Finnish companies Fortum and Terrafame are cooperating on recycling battery materials. Terrafame will use the raw recycled materials from Fortum to produce battery chemicals, which will then be used in new batteries. The energy company and the mining company have signed an agreement on a trial project in which the metals Fortum recovers from the […] More…

Mercedes-Benz plans to use more than 200,000 tonnes of CO2-reduced steel per year from its European suppliers Salzgitter, Thyssenkrupp Steel, Voestalpine, Arvedi, SSAB and H2 Green Steel in its press plants before the end of this decade. The establishment of a sustainable steel supply chain in Europe serves as a blueprint for other regions. Currently, […] More…

United Airlines and the air taxi developer Eve Air Mobility want to launch commuter flights in the San Francisco Bay Area. Authorities appear already on board, and United says it is identifying the first destinations of a future eVTOL network. While United has been working towards operating a fleet of eVTOLs for some time – […] More…

The second generation of the all-electric Kia Niro is basically a new body with virtually the same drive technology. While good progress has been made in the details, we ask: is this still enough to convince drivers in 2023? *** Since the end of 2018, the e-Niro has been the compact electric car in Kia’s […] More…

Energy company Engie Group has launched a new subsidiary called Engie Vianeo, dedicated to providing charging solutions for electric vehicles. Under the new brand, Engie will offer 12,000 charge points for electric cars and heavy commercial vehicles in France by 2025. Starting this June, electric car drivers in France will encounter the Engie Vianeo brand […] More…

FedEx continues on course to a greener fleet by extending its partnership with BrightDrop into Canada. GM’s dedicated electric van brand shall deliver 50 transporters of type Zevo 600. This latest order is part of a much larger deployment, however. Staying with FedEx Express Canada, the FedEx subsidiary will put the BrightDrop vans on the […] More…

Mitie, a leading facilities management company, has achieved another milestone in decarbonization by transitioning 50% of its fleet to electric vehicles. This news follows earlier advancements as Mitie is en route to electrifying its fleet fully by 2025. The company employs 64,000 people in the UK and has been starting to electrify the fleet no […] More…

A group of European manufacturers of L7e microcars are joining forces to create an alternative to large cars. The founding members of the “Microcars Coalition” include Microlino, City Transformer and Circle Mobility. Many others are expected to join soon. The coalition’s efforts are focused on raising awareness of microcars and their benefits in cities, ensuring […] More…

Vauxhall has confirmed prices for the Astra Electric with prices starting from £39,995 OTR. In addition, the hybrid Astra Sports Tourer GSe is now available to order, starting from £43,250. The Astra Electric is available in two trim lines from launch; sporty GS and top-of-the-range Ultimate. The prices for the first fully electric Astra will […] More…

Volkswagen has presented the key points of the planned savings programme for the core brand VW in order to increase its profitability and generate money for investments in the transformation to e-mobility. One of the goals: The brand is to achieve a return on investment of 6.5 per cent by 2026. This target return is […] More…

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is ready to spend up to $60 mn to establish an Advanced Battery R&D Consortium as the DoE sees “substantial R&D” is required for new or alternative battery chemistries that can achieve lower cost and use more abundant materials. The consortium shall join key players to address critical battery […] More…

In a pilot project, users of electric vehicles in Germany may soon have the freedom to apply their own tariffs and energy mix at public charging stations. The collaboration between four key players could decouple the operators from pricing at will. The project sees transmission system operator 50Hertz, renewable energy provider LichtBlick, IT startup decarbon1ze, […] More…

The EU Parliament has adopted new rules for the design, manufacture and recycling of all types of batteries sold in the EU. Battery manufacturers will thus be subject to stricter environmental and due diligence requirements if they want to sell on the European market. With 587 votes in favour, nine against and 20 abstentions, MEPs […] More…

Volkswagen continues to turn the Greek island of Astypalea into a full-blown lab for future mobility. The latest update reports that practically every new car registered on the island in the Aegean sea is electric. And that is just private vehicles. Volkswagen Group and the Greek government agreed in November 2020 to establish a “pioneering […] More…

The new Recirculate project aims to create new business models for the repair, reuse and recycling of second-life batteries. Eleven companies are involved in the €4.9 million EU-funded project, which started this month. The consortium will work for three years to create more advanced dismantling and sorting technologies for battery recycling and a marketplace for […] More…

The Düsseldorf Rheinbahn is ordering 20 battery-electric buses from the Dutch manufacturer VDL, including 15 articulated and five solo buses. Delivery of the first vehicles is scheduled for mid-2024. The number of electric buses at Rheinbahn increases to 30 with the new order. The 20 new VDL buses are expected to operate from the depot […] More…

In Europe, parking service provider Parkopedia and eMobility service provider Plugsurfing want to make it even easier for drivers to pay for charging. They aim to do this directly in the vehicle itself. As part of a cooperation, Parkopedia wants to integrate Plugsurfing’s Drive API into its in-vehicle payment system. By using Parkopedia’s data, electric […] More…

NHS Shetland in Scotland has rolled out a fleet of new electric vehicles. A total of 24 MG4 Electric cars have been phased in to replace the former Mazda 2 fleet. This expansion will take the NHS Board’s total electric car fleet to 35. NHS Scotland aims to become a net zero health service by […] More…

The all-electric Renault 5 will be the first Renault vehicle equipped with a bi-directional charger. The associated V2G service will be available from the launch of the Renault 5 in France and Germany in 2024 and in the UK in 2025. Renault is coordinating the introduction of bidirectional charging through its mobility brand Mobilize. In […] More…

The machinery and plant manufacturer Dürr announces the acquisition of the automation specialist BBS Automation at a price between 440 million and 480 million euros. Dürr intends to grow in the field of electromobility, among other things, in this way. The transaction is expected to be completed in autumn 2023. The exact purchase price depends […] More…