Researchers from Flinders University in Australia have published details of the latest steps in zinc-iodine technology. Prototype batteries can manage more than 60,000 recharge and discharge cycles, with recharges in just three minutes.

As the batteries are water-based, they don’t come with the same potential risk of explosion and fire as standard (NMC) lithium-ion batteries do. However, these batteries tend to deteriorate as they’re used because of the chemical reactions happening inside.

Source: MSN     Read The Article

PSR Analysis. The usual caveats apply with any new battery technology, in that you have to fully develop it and that it must be commercialized. However, one thing is clear, this battery technology is more suited to large scale uses.PSR

Subsidized buses would create hydrogen demand, demand would support refueling stations, stations would justify local hydrogen production. With enough production and infrastructure in place, a domestic low-carbon hydrogen industry could begin to emerge. In principle, it sounded logical and that it would work.

Polenergia, Poland’s largest private energy group started off solidly. By October 2024, they had building permits, and eight electrolyzer stacks had completed factory acceptance testing. In hydrogen- terms, that was at an advanced state.

Fast forward one year and Polenergia decided in January 2025 that it could not conclude the agreement. The company cited legal issues associated with the tender and the risk that it would not be able to deliver hydrogen on schedule. This was not simply a declaration that hydrogen cost too much, Polenergia’s subsequent corporate strategy called for a gradual withdrawal from hydrogen transportation.

Source: Clean Technica     Read The Article

PSR Analysis: There are a lot of views as to why this key project has failed, ranging from the creation of a hydrogen system that would always fail because it wasn’t running 24/7, to creating a demand through subsidy. Either way, it’s another failed hydrogen experiment, which seems to be the way of things for hydrogen at the moment.PSR

The comment period for proposed EPA emissions regulations starting with model year 2027 ended over the weekend of Sept. 6, 2026.

The regulatory amendments would include changes to the useful life periods and emission-related warranty periods. There are also amendments to the January 2023 provisions and from earlier rules. The agency also plans to make nonconformance penalties (NCPs) available to engine manufacturers beginning in 2027 and to amend inducement provisions.

“Americans depend on reliable trucks to move essential goods across the country,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin says. “If finalized, these changes will help manufacturers keep improving their vehicles without being forced to rush products to market before they’re ready. Combined with the Trump EPA’s first proposed deregulatory action to address ongoing DEF problems, this will ease real burdens for operators.

More than 100 comments were submitted. Below are a few of the comments.

Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association (EMA)

“The modifications to the emissions warranty and useful life provisions will make the 2023 Final Rule more implementable for manufacturers and more cost-effective for trucking fleets and other heavy-duty diesel vehicle and equipment operators. More specifically, the proposal to retain the current emission warranty periods will allow up-front reductions in product costs.

The proposed deferral of the longer useful life periods similarly will enable more effective and robust technology development and lower costs. And the proposed clarifications and corrections to many of the other compliance provisions will provide manufacturers with enhanced regulatory clarity.”

Prime Inc. (No. 15 on the CCJ Top 250)

“(W)e support extending the availability of EPA 2024 emissions-compliant products through 2027 and urge EPA to maintain this extended timeline.

“… Prime has experienced the consequences of premature technology adoption, including unplanned downtime, parts shortages, increased maintenance requirements and limited service capacity. Before widespread adoption within our fleet, we need sufficient EPA 2027 field experience to understand long-term durability, failure rates, maintenance costs, parts availability and service readiness.”

Hunter Truck

“I am concerned that imposing thousands of dollars in nonconformance penalties on otherwise proven, reliable engines is not a practical solution.

“These penalties do not disappear at the manufacturer level. Costs imposed on an engine manufacturer become costs to the truck manufacturer, dealer, fleet owner, independent trucker, freight customer and ultimately the American consumer. At a time when trucking companies are already dealing with high equipment costs, insurance expenses, interest rates, maintenance costs, labor pressures and uncertain freight markets, adding thousands of dollars to the cost of an engine creates another financial burden on the very industry responsible for moving nearly every product Americans purchase.

“If EPA believes that continued production of engines meeting the previous emissions standards is appropriate during the transition to the 2027 standards, it raises an important question: Why should the purchaser of that engine be financially penalized for buying a product that EPA is allowing to remain in commerce.

Volvo Group

“Since EPA finalized the 2023 Heavy-Duty Low-NOx Rule, the Volvo Group has made substantial investments in the development of a new engine family, advanced vehicle platforms and aftertreatment technologies to comply with the highly stringent NOx standards that take effect on Jan. 1, 2027. …

“The proposed Low-NOx Amendments would provide greater flexibility within the framework of the 2023 Final Rule, help reduce vehicle acquisition costs, and allow manufacturers to ramp up production in a controlled manner while supporting increased customer confidence as they transition their operations to the new technologies.

We agree with EPA’s decision to maintain the 35 mg/bhp-hr NOx standard in the rule. The Volvo Group remains committed to meeting customer demand by supplying compliant engines and vehicles supporting a stable and successful market transition.”

Source: Source: CCJ Comment period for EPA 2027 emissions policy changes ends

PSR Analysis. The truck pre-buy for 2026 is effectively over as the OEM build slots are generally full for the remainder of the year. Due to the transitional period, PSR expects demand to continue to be strong in 2027 as the fleets replace their older trucks with either emission compliant trucks or current trucks with nonconformance penalties. PSR anticipates there will be a modest drop-off in truck demand in 2028. However, due to the transition period a sharp year-over-year decline in sales is not expected.PSR

Chris Fisher is Senior Commercial Vehicle Analyst

The Large Energy User Action Plan (Leap) aims to see the location of new businesses with large demands better planned so that they are constructed near renewable energy sources. Under the Large Energy User Action Plan, any large energy users (10 MW-plus), such as data centers must provide at least 80% of their energy demand through new onsite renewable energy generation and storage.

Source: Breaking News     Read The Article

PSR Analysis. The 80% rule means that data centers sited near renewable energy sites can bypass potential grid connection delays (which can take several years) and connect directly to the renewable site. It also supports decarbonization efforts and relieves pressure on local grids. However, it does mean fewer backup gen-sets may be sold if the data center supports the renewable energy with batteries.PSR

This means that Geely’s cells could hold roughly twice the energy per kilogram of the best lithium-ion battery packs shipping in EVs today. The best high-nickel NMC cells in production have about 250 to 300 Wh/kg while Tesla’s 4680 cell sits near 245 Wh/kg. LFP cells are lower and peak at around 200 Wh/kg.

Large battery packs can weigh 100kg, so being able to either double the range (for the same weight) or maintain the range (at half the battery weight) is a tremendous achievement.

Source: Electrek     Read The Article

PSR Analysis. There is, however, a small problem. Pilot deployment in 2027 is not the same as cars on roads in 2027, and Geely hasn’t put a date on when this will happen. When it does happen however, it could be a game changer.PSR

Guy Youngs is Forecast & Adoption Lead

Commercial trucks operate for longer hours, carry heavier loads and burn far more fuel per vehicle than passenger cars but freight diesel is even more important when looking at global diesel demand.

China’s heavy-truck electrification program is targeting 40% new-energy heavy-truck sales by 2030, more than 1.6 million vehicles in operation and roughly 20% of the national heavy-truck fleet. The plan also targets 18% of highway freight volume, which is the more revealing number. China is not merely trying to put electric drivetrains into one-fifth of its trucks. It is concentrating them in commercially active fleets and high-volume freight operations

This is the distinction that oil demand models risk missing. Yes, a few electric trucks in demonstrations are a signal that adoption is coming, but electric trucks tied to corridors, depots, grid capacity and repeatable operating routes are a diesel replacement system.

Source: Clean Technica: Read The Article

PSR Analysis: For a great many years, heavy trucks have been treated as hard to replace with battery systems, a last bastion of diesel. But no more, China is showing us all what can happen, and this should be a strong warning to the oil giants and the legacy truck manufacturers.    PSR

Guy Youngs is Forecast & Adoption Lead

So, when a small Indian start up, (called Vimag Labs and based out of Bengaluru in the southern Indian state of Karnataka), secures its fifth Indian patent for an electric motor that runs without any rare-earth magnets, people start to listen.

Source: Electrek: Read The Article

PSR Analysis: Most EVs use a Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor which uses REE, but the trick isn’t making REE free motors, but rather doing it as efficiently as a Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor. If this works (and it’s a big if) then it could side step the REE supply issue.   PSR

EV batteries contain minerals such as lithium, cobalt and nickel, which raise environmental and social concerns relating to their disposal.

EV batteries can be recycled, but it is very difficult and costly. Batteries must be prepared before recycling and this involves discharging, dismantling and separating its components.

Source: MSN: Read The Article

PSR Analysis: Europe is looking at this problem with several projects underway in the UK and Europe, but the questions remain: can this be done quickly, economically, and in doing so, create a new resource stream for the future? Only time will tell.   PSR

The joint venture says its first UK hubs will open in 2027, with more than 30 planned across Europe by 2035

CATL already has a heavy-truck battery-swapping platform called Qiji, which focusses on standardizing battery blocks and swap machinery. CATL is trying to make the battery block the common object around which truck chassis, stations, battery inventories and operating systems are designed

Source: Clean Technica: Read The Article

PSR Analysis: Given that freight operators run regular routes, this system has a valid operating plan, but whether or not European freight companies will get behind it, is a completely different ball game. However, in China, CATL has made this work with 305 swap stations at the end of 2025.   PSR

Hold on I hear you cry, what about Ethiopia? In 2024 Ethiopia banned the import of all fossil-fueled cars. In truth, there isn’t a lot of difference but in the Laos ban public transport vehicles, construction machinery, project-related trucks, and other specialized vehicles are exempt. This is a passenger-car policy, aimed squarely at the segment where affordable electric alternatives already exist, reports electrek.

Source: Electrek: Read The Article

PSR Analysis:  Laos, like Ethiopia, generates a large portion of its electricity needs via hydroelectric power, and struggles to pay for diesel/petrol imports. Given the Iran-USA conflict, and the resultant high price for oil, this policy seems to make a great deal of sense. What happens after the six-month period will be the critical factor.   PSR