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NetZero Insider’s transportation coverage for this week features reporting by John Cropley on the Department of Energy’s announcement of funding for a pair of advanced battery storage research projects. One of the projects, led by Argonne National Laboratory, will focus on new compact batteries for heavy-duty transportation and grid-scale energy storage. Argonne said it is working to “lay the scientific foundations for breakthroughs in energy storage technologies” and will focus on cheaper, more abundant materials than are used in current lithium-ion batteries.
In Delaware, Chemours Co. opened a new battery research and development facility that will test next-generation lithium-ion batteries to increase cost and efficiency for electric vehicles.
The news was not all good for EV batteries; a $7 billion plant in Montreal may be delayed by 18 months. Quebec Economy Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon attributed the delay to a global slowdown in the growth of the battery industry.
Following in the footsteps of other major automakers, Volvo backtracked on its plans to sell strictly electric vehicles by 2030, citing the slow rollout of charging infrastructure and the withdrawal of some EV incentives. The company’s CEO reiterated his “belief that our future is electric,” despite the short-term concerns about demand.
While EV growth has fallen short of some automakers’ expectations, Bloomberg reports that EVs are starting to win over longer-distance drivers, particularly in more mature markets. EVs are typically cheaper to power than internal combustion engine vehicles, helping active drivers save money.
As the U.S. presidential election nears, Kamala Harris’ campaign told reporters that the Democratic nominee “does not support an electric vehicle mandate,” despite her prior support of requiring all vehicles to be emissions-free by 2035. Donald Trump’s campaign and fossil fuel groups have spent millions in swing states attacking Harris over her prior positions.
In heavy-duty vehicle news, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that the largest electrified bus depot in the state is now operational in Buffalo. The depot features 36 charging systems and a new substation built to accommodate expansion.
Across the country in San Francisco, a company is piloting a hydrogen fuel cell garbage truck, a first of its kind in the country. The company is hoping to prove that the vehicle has adequate range to complete collection routes across the city.
All that and more in this week’s Intelligence Report:
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