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Transportation

IOC takes delivery of zero emission hydrogen fuel cell vehicles from Toyota

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A fleet of Toyota Mirai zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell cars has been delivered to the International Olympic Committee  in Lausanne, Switzerland as a key part of the organisation’s mobility plan.

The eight fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) were unveiled on the eve of World Environment Day at Olympic House, the IOC’s new sustainability-driven headquarters to be inaugurated on 23 June 2019.

To allow refuelling of the vehicles, a temporary hydrogen fuelling station – one of the first in Switzerland – will be installed at the new headquarters, before a public station is commissioned nearby.

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Alstom starts production of passenger locomotives in Kazakhstan

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Alstom has started production of passenger electric locomotives at its 75%-owned EKZ joint venture in Nur-Sultan (Astana), Kazakhstan.

These locomotives are part of a contract signed with KTZ (Kazakhstan Railways) for delivery and maintenance of 302 Prima T8 KZ8A and 119 Prima M4 KZ4AT electric locomotives.

Alstom is expanding manufacturing lines at EKZ including for the construction of Prima T8 freight locomotives KZ8A for Kazakhstan and the production of on-board transformers for AZ8A, for export to Azerbaijan, and now the assembly of Prima M4 passenger locomotives.

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Alstom to develop a driving simulator for Barcelona Metro

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Alstom is to develop an S9000 train driving simulator for lines 9 and 10 of the Barcelona Metro, currently the only driverless lines in operation in Spain.

The solution will consist of a training system that incorporates the latest simulation technologies for routes, conditions and obstacles.

The simulator will create realistic scenarios employing virtual reality technology commonly used by video games developers.

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ABB to supply high power charging for new era of e-mobility in Scandinavia

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ABB is to equip new electric vehicle (EV) charging stations across Denmark, Norway and Swede, starting with a first station now open in Fredericia, Denmark.

The station, a joint venture with E.ON Drive & Clever, and is part of ABB’s plan to roll out 48 high-power charging stations across the motorways of Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

The pilot station, which will be one of eight stations to launch in Denmark by the end of 2020, features ABB Ability-enabled high-power chargers, which are capable of adding up to 200 km of range in just eight minutes.

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Panasonic launches electric vehicle charging service in India

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Panasonic has announced the launch of a smart EV charging service in India.

The futuristic charging service combines physical components such as charging stations, swap stations, on board charges, telematics systems and virtual components such as cloud service, analytics, intuitive dashboard, and artificial intelligence to deliver a one stop solution.

Nymbus is a technology platform designed and developed to cater to the growing mobility market in India.

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Hitachi electric vehicle inverter adopted for the Audi e-tron

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Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd.’s electric vehicle (EV) inverter has been adopted by Audi for its first mass production EV, the e-tron, which went on sale in Europe in March this year.

With tightened environmental regulations around the world, many countries are driving for greater adoption of electric vehicles.

This has led to the demand for more efficient and higher-output electric motors, inverters, and other electric powertrain systems that will contribute to high performance EVs.

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Rigterink Logistikgruppe tests the all-electric eActros truck

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Mercedes-Benz Trucks has sent another fully-electric eActros onto the streets: the heavy-duty truck will now be put through its paces by Rigterink Logistikgruppe in regular operations transporting foodstuffs around Frankfurt am Main and other towns in the Rhine-Main area of Germany.

The daily distance from the Rigterink logistics premises in Flörsheim am Main to supermarket branches and various central logistics centres of supermarket chains is around 200 km.

The route will be driven once a day by the 25-tonne truck, making full use of its range of around 200 km with a single charge. The batteries will be charged overnight.

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355 welding robots at new Byton car plant in China

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Byton, the electric vehicle maker, has announced it will complete its Round C fundraising in mid-2019 with support from multiple investors and shared further details of its Nanjing factory.

Construction of the plant, which started in September 2017, is nearing completion and trial production of the M-Byte SUV will start in the third quarter of 2019.

The installation and commissioning of key equipment has already begun in the five major workshops: stamping, paint, welding, battery, and assembly.

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US Postal Service testing driverless trucks from TuSimple

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The US Postal Service is testing driverless trucks from TuSimple in a two-week pilot program.

TuSimple, a self-driving truck company, says the USPS has awarded it a contract to perform five round trips during the trial, hauling USPS trailers more than 1,000 miles between the Postal Service’s Phoenix, Arizona and Dallas, Texas distribution centers.

The truck will have a safety engineer and driver on board for the duration of the pilot to monitor vehicle performance and to ensure public safety. [Read more…] about US Postal Service testing driverless trucks from TuSimple

Tests reveal potential of truck ‘platooning’ in Germany

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A pilot project on truck platooning has been successfully completed by DB Schenker, MAN Truck & Bus and Fresenius University of Applied Sciences in Germany.

‘Platooning’ is when two or more trucks drive in a tight convoy on a motorway, benefiting from reduced air drag. All vehicles driving in the platoon are electronically linked to each other

Operating electronically linked trucks on German motorways is safe, technically reliable and easily applicable in the routine of a logistics company.

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