What We’re Reading
EV battery giants BYD, CATL form Chinese powerhouse to build solid-state batteries (Electrek, February 12, 2024)
Who will win the race to commercialize all-solid-state EV batteries? China, if they have anything to say about it. Several leading Chinese automakers and battery manufacturers are joining forces to commercialize solid-state batteries, which could revolutionize the EV market. The government led, China All-Solid-State Battery Collaborative Innovation Platform (CASIP), was formed last month and includes academia and industry leaders like BYD, Contemporary Amperex Technology, and NIO. BYD and CATL already make up over 50% of the global EV battery market and are used by Tesla, BMW, Toyota, Kia, Ford, and other leading EV makers. China sees this new alliance as a way of ensuring they will become an “automotive powerhouse.”
Waymo recalls and update robotaxi software after two cars crashed into the same towed truck (Tech Crunch, February 13, 2024)
Self-driving vehicles continue to face ongoing scrutiny with the latest news of Waymo issuing its very first recall after two of the carmaker’s robotaxis crashed into a towed pickup truck in Arizona this past December. According to Waymo, the pickup truck was improperly towed, “angled across a center turn lane and a traffic lane,” which resulted in the robotaxis being unable to correctly predict the motion of the vehicle. While the crashes were considered “minor” with no injuries,according to Mauricio Peña, Waymo’s chief safety officer, the company has developed and tested a software update that was deployed to its entire fleet by January 12.
“This voluntary recall reflects how seriously we take our responsibility to safely deploy our technology and to transparently communicate with the public,” Peña wrote in a blog post.
AV restrictions bill reintroduced in California (Trucking Dive, February 13, 2024)
The ongoing battle between labor and autonomous tech in California witnessed another salvo last week when California legislators reintroduced a bill seeking to give state legislators more oversight over the AV sector. Specifically, the bill aims to shift the responsibility for keeping safety operators onboard autonomous heavy-duty trucks to politicians, rather than state regulators. The proposed law is aligned with another Teamsters-supported bill, which seeks to require the passage of local ordinances before autonomous vehicles are allowed to operate. “California must implement real AV safety standards and ensure local municipalities have a say in AV deployment,” said Peter Finn, president of Teamsters Joint Council 7.