Transmission FreightWaves

Graham Doorley worked for years at both Waymo and Tesla, so it’s no surprise that the company he founded combines autonomous and electric drive technologies. What is a surprise is that his goal is to create a self-driving electric semi-tractor that can go 500 miles with a full, 80,000 pound load. Here’s how Solo AVT plans to make this a reality, perhaps with some help from the ATVM loan program and the IRA.

The first ATVM loans went out in 2009 and 2010. Then, in July, the program surprised everyone with a new announcement supporting Syrah Vidalia’s graphite facility in Louisiana. We speak with Director Shah about the ATVM’s overall mission, why there’s renewed emphasis on getting more loans approved and how the Inflation Reduction Act is changing industrial policy in the U.S.

Nnaisense, which is focused on bringing AI into the industrial world, thinks it can make better batteries for electric vehicles using digital twins. Using DTs will allow automakers to conduct more granular tests before the first pack is built, and DTs can also make batteries more recyclable at the end of life.

The electric vehicle industry in the U.S. desperately needs more local sources of lithium. Enter Snow Lake Lithium, which is establishing a massive, “sustainable” all-electric lithium mine in northern Manitoba. CEO Phil Gross explains how this will work, and how it will be better for future EVs.

The auto industry’s goals for zero-emission sales in the next decade are ambitious, and it will need more raw materials like lithium, cobalt, nickel and rare earth elements than ever before. Evi Petavratzi, senior mineral commodity geologist for the British Geological Survey, explains why we should have started building more mines a decade ago, and, since we didn’t, what we can do to hurry things along.

Ernst & Young provides extensive electric vehicle advice for its customers as the world shifts to EVs. Steve Patton, Ey’s mobility sector leader, fills us in on what the Inflation Reduction Act means for EVs in the U.S., and how a more resilient supply chain will help reduce costs and sell more EVs.