Battery maker Samsung SDI plans to invest $1.98 billion in its second U.S. joint battery factory with Stellantis, the company announced. The investment is part of Samsung SDI’s push into the U.S. market, as it also expands in Michigan.
The South Korea-based company said in a Sept. 27 regulatory filing that it will fund the project from April to November 2027. The investment will give Samsung SDI a 51% stake in Starplus Energy, its EV battery joint venture with Stellantis.
The Romanian National Commission for Nuclear Activities Control (CNCAN) has approved the Licensing Basis Document (LBD) for the NuScale small modular reactor (SMR) power plant with a gross installed power of 462 MWe (6 modules configuration, each with 77 MWe per module).
The approval of the Licensing Basis Document (LBD) represents a key milestone of the Small Modular Reactor Project, which will facilitate the implementation of the licensing process for all the stages of the NuScale Power plant in Romania.
Mercedes-Benz customers in Germany can now start the fuelling process directly from their vehicle and pay digitally by fingerprint. Eliminating the need to enter a PIN or authenticate via mobile device, drivers can now leverage convenient payments to enhance the in-vehicle experience. The native in-car payment service via Mercedes pay+ will turn the car into a form of payment device and can be used to make payments at service stations using the fingerprint sensor integrated into the MBUX infotainment system. This is now live with Mastercard debit and credit cards in current Mercedes-Benz models.
UKS Stamping, a subsidiary of the Ucler Kelepce group from Turkey, is building its first factory in Romania, where it will produce car parts and accessories. For this purpose, the company obtained an investment loan worth 10.7 million euros from Garanti BBVA. The UKS Stamping company will inaugurate this year the factory in Pitesti, on an area of 4,800 square meters, with a team of approximately 80 employees. In the Romanian factory, UKS Stamping will produce, among other things, car seats and body components.
Tecno just introduced its Phantom V Flip – the company's first clamshell foldable smartphone. It has a circular external OLED screen with two cameras and an LED flash in the ring around it, while on the inside is a 6.9” foldable LTPO AMOLED display.
The Tecno Phantom V Flip features a custom personal assistant called EllaGPT, which brings “intelligent features”, which is Tecno's answer to Google, Siri, Bixby, or Celia.
Tecno is offering the phone in two colors – Black and Purple.
Hapag-Lloyd AG, the biggest container shipping line based in Germany, said Sept. 21 it will install SpaceX’s Starlink service aboard the ships it owns and manages after a pilot program involving four vessels proved successful. Charters won’t receive the service under the current plan. According to Alphaliner data, 122 of the 259 ships that Hapag-Lloyd operates are company-owned.
Next steps in the rollout include ordering more equipment and installing antennas by year-end and activation of the service starting in early 2024.
Megane opened the way and now it’s Scenic’s turn to reinvent itself and take over as the spearhead for Renault’s new generation of electric vehicles. The All-new Scenic E-Tech electric is designed around families and their need to travel freely and safely. And it blends seamlessly into the Renaulution strategic plan: it is electric, up-to-the-minute, brimming with useful and intuitive technology, and designed more sustainably. It is the first production car to encapsulate Renault Group’s aim to become a next-generation automobile manufacturer championing fair transition.