News

2023-09-21

Two New Approaches To Wind-Powered Ships

Ships haven’t had sails for generations, but the idea is gaining new supporters as shipping companies work to lower their carbon emissions.

Globalization has spawned a tremendous increase in the number of ships crossing the world’s oceans. Ships the size of small cities haul thousands of containers and tankers as large as aircraft carriers transport millions of gallons of oil from one continent to another. Many of them run on bunker oil — a gelatinous mass of whatever is left over after the refining process is over. The stuff is so thick, it needs to be heated in order to flow and when it is burned, it leaves behind sulfurous clouds of carbon dioxide so thick they can be tracked by satellites.

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The Hydrogen Stream: Hydrogen Buses Less Efficient than Battery Models

Eurac Research scientists have analyzed data from 21 fuel cell electric buses (FCEB) and battery electric buses (BEB) in Italy, comparing efficiency, consumption, temperature sensitivity, distances, and cost, and they discovered that Hydrogen buses’ tank-to-wheel (TTW) efficiency is lower than battery electric buses, indicating higher consumption variation for BEBs.

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Daimler’s RIZON Electric Truck Feels like Driving a Car

Daimler recently launched a class 4-5 medium-duty electric truck brand, RIZON, and Electrek got a chance to kick the tires and drive one around. They were impressed at how well it drives (for an 18k GVWR vehicle) and how comfortable it feels like it would be on long shifts.

Rizon is a new brand from Daimler Trucks focusing entirely on zero-emissions in the class 4-5 space. Trucks of this size don’t require commercial driver’s licenses, and you’re more likely to see them around your neighborhood, doing local delivery tasks, equipment rentals, moving businesses, and the like. So, it’s nice to have clean, quiet operation instead of noisy and stinky diesel vehicles.

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Zepp Gets Financial Boost To Build State-of-the-Art Fuel Cell Systems Factory

Dutch company Zepp.Solutions, one of Europe’s leading hydrogen fuel cell system suppliers, has secured €1.98 million ($2.16 million) grant funding from the European Just Transition Fund (JTF) to develop a cutting-edge fuel cell systems factory in the Netherlands.

Zepp’s goal is to speed up the energy transition and foster reliance in the labor market with support from the Ministries of Economic Affairs and Climate and Social Affairs and Employment, and the municipalities in the Dutch Greater Rijnmond area.

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2023-09-17

Sany MOTA Launches Battery Rental Business.

CHINA REPORT
Jack Hao
Jack Hao

The Sany Group has taken a major step in the electrification of the heavy truck market segment with the launch on Aug. 30, 2023, of Sany Magic Tower Energy Co., Ltd. The business plan includes battery sales, battery parts sales, new energy vehicle waste power battery recycling and cascade utilization, artificial intelligence basic software development, data processing and storage support services.

The blue ocean market of new energy heavy-duty trucks is about to experience explosive growth. “Blue ocean” refers to a business approach that focuses on creating a new, uncontested market space rather than competing in an existing market, which is often saturated and competitive. In a blue ocean, the competition is irrelevant because the brand or company is establishing a market where none existed before or is radically differentiating itself in an existing market.

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2023-09-16

Ridesharing Giant Gojek Converting Vehicles To EVs

SOUTHEAST ASIA: INDONESIA REPORT

Indonesian ridesharing giant Gojek plans to convert all its motorcycles to EVs by 2030. The adoption of EV motorcycles is now in full swing in Indonesia, the largest motorcycle market in Southeast Asia with annual sales of more than 5 million units.

Gojek, the country’s leading ridesharing and delivery company, is said to have over 2 million registered riders, including both motorcycles and cars. The full conversion to EV bikes is expected to contribute significantly to the Indonesian government’s goal of 9 million EV bikes by 2030.

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Korean Battery Companies Increase Sales Significantly

FAR EAST: SOUTH KOREA REPORT

The consolidated financial results for the April-June period of the three major Korean battery companies show significant sales growth. LG Energy Solution’s sales grew 73% y/y and operating profit was 2.4x y/y. SK On’s sales grew 2.9x y/y due to the expansion of EV production. Samsung SDI’s sales grew 23% y/y.

LG Energy, the world’s second largest automotive battery maker, posted a 73% y/y increase in sales to KRW 8.774 trillion (approximately $6.6 billion) and a 2.4x y/y increase in operating profit to KRW 461 billion (approximately $340 million), while its joint production with GM of the U.S., which will begin operations in 2022, also contributed to the continued growth in sales and profit.

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Japan Sets Target of 300,000 EV Chargers by 2030

FAR EAST: JAPAN REPORT
Akihiro Komuro
Akihiro Komuro

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has released draft guidelines for the installation of EV chargers, with a target of 300,000 units by 2030. This is double the previous target of 150,000 units and 10X higher than the current number of installations. The company is calling for the installation of chargers in commercial facilities.

The draft guidelines also call on operators to improve the speed of charging and the convenience of operation. To achieve decarbonization, the government is pushing to expand the installation of rechargers, which had only about 30,000 units as of March 2023.

The installation target includes 270,000 regular chargers at commercial facilities and 30,000 fast chargers on highways. The introduction of a new charging method called “plug-and-charge” will also be encouraged. This is a system in which vehicles can be authenticated and charged simply by plugging them into the charger; it has been adopted by Tesla in the United States. The system eliminates the need to hold a membership card over the charger or use a smartphone app to authenticate personal information.

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Bus Sector Bounces Back: EVs Fuel Post-Covid Growth

Aditya Kondejkar

OEMs increasing their focus on the Bus sector to drive growth in the post-Covid period.

Ashok Leyland. One of India’s leading commercial vehicle manufacturers, Ashok Leyland has announced plans to invest ₹1,000 crore in setting up an integrated commercial vehicle (CV) and electric bus (e-bus) manufacturing plant in Uttar Pradesh. This plant is expected to have a planned production capacity of 2,500 buses annually, with the potential for expansion to 5,000 buses per year.

This significant investment is a strategic move for the company and carries several implications and opportunities. This critical analysis examines the key aspects of this investment decision.

“Contingent on market adoption and demand of alternative fuel vehicles in the state, Ashok Leyland intends to invest up to ₹1,000 crore in this new facility over the next few years,” says Shenu Agarwal, Ashok Leyland MD & CEO.

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