Mining giant Rio Tinto has ordered four battery-electric locomotives for use in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Wabtec will produce the four 7 MWh FLXdrive locomotives in the US, beginning in 2023, and Rio Tinto plans to conduct initial trials in the Pilbara in early 2024. The e-locos will be tested against a range… Read more »
Primobius has reached an option and licensing agreement with Stelco Holdings to commercialize Primobius’s proprietary EV battery recycling and processing technologies in North America. Operations are expected to begin in 2023. Germany-based Primobius is a joint venture of Neometals and the German engineering company SMS group to commercialize the recycling of lithium-ion batteries. Canada-based Stelco… Read more »
Asian bus manufacturer Gemilang International plans to deliver 140 electric school buses to California customers in 2022. The order of 120 units of 12-meter school buses and 20 units of 7.5-meter school buses is the company’s largest single order for electric buses to date. Based in Johor, Malaysia, GML has manufactured bus bodies and assembled… Read more »
Since introducing battery-electric buses over a decade ago, automaker BYD has delivered over 70,000 units to customers worldwide. BYD says its e-buses have covered over 3.4 billion miles, and reduced CO2 emissions by 3.8 million tons. The vast majority of these are operating in China, but Europe is a growth area. BYD has delivered over… Read more »
Scientists from the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University have used cryogenic electron microscopy, or cryo-EM, to produce high-resolution images of the solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer that forms on lithium metal anodes in an approach that may improve lithium metal battery design. The scientists developed a way of collecting the SEI… Read more »
Commercial EV supplier Vicinity Motor Corp. (NASDAQ: VEV) and Proterra (NASDAQ: PTRA) have announced a new collaboration to power Vicinity’s electric transit buses and work trucks with Proterra’s battery technology. Under a new, multi-year supply agreement, Proterra battery systems will power the Vicinity Lightning 28-foot electric transit bus, and Vicinity’s strip chassis platform, which supports… Read more »
Specialty chemicals firm Albemarle has signed a joint development agreement with materials management specialist 6K to use 6K’s patented UniMelt plasma technology to develop lithium battery materials. Albemarle has also made an undisclosed investment in 6K through venture capital firm Volta Energy Technologies. UniMelt is a microwave-controlled plasma technology, and Albemarle says a 16 GWh… Read more »
Talon Nickel, a US subsidiary of Canada-based Talon Metals (TSX: TLO), has secured an agreement with Tesla to supply nickel concentrate from its Tamarack Nickel Project, a joint venture with mining giant Rio Tinto, in Aitkin County, Minnesota. Under the terms of the agreement, Tesla has committed to purchase 75,000 metric tons (165 million lbs)… Read more »
DuPont Interconnect Solutions (ICS) plans to introduce its Pyralux HP laminate adhesive system for high-performance electronics at the upcoming Institute for Printed Circuits (IPC) APEX Exposition in San Diego. The system is part of the Pyralux product line and will be available for the telecommunications, networking, medical, industrial, military and aerospace markets. The IPC-certified Pyralux… Read more »
Volkswagen Group and Cambridge, Massachusetts-based battery developer 24M Technologies have formed a strategic partnership under which VW will manufacture EV batteries using 24M’s SemiSolid platform. VW has acquired a 25% stake in 24M, and will establish a wholly-owned subsidiary that will collaborate with 24M to develop SemiSolid battery cell production technology for automotive applications. “The… Read more »
