MOVE spoke to the Global Sustainable Mobility Leader of the Ingka Group, IKEA to hear more about how the company are keeping their pledges to sustainability.
The group recently had £4.5 million invested in charging infrastructure for IKEA UK and Himanshu told us a bit about the impact this investment has had on the company as well as how this progresses the company towards their goal of zero emissions by 2025.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that the firm might distribute some of its automotive system coding to other car manufacturers. The open-source code offer was suggested during a live audio chat Twitter Spaces with Ford CEO Jim Farley on Thursday.
The online live event was held as part of a plan to announce a milestone agreement between Tesla and Ford.
The owner of the half-a-trillion dollar market valued car company said:
“In the same way that maybe Android is helpful to the phone industry as sort of a general standard, like we could potentially open source more code.”
The open source sharing means that the cars using the code will still belong to their respective companies, but some components inside the vehicles will belong to Tesla. The deal specifically means that Ford’s EV customers will get access to the Tesla Supercharging network in the U.S. and Canada.
Ford has also agreed to integrate Tesla’s charging port into its next generation of EVs. Ford plans to discard their existing charging system and replace it with Musk’s patented charging standard for Tesla so that the vehicles can connect to the charging stations without requiring an adaptor.
This puts Tesla in competition with Google, as the search-engine tech company also offers automakers Android Automotive OS which is modelled by their open-source mobile operating system that runs on Linux and is modified for use in cars. Apple also entered into the OS game last year when it announced its next-gen CarPlay instrument.
Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution have announced their partnership to build an EV battery cell manufacturing Joint Venture in the U.S today. The battery cell plant received a total investment of over $4.3bn, in which Hyundai and LG will respectively hold a 50 percent stake each.
The plant is due to begin battery production at the end of 2025 in Savannah, Georgia, with an annual production capacity of 30 GWh. This means that the battery cell plant will be capable of supporting the production of 300,000 EVs per year. By securing the deal, Hyundai and LG strengthen ties in their long-time partnership to boost their electrification efforts.
President and CEO of Hyundai Motor Group, Jaehoon Chang, said:
“Hyundai Motor Group is focusing on its electrification efforts to secure a leadership position in the global auto industry. We will create a strong foundation to lead the global EV transition through establishing a new EV battery cell plant with LG Energy Solution, a leading global battery producer and long-time partner.”
The companies both signed a memorandum of understanding to produce EV batteries in the U.S. and further accelerate the electrification efforts in North America. The memorandum signing took place at LG’s headquarters in Seoul today.
Hyundai Mobis will assemble battery packs using cells from the plant and supply them to U.S. manufacturing facilities for production of Hyundai, Kia and Genesis EV models. The new facility will help create a stable supply of batteries in the region and allows the partnering companies to promptly respond to the soaring EV demand in the U.S. market.
Hyundai Motor Group will be attending out annual MOVE LONDON event this coming June. To hear them speak about all-things mobility and meet them there, buy your tickets to the event here.
Hawaiian Electric is partnering with global electric vehicle software provider ev.energy to create a smart charging mobile app. The service will enable EV drivers to optimise their charging sessions while helping inform Hawaiian Electric’s future charging programs and EV-specific rate options.
The app allows customers to track their EV charging costs and consumption and includes smart charging features such as automated low carbon charging for customers with rooftop solar.
The Smart Charge Hawaii pilot will offer customers the choice to receive either $150 cash or 10,000 HawaiianMiles under Hawaiian Airlines’ frequent flyer program. The project, which has been partially funded by Ulupono Initiative, is available to up to 2,000 residential customers with EVs on O’ahu, Hawai’I Island and in Maui County.
Aki Marceau, Hawaiin Electric’s director of electrification and transport, said:
“For me and other EV owners Smart Charge Hawaii gives us a tool to manage our charging so we remember to power our cars when the sun is shining.
“It also helps Hawaiian Electric understand how to better serve current and future customers with electric vehicles. We hope to create a system that allows for our communities to easily take advantage of all the renewable energy on Hawaiian Electric’s grid, a critical step to meeting Hawaii’s 2045 zero emissions goals.”
By helping to accelerate broader EV deployment, Smart Charge Hawaii supports electrification of the state’s transportation sector. Increasing EV energy demand is expected to result in net benefits for all customers as the utilities’ fixed costs for generating and distributing energy are spread across a broader base, thereby lowering the cost to all customers.
Michael Colon Ulupono Initiative’s energy director, said:
“The Smart Charge Hawaii pilot is a great example of how collaboration between stakeholders can lead to effective solutions that give users deeper insights into EV charging behaviour and, as a result, empowers pilot participants to make decisions that save money while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”
Press release provided by Flixbus
Leading European coach company FlixBus has teamed up with Bouden Coach Travel, offering daily travel between Birmingham and London.
After teaming up with Stanley Travel last week – enabling transport between Newcastle, Leeds, Sunderland, Middlesbrough and Manchester – the family-owned company has secured the new partnership to expand their routes. As part of the deal, Bouden will be adding a 59-seater to the FlixBus network, rebranded in Flix’s signature green shade.
Adel Bouden, Managing Director of Bouden Coach Travel, said:
“We see joining the FlixBus network as an opportunity to work with another forward-thinking company offering a fresh approach to a traditional industry.”
FlixBus will also be launching new cross-country lines with long-term partner McGill’s today, between Dundee and Bristol. This will add services from Perth, Dunfermline, Edinburgh, Manchester, and Birmingham, adding Carlisle as a new destination on the network.
Additional lines will also begin to and from Perth Bus Station, connecting passengers to Glasgow, Stirling and Perth Park and Ride, as well as Edinburgh and Dunfermline.
FlixBus, as a widespread travel options in over 40 countries, is also launching their business in India. As home of one of the largest bus markets in the world, will launch their service in India in 2024.
André Schwämmlein, co-founder and CEO of Flix, said:
“Our mission is to offer affordable and sustainable travel options for everyone, and we see significant demand for such services in India.
“This gives the opportunity for Flix to be a key local player in the development of sustainable travel industry, setting up infrastructure and further development in this area.”
The ride-hailing app, Uber, has announced partnerships with various EV makers and other companies in India in order to accelerate their transition to sustainable mobility. They have teamed up with fleet partners Lithium Urban Technologies, Everest Fleet Pvt Ltd, and Moove as part of their goal to deploy 25,000 EVs in India on Uber over the following two years. The company also teamed up with Zypp Electric in order to get 10,000 EV two-wheelers in Dehli by 2024.
Adding another boost to their sustainability push, they also announced the roll-out of Uber Green in Dehli, Mumbai, and Bengaluru, all to begin in June. The Uber Green ride option allows passengers to request e-vehicles with zero tail-pipe emission, rather than average fossil-fuelled cars. The option is available in 100+ cities in 15 countries all over the world.
The Senior Vice President, Andrew Macdonald, said:
“India’s huge scale and electrification momentum makes the country a priority for Uber as we seek to meet our commitment to electrify every ride on our platform by 2040,”
He added that the company is taking a big step towards sustainability by launching Uber Green.
“We know that our impact goes beyond technology. We are determined to become allies of cities and governments as they seek to combat climate change and pollution through sustainable mobility.”
Uber has promised to be a zero-emission mobility platform by 2030 in Europe and North America, and globally by 2040.
They have also more than tripled the number of EVs on the platform and connected 31m riders with an electric vehicle ride in 2022.
Tesla boss, Elon Musk, has said that the firm will ‘strongly consider’ the UK for their new gigafactories which are planned to be built later this year.
The electric car company has been thinking about using a new location to build their battery factories and Musk’s comments are likely to set off an influx of campaigning from governments around the world to secure the investment.
At a Wall Street Journal CEO Council event in London this week, Musk said:
“I will strongly consider England for a future location of a gigafactory.
“We are not currently looking at new locations but we will probably towards the end of this year.”
This announcement comes after the notice that Tata Motors were closing in on a deal with the UK government to secure funding for a new gigafactory in Somerset. The UK government offered an incentive of £500m in subsidies, from the £1bn automotive transformation grant, to Tata to build the factory. It is possible that governments around the world will do the same in attempts to secure Tesla’s investment of a new gigafactory.
A Department for Business and Trade source told The Telegraph:
“We would be delighted to show Elon and Tesla all the many benefits of establishing a gigafactory in this country.
“Importantly, this shows that with our skills base, infrastructure, and excellent supply chain, the UK remains an attractive destination for advanced industries to locate and grow their businesses.”
The construction of a new gigafactory in the UK would be a massive advancement for EV battery production in the UK and would bring a huge amount of jobs. However, the gigafactory race currently seems to stand mainly between London and Paris after president Emmanuel Macron recently had a high-profile meeting with the CEO, in which he promised to look at potential investments in France.
A battery start-up from China, Gotion High Tech, has unveiled a new lithium-manganese-iron-phosphate (LMFP) Astroinno battery, called the L600. The battery was announced at its annual technology conference in Hefei, Anhui Province. Gotion has claimed that the battery will enable a range of 621 miles on just a single charge.
Mass production of the battery is due to begin in 2024 after successfully passing all necessary safety tests that are required prior to production. The battery can potentially last up to 4,000 charge-discharge cycles, which totals around 2.4 million miles, expanding the average lifespan of a car.
Cheng Qian, the executive president of Gotion Global, said:
“Astroinno L600 LMFP cell achieves 240 Wh/kg in gravimetric energy density and 525Wh/L for volumetric energy density.
“It can achieve more than 4,000 cycles at room temperature and 1800 cycles at high temperature, easily achieves 18 minutes of fast charging, and passes all safety tests.
“Because of the high energy density of Astroinno battery, we can also achieve a range of 1,000km without relying on NCM material.”
The start-up company said that they used electrolyte additives, co-precipitation, doping encapsulation, and new granulation technology in order to combat the problem of Manganese leaching at high temperatures.
The pack is also wrapped with doubles-sided liquid cooling and a minimalist design approach, which has decreased the number of structural parts and weight of the product, compared to previous iterations.
Gotion has not yet disclosed which vehicle will be the first to receive its new L600 cells. However, Volkswagen is already a customer of the company and could potentially be the first company to receive the product.
ALD Automotive has acquired 100% the fleet management giant LeasePlan which is worth £4.2bn. The partnership has been named ‘ALD Automotive | LeasePlan’ and claimed as the ‘leading global sustainable mobility player’, said ALD.
The deal means that the partners will now own a total worldwide fleet of 3.3m vehicles. The acquisition also means that ALD has now become a financial holding company and a regulated institution supervised by the European Central Bank.
The firm said it will focus on the shift to net-zero and shaping the digital transformation of the industry.
Tim Albertsen, CEO of ALD, said:
“Today is a historical day for ALD and LeasePlan and marks the beginning of a new era in mobility.
“By bringing together our complementary capabilities and expertise, we are well positioned to capture the sector’s tremendous growth opportunities.
“Our focus going forward will be to leverage our unique position to lead the energy transition through innovative solutions, including digital platforms, to encourage large scale adoption of sustainable mobility, whether it be through low emission vehicles or multi-mobility solutions.
“With a combination of talent at ALD and LeasePlan, our teams are fully committed to creating the leading global sustainable mobility player and delivering value for all of our stakeholders.
“We are all very excited about starting this new venture together.”
ALD Automotive are sponsors at our MOVE 2023 event on the 21st-22nd June. If you would like to meet them there, buy your tickets here.
Accessory dealer vGroup International has been selected as the exclusive distributor for a variety of Michelin products, including their latest range. As the now official licensee holder in the UK for Michelin, vGroup International will deliver Michelin’s latest range to the UK market. They will distribute the products by Market Infinity Investments, the official licensee holder in the UK.
The tyre manufacturer’s new collection includes digital tyre inflators, smart jump starters, and premium rubber car mats. The mats also include an anti-slip backing and velcro anchor points for enhanced safety while driving. The products in the range are key for maintaining correct tyre pressures and will help the end-consumer to enjoy stronger and longer-lasting tyres.
As a market leader of products for the car, van, and home, the partnership will enhance vGroup International’s existing product portfolio of vehicle accessory ranges. It will also continue to promote their appearance as a leading supplier to both the new and used automotive sectors.
Michelin products are renowned in the UK market for their quality and durability. The latest collection also helps in projecting the company’s goals for sustainability, with their tyres helping to reduce fuel consumption and their new mats and carpets being 100% recyclable, but still delivering the ultimate residual protection.
The Asian automotive manufacturing company, Tata Motors, is closing in on deal with UK government to secure funding for a new gigafactory, in Somerset. The factory will be a battery plant that will provide batteries to JLR (Jaguar and Land Rover) vehicles. The Indian conglomerate, Tata, is currently deciding between building the factory in the UK or Spain.
Last week, UK government offered the owner of JLR £500m in subsidies as an incentive to build the gigafactory in the UK. Jeremy Hunt put forward the package just days after warnings came from carmakers over the Brexit trade deal and the threat it poses to the future of the British automotive industry. As part of the package, Hunt also offered the construction of improved road access to the proposed site for the gigafactory.
Confirmation of the deal would be a massive boost for EV battery production in Britain. Although the agreement has not been decided on yet, there are big hopes that an announcement will be coming this week.
However, concerns remain about the high energy prices in the UK, which could pose as a possible dealbreaker for the parent company of JLR. Compared to rivals in the EU, the UK’s energy prices are significantly higher, posing as an issue for securing the deal. The JLR chief executive, Adrian Mardell, said that, even if the company chooses to build the factory in Spain, they will continue to retain its car factories in the UK.
According to the The Financial Times, however, the government remains ‘increasingly hopeful’ of pushing the deal through.
EVware are a UK-based automotive startup, developing a hardware and software platform to help connectivity in vehicles. They produce automotive HMI systems and cloud-based APR-driven services which help vehicles have a greater connectivity.
In a climate where the software defined vehicle is on the rise, EVware recognised a gap in the market for smaller automotive OEMs and providers that have began popping up due to pressures of decarbonisation. EVware intend to give these smaller OEMs a greater accessibility to the same technology in order to progress the idea of the software defined vehicle. The intention is to allow the software defined vehicle to be able to adapt over time in order to progress the development of the automobile industry.
Their technology allows users to view and analyse data from their vehicles in real-time using their apps. Their EVware core HALO product is a combined HMI and connectivity unit with TFT touchscreen display, allowing OEMs to easily plug into vehicles and avoid the usual integration complexities.
Their HMI and connected vehicle platform allows OEMs to deliver a more sustainable transport that can be marketed quicker and for a fraction of the usual price.
A research group has successfully produced clean fuel using an innovative solar-powered method.
The revolutionary technology produces clean fuel by converting carbon dioxide and water into liquid fuel. Using photosynthesis, researchers from the University of Cambridge have effectively converted CO2, water, and sunlight into multi-carbon fuels such as ethanol and propanol.
These solar fuels vary from fossil fuels, as they produce net zero carbon emissions and are entirely renewable. They also do not take away any agricultural land that could be utilised for food production, unlike biofuels.
While the technology is only at the laboratory scale, the researchers have reassured that this discovery remains as an important step in transitioning towards an economy that is not based on fossil fuels.
Dr. Motiar Rahaman, the study’s first author, said:
“Shining sunlight on the artificial leaves and getting liquid fuel from carbon dioxide and water is an amazing bit of chemistry.
“Normally, when you try to convert CO2 into another chemical product using an artificial leaf device, you almost always get carbon monoxide or syngas, but here, we’ve been able to produce a practical liquid fuel just using the power of the Sun.”
The development will open up exciting new avenues for the automotive industry and indicates hope for a far more sustainable method of producing car fuel.
Geely, a leading automobile manufacturer in China, has increased its stake in Aston Martin, a British luxury automaker. The manufacturer has grown its stake to 17% in the brand, meaning an increased investment of around 234 million pounds in the company.
This deal now makes Geely the third largest shareholder in the company. In September last year, Geely acquired a 7.6% stake in Aston Martin, but the increased stake has overtaken Mercedes-Benz’s stake size in the company. The Chinese manufacturer bought 42 million shares from Aston Martin’s chairman, Lawrence Stroll’s, Yew Tree consortium and will now gain a seat on the board.
Lawrence Stroll said:
“(Geely Holdings) offer us a deep understanding of the key strategic growth market that China represents, as well as the opportunity to access their range of technologies and components.”
The deal will is very much likely to improve Aston Martin’s reach in China and, as Stroll points out, bring new tech-sharing opportunities to the brand. Geely already owns several British and European carmakers, including Lotus, LEVC, Volvo, and Polestar.
Geely chairman, Eric Li, said:
‘Since first acquiring our minority holding last September, we have worked collaboratively with executive chairman Lawrence Stroll and his colleagues and now look forward to exploring joint technology synergies and new growth opportunities to help this iconic automotive brand to achieve its full potential.’
Stellantis has warned parliament to make changes the current Brexit deal as thousands of jobs are currently at risk. This danger comes a result of the existing Brexit deal due to issues with the UK’s trading arrangements with Europe. Because of this, the car manufacturer has warned that it will not be able to build EVs in the UK, as part of their pledge, unless changes to the deal are made.
Stellantis cautioned, that under the deal, their company would face tariffs when exporting electric vans to Europe. The agreed trade deal requires 45% of the value of an electric vehicle to come from Britain or the EU from 2024 in order to avoid tariffs. The carmaker has advised the government to extend the current rules on the sourcing of parts until 2027, instead.
This request was made due to fears that manufacturers will no longer continue to invest and may relocate to operations outside of the UK if costs of EV manufacturing become uncompetitive and unsustainable in the UK.
The multinational automotive manufacturing corporation, owns brands such as Peugeot, Citroen, Fiat, and Vauxhall, and is the fourth largest carmaker in the world. But, this issue with the trade deal has created fears within the mobility industry that the British car sector does not have the capacity or supply to make the sweeping switch to electric vehicles.
In 2021, Stellantis announced a 100-million-pound electric vehicles investment in its Ellesmere Port so that the company would be able to develop enough parts in Britain to meet the rules. However, they have claimed that they are now unable to meet these rules of origin, due to multiple external issues, including the raw material cost inflation and supply issues.
Alongside the problems with the trade agreement, the manufacturer has issued major concern over the potential for factory closures and a huge number of job loss as a result.
A new collaboration between Rolec EV and Wattif EV has been announced as part of a strategic plan to accelerate electric charging (EV) infrastructure across the UK and Ireland. The charging points manufacturer, Rolec EV, will be partnering up with Wattif EV, an end-to-end EV charging provider.
The alliance means that Wattif EV will be able to offer two funding options to Rolec EV customers. The first, a fully funded complete turnkey solution including hardware, charge point installation, maintenance, and software. The second, is a joint venture solution in which Wattif EV will take responsibility for installation, maintenance, and operation but as equal partners with the customer. The upfront capital cost and net revenue will be supplied and shared between the two also.
The partnership announcement follows funding of €50M to Wattif EV from a leading Pan-European investment fund to help with financing their strategy.
The collaborating partners hope that they will enable a greater accessibility for the installation of EV charging points for landowners. It will also enable Wattif EV with a greater range of charge point hardware to expand their business.
Steve Rees, Wattif EV Managing Director for the UK & Ireland, said:
“Rolec’s smart EV charging hardware, combined with Wattif’s turnkey solution and funding options, is the perfect solution to enable everyone to install and operate EV charging in their car park.
Improvements to charging infrastructure and access to charge points play a key role in EV adoption, the elimination of range anxiety and the achievement of legislative targets for 2030. Wattif EV UK is keen to address the EV charging demands across all sectors. Together as Rolec’s approved funding provider, I know we have a very convincing proposition for both new and existing installations to be managed on smart charging networks.
This partnership for Wattif EV provides Rolec clients and installers with turnkey funding models to help them on their route to net zero and transition to electric vehicle adoption.”
Ford have revealed an upcoming electric version of their recently announced Tourneo Courier, named the E-Tourneo Courier. This will be the first time that this model is offered as an all-electric vehicle.
The Tourneo Courier will be based on the foundations on the Ford Puma SUV platform. The new model is longer, wider, taller, includes a 100kW e-Motor and 100kW DC fast charging – meaning a 10-80% recharge in just 35 minutes.
The electric five-seater is set to arrive in late 2024 and is part of Ford’s promise to supply 10 all-electric vehicles in Europe by 2024. Ford committed to this promise in a bid to achieve zero emissions across all sales in Europe by 2035.
Ford revealed three versions of the new Turneo Courier: petrol, diesel, and electric. The diesel and petrol models will be available in late 2023, with the electric model following in late 2024. All versions are more spacious, with a 1.8m load length, 1.22m width between the wheel arches, and a maximum payload of 845kg. But, only the electric model has an extra added 44l of storage that can be accessed in the front trunk.
The E-Tourneo Courier also offers a ‘digiboard’ instrument panel that is controlled by a 12-inch touchscreen, accompanied by Apple CarPlay integration and a phone charging pad.