Toyota has announced voluntary safety recalls of about 133,000 Highlander Hybrid (pictured) and Lexus RX 400h vehicles built between 2006 and 2010, and 2006 and 2008, respectively. Transistors within the hybrid system’s inverter assembly can experience heat damage due to variations in characteristics of the transistors’ parallel circuits, Toyota says. In most cases the vehicle will enter “limp home mode” but in limited instances, the hybrid system will shut down, resulting in the vehicle stopping while it’s being driven.
Volvo Car Group and the China Automotive Technology and Research Center (CATARC) have partnered to conduct joint research on safety and environmental technologies and develop relevant automotive industry regulations. Volvo Cars and CATARC will work together and share know-how in three key areas: safety, environment and well-being (cabin air quality), taking into account the environmental situation, traffic conditions and consumer demands in China.
Canada’s second-largest airline, Westjet, has placed a tentative order for 65 Boeing 737 aircraft, Agence France-Presse reports. The order includes commitments for the proposed Boeing 737 Max 7 and Max 8 aircraft, which Boeing says will reduce fuel burn and CO2 emissions 13 percent as compared with the most fuel-efficient single-aisle aircraft currently available. The Max 7 and 8 are scheduled for delivery from 2017 through 2027.
Cargill’s cocoa and chocolate business has replaced three conventional vehicles with two new Eco-Combi trucks that will reduce CO2 emissions from transport by 30 percent, Confectionery Production reports. The new trucks will mean 2,000 fewer journeys per year for the company.
Airbus and RT-Biotekhprom have signed a cooperation agreement to launch a large-scale analysis of Russian feedstock to evaluate how to speed up the development and commercialization of sustainable fuels for aviation.
The Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) has partnered with the Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE) and Smith Electric Vehicles to reduce vehicle emissions by replacing existing diesel delivery vehicles with all-electric medium- and heavy-duty Smith Newton trucks for daily operations in the Houston-Galveston area. By deploying 30 zero-emission trucks, H-GAC expects to reduce petroleum consumption by more than 250,000 gallons of diesel fuel over the two-year demonstration period. The project also has an expected reduction in GHG emissions by 37.5 million tons of CO2e per year and an expected reduction in criteria pollutants of more than 2,000 tons per year.
Coda Energy, with Energy Vault and Growing Energy Labs (GELI), will deploy the first Eco-Station, a solar integrated electric vehicle (EV) fast charging station optimized by energy storage, in the San Francisco Bay Area, the company says. The charging station will incorporate a 175 kW solar array, DC fast charging, a 40kWh CODA Core UDP energy storage system, and GELI’s intelligent energy operating system software.
Chevrolet’s funding through its EcoAd advertising with CBS EcoMedia means visitors to California State Parks Malibu Creek and Leo Carrillo State Beach can access free electric vehicle charging stations. The funding will provide three years of free electricity to power the increasing number of electric, plug-in vehicles that visit the parks.
