July 2020 -

Transitional Technologies: Next-gen batteries promise to extend range and durability

Here’s the final topic on Green Auto Market’s series covering transitional technologies leading to the future of electric automated mobility.

Tesla is continuing to work on its ride-hailing app, Tesla Network, which is part of the company’s long-term strategy to compete with General Motors, Uber, Lyft, Ford, Waymo, and others in autonomous, shared-ride services — aka robotaxis, electric mobility, and ride-sharing. Analysts and investors wonder how this will affect the automaker’s global strategy in electric vehicle manufacturing and sales, battery production, energy storage, and solar energy; and how to factor it into the automaker’s valuation.

All of it means that Tesla, and competitors who are taking advanced mobility quite seriously, are going to need even more reliable and high-performance, long-range batteries. To start off, here’s a look at some of the top selling global EVs and their specs and starting prices; and what they’re saying about their next steps in bringing in next-generation batteries that will be fundamental in hitting these targets.

And then there’s the question of which next-gen battery technology will win the race.

Tesla Model 3: Like its competitors, Tesla is using lithium-ion cells in its batteries, with the Model 3 getting 2170-size cells. While it can power 250 miles for the starting version, the long range versions of the Model 3 can deliver 322 miles. CEO Elon Musk and team are spending a lot of time on what the next steps in battery packs will look like. They’re likely to be changed over to lithium iron, which would offer longer range and more durable battery cells. Tesla is hoping to hit the 400 miles-per-charge and 1 million mile-life for the battery pack. The company hopes to rid its batteries of the rare and expensive cobalt element to hit its targets.

It looks like the new batteries will be built in both California and its next Gigafactory in Germany. We’ve been hearing a lot this year on the “Roadrunner project,” which would bring new battery plants close to its vehicle production plant in Fremont, Calif. Plans are in place with the City of Fremont that will allow for adding two buildings down the road from the Fremont factory and will make space for r&d and new battery manufacturing.

There had been doubts over whether Tesla was going to be producing batteries at its Berlin plant, but that’s been reassured by a regional government official. Tesla is going to build “completely new batteries” at Gigafactory Berlin, according to Brandenburg Minister of Economics Jörg Steinbach. Tesla is expected to announce the details of the plan in September at its “Battery Day.”

BAIC EU-Series: Beijing Automotive Group (BAIC), one of China’s largest automakers will be adding SK Innovation’s NCM 811 cells. That working relationship is expected to start sometime during the second half of 2020. The lithium-ion cells will be produced at SK Innovation’s first plant in Changzhou, China, and will be owned by a wholly-owned joint venture between the two companies and Beijing Electronics. The new battery is expected to get a range increase up to 311 miles (NEDC). SK Innovation’s NCM 811 are said to come from a “low cobalt chemistry,” which is gaining share in China over other types of NCM. NCM is made up of lithium, nickel, cobalt and manganese, versus LFP which is made up of lithium, iron, and phosphate.

BYD Yuan / S2 EV: The Chinese automaker has been pleased recently to see its Yuan and S2 EV achieve sales success in the EV and the crossover SUV markets. These models and others in the company’s portfolio will be powered by BYD’s next-gen battery at some point in the near future, the company said earlier this year. It will come from its new “Blade” lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries.

It will be part of the company attempting to stay on track during the COVID-19 outbreak. It may come through its new sub-brand, FinDreams serving the automotive design, manufacturing, and parts markets. One of them is called FinDreams Battery. It will be part of the Chinese company opening its technology and products to the whole world, BYD said.

Solid-state batteries: Last year, Fisker Inc., launched its Ocean model, with plans to roll out the $40,000 all-electric SUV in 2021. Solid-state batteries will be part of it, with the potential for making improvements in range — up to 300 miles per charge, the company said. CEO Henrik Fisker said its solid-state battery can produce 2.5 times the energy density that lithium-ion batteries can, at perhaps a third of the cost.

A few years ago, Toyota played an important role in the future of solid-state batteries when announcing that they would power its ambitious EV product launch plan. But it does take its time in testing and developing new technology. The company now says that its developed a working prototype of the batteries, and that limited production will start in 2025.

Solid-state batteries will be replacing liquid electrolyte with a solid, and backers see it as the breakthrough that will finally bring long-range, solid, durable batteries to market. Improvements could come from higher energy density and range, improved safety, faster recharging, longer battery lifespan, and being less prone to extreme weather conditions. But these batteries have many challenges that need to be resolved, Toyota said.

So it looks like the competition by battery manufacturing companies and vehicle makers will be which next-gen battery wins — lithium iron or solid-state. Of course, there’s also NCM, with its lithium, nickel, cobalt, and manganese batteries.

Sierra Club founder John Muir called out for racism as environmental groups face pressure to become inclusive

This newsletter, Sustainable Future, joins Mobility Future as an occasional special edition to Green Auto Market on key trends shaping the future of clean transportation.

Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune released a horrible truth to the world yesterday — legendary founder John Muir and other early leaders were supporters of white supremacist causes; and Muir made incendiary, racist remarks attacking African Americans and Native Americans.

While championing the creation of national parks and conservancy of nature, Muir once referred to African Americans as lazy “Sambos,” an insulting racist term many consider to be as bad as the n-word. In another incident, while telling the story of a legendary hike from the Midwest to the Gulf of Mexico, Muir described Native Americans he encountered as “dirty.”

Muir and other early leaders were supporters of the eugenics movement, which advocated white supremacy through its pseudo-scientific theories. One of them, David Starr Jordan, served on the board of directors during Muir’s presidency. Jordan co-founded the Human Betterment Foundation, whose research and model laws were used to create Germany’s eugenics legislation under the rule of Adolph Hitler and the Nazi party.

Muir’s derogatory comments tapped into harmful racist stereotypes, though his views did evolve later in his life, Brune said. But the Sierra Club has to face historic protests over America’s racist legacy, and the taking down of statues representing historic Confederate leaders who had fought for the preservation of slavery.

“As the most iconic figure in Sierra Club history, Muir’s words and actions carry an especially heavy weight,” Brune wrote. “They continue to hurt and alienate Indigenous people and people of color who come into contact with the Sierra Club.”

Muir has been the iconic, historic figure in America’s ecology movement. Sierra Club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco by the Scottish-American preservationist, and continues on as the oldest grassroots environmental organization in the US. Muir was honored in a 2009 miniseries by historian Ken Burns, The National Parks — America’s Best Idea. Muir and President Theodore Roosevelt were credited for being the most influential leaders in establishing America’s national park system. Hikers know all about The John Muir Trail, a long-distance trail in the Sierra Nevada mountain range of California, passing through Yosemite, Kings Canyon, and Sequoia National Parks, carved out by the legendary hiker. Muir had worked hard for these trails and parks to be established.

Brune and other Sierra Club activists have known for years that the culture and membership of the environmental group had to change for its very survival. Those participating in club hikes and speaker events knew membership was dwindling and were made up in large part by aging, white men and women. Public outreach efforts to bring in a more youthful, diverse membership were starting to see positive results in the past five years, but the club had a long way to go.

Other environmental groups have seen their own shake-ups over issues of race and diversity. The issue had been raised years ago by African American and other minority employees over the lack of diversity in membership and the racial bias that persists in top and mid-level management. Ruth Tyson, an employee at the Union of Concerned Scientists, quit recently after having sent out a 17-page internal letter criticizing the organization’s casual indifference to black workers.

African Americans, Latinos, Asians, and Pacific islanders, have been especially hard hit in their residential communities by increasing air pollution since the 1950s. Climate change laws and funded initiatives in California and other states have been citing harm being done to “disadvantaged communities” as one of the fundamental reasons for improving air quality and fighting climate change.

Green groups are supporting these moves and other efforts to stop the Trump administration from completely dismantling America’s national parks and natural resources, environmental rules, and supporting innovation in clean energy and transportation. Coming to terms with racism and lack of true diversity will have to be resolved as expectations grow for change.

Sustainability still a top concern for consumers as COVID-19 continues, studies say

Global consulting firm PwC conducted a second edition of its annual consumer survey to study the impact of COVID-19 — with expectations of corporate sustainability still in the top ranks of concerns. In the study, 45 percent of global consumers say healthcare is one of their top reasons for living in a city; 69 percent are more focused on mental health and well being; and 43 precent expect businesses to be accountable for their environmental impact. The two surveys, taken before and after the pandemic broke and published earlier this month, shows that consumer trends and behavior in place before the pandemic are accelerating and show marketers what they’ll need to rethink how they’re doing business. It reflects the global trend that billions of people worldwide are living in cities — with a new era in global consumption, changing lifestyles, and much concern about sustainability and maintaining health in crowded cities.

The study showed most consumers have a clear sense of sustainability and a sense of civic duty. In survey results taken prior to the pandemic, 45 percent of the global respondents say they avoid the use of plastic whenever possible; 43 percent expect businesses to be accountable for their environmental impact; and 41 percent expect retailers to eliminate plastic bags and packaging for perishable items. Their sense of personal responsibility is present for many — with 20 percent choosing “me the consumer” web asked who were most responsible to encouraging sustainable behaviors in the city; 15 percent chose “the producer or manufacturer.”

When marketing to metro areas in the US, another study identified the top 10 sales for per capital spending on sustainability-marketed projects. The NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business and IRI are following up their 2019 analysis, the CSB Sustainable Market Share Index, with new research examining consumer purchases of sustainability-marketed consumer packaged goods. These top 10 states are New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, Colorado, New Jersey, Delaware, Rhode Island, and Florida. If you were to look at state-wide purchases, California, Florida, Texas, and New York top the rankings. The bottom five states in per capita spending are Mississippi, Utah, Kentucky, Alabama, and Texas.

Consumer interest and spending on sustainable consumer-packaged goods (CPG) continues into this year. Sustainability-marketed products continued to grow with 16.8 percent dollar market share year-to-date, up 0.6 percentage points versus 2019. During the week ending March 15, 2020, when CPG sales peaked due to COVID-19, sustainability-marketed products experienced a 1.9 percentage points share increase (vs. the prior week), and dollar sales increased 56 percent during that same period. The categories that experienced the greatest share growth in sustainability-marketed purchases that week were paper products, weight control products, coffee, and soap.

From 2015 to 2019, sustainability-marketed products contributed 54.7 percent of overall CPG market growth, according to the study. It also represented 16.1 percent dollar share of the CPG category in 2019. As for demographics, consumers in upper incomes and with higher levels of education are more likely to buy sustainability-marketed products than other groups. Millennials are more likely to buy sustainability-marketed products. However, most sustainable purchases are attributed to Generation X and baby boomers due to the size of their age groups.

Electric vehicle sales have been stronger than expected, doing better than conventional vehicles in the troubled US auto market. In its second quarter earnings statement this month, Tesla reported delivering 90,650 vehicles to customers — far more than the roughly 70,000 that analysts had expected. In late June, the International Energy Agency reported that 2020 is on track to set a new record for electric vehicle penetration at 3 percent of total global car sales, up from 2.6 percent in 2019.

EVs are ahead of several other sustainable products, as consumers pass through their fear of the new technology and become more interested in the benefits of owning and driving a plug-in vehicle. These include removing tailpipe emissions, keeping fueling costs down and predictable, and hearing good news about the long-term longevity and reliability of electric powertrains.

Transitional Technologies: Renewables seeing greater potential from integration in fuel and energy sources

Renewable energy and fuels are seeing broader support globally for decarbonization, much of it through integration of sources that were not typical years ago. A clear example this year is “green hydrogen,” where emissions can be eliminated by using renewable energy to power the electrolysis of water.

Here’s a look at what aspects of renewables are gaining the most traction………….

Green hydrogen: Support for hydrogen has been taking a wider base recently with concern over the cost of extracting hydrogen — and where it comes from — improving substantially. Most of it had been coming from natural gas, but that’s starting to change. For natural gas, much of the hydrogen has come from steam methane reforming (SMR), which causes the methane found in natural gas to react with steam, which then produces hydrogen and carbon monoxide. One method to clean it up has been called blue hydrogen, where the emissions are curtailed using carbon capture and storage.

Green hydrogen is even cleaner as it can almost completely eliminate emissions by using renewable energy for powering electrolysis of water that’s needed in producing hydrogen. It’s still costly, with electrolyzers still in short supply, and tapping into plentiful sources of renewable energy still coming in at a high price. Hydrogen supporters see this cost coming down as demand for the fuel grows in generating electricity, power, and heat.

A proposed plant in Lancaster, Calif., just north of Los Angeles, could produce the greenest hydrogen on the market. It will use plastics and recycled paper as a feedstock — waste that would otherwise go to a landfill. It will be gasified at temperature high enough to be transformed into hydrogen. If adopted, it would be run by SGH2 Energy Global, which is part of the Solena Group. The company says that its technology reduces carbon emissions two-to-three times more than green-hydrogen produced using electrolysis and renewable energy — and its technology is five-to-seven times cheaper, the company said.

Another major development came up on July 8 when the European Commission launched its EU Hydrogen Strategy and its Energy Systems Integration Strategy. That same day, a Clean Hydrogen Alliance between industry, hydrogen companies, and governments was also launched and tied to the strategies. It defines clean hydrogen as renewable hydrogen coming from hydrogen production through water electrolysis. The power will come primarily through wind and solar energy. For short term goals, the alliance will support the installation of at least 6 gigawatts of renewable hydrogen electrolyzers in the EU, and the production of up to one million tons of renewable hydrogen. That will go up to 40 gigawatts of renewable hydrogen electrolyzers, and the production of up to ten million tons of renewable hydrogen in the EU.

Renewable energy: Hydropower doesn’t get nearly as much attention as wind and solar in the reporting of renewable energy sources generating electricity — even though its clearly the largest source of renewable energy in the world. It’s making up about 18 percent of the world’s total installed power generation capacity and more than 54 percent of the global renewable power generation capacity. Most of it comes from construction of dams on rivers and releasing water from reservoirs to power turbines. Another source is pumped-storage type plants to generate hydro power. China has the world’s largest hydro power generation capacity, and has the world’s largest hydropower plant at the Three Gorges — which generates 22.5 GW.

But wind and solar will still see high growth rates, with costs continuing to drop. Energy consulting firm Wood Mackenzie expects that solar PV system costs in the US are falling faster than previously forecasted. Sarah Golden, senior energy analyst at GreenBiz Group, says that the cost of producing energy from wind has fallen by as much as 70 percent since 2009. International Renewable Energy Agency recently reported that wind, along with solar, beat the cheapest coal in cost for power generation.

Waste-to-energy, and Waste-to-fuel: This has been getting a lot of support in recent years from major disposal companies like Waste Management, Inc. This year, an unexpected growth segment has come up through COVID-19. New priorities have been tied to sustainable disposal of medical waste, and dealing with growth in unrecyclable plastics, and an increase in the use of face masks and other personal protective gear.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory released a report concluding that converting solid waste into hydrogen is a key technology that can greatly reduce emissions. Adding carbon capture and storage can support developing advanced waste-to-hydrogen technology with negative emissions. It can assist national mandates to reach net zero-carbon.

Another bright spot has been researchers finding that next-generation thermochemical processes convert solid waste – including plastics, medical waste, municipal solid waste, and wastewater sludge – into hydrogen without incinerating the waste. Carbon dioxide produced during the process can be efficiently captured and stored to make new products using technology that is commercially available today. The costs that are continuing to fall, making it even more viable.

Renewable fuels: Biogas is becoming even more practical and clean as landfill gas (LFG) grows in usage. The digestion process takes place in the ground rather than in an anaerobic digester commonly used to produce renewable fuels. As of June 2020, there were about 564 operational LFG projects in the US, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. As for now, most of these projects use biogas to produce electricity rather than to power natural gas vehicles.

Making renewable natural gas (RNG) for natural gas vehicles requires a higher content of methane than biogas. It also requires the removal of water, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, and other trace elements to produce RNG. But RNG continues to gain support among fleet managers and stakeholders in NGVs. A recent commentary by S&P Global Platts made the point that while hydrogen has been grabbing headlines through large-scale national plans being scheduled, RNG deserves more attention as “an emerging tool for decarbonization.”

One advantage explained in the commentary is that RNG can be appealing to US energy companies looking to diversify. An example would be Southern California Gas Company (SoCal) releasing an agreement between SoCal, the San Diego Gas & Electric Co., consumer advocate groups, various industry groups, such as RNG Coalition, and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). It came about with the goal of facilitating increased volumes of RNG to California customers.

And in other news……..
Fisker finds needed capital: Fisker Inc. reached a deal to go public last Monday by merging with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) backed by Apollo Global Management. Founder Henrik Fisker was able to raise more than $1 billion to help bring the Fisker Ocean electric SUV to market by late 2022. Proceeds from the transaction were valued at $2.9 billion. The business model is different than Tesla and other automakers, and was compared to the role Apple has played — cool technology, but production has been farmed out to others, cutting down the huge capital outlay needed to become a carmaker. Fisker is in talks with Volkswagen to use its modular EV platform and to assemble its vehicles at a VW plant in Europe. Its retail store model will be closer to Tesla’s — with customers able to place customized orders online and also to visit “brand experience centers” in key US and European markets.

Transitional Technologies: Autonomous vehicles lagging far behind factory robotics and drones

Tesla owners will have access to fully automated, Level 5 autonomous electric vehicles sometimes this year. No humans will need to be involved, except for being passengers. That’s according to comments made by CEO Elon Musk a few days ago from a video released at a Chinese AI conference.

“I remain confident that we will have the basic functionality for level five autonomy complete this year,” Musk said. “I think there are no fundamental challenges remaining for level five autonomy.”

The problem would be: Where could Tesla owners legally ride in their autonomous EV beyond a limited test run — most of which would not allow them to be the ones riding in that test car?

Australia, Canada, China, Germany, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the US have government-sponsored programs and policies in place for testing and developing AVs. None of these countries have yet allowed these vehicles to be deployed at scale. In the US, 40 states have enacted legislation, or have received governor executive orders, on autonomous vehicles. None of them have allowed them to be driven beyond the testing phase; or in limited applications, such as Waymo’s autonomous rides in Arizona.

As for now, AV activities have been put on hold. After COVID-19 hit hard in March, AV companies such as Argo, Aurora, Cruise, Pony, and Waymo, suspended vehicle testing and operations that involved a human driver. Around the same time, Waymo and Ford released open data sets of information collected during AV tests. The two companies challenged developers to use them to come up with faster and smarter self-driving systems.

AVs are years behind robotics being used in manufacturing plants, and for air and sea drones used by the military and other entities such as NOAA (more on this later).

Carnegie Mellon University has always played a leading role participating in AV test projects. A new study has taken a look at another angle — the connection between AVs and electric vehicles. Researchers from the university recently published a paper in the Nature Energy journal. They found that certain parts of the AV ride cycle can drain car batteries, but fixes made to software and hardware should make fleets of electric AVs possible.

“A bunch of commentators used to suggest the first AVs might have to be gas hybrids,” says Shashank Sripad, a PhD candidate in mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon who worked on the paper. “But we believe that, if we want to do electric vehicles, autonomy will be compatible with it.”

That probably referred to the Toyota Priuses being used in the early stages of the study that was conducted near Google’s (now Alphabet’s) corporate campus in Mountain View, Calif. More recently with Waymo, that’s been taken over by the Chrysler Pacifica minivan.

Automakers are split on their support for Level 4 AVs, and what type of powertrain would be best to use. Ford plans to transition over to battery-powered self-driving cars, says an AV spokesperson for Ford. But if the company can stay on track and hit its original goal of rolling out an AV for service by 2022, it will be rolling out self-driving gas-electric hybrid vehicles.

Automakers have made big commitments to AVs in investments and research studies that will continue. Some of the more memorable deals include General Motor’s $1 billion acquisition of Cruise, Uber buying Otto for $680 million, Ford’s $1 billion Argo Ai investment, and Intel acquiring Mobileye for $15.3 billion.

Five years ago, several companies including Nissan and Toyota promised self-driving cars by this year, but that’s being delayed. AV stakeholders have started to revise their marketing and event messages on where it’s all going for now. Level 4 autonomous will be it for now.

Robotics are already here in production and assembly lines for several automakers and in other industries, with COVID-19 making the topic much more relevant with worker safety being factored in. Meat and poultry workers have been hit hard. In April and May, more than 17,300 meat and poultry processing workers in 29 states were infected and 91 died, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Plant shutdowns started in late April.

Tyson Foods Inc. assembled a team, including designers once employed in the auto industry, working on a deboning system that could make more efficient and safe the procedures carried out in Tyson plants. The team is developing an automated deboning system designed to handle some of the roughly 39 million chickens slaughtered, plucked and sliced up each week in Tyson plants.

The company has invested about $500 million in technology and automation. CEO Noel White said those efforts likely would increase in the aftermath of the pandemic. It’s been chaotic for meat producers, grocery stores, and fast-food chains to keep the product in stores — with Americans having high expectations for buying meat.

On the drone side of the equation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is launching a fleet of 30 gliders to study how the ocean affects hurricanes. It started in 2014 with two gliders used for tracking and measuring huge storms approaching coastal areas.

“We have gliders that have gone through two or three hurricanes already,” explained Gustavo Goni, a lead scientist at the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory in Miami, which is run by NOAA. “They are robust. They don’t even care. Some of them have even been in fights with sharks. We know this because we find sharks’ teeth in gliders when we recover them.”

The past six years has involved building up the floating, sensor-packed units. The first part was figuring out how to get them funded and set up to be sea worthy and long lasting. Then it had to train technicians on how to equip and use them.

Delivery drones have been another application for robotics, used by companies such as Workhorse Group and Amazon. Allowing human beings to go along for the rides in AVs will have to take a lot longer to work out safety, legal, and risk management issues.

Mobility Future: Uber acquiring Postmates during a tough year, Best tech news sources to read

Green Auto Market will occasionally publish two special editions, Mobility Future and Sustainable Future — two topics integral to what’s next in clean transportation.

Big news took place this week for those following mobility, on Monday, when ride-hailing giant Uber announced that it had acquired major food delivery company Postmates in a $2.65 billion, all-stock deal. Food delivery is doing well these days, while ridesharing and ride-hailing is facing a tough time during COVID-19. Uber and Lyft went public last year, with two other delivery companies preparing to going public soon, DoorDash and Instacart. Being acquired can be an even better bet for founders and early investors in firms like Postmates.

Uber Technologies Inc
NYSE: UBER
IPO: May 10, 2019 opened at $41.57
Closed at $33.15 on June 9, 2020
Market cap: $57.48 billion
Q1 2020 Results: $3.54 billion revenue and a net loss of $2.9 billion

Lyft
NASDAQ: LYFT Inc
IPO: March 29, 2019 opened at $78.29 per share.
Closed at $29.84 0n June 9, 2020.
Market cap: $8.89 billion
Q1 2020 Earnings: $955.7 million revenue and a net loss of $398.1 million

Uber plans to run Postmates alongside its own food delivery business, Uber Eats. Combined, it will be No. 2 in meal delivery after DoorDash. Operations will be streamlined for efficiency, including having drivers delivering orders for both businesses. The deal came together after Uber failed to acquire another major food delivery company, Grubhub, which was instead acquired by Europe’s giant, Just Eat Takeaway, for $7.3 billion. The Postmates transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in Q1 2021, at which point the two companies will integrate more of their efforts, according to Postmates.

For anyone following Silicon Valley startups in mobile apps, devices, software, hardware, connected cars, and autonomous vehicle technology, it’s very typical to see a startup like Postmates become acquired by one or more of the major players in the industry; while other startups sometimes go after IPOs with mixed results. Silicon Valley has extended out to other zones over the past two decades — Silicon Beach in Los Angeles; Austin, Texas; Seattle (including gaming companies); and an extended map from San Jose to San Francisco along US Highway 101. Many times, major companies like Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, and Facebook, are setting up satellite offices in other cities. But San Francisco continues to be the home base HQ for many of the startups such as Uber and Lyft.

The impact of COVID-19 has been harder on Uber and Lyft than food delivery companies or grocery shopping and delivery company Instacart. As people have stayed home from work and other activites, having meals and groceries delivered has skyrocketed in demand. But for Uber, Lyft, and other ride-hailing firms, it’s been a tough time. One issue has been whether passengers can feel safe from Coronavirus while taking a ride.

Uber in May announced more than 6,500 layoffs, about a quarter of its workforce. The company said its ride-hailing business was down 75 percent from a year earlier. A month earlier, Lyft announced it would cut about 17 percent of its workforce (982 employees), furlough workers and slash pay in cost-cutting efforts to cope with lost sales during the pandemic. Lyft doesn’t report bookings, but analysts have estimated total rides will fall 63 percent in the quarter versus last year. Financial performance has never been strong for the two ridesharing giants, but Covid-19 has added to the pressure.

Tech innovation news sources you should know about
While I still read The Wall Street Journal and sift through news on my iPhone (typically from a few of the dwindling media outlets still in existence), I also spend more time reading relatively new publications. These media outlets cover technology innovations, startups, Silicon Valley, mobility, autonomous systems, sustainability, politics, and more. Here are the ones that seem to stand out most significantly, and that you might want to consider getting on their newsletter distribution lists.

TechCrunch
Founded in 2005 by Silicon Valley innovator and investor Michael Arrington, TechCrunch profiles and reviews new Internet products and companies. It also profiles startups and existing companies that are making an impact (commercial and/or cultural) in the digital revolution.
Crunchbase and Crunchbase News
Crunchbase was originally founded in 2007 by Michael Arrington, as a place to track the startups that parent company TechCrunch featured in articles. In 2015, Crunchbase separated from AOL/Verizon/TechCrunch to become a private entity. You can find information on equity and angel investor deals made on startups and existing companies, with Crunchbase News offering late-breaking news on the market.
Vox
A news analysis source in the spirit of investigative journalism with a bit of wry humor. Such as this one: “Truly, what is up with Elon Musk. Musk declared he’s selling all his possessions, and Tesla’s stock price dropped 10 percent in a matter of minutes.” Vox is left leaning, but it’s also in the spirit of the critical importance of journalism in US history — the fourth pillar of democracy, just as important as the three branches of government.
Wired
This magazine goes back the birth of the world wide web — 1993. It’s been devoted to covering, exploring, and analyzing cutting-edge technology ever since then — and has delivered. Wired is still a must-read for people in the tech business.
Quartz
Global news and insights including the future of mobility as one of its “obsessions” — along with global economic disruptions and the aging effect. If you’re going to read Quartz, plan for extra time to read long features (similar to The Verge).
The Verge
This is where you’ll see in-depth features on what’s behind movements in the world of mobility and tech startups, and a bit of investigative reporting. The Verge prides itself on providing breaking news in mobile app and digital tech innovations.
Mashable
This one tracks media and entertainment and the latest tech toys. Mashable also covers global news impacting new media and technology, such as government crackdowns on internet companies and mobile apps; along with some coverage on the latest from Uber, Lyft, and competitors.
Buzzfeed
Interested in lightening up and having a bit of fun? Buzzfeed offers quizzes, videos, celeb news, recipes, news analysis, photo galleries, ridiculous and hilarious tweets and text messages, and the latest buzz on trends. If you scan the news app on your iPhone or Android, you might see an article with a headline such as, “26 Popular Movies with Awful Endings;” or a photo gallery and captions called “18 Dogs Who Haven’t Let the Quarantine Stop Them From Being Utterly Ridiculous.”
Axios
Founded in January 2017 based on this belief: Media is broken, and too often a scam. Stories are too long or too boring. Websites are a maddening mess. Axios has attempted to simplify it with clear, smart, and efficient coverage of topics such as robotics, machine learning and AI; China’s growing influence; and how human activity is posing threats to Earth’s climate.
Digital Trends
The Portland, Oregon-based website publication offers news, reviews, guides, how-to articles, and descriptive videos and podcasts about technology and consumer electronics products. Digital Trends is a good place to visit while shopping for the latest in smart phones and other devices, laptops, TVs, and more.
Medium
Medium, an internet platform whose “sole purpose is to help you find compelling ideas, knowledge, and perspectives.” I first discovered the website through its in-depth coverage of Google getting into the self-driving car arena and becoming Waymo. Medium seems to be customized to those working in new media and tech. Hot topics more recently have been real issues between men and women, and how dating and relationships tend to go these days. There’s also been quite a few pieces on making it in freelance writing and other digital media opportunities. And what it’s like to work for Netflix, Facebook, and Google/Alphabet.
Another mobile app to know about: TikTok
An app for sharing comedic videos, skits, and karaoke — started in 2017 that’s become wildly popular. Real people making real videos, says TikTok. It’s brand name has been all over the news lately, including President Trump’s reelection event in Tulsa. TikTok users and fans of Korean pop music groups claimed to have registered potentially hundreds of thousands of tickets for Mr. Trump’s campaign rally as a prank.

Facebook is shutting down Lasso, it’s own version of TikTok. That decision was made as Instagram prepares to roll out Reels, a feature that will allow users to edit short videos in their stories and share it, a TikTok-like feature.

Transitional Technologies: Connectivity as the stepping stone to cars of the future

Connected cars, aka connectivity, is thought to have been the very first of the next-generation technologies serving as game changers for the auto industry, personal mobility, and ground transportation. The ideal will be to someday have automated, electric vehicles tied together through a Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communication network — and connected to everything else through the next version, Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X). The hope is that traffic could be controlled, collisions avoided, and energy use made more efficient.

And it will be connected to everything else, such as your home. It’s becoming quite common to see intelligent mobile devices able to manage what’s going on in your house — security system, heating, lighting, recording a sporting event, etc. Why not tie you car into all of it for electric vehicle charging, checking diagnostics, energy consumption, and getting it ready to take you to work in the morning?

Connectivity goes back to General Motors and Motorola introducing OnStar in 1996, eventually offering subscribers security, emergency services, hands-free calling, navigation, and remote diagnostics. Once smart phones started showing up in the late 2000s, connectivity began tying phones to a car’s dashboard control panel for these types of convenience features; plus what became known as “infotainment” that could include hearing your favorite music artist or the Howard Stern show on SiriusXM Radio. It eventually shifted over to voice commands to keep eyes on the road and the process more automated and easy to use.

These days, three tech developments tend to come up when connected cars are being discussed — 5G, V2V/V2X, and IoT.

For 5G, debate continues over which region will win the race to bring the leading-edge technology and clear the hurdles for adoption — North America, Europe, or Asia? Having a mobile device with 5G means higher capacity and increased bandwidth compared to 4G. It has the potential to clean up the problems on 4G as everything you can think of switches over to intensive, sophisticated software and data transfer needing a lot more bandwidth.

But the revolution will take much longer than planned. Last year, AT&T and Verizon went live with their 5G networks in a small, targeted set of cities. T-Mobile promised to clear its acquisition of Sprint and integrate their networks into the largest 5G network out there. The legal hurdle was cleared on April 1, but its presence in 5G is at the beginning phase. Handset makers have been rolling out a number of new models compatible to the new standard. However mobile device users aren’t seeing any real improvements yet in the existing cellular networks out there from AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint/T-Mobile.

But the technology does have its champions in telecommunications and mobility. The GSA (Global mobile Suppliers Association) said that by the end of 2019, 61 operators in 34 countries had launched one or more 3GPP-compliant 5G services. Of those, 49 operators had launched 5G mobile services, while 34 had launched FWA (Fixed Wireless Access) or home broadband services. The group sees the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) as fundamental for producing standardized reports and specifications for 3GPP technologies. Seven telecommunications organizations came together to create the 3GPP standards to support the development of 5G.

It does have its enemies — particularly those spreading concern that 5G will be dangerous to human health. Some experts see it as another conspiracy theory, and say that there’s no evidence that there’s anything to worry about.

V2V/V2X: V2X is that latest standard to emerge from what was originally named V2V when the University of Michigan’s Mcity Test Facility gave it that badge. V2X is a vehicle communication system that integrates other more specialized types of communication such as V2I, V2N, V2V, V2P, V2D and V2G. Cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) is another development getting a lot of attention lately, and is expected to serve as the foundation for vehicles to communicate with each other and everything around them.

Automakers, tech companies, mobile phone networks, and auto suppliers, are waiting for 3GPP Release 16, which is expected to be finalized sometime this year. It covers all the bases on 5G coming out. One section includes specifications for C-V2X, that wold address issues such as platooning, extended sensors, automated, and remote driving.

The US Department of Transportation has been heavily involved with what technology will take the lead in 5G, and where V2X communications will go next. For V2X, DOT released a standard for review in February supporting the agency’s 5.9 GHz “Safety Band” spectrum testing. The devices will be used to evaluate the safety performance and capabilities of the devices through both small- and large-scale testing, including scalability and congestion, interoperability, and complex transportation scenarios.

Internet of Things — In 2010 when it first emerged in tech media, IoT at first seemed like the latest techie expression for the interconnectedness of devices, laptops, networks, mainframes, cell towers, and satellites; but it quickly became much larger than that.

What does it mean lately? IoT platforms are geared to analyze performance and share predictive and preventive maintenance, and other operational maneuvers to keep the participating organizations productive and efficient. It’s thought to bring together three factors: the ubiquitous internet, low-cost connected devices, and growth in data analytics solutions.

Smart appliances are tapping into the IoT mindset to allow end users to do everything in just a few commands. That might include planning out meals and getting reports on the nutrients and health implications of their planned meal. The IoT platform also enables more efficient use of energy as equipment makes intelligent adjustments to energy consumption. It helps reduce operational costs through enhanced predictive and preventive maintenance.

There’s also the revenue generating side that can help resolve one of the toughest questions of the day — finding additional revenue steams and offset some of the costs coming from development of the new technology. There are creative methods being explored that sell services to support connected products, rather than the products themselves. Many companies are bringing in specialists to tap into the developing technology. That could be through a tech consultant with IoT expertise, or through hiring new staff with a title like Business Development Manager, Internet of Things.

So when looking at 5G networks, V2X communication systems, and new IoT solutions, you can get a closer look at the elements shaping the contributions connected cars will make to the vehicle technology revolution.

And in other news……..

Tesla beats Toyota on stock market: Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA), which last month took its 10 year anniversary on the stock market, now has the largest market value among automakers — surpassing Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) and taking the lead. This morning, Tesla share prices have hovered right under $1,300 per share and a market cap at $240.96 billion. Toyota has been trading around $127 per share with its market cap at $206.1 billion. Tesla is weathering the COVID-19 storm well and has a loyal following in market analysts and shareholders. Expanding into China and Europe, and continuing to launch new products such as the Model Y, though investors are keeping the pressure on CEO Elon Musk and team to improve quarterly earnings.

Net-zero for America: House Democrats last Tuesday released a bill that calls for the US to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, primarily through decarbonizing the electric and transportation sectors. It doesn’t remove natural gas fracking or coal-powered plants. Power plants would need to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040; with an economy-wide reduction expected by 2050 through building, transportation and industrial electrification.

Republicans on the select committee were frustrated the policy package did not go through the full committee process, meaning it will inevitably look different once it does get a full House vote. The sweeping plan for climate action embraces many of the goals of the Green New Deal that was released in February 2019, but wasn’t able to move forward in the House.

Diesel pumps changing: Is it just me, or does it seem like more gas stations are adding diesel fuel pumps, and integrating them into all of the other fuel dispensers? According to Diesel Technology Forum, 55 percent of retail fuel stations in North America offer diesel fuel. It’s been gradually integrated into the main dispensers rather than setting up a solo dispenser for diesel. The organization says that diesel cars have the advantage of getting 20-to-40 percent more miles per gallon than gasoline-powered vehicles. They have less need to stop at the gas stations.

GAM editor on workplace struggles: Do Amazon, Tesla, and other tech firms treat employees nearly as well as their customers? Those of us who drive a Tesla electric car, or belong to Amazon Prime, or take Uber and Lyft rides all over town, have an idea that while its fun to be a customer, you probably wouldn’t want to work for them. Read more in my LinkedIn Pulse commentary.

Countries with Highest CO2 Emissions
From Fuel Combustion

Energy-related CO2 emissions grew by 2.1% in 2017
and by 1.9% in 2018. Almost all countries contributed
to the rise except Europe and Latin America.
Study comes from Enerdata’s Global Energy
Statistical Yearbook 2019.