Daily Shorts: Lexus EV with 1,000 km range, Japan and Denmark tie up on offshore wind, and more

Toyota today unveiled a Lexus concept car with almost twice the driving range of conventional EVs. The LF-ZC concept car, based on advanced battery technology that Toyota has been promoting, uses "prismatic, high-performance" batteries to offer a roughly 1,000 km range. Toyota plans to roll the vehicle out by 2026. Toyota has doubled down on EV battery technology and plans to sell vehicles powered by solid-state batteries by 2027 or 2028.

New York awarded conditional contracts to three offshore wind projects as part of its plan to increase renewable energy capacity. The deals, billed as the largest ever investment in offshore wind in the US, come weeks after the state rejected requests by offshore wind developers to renegotiate their contracts because of rising costs. New York wants renewables to account for at least 70 percent of the state's power by 2030 and aims to reach zero emissions by 2040.

Japan and Denmark have agreed to collaborate in research and development of floating offshore wind farms, Japan's trade and industry ministry announced. The countries will create a framework to support cooperation within industry, regulatory bodies and academia. Officials said the grouping could also take the lead in creating global standards for the industry. Japan is targeting 10 GW of offshore wind power by 2030 and up to 45 GW by 2045. The country wants renewables to account for 36-38% of its electricity mix by the end of this decade and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. 

Stellantis announced it is planning a joint venture with French nuclear fuels company Orano to recycle used EV batteries and scrap materials from its giga factories across Europe and North America. The deal will give Stellantis, owner of car marquees such as Fiat, Jeep and Chrysler, additional access to cobalt, nickel and lithium, important materials for battery manufacturing. The companies said Orano's technology allowed for recovering as much as 90 percent or more of metals in lithium-ion batteries, while also supporting recovery of other materials. The companies did not provide financial details of the deal.