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 […]
June 25, 2024
Electra, a French startup in fast charging stations, will open and operate 23 fast charging stations over the next two years at the Belgian fast-food chain Quick’s existing and future restaurant locations. The charging stations will have a fast charging capacity of 400 kW and will be accessible to everyone at any time of the […]
June 24, 2024
That is a shame and bad for the climate because tall forests are critical for storing carbon and hosting biodiversity. Moreover, old trees absorb more carbon dioxide than young ones. This is the conclusion of the World Resources Institute (WRI), which conducts worldwide research into climate and natural resources. Over the past 20 years, the […]
June 21, 2024
Demand for fossil fuels has never been as high as in 2023. Demand for oil and coal, in particular, pushed the consumption of fossil fuels to unprecedented heights. As a result, never before have so many greenhouse gases been emitted. Last year, they increased by 2%, exceeding 40 gigatons of CO2 for the first time. […]
June 20, 2024
Anglo-Dutch energy giant Shell has inaugurated its first self-developed megawatt charger for dual use by electric trucks and shipping vessels at the Energy Transition Campus Amsterdam (ETCA) in the Netherlands. The Shell megawatt charger provides a crucial additional charging facility for local operators and facilitates end-to-end testing for high-power charging solutions across marine and road […]
June 20, 2024
Elia, the Belgian high-voltage grid operator, has awarded three contracts worth almost 1.5 billion euros to construct the High Voltage Alternating Current (HVAC) infrastructure of Princess Elisabeth Island, an artificial energy island of 3.5 gigawatts located approximately 45 kilometers off the Belgian coast. The infrastructure will bundle 2.1 gigawatts of wind energy and bring it […]
June 19, 2024
On Tuesday, the Flemish and Belgian governments signed energy agreements with Norway to bring Norwegian wind energy to Belgium and store CO2 from Belgian industry in Norway. Princess Astrid of Belgium leads a Belgian delegation to discuss energy transition, circular economy, life sciences, and design. The joint statement on energy cooperation in the North Sea […]
June 18, 2024
The Ostend-Bruges airport will soon have the largest solar park in West Flanders and the second-largest park in Belgium. The 66,200 solar panels on the site, covering a total area of about 303,864 m2, the equivalent of 61 football fields, will produce almost 37,000 MWh of annual energy – much more than the airport can […]
June 17, 2024
A new showroom for exclusive vehicles was inaugurated last weekend in the industrial zone in Heusden-Zolder, in Limburg (Belgium). Numerous models of Mercedes, BMW, Porsche, Lamborghini, and Aston Martin, among others, are on display. However, they’re not real cars but electric children’s vehicles. The target group is children between three and eight years old. With […]
June 14, 2024
One year after Bpost put its thousandth electric delivery van into use, the Belgian postal company surpassed the 2,000 electric vehicle mark. This means that Bpost has doubled its fleet of environmentally friendly vehicles in just one year. These figures underline the company’s commitment to further reducing emissions and delivering CO2-free mail and parcels throughout […]
June 13, 2024
The listed group Warehouses De Pauw (WDP) plans to build a battery park in the Genk-Zuid industrial zone. The investment can amount to 50 to 80 million euros. The company aims for 2028 for commissioning. The project should help balance the power grid now that more energy is generated with solar panels and wind turbines. […]
June 13, 2024
The International Energy Agency (IEA) expects an ‘unprecedented’ oil surplus of 8 million barrels daily by 2030. According to the Agency’s latest report, oil demand worldwide will slow down, driven by the energy transition. Several aspects, including the increasing number of electric cars, better fuel efficiency in cars with combustion engines, and decreasing use of […]
June 12, 2024
Through its Energy Transition Fund, Zeevonk, a joint venture of Swedish multinational power company Vattenfall and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), has been awarded a permit to build wind farm IJmuiden Ver Beta in the Netherlands. Both major offshore wind developers – Vattenfall and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners – have a strong track record in developing, constructing, […]
June 12, 2024
Chinese Gotion High Tech, one of the ten leading global players in battery technology with sites in the USA, Japan, Germany, and Singapore, has signed an investment agreement with the Moroccan government to build North Africa’s first EV battery gigafactory. The Kenitra city project will cost 1.3 billion US dollars (12.8 dirhams). The first phase […]
June 11, 2024
Maritime contractor Jan De Nul is partnering with Australian Fortescue, a mining company and producer of green energy, to lay a 1,000 km long submarine cable between Morocco and Europe and transport renewable energy generated in North Africa to Europe. A high-voltage cable between the two continents would enable Europe to tap directly into that […]
June 10, 2024
According to the latest edition of International Energy Agency’s annual World Energy Investment report, global investment in clean energy is set to reach almost double the amount going to fossil fuels in 2024, despite pressures on financing. Total energy investment worldwide is expected to exceed $3 trillion in 2024 for the first time, with some […]
May 22, 2024
Belgium will probably not achieve the agreed European environmental targets for CO2 emissions and green energy, although there are differences per sector. The transport sector, in particular, is finding it difficult to transition away from fossil fuels. These are the conclusions of research by the Federal Planning Bureau. The European Commission imposes targets for 2030 […]
May 21, 2024
After Jan De Nul ordered the largest cable-laying vessel in the world at the end of last year, the group is now investing in an identical vessel. It shows the group’s ambition to become a major player in the market for the construction of long submarine power cables. With an actual fleet of three cable […]
May 21, 2024
Over 100 vehicles have been donated to Ukraine through London’s ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ) scrappage program. Twenty of those vehicles have already arrived in the war-torn country this weekend, and another thirteen are en route. Transportation is vital for saving lives during the war. Once Londoners are accepted to the Ulez scrappage scheme and donate […]
