hit a significant financial milestone during the first half of 2023, with the underlying company EBITDA reaching €2,8 million. By the end of June, it opened 28 new stations this year alone, adding to its network of 272 spread over […]
August 17, 2023
On Wednesday, the world’s biggest EV battery maker, Chinese CATL, presented its newest LFP battery named ‘Shenxing’, offering economical fast charging of 400 kilometers of extra range in only ten minutes and a total range of 700 km. CATL says it found the perfect balance of long-range and easy refueling, with EV charging taking no […]
August 17, 2023
Hyundai Motor India said on Wednesday that it had signed an Asset Purchase Agreement (APA) to purchase a factory from US car manufacturer General Motors in the western state of Maharashtra. The South Korean car manufacturing group’s acquisition of the Talegaon plant in Maharashtra will lay the foundation to increase annual production capacity in India. […]
August 17, 2023
The KIA EV5 will normally be revealed at China’s AutoChengdu on August 25, but as usual, the very first official pictures of the production version are already leaked via the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), picked up by CarNewsChina. Pictures of the final version show that the newcomer is very similar to the […]
August 16, 2023
After two separate fire incidents, US-based e-truck manufacturer Nikola has issued a recall for all 209 of its currently produced Tre BEV trucks due to a faulty component in the battery pack of the trucks. The company has also decided to pause sales of its battery-electric trucks until the issue is resolved. Two “thermal incidents”, […]
August 16, 2023
Volvo Cars reported global sales of 54 165 cars in July, up 21% compared with the same month last year. This was the eleventh consecutive month of growth year-over-year. In the same period, fully electric car sales grew 248% to 5 504 units, just over 10% of the total, while plug-in hybrids increased 65% to […]
August 15, 2023
Today, the Californian electric carmaker Fisker released additional details on its Fisker Ronin Super GT. This all-electric convertible was showcased for the first time at the company’s product vision day a few weeks ago. Meanwhile, the company had to lower its production targets for 2023 again. “The Fisker Ronin is for people who love to […]
August 11, 2023
Cadillac has unveiled the Escalade IQ, an all-electric ‘full-size SUV’, scheduled for production in the summer of 2024. Based on General Motors’ Ultium platform, the Cadillac Escalade IQ gets an enormous battery. The Escalade IQ, which will debut with the 2025 model year, has up to 559 kW of all-wheel drive with two engines. That’s […]
August 10, 2023
The British chemical company Ineos wants to invest 10 million euros in a hydrogen boiler. The boiler will be located at Ineos’ subsidiary Inovyn in the port of Antwerp and will produce steam using its own surplus of hydrogen. This way, the company can avoid losing energy. To make the Antwerp chemical cluster more sustainable, […]
August 10, 2023
Dutch fast-charging company Fastned is tempting EV drivers heading on vacation to the South of France with free ice cream at its Belgian Ardennes station at Baraque de Fraiture in Vielsalm. Be there between 12 to 4 p.m. on ‘Red Saturday’ August 12th, to lick the free sweets. The Fastnet charging station is located at […]
August 09, 2023
The BMW i7 Protection is the world’s first-ever protection berline with an all-electric drive system. It is driven by two powerful electric motors and meets all the requirements of class VR9 protection without any limitations. The new BMW i7 Protection integrated security concept was factored into developing the new BMW 7 Series range. It centers […]
August 09, 2023
Charging at half the price? German energy pioneer E.ON is making it possible for Danish EV drivers, as it has unlocked flexible rates at its charging stations in the capital of Copenhagen. The company has been testing dynamic pricing since the beginning of the year and offers it publicly for the first time. With dynamic […]
August 09, 2023
The German premium manufacturer BMW has presented a particular version of its 5 Series Sedan and the all-electric i5 for the Chinese market. The China offshoots get a longer wheelbase, more space in the rear, and specific design and equipment features. The 5 Series Sedan and the i5 for the Chinese market are produced at […]
August 08, 2023
Octopus Electric Vehicles, part of Octopus Energy Group, has launched a second-hand leasing offering for electric cars. “We’re making the switch to electric driving the cheapest it has ever been,” says the press release. Octopus’ ‘Nearly New’ salary sacrifice offer makes EVs more accessible to the mass market by reducing costs. Drivers can access popular […]
August 08, 2023
Arval, one of the more prominent multi-brand leasing companies in Belgium, has published data about the most ordered company cars for the first half of this year. According to the Arval Mobility Observatory, the five most ordered company cars are electrified. In Belgium, Arval manages some 100 000 lease contracts for individuals, independents, and companies. […]
