Category Archives: energy

EV Grid Unlock – BMW, Ford, Honda Create ChargeScape

BMW Group, Ford Motor Company and American Honda Motor Company today announced that they have entered into an agreement to create ChargeScape, LLC, a new equally owned company that will create a single, platform connecting electric utilities, automakers and interested … Continue reading

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Strange Green Bedfellows – Stellantis and Aramco

Low carbon eFuel is a drop-in synthetic fuel made by reacting CO2, captured either directly from the atmosphere or from an industrial facility, with renewable hydrogen. The use of low carbon eFuel has the potential to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from existing internal combustion vehicles by at least 70% on a lifecycle basis, compared to conventional fuels its advocates claim. Continue reading

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Vehicle-to-Home Bidirectional Charging Coming on All GM EVs

General Motors (NYSE:GM) said today that it will expand vehicle-to-home (V2H) bidirectional charging technology across its retail portfolio of Ultium-based electric vehicles by model year 2026. The first vehicles to receive the technology include the previously announced 2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV RST, followed by the 2024 GMC Sierra EV Denali Edition 1, 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV, 2024 Chevrolet Equinox EV, 2024 Cadillac LYRIQ and the upcoming Cadillac ESCALADE IQ.

Information on additional availability of V2H technology and specific timing of V2H rollout to individual vehicle models will be provided in future updates. Just bring money. The question is how much? Continue reading

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Stellantis Completes Symbio Hydrogen Purchase

“The addition of Stellantis as a shareholder will boost Symbio’s development across Europe and in the US,” Stellantis said. Acquiring an equal stake in Symbio supports Stellantis  fuel cell van production in France, and supplements the company’s growing battery electric vehicle portfolio. Continue reading

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Stellantis and Samsung SDI to Build Second US Battery Plant

“This new facility will contribute to reaching our aggressive target to offer at least 25 new battery electric vehicles for the North American market by the end of the decade,” said Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares. “We are continuing to add more capacity in the United States together with our great partner Samsung SDI and laying the next steps to reaching our carbon neutrality commitment by 2038.” Continue reading

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VW Patents High-Speed Wireless EV Charging System

“We are accelerating innovation within electric vehicles and contributing to more sustainable transportation in America by focusing our efforts on some of the most transformative automotive research being done in the country,” said Pablo Di Si, President and CEO at Volkswagen Group of America Inc. “Our technology teams in Tennessee are a great example. There, we are tapping American ingenuity fostered by the unique blend of world-class academic research and Volkswagen’s leading industry capabilities.” Continue reading

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Toyota Konpon Research Institute Debuts

The Genesis Research Institute since its beginning in 1996 has used disciplines such as natural science and the humanities to “further the development of energy and environmental technologies.” It was established on 11 June 1996 the birthday of the late Kiichiro Toyoda with joint funding from 12 Toyota Group companies, including Toyota Motor Corporation.

Today Toyota said that the Genesis Research Institute is renamed Toyota Konpon Research Institute. “Twenty-seven years on, society finds itself in an era of great transformation, with the rise of AI and advances in various other fields of science and technology. Continue reading

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GM Expanding Ultium CAM EV Battery Joint Venture

General Motors (NYSE: GM) and POSCO Future M announced today the second phase of their Ultium CAM joint venture, an investment forecast to exceed $1 billion to increase production capacity of Cathode Active Material (CAM) for EV batteries. While CEO Mary Barra admits that GM was slow to embrace EVs, GM is now clearly among the leaders in what is the future of automobility. Today’s announcement is the latest in a series of actions GM has taken to build a more secure EV supply chain. Continue reading

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Stellantis, Vulcan Sign Deal for Renewable Energy at Mulhouse

Mulhouse is where the DS7, Peugeot 308 and e-308, 508, and the new 408 are made. Based on current assumptions, the project could provide a significant portion of the industrial site’s annual energy needs starting in 2026, Stellantis said. It’s the latest move in the Stellantis fight against climate change with its ambitious goal of reaching carbon net zero emissions by 2038, with a 50% reduction by end of this decade. Continue reading

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McKinsey – EU Decarbonization Targets Require Lots of Land

To say that this has political implications is, perhaps, an understatement. AutoInformed has observed for decades that abstract policy discussions and agreements can become quite contentious when they move toward implementation in one’s backyard – onshore or off the shoreline. Continue reading

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EPA – New Carbon Pollution Standards for Power Plants

EPA claimed the plants would avoid up to 617 million metric tons of total carbon dioxide (CO2) through 2042, which is equivalent to reducing the annual emissions of 137 million passenger vehicles, ~half the cars in the US. Through 2042, EPA estimates the net climate and health benefits of the standards are up to as much as $85 billion. Continue reading

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Department of Transportation Wants Tougher Pipeline Regs

At its heart, the proposed rule will update decades-old federal leak detection and repair standards that rely solely on human senses in favor of new requirements that add an additional layer of safety by deploying commercially available, advanced technologies to find and fix leaks of methane and other flammable, toxic, and corrosive gases. These health and safety improvements will advance environmental justice in communities where gas pipeline infrastructure is disproportionately sited. Continue reading

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EPA Emergency Order Allows Summer Sale of E15 Gasoline

“This action will provide Americans with relief at the pump from ongoing market supply issues created by Russia’s unprovoked war in Ukraine by increasing fuel supply and offering consumers more choices at the pump. The waiver will help protect Americans from fuel supply crises by reducing our reliance on imported fossil fuels, building U.S. energy independence, and supporting American agriculture and manufacturing. Current estimates indicate that on average, E15 is about 25 cents a gallon cheaper than E10,” EPA said in a press release. Omitted was the fact that ethanol contains less energy by volume than gasoline so mileage decreases. Continue reading

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California Climate Investments – ~$1B in 2022 to Communities With Worst Impacts of Pollution, Climate Change

“California continues to put our cap-and-trade dollars to work through unprecedented investments in zero-emission infrastructure, housing, conservation, and more,” said Yana Garcia, California’s Secretary for Environmental Protection. “The majority of these funds benefit communities disproportionately burdened by pollution and experiencing the impacts of persistent economic inequity. In 2022 alone, we invested nearly $1 billion in under resourced communities to help ensure an equitable transition to carbon neutrality, and to leveraging improved health outcomes in communities suffering from air pollution and other climate impacts.” Continue reading

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Mazda Adding Renewable Solar Power to Japanese Plants

Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (MITI) provides subsidies to cover a portion of the expense of installing solar power generation facilities in cases where consumers of electric power coordinated with an electric power producer to establish such facilities. “These subsidies are intended to promote such collaborations and encourage wider adoption of independent initiatives to establish renewable energy sources, contributing to a reliable, long-term, supply-demand balance in energy use during the period up until 2030, thereby supporting the achievement of ambitious targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.” Continue reading

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