September 2nd, 2020 by Zachary Shahan
There is much news published every month on electric vehicles, renewable energy, and other clean and green matters. We can’t cover it all. Below are 33 cleantech stories from the past month or so that got onto our story list but never got covered. Enjoy!
Electric Cars, Trucks, & Vans
Mercedes-Benz eActros Electrifies Rotterdam and The Hague with Logistics Service Provider Simon Loos
“The first ten customers have each tested the Mercedes-Benz eActros intensively for about a year – additional customers are now successively starting further tests. Following trials in Germany and Switzerland, the eActros is now also being used for the first time by customers in the Netherlands and Belgium. Simon Loos is using a 25-ton eActros to supply supermarkets in the region of Rotterdam and The Hague for market leader in the Netherlands, Albert Heijn.”
Fiat Professional Confirms Pricing And Specification Of Fiat E-Ducato For UK Market
“Orders for the 100% electric Fiat E-Ducato are now open, priced from £47,675 excluding VAT (after the Government PiVG).”
New Peugeot e-Boxer Next-Gen Van
“After achieving a record level of sales for commercial vehicles in 2019 with nearly 274,000 deliveries, the PEUGEOT brand is stepping up its offensive in these segments and adding a new stage to the overall electrification of the range.”
Phoenix Motorcars Deploys Electric Cargo Truck To Service Family Owned Business
“Phoenix Motorcars, a leading manufacturer of medium duty all-electric buses and trucks delivered its first ZEUS 500 Electric Cargo Truck to C&V Contractors, a family owned contracting business based out of Sacramento, California. Funded through the Sacramento Emergency Clean Air & Transportation Grant Program (SECAT), the zero emission box truck deployment highlights the appetite amongst fleets in California to choose cleaner, sustainable transportation options. C&V Contractors, which specializes in custom home building, remodels and maintenance and repairs has been in business and servicing the Sacramento area since 1989.”
First German E-Road Trial Now Fully Operational
“Since early July, the first German electric road test track near Frankfurt with catenary overhead lines is fully operational with five Scania R 450 hybrid trucks equipped with pantographs. The last of the five trucks was recently delivered to the German building materials supplier company Knauf.”
“The 2021 Audi e-tron SUV family receives an impressive host of updates and a new, compelling price point for the 2021 model year. The fully electric Audi models offer refined SUV designs, with everyday utility and distinctive road presence. The Audi e-tron and e-tron Sportback are the first and second fully electric vehicles in the Audi lineup, laddering up to the brand’s commitment to 30 percent of the U.S. model lineup being fully or partially electrified by 2025.”
“Today Lonestar Specialty Vehicles announced it has partnered with In-Charge Energy, an energy solutions company based in Los Angeles, California, to provide customers Turnkey Energy and Charging solutions for fleet conversion to electric vehicles.”
Nissan Gives LEAF Drivers a UEFA Champions League Final to Remember
“100 lucky fans attend socially distanced watch party at drive-in theater, in Nissan LEAFs.”
COVID-19 Rebuild: Scaling Electric Mobility in India
“A diverse group of business, civil society, and academic leaders came together to introduce coalition letters that support advancing electric mobility in India. The coalition letters encourage the state governments of Gujarat and Telangana to release, adopt and implement their draft electric mobility policies, as discussed during a virtual roundtable, ‘Charging Ahead on Electric Mobility’. The coalition letters emphasized that electric mobility is critical to rebuilding a stronger post-COVID-19 economy in India.”
“Mullen Technologies Inc. (‘Mullen Technologies’ or the ‘Company’), a Southern California based licensed electric vehicle manufacturer with international distribution that operates in various verticals of businesses focusing in the automotive industry; Mullen Automotive, Mullen Energy, Mullen Auto Sales, Mullen Funding Corp., and Carhub, today announces it has executed an LOI with Axiom Financial for $135 million in funding to acquire and build out an electric vehicle manufacturing plant.”
Other Green Transport
Toray To Supply Carbon Fiber Composite Materials For Lilium’s All-Electric Air Vehicle
“Toray Industries, Inc., announced today that it has concluded an agreement with Lilium GmbH to supply carbon fiber composite materials for the Lilium Jet. The Munich-based company is developing this all-electric, vertical take-off and landing aircraft to deliver clean, regional air mobility as early as 2025. Lilium CEO Daniel Wiegand is one of the co-founders of that company, which was established in 2015.”
Toronto Expands & Improves Bike Infrastructure
“The Toronto City Council approved a quick expansion of bike lanes around the city to provide an alternative to public transit during and after the pandemic.”
USA’s First 100% Electric Greenline 39 is Delivered to Owner in Nation’s Capital
“Greenline Yachts was presented with a Governor’s Citation for their contribution as a leader in high-tech and environmentally friendly boating by the State of Maryland. The citation marked the delivery of the first 100% electric Greenline Yacht to be delivered to the USA.”
“The Spirit 111 is the Largest Single-Mast Wooden Yacht built in the UK since Shamrock V in the 1930s and is one of the world’s largest sailing yachts with electric auxiliary propulsion.”
Reduced Speed Limits Save Lives in Busy Cities, Don’t Slow Drivers Down Much
“Traffic accidents are the leading cause of non-natural deaths worldwide. Lower speed limits may help prevent accidents. But speed-reduction policies can be controversial and effects are not well documented.”
Mobility Systems Center Awards Four Projects for Low-Carbon Transportation Research
“Topics include Covid-19 and urban mobility, strategies for electric vehicle charging networks, and infrastructure and economics for hydrogen-fueled transportation.”
Renewable Energy
Volvo Cars Chengdu Car Plant Powered By 100% Renewable Electricity
“The Volvo Cars manufacturing plant in Chengdu, the company’s largest in China, is now powered by 100 per cent renewable electricity, taking the company’s global renewable electricity mix in its manufacturing network to 80 per cent.”
“A common vision for the future of the nation’s energy grid involves homeowners selling unused power generated from rooftop solar panels to others in their communities, and working together to help ensure the reliability, resiliency, and security of the power grid everyone uses. Sounds great in theory. But how can the grid manage such complex energy transactions at scale?”
Siemens Gamesa’s Flagship 14 MW Turbine to Power 1.4 GW Sofia Offshore Wind Power Project in the UK
“Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy has conditionally received an order for 100 units of its new SG 14-222 DD offshore wind turbines for innogy’s 1.4 GW Sofia Offshore Wind Farm in the UK. A comprehensive service and maintenance contract is also included in the conditional order. The project will have the capacity to generate enough electricity to power to more than 1.2 million British households when completed. The final investment decision is expected to be made in the first quarter of 2021.”
Other Green Stuff
“SSAB, LKAB and Vattenfall, the partners in the joint venture HYBRIT (earlier post), are preparing for the construction of a demonstration plant for the production of fossil-free steel on an industrial scale. Consultations have begun for deciding on placement of the plant in Norrbotten, Sweden.”
SEAT Reduces the Environmental Footprint of its Production by 43% Since 2010
“SEAT is committed to caring for the environment and in 2019 continued to work actively on progressively reducing the environmental impact of its activity. The carmaker successfully reduced its five main production-related environmental indicators by 43%, including energy and water consumption, waste generation, volatile organic compounds and CO2. In this way, the company is taking a major step towards achieving the objectives set for 2025, with the aim of reducing its environmental footprint derived from production by 50% compared to 2010.”
Volkswagen Starts Development of Climate Projects for CO2 Compensation
“The Volkswagen Group and the project developer Permian Global have signed a Joint Development Agreement to create climate protection projects. With the support of Permian Global, the Volkswagen Group will begin developing climate protection projects to protect tropical forests in the second half of 2020. Following successful verification, the avoided deforestation and restoration of endangered forests will lock away carbon and deliver carbon credits that will be used to compensate for CO2 emissions from the supply chain, production and logistics of vehicle, as long as these CO2 emissions cannot be avoided and renewable energies cannot be used currently.”
It’s Raining, It’s Pouring … and Bentley is Now Storing
“Bentley Motors has installed an advanced rainwater harvesting system at its headquarters and production facility in Crewe, England. This marks the latest step in the British brand’s water usage reduction programme and long-term journey towards becoming the world’s most sustainable luxury car manufacturer.”
Porsche Adopts New Guidelines for Environmental Protection
“Ecological responsibility and economic success go hand in hand at Porsche. Sustainable and responsible action has always been an essential pillar of the sports car manufacturer’s corporate philosophy. Now the Executive Board of Porsche AG has adopted a new environmental and energy policy, underlining once again the company’s position.”
Start-up “&Charge” Promotes Electric Mobility
“With ‘&Charge’, Porsche Digital has successfully spun off its own company in the field of e-mobility, thereby expanding its digital business portfolio. ‘&Charge’ offers a digital platform through which users can obtain credit for their online purchases for electric mobility. The start-up, which is based in Frankfurt am Main in Germany, thus offers the first loyalty program for e-mobility in Europe.”
Shaping Sustainable Innovations: Audi is a Founding Partner of the GREENTECH FESTIVAL
“Audi is a new founding partner of the GREENTECH FESTIVAL. This festival of green technologies and sustainable lifestyle has been fundamentally reconceived. Its founders, Nico Rosberg, Marco Voigt and Sven Krüger, will present the forum under the motto ‘celebrate change’ as a hybrid for the first time, from 16 to 18 September in the Kraftwerk Berlin. A blend of on-the-spot program elements, digital components and livestreams will enable guests to have a close-up experience of numerous contents, some of them taking place simultaneously. With the GREEN AWARDS, Audi is also becoming the patron for one of the four core modules of the festival.”
Not Worth It: The Failing Economics Of Fracked Gas And Petrochemicals
“When we start to look a little differently at the choices in front of us, we see clearly that the best possible future doesn’t need to include pipelines or benzene pollution or methane emissions.”
EU Law Against Greenwashing Approved By European Parliament
“The European Parliament has approved the much debated, and long awaited, Taxonomy Regulation that will determine which financial investments can be labelled environmentally sustainable. Green transport group Transport & Environment (T&E) said the EU green ‘taxonomy’ law will be a cornerstone of sustainable finance that will help channel investments towards a new, clean economy.”
Air Pollution & Extreme Weather
Half of the World’s Population Exposed to Increasing Air Pollution, Study Shows
“Half of the world’s population is exposed to increasing air pollution, new research has shown.”
Study Demonstrates Association Between Exposure to Air Pollution and Vascular Damage
“Researchers who analysed data from more than 3,000 people in India found
gender-specific differences in sources of exposure and health outcomes.”
EU Must Act After Study Shows Shipping Pollution Could Increase By Half
“Shipping’s climate impact has grown 10% in just six years, according to a landmark study released today by the UN maritime agency. Carbon pollution from ships could increase by up to 50% by 2050 if left unchecked, the IMO’s fourth greenhouse gas study finds. Green group Transport & Environment said the EU must now activate its plans to include maritime emissions in its carbon market and introduce CO2 standards for ships while in operation.”
How A Historic Drought Led To Higher Power Costs And Emissions
“Drought can mean restrictions for watering the lawn, crop losses for farmers and an increased risk of wildfires. But it can also hit you and your power company in the wallet. In communities that rely on water for power generation, a drought can mean higher electricity costs and pollution linked to the loss of hydropower supplies.”
“A new Climate Central report examines how heat and a warming climate endanger the health of an aging U.S. population, a threat made even more worrisome during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
John Cook PhD: COVID Conspiracy Theories Erode Trust In Science
“John Cook has done a lot of work on conspiracies and misinformation in the climate space, and here takes a look at the similar mechanisms in play during the pandemic period.”
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About the Author
Zachary Shahan is tryin’ to help society help itself one word at a time. He spends most of his time here on CleanTechnica as its director, chief editor, and CEO. Zach is recognized globally as an electric vehicle, solar energy, and energy storage expert. He has presented about cleantech at conferences in India, the UAE, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, the USA, Canada, and Curaçao.
Zach has long-term investments in BYD [BYDDF], NIO [NIO], Tesla [TSLA], and Xpeng [XPEV]. But he does not offer (explicitly or implicitly) investment advice of any sort.