Toronto, Ontario — In this week’s electric and autonomous vehicle report, Hyundai announced the “Hydrogen Wave” global forum, General Motors is shifting its EV focus toward the Ultium battery platform and Waymo is scaling back it’s third-party lidar sales.
A Changing Tide
Hyundai Motor Group is looking to make a splash in the alternative energy market as the automaker announced the “‘Hydrogen Wave’, a global virtual forum which represents the group’s plans for a new ‘wave’ of hydrogen-based products and technologies.”
The exclusively online event is set to kick-off live in Korea on Sept. 7 and stream via Hyundai’s YouTube channel.
According to the company’s press release, “State-of-the-art future fuel cell electric vehicles—as well as other innovative applications—will be unveiled during the forum. Cutting-edge hydrogen application systems and products from the Group’s affiliates will also be presented at the exhibition, further showcasing and detailing how a hydrogen society can be formed and realized.”
Age of Ultium
General Motors’ Oshawa plant might end up filling a big role in the company’s electric future as the automaker recently announced that all EVs going forward will be built on the locally-developed Ultium battery platform.
In the middle of sorting out an ongoing recall of Bolt EVs, GM is trying to assure drivers that the Ultium platform, largely developed in Oshawa, is a safe and reliable solution to the company’s current battery challenges.
“We’re really proud of the architecture of the Ultium. With tight coupling between the body and the battery and reinforcements for both, we have maximized the space available,” said Andrew Oury, GM’s lead battery engineer.
Scaling Back
Waymo, Alphabet Inc.’s self-driving unit, has announced that it has ended it’s two-year effort to sell light detection and ranging (lidar) sensors to other companies.
“We’re winding down our commercial lidar business as we maintain our focus on developing and deploying our Waymo Driver across our Waymo One (ride-hailing) and Waymo Via (delivery) units,” a Waymo spokesperson said in a statement.
The spokesperson, however, said it will continue to build its lidars in-house.
