Guidehouse Insights has released a report, Light Duty Vehicle Electrification Overview, examining light duty (LD) EV sales and populations as well as provided forecasts for conservative, base and aggressive scenarios through 2030, the company announced on Thursday.

“Further into the future, continuous improvements to vehicle technology economics, including battery innovations and government transportation policies that incentivize adoption of low emission vehicles and low carbon fuels, are anticipated to propel sales growth,” says Raquel Soat, research analyst with Guidehouse Insights.

Guidehouse reported that recent growth in the LD EV market with strong hybrid EV (HEV) sales growth has led to positive uptake in the EV market in 2019, even though areas like plug-in EV (PEV) sales in North America have decreased. 

The company noted that the introduction of SUV and crossover PEV models in North America and additional mild-hybrid vehicles coming to market in Europe will propel growth. Guidehouse noted that the electric pickup truck market will contribute to the increase of PEV sales in North America. 

While the EV market has shown potential, Guidehouse reported that there will still be challenges ahead in the new market. The report noted that the lack of consumer awareness and need for more charging infrastructure mark significant barriers for LD vehicle electrification. 

Guidehouse analyzed that awareness is increasing within the market; however, many consumers remain unaware of the evolving technologies and costs associated with EV. The report has included an outlook on LD EV sales and populations to 2030 and includes passenger cars and light trucks with the following powertrains. 

The future outlook of the market created three scenarios distinguished by varying assumptions: conservative, base and aggressive. The divisions have been created in regards to future vehicle component costs, government incentives, and vehicle availability. 

“Growing interest in carbon pricing and increased charging infrastructure investments are expected to also improve PEV economics,” added Soat. 

About Guidehouse

Guidehouse is a leading global provider of consulting services to the public and commercial markets with broad capabilities in management, technology, and risk consulting. We help clients address their toughest challenges with a focus on markets and clients facing transformational change, technology-driven innovation and significant regulatory pressure.

Across a range of advisory, consulting, outsourcing, and technology/analytics services, we help clients create scalable, innovative solutions that prepare them for future growth and success. Headquartered in Washington DC, the company has more than 7,000 professionals in more than 50 locations. Guidehouse is led by seasoned professionals with proven and diverse expertise in traditional and emerging technologies, markets and agenda-setting issues driving national and global economies.

KBR has been awarded an energy efficiency opportunities study at Gladstone LNG by Santos, a leading energy group in Australia, KBR announced on Thursday. 

"KBR has long been trusted by clients across the LNG sector and this study is indicative of KBR's capabilities and skillsets across complex industrial assets, demonstrating our strategic commitment to sustainability and decarbonization and optimizing operational efficiencies across the supply chain," said Jay Ibrahim, KBR President, Energy Solutions.

Under the study, KBR will explore opportunities to improve the overall energy efficiency of the plant and reduce CO2 emissions associated with the GLNG liquefaction facility, building on the company portfolio within the liquified natural gas (LNG) sector. 

KBR will assist GLNG identify and screen potential modifications to enhance the operational facility. The company will investigate new improvements of thermal efficiency, while accounting for the associated reduction in carbon emissions.

The study will leverage the specialist energy, decarbonization and process optimization skills of KBR's strategic and advisory consulting team, expanding on the company’s LNG expertise. In addition to the study, KBR also secured a Front End Engineering Design (FEED) contract by Oman LNG in May 2019. 

KBR will provide FEED services for the debottlenecking project to increase production at its world-class plant in Sur. The company will also perform full FEED services, including licenser and vendor management and associated services.

KBR will act as an extension to Oman LNG's project team and help manage the overall execution of the project including the management of the supply and ensure all areas of compliance and safety are met.  

About KBR, Inc.

KBR is a global provider of differentiated professional services and technologies across the asset and program lifecycle within the Government Solutions and Energy sectors. KBR employs approximately 37,000 people worldwide (including our joint ventures), with customers in more than 80 countries, and operations in 40 countries, across three synergistic global businesses: Government Solutions, Technology Solutions, Energy Solutions.

QTS Realty Trust has partnered with Eurofiber Netherlands to provide dark fiber between QTS’ Groningen and Eemshaven, Netherlands data centers to respond to the increased demand for capacity and carrier neutral connectivity in Europe, QTS reported on Tuesday.

“We are pleased to work with Eurofiber as we expand QTS’ capability in our European footprint,” said Jan Daan (J.D.) Luycks, managing director, QTS. “Eurofiber is an undisputed interconnection leader in Europe and brings extensive market knowledge and synergies that will help accelerate QTS’ European business momentum.”

Eurofiber’s redundant dark fiber and lit services will support QTS’ hybrid colocation and hyperscale data center services availability to organizations in the Netherlands and throughout Europe.

Eurofiber’s DCspine will enable QTS’ customers and partners to connect over a software-defined network, reduce cost and enable rapid connectivity across a single platform. Eurofiber and DCspine also enable direct access and connectivity to hyperscale cloud providers.

In addition, the new Copenhagen-Brussels-Amsterdam (COBRA) subsea cable will connect with the new HAVFRUE (AEC-2) subsea cable and terminate in QTS Eemshaven to provide QTS Eemshaven a global Network Access Point that will accelerate global interconnection for customers in Europe.

In addition, Eurofiber recently completed construction on a new fiber-optic path connecting QTS Eemshaven with QTS Groningen to offer two fully separate fiber-optic connections between Groningen and Amsterdam.

The facility has been situated directly along the coast, with access to an undersea cable and abundant energy supply, Eemshaven has emerged as a new global interconnection point for hyperscalers based on the presence of this fully separate fiber-optic route to Groningen, Amsterdam, Hamburg and other European cities.

“QTS is one of the world’s leading data center providers with a strong financial backing making them an ideal partner for our broad portfolio of fiber and lit services as they enter the market,” said Rhoderick van der Wyck, Director International Business, Eurofiber. “We share similar growth strategies and recognize the opportunity to lead the establishment of Eemshaven as a global interconnection hub serving increasing demand for hyperscale and hybrid colocation solutions.”

About QTS

QTS Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: QTS) is a leading provider of data center solutions across a diverse footprint spanning more than 7 million square feet of owned mega scale data center space throughout North America and Europe.

Through its software-defined data center platform, QTS is able to deliver secure, compliant infrastructure solutions, robust connectivity and premium customer service to leading hyperscale technology companies, enterprises, and government entities.

The Air Force Global Strike Command is slated to inaugurate a collaborative hub in a virtual ribbon-cutting event on Thursday. The STRIKEWERX facility will allow businesses, academia and the military to collaborate and engage with one another in efforts to address the command's needs, the U.S. Strategic Command said Monday.

The inauguration will feature a video tour of the facility and a keynote speech from Gen. Tim Ray, commander of AFGSC. The command rescheduled the hub's opening from its initial date in April in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate has released the latest version of its Chemical Agents Reactions Database (CARD) designed to help law enforcement authorities identify harmful chemicals.

DHS said Tuesday the latest CARD comes as part of the S&T Chemical Security Analysis Center’s (CSAC) efforts to collate data such as molecular structure, toxicity and boiling point levels to provide insight into how “chemicals of interest” are produced.

The CARD platform is hosted on a Department of Defense (DoD) server and is accessible to state and local agencies as well as authorized personnel at DHS and the Department of Justice (DOJ).

To date, the centralized database has information on over 1,000 chemicals and 2,000 chemical synthetic methods.

“If law enforcement were to discover a table full of labeled chemicals in a clandestine laboratory, they would put these names as a list in CARD to find out what the suspects are making – illicit drugs, poisons, or warfare agents,” said David Morton, a senior chemist at CSAC.

S&T launched the first iteration of CARD in 2009 and modified the platform in 2018 in partnership with the FBI. CSAC plans to issue another CARD update in the second half of fiscal year 2020.