Category Archives: environment

FedEx Canada Receives first BrightDrop Zevo’s

FedEx Express Canada in Toronto today received  its first 50 BrightDrop Zevo 600 electric delivery The introduction of BrightDrop’s electric vans into the FedEx fleet in Canada is part of the company’s goal to transform its entire parcel pickup and delivery (aka PUD – we didn’t make this acronym up they did – AutoCrat) fleet to all-electric, zero-tailpipe emission vehicles by 2040. Continue reading

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EPA – Federal Facility Excellence in Site Reuse Awards

“EPA is honored to highlight the work and tremendous partnerships needed to address contaminated federal facilities and implement a locally driven reuse strategy to safeguard and revitalize communities and the environment,” said Barry Breen, EPA’s Acting Assistant Administrator for the Office of Land and Emergency Management. Continue reading

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Paris Air Show – Stellantis and Archer to Debut eVTOL Aircraft

Archer’s Midnight aircraft will be the featured eVTOL aircraft at the Paris Air Show, positioned in the center of the Air Mobility event, which is located in Hall 5 at Le Bourget Airport. Devoted to the latest innovations and emerging technologies in eVTOL, the Paris Air Show’s Air Mobility event will bring together key participants of the emerging sector with three days of discussions on the maturation of advanced air mobility and its impact on the future of aerospace. Continue reading

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GM Adding Tesla Supercharger Network to Ultium Charge 360

General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) is following Ford Motor Company expanding EV charging access to the Tesla supercharger network. GM customers will be able to access 12,000 Tesla Superchargers and growing beginning in early 2024 as part of the ongoing Ultium Charge 360 plan to expand access for residential, work and public charging. This builds on the more than 134,000 chargers available to GM EV drivers today through the company’s Ultium Charge 360 program and associated mobile apps. Continue reading

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GM to Build Full-Size Pickups at Oshawa – Maybe

What role Unifor, which represents Canadian auto workers, plays in this remains to be seen. AutoInformed observes this is a bittersweet blessing for Canadian autoworkers since internal combustion engines are ultimately doomed. There are larger issues as well as the components and agreements for supplying electric vehicles are in place or at organizations that are hostile to unionized workers and even Democracies. 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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Toyota Motor Establishes Hydrogen Factory

The goal is to promote sustainable commercialization of hydrogen fuels. The former Hydrogen business area will be abolished as a result. This is in keeping with the global auto industry’s moves toward sustainable fuels. Continue reading

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Chinese April Sales Soft – EV Exports Threaten Global Trade

AutoInformed notes here that the Biden Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act is actual a climate change and industrial policy bill that has global trade implications among US allies, trading partners and hostile states – say Russia and China. This is leading to the creation of a new term that will replace “offshoring” in trading and policy jargon.  How about “friend shoring,” which is starting to emerge in automotive circles. Continue reading

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Stellantis, TotalEnergies, Mercedes-Benz Open Battery Factory

Stellantis (NYSE: STLA), TotalEnergies and Mercedes-Benz, celebrated today the inauguration of  the Automotive Cells Company’s (ACC) battery factory in Billy-Berclau Douvrin, France, the first of three planned in Europe. Continue reading

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Toyota to Buy Solar Power from Former Coal Mine

“It is important that renewable power is more available to large-scale US energy buyers and converting brownfields like this offers a path forward for former energy communities to take advantage of the infrastructure they already have with transmission lines while providing clean energy to the grid,” said David Absher, senior manager of environmental sustainability at Toyota Motor North America. 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 – As Economy Grows Key Pollutants are Declining

Air pollution contains gas and particle contaminants that are present in the atmosphere. Gaseous pollutants include sulfur dioxide (SO2), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), ozone (O3), carbon monoxide (CO), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and certain toxic air pollutants. Particle pollution (PM2.5 and PM10) includes a mixture of compounds that EPA groups into five major categories: sulfate, nitrate, elemental (black) carbon, organic carbon and crustal material. Continue reading

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Toyota Eco or EV Button Study Shows Greenhouse Gas Cuts

“We have the ability to use data to help empower customers so that they can make a difference,” said Brian Kursar, chief technology officer, Toyota Connected North America (TCNA). “While this study focused on Toyota-owned vehicles, we know there are millions of connected Toyota and Lexus vehicles in the US. If everyone drove in Eco mode, it could help greatly reduce our collective CO2 output. Given how successful this internal campaign was, we’d love to see where we can take this initiative, and we hope we inspire other automakers to do the same.” Continue reading

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ChargeX Consortium to Improve EV Charging Announced by the US Department of Energy National Laboratories

During the next two years, the national labs will collaborate with industry to measure and identify opportunities to significantly improve the customer experience with public EV charging infrastructure in the United States. The consortium sets a goal that public charging stations nationwide will provide a charge to vehicles the first time, every time. This new, clearly aspirational, goal is not enforceable. However, it complements federal requirements of greater than 97% uptime to ensure that each customer can successfully and easily charge at public charging stations. Continue reading

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