Lawmakers threaten Big Oil CEOs with subpoenas for climate disinformation campaign

Published

3 years ago

October 29, 2021

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An oil pump jack in a field with wind turbines in Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S., Friday, Feb. 19, 2021.

Eddie Seal | Bloomberg | Getty Images

A day-long Congressional hearing on ‘climate disinformation’ on Thursday, where executives of some of the world’s largest oil companies defended themselves against lawmakers, ended with House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney threatening to issue subpoenas.

“Please know that I do not take this step lightly … we are at code red for climate and I am committed to doing everything I can to help rescue this planet and save it for our children,” Maloney said. “We need to get to the bottom of the disinformation campaign and with these subpoenas we will.”

Executives from the oil companies, including ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell and BP America, defended themselves and their company’s actions, saying they were in line with science of the day.

“Our understanding of the science has been aligned with the consensus of the scientific community as far back as 20 years ago,” said Exxon CEO Darren Woods, responding to questioning from Maloney. “As science has evolved and developed, our understanding has evolved and developed, as has our work and position on the space.”

Maloney said she did not get the information she and her lawmaker colleagues were looking for.

Lawmakers had requested documents from each of the big oil companies in attendance six weeks ago which were due Sept. 30. Lawmakers followed up before the due date and identified key categories of documents they wanted to see. The companies missed the deadline to produce the documents the group was looking to see, and lawmakers warned the companies they had until Oct. 25 or they would “face further action,” Maloney said.

None of the six entities delivered “a substantial portion” of the “key documents” Maloney and the committee wanted to see. Instead, they produced “reams” of publicly available documents.

One group sent in 1,500 pages of documents printed from their own website and 4,000 pages of newsletters with industry press releases, Maloney said. Other companies delivered thousands of pages of publicly available annual reports and company postings on Facebook and LinkedIn, she said.

What Maloney wanted to see was detailed funding information “to understand their payments to shadow groups and to over 150 public relations companies and advertisements on social media,” she said. Those documents were not provided, she said, and called those “payments that today’s witnesses seem intent on continuing.”

Rep. Ro Khanna, the chairman of the Subcommittee on the Environment, pressured Woods to say statements from a former Exxon executive, Lee Raymond, which denied a connection between fossil fuels and global warming was a mistake. While Khanna started his testimony saying, “I don’t have any interest in being adversarial,” the resulting back and forth with Woods got pretty tense.

“You know, when I make a statement, that’s wrong, when most people make a statement, that’s wrong, they say, ‘Okay, it’s a mistake. We regret it.’ I’m just asking you for that,” Khanna said.

“I don’t think it’s fair to judge something 25 years ago with what we’ve learned since,” Woods said.

“I’m disappointed that you’re not willing to say that something is a mistake. It doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence about, you know, introspection and going forward. I’m surprised actually, I thought you would just say it’s a mistake,” Khanna said.

Khanna also asked executives on the spot to tell the American Petroleum Industry, the industry trade group, to stop opposing legislation to promote electric vehicles.

Big oil companies are still funding groups like the American Petroleum Institute, an industry trade organization, which is getting in the way of reforms promoting electric vehicle use, Maloney said.

“I see no choice but to continue our committee’s investigation until we see the truth,” Maloney said.

“I have tried very hard to obtain this information voluntarily but the oil companies employ the same tactics they use for decades on climate policy — delay and obstruction. Well, that ends today,” Maloney said. She added that she had draft subpoenas on hand.

In addition to emphasizing that their companies were operating in accordance with the science of the time, the executives also focused on the clean energy innovation they are doing.

“Just as when we were founded in 1879, we continue to believe in a power of human ingenuity to overcome obstacles and find responsible solutions for meeting the world’s growing energy needs to deliver a better future for all,” Chevron CEO Michael K. Wirth said at the hearing.

While the stated goal of the hearing was “to examine the fossil fuel industry’s long-running, industry-wide campaign to spread disinformation about the role of fossil fuels in causing global warming,” according to a statement from the lawmakers’ committee, the content of the hearing ranged far beyond climate disinformation to include a political referendum on gas prices, American energy independence, among many other topics.

But many of the hours of the hearing were lawmakers taking the five minutes in the spotlight to address energy issues key to their own constituents.

For example, lawmakers brought up the high price of gas at the pump for consumers.

“It’s clear that this hearing is part of a Democrat led disinformation campaign to distract from the Biden administration’s failed policies that are hurting average Americans,” Virginia Foxx, a Republican Congressperson from North Carolina said.

“As of this morning $3.39 per gallon gas is the average price of gas in America,” Foxx said. “This hurts families in my district and across the nation enough to decide which items on their grocery list they cannot buy, and what trips they can no longer afford to take.”

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Tesla issues recall on over 200,000 for the self-driving computer failure

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2 hours ago

January 10, 2025

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Tesla issues recall on over 200,000 for the self-driving computer failure

Tesla has officially issued a recall on over 200,000 vehicles in the US over the self-driving computer inside the vehicle short-circuiting and failing to work.

This is an issue that Electrek has been reporting on for a month.

In December, Electrek released an exclusive report about Tesla having a major issue with a new version of its onboard “Full Self-Driving computer,” AI4.1, failing due to a short circuit, and Tesla must replace the computers.

We found examples of the issue arising as far back as July. The problem can start quickly, within a few miles on a brand-new car or after a few hundred to a few thousand miles.

When the computer fails, many vehicle features stop working, like active safety features, auto wipers, auto high beams, cameras, and even GPS, navigation, and range estimations.

Tesla’s fix was to replace the computer completely, but sources also mentioned a temporary software fix to enable some of the features in the meantime.

We followed up with another report earlier this week that highlighted how it is leaving customers in a difficult situation without the features and with faster battery degradation as the computer appears stuck in an auto-update mode that drains 5 kWh per day.

In the latest report, we also mentioned that Tesla has yet to issue a recall regarding this issue despite having to do so since these vehicles have become non-compliant with NHTSA without rear-view cameras.

Today, Tesla officially released a recall over the issue. For the first time, we get a better idea of the affected population, which adds up to 239,382 vehicles:

The subject population includes certain Model Year (MY) 2024 – 2025 Model 3, MY 2023-2025 Model Y, MY 2024-2025 Model S and MY 2023-2025 Model X vehicles that were equipped with certain car computers and operating a software release that was prior to 2024.44.25.3 or 2024.45.25.6

In the recall notice, Tesla describes the non-compliance:

On a small percentage of affected vehicles, upon vehicle power up, a reverse current may cause a shorting failure on the car computer board, resulting in the loss of rearview camera functionality, which does not comply with FMVSS 111, S5.5 and S6.2

Again, the problem is much larger than that as the entire computer fails, but the automaker only mentions the rear-view camera because that’s the part that makes it a safety risk and non-complaint.

Tesla says that it noticed the higher rate of computer failure on November 21, 2024. It started investigating and after about a month, it believes it has an idea of the cause, which would be several factors working together:

This sequence of specific software and hardware configurations, coupled with colder temperatures, could increase reverse current, which could short the primary and/or secondary power components.

As of December 30, 2024, Tesla has identified 887 warranty claims related to this issue.

In the remedy section of the recall, Tesla explains that it will push the software fix to the entire population, but it will also continue to provide computer replacement for vehicles who experience shorting:

On or shortly after December 18, 2024, at no cost to customers, affected vehicles began receiving an over-the-air (OTA) software update that changes the vehicle power up sequence to prevent the shorting failure condition to the primary and/or secondary power component. No further action is necessary from owners of affected vehicles that are equipped with software release 2024.44.25.3, 2024.45.25.6 or a later release if an affected vehicle has not experienced the shorting failure condition or stress that may lead to the shorting failure condition. Tesla is actively working to identify which affected vehicles, if any, experienced stress that may lead to the shorting failure condition. If an affected vehicle experienced the shorting failure condition or stress that may lead to the shorting failure condition prior to installing software release 2024.44.25.3, 2024.45.25.6 or a later release, then Tesla will replace the vehicle’s car computer at no cost to the customer.

We reported that some customers experiencing this issue are having to wait for months for a computer replacement.

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Environment

Mazda unveils its new EV for Europe: Meet the Mazda 6e with nearly 350 miles range

Published

2 hours ago

January 10, 2025

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Mazda unveils its new EV for Europe: Meet the Mazda 6e with nearly 350 miles range

The electric Mazda 6 successor will arrive in Europe this summer. Mazda finally revealed its new EV, the Mazda 6e, with nearly 350 miles of driving range. Check out the new Mazda EV below.

Meet the new Mazda 6e EV for Europe

Mazda unveiled the 6e at the Brussels Motor Show in Belgium on Friday. The sleek electric sedan is the European version of the Mazda EZ-6, sold in China.

The EZ-6 is made by Mazda’s Chinese joint venture, Changan Mazda. It has been on sale in China since October, starting at just 139,800 yuan, or less than $20,000. Now, Mazda is bringing the Chinese-made EV to Europe.

Mazda said the new 6e is “designed to attain the driving performance and functionality to meet European customers’ needs.”

Although it’s tailored for European buyers, the 6e was still developed by Mazda and its Chinese partners. You can see the new EV still includes the classic Mazda design. However, the 6e is powered by Changan’s hybrid platform and is loaded with the latest in-cabin smart tech.

In China, the EZ-6 is available in EV and extended-range configurations. The all-electric model gets up to 372 miles (600 km) CLTC range.

Mazda will offer two battery options in Europe, 80 kWh and 68.8 kWh. The larger (80 kWh) battery pack provides up to 343 miles (552 km) WLTP range, while the smaller option can get up to around 300 miles (479 km) range.

At 4,921 mm long, 1,890 mm wide, and 1,491 mm tall, the new Mazda 6e is about the size of a Tesla Model 3 (4,720 mm long, 1,922 mm wide, and 1,441 mm tall with a 2,875 mm wheelbase).

Mazda-6e-EV-interior — Mazda 6e interior (Source: Mazda)

Like in China, the European-made EV includes a clean interior with a 14.6″ infotainment and 10.1″ driver display screens. The “smart cabin” also features a 50″ virtual head-up display and other premium features like zero-gravity reclining seats.

The Mazda 6e will go on sale in Europe this summer as the Japanese automaker looks to meet the EU’s Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandates.

Mazda-$20,000-EV — Mazda EZ-6 electric sedan in China (Source: Changan Mazda)

Since it will be exported from China, Mazda will still pay for it after the EU raised tariffs on Chinese EV imports by up to 45.3%. Mazda will reveal prices closer to launch, but they are expected to start much higher than the $20,000 price tag in China.

Earlier this week, we also learned Mazda will build its first dedicated EV on a new platform in Japan. The company is building a new module pack plant to supply battery cells for the upcoming electric car.

What do you think of the electric Mazda 6 successor? Would you buy one in the US or Europe? Let us know in the comments.

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World’s largest EV maker unveils new sodium battery electric motorbikes

Published

5 hours ago

January 10, 2025

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World's largest EV maker unveils new sodium battery electric motorbikes

Yadea, which has claimed the title of the world’s largest electric vehicle maker for seven years running, has just announced a new electric motorbike powered by the company’s innovative HuaYu sodium-ion battery technology.

Yadea has long dominated the electric two-wheeler and three-wheeler market globally, but has generally relied on both lithium-ion and lead acid batteries to power its vehicles in different markets.

The newly unveiled electric scooter uses Yadea’s recently introduced sodium battery technology, offering what the company says is outstanding performance in range, charging speed, and safety. Using the HuaYu Sodium Superfast Charging Ecosystem presented by Yadea, the battery can reach 80% charge in just 15 minutes, providing greater convenience for riders.

Yadea’s sodium battery has successfully passed more than 20 safety tests, many focusing on its resistance to fire and explosions under extreme conditions like punctures and compression.

Yadea’s new sodium battery offers an energy density of 145 Wh/kg and a lifespan of up to 1,500 cycles at room temperature, with the company rating it for a five-year useful lifespan. It also includes a three-year warranty for added assurance.

With excellent low-temperature capabilities, the battery retains over 92% of its discharge capacity at -20°C, making it well-suited for colder climates.

Sodium batteries present major advantages

Most electric vehicles used in the West, especially electric two-wheelers, rely on lithium-ion batteries for their high energy density. But sodium-ion batteries offer many benefits over traditional lithium-ion batteries.

Sodium is an abundant element on the planet and is easily accessible, unlike lithium, which is concentrated in specific regions and often expensive to extract. This abundance can make sodium-ion batteries cheaper to produce, reducing costs for EV manufacturers and potentially making electric vehicles more affordable.

Lithium mining also has environmental challenges, such as water depletion and habitat destruction. Sodium, on the other hand, can be sourced from seawater or common salts, offering a more sustainable and environmentally friendly option.

Sodium-ion batteries are less prone to overheating and thermal runaway compared to lithium-ion batteries. This makes them inherently safer for electric vehicles, reducing the risk of fires and improving consumer confidence in EV technology.

Sodium-ion batteries perform better than lithium-ion in cold climates. Lithium-ion batteries struggle with capacity retention in freezing conditions, but sodium batteries maintain efficiency, making them ideal for EVs in colder regions.

Sodium batteries still have challenges to overcome

While sodium-ion batteries are promising, they currently have a lower energy density than lithium-ion batteries, meaning they store less energy per unit of weight.

For EVs, this translates to shorter driving ranges for the same-sized battery. That’s especially important in electric two-wheelers like motorbikes and electric bicycles, which don’t have much extra space for storing bulky batteries.

However, advancements in cathode materials and battery architecture are quickly closing this gap, which Yadea has demonstrated. These sodium-ion batteries still can’t match the energy density of lithium-ion batteries, but as they continue to improve their energy density, the technology’s other major advantages provide encouraging signs for larger adoption in the industry.

Yadea’s status as a major electric motorbike maker also means that its adoption of sodium-ion battery technology could help lead the entire industry towards this battery chemistry, bringing safety and performance benefits along with it.