January 12, 2022
The chip shortage put a dent in the production of Volvo Car Gent last year. But for 2022, the company is looking forward. The plant plans to triple its output of all-electric models and take its final steps to become a climate-neutral site. 2021 wasn’t the best of years for Volvo Car Gent. While output […]
January 07, 2022
Airlines have no reason to fly planes empty in Europe to keep their airport slots. That is what ACI Europe, the association representing Europe’s airports, says, expressing dismay at the controversy that arose after Lufthansa said carrying out some 18 000 unnecessary flights just to keep its time slots. About 3 000 of these are […]
January 03, 2022
From 1 January this year, France restricts international freight transport by trucks over 44 tons. More than 40 tons will only be permitted for intermodal transport by French trucks. France has ended all ambiguity surrounding the maximum weight for cross-border transport with the new legislation. The UPTR, the Professional Union of Transport and Logistics in […]
December 30, 2021
Swedish battery-startup Northvolt has commissioned its Skellefteå factory in the north of the country by producing the first prismatic battery cell on site. Production will fully start in 2022, ramping up to a capacity of 16 GWh annually. That’s enough to power about 300 000 electric cars. Ultimately, the factory will output 60 GWh per […]
December 27, 2021
Urban.brussels has delivered the building permit to start converting the Brussels Schuman Square in the European quarters of the Belgian capital, merely a three-lane roundabout today, into a green pedestrian esplanade. Brussels building agency Beliris is to start works by the end of 2022. The latter was confirmed on Friday by Minister-President Rudy Vervoort (PS) […]
December 17, 2021
Is it driving on sunshine for less than € 30 000 within a few years? That’s the new target for Dutch start-up Lightyear, a specialist in solar cars. The news breaks shortly after the company secured the necessary fundings for its pioneering car, the One (pictured above), which will be offered for a retail price […]
December 15, 2021
The EU Commission has presented a four-pillar Action Plan for a cleaner, greener, and smarter mobility on the cross-border transport network through Europe and its nine major corridors. That means shifting more passengers and freight to rail and inland waterways, the roll-out of charging points every 60 km along highways, hydrogen filling stations at 150 […]
December 14, 2021
The Italian Interministerial Committee for the Ecological Transition (CITE) has aligned itself with the EU Commission’s proposal to ban the sales of new cars with an internal combustion engine from 2035. For light commercial vehicles, this would be extended to 2040. A note from the Ministery for Ecological Transition specified it would apply to cars […]
December 14, 2021
The German government is extending subsidies for electrified cars by one year. In 2022, the purchase of an e-car will continue to be subsidized up to a maximum of 9 000 euros and 6 750 euros for plug-in hybrids. These subsidies, introduced in July 2020, have played a vital role in the record increase in […]
December 13, 2021
Three additional Chinese carmakers, NIO, Xpeng, and Lynk & Co, have joined Volkswagen’s open CO2 Pool to help achieve the EU goals for 2021-2022. Those are set at a maximum of 95 g/km average CO2 output over the entire fleet of newly sold cars. The latter was published by Berlin-based EU industry market analyst Schmidt […]
December 13, 2021
All new trains of Belgian railway company NMBS/SNCB will have at least eight places for bicycles starting in 2025. This is stated in a preliminary draft law by Minister of Mobility, Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo), the Council of Ministers approved on Friday. The obligation will apply to new trains that are put into service. Existing trains […]
December 03, 2021
Toyota’s idea of our electric future is not just about battery-electric cars. That was the bottom line of the Kenshiki (translated as ‘Insight’) forum held in Brussels on Thursday. The brand showcased the new production model Corolla Cross Hybrid, some European premieres, and further outlined its path toward carbon-neutrality in Europe by 2035. Alongside the […]
November 24, 2021
The Flemish Minister of Energy Tinne Van der Straeten (Groen) has signed a political agreement in Copenhagen for the construction of an undersea high-tension cable between Belgium and Denmark. The 600-km-long cable connection, called Triton Link, will be used to transport the surplus of energy of the numerous Danish wind farms to our country. Triton […]
November 19, 2021
The chip crisis isn’t going anywhere soon, and it shows in the latest registration figures. In Belgium, 25 045 cars were registered for October, 35,3 percent less than last year’s comparable month. According to the European manufacturers association ACEA, October was the worst month in European car sales since recording sales figures. Overall the year […]
November 17, 2021
[email protected], the Antwerp project to set up an infrastructure to capture CO2 and push it in liquid form through pipelines into storage, is one of the seven large-scale selected projects to be subsidized by the European Innovation Fund (EIF). The project gets part of the €1,1 billion subsidies the European Commission has available. [email protected] is […]
November 16, 2021
The latest battery cell from Northvolt answers to one of the most important criticisms against battery production: the unethical and ecologically questionable mining process. The Swedish battery manufacturer has successfully produced its first lithium-ion battery cell made entirely from precious recycled metals. The nickel, cobalt, and manganese used in this cell came from the waste […]
November 09, 2021
The Greek government has finally thought its climate plans through and is joining the leading group of European countries to ban the sales of new ICE cars already in 2030, five years ahead of what is currently on the EU Commission’s table. Second-hand cars are not affected. In 2025 Greece wants all new taxis in […]
November 04, 2021
More details have emerged on Mini’s plans to become a fully electric brand by 2030. As of next year, BMW’s sub-company will launch a new generation of an all-electric platform, and in the year 2025, its showrooms will see the last model equipped with a combustion engine. The target is that by 2027 half of […]
October 28, 2021
To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Renault 4, the brand decided to team up with designer Mathieu Lehanneur to reinvent the vehicle. At the same time, CEO Luca de Meo pleads for less complaining and more innovation throughout the French car industry. The iconic Renault 4L has turned 60. It was a small and […]
October 20, 2021
The replacement of the Nissan Leaf will be a crossover model based on the Alliance platform CMF-EV. It will be built at the plant in Sunderland, England, starting in 2025. This was confirmed by Nissan’s European boss Guillaume Cartier to the British magazine Autocar. The Nissan Leaf hatchback was one of the first EVs to […]
October 19, 2021
There’s a chance that Volvo Cars chose Ghent as the site to build an entirely new (giga)factory for batteries. The plant should produce 300 000 to 400 000 battery packs per year and provide jobs for 3 000 people. Like many other car manufacturers, Volvo wants to be more independent of the (primarily Asian) battery […]
October 13, 2021
Months away from the French elections, President Emmanuel Macron has unveiled his ‘France 2030’ plan. Grounds are laid to invest 30 billion euros in hydrogen, nuclear, electric cars, green airplanes, renewable energies, and even aerospace. The president wants France to “become a great innovation nation again.” To the energy sector, Macron has allocated a total […]
October 12, 2021
Canadian group Rock Tech Lithium has invested 470 million euros in constructing the first lithium hydroxide converter in Europe. The plant that is to be built in Brandenburg (Germany) should produce around 24 000 metric tons of lithium hydroxide per year, starting in 2024. This would be enough to equip around 500 000 EVs. “Our […]
October 07, 2021
The European Parliament demands a zero-tolerance for alcohol and drugs on the road throughout the European Union. There should also be a 30 km/hour speed limit in every residential area. Since the current European recommendations are 20 years old, the Parliament considers the time to open the debate on new road safety measures. Moreover, things […]
October 01, 2021
British motorists driving outside the UK are no longer allowed to use the old-style ‘GB’ indication on their cars. Instead, they have to display a ‘UK’ sticker, or they need the UK identifier on their license plate. The new UK governance guidance has been in place since Tuesday, September 28th, and is said to be […]
September 30, 2021
Eric-Mark Huitema, Director General at the European car manufacturers association ACEA, rings the alarm bell. He warns that the ambitious ‘Fit for 55’ emission reduction program of the European Commission is doomed to fail. The lack of charging infrastructure necessary to implement the energy transition will be a stumbling stone. “A badly managed transition will […]
September 29, 2021
ArcelorMittal, the multinational steel manufacturing corporation, is planning to invest 1,1 billion euros in its production unit in Ghent to reduce CO2 emissions drastically. “The initiative may be one of the largest climate investments in Belgium,” says Energy Minister Tinne Van der Straeten (Groen). “It shows the industry is a crucial partner.” The company that […]
September 24, 2021
The Flemish Bikers’ Confederation (Fietsersbond) has awarded the pharmaceutical company Janssen the ‘Cycle Friendly Employer Certificate’. The site in Beerse is the first employer in Belgium to receive the golden reward. The Cycle Friendly Employer Certificate was developed to establish a European standard for cycle-friendly companies. Together, CFE and Fietsersbond want to stimulate a cycle-friendly […]
September 24, 2021
Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz car branch joins the Stellantis Group and TotalEnergies as an equal partner in the ACC giga-battery factory project. The Automotive Cells Company (ACC) is the fruit of the EU’s efforts to create an ‘Airbus of batteries’ with an objective of at least 120 GWh of cell capacity by 2030. “Mercedes-Benz will take a […]
September 23, 2021
“The European car industry is using aggressive lobbying and making unsubstantiated claims in an attempt to derail EU plans to cut pollution from road transport,” revealed the NGO Transport & Environment (T&E) in a briefing paper on Thursday. “Instead of embracing innovation to clean up toxic emissions, the car industry is aggressively lobbying against tougher […]
September 14, 2021
While the EU still has to agree on a proposed ban on new sales of internal combustion engines (ICE) by 2035, Italy apparently is lobbying behind the scenes at the Commission to get an exception for its supercar manufacturers like Ferrari and Lamborghini. The argument used is that with annual sales volumes of around 9 […]
September 09, 2021
There is a serious lack of electric charging points all along the road networks in most EU member states. New data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) have been confirming this. The findings show that 10 countries do not even have one single charger for every 100 kilometers of key roads (includes motorways, state, […]
August 30, 2021
The EU has approved Belgium’s capacity rebate mechanism (CRM). This should attract investors to build new power capacity, such as gas power plants, with the help of subsidies. In this way, the government wants to avoid compromising the security of supply after the nuclear exit in 2025. The subsidies will be granted based on an […]
August 25, 2021
The Brussels-based start-up Decarbone specializes in converting combustion engine vans to electric vehicles but faces administrative problems in Belgium to register these EVs, as the legal framework still lacks. In June, Decarbone received the Sustainable Impact Award presented by Triodosbank as part of the Greenlab initiatives for start-ups committed to sustainability. Decarbone exists since 2019 […]
August 25, 2021
Several customers in Europe took delivery of their Model Y on Tuesday. In Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, but also in Belgium, an excited Gunther Depooter was handed over his car. “It’s perfect. Much roomier than a Model 3, and it looks really great,” he added. Deliveries for Europe have now officially started, one month later […]
August 19, 2021
Solar panels have – for the first time – generated one-tenth of the energy produced by the European Union during the months of June and July. A new record. That is what energy think tank Ember recently revealed in a new analysis. Europe’s summer peaks in solar power generation get bigger every year. This year, […]
August 17, 2021
Today is the deadline for EU members to comply with the EU pollution limits for large combustion plants, but most lignite plants in the EU have waited until the very last minute to implement pollution-control technologies. The result is four years of unnecessary pollution and a massive bill on people’s health, the EEB (European Environmental […]
August 16, 2021
Consternation in France: the decree published on Wednesday making the biennial technical inspection of two-wheelers compulsory was “suspended until further notice” at the request of Emmanuel Macron, the President of the Republic, the transport ministry told AFP on Thursday. The decree, required by the EU and applied in many neighboring countries, was to come into […]
August 13, 2021
With Europe setting in stone the end of the internal combustion engine for 2035, electric and hydrogen cars are set to take over. In spite of being the second country with the most public charging points in Europe, France worries about the forced change. Industries prepare to swap from petrol to electrons, authorities promise the […]
August 10, 2021
Alcomotive, the distributor of the automotive brands belonging to the Belgian Alcopa group, chooses Arval as the sole partner for its leasing activities for its six brands in the six European countries it is active in. As a representative of (Asian) brands that are not very well established yet in the leasing/fleet business, Alcomotive was […]
August 05, 2021
July 2021 was the second hottest month ever measured in Europe except for one, July 2010. That is the conclusion of the most recent report from the Copernicus Service for Climate Change. Globally, it was the third-warmest month ever, with temperatures only 0,1°C cooler than July 2019 and July 2016 or 0,33°C warmer than the […]
August 02, 2021
Dutch start-up Brekr, the specialist in electric mopeds, has just received a capital injection from Bloomit Ventures that will allow the young moped manufacturer to tap into numerous European markets quickly. Brekr launched its first moped, the Model B, on the Dutch market last year, but the moped is now also available in Germany and […]
July 29, 2021
The MR party remains clearly opposed to the introduction of a kilometer tax in Brussels. This is evident from a reaction by its Brussels president David Leisterh to the European Commissions’ Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport (DG Move) statement on Wednesday that the introduction of such a tax does not violate European legislation. “The EC’s […]
July 28, 2021
On Monday, July 26th, Ecobat, the Texas-based multinational claiming it is the global leader in recycling batteries, announced that it has acquired Promesa, a leading German EV lithium-ion battery recycling operator. The combined capabilities now position Ecobat “as the only service provider in Europe to offer the full suite of recycling services for lithium-ion batteries, […]
July 23, 2021
In the second quarter of 2021, sales of battery-electric cars (BEVs) more than doubled from 3,5% market share to 7,5%, increasing by 231,6% and reaching 210 298 units. In the same quarter in 2020, 63 422 BEVs were sold. Plug-in hybrids soared even more with 255,8% to 235 730 units. The increase was less spectacular […]
July 19, 2021
Lobbying organization Transport & Environment (T&E) is worried the EU Commission’s Fit for 55 plans to reach zero emissions by 2050 will gain momentum too slowly, and the rollout of electric cars will be curbed before 2030. They’d liked to see stricter targets by 2025 already. Flexibilities and ‘loopholes’ in the regulation will allow carmakers, […]
July 16, 2021
The EU Commission Fit for 55 proposals are finally targeting the maritime shipping sector left undisturbed for decades regarding CO2 emissions. Shipping will be included in the Emissions Trading System (ETS), where companies will have to buy CO2-quotas from 2023. In Europe, shipping companies are not averse to using the EU ETS system, although it’s […]
July 16, 2021
At the time of departure for vacation in France, half of the highway ‘aires’, that is to say, 164, are now equipped with fast-charging stations. In theory, this allows a recharge to 80% in less than 20 minutes. However, all the areas must be equipped by the end of 2022. France now has 43 700 […]
July 15, 2021
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) reacts as stung by a bee to the EU Commission’s intention to tax kerosine in the future for flights within the EU. It warns “that the reliance on taxation as the solution for cutting aviation emissions in the EU’s ‘Fit for 55’ proposal is counter-productive to the goal of […]
July 15, 2021
In an initial reaction to the EU Commission’s ‘Fit for 55’ climate proposals, European carmakers are blowing hot and cold through their Brussels-based federation ACEA. European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) says it is “eager to study the full details” to start with. On the one hand, they support climate neutrality by 2050 and even applaud […]
July 14, 2021
On Wednesday afternoon, the EU Commission presented the much anticipated – and feared – ‘Fit for 55’ package of 12 climate laws to make the target of 55% CO2 reduction by 2030 agreed by the member states a reality. So far, the world’s most ambitious plan will ultimately lead to carbon neutrality by 2050 if […]
July 13, 2021
Chinese start-up electric carmaker NIO has acquired CE & TÜV certifications for the NIO Power Swap Station, its DC Power Charger up to 180kW, and NIO’s AC wall box called ‘Power Home’. As a result, it now can roll out its battery-swapping service and charging infrastructure in all EU member states, starting with four stations […]
July 12, 2021
Blue Corner, the European subsidiary of the American EV-charging solutions provider, Blink Charging, has signed a contract to sell and operate EV charging stations at the KUL Leuven campuses across Belgium. The sales and operations contract is valued at 1,5 million euros, reports Blue Corner in a press release. Deployments will begin in the fall […]
July 09, 2021
The European Commission has closed the antitrust investigation against German carmakers Daimler, BMW, and Volkswagen with a settlement and a total fine of €875 million for two of them. BMW has to pay 372,8 million, VW 502,3 million. Daimler gets off scot-free, avoiding a €727 million fine because it was the one who revealed the […]
July 08, 2021
Wednesday, July 7th, twelve business leaders gathered in Paris to talk about ways to further support the EU Green Deal. The European CEO Alliance, as the group is called, is convinced that tackling climate change will require a collective effort by all EU member states and strong collaboration between the public sector and the industry. […]
July 07, 2021
The Dutch company Solution Air promises a kit by the end of 2021 to convert existing vans with a classic combustion engine to run emission-free on compressed air. The idea of running on compressed air is not new. The French company MDI has been experimenting with the principle for two decades. Tata even picked it […]
July 07, 2021
Stellantis will convert the old Vauxhall factory in Ellesmere Port near Liverpool into an all-electric production facility. As a result, Ellesmere’s future is saved with the production of four electric vans and their passenger car equivalents: the Citroën e-Berlingo, Peugeot e-Partner, Opel Combo-e, and Vauxhall Combo-e to replace the Vauxhall/Opel Astra. The French-German-American carmaker successfully […]
July 06, 2021
Flanders and Brussels are to install 110 charging installations with 1,7 million euros of support. It concerns 101 charging stations and 9 shore power installations that must be ready by September 2022. This is what Flemish Minister of Mobility Lydia Peeters (Open Vld) and Brussels Minister of Energy Alain Maron (Ecolo) have announced. 51 projects […]
July 06, 2021
The world’s three major truck manufacturers, Daimler Truck, Traton Group, and Volvo Group, are setting up a joint venture and put half a billion euros on the table to roll out 1 700 fast-charging points for electric long-haul trucks across Europe. The joint venture, based in Amsterdam, will be owned equally by the three parties […]
June 30, 2021
The increasing demand for SUVs and the rebound of gasoline engines pushed CO2 emissions of new cars upward only three years ago. But that tide is changing. Research by the European Environmental Agency (EEA), the European watchdog for environmental affairs, concludes that CO2 emissions of new passenger cars have been pushed back by 12% in […]
