Cleantech & EV’s

With new global boss Takashi Watanabe at the helm, Lexus is finally venturing into the modern age of fully electric vehicles. To pick up the pace, Watanabe said Lexus will “humbly look at and learn from” Tesla’s accomplishments. Watanabe took over as president of Lexus in April after former brand boss Koji Sato succeeded longtime Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda. The new leader says fully electric…

Construction giant Skanska is piloting the Volvo EC230, the largest electric excavator of its kind, on a huge transit project in Los Angeles. Volvo has launched its EC230 excavator in Europe and China, but it’s not officially launched it in the US. It’s expected to be available in North America in 2024. Skanska’s electric excavator pilot in LA, one of four pilot programs in North America…

Toyota is giving us a look at its new compact electric SUV in a recent teaser video. The Japanese automaker hopes a smaller bZ compact SUV can help close the gap as global EV sales heat up. It’s no secret Toyota is one of (if not the) biggest laggards in the EV industry. Electric vehicles accounted for less than 1% of Toyota’s 5.8 million total car sales through July. Toyota struggled with…

Renewable energy producer Q Energy is now building Europe’s largest floating solar farm on a brownfield site in northwestern France. The floating solar farm is called Les Ilots Blandin, and it’s going to be sited on a former quarry (pictured) in Haute-Marne, north of Dijon. Les Ilots Blandin was originally going to have a capacity of 66 megawatts (MW), but an improved design has allowed the…