California May Ban Gas-Powered Lawn Mowers and Leaf Blowers

Michael Aistrup
Michael Aistrup

California may soon ban the sale of gas-powered leaf blowers and lawn mowers under a bill the Legislature passed and sent to Gov. Newsom.

Assembly Bill 1346 would direct the California Air Resources Board to phase out the sale of “small off-road engines” by 2024, or as soon as the board finds feasible, whichever is later.

The bill’s author, Assemblyman Marc Berman, D-Menlo Park, tweeted that the state will spend $30 million “to help gardeners transition to cleaner, greener equipment.”

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GAZ Group May Start Mass Production of Hydrogen Engines in 2.5 Years

This report comes from General Director of GAZ Power Aggregate division Konstantin Rukhani. “After 18 months we shall complete the tests, after about 2.5 years, we’ll come to mass conveyor production,” he told Ruhani. He added that the design of the new hydrogen engine will be similar to its gas reciprocating engine.

“We consider that at the moment, if we come to the strategy of use gas piston engine working on hydrogen, we can get vehicle with a price of 30-34% higher than current ones. The engine will be less demanding for the purity of hydrogen fuel,” he added.

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Rural India May Play Vital Role in EV Adoption

INDIA REPORT
Aditya Kondejkar

Electric vehicles (EVs) witnessed strong growth in the Indian market in 2022, with a three-fold increase in sales as compared to the year before. Official data shows that Indians have bought 2,780,000 EVs since January 2023 at an average of more than 90,000 EVs per month. Significantly, the demand for EVs is not limited to metro cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru, but is increasing in Tier-2 and Tier-3 markets as well.

Source: Financial Express    Read The Article

PSR Analysis: While the growth of EVs has been primarily focused on urban areas of India, we are seeing a significantly improved adoption of EVs in rural parts of the country. The statistics from Vahan, the national vehicle registry, reveal that sales of electric cars and 3ws from the contribution of the top 10 districts in India has dropped significantly from 55%-60% in fiscal 2021 to 25%-30% in fiscal 2022. In the 2Ws segment, the percentage has dropped from 40%-45% to 15%-20%. The noticeable gaps here are being filled up by smaller towns and rural India.  

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Production of BelAZ Dump Trucks May Be Started in Russia

Minsk has offered to Moscow to localize production of heavy mining BelAZ trucks in Russia. It was announced by deputy of Trade Minister Mr. Evtukhov.

“At the moment Belorussian colleagues have offered to produce BelAZ trucks in Russian Federation, to localize… I think, this project could be implemented – says Mr. Evtukhov on joint meeting of trade committees of two countries.

Note, that in Belarus since 9 August the protests have started. BelAZ workers also participated in meetings and strikes.    Read The Article

PSR Analysis: BelAZ produces one of the world’s largest HHP mining trucks (up to 450 ton capacity), and Russia was one of its key markets until this year. However, now the import volumes to Russia have dropped significantly. Today, production of similar trucks in Russia is localized by Caterpillar. Similar projects also are developed by local OEMs (Tonar, KAMAZ). So, BelAZ is searching for ways to keep its market share.    PSR

Maxim Sakov is Market Consultant, Russia, for Power Systems Research

ENGIE EPS Acquisition May Create Euro-Asian Powerhouse

Erik Martin
Erik Martin

TAIPEI–The acquisition of a 60.5% stake in ENGIE EPS by Taiwan Cement Corporation (TCC) was finalized and completed in July.

The deal, which was announced in April, saw the Italy-headquartered stationary storage and e-mobility solutions subsidiary of French multinational Engie taken over by TCC subsidiary Taiwan Cement Europe Holdings.

What both parties get out of the deal

In a press release, TCC said it has now become a “major player” in electric vehicle charging infrastructure as well as its newly acquired capabilities in building large-scale battery storage systems and microgrids.

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Second FAME II Incentives May Spur EV Demand

Aditya Kondejkar

The amendments to the FAME-II electric vehicle policy were rolled out in the last month and manufacturers have lauded the efforts in adopting EV mobility in the country.

Source: Financial Express. Read The Article  

The government partially modified the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India Phase II. Further, it has included an additional demand incentive for electric two-wheelers to ₹15,000 per KWh from an earlier uniform subsidy of ₹10,000 per KWh for all EVs, including plug-in hybrids and strong hybrids except buses.

 This decision will increase subsidies for such vehicles by 50% under the FAME II scheme and be a game-changer in adopting EVs.

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2030 PWC Market May Hit $3.01 Billion

Michael Aistrup
Michael Aistrup

Personal watercraft (PWC), often known as a jet ski, is a watercraft that can carry as many as three people. A PWC Sit-Downs is defined as a vessel specifically designed to haul up to three riders in a sitting position, one in front of another. A PWC Stand-Up is a type of PWC designed for one rider standing or kneeling on the watercraft.

The PWC has wide uses, ranging from recreation and racing to many types of utility. PWCs are used to help with rescue missions as they are small, fast, and easy to operate. Local and county law organizations use PWCs to ensure the safety and security of persons engaged in watersports.

Market Size. According to Power Systems Research, the global market size for PWCs is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.7% between 2022 and 2030. Global revenue for 2030 is forecasted to be $3.01 billion.

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Hyundai Motor Sells Chongqing Plant in China

SOUTH KOREA REPORT

The company sold the plant to Chongqing Liangjiang New Area Yufu Industrial Park Construction and Investment Group, which is owned by the city of Chongqing, and its affiliate will use the plant as a production base for electric vehicles.

Hyundai Motor Company has sold its finished car plant in Chongqing, China, to a Chongqing government-owned company for 1.62 billion yuan (about 33 billion yen, $222 million) in December 2023. Hyundai Motor is rushing to restructure its Chinese business, which has suffered from sluggish sales, and concentrate its management resources in the U.S. and Southeast Asia.

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China-led Proton Is Revitalized

Akihiro Komuro
Akihiro Komuro

Sales of Malaysia’s national carmaker Proton are booming, with its market share in the country reaching 27.3 % in February, hot on the heels of another national carmaker, Produa’s 38.8 %. This is not a single month irregularity; for the full year 2020, the rate is 20.5%. For the full year 2020, the share is 20.5%, almost doubling in just two years from a record low of 10.8% in 2018. This is the first time in seven years that the market share has recovered to the 20% level.

The turning point of the turnaround offensive was a capital/business alliance with a Chinese manufacturer: in September 2017, the company accepted a 49.9% stake from Geely Automobile’s parent company and began importing the right-hand drive version of the X70 SUV, which it produces and sells in China, at the end of 2018. As soon as this became a hit, the company switched to domestic assembly in Malaysia at the end of 2019, and introduced an additional small SUV, the X50, in September 2020.

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China Discovers Unique Battery Material

Guy Youngs
Guy Youngs

A newly discovered ore containing vast quantities of an element widely used in semiconductors has been found in China. The discovery could propel new advances in battery technology.

Geologists have found the rare earth metal niobium inside the new ore named niobobaotite from north China’s Inner Mongolia. The rare earth metal is widely used in alloys for jet engines and rockets and has also been shown to have exceptional current conducting properties in low temperatures.

Researchers have said batteries made from niobium have several advantages over traditional lithium-ion batteries. The Brazilian Metallurgy and Mining Company (CBMM) has been working on new projects towards the use of niobium to make advanced lithium-ion batteries.

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