UK authorises beyond visual line of flight drone trials
In a significant step for the drone industry, the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has authorised a trial for routine Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations. The authorisation enables West Sussex based drone developer sees.ai to fly BVLOS at three sites without needing to...
BMW next generation battery projects secure national and EU funding
Germany’s Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy is to provide BMW with 68 million euros in funding for the Bavarian carmaker’s planned battery projects. BMW says it is “supporting the ramp-up of a European cell and battery value chain” with the development of “highly...
Honda commits 100% of car sales to be electric or fuel cell vehicles by 2040
Honda has committed 100% of its sales to be electric or fuel cell vehicles by 2040. Speaking at his first news conference since taking charge of Japan's second-largest car maker at the beginning of the month, chief executive Toshihiro Mibe said, "I believe it is...
FirstGroup to sell the US bus divisions to investment firm EQT Infrastructure
Transit operator FirstGroup has announced it has entered into an agreement for the sale of First Student and First Transit to EQT Infrastructure. The proposed sale would bring together two of North America’s market leaders in school and public transportation with a large investor in...
Big grocers invest in the promise of autonomous home deliveries – everywhere
UK online grocery Ocado is taking a £10 million stake in Oxford based autonomous driving systems startup Oxbotica. Ocado says logistics costs constitute the single-largest line item in the operating cost structure of online grocery. And “through the development of autonomous vehicles in partnership with...
App collaboration aims to turn private home EV chargers into shared community assets
London based parking app JustPark has teamed up with Zap-Map to give easier access to electric vehicle charge points on residential driveways. Currently Zap-Map has over 1,200 Zap-Home points on its system and the addition of 800 JustPark chargers will take the number to over...
Porsche sets out to be at the forefront of high-performance German battery production
Porsche is planning to set up a high-performance battery cell factory in Germany to support the company’s shift to electric vehicles, CEO Oliver Blume told a German newspaper. "Battery cells are a key technology for Germany's automobile industry which we must have in our own...
All-electric plane propulsion technology matches twin turboprop performance
Electric US aircraft manufacturer Bye Aerospace has announced the launch of an all-electric plane capable of speeds of up to 590 km/h that can fly up to 930km on one battery charge at a cruising speed of 520 km/h. The company says it has already...
Greater policy coherence and data sharing key to sustainable urban mobility
A new report from influential global sustainability organisations and the International Road Federation (IRF) highlights the urgent need for policy guidance for data sharing between public and private sector stakeholders in pursuit of sustainable mobility and the wider Sustainable Development Goals. The report, Sustainable Mobility:...
Volvo Trucks ready to electrify large part of goods transports
Volvo Trucks is gearing up for a rapid upswing in electrification of heavy road transport in the expectation that almost half of all truck transport could be electrified in the near future. Citing Eurostat statistics from 2018, Volvo says 45% of all goods transported by...
