Rio Tinto has successfully deployed AutoHaul, establishing the world's largest robot and first automated heavy-haul, long distance rail network.

Earlier this year Virta and E.ON signed a global operational agreement to make thousands of intelligent E.ON charging stations available to electric vehicle users across Europe in ten countries. The cooperation creates one of the largest and densest charging networks in Europe, where the E.ON electric vehicle charging infrastructure is powered by the Virta platform.

Honda will be seeking potential business and technology partners for its prototype off-road vehicle, the Honda Autonomous Work Vehicle.

Nuro has launched the first-ever unmanned delivery service for the general public. People in Scottsdale, Arizona can now have their groceries delivered by the R1, a self-driving, unmanned on-road vehicle.

MAGMENT announces the most cost-effective solution to install wireless charging pads by retrofitting existing plug-in charging stations with a concrete on-ground casing and configuring it as a virtual cable, interoperable with pick-up coils compliant with SAE 2954/IEC 61980 standards. Transmission power is up to 22 kW with efficiencies up to 95%.

Quanergy is a leading provider of solid state LiDAR sensors and smart sensing solutions.

Zero Motorcycles have exhibited at the past two IDTechEx events, and typically showcase their sporty S and off-road DS models, as well as their impressive 45kW electric motors (designed from scratch in California and produced at a factory in China). This year, at the IDTechEx Show! in Santa Clara California, things were markedly different.

The brand new IDTechEx report 'Electric and Hybrid Boats and Ships 2019 - 2029' expects investment to accelerate after 2020. Since the early 2010s, sales of pure electric and hybrid vessels have grown steadily, mainly driven by the need to reduce local pollution of NOx, SOx and particulate matter in a handful of emission control areas (ECA) that are local to coastlines.

The European Automobile Manufacturers' Association takes note of the final deal on the CO2 regulation for cars and vans, setting targets for the years 2025 and 2030, which was struck by the EU member states and the European Parliament.

Advancements in material science and material processing will always play a central role in any technological progression. IDTechEx has been providing leading market analysis on a broad range of advanced materials and their technology analysts have given their pick of the key news stories from 2018.

Hyon AS has been awarded grants under the PILOT-E scheme for the development and realization of two maritime projects; a high-speed ferry and a short-sea freighter. The ambitions of both projects are to realize zero-emission propulsion via fuel cells using cost-efficient hydrogen produced from electrolysis based on renewable energy.

Innovators at NASA have developed a variable-frequency, alternating current power system to enable turbo-electric and hybrid electric propulsion. The technology uses double-fed electric machines and a high-voltage, variable-frequency power system to significantly decrease (by 85%) the weight of an aircraft's power electronics for turbo-electric propulsion, while still providing high specific power and variable thrust.

IDTechEx Technology Analysts Dr Na Jiao and Luke Gear report on their findings at IDTechEx Show! Santa Clara 2018.

Cities are increasingly crowded: real estate is in short supply. Servicing buses needs to be as infrequent as possible and that means having the simplest powertrain, which is the pure electric vehicle.

LeasePlan Netherlands will collaborate with Dutch scale-up Lightyear, the first company in the world to develop an electric solar car for consumers. LeasePlan Netherlands will become Lightyear's leasing partner for the Lightyear One, the first car produced by the company. The Pioneer Edition of the Lightyear One is expected to drive on Dutch roads in 2020.

A research team have developed a new drone that can retract its propeller arms in flight and make itself small to fit through narrow gaps and holes. This is particularly useful when searching for victims of natural disasters.

Fuel cell vehicles are being trialled in mines, on farms, in construction, on roads, as boats, as trains.

Ports of Auckland has an ambitious goal to become a zero emissions port by 2040 and has recently completed the first step toward that goal by accurately measuring emissions and developing a plan to reduce them.

NASA is testing Alta Devices solar technology at the International Space Station in order to evaluate Alta's technology for future NASA low-Earth orbit missions, including powering CubeSats. Alta Devices also recently announced a new efficiency record of 29.1% for its single junction solar cell.