Toyota is to develop a fuel cell version of its Hilux pick-up truck with financial support from the British government and set up a pilot production line for it at its plant in Derbyshire, UK.
Read more
UK electric truck manufacturer Tevva has secured a £4.2 million (just under €5 million) grant from the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) to develop the next generation of medium-duty electric trucks with fuel cell range extenders and gross vehicle weights between 7.5 and 19 tonnes.
Read more
The battery analytics specialist Silver Power System partnered with Imperial College, London EV Company (LEVC) and JSCA, the research and development division of Watt Electric Vehicle Company, on an electric vehicle battery research programme designed to predict battery lifespan.
Read more- ADVERTISEMENT -
Green Lithium, a mineral processing company, has secured a £631,000 grant from the Advanced Propulsion Centre to support the development of what it claims will be Europe’s first large-scale lithium refinery, located in the UK.
Read more
In the UK, the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC), has put out a call for a new round of applications for projects that aim to scale-up the industrialisation of low-carbon emission vehicle technologies and their relevant upstream supply chains.
Read more
A British consortium looks to establish a circular end-of-life supply chain ending in the UK’s first recycling facility for automotive battery packs on a commercial scale. Granted support through the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC), project RECOVAS collects most of Britain’s remaining automotive players and specialists.
Read more- ADVERTISEMENT -
Government and industry have together filled a funding pot in Great Britain with 92 million pounds (around 102 million euros) to subsidise 49 concrete electrification projects in the country. The funding program is coordinated by the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC).
Read more
The British government has awarded a total of 35M pounds to three projects involving players such as Nissan and Aston Martin. They are developing low carbon technology with funding through the UK’s Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) with industry matching the investment.
Read moreWith 1,006 new electric vehicles hitting the road, EV sales rose 10.7 percent in the UK in June. Moreover, 2,190 plug-in hybrids were sold on the Isles – that’s 30.5% more than last year. And 15,000 EVs have been registered in France since the beginning of the year, 2,956 in June (up 6.1%).
smmt.co.uk (UK), avere-france.org (France)
Electric maiden flight: Siemens’s record-setting electric aircraft motor, which reportedly boasts a continuous output of about 260 kW but weighs only 50 kg, has successfully completed its first public flight. This success will allow for the creation of an hybrid-electric aircraft with four or more seats. As the drive is scalable, it will also be at the base of the joint project of Airbus and Siemens for the development of hybrid regional airliners (we reported).
siemens.com
No Brexit for Nissan: The Japanese carmaker is investing 26.5m pounds to continue to produce EV batteries at its manufacturing base in Sunderland, ensuring that some 300 jobs will remain at the lithium-ion battery plant.
smmt.co.uk
Supply chain competition: The Advanced Propulsion Centre UK is launching a 1m pound competition, wherein vehicle manufacturers, suppliers and organisations will compete to develop a greener automotive supply chain. The Centre hopes to fund up to four projects.
businessgreen.com, apcuk.co.uk
Google EVs ready by summer: The internet giant wants to bring some of its autonomous vehicles to the streets of Mountain View, California, by summer, says Chris Umson, head of the project. The current versions will still feature steering wheels, as well as acceleration and brake pedals that will become redundant in the future.
electriccarsreport.com, treehugger.com
Drivetrain funding: The British Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) announced a 60 million pound funding programme for low carbon propulsion technologies. Key areas are i.e. electric machines, power electronics and lightweight powertrain structures. Registration deadline is June 24th.
smmt.co.uk, apcuk.co.uk
Toyota gives batteries a second life: 208 decommissioned nickel-metal hydride batteries from Toyota Camry hybrids were installed at the Lamar Buffalo Ranch inside the Yellowstone National Park. With a combined storage capacity of 85 kWh, they will be able to hold enough excess energy produced by local solar panels and micro hydro turbines to power the farm off the grid.
autoblog.com, business-review.com
Poaching dispute settled: Apple and battery maker A123 Systems have come to an agreement in a recent dispute, where Apple was accused of poaching A123 employees to set up a battery unit for its upcoming electric car. The financial (or in fact any) details of the deal have not been announced.
autoblog.com, automotive-business-review.com
German battery testing: Fraunhofer LBF has opened its centre for system reliability in electromobility, abbreviated ZSZ-e, in Darmstadt, Germany. Here, researchers will develop testing procedures and guidelines for high-voltage batteries and perform multi-physical tests on batteries, modules and components. Fraunhofer LBF also introduced its generator-electric research vehicle “GEV/one.”
electronics-eetimes.com
New Porsche 919 Hybrid revealed: The updated Le Mans racer has received numerous improvements by Porsche, such as redefined energy recovery systems. Thus, this year the 919 will compete in the 8 MJ category (8 MJ of recovered energy per lap).Total system power is now nearly at 746 kW.
autovolt-magazine.com, greencarcongress.com, carscoops.com
Multi-million funding: In its latest funding round, the UK Advanced Propulsion Centre has awarded a total of 80 million pounds to four projects. These aim to bring fuel cell range-extenders into van fleets, develop high efficiency transmissions and create the next generation of electric and hybrid buses.
apcuk.co.uk, nextgreencar.com, renewableenergyfocus.com
Tyres for hybrid SUVs: Falken is working on a new tyre for the use on plug-in hybrid SUVs. The goal is to combine both the sporty dynamics with low rolling resistance. The concept tyres had been on display on Mitsubishi’s Concept XR-PHEV II that made its debut at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show.
hybridcars.com, business-standard.com
Future or faux? Neutrino Inc. announces that it has developed a battery, allowing an EV to go as far as 2,ooo km on one charge. Moreover, it is said to recharge itself (no plug needed), due to a combination of Neutrino and nano technology. More details are being kept under lock and key due to patent issues, but will be revealed in the coming weeks. The battery itself could become available in 2016 or 2017.
focus.de (in German), neutrino-inc.com
New research centre in the UK: The Advanced Propulsion Centre at the University of Warwick has opened for business. It was financed by British government, Jaguar Land Rover, Bentley, BMW, Ford and Nissan (we reported), and will also serve as a production site for electric motors.
businessgreen.com, home.bt.com
Celgard – Panasonic agreement: The two companies have signed a letter of intent to work together in developing the next generation of Li-ion battery Celgard seperators. If the project is successful, the companies could sign a long-term agreement.
greencarcongress.com, japantimes.co.jp
GKN ramps up Gyrodrive production: GKN Land Systems has announced that it is increasing production of its Gyrodrive flywheel hybrid system.The reason, the company says, is that recent trials in i.e. London have proven that the technology is the first “to make economic sense” for bus operators.
transportengineer.org.uk, greencarcongress.com
Most clicked link on Thursday was the new Piaggio electric bike project that was recently revealed at the EICMA show in Milan, Italy.
ebike.piaggio.com
Advanced propulsion centre finds a home: Warwick University has been chosen as the location of the planned ‘Advanced Propulsion Centre’ (APC) in the UK (we reported). The British government will spend one billion pounds to aid development of low carbon propulsion systems in collaboration with Jaguar Land Rover, Bentley, BMW, Ford and Nissan and ultimately hopes to create 30,000 jobs in the UK.
greencarcongress.com, warwick.ac.uk, smmt.co.uk
Conti eBike system gets the go: Continental is ready to put its pedelec system into production in the fourth quarter of this year. The eBike system uses the rebranded Brose crank drive and comes complete with battery, display, remote and service offerings.
electriccarsreport.com, greencarcongress.com
Quiet car rule delayed? The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and Association of Global Automakers are loudly urging the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to reschedule full compliance with rules for acoustic warnings for hybrids and EVs until late 2018. The NHTSA regulations were due to be issued in January but have been pushed back by the regulator to April 2015, which then leaves very little time for phase-in.
greencarreports.com, detroitnews.com
