Global mining group Rio Tinto has approved an investment of $2.5 billion to expand its first commercial-scale lithium operation, the Rincon project in Argentina.  Plans call for an increase in annual production capacity of battery-grade lithium carbonate from the current starter plant capacity of 3,000 tonnes (3,307 US tons) to a total of 60,000 tonnes… Read more…

Invest WindsorEssex, the lead economic development agency for the Windsor-Essex region in Ontario, Canada, has announced over $3.8 million in funding to launch the Battery Boost: Technical Training for Battery Manufacturing Careers program. The technical training initiative targets laid-off workers or those seeking a career change, and is designed to equip them with skills for… Read more…

Sponsored by Keysight. Debugging complex electronic systems in automotive applications can be daunting. One key challenge is ensuring proper communication between transmitters, receivers, and sensors by analyzing the captured serial bus data and decoding it into meaningful symbols. This requires an oscilloscope with serial protocol analysis, deep and segmented memory, and a fast waveform update… Read more…

The state of Colorado has announced $17.3 million in new grant awards through the Direct Current Fast Charging (DCFC) Plazas program to install 172 new fast-charging ports at 29 locations across the state. The grants will be funded from the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Program and the state’s Community Access Enterprise (CAE). The NEVI-supported… Read more…

Swedish roll on/roll off cargo and passenger vessel supplier Stena RoRo has taken delivery of hybrid ship Guillaume de Normandie from the Chinese shipyard CMI Jinling (Weihai), which it has long-term chartered to the French shipping company Brittany Ferries. The vessel will be powered by multi-fuel engines as well as a 12 MWh hybrid package,… Read more…

Researchers at the University of Waterloo in Canada have devised a new electrolyte design that enables a highly efficient magnesium battery anode. Magnesium is much more abundant and less costly than lithium, which would help further sustainable energy storage. However, initial research on magnesium-based batteries generated 1 V, less than a standard AA battery, which… Read more…

German automaker Porsche and Austrian boat builder Frauscher Shipyard have debuted, in a limited first edition of 25 units, the Frauscher x Porsche 850 Fantom runabout sports boat featuring a closed foredeck and cabin.  The boat is equipped with the same electric drive unit from the Porsche Macan Turbo sports car that powers the previously-introduced… Read more…

Danlaw, a specialist in connected car technology and automotive electronics, presented its new CleverCharge Level 2 home EV charging system at CES 2025. CleverCharge features an EV charge-management platform optimized for households with multiple EVs. It’s designed to provide personalized experiences for EV owners.  CleverCharge learns each user’s daily driving routines and provides proactive reminders… Read more…

Chinese battery manufacturer CATL has launched the CATL Bedrock Chassis, a skateboard chassis that can withstand 120 km/h frontal impacts without catching fire or exploding. The battery-centered design uses cell-to-chassis integration technology, which directly integrates the battery cells into the chassis and allows for a shared structural design. Based on the decoupling of the chassis… Read more…

Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cell manufacturer American Battery Factory (ABF) has formed a partnership with Chinese manufacturer KAN Battery to develop a pilot line of battery cells at its facility and accelerate its US production launch. As part of the collaboration, ABF will secure training in the latest analytics and machining for its workforce,… Read more…

Bus manufacturer Solaris has won a tender for 45 Urbino 24 electric buses to be integrated into the transport network of the city of Liège.  An initial order of 18 units, 5 of which are to be delivered in 2025 and the remainder in 2026, was secured by Opérateur de transport de Wallonie-TEC, which manages… Read more…

Construction vehicles and equipment are rapidly going electric, and Volvo Construction Equipment is a major purveyor of electric equipment—so it’s not surprising to find that a construction site in Stockholm is a testing ground for sustainable construction technologies.   A construction site in Slakthusområdet, a former meat-packing district in central Stockholm that has recently been… Read more…

South Korean automotive supplier Hyundai Mobis has developed a new battery cell cooling material to prevent EV battery overheating during ultra-fast charging. This material, referred to as the Pulsating Heat Pipe, comprises aluminum alloy and refrigerant and is placed between battery cells to limit internal battery temperature spikes during rapid charging. Even when battery heat… Read more…

Daimler Truck brand FUSO, headquartered in Japan, has delivered 22 of its eCanter trucks to Spain-based logistics provider Planway Logística. The vehicles are operating in the fleet of Spain’s postal service provider, Correos. The 8.55-tonne trucks are produced for the European market at the Mitsubishi Fuso Truck Europe plant in Tramagal, Portugal. They are designed… Read more…

One of the beloved bugaboos bruited by EV boo-birds is that EV batteries will quickly wear out. Now that there are significant numbers of high-mileage EVs on the road, this deceitful dirge has been definitively debunked. Car and Driver (among many other sources) estimates that a typical EV battery should last between 10 and 20… Read more…

Northvolt, the battery startup founded in 2017 by two Tesla alums, was the Great European Hope that was supposed to free the Continent from dependence on Chinese EV battery production. And for a while, things were really rolling—the company raised billions and formed partnerships with several automakers. It managed to get a couple of facilities… Read more…

US battery materials manufacturer Ascend Elements is commissioning a new lithium carbonate recovery line at its battery recycling facility in Covington, Georgia in 2025 to start producing 99% pure lithium carbonate (Li₂CO₃) recovered from used lithium-ion batteries. The company plans to produce up to 3,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate annually. Its Hydro-to-Cathode direct precursor… Read more…

Global commerce platform WEX has formed a partnership with EV charger installation provider Qmerit to streamline the installation of chargers at the homes of commercial fleet drivers. Qmerit will provide end-to-end home EV charging installation and integration services from its national network of more than 23,000 electricians. WEX EV At-Home provides access to WEX’s fleet… Read more…

European logistics firm Contargo has become one of the first customers to take delivery of the new Mercedes eActros 600 electric semi-truck. The company is adding 20 units to its trimodal delivery fleet. Contargo’s battery-electric fleet now numbers 60 trucks, and that number will soon increase to 90. Contargo’s electric trucks were funded in part… Read more…

US-based Sakuu, which provides commercial-scale equipment and technologies to the battery manufacturing industry, will make its Kavian dry-process battery technology platform available for commercial orders in January 2025. The platform can dry-print anodes and various cathodes from lithium iron phosphate (LFP) and nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) electrodes. It also has the flexibility to support new… Read more…