Big tech has entered the oil business. Well, not all of big tech, because we do have Tesla out there trying to decrease our dependence on fossil fuels. Companies like Microsoft, Amazon, and Google, however, are a bit different. They are talking the talk, but when it comes to the oil and gas industry, they are eager to work with companies to find easier ways to extract oil.
Loveland, Colorado-based commercial EV builder Lightning Systems just closed a $41 million round of financing comprised of equity, debt, and working capital line funding from a variety of investors. Lightning Systems plans to use the new funding to scale up production of its electric powertrains for Ford Transits, Ford E-450s, Ford F-59 step vans, Chevrolet Low Cab Forward 6500XD trucks, and Lightning Electric city buses.
ISO/IEC 15118 is an innovative charging protocol, with benefits for EV drivers and the EV industry as a whole. Watch a webinar featuring industry leaders discussing the future of this technology!
A new report from independent financial think tank Carbon Tracker has concluded that the world’s seven leading oil and gas majors must cut production by an average of 35% by 2040 if global emissions are to be reined in and kept “well below” 2°C, in accordance with the Paris Agreement’s commitment.
While the major oil companies are saying pretty words about reducing emissions that promote a warming climate, in practice they are actually adding more pollution to the atmosphere than ever.
At first, people tend to see new technologies as updated versions of older ones. Just as early TV shows consisted of filmed radio shows or stage plays, and early websites resembled the pages of low-budget magazines, many in the mainstream media still believe that vehicle electrification will mean swapping gas pumps for charging stations.
Some years back I visited one of the major automobile manufacturers with some investor clients of mine. We met the CTO of that particular company, who asked us “what is the biggest mistake the automobile industry has made in the last century?” Despite the varied responses from the audience, we were all surprised by his answer: “We never controlled the fuel value chain” and to that he added “and we won’t make the same mistake with electric cars.”
Attorneys for the mayor and city of Baltimore won a small victory in federal court this week. The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled discovery may proceed in their suit against several fossil fuel companies.
The UK government, like the eccentric Don Quixote, is charging on without a rational plan for charging infrastructure. What has been required since 2010 when the first viable EVs started to emerge is a central government plan and policy for charging infrastructure. In the absence of any such planning, charging points of all kinds have sprung up like weeds in a neglected garden, with no specifications for siting, for access, or for payment.
Small, nimble startups are leading the shift to electric cars, while big U.S. automakers and oil majors are struggling to keep up.
