A new EV battery shows big promise

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For decades, battery researchers have toiled away trying to crack the code for a new battery that could trump lithium-ion batteries — the technology that brought the electric vehicle industry to where it is today.

Now a decade-old startup backed by members of the tech investing elite and global auto giants says it has created working batteries that could lead to electric vehicles with significantly longer ranges, that can be produced at a lower cost, are safer to operate, boast longer lifespans and support faster charging.

Meet QuantumScape, a battery company that’s been in stealth for a decade while its team has worked on developing what the industry calls a solid-state, lithium-metal battery. The solid-state moniker refers to the elimination of the liquid electrolyte, which in traditional batteries fills the cell and is used for charging and discharging.

 

A tale of hand sanitizer: How the ethanol supply chain pivoted for COVID-19

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As Red River Biorefinery plotted its April opening, it planned to produce 16.5 million gallons of ethanol (ethyl alcohol) annually to sell as a fuel additive. Some might say the timing couldn’t have been worse, with COVID-19 stay-at-home orders spreading across the country.

“We weren’t driving, so our industry went down to about 50% production capacity,” said Kelly Davis, vice president of regulatory affairs for the Renewable Fuels Association.

If less ethanol is needed for fuel, theoretically plenty should be available for other essential goods, like disinfecting agents and hand sanitizer. After all, manufacturing capacity was idle, and the raw materials were plentiful, with about 40% of corn grown in the U.S. used for biofuel production. Red River’s raw materials, aggregated food byproducts like potatoes, pasta and sugar beet waste, were available as well.

Why the environment cannot wait for an electric future

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Climate experts agree that time is of the essence. We must make “rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes” to limit global warming by 2030 or the results could be irreversible, according to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

In the transportation sector, however, much of the current focus is on electric vehicles. EVs do hold a lot of promise, but in many applications, such as commercial trucking, the technology cannot meet current performance and financial requirements. The result is that fleets are continuing to run on petroleum diesel and delaying carbon reduction strategies.

They don’t need to. There are clean fuels that work in existing diesel vehicles with no modifications required, such as biodiesel and renewable diesel. Not only do they work, but they also offer significantly lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than petroleum diesel.

Waymo Expands Autonomous Tech R&D

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Waymo announced two new research and development facilities to help it advance its Waymo Driver autonomous driving system across multiple vehicle platforms and environments.

Waymo is working with the Transportation Research Center to co-develop what it says is a first-of-its-kind testing environment that will model a dense urban environment, including heavy-duty vehicles, and it’s opening a research and development facility in Menlo Park, California, to focus on advancing its fifth-generation Waymo Driver on Class 8 trucks.

The company said that together, these new facilities will enable it to further advance the latest generation of the fully autonomous Waymo Driver across multiple vehicle platforms, including the all-electric Jaguar I-Pace and Class 8 trucks, while scaling up testing programs and operations across a diverse set of geographies and driving environments.

The race to mainstream electric vehicles by 2030

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The world’s leading companies and policymakers are coalescing around setting targets for adopting zero-emission vehicles around a 2030 time frame.

The latest — and one of the most aggressive to come from a country leader — was issued a few weeks ago by U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who revealed a climate plan that includes banning the sales of new gas-powered vehicles starting in 2030 (some hybrids will be allowed until 2035). The U.K. accelerated its commitment to zero-emission vehicles from 2040 to 2035, and finally to just a decade away.

The U.K. isn’t the only one. Denmark set the same goal — phase out new fossil fuel vehicle sales in 2030 — and world-leader Norway plans to make the switch in 2025. A couple months ago, in response to the California wildfires, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order that similarly called for a ban of new gas car sales, but starting in 2035.

PowerTap Improves Hydrogen Dispensing Technology

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Clean Power Capital Corp. says PowerTap Hydrogen Fueling Corp., the company’s previously announced investment, is in the process of completing the third-generation design of its on-site hydrogen production and dispensing technology for the North American hydrogen vehicle market.

PowerTap says its new modular design of the units has distinct advantages over the previous two generations, as well as over other hydrogen fueling technologies.

US DOE funds hydrogen class 8 truck project led by Navistar & Cummins

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Cummins Inc. and Navistar International Corporation will work together on the development of a class 8 truck powered by hydrogen fuel cells. The project will be funded in part through an award from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) previously announced in August, as part of DOE’s “H2@Scale” initiative to develop affordable hydrogen production, storage, distribution and use.

“This vehicle will feature our next generation fuel cell configuration and provides a springboard for us to advance our hydrogen technology for line haul trucks,” said Amy Davis, Vice President and President, New Power at Cummins. “We are also excited to build on our strong relationship with Navistar, which dates back 80 years, and work together to lower costs and make hydrogen-powered vehicles more accessible for fleets to adopt.”

Scaling RNG for Transportation Fuel: Barriers and Opportunities

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Ventures to make transportation fuel from biogas are attracting big investment dollars while creating tens of thousands of jobs, and these renewable natural gas projects (RNG) keep rolling out. In the past year the industry developed more RNG facilities than during its first 30 years (between 1982 and 2011). Though it has a long way to go to enjoy a robust market share, and it faces barriers along the way.

Today there are 130 operational facilities and 37 under construction in the U.S. and Canada, according to the Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas. Approximately 82 of the operational facilities are producing RNG for transportation fuel.

A bulk of the output goes to California, incentivized by the state’s low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS), which is driving more projects across the country than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Renewable Fuel Standard program, according to Patrick Serfass, executive director of the American Biogas Council.

Utilities Partner on Hydrogen Blending Demonstration Program

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Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) and San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E) have created a Hydrogen Blending Demonstration Program that will be the first of its kind in California and among the first in the nation.

Blending hydrogen with natural gas is part of a multi-pronged strategy both utilities – subsidiaries of Sempra Energy – are undertaking to decarbonize their natural gas grid. The vision is to leverage surplus renewable electricity generated in the middle of the day to produce green hydrogen, which then can be injected into the natural gas grid for storage and use. SoCalGas, in partnership with the National Fuel Cell Research Center and the University of California Irvine, is developing the technology. Hydrogen blending is another important milestone for providing the clean fuel needed to achieve California’s climate goals while maintaining an affordable, resilient and reliable energy system.

U.S. Natural Gas Coalition Well Ahead of Methane Reduction Targets

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A coalition of 24 natural gas companies that are members of Our Nation’s Energy Future Coalition (ONE Future) beat its methane intensity goal by 67% in 2019, according to an annual report published by the organization.

In the report, ONE Future’s member companies in 2019 registered a methane intensity number of 0.334%, beating the targeted 1% reduction in methane emissions by 2025. That’s a level that studies show minimizes impact on the environment. Members agree to measure their emissions and track their progress over time according to reporting protocols approved by the Environmental Protection Agency.