Video: Why coal companies love bankruptcy

Bloomberg News | December 16, 2022 | 

(Image courtesy of the American Thoracic Society).

US coal companies are required by law to clean up their old mines, but a common practice of transferring those mines to smaller operators has left many polluted sites unreclaimed throughout coal country.


In this episode of Bloomberg Storylines we travel to the nation’s coal belt, revealing the environmental wreckage left by mining across wide swaths of land and the damage done to those who live nearby. We also meet one man on a crusade to make those coal companies clean up their mess and never come back.

(By Alan Jeffries)

World’s coal consumption set to breach new record this year
Bloomberg News | December 16, 2022 | 

A coal-fired power station in Nantong, China. (Image by Kristoferb, Wikimedia Commons).

World coal consumption is set to rise to the highest level ever this year despite ambitious global goals aimed at weaning nations off burning the dirty fossil fuel.


Coal usage looks likely to increase by 1.2% in 2022, surpassing 8 billion tonnes in a single year for the first time, according to an International Energy Agency report published Friday. It also said consumption will likely remain at that level until 2025, as declines in advanced economies are offset by demand in emerging Asian markets, such as China and India.




Europe’s heavy reliance on coal this year is largely driven by Russia’s curtailment of gas supplies to the continent, forcing it to draw on other other energy sources. It’s at a time when European leaders are also attempting to shift toward renewables to secure a clean source of power going forward.

The analysis “underlines the urgent need to massively scale up renewable power and energy efficiency so that we cut people’s bills, secure our energy supplies, and keep essential climate targets intact,” Alexandru Mustața, a campaigner at Europe Beyond Coal said.

“Importantly, no European country has revised its plans to phase out coal completely by 2030, and Europe is still on track to be coal free by the end of the decade.”

Canada blocks Glencore’s proposed coal mine project in British Columbia

Reuters | December 21, 2022 |

Near Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia. Stock image.

Canada on Wednesday blocked Glencore Plc’s proposed coal mine project in British Columbia, citing significant environmental damage.


“After careful deliberation, the Government of Canada has determined the significant adverse environmental effects of the proposed Sukunka Coal Mine Project, an open-pit metallurgical coal mine located near Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, could not be mitigated,” the government said.

(By Kanjyik Ghosh; Editing by Leslie Adler)

Teck sells closed Quintette coal mine for $120 million

Staff Writer | December 20, 2022 |

The Quintette steelmaking coal mine has been on care and maintenance since 2000.

 (Image courtesy of Teck Resources.)

Teck Resources (TSX: TECK.A | TECK.B) (NYSE: TECK), Canada’s largest diversified miner, has reached a deal to sell its closed Quintette steelmaking coal mine to Conuma Resources for $120 million cash.


The asset, in northeast British Columbia, has been shuttered since 2000, after being in operations for 18 years.

Teck said Conuma Resources, a Canadian a steelmaking coal producer, will also pay an ongoing 25% net profits interest royalty once it recovers its investment in Quintette.

The Vancouver-based miner is using strong cash flows from its coal business to expand its copper development, including the Quebrada Blanca Phase 2 (Q2) expansion project in Chile.

Once in operation, Q2 would double Teck’s copper production, extending Quebrada Blanca’s life by 28 years and boosting production to 300,000 tonnes of copper a year from 287,000 tonnes in 2017.

Major steelmakers are starting to move away from coking coal used in blast furnaces and switching to greener alternatives, such as hydrogen.

The International Energy Agency published a report in November that shows “hydrogen-based steelmaking has picked up significant momentum”. According to the agency, the number of steelmakers’ announcements to use such technology tripled over the prior 12 months.

According to the World Steel Association, the industry is responsible for between 7% and 9% of the global emissions created from the burning of fossil fuels.

Most Canadians see clean energy as safer, more affordable than fossil fuels – survey
Staff Writer | December 18, 2022 | 

Wind farm near Strathroy-Caradoc, Ontario, Canada. 

(Image by Corey Seeman, Flickr.)

Two-thirds of Canadians think a clean energy system such as hydro, wind, solar power and electric vehicles would be more affordable than a fossil fuel energy system, a recent survey shows.


According to the study conducted by Clean Energy Canada and Abacus Data, such a view is shared by a majority in every region or province, except for Alberta.


The survey also shows that over seven in ten Liberal, National 

NEW Democratic Party and Green Party supporters feel this way, as do four in ten Conservative Party adherents.

The poll also asked participants to share their views on the renewable energy market and two-thirds responded that ‘green’ systems are more secure – that is, prices and supply seem less influenced by goal markets.

This view is shared by a majority in every region or province, including in Alberta. Over three in four Liberal, NDP, and Green Party supporters feel this way, as do half of Conservative Party supporters.

“Increasingly, Canadians see that the transition to clean energy is not only an economic opportunity—but an opportunity to lower their energy bills. Canadians also recognize clean energy as more secure. This view reflects reality, as clean energy electricity rates are less beholden to global markets,” Trevor Melanson, communications director at Clean Energy Canada, said in a media statement.

The survey also asked Canadians about their level of knowledge of the US’s Inflation Reduction Act, which seeks to invest $370 billion into climate action to spur investment in clean energy and greenhouse gas emission reductions.

Under half of Canadians are aware of the law and when asked whether it is important or not for Canada to also invest in clean-energy-related economic opportunities, 83% said it is either very or somewhat important. Large majorities in every region of the country and across the political spectrum shared this view.

The method

The survey was conducted with 1,500 Canadian adults from November 25 to December 1, 2022. A random sample of panellists was invited to complete the survey from a set of partner panels based on the Lucid exchange platform.

The margin of error for a comparable probability-based random sample of the same size is +/- 2.5%, 19 times out of 20.

The data were weighted according to census data to ensure that the sample matched Canada’s population according to age, gender, educational attainment, and region.

ALBERTA IS SECOND IN CANADA FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT (SOLAR,WIND) BEHIND ONTARIO

APPARENTLY THIS IS NOT WELL KNOWN IN ALBERTA

U$A
Autonomous mining vehicle developer gets $38m to fuel expansion plans

Staff Writer | December 18, 2022 |

Autonomous mining vehicles with SafeAI’s technology. (Image by SafeAI).

SafeAI, a company that retrofits construction and mining vehicles with aftermarket hardware and proprietary autonomy software, received $38 million in Series B round funding to expand operations and continue developing its technology.


Among the firm’s funders are Builders VC, McKinley Management, George Kaiser Family Foundation, and Energy Innovation Capital. At the same time, Moog Inc., a manufacturer of electric, electro-hydraulic and hydraulic motion controls and systems, joined the round as a strategic investor.

“Heavy industry is an enormous global market. Based on data from Australia Mining Consultancy and Parker Bay Mining, the mining equipment industry alone is valued at close to over $18 billion and is expected to grow at a 7% CAGR. But, the industry is threatened by productivity inefficiencies, safety issues and delays that derail project timelines and budgets,” SafeAI said in a media statement. “Autonomy addresses these issues head-on by delivering greater efficiency and 24/7 productivity—yet, less than 5% of mining vehicles worldwide are leveraging it. SafeAI is designed to meet this significant and increasing demand.”

According to the company, one of the main advantages of its technology is that it doesn’t require miners to acquire new equipment as it converts aftermarket vehicles and fleets with autonomous technology, regardless of manufacturer or vehicle type.

“SafeAI has developed their solution for scale and impact in a highly addressable off-road market that has an immediate need and proven traction,” Mark Blackwell, general partner at Builders VC, said in the press brief. “With a solution that is more broadly accessible to the industry, yet still powerful enough for the largest mining companies, SafeAI is set up to deliver industry transformation at scale.”

Blackwell pointed out that the new funding comes on the heels of a year of momentous growth for SafeAI, including partnerships with contracting group MACA to deploy 100 mining trucks, Siemens on a collaboration for vehicle electrification and autonomy, and Obayashi Corporation on developing solutions for construction.

“We’ve designed a flexible, interoperable, scalable retrofit model to enable companies across the heavy industry to uplevel their operations,” Bibhrajit Halder, founder and CEO at SafeAI, said. “The mining industry has been successfully implementing autonomy on a limited scale for years. Our approach is purpose-built to finally accelerate autonomous accessibility and deployment on a significant scale. This funding is just the beginning of our next chapter of expansion and growth.”

21ST CENTURY ALCHEMY

Gold may be the solution to foggy glasses

Staff Writer | December 19, 2022 | 

The left lens (right from the reader’s perspective) has the new antifogging nanocoating. The other lens is uncoated. (Image courtesy of ETH Zurich).

A recently developed ultrathin, gold-based transparent coating that is able to convert sunlight into heat is being proposed as a solution to prevent fogging in glass surfaces such as those in eyewear or windshields.


The soon-to-be patented coating has been created by researchers at ETH Zurich employing methods that are used extensively in manufacturing, such as vapour deposition under vacuum in a clean room to deposit minuscule amounts of gold onto the surface being treated.

The coating is made up of a single gold nanolayer and is significantly thin, which makes it transparent as well as pliable. Further, it absorbs infrared light selectively.

The new material also takes an approach that differs from conventional antifogging methods. Traditionally, surfaces are coated with water-attracting molecules, which results in an even spread of condensation. This is how antifog sprays work. But the new method instead heats the surface, thus preventing humidity-induced condensation from forming there in the first place. It’s the same principle as is used for a car’s rear window.

The problem with the way things are done in cars is that electric heating is required, which is inefficient and wastes energy. In contrast, the new coating is heated passively and requires, during the daytime, no additional energy source.

Tiny gold particles

The way the coating is designed involves minuscule, extremely thin clusters of gold sandwiched between two ultrathin layers of titanium oxide, an electrically insulating material. Due to their refractive properties, these two outer layers increase the efficacy of the heating effect. Moreover, the top layer of titanium oxide acts as a finish that protects the gold layer from wear. This whole “sandwich” is just 10 nanometres thick. By way of comparison, a common gold leaf is twelve times thicker.

The individual gold clusters touch each other minimally, which is what allows the gold layer to just start conducting electricity. So in the absence of sunlight, it would still be possible to use electricity to heat the coating.

“Our coating absorbs a large proportion of the infrared radiation, which causes it to heat up – by up to 8 degrees Celsius,” ETH doctoral student Iwan Hächler, who was a driving force behind the development, said in a media statement.

Given the positive results of their initial tests, Hächler and his colleagues will now develop the coating further for other applications. In the process, they will investigate whether other metals work just as well as gold.

They believe that in addition to eyewear and windshields, this antifogging method could be used wherever objects must be both heated and transparent – such as windows, mirrors or optical sensors.

Harmony Gold reports mine fatality
Reuters | December 19, 2022 | 

Kusasalethu gold mine is one of the world’s deepest.

 (Image courtesy of Harmony Gold.)

South Africa’s Harmony Gold on Monday reported a fatality at its Kusasalethu mine 90 kilometres west of Johannesburg after a fall-of-ground accident.


The accident occurred on Dec.15 following a “seismic event”, the company said in a statement. Internal investigations are underway, it added.

Harmony reported 13 fatalities in its 2022 financial year to June 30, up from 11 work-related deaths reported the previous year. The company has so far reported three fatalities during the first six months of the current financial year.

(By Nelson Banya)

THERE ARE NO ACCIDENTS ONLY PREVENTABLE INCIDENTS

A SEISMIC EVENT IS AN EARTH TREMOR

Perpetua awarded up to $24.8m under US Defense Production Act; stock jumps
Staff Writer | December 19, 2022 |

Stibnite gold project in Idaho. Credit: United States Forest Service.

Perpetua Resources (Nasdaq: PPTA) (TSX: PPTA) announced on Monday that its Idaho-based subsidiary has received a technology investment of up to $24.8 million under Title III of the Defense Production Act (DPA).


The objective of the funding, issued by the Air Force Research Laboratory, is to complete the environmental and engineering studies necessary for Perpetua to obtain the required permits to sustain the domestic production of antimony trisulphide, which is essential to national defense as a key component for munitions.

The US currently has no mined supply of antimony trisulphide. Perpetua is planning to re-establish a domestic supply of the critical mineral antimony as a byproduct from its Stibnite gold project located in central Idaho.

According to the United States Geological Survey, the Stibnite project contains one of the largest economic reserves of antimony (estimated at 14.2 million tonnes grading 0.42% antimony) and could supply approximately 35% of US demand in the first six years of production.

Site visit: Perpetua Resources’ Stibnite gold project in Idaho named preferred alternative

The DPA funding allows the company to advance the construction readiness of the Stibnite project while the company continues through the ongoing permitting process, including a final environmental impact statement and a final record of decision, led by the United States Forest Service.

Under the funding agreement, Perpetua said it may request reimbursement for certain costs incurred over 24 months related to environmental baseline data monitoring, environmental and technical studies, and other activities related to advancing the construction and permitting process for the Stibnite project.

The DPA funding does not interrupt the ongoing National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review process. The DPA award is separate from the previously announced Small Business Innovation Research Phase 1 funding awarded to Perpetua by the Defense Logistics Agency in September.

In October, the USFS released the Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the project, which provided clarity for the remainder of the NEPA process.

“As Perpetua continues advancing our project through the permitting process, we are honoured to enter this agreement to help advance our construction readiness for future development,” Perpetua CEO Laurel Sayer said in a media statement.

“Our vision remains unchanged, which is to redevelop a world-class gold deposit, provide the country with a critical mineral and restore an abandoned brownfield site,” Sayer said. “Today, we continue to build momentum towards turning our vision into a reality.”

Perpetua’s proposed Stibnite gold project is in the sixth year of review under NEPA. The project is designed to restore environmental conditions in the historic Stibnite mining district while responsibly redeveloping one of the highest-grade open-pit gold resources in the US and becoming the only domestically mined source of the critical mineral antimony.

Perpetua expects that current cash resources, combined with the full DPA agreement, would provide the company with sufficient liquidity to complete permitting and early restoration activities on the current timeline as well as additional liquidity to begin advancing construction readiness.

Shares of Perpetua Resources jumped 12.8% by noon ET following the latest announcement. The company’s market capitalization has now shot up to C$177.6 million ($130.3m).

Toronto hedge fund surges 39% on lithium bets

Bloomberg News | December 19, 2022 |

(Stock Image)

Vivid Capital Management Inc., a small Canadian hedge fund, has returned 39% this year through November with bets on the lithium sector.


Toronto-based Vivid, a relatively young firm that manages less than C$50 million ($36.5 million), runs a single fund with a primary focus on energy-transition investments.


“We saw the lithium industry this year was still not very well understood,” President James Bradford said in an interview. “Investors were buying these companies with really poor assets because they had a slick management team. It seemed to us like people weren’t valuing the high-quality projects properly.”

The Vivid Energy Fund is short companies that focus on direct lithium extraction, such as Vancouver-based Standard Lithium Ltd., which has plunged 61% this year. Standard was the subject of a short-selling report in February by Hindenberg Research that expressed skepticism about its technology.

Direct lithium extraction is a method used to accelerate the lithium production process, one of the technologies that dozens of companies are pursuing to lower costs. It sounds “amazing on paper” but in reality has lots of problems, including impurities, Bradford said.

By contrast, Bradford sees value in lithium companies with projects based on high-quality conventional brine reservoirs, such as Australia’s Lithium Power International Ltd.. The fund also has positions in small hard-rock lithium developers, such as Frontier Lithium Inc. and Grid Metals Corp., he said

.
Battery growth

The world needs lithium supplies to grow fivefold by the end of the decade to meet projected demand as the electric-vehicle revolution gets into full swing, according to BloombergNEF. A potential shortage of the white silvery metal has led miners to engage in bidding wars for assets in countries such as Argentina.

Vivid is also focusing on other ways to invest in battery inputs and technologies. Even if the energy density of batteries triples over the next few decades, “we’re still going to need 15 times more battery materials,” Bradford said, based on the projected shift away from fossil fuels. “We feel that battery metals or critical elements are more durable than a typical economically-sensitive sector such as zinc and iron ore, given the robustness of the growth and political will and support.”

The fund has also owned the Sprott Physical Uranium Trust, a play on potential growth in nuclear power as governments turn to it as a way to reduce emissions.

Vivid has gained more than 300% over the last three years, in part because it had a huge year in 2020, returning 116%. Bradford took a large short position on cruise lines early in the pandemic — the fund gained 46% in March 2020, even as equity markets were melting down in panic over the spread of Covid-19.

However, returns have been volatile, and the fund lost more than 24% a year for three straight years from 2017 to 2019, according to figures posted on the Vivid’s website.

From inception in 2014 to Oct. 31 of this year, the fund gained 151%.

(By Layan Odeh)

WTO on ‘thin ice’ with metals tariff ruling, US trade chief says 

CANADA WAS A CHALLENGER TO TARIFFS

Bloomberg News | December 19, 2022 

United States Trade Ambassador Katherine Tai. Credit: United States Mission Geneva via Flickr

The World Trade Organization “is getting itself on very, very thin ice” by ruling that the US violated trade rules with Trump-era steel and aluminum tariffs, Trade Representative Katherine Tai said, adding that the finding “challenges the integrity of the system.”


The WTO ruling, issued earlier this month, “really challenges the integrity of the system,” Tai said Monday. That’s because it “gets deep into creating requirements and parameters for what is or is not a legitimate national-security decision.”

The organization “should not get into the business of second-guessing the national-security decisions that are made by sovereign governments,” she said. “It is the responsibility of governments to bring integrity to their decisions on national security.”

On Dec. 9, the WTO dispute-settlement panel said the 25% tariffs on global steel imports and 10% import taxes on global aluminum instituted under former President Donald Trump violated the body’s rules. It said US national-security claims “are not justified” because they were not “taken in time of war or other emergency in international relations.”

The US strongly rejected the report’s findings and won’t remove its duties as a result of the rulings, the Office of the US Trade Representative said at the time.

Tai on Monday reinforced the rejection of the findings.

“Our response is very much focused on the reasoning that is in that panel report, Tai said in an interview at the Council of Foreign Relations in Washington.

“It is a very challenging place to be to have unelected, not really accountable decision-makers in Geneva second-guess processes that are run through a government like ours which is democratic,” she said.

(By Ana Monteiro)

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M
Ivanhoe Mines hits back at Sentry, Globe and Mail reports on police search of Vancouver office
Staff Writer | December 19, 2022 | 

Robert Friedland, founder of Ivanhoe Mines. (Image courtesy of Mines and Money | Flickr.)

Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN) issued a statement Monday in response to media reports on December 15 that police had searched the company’s Vancouver office seeking information on $2.7 million in bank transfers from Ivanhoe to a Swiss bank account in connection with contracts for its Congolese mining operations.


US-based investigative organization the Sentry published a report titled: “Gaming the System: How a Canadian Mining Giant Undermined the Law in the DRC, and a subsequent story ran in The Globe and Mail.

Some of the documents authorized for seizure were related to three bank transfers from Ivanhoe to the Swiss bank account from 2015 to 2018 of Stucky Technologies, a Swiss engineering firm, to work with Congo’s state electricity company on hydropower supplies for Ivanhoe’s Kamoa-Kakula copper project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), The Globe and Mail reported.

The headline stated that the Ivanhoe Mines’ office in Vancouver had been searched by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Canada’s federal police force.

After its introduction, the story reported that the police search took place more than one year ago and was publicly disclosed by Ivanhoe Mines on March 30, 2022. Ivanhoe said it cooperated with the search in November 2021 and that no charges have been laid against the company or its directors or employees and that no financial provision has been made in relation to the matter.

The Sentry’s report examined the miner’s control of deposits in the DRC’s copper belt, alleging that Ivanhoe received preferential treatment when Congolese authorities extended its exploration licences.

Ivanhoe’s statement, issued by billionaire founder Robert Friedland, said both reports “include incomplete, selective and speculative content pertaining to Ivanhoe Mines’ business activities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and mineral exploration investments on its Western Foreland Exploration Project.”

Ivanhoe has an interest in three projects in the DRC, the Kamoa-Kakula Complex in a joint venture with Zijin Mining Group and the Government of the DRC; the Kipushi Project, in a joint venture with state-owned Gécamines; and the Western Foreland Exploration Project. The miner said it conducts its business in alignment with national and international laws, including in its partnering with DRC shareholders where required by law.

Ivanhoe said both reports “are irresponsibly framed to infer or theorize that some form of corporate malpractice involving Ivanhoe’s Western Foreland Exploration Project took place,” and added, “they lack any tangible evidence that misconduct occurred.”

The miner said The Globe and Mail’s story failed to note that the search warrant obtained in 2021 by the RCMP was not related to Kamoa-Kakula or any of Ivanhoe Mines’ other mineral projects. Ivanhoe noted it is continuing its cooperation with the RCMP investigation, but because it is an ongoing matter, Ivanhoe Mines is making only limited comments regarding the investigation in this public statement.

Ivanhoe said The Sentry report “demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of the DRC mining code, the mining industry, and Ivanhoe’s Western Foreland Exploration Project.”

“The Sentry organization promotes itself as “an investigative and policy organization that seeks to disable multinational predatory networks that benefit from violent conflict, repression, and kleptocracy,” Ivanhoe said.

The miner also said t is unclear how this relates in any way to Ivanhoe Mines’ history of exploration activities, what expertise the organization has in terms of mineral exploration and development, or the DRC as a mining jurisdiction.

Ivanhoe Mines said it invites The Sentry to visit its operations and witness partnership in the DRC first-hand.

Read the full statement here.

Electric vehicle production set to surge in 2023 despite low sales

Reuters | December 19, 2022 |


The past year was sobering for investors who poured money into Tesla Inc and rival electric vehicle startups that hoped to emulate Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s success.


As interest rates rose and financial markets gyrated, shares in many EV startups deflated. Rivian Automotive Inc, which had a higher market value than Ford Motor Co shortly after it went public in 2021, lost more than 70% of its value over the past year.

Other EV startups fared worse. Electric van maker Arrival warned it could run out of cash in less than a year. Lucid Group Inc, backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, struggled to build its sleek Air luxury EVs. Chinese Tesla challenger Xpeng Inc’s shares lost more than 80% of their value.

Now comes the hard part: Persuading more mainstream consumers to come along for the ride.

Why it matters

The automobile industry is pouring more than $1 trillion into a revolutionary shift from combustion engines to electric vehicles guided by software. From Detroit to Shanghai, automakers and government policymakers have embraced the promise of electric vehicles to provide cleaner, safer transportation. European countries and California have set 2035 as the deadline for ending sales of new combustion passenger vehicles.

Tesla Inc’s surge to become the world’s most valuable automaker – achieving a $1 trillion valuation last year – humbled established automakers such as Toyota Motor Corp and Volkswagen AG that once were reluctant to go electric.

Starting next year, a wave of new electric vehicles from pickup trucks to middle market SUVs and sedans will hit the world’s major markets.

Industry executives and forecasters do not agree on how rapidly electric vehicles could take over half the global vehicle market, let alone all of it.

In China, the world’s largest single automotive market, battery electric vehicles have captured about 21% of the market. In Europe, EVs account for about 12% of total passenger vehicle sales. But in the United States, EV market share is only about 6%.

Among the barriers to EV adoption, industry executives and analysts said, were a dearth of public fast-charging infrastructure, and the rising cost of EV batteries, driven by shortages of key materials and uncertainty over government subsidies that have buoyed EV purchases in major markets including the United States, China and Europe.

By 2029, electric vehicles could account for a third of the North American market, and about 26% of vehicles produced worldwide, according to AutoForecast Solutions, a consultancy.

Electric vehicle sales likely will not increase in a smooth, ever-ascending curve, said AFS President Joe McCabe. If there is a recession next year, as many economists forecast, that will slow EV adoption.

Wards Intelligence forecasts that combustion vehicles will make up just under 80% of North American sales in 2027. Based on automakers’ product plans, Wards analyst Haig Stoddard said at a recent conference that manufacturers “expect strong ICE (internal combustion engine) volume heading into the next decade.”

What does it mean for 2023?

Throughout 2022, established automakers such as Mercedes, Ford and General Motors Co unveiled dozens of new electric vehicles to challenge Tesla and the upstarts.

Mass production of most of these vehicles kicks into gear starting in 2023 and 2024.

By 2025, there could be 74 different electric vehicle models offered in North America, McCabe said. But he predicts fewer than 20% of those models are likely to sell at volumes above 50,000 vehicles a year. Automakers could be stuck with too many niche models and too much capacity.

Slowing economies threaten overall vehicle demand in Europe and China, too.

During the early years of the 20th Century, new auto companies sprang up, backed by investors eager to catch the wave of mass mobility that Henry Ford and other automotive pioneers started. By the 1950s, the global auto industry had consolidated and once-heralded brands such as Duesenberg had disappeared.

The next few years will determine whether the 21st Century’s crop of electric vehicle brands will follow a similar path.

(By Joe White; Editing by Bernadette Baum)