The Trouble With Lithium
Brine pools at the Albemarle Corp. Lithium mine in Calama, Chile The electric car market is driving insatiable demand for lithium. But a supply crisis of the wonder metal could Continue Reading
The Average Age of Vehicles on U.S. Roadways Hits a Record 12.2 Years
The average age of vehicles on U.S. roadways edged higher in 2021, hitting a record of 12.2 years, as Americans challenged by high car prices and slim pickings on dealer Continue Reading
Battery storage systems seen shifting toward more abundant elements than lithium
Highlights Lithium-ion to be used for short duration Increased power price volatility expected Cost and limits on the availability of key materials currently used in battery manufacture have set a Continue Reading
How to Make a City Safer for E-Bikes? Think Infrastructure
The invasion of Ukraine has put the US and Europe on a wartime mission to abandon Russian fossil fuels. This series looks at speeding up zero-carbon alternatives by lowering political Continue Reading
Airfares soar as Americans shrug off Covid and inflation to get away
US airlines are poised to raise ticket prices further as Americans shrug off the fastest rise in domestic airfares for decades in their determination to travel. Airfares rose by 18.6 Continue Reading
Ford Unloads Further 7 Million Shares of Electric-Vehicle Startup Rivian
The sale leaves Ford with about 86.9 million shares of Rivian, or a 9.7% stake, according to FactSet data. Rivian’s stock price sank earlier in the week following news of Continue Reading
Electric-Vehicle Startups Run Low on Cash After SPAC Deals
Several electric-vehicle startups that went public by merging with special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, in the last two years made some nervy disclosures this week. Canoo, the buzzy electric-van Continue Reading
The Biggest Problem With Flying Cars Is on the Ground
The companies developing electric vertical takeoff-and-landing vehicles all promise that their aircraft will drastically slash travel times by flying above traffic. But to fulfill that promise, their take-off and landing Continue Reading
With Airfare Prices Up Over 18%, You’ll Need More Than Luck to Find Cheap Flights
As summer approaches, the usual cost-saving tricks are no match for the current demand Travelers who haven’t yet booked summer vacations are left with tough choices: Pay steeper prices, find Continue Reading
The Battery Boom Will Redraw Geopolitical Maps
The vulnerability of global energy markets is once again back in focus due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The race for a renewable future will come with its own geopolitical Continue Reading
Apple Hires 31-Year Ford Veteran to Ramp Up Electric-Car Work
Apple Inc. has recruited a longtime Ford Motor Co. executive who helped lead safety efforts and vehicle engineering, a sign the iPhone maker is again ramping up development of an Continue Reading
CATL Retains Top Position as World’s Biggest EV Battery Maker
Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. easily maintained its pole position as the world’s biggest maker of electric-car batteries as of the end of March with its share edging slighter higher Continue Reading
Gas-Engine Bans Drive Landscapers Toward Electric Mowers and Blowers
A push to go electric is sowing discord among landscapers. New state and municipal laws are driving a transition away from puttering, gas-powered lawn mowers and leaf blowers and toward Continue Reading
The Energy Transition Has A Major Metal Problem
As the global energy transition continues to accelerate, the demand for key battery metals is soaring and demand is struggling to keep up. The inconvenient truth of the energy transition Continue Reading
Analysis: Soaring battery costs fail to cool electric vehicle sales
Buyers around the world are lining up to purchase electric vehicles this year even with sticker prices surging, flipping the script on a decade and a half of conventional auto Continue Reading
Robot Truckers Could Replace 500K U.S. Jobs
The robots will take the most tedious, most dangerous jobs first, in most things. Trucking is no exception. Autonomous driving engineers are squarely focused on long-haul freight, the interstate runs Continue Reading
There Will Be Jobs in the Electric Vehicle Economy
There is growing fear these days that the move to electric vehicles spells certain doom for a lot of low-skilled factory work. It mostly comes from the prediction, proffered by Continue Reading
Pricey Jet Fuel Punishes Airlines and Passengers
American drivers are feeling the pain of rising gasoline prices . Airlines and their customers have had it even worse. Jet fuel, a kerosene-based product akin to diesel fuel, has Continue Reading
Demand Destruction May Kick In After Lithium Price Explosion
Lithium prices are beginning to slow their climb after a 500% rally. High lithium carbonate prices have begun to dampen demand. The EV industry has failed to secure a sufficient Continue Reading
Shanghai’s Tesla Factory Could Be Shuttered Until Mid-May
With all of the chaos taking place in Shanghai as a result of a new round of mysteriously overbearing Covid lockdowns, there has been very little attention paid to Tesla’s Continue Reading
Electric vehicle targets ‘impossible’ without changes to lithium pipeline
Battery manufacturers are confronting a severe lithium shortage, highlighting the need to challenge China’s dominance of raw material supply chains, an Australian lithium producer has warned. Stuart Crow, chair of Continue Reading
The World’s Electric Vehicle Fleet Will Soon Surpass 20 Million
The world is about to pass another important milestone in electric vehicle adoption: 20 million plug-in vehicles on the road globally, come June, according to BNEF estimates. That’s remarkable growth Continue Reading
Walmart Dangles $110,000 Starting Pay to Lure Truck Drivers
The trucking industry has long been dealing with a shortage of drivers and high job turnover, but supply-chain bottlenecks have underscored the need for new recruits. Here’s how some companies Continue Reading
Werner piloting Aurora’s autonomous trucks on 600-mile route in Texas
Aurora Innovation and Werner Enterprises, a premier transportation and logistics provider, announced a collaboration and commercial pilot to test and deploy safely autonomous trucks on one of the most commercially Continue Reading
Hong Kong Still Banning Flights at Fastest Rate Since January
Less than a week after Hong Kong rolled back some of the world’s strictest inbound travel curbs, at least six airlines have had routes banned, creating havoc for travelers and Continue Reading
High raw material costs, COVID-19 measures challenge China’s NEV industry
High prices dampen battery metals demand Facing a fresh wave of COVID-19 outbreaks , China’s strict lockdown measures are dealing a huge blow to the NEV industry, just two weeks Continue Reading
Hertz Plans Electric Car Fleet Expansion With 65,000 Polestars
Hertz Global Holdings Inc. plans to buy 65,000 electric vehicles from Polestar over the next five years, betting its renters are both EV curious and eager to drive brands beyond Continue Reading
Why GM and Ford Stocks Have Driven Off Course
Ford and GM recently introduced their first electric pickup trucks. WSJ auto reporter Mike Colias breaks down the different strategies the two legacy auto manufacturers are pursuing to bring their Continue Reading
New York jet fuel hits $7.59/gal, or $318.62/b, likely a refined products market record
Unprecedented bid levels send Buckeye benchmark to all-time high Unprecedented volatility spurred by the Russia-Ukraine conflict has catapulted the price of jet fuel in New York Harbor to all-time highs Continue Reading
U.S. East Coast jet fuel costs soar on shortage fears
Jet fuel prices are soaring on the U.S. East Coast, home to some of the world’s busiest airports, with buyers anticipating a growing shortage as supply dwindles amid sanctions on Continue Reading
Surging price of battery materials complicates carmakers’ electric plans
The car industry’s multibillion-dollar bet on electric vehicles was built on a single premise: that batteries would carry on getting cheaper. In 2019, Volkswagen executives even brandished charts predicting a Continue Reading
America Is Finally Taking The Battery Metal Shortage Seriously
President Joe Biden is preparing a new plan to boost domestic supply of key battery metals. Currently, the United States imports more than half of its annual consumption of 31 Continue Reading
Electric vehicle start-ups face their toughest challenge: making cars
Just outside the English market town of Bicester, 15 miles from Oxford, lies the shell of a factory that sits at the forefront of the electric vehicle revolution in the Continue Reading
GlobalData: Global automakers earmark nearly US$600B for EVs over next decade
Aggressive emission and carbon neutrality targets set by regulators worldwide entails a faster transition from traditional automakers to next-gen electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers. Therefore, automakers are committing operational investments of Continue Reading
Tesla’s Big Addition of Chargers in China Helps Boost Sales
Recently I’ve been analyzing the growth in the public charging network in 2021, as we’ve just released BNEF’s 2022 Global EV Public Charging Update . Not surprisingly, Tesla is a Continue Reading
New vehicles must average 40 mpg by 2026, up from 28 mpg
New vehicles sold in the U.S. will have to average at least 40 miles per gallon of gasoline in 2026, up from about 28 mpg, under new federal rules unveiled Continue Reading
Amazon, Alphabet and Others Are Quietly Rolling Out Drone Delivery Across America
Every day, millions of sailors, truck drivers, longshoremen, warehouse workers and delivery drivers keep mountains of goods moving into stores and homes to meet consumers’ increasing expectations of convenience. But Continue Reading
New York Harbor jet fuel differential, outright price reach record highs
The differential for jet fuel in New York Harbor nearly doubled overnight April 1, setting new records for both the outright price and the NYMEX differential for that Platts benchmark Continue Reading
Feature: US airlines cast a wider net in search for sustainable aviation fuel supply
Highlights Global supplies of oils tighten, exacerbated by lower Ukraine output SAF producers use alternate methods to meet growing demand As US airlines seek to lock in sustainable aviation fuel Continue Reading
Benchmark Gigafactories Europe paints grim raw material supply picture; “Auto OEMs will need to become miners”
Benchmark Mineral Intelligence held its inaugural Battery Megafactories Europe 2022 event in Berlin; the event zeroed in on a number of pertinent points for the continent’s EV and battery supply Continue Reading
Biden Invokes Cold War Powers to Boost EV Battery Production
Biden Wants to Boost Metal and Mineral Production The Biden administration announced it will invoke Cold War powers to boost domestic production of materials for batteries needed to power electric Continue Reading
Car Sales Seen Sputtering as Supply-Chain Woes Hurt Production
Strong demand and tight inventories are leading drivers to snatch up vehicles as soon as they hit the lot. Auto makers are expected to report weak vehicle sales for the Continue Reading
Qantas Places Burden of Cleaning Up Aviation on Sustainable Fuel – Bloomberg
Qantas Airways Ltd. said sustainable aviation fuel is the only immediate way to decarbonize flying, placing much of the burden of cleaning up aviation on a kerosene alternative that remains expensive Continue Reading
Volkswagen Prepares for a Deglobalized World
For years, Volkswagen AG thrived as a global company, building and selling its cars all around the world. But as war, health scares and trade disputes roll back decades of Continue Reading
Geely questions future in Russia despite opening for China’s carmakers
Geely is examining its future in Russia, casting doubt on expectations that China’s carmakers would push further into the country to take advantage of the exodus of international groups following Continue Reading
Batteries On A “Ridiculous” Cost Surge, Chinese EV Maker Says
Battery prices for electric vehicles are seeing a “ridiculous” increase on the back of soaring raw material prices, and carmakers will soon have to raise prices if they haven’t done Continue Reading
‘Grand Theft Aero’: Russia’s $10bn plane grab signals losses for lessors
Three days after the invasion of Ukraine, a Boeing 737 — operated by Russia’s Pobeda but owned by Dublin-based Avolon — was impounded after landing in Istanbul. The plane’s seizure Continue Reading
High Jet Fuel Prices Can’t Curb Consumers’ Insatiable Demand To Fly
As oil prices soared well above $100 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the airline industry was bracing for demand destruction as jet fuel prices climbed. Following two years of COVID-related Continue Reading
The Supply Shortage That Could Derail The Electric Car Boom
Key battery metals are facing a shortage as the Ukraine-Russia war heats up An already voracious commodity supercycle is now witnessing even greater momentum amid fears of major supply-chain disruption Continue Reading
Russian law creates new hurdle for foreign plane lessors
Russia on Monday passed a law allowing the country’s airlines to place airplanes leased from foreign companies on the country’s aircraft register – a manoeuvre likely to stoke Western fears Continue Reading