The automaker is doggedly sticking with the clean fuel that has taken a backseat to batteries. The hydrogen-generation station at the Long Beach port, the first that’s megawatt-scale and 100% renewable, will fuel arriving Toyota Mirai sedans and its Project Portal semi.
Circa 2012
If you’ve seen (or read) Katsuhiro Otomo’s classic Akira, you have, at one point or another, thought, “Man, I’d love to tear it up on Kaneda’s motorcycle.” One dude in Japan spent 10 million yen to make that dream come true, and he’s currently riding it across the Land of the Rising Sun to raise money for charity.
SONDORS has just pulled up the curtain on its first-ever electric motorcycle, the SONDORS Metacycle. The new commuter electric motorcycle may just be the first truly low-cost electric motorcycle capable of both city and highway riding.
Of course terms like “affordable” and “low-cost” will always be relative.
But to put things in perspective, we live in a world where the $29799 Harley-Davidson LiveWire is considered largely a commuter electric motorcycle, though with enough power for some impressive drag races as well.
Flying by yourself in a single-seater flying car is the lavish lifestyle vision of the future we deserve.
is it a car? is it a helicopter? no, it’s carcopter. conceived by french start-up, MACA, this hydrogen-powered concept aims to revolutionize the way we travel. with its aerodynamic body and theoretical top speed of 153 mph (246 kph), this prototype in question is designed for a racing scenario. it intends to be the first (manned) flying hydrogen formula 1 car. the highly-futuristic vehicle is set to be shown at annual tech event, CES 2021.
One of electric aviation’s greatest challenges (beyond safety certification) is mass production. Designing a working prototype is now table stakes in this industry. As Tesla found out, heavy manufacturing at scale can easily bankrupt even the most well-funded companies.
To solve this problem, Archer turned to Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), which produces about 4 million cars per year at its 100 manufacturing facilities and 40 R&D centers. FCA described it as a mutually beneficial arrangement: It gains experience electrifying vehicles (where it lags behind), and Archer gains access to low-cost manufacturing expertise. FCA already helped design the aircraft’s cockpit and will allow the production of “thousands of aircraft” per year, according to a company spokesperson. The first aircraft is scheduled to be revealed in early 2021 with the first public flights in 2024.
Delays are likely given the complexity of launching, literally, a new vehicle. But the announcement fulfills the initial prediction made last year by John Hansman, director of MIT’s International Center for Air Transportation: “You’ve seen some shakeup in electric aviation, but also see it get closer to reality” in 2020, he said. “It’s clear there will be the emergence of a new class of electric airplanes. In 2021, you’ll see hybrid and battery aircraft in service or close to being in service.”
For many automakers, hydrogen fuel cell power isn’t the future of the automobile. But after seeing the SCG 009, we might want to give hydrogen a chance.
Meet the “Yangtze River Three Gorges 1”, an electric cruise ship, announced in December, that is poised to become the world’s largest of its kind (among EVs).
According to the brief info, it will be launched in July and enter service in November of 2021, on popular tourist routes: the Two Dams and One Gorge, the Yichang Yangtze River Night Cruise, and the Three Gorges Shiplift.
Not only will the size and passenger capacity be the highest, but also the battery capacity — roughly 7.5 MWh (an equivalent of 75–100 long-range electric cars). The LFP-type batteries (over 10000 cells) will be supplied by CATL.
Chipmakers often place orders with contract manufacturers instead of fabricating chips in-house. It takes time to manufacture semiconductors while reconfiguring lines to accommodate varying specifications, making it difficult to turn out different chips at the same time.
TOKYO — The auto industry is facing a severe lack of semiconductors amid rising use of the chips in other products, like smartphones and communication base stations.
This has forced Germany’s Volkswagen as well as Japanese makers like Honda and Nissan to reduce production.
Toyota Motor has decided to reduce production of its Tundra pickup truck at its plant in the U.S. state of Texas due to the semiconductor shortage. The company has not released details on the size or time frame regarding the production cut but is looking into whether the lack of semiconductors will affect other vehicles.
