Electric vehicles

In the field of self-driving cars, algorithms for controlling lane changes are an important topic of study. But most existing lane-change algorithms have one of two drawbacks: Either they rely on detailed statistical models of the driving environment, which are difficult to assemble and too complex to analyze on the fly; or they're so simple that they can lead to impractically conservative decisions, such as never changing lanes at all.

Research led by scientists has shown the potential of liquid crystal shells as enabling material for a vast array of future applications, ranging from autonomous driving to anti-counterfeiting technology and a new class of sensors.

Zipcar has announced it will be introducing over 300 Volkswagen e-Golfs to London this year, in what is expected to be the largest number of publicly available shared electric cars in the country.

IDTechEx will be hosting a free webinar on Thursday 14 June titled Redox Flow Batteries for Stationary Storage.

Geely has unveiled its strategy in the new era of new energy vehicles. "Geely Intelligent Power" is Geely's diversified new energy strategy that follows four main technological pathways.

From September 2018, 86 Mercedes-Benz city buses will be arriving to reinforce the fleet of the Krakow public transport authority. Poland's second-largest public transport authority has placed an order for 56 Mercedes-Benz Citaro and 30 Mercedes-Benz Citaro hybrid vehicles.

The BMW Design Department in collaboration with MIT's Self-Assembly Laboratory have successfully developed printed inflatable material technologies that self-transform, adapt and morph from one state to another.

The BMW Group is to invest more than €300 million in its Leipzig plant. Comprehensive construction work to extend and update the body and paint shops, assembly and logistics is already under way, laying the foundation for continued growth and the production of future models in Leipzig.

Redox flow batteries are an energy storage technology initially developed by NASA in the 70's for space applications. After several years of intensive R&D, in 2006, several key patents on the technology expired, opening up the arena to companies all around the world.

Autonomous mobility, in the general public's eye, is now synonymous with cars. Whilst this might be the largest ultimate prize, it is by no means the only commercial manifestation of this technology. Indeed, as the IDTechEx Research report New Robotics and Drones 2018-2038: Technologies, Forecasts, Players demonstrates, numerous autonomous mobile robots are being commercialized in applications where there is (a) a clear commercial purpose and (b) a more structured and predictable environment.

JetSuite will be the launch customer for Zunum Aero's 6 to 12 passenger hybrid-to-electric aircraft. JetSuite plans to add up to 100 of the electrics to their fleet in the early 2020s, enabling them to bring quiet, efficient and environmentally friendly travel services to their private and semi-private customers nationwide.

Saildrone, Inc., a provider of high-resolution ocean data collected via a fleet of unmanned surface vehicles, announced that it has closed a $60 million round of Series B funding to scale up its global fleet of ocean drones to help monitor the state of the planet in real time.

Autonomous vehicles promise to be the next revolution in public transport. But for these new services to develop, we must first identify the needs and motivations of their future users and be able to respond to them, meet many of the technological and regulatory challenges, and design new business models. This is the aim of the 4 year AVENUE project consortium, with a total budget of 22 million euros and funded by the European Commission up to the level of 16 million euros.

Volvo has become the first car manufacturer in the UK to homologate its entire model range under the new Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure.

Mercedes-Benz Cars is expanding its capacities for electric cars in Europe. The Hambach plant in France will produce a compact electric car of the new product and technology brand EQ.

IDTechEx will be hosting a free webinar on Thursday 31 May titled 48V Mild Hybrid Vehicles.

In a recent press release, Volvo Trucks has unveiled its first all-electric truck for commercial use - the Volvo FL Electric. This piece of news is but the first in a series of announcements that started in November 2017 with the Tesla Semi, and has since seen other industry players like Daimler, Cummins, and emerging companies like Nikola present the advantages of converting the trucking industry from diesel engines to electric powertrains.

Update from the IDTechEx Show! in Berlin 2018.

Update from IDTechEx Show! Berlin 2018.

LG Chem update from IDTechEx Show! Berlin 2018.