Electric Cars
The thorium-powered vessel Thor is presented: it will charge the new generation of electric liners
Norwegian shipbuilder Ulstein has unveiled the research and rescue vessel Thor, which will be equipped with a thorium salt molten reactor. The ship can be used as a mobile power/charging station for a new generation of battery-powered cruise ships.
The 149-metre-long vessel is equipped with helipads, firefighting equipment, lifeguards, work boats, autonomous surface vehicles, drones, cranes, laboratories and a lecture hall.
Molten salt reactors (MSRs) use fuel dissolved in molten fluoride or chloride salt to act both as a fuel (producing heat) and as a coolant (removing heat to power generating equipment). There are a number of different MSR design concepts and a number of interesting commercialization challenges for many of them, especially with thorium.
To demonstrate the feasibility of the Thor, Ulstein also developed the concept of the Sif, a 100-metre zero-emission expedition cruise ship. With a capacity of up to 80 passengers and 80 crew members, Sif will offer silent, zero-emission expedition cruises to remote areas, including Arctic and Antarctic waters. The vessel will run on next-generation batteries, using Thor to recharge at sea.
Ulstein says Thor’s charging capacity has been increased to meet the power needs of four expedition cruise ships at the same time. The Thor itself will not need to be refueled. Thus, Thor must present a plan for fully self-sustaining ships of the future.
The company claims that Thor’s concept “is capable of bringing the concept of zero-emission cruise operations to life” and may be “the missing piece of the zero-emissions puzzle for a wide range of applications in the marine and ocean industry.”
Lars Ståle Skåge, Commercial Director of Ulstein Design & Solutions AS, stated: “We have full confidence in this decision and want to continue discussing how we can make the necessary changes that the world demands.”
The UN International Maritime Organization has committed shipping to cut emissions by 50% by 2050 compared to 2008.
According to Electrek, citing data collected by Focus to Move, Tesla entered the top ten best-selling cars in the world with two models at once.
The Tesla Model Y came in fourth place with 759,000 cars, an 88% improvement on its last year result. Sales of the Tesla Model 3 grew by 4% year-on-year to 596,000 vehicles, placing it in seventh place.
Toyota remains the leader in global car deliveries, as we’ve already reported, with three models in the top five best-selling passenger cars in the world.
Top 7 best-selling cars in the world last year looks like this:
- Toyota Corolla: 1.12 million (down 2% from 2021)
- Toyota RAV4: 870,000 (down 14%)
- Ford F-Series: 787,000 (down 9%)
- Tesla Model Y: 759,000 (88% more)
- Toyota Camry: 675,000 (down 3%)
- Honda CR-V: 601,000 (down 18%)
- Tesla Model 3: 596,000 (up 4%)
Electric Cars
“Duster’s little brother” will be a completely new model – a hybrid or an electric car
Edition L’Automobile, citing its own sources, writes that Dacia is going to release a completely new crossover.
The model should place itself between the 3.73m long Dacia Spring electric hatchback, whose second generation is expected in 2024, and the new Duster, which is about 4.4m long.
It is expected that the new crossover will receive a hybrid powertrain, like the 7-seater Jogger Hybrid. However, the manufacturer can make the power plant completely electric. In any case, Dacia will focus on the market and its budget segment.
Positioned between Spring and Duster, the compact crossover Dacia will have a format that is quite comparable to the Jeep Avenger (4.08 m). But at the same time, the novelty should be much more accessible to buyers.
According to preliminary data, the “little brother of Duster” will appear on the market only in 2026.
The Japanese auto concern Toyota Motor reported on the results of its work last year, which confirmed that the company remains the world leader in the supply of cars.
At the end of 2022, Toyota and its subsidiaries (Daihatsu and Hino) sold 10,483,024 worldwide, which is only 0.1% less than a year earlier.
Volkswagen, the closest pursuer of the Japanese giant, previously reported that the concern sold 8,262,800 cars last year. At the same time, Toyota overtook the competitor in November, when more than 9.5 million cars were sold.
Earlier it became known that China in 2022 ranked third in global car deliveries after Japan and Germany, overtaking the United States and South Korea.
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