December 12, 2022
The impact of batteries on the environment and communities is set to significantly improve under a new law agreed by EU lawmakers on Friday. The European Union will impose battery producers tougher environmental standards. Batteries should become more environmentally friendly, easier to replace, and recyclable. The new law will apply to all types of batteries […]
December 09, 2022
Delhaize has ambitious plans: next year, the supermarket chain is to install 1 800 public fast-charging stations up to 150 kW for electric vehicles on the parking grounds of its stores. By providing such a large number of charging points – the largest in the retail sector – and making them accessible to everyone 24/7, […]
December 09, 2022
The registrations of new motorbikes and second-hand ones scored surprisingly well in November. Last month, 1 093 new motorbikes were registered, an increase of 25,3% compared to last year. However, not enough for a positive annual figure. Speed pedelecs, on the other hand, continue to peak. The annual total over the first eleven months is […]
December 09, 2022
In the port of Ghent, steelmaker ArcelorMittal has inaugurated its ‘Steelanol’ project, which converts gas from its blast furnaces into bioethanol. The project represents an investment of 200 million euros. It is part of the company’s plans to become carbon neutral by 2050. “Our customers are looking for green steel, and we want to lead […]
December 08, 2022
The city of Antwerp welcomes two new hydrogen-powered municipal waste collection vehicles. A first for Flanders. The vehicles were introduced on Wednesday, December 7th, at the DATS 24 hydrogen filling station in Wilrijk (Antwerp, Belgium). Hydrogen-powered vehicles are very quiet and clean. They’re equipped with an electric motor and a fuel cell and only emit […]
December 08, 2022
France will ban short-haul domestic flights in favor of the train. The country was given the green light by the European Commission to abolish flights between cities if the link by train offers an alternative solution with trips of fewer than 2,5 hours. But Willie Walsh, the Director General of the International Air Transport Association […]
December 06, 2022
Air France-KLM is to buy 800 000 tons of non-fossil Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) over ten years from TotalEnergies to meet its environmental objectives. The two companies signed on Monday a memorandum of understanding for this, starting in 2023. The fuel will be produced by TotalEnergies in its biorefineries and made available to Air France-KLM […]
December 06, 2022
The global energy crisis has triggered an unprecedented acceleration in installations of renewable power, reports the International Energy Agency (IEA). Energy security concerns caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have motivated countries to increasingly turn to renewables such as solar and wind to reduce reliance on imported fossil fuels. Prices of the latter have spiked […]
December 02, 2022
Next year, Flemish Minister for Mobility and Public Works (Open Vld) will invest 2,3 billion euros in 815 projects. In all those projects, three keywords are involved: bicycle, safety, and sustainability. The largest part of the budget is destined for the Agency for Roads and Traffic (Agentschap Wegen en Verkeer, AWV) (€738 million) and the […]
December 02, 2022
Low-cost airline Ryanair has signed an agreement with Shell to supply more sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The oil and gas group will help make SAF more available to the Irish carrier’s fleet at 200 European airports. This mainly concerns Ryanair’s largest bases in Dublin and London Stansted. Ryanair has already partnered with Neste, the world’s […]
December 01, 2022
With a picture of its driverless sci-fi-like electric truck or T-Pod, ‘shot or conveniently Photoshoped (?)’, in front of the iconic Antwerp Port Authority building, the Swedish Einride has announced its official launch in the Benelux. Einride will deliver six fully electric trucks to Belgian beer brewer Ab InBev, which pledges to replace all its […]
December 01, 2022
During the final test sessions for the all-new eSprinter, Mercedes gathered results on the consumption of its zero-emission van. Completing a journey from Untertürkheim to the airport of Münich and back, the van registered a range of 475 kilometers on a single charge. This autonomy corresponds with an average consumption of 21,9 kWh/100 km, which […]
November 30, 2022
Applicants and young employees are still interested in a company car. That is what 68% of fleet and mobility managers confirmed in the new Company Car Report organized by Mobia, the mobility federation of Febiac, Traxio, and Renta. According to the questioned managers, 21% of youngsters have a neutral attitude toward the company car, and […]
November 29, 2022
Owners of an electric car who cannot install a charging point at home and don’t have one nearby can ask for a public charging station in the immediate surroundings of their home. Since September, citizens with an electric vehicle can file such a request via an e-counter. In the meantime, 437 citizens or companies applied. […]
November 28, 2022
In 2021, the quality of bikeways along the Flemish regional roads was better than in 2019. As a result, not only has the infrastructure improved, but the comfort for cyclists increased. That is the conclusion of the Agency for Roads and Traffic’s latest bicycle report. The ART (Agentschap Wegen en Verkeer, AWV) publishes a similar […]
November 28, 2022
Cars that fail technical inspection in Flanders for a defective or insufficient working diesel particulate filter (DPF) will have one year to fix it and present it again for review. Minister for Mobility Lydia Peeters (Open Vld) decided after weeks of consultation to extend the period from three to twelve months, the newspaper Het Belang […]
November 28, 2022
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has confirmed the decision to expand the Ultra-Low-Emission Zone (ULEZ) to all of Greater London. After the conclusion of a consultation round, Khan has now put a date on the expansion. As of the 29th of August 2023, older polluting cars will have to pay a fee to enter […]
November 25, 2022
It’s called the Caterpillar 793 Electric. The American construction equipment behemoth showcased its prototype of a zero-emission mining truck at its proving ground in Arizona. The test area is also being transformed into a sustainable project to inspire mining companies in their decarbonization goals globally. Without providing exact specifications, Caterpillar showcased the prototype of its […]
November 25, 2022
Truck transport is massively polluting, and the emissions from transporting retail goods spike 94% during Black Friday week. However, there is a ready-made solution in the form of zero-emission trucks, the European environmental lobbying group Transport and Environment (T&E) says. Black Friday is notorious for peak consumerism and waste. Trucking retail goods is a dirty […]
November 25, 2022
On Thursday, Renault Trucks and Coca-Cola’s Belgian-Luxembourg branch Europacific Partners (CCEP) presented to the press the four first fully electric delivery trucks of a total fleet of thirty, which is to be commissioned in the next twelve months. The trucks with a range of 180 km to 400 km are charged overnight at Coca-Cola’s depot […]
November 24, 2022
The European Environment Agency (EEA) has published its recent ‘Air Quality in Europe 2022’ assessment, and the conclusion is not really reassuring. Although Europe’s air quality keeps on improving, air pollution still remains the largest environmental health risk in Europe, causing chronic diseases and premature deaths. According to the EEA, at least 238 000 people […]
November 23, 2022
Despite the popularity of teleworking and the reduced number of cars on Flemish roads compared to pre-corona times, traffic congestion is worse than ever. That flared up the debate on the introduction of a kilometer tax for passenger cars and vans in the Flemish Parliament. October 2022 was the second worst month regarding traffic jams […]
November 22, 2022
On Monday, November 21st, Elia Group welcomed Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo (Open Vld) and the Belgian Federal Minister of Energy, Tinne Van der Straeten (Groen) to visit the Baltic Eagle offshore transmission platform. The project is a joint responsibility of Spanish energy group Iberdrola and 50Hertz, German subsidiary of Belgian Elia. The offshore […]
November 22, 2022
Belgian retail giant Colruyt Group will have its own truck fleet running on electricity or hydrogen by 2030 and forces all its suppliers to deliver using zero-emission transport by 2035. CEO Jef Colruyt announced the latter at the opening of the group’s fourth DATS 24 hydrogen station near its distribution center in Ollignies. According to […]
November 21, 2022
The switch to electric bus traffic in Brussels is being accelerated. In the next two years, four bus lines will become electric, and six additional charging stations near Westland Shopping in Anderlecht will be added. Brussels public transport company MIVB/STIB has announced this. According to MIVB/STIB CEO Brieuc de Meeûs, the terminals of bus lines […]
November 21, 2022
As of April 2025, electric car drivers in the UK are no longer exempt from road tax. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt made the measure public during his Autumn speech, stating that this would make the system “fairer”. Generally, it is not expected that the new standard will have a significant effect in slowing down EV adoption. […]
November 18, 2022
The Flemish government plans a new bicycle highway along the Brussels beltway between Vilvoorde and Strombeek-Bever. The new bikeway will be five kilometers long and connect several bicycle highways (F28 and F23, along the channel in Vilvoorde). The project fits in a larger-scale initiative to implement a total of 115 km of new bikeways connecting […]
November 17, 2022
The Agoria Solar Team, the student team of the KU Leuven, has succeeded in covering the longest distance in 12 hours with the solar car they developed. In 12 hours, the BluePoint Atlas, as their newest solar car is called, covered 1 051 kilometers, breaking the previous record of the Dutch Solar Team from Delft […]
November 17, 2022
The Brussels Region will launch a permanent citizen’s parliament on climate next year. According to Brussels Minister for Climate Transition Alain Maron (Ecolo), the initiative is a world first. Panels of 100 Brussels residents each will be able to ask questions, make recommendations, and be structurally involved in climate policy. They will also monitor what […]
November 17, 2022
This year, the Inter City Express (ICE) high-speed train connection between Belgium and Germany will celebrate its 20th birthday. In 2022, it will also transport a record number of more than one million passengers. On December 15th, 2002, the first ICE train rode between Brussels and Frankfurt. The ICE network is exploited by the German […]
