Gamechanger is an overused word, but Chinese auto manufacturer Leapmotor's first mass production model with CTC Technology may well be a genuine case - and one with profound implications for how electric motorcycles and scooters are built. CTC stands for 'Cell to Chassis' - a technology where the chassis acts as the storage venue for the electric power. The battery module is integrated into the vehicle body. Very different to using the battery cluster or its case as a stressed member and a concept with major implications for design options and charge cycles.
Honda has announced an agreement with LG Energy Solution to establish a joint venture company to produce lithium-ion batteries in the U.S. to power Honda electric cars for the North American market. Honda is investing US$1.7bn.
Aviation may only contribute 2.5% of anthropogenic greenhouse-gas emissions, but it is a high- profile contributor to global warming. Green moves are happening, including work towards using batteries or hydrogen for short-haul flights. Sustainable fuel made from biomass and waste products is already being used by some airlines. However, what would solve the matter quickly is an all-new fuel, high in both environmental credentials and in energy density, based on modified bacterial fungicides. Scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California have worked out how to create cyclopropane (cp) rings, one of the energy-richest chemical structures found in hydrocarbons, using genetically engineered bacteria. Aeronautical engineers already know the value of cp rings. In the 1960s, Soviet scientists used them in their design of Syntin, a rocket fuel that propelled the upper stages of Soyuz and Proton launchers. But making Syntin and other synthetic polycyclopropanated (pop) compounds remains hard and expensive- and usually involves a fossil-fuel feedstock. However, an anti-fungal molecule produced by Streptomyces roseoverticillatus, a common soil bacterium, one of only two known natural pop compounds, is full of cp rings and powerful enough to fuel aircraft with energy densities of up to and greater than 40 megajoules per litre, more potent than most widely used rocket and aviation fuels.
Harley-Davidson's much anticipated flotation of its LiveWire electric motorcycle brand finally happened at the end of September. Harley used a SPAC merger with equity investor partners to list a LiveWire IPO on the NYSE (ticker LVWR) at around $8 per share. As at the time of writing, the share price had dropped by some 4% after three days of trading. The new company is a joint venture that sees Harley in business with Korean manufacturer KYMCO, who have a minority stake. On floatation, the listing raised less capital than had been hoped for.
Sources: AMD, IDN, FT, Reuters, PSB, MPN, BDN, MCN, AP, Bloomberg, MSNW, Electrek, electricmotorcycles.news, RideApart.com, Motor1.com, Cycle World, motorbikewriter.com
