Electric vehicles

Growing demand for electric vehicles has shed light on the significant challenge of sustainably sourcing the battery technology necessary for the broad shift to renewable electric and away from fossil fuels. In hopes of making batteries that not only perform better than those currently used in EVs, but also are made from readily available materials, a group of chemical engineers have found a way to introduce sulfur into lithium-ion batteries - with astounding results.

On the face of it, 2021 was a good year for fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) in passenger car markets. Toyota, with their second generation Mirai FCEV, and Hyundai, with their NEXO FCEV, both had record sales, which largely made up for Honda announcing in June 2021 that it had decided to pull the plug on production of their Honda Clarity FCV (citing the lack of hydrogen infrastructure and weak demand).

CENS Materials are developing a CNT product for use in Li-ion battery electrodes. IDTechEx caught up with CEO Moshe Johary.

Project Triumph TE-1 has been revealed in completed prototype form. The unique collaboration between Triumph Motorcycles, Williams Advanced Engineering, Integral Powertrain Ltd, and WMG at the University of Warwick funded by the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles through Innovate UK, was set up to create ground-breaking developments in specialist electric motorcycle engineering and innovative integrated technology design.

The Swedish Energy Agency gives Stena Recycling SEK 70.7 million in support for the investment in a new battery recycling plant in Halmstad. Stena Recycling's target is to become one of Europe's leading players in the recycling of lithium-ion batteries.

Electric cars are the future; they will help reduce air pollution and end our dependence on fossil fuels. However, there is one glaring problem with this potentially disruptive technology: the availability of sufficient lithium to produce all these car batteries.

SABIC has been presenting an EV battery pack with a focus on its thermoplastic materials.

With demand for electric vehicles growing rapidly, the global automotive and energy storage industries will be competing to access raw materials, especially lithium, that are a crucial component of batteries.

This partnership will utilize carbon capture and sequestration, renewable energy, and other innovative practices to bring lower-cost, low carbon-intensity sustainable aviation fuel, renewable diesel, and other sustainable hydrocarbons to the global market and help accelerate the decarbonization of various industries, including the tough to decarbonize aviation sector.

Li-ion batteries are beginning to hit their performance ceiling, especially with regards to energy density. However, a shift in the anode materials used, namely to silicon or lithium-metal anodes, could provide a stepwise improvement to energy density. Their promise can be highlighted by looking at the high number of early-stage companies primarily developing anode materials, most being focussed on silicon, compared to other areas of Li-ion development.

ALIAS is a flexible, extensible automation architecture for existing manned aircraft that enables safe reduced crew operations, which facilitates the addition of high levels of automation into existing aircraft. It also provides a platform for integrating additional automation or autonomy capabilities tailored for specific missions.

Rivian, the US electric passenger truck startup, has had a rollercoaster ride over the past several months, including a wild IPO that briefly saw Rivian become the fourth most valuable automaker in the world. Yet, the share price soon fell as Rivian missed delivery targets (delivering just 920 vehicles in 2021); investor Amazon turned to Stellantis. IDTechEx explores the company's strengths, weaknesses and future.

Australia-based Avass Group recently announced that they have signed an agreement with Saudi Arabia to jointly manufacture electric vehicles and lithium batteries.

Researchers are developing a drone-based, machine learning system to detect and identify marine debris along the coast. Marine debris, also known as marine litter, is a global problem that threatens the environment, navigation safety, coastal economies, and, potentially, human health. Detecting and identifying debris quickly and accurately is key to cleanup and response actions that can prevent these impacts. Unmanned Aerial Systems, or drones, offer this capability.

Northvolt and Volvo Cars will place their first joint battery factory in Gothenburg, Sweden, next to Volvo Cars' assembly plant in Torslanda. The new facility will be operational in 2025.

Ford is the first in the US to offer the ability for customers to power their homes with an electric truck when the grid goes dark, providing innovative new capabilities that enhance the energy independence of its customers.

Koenigsegg continues its in-house technology development and advanced component offers to the market. It started with David, the recently introduced revolutionary 6-phase inverter - and that is now followed by the company's newest innovation, the Quark electric motor that utilizes a novel torque/power-rich balance between radial(power-dense) and axial(torque-dense) flux topology dubbed Raxial Flux.

The electric era is here, and Ford is in the midst of implementing an ambitious, comprehensive plan to make the transition to an electric future. Ford is investing $22 billion in electrification through 2025 as part of its plan to lead electrification in areas of strength. The company is electrifying its most iconic products - the Mustang, F-150 and Transit - with many more to come in the years ahead. A key part of Ford's goal to drive the adoption of electric vehicles is to target the large market for fully electric commercial vans and pickups. The company has had some initial success while entering the market, but now faces competition from other OEMs and their offerings.

An intelligent charging robot that will make filling up with electricity much easier and more convenient in the future. Volume production of the system is planned for 2024 and will take place in Germany.

Electreon will deploy its first public wireless electric vehicle charging road system in the US in Detroit as part of the inductive vehicle charging pilot program. The wireless charging infrastructure, which will be implemented in the Michigan Central district, will support a suite of use cases involving various vehicle types and partners including autonomous vehicles.