Electric flying car gets FAA approval for test flights

Alef Aeronautics announced that its electric flying car, the "Model A," has received a Special Airworthiness Certification from the Federal Aviation Administration. The car is expected to cost $300,000, and with this approval will start limited testing in the air. From the Insider article:

It's the first such approval for a flight-capable car, according to the startup, which has been backed by the likes of SpaceX.

Walmart Plans Own EV Charger Network At US Stores By 2030

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Kia EV9 first look: One of the most important electric SUVs of 2023

After entering a new generation of electrification with the EV6, this week at the New York Auto Show we got a chance to check out Kia’s upcoming flagship electric SUV in the Kia EV9. And while we weren’t allowed to drive it just yet, after seeing it up close, it low-key might be one of the most important electric vehicles of the year.

Like the EV6 and Hyudai’s recent EVs including the Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6, the EV9 is based on the E-GMP platform which supports an 800-volt architecture and up to 350 kW charging which Kia says can refill the battery from 10 to 80 percent in 25 minutes. As for range, the EV9 will be available in a few different configurations starting with the base model that features a single motor paired to a 76.1 kWh battery, while the long-range version will come with a larger 99.8 kWh power pack. And while Kia has yet to get official numbers from the EPA, it’s expecting the long-range model to deliver about 300 miles on a charge, with the standard-range spec coming in at a bit less (probably around 260 miles or so).

Unfortunately, both of those models won’t be especially quick, with an expected 0 to 60 time of around 8.2 seconds for the base model, which actually goes down to 9.4 seconds for the long-range model due to its bigger and heavier battery. Thankfully, if you want something a bit speedier, there's also the GT-line which gets the same long-range battery but with a more powerful AWD dual motor setup, which promises a 0 to 60 time of 5.3 seconds. Though if that's not enough, Kia president Ho-Sung Song said there will also be a full GT version of the EV9, though it won't be available until sometime in 2025.

Meanwhile, when it comes to design, while the EV9 features similar proportions to the Telluride, at 197 inches, it’s a touch longer than Kia’s gas-powered SUV. But the real difference is its styling, which is bold and modern, featuring a blocky silhouette softened by just enough curves and sweeping body lines so that it doesn’t look overly sci-fi, like Hyundai’s forthcoming Ioniq 7.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

In front, Kia offers what it calls its digital tiger nose grille, which features hidden lights that can even be customized with a selection of animations. On top of that, because the EV9 will be Kia’s first car to support over-the-air updates, you’ll be able to download new software including things like additional lighting patterns post-release. The car also features 15 exterior sensors including two LiDAR arrays in front which use object detection to help the driver spot potential obstacles.

You also get flush door handles for a sleeker look and improved aerodynamics. And while your taste may differ, I also want to call out the wheels on the EV9. The base model features funky triangular rims with a bit of aerodynamic streamlining, while the GT-line gets 21-inch alloys with a neat plus-shaped design that reminds me of a D-pad from a game controller and seems like a direct nod towards attracting younger buyers.

And in a way, that’s sort of a theme for the EV9 as a whole, because similar to late-model Teslas, Kia is hopping on the chrome delete trend by using very limited amount of shiny metal and completely eliminating the use of high-gloss finishes (like piano black) throughout the interior vehicle.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Inside, the EV9's design is centered around the idea of "reductionism" and "technology for life" which you can see in things like hidden haptic switches on the dash that are only visible when the car is on and a clever dual-level center console that offers tons of storage for passengers in both the front and second-row seats. Kia even included little design touches like mesh headrests in front, which are meant to give parents an easier way to check in on children in back. The one bummer is that due to U.S. safety regulations, the EV9’s optional second-row swiveling seats will only be available in Korea.

However, the real star for families is that third row of seats. Even for me at six feet tall, I had no trouble getting in back. Sure, it’s a bit cramped, and if the second row of seats is pushed all the way back there isn’t much room for my legs. But if you don’t mind pushing the seats up a few inches, that third row has more than enough room to accommodate adults on short trips.

Finally, when it comes to tech, the EV9 should be rather well-equipped. The car will come with a digital car key that works with both NFC and UWB connectivity. There’s also a full-color head-up display for the driver built into the dash along with an optional rear-view camera system instead of a traditional mirror. I also appreciate the EV9’s rather minimalist infotainment system that splits its long, skinny display into two sections: one that extends behind the steering wheel for the driver, while the other half is reserved for general stuff like music, navigation and more. I also think Kia has hit a nice balance between on-screen touch controls and dedicated physical buttons for stuff like heat and AC. And like every good car nowadays, the EV9 has a built-in wireless charger and plenty of USB-C ports (two for every row of seats), plus a full household-style power outlet in the trunk.

So after taking a close look at the EV9, I think it looks great, it's surprisingly roomy for a midsize SUV, and its tech looks solid too. But more importantly, I think Kia may have succeeded in trying to make an affordable all-purpose three-row EV SUV. That's because while Kia is still waiting to announce official pricing, we're expecting the EV to cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $56,000, which sort of makes it a rarity in the current EV market.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

The EV9’s potential pricing presents a huge discount compared to almost every other three-row EV SUV on the market like the Tesla Model X, Volvo EX90 and the Mercedes EQS SUV – the cheapest of which starts at around $80K. And when you look at the EV9 next similarly-priced rivals like the Model Y or the EQB, while those cars do have optional third rows, they're even more cramped and not suitable for anyone besides children or pets. And then there are others like the BMW iX, Cadillac Lyriq which the Polestar 3 we saw last week which are either significantly more expensive or don't even have three-row seating (or both).

So while a lot will hinge on the EV9’s final price, for people looking for a big but still relatively affordable electric family car, the Kia new flagship EV SUV looks like a great candidate when it eventually comes out sometime later this year.

After is official reveal last month, we finally got a chance to check out the Kia EV9 in person at the New York Auto Show.

VW and Redwood want to turn your old laptops into EV batteries

Battery materials and recycling startup Redwood Materials is expanding a partnership with Volkswagen of America in its bid to collect more end-of-life batteries from consumer electronics and strip out the valuable materials so they can be used to make batteries for electric vehicles.

Redwood has said its technology can recover more than 95% of the critical minerals from batteries (like nickel, cobalt, lithium and copper) and then manufacture the metals into battery components that are supplied to U.S. battery manufacturers for new electric vehicles and energy storage products. Co-founder and CEO JB Straubel, who was formerly the co-founder and CTO at Tesla, has long argued that creating a closed-loop system will reduce battery costs and the need to mine and ship raw materials.

Volkswagen of America and sibling brand Audi contracted with Redwood last year to recover and recycle end-of-life EV battery packs from its thousand-dealership network in the United States. Audi then expanded its partnership with Redwood to launch a consumer-focused recycling program.

Now Volkswagen of America has agreed to set up bins at certain dealerships to collect consumer electronics. The batteries and devices, including cell phones, cordless power tools, electric toothbrushes, wireless headphones and other lithium-ion-powered devices that are collected in the bins, will be sent to Redwood’s Nevada facility to be repurposed as EV batteries.

The consumer recycling program officially launches at 14 dealerships April 22, including locations in New Jersey and Wisconsin. Volkswagen will also set up a bin during the New York International Auto Show, which will be held from April 5 to April 16. Additional dealerships will be added throughout the year.

Redwood has largely been a B2B enterprise since its founding. The company has locked in deals with companies like Panasonic to recycle and process the scrap to recycle scrap from battery cell production. In early 2021, Redwood quietly opened a recycling program to everyday consumers and all of the old electronics sitting in their junk drawers. Redwood posted a “recycle with us” tab on its website, along with an address, where consumers can send their e-waste, and a “contact us” button.

The program has collected tens of thousands of pounds of electronics from consumers, according to Redwood.

VW and Redwood want to turn your old laptops into EV batteries by Kirsten Korosec originally published on TechCrunch

Sustainability at Disrupt

TechCrunch Disrupt 2023 will have a whole new look this fall with one aim in mind: bring together investors, founders and technologists who have specific industry interests — all under one roof at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.

Disrupt has always been big. But this year we’re folding TC Sessions, the standalone industry events that are traditionally held throughout the year, into the big annual tech event.

Disrupt will have six industry tracks, each with its own stage, including AI, fintech, hardware, SaaS, security and sustainability. Yup, sustainability, a category that will combine transportation, climate tech, smart cities and renewables.

What the heck is sustainable tech, anyway? In our experience, it’s a moving target. The term is arguably many things: aspirational, a misnomer, a buzzword and a catch-all for products and services that are less environmentally destructive than doing business as normal.

To us, the goal of sustainable tech is simply to do less harm to the planet (thus sustaining something close to life as we know it). Yet, how to achieve that goal — without resting on piecemeal tweaks and greenwashing — is a rich and messy topic worth probing.

That is what we aim to do on the Sustainability Stage — discuss material ways to mitigate the damage we’re doing, while interrogating bullshit and distractions along the way.

The stakes have never been higher. As the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said with the release of its sixth major assessment, “keeping warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels requires deep, rapid and sustained greenhouse gas emissions reductions in all sectors.” The tech industry must do its part by drawing down scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, cleaning up its pollutive supply chains and accelerating the transition to renewables.

Disrupt in particular is all about startups. The specific areas we’re eager to dig into this year via panels and fireside chats include: fixing the broken U.S. power grid, examining how cities will adapt to more frequent extreme weather events, mitigating fast fashion’s environmental toll and rethinking some of the world’s most-loved beverages.

Book your early-bird pass today and save $800 to the startup event of the year. Prices go up May 12.

Sustainability at Disrupt by Kirsten Korosec originally published on TechCrunch

Paris votes overwhelmingly to ban shared e-scooters

In a major blow to shared micromobility companies Lime, Dott and Tier, Paris has voted to ban rental e-scooters from its streets. Many in the industry fear the move in Paris, where free-floating scooters initially took off in 2018, will have ripple effects in other cities.

Paris has been one of the most heavily regulated e-scooter markets, something companies have pointed to as an example of how they can play nice with cities. Yet, despite limiting scooter top speeds to as slow as 10 kilometers per hour (about 6 miles per hour) and requiring riders to use dedicated parking areas or pay fines, Paris has become the first city to completely reverse its policy on offering contracts to shared micromobility companies.

In a referendum on Sunday organized by Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo, Paris residents voted 89% against keeping shared e-scooters in the city. The three companies that pay for contracts to operate in the City of Light will have to pull their fleets — a total of 15,000 e-scooters — out of the city by September 1.

Hidalgo, who originally welcomed shared e-scooters to Paris, has pushed for the city to become a more livable 15-minute city and has spearheaded policies that reclaim parking spots from cars to create new bike lanes and pedestrian-friendly areas. However, shared scooters have gotten a lot of pushback from many city residents who often complain about reckless driving and clutter on sidewalks.

Hidalgo said on Sunday that scooters are the cause of a lot of accidents and that the business model was too expensive to be sustainable, with a 10-minute ride costing about €5. She also said free-floating scooters aren’t as climate friendly as she’d want. At the start of the year, TechCrunch dived deep into scooter usage in Paris and found through a variety of studies that while e-scooters are incredibly popular, they mostly replace walking or public transit rather than car usage.

That doesn’t mean they didn’t replace any car trips. One study from 2019 found 7% of kilometers covered by scooters replace car and personal taxi trips, a number that has likely grown over the years. But 7% is not nothing, says Hélène Chartier, director of urban planning at C40, a global network of mayors taking urgent climate change action. Chartier previously served as an advisor to Hidalgo.

“As part of a mobility package that Paris would offer as an alternative to cars, [shared e-scooters] could have been an option,” said Chartier. “Without all of the other problems, they could have said, ‘Ok why not?’ But if you add the accidents, if you add the difficulty on the public space, at some point, you need to say this is not the main solution. We should invest more in bikes, e-bikes, walking.”

Low voter turnout

David Zipper, a visiting fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Taubman Center for State and Local Government, tweeted that he wasn’t surprised to see Paris vote against shared e-scooters, but he didn’t expect such a large margin. That sentiment has been mirrored by scooter advocates and the companies themselves.

Dott, Lime and Tier said in a joint statement that the low voter turnout affected the results of the referendum. Only 103,084 people turned out to vote, which is about 7.5% of registered Paris voters. They blamed restrictive rules, a limited number of polling stations (and thus long lines that dissuade young voters) and no electronic voting, saying the combination “heavily skewed toward older age groups, which has widened the gap between pros and cons.”

Additionally, the companies said the referendum was held the same day as the Paris marathon, and that only residents of the city were allowed to vote, leaving out those who live just outside the city but commute in.

The operators offered free rides to customers who voted Sunday and relied on social media influencers to try to get young users to vote, efforts that seem to have gone in vain. Parisians reported there were a high proportion of older voters in the queues.

The referendum isn’t binding, so Hidalgo can still make the unlikely decision to keep scooters in the city based on the low voter turnout. The numbers clearly show that scooters are popular. Lime has previously told TechCrunch that 90% of its fleet in Paris is used every day. In 2021, over 1.2 million scooter riders, 85% of whom were Parisians, took a total of 10 million rides across Lime, Dott and Tier. That’s around 27,000 rides per day.

The ban will not have an effect on the e-bikes offered by shared micromobility companies, which will remain in the city. Similarly, privately owned scooters are not affected by the ban, of which 700,000 were sold in France last year, according to transport ministry figures.

Paris votes overwhelmingly to ban shared e-scooters by Rebecca Bellan originally published on TechCrunch

Battery sourcing guidance might slash EV tax credits

UPDATE: Tesla tweaks Model 3 page of U.S. website encouraging buyers to take delivery now in anticipation of reduced tax incentives by March 31. 

The U.S. Treasury Department’s guidance on battery sourcing requirements for the electric vehicle tax credits will result in fewer vehicles being eligible for full or partial credits, reports Reuters, citing an unnamed U.S. official.

The proposed EV credit guidance as included in the Inflation Reduction Act says that in order for vehicles to qualify for $3,750, which is half of the total credit, 50% of the value of battery components must be produced or assembled in North America. To get the remainder of the credit, 40% of critical minerals must be sourced from the U.S. or a country with which it has a free trade agreement.

The guidance on battery sourcing was meant to kick in on January 1, 2023, but in December the Treasury Dept. decided to hold off until March to give some EV-makers a grace period to meet the requirements.

The Treasury Dept. is expected to share its guidance Friday, and while the Reuters report doesn’t state exactly what it will be, we can guess that the full guidance will kick in, meaning many EVs will lose tax credits or see them cut. The Treasury Dept. is also expected to define key terms like processing, extraction, recycling and free trade deals.

The battery sourcing rules are aimed at helping the U.S. decrease its reliance on China for batteries. While most automakers have been reorganizing supply chains and bringing more processes onshore since COVID, not all will have had the chance to completely upgrade their battery sourcing in time to meet both the Treasury Dept.’s requirements and the increased demand for EVs.

China currently makes 81% of the world’s cathodes, 91% of the world’s anodes and 79% of the world’s lithium-ion battery production capacity, according to data from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, a market research firm. For comparison, the U.S. has just 0.16%, 0.27% and 5.5% market share, respectively.

Despite the U.S., and most of its free trade agreement partners, being woefully behind China, the Biden administration has said it thinks over time, the tax credit will result in more EVs sold as automakers reorganize supply chains to meet the IRA rules, the source told Reuters.

In February, the Treasury Dept. updated the vehicle classification standard to redefine what makes a vehicle a sedan, an SUV, a crossover or a wagon. The change made more Tesla, Ford, General Motors and Volkswagen EVs eligible for up to $7,500 tax credits. Those vehicles stand to lose some or all of the tax credits once the battery sourcing guidance is out. In fact, Tesla on Wednesday evening updated the Model 3 page on its U.S. website to reflect this, saying the tax credit is expected to be reduced for the vehicle by March 31 and encouraging buyers to “take delivery now.”

Battery sourcing guidance might slash EV tax credits by Rebecca Bellan originally published on TechCrunch

United Airlines Reveals First eVTOL Passenger Route Starting In 2025

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United and Archer will open an air taxi route to Chicago’s O’Hare airport in 2025

Archer Aviation and United Airlines announced a partnership today to launch a commercial air taxi route in Chicago. The companies plan to open the flight path between downtown and O’Hare International Airport in 2025.

Besides being United’s headquarters and largest hub, Chicago's airport commute makes it an ideal testbed for flying taxis. For example, the drive to or from O’Hare, in the western suburb of Rosemont, can take anywhere from 35 minutes to over an hour, depending on traffic; even in one of the city’s elevated trains, it can take around 45 minutes. But Archer estimates a flight in one of its air taxis will only take 10 minutes to travel from O’Hare to its destination at a downtown helipad. The program will initially be limited to the mainline O’Hare / downtown route, but the companies eventually plan to add smaller paths to surrounding communities.

Archer describes the upcoming route as “cost competitive” for passengers without going into specifics. But even if it’s initially limited to deep-pocketed business travelers, the program should be good for the environment. Archer’s air taxis use electric motors and batteries and don’t produce emissions. “This exciting new technology will further decarbonize our means of transportation, taking us another step forward in our fight against climate change,” said Mayor Lori Lightfoot. “I’m pleased that Chicago residents will be among the first in the nation to experience this innovative, convenient form of travel.”

The partnership is the latest in United’s aggressive investments in flying taxis. Last year, the airline ordered at least 200 electric flying taxis from Eve Air Mobility; that followed a $10 million deposit it placed with Archer the month prior.

In addition to Chicago’s (ground-based) taxis and ride shares, the city has a robust public transportation system built around elevated trains and buses, the latter of which the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) has committed to converting to electric by 2040. (The CTA already deploys 23 electric buses.) If all goes according to plan, the flight path will help decrease emissions and traffic congestion, something most Chi-town residents can get behind.

Rendering of a fleet of Archer Aviation Air Taxis (with United branding) taking off from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. We see one taxi taking off in the foreground with several others grounded behind it.

Foiled again: Candela raises another $20M to set course for the future of ferries

Swedish company Candela this summer will launch its 30-passenger commercial hydrofoil shuttle, the P-12, the vessel it believes will change the course of motorized water transport. Following its C-7 and C-8 leisure cruisers, Candela has already been making waves with its drive to transition to fossil-free waterways.

“We are now heavy into the process of finalizing the development and putting this ferry into production, which we think is going to be kind of a game changer in public transportation,” said Gustav Hasselskog, Candela’s founder and CEO.

The company raised SEK 210 million (around $20 million) in a round co-led by EQT Ventures and investor duo Joel Eklund (Fosielund Holding AB) and Svante Nilo Bengtsson (Marknadspotential AB), with participation from Ocean Zero LLC and others. This follows its $24 million round from last year.

The P-12 is an electric-powered hydrofoil that effectively flies over the surface of the water on computer-guided underwater wings. It has a range of up to 60 nautical miles at a cruising speed of 27 knots. Being electrically powered makes the P-12 cleaner and greener than traditional diesel-fueled craft, which also makes it cheaper to operate. Candela estimates that the P-12 uses 80% less energy than a traditional vessel.

“It’s a very good thing for the environment. In total, the shipping industry is around 3% of total carbon emissions,” says Hasselskog. However, as well as the benefits of being electric-powered, the P-12 is designed to be low maintenance and with lower service costs.

“We use a low maintenance type of dry drain. We have developed this pod motor, which doesn’t have any gears, any oil or anything; it’s just motors underneath the water,” explains Hasselskog.

If the decision to make a passenger vessel with a maximum capacity of 30 people seems a little unusual, it’s because it is designed for coastal, archipelago or lake-based transport, and how people actually use water transport in these geographies.

“It looks the same in Oslo, in Stockholm, in New York and everywhere: most of these boats are typically 300 passengers. But when you study optimal boat size, especially in Stockholm, Istanbul and in San Francisco, it’s concluded that it’s not the optimal boat size. Seat utilization is typically super low. In Stockholm, it’s 5% over the year,” says Hasselskog. “When you have only 30 passengers, you don’t need more than one staff member on board; otherwise, you need three staff members. If you put that all together, you get a very good cost equation, and that’s why we went with this format. Operators save typically around 40% compared to traditional, large, diesel setups.”

Smaller craft can also be deployed more flexibly, for example, by operating on an on-demand basis rather than on a fixed timetable, and can travel to more remote locations. The company says this format has huge cost-efficiency benefits for operators. 

Candela is looking to build on this flexible approach to transport and is currently developing its own software to enable real-time fleet routing.

“The first one we’re going to put in water is for the city of Stockholm,” says Hasselskog. “It’s going to run from a suburb outside of town into the center. If you travel that route today by bus and subway, or by the current boat, it takes 50 minutes. We can do that in 25 minutes, the reason being we don’t create any wake so we have permission to go faster. If we can save commuters’ journey time, that makes a huge difference.”

For Candela and Hasselskog, the future looks like large fleets of small craft that can travel more quickly to more remote locations with greater flexibility. It might be starting in Stockholm, but it estimates that the market is €15 billion in size, and the format has global appeal.

”The next step for us here is to… take a place like Stockholm, where there are, say, 35 big ferries today. We will replace them with 120 of ours,” says Hasselskog. And from there: “It’s a global business that we envision and so far, we are in dialogue with hundreds of customers. They are spread from Hong Kong to Sydney. There are a lot in the Gulf region, in Europe, and we have dialogues in Mexico, Belize, San Francisco, New York.”

The company is taking a big bet that bigger isn’t always better, in the hope that smaller can mean faster, greener and more serviceable.

Foiled again: Candela raises another $20M to set course for the future of ferries by Haje Jan Kamps originally published on TechCrunch

GM is working on a ChatGPT-like digital assistant for cars

General Motors is working on an in-car digital assistant based on the same machine learning models that power ChatGPT. News of the development was first reported earlier this week by Semafor, with GM later sharing confirmation with Reuters. “ChatGPT is going to be in everything,” GM Vice President Scott Miller told the outlet.

Among other things, the automaker envisions the digital assistant supporting drivers in situations where they may have turned to their vehicle’s owner’s manual in the past. For instance, the assistant could show you how to replace your car’s tire if it suffers a flat. It could also offer integration and scheduling features with other devices, including garage door openers.

"This shift is not just about one single capability like the evolution of voice commands, but instead means that customers can expect their future vehicles to be far more capable and fresh overall when it comes to emerging technologies," a GM spokesperson told Reuters.

According to Semafor, the digital assistant will operate differently from other chatbots like Bing Chat. GM is reportedly working on adding a “car-specific layer” on top of the large language models that power ChatGPT. The effort is part of a broader collaboration between the automaker and Microsoft. In 2019, the two partnered to work on autonomous vehicles. Microsoft is OpenAI’s sole cloud provider, meaning GM’s in-car assistant will almost certainly run on Azure. GM did not tell Semafor whether it has a name for the software yet, nor did it share a potential release date.

Vehicles from GMC, an automobile brand owned by General Motors Company, are seen for sale at a car dealership in Queens, New York, U.S., November 16, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

Audi's electric mountain bike costs over $10,000

Audi is the latest automaker to dip into upscale e-bikes. The brand has introduced an electric mountain bike that takes design cues from its RS Q E-tron E2 electric Dakar Rally racer while promising high-end specs. Built by Italy's Fantic (Autoblognotes it's based on the XMF 1.7), it combines a 250W Brose motor (similar to that for Harley-Davidson's Serial 1 Bash/Mtn) with Fantic's 720Wh battery to deliver a sizeable 66ft/lb of torque.

While Audi isn't providing the top speed or range at this stage, the power pack is decidedly larger than the Bash/Mtn's 529Wh unit, which provides between 30 to 95 miles of range depending on conditions. Like other Brose-powered e-bikes, Audi's model has four levels of electric assistance ranging from a mild Eco through to the all-out Boost mode.

The aluminum frame design uses decidedly different parts than the Porsche eBike lineup beyond the motor and battery. You can expect Braking IN.CA.S disc brakes, an Öhlins fork and shock, and Sram components for the chain, shifters and derailleur. You'll also find Italian touches like the Vittoria tires and Sella Italia saddle. The Öhlins gear offers 7.1in of suspension travel versus the XMF 1.7's 6.7in.

The Audi electric mountain bike comes in three sizes, but you'll need to act quickly and carry a large bank balance. The bike is only available as a "limited run" model priced at £8,499 (about $10,200) in the UK. That puts it roughly on par with Porsche's $10,700 eBike Sport, and it's priced well above the $3,999 Bash/Mtn, the GMC Hummer e-bike (also $3,999) and the more powerful $5,499 Jeep e-bike. You're paying for the big battery, the other well-known parts and Audi's design. If you can afford one of Audi's higher-end EVs, though, its two-wheeler is likely within reach.

The Audi E-tron Electric Mountain Bike on a short set of stone stairs outside of a home. The bike is propped up with its pedal against a step.

Wing Debuts a Rideshare-Style Drone Delivery Network

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US airports now have software to prevent aircraft from landing on taxiways by mistake

Pilots have to worry about more than just mid-flight crashes and bad weather — they also risk a collision if they land on the taxiway instead of the runway. Thankfully, they have now have a digital safeguard. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) tellsAxios that 43 major US airports are now using ASDE-X Taxiway Arrival Prediction (ATAP), a software platform that warns air traffic controllers if an aircraft is lining up to land on a taxiway by mistake. An aviator shouldn't endanger lives on the ground simply because they're inexperienced or fatigued.

The system relies on standard radar along with other sensors. It also works regardless of aircraft size — it can flag small turboprops and large airliners. ATAP first saw use at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in 2018, and the FAA says it finished software upgrades at compatible airports last September. Some of the airports using the tech include Boston Logan, Chicago O'Hare and New York's JFK.

This is more than just a theoretical exercise. The FAA notes ATAP has caught over 50 potential taxiway landings since 2018, and there have been eight alerts so far in 2023. While accidental landings are far less common than crashes (and thus far less deadly), the software may still be helpful even if it prevents chaos from an aircraft disrupting the queue.

ATAP's rise comes as aircraft and airports increasingly rely on digital safety systems. Airbus, for instance, recently began testing a pilot assist that can automatically divert flights in emergencies, aid with taxiing and even land if the pilots are incapacitated. Full autonomy is still distant, but there may soon be many safeguards against everything from simple errors to an unconscious crew.

A Southwest passenger flight approaches to land at San Diego International Airport in San Diego, California, U.S.,  February 3, 2023. REUTERS/Mike Blake

Hyundai's revamped Kona EV offers more room and a longer range

The original Kona EV was appealing if you wanted a compact electric crossover, but it lost some of its appeal when the longer-ranged (and frankly more stylish) Ioniq 5 arrived on the scene. However, Hyundai just gave you a reason to consider its 'entry' model once more. After months of early peeks, the automaker has unveiled a sleeker second-generation Kona built with an electric powerplant in mind. That, in turn, promises some meaningful improvements to the performance and interior design.

The higher capacity 65.4kWh battery option now provides an estimated 304 miles of range using the WLTP testing cycle. We wouldn't be surprised if the EPA-estimated figure is more conservative, but that still hints a longer range than the 258 miles of the current model. You now get battery preconditioning to improve charging times and cold weather range, and vehicle-to-load support lets you power devices both inside and outside of the car. There's also new support for "i-Pedal" one-pedal driving. Just don't expect the speediest charging. The Kona doesn't have the 800V architecture of the Ioniq 5 or Kia EV6, so it will take 41 minutes to charge from 10 percent to 80 percent.

Regardless of what motor system is inside your vehicle, you can expect a larger "living space" with more storage (17 cubic feet in the trunk), a front trunk and plenty of in-cabin tech. An optional heads-up display sadly isn't available in North America, but you will find dual 12.3-inch screens, over-the-air software updates and NFC-based digital car key support. The driver aids are also supposedly more powerful than in other mini-SUVs in this class, such as an attention monitor (to make sure you don't doze off), a blind spot monitor and assistants for forward collision avoidance and safer highway driving.

Hyundai hasn't detailed US pricing, although it says the Kona will still be available in combustion-only and hybrid versions in addition to the EV. It should reach US customers in the third quarter of the year. If history is any indication, the Kona should cost less than the Ioniq 5. That could make it appealing if you want to go electric but can't justify the premium for the brand's most advanced offerings.

Hyundai Kona EV second-generation

GM's Ultra Cruise system will debut on the Cadillac Celestiq later this year

Even as it has radically expanded the hands-free driver assist capabilities of its current generation Super Cruise ADAS, General Motors has been hard at work on the system's successor, Ultra Cruise, since 2021. On Tuesday, GM finally revealed which model will be first to receive the upgraded features of Ultra Cruise and that vehicle is the Cadillac Celestiq.

"We're trying to expand our hands-free driving experience that we have with Super Cruise to most paved and public roads," Jason Dittman, General Motors' Chief Engineer, said during a press call Monday. "It will be a 'destination to destination' experience."

"You get in your car, use the internal nav navigation system, put a destination in it, and the car would essentially do the driving — roughly on 95 percent of the driving maneuvers on a typical drive, you'll be able to do hands-free," he added.

We already had a solid understanding of what Ultra Cruise would be capable of as GM went into detail when it first announced development of the system in 2021. Super Cruise currently works on around 400,000 miles of US and Canadian highways, allowing drivers to take their hands off the wheel when driving on a compatible highway or state route. It uses a mix of LiDAR, radar, GPS and cameras to know where the vehicle is on the road.

Ultra Cruise, builds off this with a new computing system, that will fuse the incoming data streams into a unified 360-degree view around the vehicle. "They're not redundant, they're fused together to give us the most accurate picture of the vehicle surroundings," Dittman said. Ultra Cruise equipped vehicles will also use an interior-facing infrared driver attention monitor that will track the, "driver’s head position and/or eyes in relation to the road," according to Tuesday's announcement.

Ultra Cruise will work on more than 2 million miles of highway at launch. Over time, the company plans to further expand the number of roadways covered by the Ultra Cruise network to include 3.4 million miles of roadway encompassing, "nearly every paved road, city street, suburban street, subdivision, and rural road in addition to the highways that today on the super cruise operates on," Dittman added.

Note that despite the larger number of roads the new system will work on, it still offers the same Level 2 driver assist capabilities as the rest of the auto industry, save Mercedes. That means, you will have to keep paying attention to the road you just won't have to keep your hands strictly on the wheel.

Unfortunately, current Super Cruise subscribers will not be able to upgrade to the new system once it arrives later this year. Ultra Cruise requires additional sensors and hardware to operate and GM doesn't currently have plans to offer a retrofit kit. You'll have to pony up the $300k Caddy is asking for the Celestiq if you want to be among the first to try it.

The Cadillac Celestiq electric-sedan is unveiled in Los Angeles, California on October 17, 2022. - The ultra-luxury low-volume Celestiq features a host of 3D-printed parts for extensive customization and is the second EV in Cadillac's lineup. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP) (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)

Universal Hydrogen's 40-Passenger Hydrogen Electric Plane Completes Maiden Flight

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Honda’s aging hydrogen fuel cells get new life in data center

Honda bailed on the Clarity — its only hydrogen-powered car in the U.S. — but the automaker hasn’t quit on fuel cells.

That’s the message Honda sent with a peculiar announcement today: It’s putting some old Clarity fuel cells back to work, combining them into a backup power system for its data center just south of Los Angeles.

This is just a “proof of concept,” Honda told TechCrunch, but it aims to commercialize the tech and sees potential applications beyond helping data centers keep the lights on.

The used fuel cell systems in Honda’s backup-power demonstration once powered leased Clarities (via an electrochemical reaction that combines hydrogen and oxygen to generate electricity). Honda retired these used fuel cells for transport, but they apparently still work well enough to drive its server farm in case of a power failure. Previously, Honda relied on diesel for backup power at the facility. (Honda said it uses this particular data center to “securely maintain and access its proprietary data,” because “automotive design is data intensive.”)

It’s nice to hear that Honda found a use for its old fuel cells, but crucially, this demonstration isn’t as environmentally friendly as it could be. The company told TechCrunch that it isn’t exclusively using green hydrogen in the pilot, which means at least some of it was generated via fossil fuels.

This is the trouble with using hydrogen to generate electricity: Fuel cells do so while spitting out only water and heat as exhaust, but they’re still indirectly pollutive if that hydrogen comes from dirty sources (as most hydrogen fuel does). Correcting this demands a whole lot more green hydrogen production, on top of whatever infrastructure is needed to deliver the hydrogen. This is why some automakers don’t believe in the future of hydrogen-powered cars; they argue it’s simply too much work to go that route.

But! Honda still believes in hydrogen-powered cars. In fact, this demonstration is also kind of an ad for Honda’s next-generation fuel cells, which the company developed with General Motors.

As Honda tells it, the next-gen fuel cell systems will power its upcoming hydrogen-powered vehicle, which is “based on the Honda CR-V” and is due in 2024.

Honda also plans to use these new fuel cell systems for backup power as it scales the tech. That means this effort won’t be as circular, if at all, when it’s commercialized. Yet, on the upside, Honda said it intends to exclusively use green hydrogen when it commercializes the backup-power units.

Beyond data centers, Honda added that it’s considering other applications, including “peak shaving.” This means Honda thinks industrial customers could use its generators at peak times, when electricity is priciest and grids are strained.

Honda said it aims to develop its proof of concept into a “new business model.” Yet, the pilot is also a convenient way for the company to talk up its new fuel cells. As battery-electric cars permeate the U.S. market, Honda has an interest in keeping hydrogen in headlines.

Honda’s aging hydrogen fuel cells get new life in data center by Harri Weber originally published on TechCrunch

Universal Hydrogen takes to the air with the largest hydrogen fuel cell ever to fly

As a Universal Hydrogen-branded plane, equipped with the largest hydrogen fuel cell ever to power an aircraft, made its maiden test flight in eastern Washington, co-founder and CEO Paul Eremenko declared the moment the dawn of a “new golden age of aviation.”

The 15-minute test flight of a modified Dash-8 aircraft was short, but it showed that hydrogen could be viable as a fuel for short-hop passenger aircraft. That is, if Universal Hydrogen — and others in the emerging world of hydrogen flight — can make the technical and regulatory progress needed to make it a mainstream product.

Dash-8s, a staple at regional airports, usually transport up to 50 passengers on short hops. The Dash-8 used in Thursday’s test flight from the Grant County International Airport in Moses Lake had decidedly different cargo. The Universal Hydrogen test plane, nicknamed Lightning McClean, had just two pilots, an engineer and a lot of tech onboard, including an electric motor and hydrogen fuel cell supplied by two other startups.

The stripped-down interior contained two racks of electronics and sensors, and two large hydrogen tanks with 30 kg of fuel. Beneath the plane’s right wing, an electric motor from magniX was being driven by the new hydrogen fuel cell from Plug Power. This system turns hydrogen into electricity and water — an emission-free powerplant that Eremenko believes represents the future of aviation.

The fuel cell operated throughout the flight, generating up to 800kW of power and producing nothing but water vapor and smiles on the faces of a crowd of Universal Hydrogen engineers and investors.

“We think it’s a pretty monumental accomplishment,” Eremenko said. “It keeps us on track to have probably the first certified hydrogen airplane in passenger service.”

Aviation currently contributes about 2.5% of global carbon emissions, and is forecast to grow by 4% annually.

Still using jet fuel

The Universal Hydrogen-branded plane also relied on jet fuel. Notice the Pratt and Whitney turboprop engine under one wing. Image Credits: Mark Harris

The test flight, which was a success, doesn’t mean entirely zero-carbon aviation is just around the corner.

Beneath the Dash-8’s other wing ran a standard Pratt and Whitney turboprop engine (notice the difference in the photo above), with about twice as much power as the fuel-cell side. That redundancy helped smooth a path with the FAA, which issued an experimental special airworthiness certificate for the Dash-8 tests in early February.

One of the test pilots, Michael Bockler, told TechCrunch that the aircraft “flew like a normal Dash-8, with just a slight yaw.” He noted that at one point, in level flight, the plane was flying almost entirely on fuel cell power, with the turboprop engine throttled down.

“Until both motors are driven by hydrogen, it’s still just a show,” said a senior engineer consulting to the sustainable aviation industry. “But I don’t want to scoff at it because we need these stepping stones to learn.”

Part of the problem with today’s fuel cells is that they can be tricky to cool. Jet engines run much hotter, but expel most of that heat through their exhausts. Because fuel cells use an electrochemical reaction rather than simply burning hydrogen, the waste heat has to be removed through a system of heat exchangers and vents.

ZeroAvia, another startup developing hydrogen fuel cells for aviation, crashed its first flying prototype in 2021 after turning off its fuel cell mid-air to allow it to cool, and was then unable to restart it. ZeroAvia has since taken to the air again with a hybrid hydrogen/fossil fuel set-up similar to Universal Hydrogen’s, although on a smaller twin-engine aircraft.

Mark Cousin, Universal Hydrogen’s CTO, told TechCrunch that its fuel cell could run all day without overheating, thanks to its large air ducts.

Another issue for fuel cell aircraft is storing the hydrogen needed to fly. Even in its densest, super-cooled liquid form, hydrogen contains only about a quarter the energy of a similar volume of jet fuel. Wing tanks are not large enough for any but the shortest flights, and so the fuel has to be stored within the fuselage. Today’s 15-minute flight used about 16kg of gaseous hydrogen — half the amount stored in two motorbike-sized tanks within the passenger compartment. Universal Hydrogen plans to convert its test aircraft to run on liquid hydrogen later this year.

Making modules

A Universal Hydrogen module. Image Credits: Mark Harris

Eremenko co-founded Universal Hydrogen in 2020, and the company raised $20.5 million in a 2021 Series A funding round led by Playground Global. Funding to date is approaching $100 million, including investments from Airbus, General Electric, American Airlines, JetBlue and Toyota. The company is headquartered just up the road from SpaceX in Hawthorne, California, with an engineering facility in Toulouse, France.

Universal Hydrogen will now conduct further tests at Moses Lake. The company will work on additional software development, and eventually convert the plane to use liquid hydrogen. Early next year, the aircraft will likely be retired — with the fuel cell heading to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.

Universal Hydrogen hopes to start shipping fuel cell conversion kits for regional aircraft like the Dash-8 as soon as 2025. The company already has nearly 250 retrofit orders valued at more than $1 billion from 16 customers, including Air New Zealand. John Thomas, CEO of Connect Airlines, which plans to be the first U.S. carrier to use Universal Hydrogen’s technology, said the “partnership provides the fastest path to zero-emissions operation for the global airline industry.”

Universal Hydrogen isn’t just producing the razors — it’s also selling the blades.

Almost all the hydrogen used today is produced at the point of consumption. That’s not only because hydrogen leaks easily and can damage traditional steel containers, but mainly because in its most useful form — a compact liquid — it has to be kept at just 20 degrees above absolute zero, usually requiring expensive refrigeration.

The liquid hydrogen used in the Moses Lake test came from a commercial “green hydrogen” gas supplier — meaning it was made using renewable energy. Only a tiny fraction of hydrogen produced today is made this way.

If the hydrogen economy is really going to make a dent in the climate crisis, green hydrogen will have to become a lot easier — and cheaper — to produce, store and transport.

Eremenko originally started Universal Hydrogen to design standardized hydrogen modules that could be hauled by standard semi-trucks and simply slotted into aircraft or other vehicles for immediate use. The current design can keep hydrogen liquid for up to 100 hours, and he has often likened them to the convenience of Nespresso units. Universal Hydrogen says it has over $2 billion in fuel service orders for the decade ahead.

Prototype modules were demonstrated in December, and the company hopes to break ground later this year on a 630,000-square-foot manufacturing facility for them in Albuquerque, New Mexico. That nearly $400 million project is contingent on the success of a previously unreported $200+ million U.S. Department of Energy loan application. Eremenko says the application has passed the first phase of due diligence within the DOE.

A long runway

Some experts are skeptical that hydrogen will ever make a meaningful dent in aviation’s emissions. Bernard van Dijk, an aviation scientist at the Hydrogen Science Coalition, appreciates the simplicity of Universal Hydrogen’s modules, but notes that even NASA has trouble controlling hydrogen leaks with its rockets. “You still have to connect the canisters to the aircraft. How is that all going to be safe? Because if it leaks and somebody lights a match, that is a recipe for disaster,” he says. “I think they’re also underestimating the whole certification process for a new hydrogen powertrain.”

Even when those obstacles are overcome, there is the problem of making enough green hydrogen using renewable electricity, at a price people will be prepared to play. “If you want to get all European flights on hydrogen, you’d need 89,000 large wind turbines to produce enough hydrogen,” says van Dijk. “They would cover an area about twice the size of the Netherlands.”

But Eremenko remains convinced that Universal Hydrogen and its partners can make it work, with the help of a $3 per kilogram subsidy for green hydrogen in Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. “Of all the things that keep me awake at night,” he says, “the cost and availability of green hydrogens is not one of them.”

Universal Hydrogen takes to the air with the largest hydrogen fuel cell ever to fly by Kirsten Korosec originally published on TechCrunch

Ford's new AI subsidiary wants to create hands-free, eyes-off driver assist systems

Hate sitting in rush hour traffic? Ford knows you do — and the company is doubling down on developing automated driving technology to help make traffic a little more tolerable. Today, Ford announced the creation of Latitude AI, a wholly owned subsidiary that aims to make driving less stressful, specifically in "bumper-to-bumper traffic or on long stretches of highway."

The idea seems to be to develop a more advanced version of Ford BlueCruise — but without sensors that warn drivers to pay attention if their eyes wander from the road. Ford's announcement instead imagines the system giving drivers an "eyes-off-the-road" experience that can give them "some of their day back."

This isn't the first time Ford has spun off part of its company to focus on automation. Back in 2018, it founded Ford Autonomous Vehicles LLC to focus on developing self-driving car technology. Later, that group was placed under the umbrella of Ford Next, a unit formed in 2021 to help Ford manage startups, new mobility services and manage the company's stake in Argo AI. This new company seems to be a way to continue Argo AI's work following its closure last year: Ford says 550 of Latitude AI's new employees are former Argo AI workers.

Ford previously promised to invest $29 billion in electric and autonomous vehicles by 2025. Forming Latitude AI shows that the company is still serious about the investment, despite Argo AI's closure in 2022. “We believe automated driving technology will help improve safety while unlocking all-new customer experiences that reduce stress and in the future will help free up a driver’s time to focus on what they choose," Latitude AI CEO Sammy Omari said in a company statement. 

Minsk, Belarus - September 10, 2021: All-electric bright red Ford Mustang Mach-E drives on a highway during a sunny day.