Welcome to the mid-week round up! Today we are going to take a look at some of the energy and sustainability news happening around the country. As more sustainability efforts come to fruition, whether it's going solar, different types of fuel, reducing carbon impact, it inspires others to find new ways to improve their own footprint. One exciting piece of clean energy news before we break it down a bit: More states are implementing new Clean Energy Standards (details below) which brings the United States close to 65% unification on introducing better protocols to hit the common corporate, state, and global goal of 100% clean energy by 2050. We are also seeing companies developing new battery and charging technology to help prepare for the oncoming wave of EVs.

Take a look below for more news on efforts to go clean!

Electric Hardware: Batteries, Chargers, Etc.

Chargers

• Blink Charging Co. will be supplying GM dealerships across the US and Canada with Level 2 EV chargers to support the growing needs of charging infrastructure. Blink also expects orders to increase as more EVs become available in the coming years., Plus, peep some new products by Blink on the horizon such as a 200-home charger and fleet charger.
• EOS Linx and Choice Hotels have partnered up to implement and build solar powered EV charging stations in Atlanta, Nashville, and Chattanooga the first quarter of this year as a pilot program before implementing more across the country. 
• In California, Proterra and Scale Microgrid Solutions are installing an EV fleet charging system for the Santa Clara VTA that will act as a backup generator for its grid and allow the agency to supply emergency transportation. 
• Green Watt Power has added new models to its line of Level 2 Chargers that can charge motorcycles, scooters, e-carts and other electrical appliances, in addition to EVs.
• Mopar launches a level 2 home charger exclusively for the Jeep Wrangler and Grand Cherokee 4xe Hybrid models.

E-Battery News

• StoreDot has announced a new technology that will extend the life of a battery and reduce their environmental impact allowing EV drivers to maintain vehicle performance beyond the expected lifespan. 
• Battery swapping, once thought a thing of the past, is making a comeback through the company CATL which will allow for more affordable EVs with the ability to swap batteries, worrying less about battery size capacity for longer mileage trips. 
• Toyota plans a solid-state battery debut in 2025 that will be more cost-sensitive and capable of faster charging in addition to the promise of 30 EV models globally by 2030.
• FREYR and Honeywell have announced a partnership to manufacture batteries for EVs while also developing energy storage systems for the upcoming energy landscape change.

Clean Energy

• A variety of states and Washington D.C. have adopted renewable and clean energy standards. Delaware, Oregon, North Carolina, and Illinois updated their own policies at the end of 2021 which brings the total number of states dedicated to be 100% clean by 2050 to 31! Corporations in the US have purchased a record amount of clean energy and power through contracts that will only grow over time to continue to meet the demands and necessities of going green. 
• For years there has been talk about the future of roads in our country. Will it remain asphalt? Use recyclable materials? Well, Michigan has the answer: electric. In Detroit, an inductive vehicle charging pilot program that charges EVs, whether in motion or parked, is launching.  It will be the nation’s first wireless charging system on a public road hopefully paving the way for others to follow suit and adopt. 
• The EV Charging Initiative Summit united companies, states, and individuals working together to build a national charging infrastructure that ensures states and communities that have been historically left behind will not see the same fate this time and ensure the global goal of clean energy and net zero emissions. This is also related to the National Labs Summit from five different countries as they promise to share research together to reach net zero emissions by 2030. 
• An initiative known as Catalyst, founded by Bill Gates, received an investment of $100 million investment  from HSBC Bank that will assist the acceleration of green technologies with the goal of bringing down the costs of EV manufacturing and sustainable fuel generation among other goals. 
• Scientists in Oxfordshire had a nuclear fusion energy breakthrough to  for new innovations in pursuit of low emission low carbon energy that will help sustain and improve the amount of energy people use on our power grid daily.  
• NewHydrogen Inc says its new green hydrogen generators will be supplied to wind and solar farms that produce excess energy and can convert that energy to green hydrogen.