The Upper Midwest stands a lot to gain in the greening of the grid. Cummins has shown a new fuel-cell semi. We sum what makes e-turbos different. And Volkswagen teases a little bit more of its latest ID electric-car concept due for a November reveal. This and more, today at Green Car Reports. 

Volkswagen has teased an electric-car concept, due for a November reveal in Los Angeles just before the LA auto show. As the latest production-bound member of the ID family of VW EVs, it’s shaping up to be a sedan or fastback, likely focused on performance, aerodynamics, and driving range. 

Turbos are electrifying, and becoming more than devices that boost airflow into the engine. Connected as energy devices, they’re useful pieces of hybrid systems of any size. 

The Indiana truck-engine maker Cummins is the latest company to join in the push for hydrogen fuel-cell semis. It just revealed a fuel-cell-powered Class 8 semi concept made with Hydrogenics, and it’s in a partnership for commercial fuel-cell vehicles for North America with Hyundai. 

And as we see the battle forming over whether or not California has the right to enforce its own tailpipe and greenhouse-gas emissions, a recent study came to an interesting conclusion: that based on the environmental and health benefits, the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes regions have the most to gain in switching over to renewable energy for the grid.

France’s PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles have announced plans for a merger—one that would make the resulting company the world’s fourth largest automaker by production volume. The agreement is nowhere close to a done deal as it’s subject to approval by regulatory bodies and labor unions—but it has a better chance than the attempted merger between FCA and Renault earlier this year, which dissolved partly due to the French government’s 15-percent stake in Renault.

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