Swedish start-up Northvolt Wednesday announced it had secured funding, in large part from Volkswagen, for Europe’s biggest car battery factory, set to rival electric carmaker Tesla’s US “Gigafactory”. The battery producer said it had completed a $1 billion equity capital raise, led by Volkswagen and Goldman Sachs, alongside BMW, Swedish pension fund AMF, insurer Folksam […]
Mercedes Wants to Abandon Combustion Engines by 2039
German giant Mercedes-Benz said Monday it wants to stop selling traditional combustion engine cars by 2039 and plans for its new vehicles sold worldwide by that time to be carbon-neutral. “We aim to have a carbon-neutral new passenger car fleet in 20 years,” said Ola Kallenius, current head of Mercedes research, who is to succeed […]
Coming Soon to China: The Car of the Future
Global automakers are positioning for a brave new world of on-demand transport that will require a car of the future—hyper-connected, autonomous, and shared—and China may become the concept’s laboratory. With ride-hailing services booming and car-sharing not far behind, the need for vehicles tailored to these and other evolving mobility solutions is one of the hottest […]
A Small Step for China: Mars Base for Teens Opens in Desert
In the middle of China’s Gobi desert sits a Mars base simulator, but instead of housing astronauts training to live on the Red Planet, the facility is full of teenagers on a school trip. Surrounded by barren hills in northwestern Gansu province, “Mars Base 1” opened on Wednesday with the aim of exposing teens—and soon […]
Ford Studies Using Drones to Guide Self-Driving Cars
Ford Motor Co. is studying a system to use drones to help guide self-driving vehicles, including on off-road adventures, company officials said. Drones launched from an autonomous vehicle would help guide it by mapping the surrounding area beyond what the car’s sensors can detect. Vehicle passengers can control the drone using the car’s infotainment or […]
Renewable Energy Sources Grew at Record Pace in 2015: Study
Developing countries spent more on renewable power than rich ones for the first time last year, driving the fastest increase in sources of green energy on record, a study said Wednesday. Global investment in renewable power was more than double the amount spent on new coal and natural gas-fired power generation in 2015, the Renewables Global Status […]
World’s Largest Particle Smasher Set to Push Physics into Unknown
The world’s most powerful proton smasher is preparing for its biggest run yet which scientists hope will uncover new particles that could dramatically change our understanding of the Universe. “We are exploring truly fundamental issues, and that’s why this run is so exciting,” physicist Paris Sphicas told AFP at Europe’s physics lab, CERN, last week. […]
Ford to Test Self-Driving Cars on California Roads
Ford on Tuesday said that it has a green light to test self-driving cars in California, and should have them on roads in the most populous US state next year. The car maker officially enrolled in the California Autonomous Vehicle Testing Program and will begin with self-driving Ford Fusion Hybrid sedans, it said in a release. Ford […]
Formula E to Stage Driverless, AI ‘Roboraces’
Real-time computing algorithms will replace humans in an innovative series of driverless races to be staged alongside the regular Formula E season, promotors said on Wednesday. The Formula E championship features 10 teams of two drivers on city-centre circuits. Brazilian Nelson Piquet Junior won the inaugural 2014/2015 world championship. It is seen as a cleaner and […]
Cop Stops Google Driverless Car for Moving Slow
Google playfully posted a photo of a motorcycle cop pulling over one of it self-driving cars on Thursday for riding along at a cautious pace. “Driving too slowly?” the self driving car team asked rhetorically in a message that accompanied a picture on its Google+ social network page. “Bet humans don’t get pulled over for […]