September 12, 2024
Wind energy is now the largest source of electricity in the European Union, after nuclear energy. The European Commission announced this on Wednesday in its annual energy report. On the other hand, gas consumption has fallen sharply (-18%). In August, during the energy crisis, the European Union’s countries set a common objective: to voluntarily reduce […]
September 11, 2024
The European Space Agency (ESA) warns in a report published on Tuesday that global methane emissions, a powerful greenhouse gas, continue to rise. The report reveals that human activities are responsible for at least two-thirds of global methane emissions.“The trends are going in exactly the opposite direction of what is needed to maintain a habitable […]
September 11, 2024
Specter, the Belgian manufacturer of specially designed speed pedelecs, has raised two million euros in new capital to expand its activities in Belgium and abroad. In addition to the existing partners, Fundracer Capital—a new party with extensive experience in the micro-mobility and bicycle industry—will invest in the start-up. Maarten Baert, founder and CEO of Specter: […]
September 10, 2024
At Schiphol Airport (in the Netherlands), travelers with reduced mobility will be brought to their gate by self-driving wheelchairs. A test experiment with the self-driving wheelchairs was launched in February 2023. Ten autonomous wheelchairs will be deployed starting this week and will be available for the general public to test. The vehicles have a luggage […]
September 10, 2024
Bicycle sharing is extremely popular in Ghent. This year, 657,843 trips have been made with a shared bike, more than the previous year. July was the busiest month ever, with 113,386 rides. A shared bike is a flexible, affordable, and convenient way to get around. More and more shared bicycles are also being made available. […]
September 09, 2024
During the upcoming Matexpo-powered Demo Days, a two-day event with over 100 building construction machines (6-8 September 2024), Fimatec will install a state-of-the-art ‘mobile’ charging park to offer visitors and participants a unique charging experience. This charging park, equipped with ten Emoss site charging poles and 40 charging points, is powered by the Atlas Copco […]
September 09, 2024
According to Copernicus Climate Change Service’s latest publication, the summer of 2024 was the warmest ever recorded worldwide and for Europe. August 2024 was the second warmest August globally (along with August 2023), with an average surface air temperature of 16.82°C, or 0.71°C above the August average from 1991-2020. August 2024 was 1.51°C above pre-industrial […]
September 06, 2024
Belgians are the most geographically mobile employees in Europe. They travel the longest distance to work, an average of 39 kilometers of all Europeans. Half of Belgians travel 25 km to and from work every day. HR service provider SD Worx discovered this after surveying employees in 18 European countries. Danish and Italian commuters cover […]
September 04, 2024
After an intense period with many used car registrations in July, August saw a slight dip with -4.0%. Still, the provisional annual total is heading toward half a million second-hand car registrations (490,296 units), almost 60,000 more than two years ago. Gradually, more electrified used cars are offered, as 12.7% of registered vehicles are chargeable. […]
September 03, 2024
Cyclis Bike Lease, the Belgian bicycle leasing company, has decided to partner with the German JobRad Group. The Hasselt-based company was founded in 2014. Ten years ago, the company was one of Belgium’s first bicycle leasing companies. Cyclis has been the market leader Belgium for years, with 37,000 bicycles under contract. Among them are all […]
September 03, 2024
Contrary to popular belief, most cars on the road are not company cars. At least half of private sector employees use their own car to get to work. In SMEs, half of employers (54%) offer a company car. Belgian SMEs’ costs to provide company cars have also increased significantly, by an average of 30%, over […]
August 30, 2024
Europe’s largest battery park, which the Giga Storage company plans to set up in Rotem/Dilsen-Stokkem (Belgium), will have a capacity of 700 megawatts, 100 megawatts more than initially planned. The battery park’s name is Green Turtle. In the meantime, the construction team has been assembled. Giga Storage agreed with Tractebel for technical support, and Stadsbader […]
August 29, 2024
Record wildfires in 2023 pushed Canada into the world’s top four greenhouse gas-emitting countries that year. This is evident from a study published in the journal Nature on Wednesday. In 2023, wildfires burned about 15 million hectares – about four percent of Canada’s total forest area – and more than 200,000 people had to be […]
August 29, 2024
Driveco, a French operator of charging stations for electric vehicles, wants to install 1,500 charging stations in Belgium by 2030 and will allocate 15 million euros for this purpose. The company is already present in Belgium, with 70 charging stations in fifteen different stations, but the goal is to increase that number considerably in the […]
August 28, 2024
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres issued a ‘global SOS’ on climate change and sea level rise on Tuesday while visiting Tonga (Polynesia) for a meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum, where the leaders of a group of 18 countries are meeting, including Australia and New Zealand. Guterres’ trip coincided with a new report from the […]
August 27, 2024
After thirteen weeks of hard work, the Belgian Solar Team has arrived in South Africa to participate in the world’s most extreme Solar Challenge. In October 2023, they became world champions with their solar car, the Infinite, in the World Solar Challenge in Australia. Now, they’re ambitious to win the world’s most extreme challenge. The […]
August 26, 2024
According to a recent Vias Road Safety Institute study, parents play a decisive role in how 5th- and 6th-grade students perceive traffic. Parents usually decide the means of transport – often the car – for practical reasons, fearing that their child or other road users will not comply with the traffic rules or that their […]
August 26, 2024
The planned connection between the Belgian and Danish energy islands will be postponed or canceled. The Danish Minister of Energy, Lars Aagaard, thinks the prestigious project to bring power from Danish offshore wind farms to our country via a submarine cable is too expensive. Denmark plans to create two ‘energy islands’, one in the North […]
August 23, 2024
The Antwerp Waasland tunnel, the oldest vehicle tunnel under the river Scheldt that connects the city with the river’s left bank, will only be available for local traffic from September 23rd. The city of Antwerp decided this on the advice of the Roads and Traffic Agency (Agentschap Wegen en Verkeer, AWV). Soon, through traffic will […]
August 22, 2024
On Wednesday, Lantis reported that the Oosterweel project in Antwerp will not be completed until the end of 2033, three years later than expected. According to the builder, one of the main reasons for the delay is the PFAS pollution. Not only the works in Linkeroever and Zwijndrecht were confronted with this, similar pollution was […]
August 21, 2024
Japan’s Ministry of Transport wants to introduce a new in-car system to tackle wrong-way driving on highways, targeting zero fatalities and injuries by 2029. As Japan faces an ever-increasing number of elderly drivers, authorities have called on Japan’s automotive and technology industries to create and implement new safety systems to prevent accidents caused by cars […]
August 20, 2024
According to a recent survey by Belgian HR service provider SD Worx, in the provinces of Limburg and Antwerp, almost one in five employees already have a company bicycle, and these SMEs also intend to expand their company bicycle fleet by 9% and 8% in 2024 or 2025, respectively. West Flanders currently ranks third, but […]
August 14, 2024
Parkwind, a Belgian offshore wind energy company, has installed the first electric ship-charging station at sea. The station runs on wind power and aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from maintenance and transport vessels. The charging system was installed in Parkwind’s third offshore wind energy project, Nobelwind, which is 29 miles (47 kilometers) offshore in […]
August 13, 2024
The international insurance company Allianz Trade warns that the fall in prices of critical metals, such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel, is hindering the global energy transition. According to the credit insurer, price drops create uncertainty and deter investors in sustainable energy. The postponement of investments is bad news for Europe. Brussels wants to catch […]
August 12, 2024
On Saturday, thousands of people demonstrated in Belgrade against Rio Tinto’s controversial mining project to extract lithium in western Serbia. Serbia has massive lithium deposits near Loznica, in the country’s west. Still, the controversial mining project, developed by British-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto, has been causing a political rift for several years. The demonstrators fear […]
August 09, 2024
Cruise ships are getting bigger and bigger. According to environmental organization T&E’s latest report, today’s biggest ships are more than twice as big as in 2000. At the current growth rate, the organization predicts that the biggest cruise ships in 2050 could amount to a staggering 345,000 gross tonnage, making them almost eight times bigger […]
August 08, 2024
New technology at the NASA space organization allows us to see in great detail where in the world CO2 is released and how the substance moves across the Earth. NASA’s animation lets us watch how carbon dioxide moves through the Earth’s atmosphere, driven by wind patterns and atmospheric circulation. Because of the model’s high resolution, […]
August 07, 2024
The BMW Group is experimenting with humanoid robots in a real production environment in its plant in Spartanburg, US. The latest generation of robots, ‘Figure 02’, made by the Californian robotics company Figure, has been successfully tested in the production unit. Both partners collaborate to prepare the robots for future production applications and continue developing […]
August 06, 2024
In July 2024, the trend of recent months continued: new speed pedelecs are losing ground (-17.8%, 1,119 units), and second-hand high-speed e-bikes continue to grow (+18.1%, 788 units). According to Filip Rylant, spokesman for mobility federation Traxio, the importance of the second-hand market is increasing very quickly. Two years ago, the number of registrations of […]
August 05, 2024
The Ghent start-up and non-profit organization Straal refurbishes neglected boats to give them a second life. Straal’s initiators want to do something with the many neglected boats left along the banks of the Ghent and European waterways. They focus on the numerous polyester pleasure boats because polyester creates a lot of waste. Refurbishing those boats […]
August 02, 2024
After an unexpected but once-only decline in June compared to June 2023, there were many new registrations of second-hand cars in July: 64,660 units, +12.3%. That is the highest monthly result of 2024, concludes Filip Rylant, spokesperson for mobility federation Traxio. July is traditionally calmer (summer holidays), but the second-hand market continues to do well. […]
August 01, 2024
The British oil and gas giant BP is joining the Belgian dredging company DEME’s prestige hydrogen project in Oman. The company reported the latest news in a press release on Wednesday. DEME previously agreed with the Egyptian government to build a green hydrogen factory in Egypt. BP will become an equity partner and developer of […]
July 31, 2024
Lime, the world’s largest shared electric vehicle company, recently unveiled its newest electric bikes and scooters. The LimeGlider and LimeBike, as the two latest models are called, were designed using feedback from groups traditionally underrepresented in Lime’s active riders, including women and older riders, to make the new models more inclusive and easier to operate. The […]
July 30, 2024
Dutch city dwellers are increasingly going on holiday with a shared car. According to figures from shared-car provider MyWheels, the number of holiday trips booked with a shared vehicle has increased by almost 150 percent compared to last year. Shared cars for holiday trips are reserved much earlier than for regular trips. A vehicle for […]
July 29, 2024
The growing popularity of rideable electric suitcases to get people quickly around airports and train stations has alarmed Japanese authorities following a rise in incidents of foreign visitors using them illegally on public roads. A rideable suitcase, particularly popular in parts of Asia, has a built-in electric motor, is powered by lithium-ion batteries, and can […]
July 26, 2024
After years of delay, the starting signal has been given for constructing the first green hydrogen factory in Zeebrugge. The final investment decision was taken on Thursday. The 25-megawatt renewable hydrogen factory, Hyoffwind, is a project by Virya Energy (Colruyt family) and two partners: German industrial gas specialist Messer and Hyoffgreen. The latter is a […]
July 25, 2024
The average car on the Belgian market is getting longer, wider, and heavier, reducing available space on roads and in cities. This trend has been going on for some time now. In 2023, the Belgian automobile fleet represented about 6 million vehicles, occupying a space corresponding to 9,787 football fields. Ten years ago, it would […]
July 24, 2024
The Californian Monarch Tractor wants to conquer the European market from Belgium and, therefore, intends to build a new head office there. The pioneer in self-driving electric tractors is counting on the financial support of Flemish government investor PMV. With the Welfare Fund established as a recovery vehicle, PMV invested substantially in the American company. […]
July 22, 2024
The European Union and Serbia have signed an agreement to cooperate on lithium extraction and the production of batteries for electric cars. On Friday, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic signed a partnership agreement with the EU to supply strategic raw materials. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was also present. Serbia wants to allow carmakers Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, and […]
July 22, 2024
The Dutch Fastned recently inaugurated a seventh fast-charging station for electric cars on the Ringlaan in Maasmechelen (Limburg, Belgium). Fastned’s latest fast charging station has eight charging places with a maximum capacity of 400 kW. In the long term, six additional charging stations can be added. The first station in Maasmechelen, with four charging stations, […]
July 19, 2024
Serbia wants to allow carmakers Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, and Stellantis to buy lithium from the large lithium mine in the west of the country that mining group Rio Tinto is building there. Barely a week after a Serbian court decision allowed the resumption of the controversial lithium mining project, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic told the German […]
July 18, 2024
According to Dutch energy expert Koen Kuijper, author of the website ‘energievergelijk.nl’ (‘energy comparison’), holidaymakers pay significantly different rates for electric charging abroad. Prices often vary depending on the country where they ‘refuel’. “Anyone who will soon be going on or returning from a holiday abroad with an electric car would be wise to compare […]
July 16, 2024
A new joint study by Fraunhofer ISI and Amazon provides critical insights into the optimal number and location of public fast-charging stations required to enable the widespread electrification of long-haul trucking in Europe. The study suggests that just 1,000 charging stations equipped with Megawatt Charging System (MCS) outlets could enable about 91% of expected long-haul […]
July 15, 2024
A large consortium of companies, including the Belgian green energy companies Aspiravi and Elicio, dredging company DEME, and energy companies Engie and Eneco, wants to participate in a tender for the new wind farms to be built in the Princess Elisabeth zone, the new Belgian energy island in the North Sea where wind farms will […]
July 15, 2024
Energy provider Luminus, a subsidiary of the French EDF, intends to build a giant battery park on its site in Ghent. On Friday, the company announced it has submitted a permit application for a battery project with a storage capacity of 400 megawatt hours and a capacity of 100 megawatts. That should be sufficient for […]
July 12, 2024
Serbia’s highest court opened the way on Thursday to authorize a lithium mining project by mining giant Rio Tinto after a government decision that suspended it while many activists remain firmly opposed. Rio Tinto welcomed the court’s decision. At the same time, project director Chad Blewitt wanted to be reassuring by telling AFP that the […]
July 12, 2024
On Thursday, the construction of the Pukkelpop festival village started in Hasselt. This year’s edition will be greener—or rather bluer—thanks to the use of so-called ‘blue diesel’. For the first time, all forklift trucks, off-road buggies, and generators used on the site – from now until the end of the festival = will run on […]
July 11, 2024
Electra, the European specialist in fast chargers for electric vehicles, and Uber, the largest ride-hailing platform in Belgium, have entered into a partnership on fast chargers. Together, they want to accelerate the transition to electric driving. Throughout Belgium, drivers who use the Uber platform will be able to charge faster and cheaper with Electra. They […]
July 10, 2024
The municipality of Flobecq, in the province of Hainaut in Belgium, and the Materia Nova research center have started a pilot project on a farm in Flobecq. The project’s goal is to convert pig urine into hydrogen via electrocatalysis. The process has already been tested in the laboratory with synthetic urine and will now be […]
July 09, 2024
French truck manufacturer Renault is electrifying its in-house logistics flows with its own electric trucks. The first stage of this project will focus on electrifying the axle transport between its two production sites in Lyon and Bourg-en-Bresse. This electrification of logistics will allow 440,000 kilometers to be driven by e-vehicles, saving 375 tons of CO2 […]
July 08, 2024
According to mobility federation Traxio, registrations of new motorcycles during the first six months of 2024 increased slightly to 15,542 units (+1.7%) despite the exceptionally wet weather. Only June was disappointing (-20.2%, 2,907 ex.), maybe because many people thought about their summer holidays rather than buying a new motorcycle. Flanders is growing by +3.5% and […]
July 04, 2024
According to the environmental organization Transport & Environment (T&E), the number of dangerous Dodge Rams on European roads is “disturbingly high and continues to rise”. In 2023, about 5,000 new Dodge Rams were imported into Europe, up 20% from the previous year. There are now at least 20,000 Dodge Rams on European roads. The EU […]
July 03, 2024
Oil giant Shell has temporarily halted the construction of a biofuel factory in Pernis, near Rotterdam (Netherlands) – one of Europe’s largest biofuel plants. The pause should give the company space to assess the best commercial path forward for the project. It is the latest low-carbon energy project to be shelved by an energy giant […]
July 02, 2024
Cargo transporter DHL Express at Brussels Airport is leading the way in electrifying its ground-handling equipment. The company’s crew buses and tarmac cars are already 100% electric, and over the past days and weeks, the company has put eleven electric tractors and thirteen electric container lifts, belly loaders, and pushbacks into operation at Brussels Airport. […]
July 01, 2024
Last week, heavy protests arose again against a large lithium project in western Serbia. Rio Tinto, the Australian mining giant, wants to exploit the thousands of tons of lithium abounding in this region. However, the demonstrators fear pollution of the soil and air. The ‘Jadar mine’, as the project is called, refers to the Jadar […]
July 01, 2024
Last Saturday, Dredging company DEME signed a cooperation agreement with the Egyptian government to establish an industrial-scale green hydrogen production facility in Egypt’s western desert. The wind and solar energy infrastructure will be located 70 kilometers away and connected to the factory by a high-voltage line. The new HYPORT green hydrogen production plant will be […]
June 28, 2024
According to figures from the European statistics agency Eurostat, renewable energy was the most important source of electricity in the European Union in 2023. The supply of renewables – sun and wind – increased by 4.4% compared to 2022, and the amount of electricity produced by renewables increased by 12.4%. Last year, renewable energy represented […]
June 27, 2024
The Brussels Motor Show will return to its traditional location and date. Car enthusiasts will be welcome again in January 2025 at the Brussels Heysel, Motor Show organizer Febiac announced on Wednesday evening. In May this year, Febiac announced that – after a year of absence – the board had decided to reorganize a motor […]
June 26, 2024
According to a new study by the environmental group Transport & Environment (T&E), 52 million people in Europe – more than 10% of Europe’s total population –are exposed to ultrafine particles (UFP) from aviation. The study, released on Tuesday by Dutch consultancy CE Delft on behalf of T&E, found that they’re affected by the 32 […]
June 26, 2024
According to a study by HR service provider Acerta, the average CO2 emissions from leasing cars have fallen by almost 20% in one year and 40% in ten years. The study analyzed a database listing more than 270,000 workers and employees in Belgium. Tax deductibility for fossil fuel cars purchased between July 1, 2023, and […]
