The EU project FCH2RAIL (Fuel Cell Hybrid Power Pack for Rail Applications) with partners from Belgium, Germany, Spain and Portugal is developing and testing a new zero-emission train prototype. Key to the idea is a combination of electricity from overhead wires with a fuel cell power pack.

In a letter, the Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Malta, Ireland, Lithuania and Luxembourg call on the EU Commission to set a phase-out date for the sale of new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles with combustion engines in the EU that is in line with the goal of climate neutrality by 2050.

Smart is releasing a special model of the EQ Fortwo Coupé to dealers during the second quarter of 2021. The special model called Edition Bluedawn is painted in a striking matt blue that Daimler calls ‘Velvet Blue’.

The European Commission has approved a second project under EU state aid rules to support research and innovation in the battery value chain. Several German companies will benefit from this, but also Tesla.

Volvo Cars is tripling the production capacity for electric cars at its plant in Ghent, Belgium. By 2022, electric cars are to account for around 60 per cent of total production capacity there. Among other things, a purely electric version and the PHEV versions of the Volvo XC40 have been produced in Ghent so far.

Belgian bus manufacturer Van Hool has launched sales of its battery-electric coach for the North American market that was unveiled in 2019. The first example of the Van Hool CX45E has now been shipped to the USA, with ten more CX45Es to follow in the first half of 2021.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and NewMotion announce a new partnership for FCA’s business clients that will gain access to NewMotion’s entire charging ecosystem. The partners will roll out the service in twelve European countries, starting with France, Germany and the UK.

The Belgian region of Flanders is reserving 30 million euros to build up to 30,000 additional charging points by 2025. This was announced by Flemish Mobility Minister Lydia Peeters. The aim is to provide a fast-charging facility with every 25 kilometres along the major transport axes.

Fastned opened its first charging location in Belgium on Tuesday. This means that the Dutch fast-charging company is now active in four countries: the Netherlands, Germany, England and Belgium. Fastned has also started to issue a new series of bonds.

ABB offers a new 11-kW bidirectional charging station specially designed for Vehicle-to-Grid in partnership with French company DREEV, a joint venture between EDF and Nuvve. The first target market is France, followed by the UK, Italy, Belgium and Germany.

ElectReon Wireless, the Israeli company, specialising in inductive charging for electric vehicles, has signed an MoU with road construction company Eurovia. They jointly want to build wireless charging into road systems in Germany, France and Belgium.

43 per cent of Europeans now consider buying an electric vehicle and name climate change as one of the main reasons for doing so. This is but one result of the annual EVBox Mobility Monitor with respondents from six European countries.

The Belgian town of Ghent is increasing its public charging infrastructure and published plans to install another 100 charge points by 2022. They will join the existing networks that are to reach 300 charging stations at the time.

Volvo has started series production of the fully electric XC40 Recharge in Ghent. The first cars are to be delivered to customers in Europe this month. However, the production of the XC40 Recharge planned for this year is already sold out.

The emerging Vivaldi coalition in Belgium is planning a ban on new company cars with combustion engines from 2026. The seven parties are still in negotiations to form the government. But should they succeed, this would be a big step.

Punch Powertrain PSA e-transmissions, the joint venture between the French PSA Group and the Belgian transmission manufacturer Punch Powertrain, has now been established following official approvals. The company started operations on 17 September.

The European BATTERY 2030+ project is gaining momentum as the research initiative launches seven projects with a total budget of 40.5 million euros from the EU’s Horizon 2020 program this September.

Mercedes-Benz has started the second test phase of the eActros “innovation fleet”: Customers will now test the electric truck in everyday use. The first eActros of the second phase will be supplied by the Dutch logistics service provider Simon Loos.

Electric kick-scooters are again causing an uproar. In Belgium, a man was filmed riding a scooter on a motorway. In England where electric kick-scooters are being trialled, teenagers have also been caught on the motorway while others are doing things like riding them inside shopping malls. 

Ford has announced the installation of 750 charging points at its Cologne factory premises in Niehl and Merkenich, Germany. Construction has already begun and should be completed by the beginning of 2022 at the latest.

Plugsurfing announced a cooperation with the eMobility-Startup &Charge. The app from &Charge enables customers in Germany, Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands to buy online and offline from partners and receive as a bonus free “kilometers” to redeem with traction power providers.

Initiated by the Port of Rotterdam Authority and AirLiquide, several European companies have joined forces to provide a hydrogen corridor for fuel cell trucks in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. They target 1,000 trucks by 2025.

The Italian energy provider Enel has concluded eRoaming agreements with Allego, Bosch and Innogy through its subsidiary Enel X. The Enel X network will thus grow from 10,500 to over 30,000 public charging points.

Volvo Buses has received two follow-up orders for hybrid and electric buses. While the Belgian capital Brussels has ordered 128 hybrid vehicles, the Norwegian city of Drammen has ordered another 22 Volvo fully-electric buses.

According to latest insider information, charging infrastructure operator Allego is cutting a significant number of jobs. The offices in the Benelux countries and Germany are particularly affected.

Ebusco has received a new order from the Belgian operator Multiobus for ten electric buses. The ten Ebusco 2.2s are to go into service in the province of Flemish Brabant from spring 2021.

A few days ago, a 27-tonne fuel-cell-powered truck from VDL started its first practical application in the Netherlands. The EU-funded H2Share project will gather practical experience in different regions of North-West Europe.

InnoEnergy is investing around three million euros in e-bility, the manufacturer behind the German electric scooter brand Kumpan Electric. The goals of the cooperation are the further development of e-bility’s product and service range and faster market launch in other European countries.

BYD will be offering electric car components to third parties in order to diversify their income sources in the face of dwindling demand for cars. The components business is to be conducted through the recently founded sub-brand FinDreams.

BMW has activated the eDrive Zones digital service for the first PHEV models. This is intended to allow cars to automatically switch to electric mode when entering a certain zone, such as inner cities.