A multi-year deal signed earlier this year with waste management company, Biffa, ensures that an initial order of up to ten 26-tonne Mercedes-Benz Econic diesel-powered refuse vehicles will be repowered with Lunaz electric drivetrains, saving an estimated 210 tonnes of carbon a year.

The 69-seater buses also feature 30 USB charging ports, built-in WIFI and air conditioning along with a total capacity of 97 passengers.

Comau is designing energy-efficient cell formation technologies for GIGABAT, a collaborative e-Mobility project aimed at strengthening the EU production chain for large-scale cell manufacturing.

The Enviro400EVs are fitted with roof-mounted charging rails that allow their 472kWh battery system to be topped up from pantographs installed at the Harrogate bus station.

In order to drive up consumer interest, the company has been publishing many of its tests. The latest endeavour saw the eActros 600 complete a five-week test in temperatures of up to 44 degrees Celsius in Andalusia, Spain.

A European customer has now taken five vehicles, and Quantron’s CEO, Michael Perschke, said its orders amount to up to 100 units.

The company now aims to acquire certificates from FMVSS, as well as the California Air Resources Board and the Environmental Protection Agency, before the end of the year, making its ‘P7’ vehicles roadworthy and eligible for incentives.

The new test centre, jointly operated by FEV Group, in Oued Zem complements two cold weather sites in Finland, north of the Arctic Circle.

The company has started deliveries of its ATM 28T Full Elec electric yard tractors to Amazon in the United States, an order comprising 329 vehicles. The vehicles are produced at Gaussin’s manufacturing facility in Saint-Vallier, France.

The JV aims to manufacture battery cells for commercial electric vehicles at a 21-gigawatt hour (GWh) factory that is anticipated to cost between USD 2-3 billion. The emphasis is on pioneering better battery chemistries that last longer, are safer, lower in cost and are more environmentally sustainable, preferably without the need for nickel and cobalt raw materials.

The prototype truck is a 560-horsepower plug-in hybrid which pulls an 18-metre trailer installed with solar panels.

The vehicle presented at the show was a first demonstrator, but Schaeffler and VDL have plans to produce more, with the aim of commencing customer pilots in Germany in 2025.