Author: sHq_LoGiNz

OSAKA, Japan, Nov. 25, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Panasonic Energy Co., Ltd., a Panasonic Group Company, today announced it has signed an agreement with Zoox, the Amazon-owned autonomous ride-hailing company, to supply cylindrical lithium-ion battery cells to power its robotaxi fleet deployments. Under the multi-year agreement, Panasonic Energy will deliver its latest 2170 battery cells beginning in early 2026 to support Zoox’s growing robotaxi service and operations.

Zoox has created a purpose-built robotaxi that gives the world a better way to ride and recently opened its first robotaxi serial production facility in Hayward, CA, to produce these vehicles at scale. The company also launched its robotaxi ride-hailing service in Las Vegas, making them the first company in history to provide a fully driverless ride-hailing service in a purpose-built robotaxi.

Panasonic Energy’s 2170 cells, offering superior energy density, safety and reliability, are crucial for Zoox’s high-performance robotaxis. The cylindrical cells, proven in various successful EV products, offer unrivaled safety. As of September 2025, Panasonic Energy had supplied approximately 20 billion lithium-ion EV battery cells globally, equivalent to powering 4 million EVs, without any vehicle recalls due to battery-attributed issues, highlighting its reputation for high-quality, reliable battery cells. Supply of these advanced cells will start from Japan and is planned to expand to Panasonic Energy’s Kansas factory in the near future.

According to the recent market report by Grand View Research, the U.S. robotaxi market, valued at roughly USD 0.45 billion in 2024, is expected to expand at a CAGR of over 70% through 2030, fueled by progressive urban policy initiatives in cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin, and Miami. Adoption is particularly accelerating in urban hubs like Phoenix, San Francisco, and Las Vegas, where on-demand robotaxi fleets are gaining traction. Globally, the market is forecasted to exceed USD 40–50 billion by 2030, with North America and Asia-Pacific emerging as the leading regions. Panasonic Energy aims to seize emerging opportunities in this dynamic market and accelerate the growth of our business.

Kazuo Tadanobu, CEO of Panasonic Energy, said, “Zoox is truly unique. This represents a pivotal step for Panasonic Energy with the opportunity to contribute towards the next generation of mobility innovation. Zoox is reshaping urban transportation and Panasonic Energy is helping power these robotaxis for a safer, more sustainable, and connected future.” 

“This is an exceptionally exciting time for Zoox, and we are pleased to have Panasonic Energy as a new partner in our journey to redefine urban mobility. Their commitment to innovation and quality aligns well with our mission to create a safer, cleaner, and more enjoyable way for people to get around cities. We’re proud to be working with them as our robotaxi service and operations continue to scale,” says Bruce Baumgartner, Vice President, Supply Chain, Quality & Reliability at Zoox.

About Panasonic Energy
Panasonic Energy Co., Ltd. provides innovative battery technology-based products and solutions globally. Through its automotive lithium-ion batteries, storage battery systems and dry batteries, the company brings safe, reliable, and convenient power to a broad range of business areas, from mobility and social infrastructure to medical and consumer products. Panasonic Energy is committed to contributing to a society that realizes happiness and environmental sustainability, and through its business activities the Company aims to address societal issues while taking the lead on environmental initiatives. For more details, please visit https://www.panasonic.com/global/energy/.

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SOURCE Panasonic Corporation of North America

GOTHENBURG, Sweden and VÄSTRA GÖTALAND, Sweden, Nov. 25, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — On Thursday November 27, Minesto, leading ocean energy developer, will publish the Interim Management Statement 1 January – 30 September 2025. Dr Martin Edlund, CEO, will present and share key updates from Minesto, followed by a Q&A session.

The webinar will take place online at 10am (CET) on Thursday 27 November 2025.

The presentation will be held in English.
The webinar will be broadcast through Finwire TV.
Following the session, a recording will be available online.

Please register your attendance here:
Minesto – Q3 Presentation 2025 – Finwire

Welcome.

The Interim Management Statement is scheduled for publication at 08.30 (CET) on Thursday 27 November, it will be distributed through press release and available at www.minesto.com

Contact:
Cecilia Sernhage, Chief Communications Officer
+46 735 23 71 58
ir@minesto.com 

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

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SOURCE Minesto AB

ESPOO, Finland, Nov. 25, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — A VTT led research project is developing compact spectral imaging and gas measurement technologies for industries and medical diagnostics. Innovations based on the science of light, i.e. photonics, use, for instance, infrared light to identify gases. With the new optical MEMS solutions, instruments and sensors are easier and cheaper to manufacture from readily available and non-toxic raw materials.

The EPheS (Efficient Photonics for Sustainable Imaging and Sensing) project, involving four pioneering companies and two research institutes, is developing tunable optical spectral filters and systems based on them. These solutions serve a wide range of applications, ranging from environmental monitoring such as hazardous gas detection, green energy initiatives to food and pharmaceutical safety as well as medical diagnostics, such as tissue analysis.

“Novel spectral imaging and gas measurement technologies are essential for creating a sustainable circular economy. They can be used to reduce the carbon footprint of different industries and increase the carbon handprint, i.e. the positive environmental impact of these technologies,” says Aapo Varpula, project coordinator and Research Team Leader for Medical microsystems at VTT.

Launched at the beginning of 2025, the three-year project is a part Chip Zero ecosystem that is run by Applied Materials. The other project partners are Tampere University, Vaisala, Gasera and Schott Primoceler.

“Our collaboration has got off to a flying start. We’re currently in the design phase, and we’ll start component fabrication in VTT’s cleanroom for 200 mm wafers around the turn of the year. This is an excellent opportunity for VTT to develop novel infrared spectral technologies and demonstrate them in new applications,” explains Varpula.

Metalenses and MEMS technology enable a breakthrough

The project stands out globally due to the unique combination of expertise in materials, metaoptics, MEMS (micro-electromechanical system) and integrated optical systems brought together by its partners.

EPheS combines metalenses and MEMS-based adjustable infrared filters into compact systems for the spectral-based detection of gases and hyperspectral imaging.

“Metalenses are flat, nanostructured lenses that can replace traditional optics. This enables the manufacturing of simpler, lighter and more resource and cost-effective systems,” says Varpula.

In Finland, metaoptics is still rarely used in industrial applications. In the project, new technology in the long-wave infrared (LWIR) range enables both more efficient gas sensor performance and the miniaturisation of systems.

Sustainability is highlighted in the project by the ecological choice of materials. For example, silicon is non-toxic and widely available, unlike many conventional infrared materials, which are expensive, rare and toxic.

Gases can be detected with infrared light and audio signals

The photonics technologies being developed allow the analysis of, for example, gases and materials in real time and with high sensitivity. This can be achieved without interference from other gases, using methods such as photoacoustics or infrared spectroscopy. The gas sensors and instruments use microfabricated tunable LWIR filters.

“In the photoacoustic method, gas is collected into a measurement chamber and irradiated with infrared light. When the light is absorbed by the gas, it generates an audio signal. This will only happen when the chamber contains a specific gas for which the wavelength of the infrared radiation is tuned,” Varpula explains.

Tunable Fabry-Pérot interferometer-based MEMS filters employ optical membranes separated by an air gap. The layered structure composed of a thin silicon membrane enables efficient operation in the LWIR range.

Conventional solutions are expensive, large and only work for one gas at a time. New adjustable components facilitate the detection of a wide range of gases. They are also smaller and cheaper and enable more versatile gas measurement systems.

A national competence cluster under construction

As part of the Chip Zero ecosystem, the EPheS project brings photonics expertise and builds a national competence cluster.

“As part of the EPheS project, the atomic layer deposition (ALD) delivers exceptional material quality and reliability for advanced optical components – driving breakthroughs in spectral imaging and gas sensing. From ultra-thin coatings for multispectral filters to durable layers for MEMS FPIs, we need to ensure precision at the nanometre scale. We are proud to be part of this collaboration developing sustainable, high-performance solutions that are set to redefine environmental monitoring, industrial automation, and beyond,” says Jesse Kalliomäki, Senior Scientist at Applied Materials in Finland.

“At Tampere University, we develop metaoptic components that manipulate light with nanoscale precision. Within EPheS, our focus is on designing metalenses and metasurfaces that bring advanced imaging and sensing functionalities into compact, integrated formats. By combining metaoptics with MEMS technology, we aim to make high-performance photonic systems more sustainable, scalable, and accessible for real-world applications,” says Humeyra Caglayan, Professor of Physics at Tampere University.

EPheS project in a nutshell

• A Business Finland Co-Innovation project under the Chip Zero Veturi programme
• total budget: EUR 4.2 million
• Two research and technology organisations:            
  • VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland
  • Tampere University
• Four companies: Applied Materials, Vaisala, Gasera and Schott Primoceler
• Duration: 3 years

Additional information:

VTT
Aapo Varpula, Research Team Leader, aapo.varpula@vtt.fi, tel. +358 40 357 1370

Applied Materials
Jesse Kalliomäki, Senior Scientist, jesse_kalliomaki@amat.com, +358 50 4657233

Tampere University
Humeyra Caglayan, Professor of Physics, humeyra.caglayan@tuni.fi,  +358 50 4478330

MEDIA MATERIAL

VTT’s MEMS-based tuneable optical filter chips (Photo source: VTT)

Caption for illustration `Metaoptics.png’: (a) Conceptual illustration of an optical metasurface; (b) Scanning electron microscope (SEM) image of a metasurface fabricated at Tampere University by Linzhi Yu.

Further information on VTT:
Paula Bergqvist, Communications Manager
+358 20 722 5161, paula.bergqvist@vtt.fi
www.vttresearch.com

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

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SOURCE VTT Info

BEIJING, Nov. 24, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — A green energy transition is underway across Xing’an League in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, with the Xing’an League Economic and Technological Development Zone becoming a core hosting location for the green hydrogen-ammonia-methanol industry.

From technological breakthroughs to industrial applications, the zone is spearheading rapid growth in the green energy industry.

Xing’an League boasts various energy resources, with estimated developable capacity of wind and solar energy reaching 36 million kilowatts, 5 billion cubic meters of total water resources from 315 rivers, and over 7 million tonnes of biomass resources.

This unique resource endowment constitutes precisely the “natural foundation” needed by the green hydrogen-ammonia-methanol industry.

The Xing’an League Economic and Technological Development Zone has established a centralized conversion platform for the league’s green resources through systematic planning, converting them into viable materials for sustained industrial development and laying a solid foundation for future project implementation and technological breakthroughs.

To truly transform potential resource dividends into tangible industrial competitiveness, the zone leverages infrastructure and the policy system to drive development of the green hydrogen-ammonia-methanol industry.

According to Gao Tianyu, director of the Administrative Committee of the zone, the zone has invested a total of 6 billion yuan in infrastructure development by 2025 to ensure the smooth implementation and development of relevant projects.

Supportive policies at the national, autonomous region and the zone levels also help optimize the business environment for relevant enterprises to do business and carry out projects locally.

As of 2025, the zone has attracted leading enterprises such as Goldwind, CGN, and Mingyang Smart Energy, with the green hydrogen-ammonia-methanol industry initially taking shape.

According to the development blueprint, the zone will establish an industrial cluster capable of producing 700,000 tonnes of green hydrogen, 2 million tonnes of green ammonia, and 3 million tonnes of green methanol, driving output value across the upstream and downstream industrial chains to exceed 50 billion yuan.

Currently, the zone has gathered 736 relevant enterprises, established an innovation echelon led by high-tech enterprises, and forged a modern industrial system, becoming a crucial industrial platform advancing green transformation in eastern Inner Mongolia.

Beyond achieving breakthroughs in key technologies, the zone has also established a comprehensive industrial close-loop encompassing equipment manufacturing, green hydrogen production, green ammonia and methanol preparation, and waste material recycling.

Original link: https://en.imsilkroad.com/p/348463.html 

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SOURCE Xinhua Silk Road