Royal Dutch Shell to install 50k charging points in Britain by 2025

On Wednesday, in a statement Royal Dutch Shell announced its plans to significantly expand its network of electric vehicle charging points in Britain. Shell plans on installing 50,000 on-street charging stations by 2025; it plans on implementing its plan through ubitricity, an on-street charging point company that it acquired earlier this year in February. Incidentally,…

Porsche AG sets up joint venture with Customcells for producing high performance batteries

In a statement, Volkswagen’s sports car unit Porsche AG said it is setting up a joint venture with Customcells to produce high-performance batteries which purportedly will significantly decrease battery charging times. The statement mentions that the partnership with Customcells, a company which specializes in producing lithium-ion cells, is aimed at producing car batteries with higher energy…

General Motors Co working on technology to slash EV battery costs

In a statement General Motors Co’s President Mark Reuss said, the company is testing a variety of battery chemistry technologies and manufacturing processes aimed at slashing the cost of future electric vehicle batteries and reducing its dependence on such price-sensitive metals including cobalt. While speaking at an investor conference, Reuss said “GM is experimenting with…

Hyundai Motor Group acquires 80% stake in Softbank Group-owned Boston Dynamics

According to a source familiar with the matter at hand, Hyundai Motor Group has agreed to acquire a 80% stake in Boston Dynamics from SoftBank Group in a deal worth around $736 million to $828 million (800 billion to 900 billion won). The development assumes significance since Hyundai can leverage the technology to expand automation…

Hyundai Motor to launch dedicated Electric Global Modular Platform in major push towards electric vehicles

On Wednesday, in a statement South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group stated, early next year it will introduce an electric vehicle-only platform which will use its battery technology to cut production time and costs. The plan by Hyundai Motor Group, the world’s No.5 auto group, aims to become a major player in the global EV market,…

China unveils financial incentives to boost adoption of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles

On Monday, China finance ministry stated, it plans on rolling new policies to support hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in order to boost the industry’s supply chain and related technologies. China has emerged as the world’s biggest market for new energy vehicles (NEVs), which includes plug-in hybrids, battery electric vehicles as well as and hydrogen fuel…

Samsung Electronics breaks ground for 6th domestic contract chip manufacturing facility

On Thursday, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd stated, it has broken ground for its sixth domestic contract chip production line which will produce logic chips. The development comes in the wake of Samsung’s efforts to reduce its reliance on the volatile memory chip sector. With this move, Samsung will be taking on bigger rival Taiwan Semiconductor…

Liberty Global Plc and Telefónica SA set to merge UK business in a deal worth $29.57 billion

On Thursday, according to a report from the Financial Times, in a deal worth $29.57 billion (24 billion pounds), the British units of Liberty Global Plc and Telefónica SA will merge with Telefónica SA. Both companies are expected to announce the merger deal on Thursday following five months of negotiations, said the FT’s report citing…

Indonesia’s government proposes levying taxes on CO2 emitting vehicles

On Wednesday, Indonesia’s Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati submitted a proposal to the country’s parliament proposing to levy tariffs on sugar and artificially sugar-sweetened drinks; she has also proposed levying taxes on vehicles that emit carbon dioxide. She has also asked parliament to reconsider her proposal to impose an excise on plastic bags in order…