Over the next five years, the German manufacturer will invest approximately EUR100m to prepare the Nuremberg facility for mass production of over 100,000 battery packs per year, starting with small-scale production in mid-2023.

Overseen by the Centre for Connected an Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV), a joint unit of the Department for Transport (DfT) and Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), the UK government is opening a GBP41.5m competition to fund projects that will autonomous commercial vehicles to market.

20 LF Electric rigid trucks from Eindhoven-based DAF Trucks N.V. have begun testing as part of the Battery Electric Truck Trial (BETT), funded by the Department for Transport (DfT).

Santa Monica-based consultancy and host of the ACT Expo, Gladstein, Neandross & Associates (GNA), released its annual State of Sustainable Fleets report at the ACT Expo in Long Beach, California. In the report’s conclusion, GNA states that significant market and regulatory forces are creating a “perfect storm” that is driving the adoption of zero-emission vehicles across North America.

Under TMB’s “Strategic Plan 2025”, 100% of vehicle purchases by TMB will be low-emission vehicles, with 62% of them expected to be zero-emission.

Ian Foley, CEO of Equipmake Ltd, based in Norwich, UK, has welcomed the inclusion of electric buses in new UK operator grants, but calls for more incentives to encourage operators to transition to zero-emission vehicles.

Osman Boyner, CEO and founder of London-based electric powertrain developer BEDEO, has stated that he believes EV incentives are too focused on passenger cars and must be adjusted to focus on the commercial vehicle sector if governments want to make meaningful change.

BorgWarner Inc, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan, has received an award of USD4.09 million from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to design and develop a cost-effective and advanced DC fast charger.

The North American Council for Freight Efficiency concludes from the reports that significant portions of these segments are currently electrifiable, largely due to their use in repeatable routes that support overnight depot charging, reducing their dependence on sparce public charging infrastructure.

The Brazilian government announced the creation of the “Program to Increase Productivity of the Road Fleet in the Country” (Renovar) when, on April 1, President Jair Bolsonaro signed Provisional Measure 112/2022 creating incentives for the replacement of old vehicles with newer ones.  

Compression system specialist Haskel International, a subsidiary of Ingersoll Rand, based in Sunderland, UK, has released a white paper stating the firm’s outlook towards hydrogen fuel and its role in decarbonising heavy goods vehicles. In the report, Haskel examines hydrogen infrastructure funding and global projects that are currently underway.

Air Liquide SAS, based in Paris, has received support from the French State, subject to a final validation by the European Commission, to launch its Normand’Hy large scale renewable hydrogen project. The electrolyser will have an initial 200MW capacity and will provide renewable hydrogen to the TotalEnergies Normandy refinery.