Here are some noteworthy cleantech announcements of the day from around the world:

Switch Mobility, the electric vehicle arm of Ashok Leyland, has landed an order to supply and operate 300 12-meter electric buses for BMTC (Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation). The fleet and charging infrastructure will be supplied, operated, and maintained by Switch Mobility for a period of 12-years on a gross cost contract (GCC) model under the FAME II Scheme. The buses are expected to reduce fuel consumption by around 5.5 million liters annually, reducing carbon emissions by more than 14,500 tons per year.

Automaker Honda and construction engineering company Black & Veatch have successfully tested the prototype Honda Autonomous Work Vehicle (AWV) at a Black & Veatch construction site in New Mexico. During the month-long field test, the second-generation prototype of the fully electric Honda AWV performed a range of functions at a large-scale solar energy construction project, including towing activities and transporting construction materials, water, and other supplies to pre-set destinations within the worksite. The field test also demonstrated the viability of the Honda AWV battery system to support energy-intensive sensors and provide vehicle propulsion while operating for up to eight hours in a high-temperature environment. The vehicle carried payloads of nearly 900 pounds, and in a separate use case, towing a trailer carrying over 1,600 pounds.

The pre-bid conference organized by the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) for prospective bidders for the advanced chemistry cell (ACC) PLI program has received wide participation from bidders. On October 22, 2021, the Ministry invited bids for a total manufacturing capacity of ACC battery storage of 50 GWh with an outlay of ₹181 billion (~$2.43 billion). The bidding will be held online through a transparent two-stage process under the quality and cost-based selection (QCBS) mechanism. ACCs are the new generation of advanced storage technologies that can store electric energy either as electrochemical or as chemical energy and convert it back to electric energy when required. While several companies have started investing in battery packs, there is a negligible investment in manufacturing ACCs in India.

Breakthrough Energy Ventures, National Grid Partners, and a subsidiary of NextEra Energy have joined Talkot and Hervé Touati in overhead conductor manufacturer TS Conductor Corporation’s oversubscribed Series A financing for $25 million in funding. The new capital will be used to build the company’s first state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in the United States. According to the TS Conductor Corp’s press release, the overhead conductor technology used by transmission and distribution grid operators has not materially changed since the emergence of aluminum core steel reinforced (ACSR) cables in 1908. The company claims that ACSR still today represents over 95% of the utility cables deployed worldwide.

Renewable energy solutions provider Cleantech Solar has commissioned a ~1 MW rooftop solar PV system for Berli Dynaplast Company Limited’s manufacturing plant in Lopburi, Thailand. Cleantech Solar will expand the existing system by a further 1.4 MWp. This partnership between the companies is expected to generate about 72,320 MWh of clean energy during the system’s lifetime, amounting to a reduction of 41,160 tons of CO2 emissions. The solar PV system will boost Berli Dynaplast’s sustainability efforts in Thailand by substituting a portion of the electricity consumption with green, renewable solar power. Furthermore, using solar energy to power, the operations will reduce the facility’s operating costs without having to make any capital investment or assuming performance risk of the solar PV system.