In connected car news are Nuvve, Shell, GM, TRI-AD, Dephi Tech, RepairSmith WiPro, Iteris and Jungo. Please note that there may be a delay in publishing of AUTO Connected Car News due to the Bobcat fire and the possibility of evacuation orders.
Nuvve Corp V2G for Toyoda
Nuvve Corporation, a San Diego-based, green energy technology company and the global leader in vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology, is providing the key technology for a vehicle-to-grid (V2G) project in Japan aimed at establishing the marketization of electricity supply-demand control by 2021. The project is being led by Nuvve investor, Toyota Tsusho Corporation alongside Chubu Electric Power Grid Co., Inc, a Transmission System Operator (TSO) in Japan, to demonstrate how plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and battery electric vehicle (PHEV/BEV) batteries can be aggregated into a virtual power plant (VPP) to provide grid services that help balance supply and demand of electricity.
CEC Suppports Shell H Fueling
The California Energy Commission (CEC) posted a Notice of Proposed Award outlining subsidies to support hydrogen refueling infrastructure in California. Equilon Enterprises LLC (d/b/a Shell Oil Products US), hereafter referred to as Shell Hydrogen, participated as an applicant in the related Grant Funding Opportunity (GFO) and was awarded $40.8 million, subject to formal approval at a future CEC Business Meeting. If successful, Shell Hydrogen will install hydrogen refueling equipment at 48 existing Shell retail stations, upgrade two current Shell Hydrogen stations and add light-duty fueling dispensers and positions at one existing Shell Hydrogen heavy-duty truck station. Further, Toyota and Honda have agreed to expand Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV) sales in California in support of these Shell Hydrogen stations.
GM Helps Electrify Uber Drivers
GM is helping Uber drivers go electric. For current eligible drivers on the Uber platform in the United States and Canada, GM will extend the same discount it offers its employees on the purchase of a new 2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV. U.S. drivers will also have access to 20 percent below MSRP on Bolt EV accessories, including at-home charging equipment. Starting in Los Angeles and Denver, well-qualified drivers with Uber Diamond-tier status will also be eligible for special financing through a pilot program with GM Financial.
TRI-AD Creates Growth Fund
Toyota Research Institute – Advanced Development, Inc. (TRI-AD) announced today that it will create Woven Capital, L.P. (Woven Capital), an $800 Million global growth-stage investment fund, to enhance the ability to achieve its vision of “Mobility to Love, Safety to Live.” On July 28, 2020, TRI-AD announced that it will expand and strengthen its operations by forming a new holding company called Woven Planet Holdings, Inc. (Woven Planet), which will begin operations in January 2021.
Woven Capital will be part of the new Woven Planet Holdings Group, and it will support the group by investing in growth-stage companies that are developing innovative technologies and business models in areas such as autonomous mobility, automation, artificial intelligence, machine learning, data and analytics, connectivity, and smart cities. In addition to sourcing deals from Toyota AI Ventures, Toyota’s early-stage venture capital fund, Woven Capital will also invest in other venture capital funds in order to broaden and accelerate its global coverage.
Delphi Tech New EM Biz
Delphi Technologies PLC a global provider of automotive propulsion systems, continues its momentum by securing major Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) electrification business, driving profitable long-term growth. Today, the company is announcing its latest win with a premium European OEM to supply its 800-volt inverters for the OEM’s next generation of battery electric vehicles (BEVs). This major win is the company’s second largest power electronics award and strategically positions Delphi Technologies as a leading supplier of inverters and related technologies for future BEVs globally.
This announcement follows on the heels of recent business wins in China for power electronics. Combined with its landmark 800-volt win secured in 2019, its largest ever business award, the company is now positioned to be the major inverter supplier to three of the top four global premium OEMs in the world.
These wins are the result of Delphi Technologies’ strategic investments since becoming an independent, public company to globally expand its electrification capabilities, including engineering, testing and manufacturing, to meet the changing market dynamics for propulsion systems in the automotive industry.
RepairSmith Helps Angel Food
RepairSmith announces Jump Start, a philanthropic initiative to support nonprofit organizations.
Jump Start aims to remove the financial burden of car repair for nonprofit organizations, allowing them to deliver essential services without disruption. The program launches today with its first partner, Project Angel Food in Los Angeles, to help the organization carry out its mission to deliver healthy meals to feed people impacted by serious illness, bringing comfort and hope every day.
Over the next year, RepairSmith will donate $250,000 in free car repair services to organizations who meet Jump Start’s criteria. Each non-profit is eligible for up to $10,000 in free services to passenger and light duty vehicles.
Eligible organizations include those which provide at-risk populations access to essential services; food or personal care products, health and wellness resources, education, job training, family services, housing assistance, or rehabilitation programs.
Wipro Works with Marelli
Wipro Limited a leading global information technology, consulting, and business process services company and Marelli, today announced that they have entered into a multi-year global agreement for automotive engineering services.
Marelli is one of the world’s leading global independent suppliers to the automotive sector with operational headquarters in Saitama, Japan and Corbetta, Italy.
The integration synergies of this partnership from across business units will help Marelli drive speed to value and realize its vision of transforming the future of mobility in partnership with its customers. As part of this agreement, Wipro will leverage its EngineeringNXT framework and strong automotive engineering expertise to establish a software engineering factory for Marelli.
VW Responsibly Tracks Supply
VW wants responsibility in its raw material supply chains for batteries. To that end, the company has entered a strategic partnership with RCS Global, an agency specializing in supply chain analysis. The focus is on auditing suppliers for conformance with human rights, safe working conditions and environmental protection along the supply chain all the way back to the mines.
The Group introduced a sustainability rating for direct suppliers one year ago, and a comprehensive system developed by RCS Global now also tracks adherence to sustainability criteria at sub-suppliers, refineries, smelters, mines and recyclers. New guidelines for improvements issued to suppliers make an active contribution to achieving improvements when risks and shortcomings are identified. Serious audit violations may even lead to the disqualification of suppliers from the supply chain. That applies, for example, to small-scale mining operators when child labor cannot be ruled out. The approach builds on the Due Diligence Guidelines of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Iteris Deploys ClearRoute in SC
Iteris, Inc. the global leader in smart mobility infrastructure management, announced the deployment of ClearRoute™, the company’s next-generation traveler information services solution. The South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT), which has now deployed ClearRoute, will provide the traveling public who rely on the state’s 511 traveler information service a significantly enhanced user experience.
“In addition to providing an unparalleled technology solution, we are committed to continuing to deliver the highest level of customer service to South Carolina and its citizens.”
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Iteris has been providing traveler information services to SCDOT since 2013 and its latest contract extends this partnership another seven years. As part of SCDOT’s deployment of ClearRoute, Iteris upgraded the SC511 service to an enhanced, state-of-the-art suite of SC511 mobile apps and transitioned the SC511 interactive voice response (IVR) to a more powerful, flexible and streamlined infrastructure. In addition, the SC511 website was upgraded to a more dynamic and advanced solution, which will ensure continued innovation and longevity, while preserving the functionality and features that SCDOT and SC511 users depend on.
New features and enhancements to the SC511 system include: Waze crowdsourcing, whereby users can switch seamlessly between the Waze and SC511 apps; a look-ahead feature, whereby a pop-up display in the SC511 mobile app notifies users of upcoming incidents or construction along their route; as well as truck parking, weather integration, best-available route and multi-language support features.
Jungo Launches MagiaTouch
Jungo announced the launch of MagiaTouch, a revolutionary AI software stack enabling intuitive touch-free control using just a camera.
With the spread of COVID-19, the demand for contact-less technology to help prevent contact infections is rapidly increasing around the world, for public kiosks, offices, factories and shops. To meet this demand, Jungo has created MagiaTouch, enabling touch-free, intuitive interface for embedded devices and PC applications using a camera to understand natural human gestures instead of a touch-screen, keyboard or mouse.
Jungo’s unique patented AI technology uses a built in camera (or low cost addon) that analyses faces, eyes, hands, gestures and voice, and enables full control of devices and kiosks by using natural human interaction, without touching screens at all.