The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has awarded research funding to a joint-development team to produce lighter weight metal castings of aluminum and magnesium that will have the strength of cast steel for commercial-scale production.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced Jan. 21 that the Department of Energy (DOE) has closed its US$465 million loan with Tesla Motors, Inc. for construction of a manufacturing facility in southern California on the Model S electric sedan and a power-train manufacturing facility in Palo Alto, Calif.

Officials with lithium-ion battery manufacturer EnerDel announced Jan. 21 the company will invest US$237 million in a new manufacturing plant near its Indianapolis headquarters in order to meet anticipated demand for advanced battery systems used in both automotive and stationary smart grid applications.

In a speech to the European Parliament Jan. 20, Spain’s Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero unveiled a scheme to push coordinated electric car production Europe-wide.

The “Mazda5” 2-liter gasoline direct-injection (GDI) car debuts in Europe this fall, according to Mazda officials touting its unveiling at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show.

Representatives of Chinese-backed Hybrid Kinetic Motors Corp. (HK) inked a deal with Italdesign Giugiaro Jan. 18 on engineering and design plans for a line of hybrids that are slated to be produced in Alabama starting in 2013, according to The Birmingham News (Alabama).

The crude oil markets on Jan. 21 slumped based on data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration that showed weak U.S. crude demand. The price of West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery settled at US$76.08 per barrel (bbl), down$1.54, while Brent crude for February delivery fell 4.11%, to close at $74.58/bbl.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Jan. 21 a new policy to increase the public’s access to information on chemicals. Effective immediately, the EPA will reject a certain type of confidentiality claim, known as Confidential Business Information (CBI), on the identity of chemicals. The chemicals that will be affected by this action are those that are submitted to EPA with studies that show a substantial risk to people's health and the environment and have been previously disclosed on the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Chemical Inventory.

Hart Energy Consulting has received funding from the Lucille and David Packard Foundation and the Energy Foundation for the project Land Use Change: Science and Policy Review.

California Air Resources Board (CARB) officials on Jan. 20 unveiled a draft guideline document showing how fuel providers could use “new pathways” to establish a “carbon intensity” value under CARB’s “low-carbon fuel standard” (LCFS) rules.

Environment Canada, the federal regulatory agency, this month announced it will award a contract to study whether biofuels are causing worse harm to the environment than the petroleum gasoline or diesel fuels they replace.

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) would cut “global warming” emissions, but they need incentives and mandates such as a “low carbon fuel standard,” according to a study released Jan. 20 by “green” advocacy group, Environment Texas.