Author: Moira Shortle

Hertz, the car rental giant, is making a investment in electric vehicles (EVs) in North America, with the launch of its Hertz Electrifies initiative in Denver. The public-private partnership between Hertz, the city of Denver, and Mayor Michael Hancock aims to expand the availability of EVs, charging infrastructure, and EV education and training opportunities in the Denver community. Denver is the first city to benefit from Hertz Electrifies, which will bring up to 5,200 rental EVs to the area. The vehicles, which will include models from Tesla, Polestar, and GM, will be available for leisure and business travelers, as well…

Volvo Trucks has taken another significant step towards its sustainability targets, delivering 20 of its fully electric heavy trucks to the logistics company DFDS in Gothenburg, Sweden. This marks a major milestone in DFDS’s commitment to carbon neutrality by 2050 and Volvo Trucks’ goal of a 100% fossil-free supply chain by 2040. DFDS has placed one of the largest orders ever for Volvo’s battery electric trucks – a total of 125 Volvo FM Electric models. The first 20 trucks are now being deployed in commercial traffic, with 14 of them being used to transport goods to and from Volvo’s heavy…

Redwood Materials, the Nevada-based battery recycling company co-founded by Tesla’s former CTO, JB Straubel, has shared a one-year update on its mission to recycle essential materials from end-of-life (EOL) battery packs, with a focus on producing new high-quality battery cell materials. The report highlighted the company’s impressive recovery rate of ~95% of metals from EOL battery packs that could be used to produce anode and cathodes for cell production. Over the past 12 months, Redwood Materials collaborated with major car manufacturers including Toyota, Ford Motor Company, Volvo Cars, and Volkswagen Group of America to collect approximately 1,268 battery packs from…

Smartville recently awarded $5.9 million from the U.S. Department of Energy as part of a $75-million funding package through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This grant will support Smartville’s mission to breathe new life into retired electric vehicle (EV) batteries by advancing technologies and processes supporting EV battery recycling and reuse efforts across the country. Smartville’s large-scale, second-life energy storage system uses repurposed EV batteries, which is a cost-effective and sustainable solution for energy storage. The company’s CEO, Antoni Tong, stated that the system can sustainably power our communities, lessening our dependence on external energy sources. See also: Mercedes-Benz Energy…

Nissan is gearing up to comply with US local sourcing rules for EV tax credits by 2026, after consolidating its platforms and drivetrains for more competitive electric vehicles (EVs). The Japanese automaker has announced plans to introduce six EV nameplates in the US market, with four of them to be produced locally at its plant in Canton, Mississippi, starting from 2026. These models will qualify for the full $7,500 incentive offered under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The remaining two models, the Ariya crossover, and the successor to the Leaf hatchback, will not qualify for the full incentive. Nissan’s COO,…

Tesla is introducing a new retail plan, called Tesla Electric, to select Powerwall customers in Texas. This new plan was announced during Investor Day 2023, where Drew Baglino presented data from Tesla Electric in South Australia. Tesla Electric uses the company’s energy technology to decrease the cost of electricity for customers in Australia. Customers using default utility services paid around $142 per month for power, while customers using Tesla Solar and Powerwall paid only $69 per month without interacting with the grid. Tesla Solar and Powerwall systems that interacted with the grid and enrolled in Tesla Electric were even cheaper…

Charging specialist, Allego, has announced a new contract with Swedish real estate company, Trophi. As part of the partnership, Allego will construct publicly accessible fast-charging infrastructure at seven locations, including supermarkets and urban grocery stores. The charging infrastructure will comprise four to eight High Power Charging (HPC) connections depending on the size of the site, with some locations also featuring an additional four to eight AC charging points. Allego’s latest priority for new sites is the Alpitronic Hypercharger HYC300, which means that two to four of these charging points will likely be present at each site, each with two charging…

Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving technology company, has confirmed that it has laid off 8% of its workforce, or 209 employees, mostly engineering roles, in a bid to cut costs and restructure the organization. This is the second round of layoffs this year, following cuts made in January, and comes amidst broader cuts at Alphabet and Google. Despite the layoffs, Waymo remains committed to developing and deploying its self-driving technology and is focused on commercializing it. See also: Waymo to Test Autonomous Jaguar I-Paces without Human Safety Operator in LA Waymo is facing a long road ahead as it continues to develop…

BP Pulse, a global provider of electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, has announced a partnership with Apcoa, a leading European parking management company, to build 100 fast-charging hubs across Europe. The charging hubs will be located in Germany, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland and the UK. All 100 charging hubs will be installed in Apcoa car parks over the next three years. The first two charging hubs are expected to be operational as early as the third quarter of this year in Berlin and Bremen. While the company has not specified which charging stations will be used, it has…

Tesla announced a major milestone on Investor Day at Giga Texas, revealing it had produced its four millionth vehicle since beginning production in 2008. The announcement was made by Tesla China executive Tom Zhu, who revealed that the milestone car was a Model Y produced at Giga Texas. This news comes as no surprise as Tesla’s rate of production is accelerating due to the introduction of two new factories in the past year. It took Tesla 12 years to build its first one million cars, but the launch of the Model 3 in 2018 shortened the time it took to…

Volkswagen has announced the launch of a facelifted version of its ID.3 EV, which was the first model in its ID family of electric vehicles. The upgraded 2024 ID.3 has received a comprehensive upgrade, including new software with updated convenience and assist systems. While the exterior and interior may not look too different from the previous model, Volkswagen has implemented several changes to give the car a more striking look. The most visible change is the more aggressive front bumper with enlarged air cooling openings. There are also new light signatures for the LED headlights and taillight clusters, with illuminated…

Waymo, the Alphabet-owned self-driving technology company, is set to begin testing its autonomous Jaguar I-Paces without a human safety operator in Los Angeles in the coming weeks. Initially, only Waymo employees will be able to hail rides in the driverless robotaxis, which will be available outside of traditional rush hour times. Waymo has been mapping several LA neighborhoods, including Downtown, Miracle Mile, Koreatown, and Westwood, since 2019, but it will start its rider-only testing in Santa Monica before gradually ramping up. The move is part of the company’s plan to commercialize robotaxi services in its second California city. In October…