The SEC announced it voted 3-to-2 to adopt disclosure rules and form amendments designed to enhance and (to an extent) standardise climate-related disclosures for investors. This was a key vote and will be viewed as a watershed moment, as the standardised disclosures in reports and statements will help provide investors with more reliable climate-related disclosures, in a consistent and clear format, that they can more easily compare across companies and industries/sectors.
Hackney Council has announced it will be starting to roll out the first of its 2,500 EV chargers being installed at Follingham Court in Hoxton. Initially, 830 lower power chargers will be installed at Follingham Court by the end of the year, with another 670 following by 2026. From now, until 2026, 1,000 freestanding chargers (7kW and 22kW) will also be installed across the borough. The Council is partnering with Zest, which is funding the rollout, as the Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund backs the company. Once this ambitious rollout is completed, this borough will have one of the densest networks of EV chargers in the country, with c3,000 chargers.
Tata, who owns JLR, has picked a brownfield site near Bridgwater (in Somerset) to build its £4bn EV battery manufacturing facility. Battery production is pencilled in to begin in 2026 and the facility is expected to create 4,0000 direct jobs and many more indirectly in the supply chain. This new facility will have the capacity to produce 40GWh of battery cells annually which (in theory) will be able to supply c500,000 passenger vehicles. Initially, this facility will produce batteries for the Range Rover, the Defender and the Jaguar brands however over time it aims to supply other OEMs and as well as entering commercial energy storage. We think this is ta-rrific and champion this new battery facility.
To mark International Women’s Day, Go-Ahead has announced its plans to recruit 1,500 female drivers by 2035, to achieve 50% gender equality. This initiative, named Go-Ahead Women, seeks to resolve the gender disparity as females only make up 11.5% of its drivers currently. We fully champion this and hope this inspires other operators to implement similar initiatives. c£7.5m has been set aside to be spent on an 8-week fully paid training programme for (new) recruits. The bus operator has also announced it will be investing £8m in upgrading depot facilities which include more inclusive working environments.
The Washington Department of Commerce’s Electric Vehicle Charging Program has awarded $25.6m to Wallbox, COIL, Clean & Prosperous Institute and Adopt a Charger. This funding is aimed at installing Wallbox’s Pulsar Pro AC Level 2 chargers at 148 multifamily properties across Washington. The Pulsar Pro AC Level 2 chargers are specifically designed for multifamily residential use and have a dynamic power-sharing capability. This is part of a bigger $85m clean transportation initiative which aims to improve air quality.
BMW has announced it has started construction on a new c$45.6m battery manufacturing facility in Rayong (Thailand). This facility will supply Gen-5 high-voltage batteries for a new BEV, with production pencilled in to start in H2 2025. Interestingly, the Gen-5 battery cells will be sourced from parties such as Samsung, CATL and EVE, which will then be integrated into high-voltage batteries. Bear in mind, that BMW has been producing high-voltage batteries in Thailand since 2019 for plug-in hybrids.
Brighton and Hove City Council have announced it will be installing 100 new lamppost charging points and 20 fast chargers for EVs. 60% of the cost will be funded by the government grant OZEV, with the remaining costs being covered by Blink Charging (EV charging operator). The lamppost chargers will be rolled out first, in March, with the fast chargers being rolled out in late spring/early summer. This is only the beginning, as the Council was awarded £2.865m (last month) from the LEVI fund to help install at least 1,650 new chargers over the next 3 years.
California has announced it has more than 100,000 public or shared private EV chargers installed in the state, alongside having over 500,000 at-home chargers. Surpassing the 100,000 milestone is an impressive achievement and illustrates its position as the most progressive EV state. Last year 1 in 4 new cars sold were zero-emission and has 1,846,874 total ZEV sales to date, achieving both much earlier than anticipated. Bear in mind, that only a couple of weeks ago, the CEC approved a $1.9 billion investment plan that will further accelerate progress on the state’s EV charging and hydrogen refuelling targets.
Shuttle Buses has announced it will be working with VEV to help electrify its fleet. VEV will provide charging infrastructure that will use 100% renewable energy alongside providing Shuttle Buses with its VEV-IQ smart charging technology platform. Solar panels and battery storage will be installed in the coming weeks which will allow the bus operator to generate 148,000 kWh of power each year.
Ford has been busy this month as it announced its F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E models will be able to use the 15,000+ Tesla Supercharger network, across America and Canada. This is a momentous moment as it means that Ford EV drivers can access the Tesla charging network, which is arguably the most reliable and extensive public charging network in North America. Secondly, the company announced, the 2024 Ford E-Transit model will have better range, faster charging time and dual onboard chargers. The 2024 E-Transit’s battery has 89 kWh of usable energy, up from the 1st generation’s 68-kWh battery. Plus, E-Transit owners will get a complimentary NACS adapter to access Tesla’s 15,000+ Superchargers across America and Canada.
Deals
Carputty, an Atlanta-based auto-finance fintech, has successfully obtained a $75m warehouse facility with SVB (a division of First Citizens Bank) alongside an equity investment of $5m. The equity raised came from (new) investors such as TTV Capital, Fontinalis Partners, Kickstart Fund, Kinetic Ventures, and Grand Ventures.