Toyota has accelerated its ‘Green Wave Project’ commemorating this year’s environment month. It is aimed at enhancing its nature conservation activity in the community with the company distributing saplings to its employees, under its sixth challenge that is termed as ‘Establishing a Future Society in Harmony with Nature’ and looks to contribute to the Toyota Environmental Challenge 2050. 

While the eco campaign continues to drive active community involvement to promote greenery, through employee engagement, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) has successfully distributed over 7000 saplings to its employees, marking significant progress towards its 8,000-sapling target set under its plantation activity. 

With TKM employees encouraged to plant and nurture the distributed saplings within their neighbourhoods and submit periodic reports on plant growth, the it is noteworthy to mention about Toyota’s tree plantation activities that are strongly driven by adopting a unique concept namely the ‘Miyawaki Method of Afforestation’ since 2009, and TKM was the first corporate in India to implement such plantation methodology. TKM’s steadfast commitment to sustainability and ecological restoration is yielding remarkable results, as evidenced by the numerous advantages of the Miyawaki approach. A comprehensive study conducted in collaboration with experts from Bangalore University revealed that the Miyawaki method excels in carbon sequestration, capturing an impressive 30.86 tonnes of carbon per acre.

By doing so, TKM not only restored native habitats but also created self-sustaining ecosystem that contribute to a healthier planet. Under the guidance of Late Dr Akira Miyawaki himself, TKM initiated its maiden Miyawaki plantation drive, way back in 2009, marking a significant milestone in its journey towards conservation of greenery and eco-consciousness. Since that momentous day, TKM's plantation drives have continued to evolve and expanded to 112 acres of green cover within the factory premises, out of which 32 acres of afforestation has been developed using Miyawaki method. Today, Toyota’s manufacturing facility, located in Bidadi (on the outskirts of Bengaluru) proudly boasts more than 328,000 trees of over 790 native species planted within its premises. The results have been truly awe-inspiring with a remarkable increase in biodiversity observed over the years. 

From a mere 181 plant species, the count has surged to an impressive 790, while the number of faunal species has risen from 76 to 284. The vibrant ecosystem now encompasses 88 bird varieties, 38 butterfly species, 107 insects, 17 reptiles, 8 mammals, and 6 amphibians, reflecting the successful development of a thriving native forest ecosystem.

In addition, TKM has created an experiential environmental learning centre ‘Ecozone’ (spread across 25 acres with 17 theme parks and home to 65,000 trees with 650 native species) for children, teachers, community members and other stakeholders, within its manufacturing facility aimed at creating the environment leaders and change champions for the future, to usher in desired behavioural change in the communities. This green zone depicts the creation of dense forest within the plant facility using the ‘Miyawaki Concept’ of plantation. The forests are dominantly planted with species of 4 major forest types such as Dry Deciduous, Moist Deciduous, Semi-evergreen and Evergreen Forest, covering 21 different sub-concepts such as Pollination meadows, herbal garden, plants for spices etc. So far, more than 42,000+ students & other stakeholders have been covered through ecozone initiative.

B Padmanabha, Executive Vice President and Director of Manufacturing - Toyota Kirloskar Motor, averred, “At Toyota Kirloskar Motor, we recognise that environmental and social sustainability are just as crucial as economic progression. Guided by Toyota’s Global Environmental Challenge 2050 (six challenges announced in 2015), our sustainability efforts are far reaching that go beyond product zero emissions. While the first three challenges seek to achieve zero carbon emissions covering the entire life cycle of our products, across manufacturing operations as well as our value chain, the last three challenges focus to achieve water conservation, establishing recycled based society and living in harmony with nature.”

“We believe that a sustainable future is built through collective action and community involvement, as exemplified by one of our eco initiatives - Green Wave Program that covers afforestation (plantation drives, distribution of saplings), sharing best practices (e.g. Miyawaki plantation methodology), creating awareness on nature conservation and imbibing good eco behaviour (Toyota Ecozone – Experiential Eco Learning). Together with our employees and other stakeholders, we aim to catalyse positive change in the community to safeguard the environment to the future,” he added. 

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Chinese technology company Xiaomi has marked a new milestone for its automotive product offering with its electric vehicle.

The company has announced a significant milestone in autonomous vehicle technology by completing the first official autonomous lap of the Nurburgring Nordschleife circuit in Germany with the Xiaomi YU7 GT, equipped with a Track Package, navigating the 20.8 km circuit without a human driver, recording a lap time of 10:29.483.

Following this performance, the Nurburgring has introduced a new official vehicle category: Autonomous Driving (under Electric Vehicles).

The Xiaomi YU7 GT autonomously navigated all 73 corners of the Nordschleife, managing 300 metres of elevation change and varying road surface conditions. The performance was driven by Xiaomi’s autonomous driving system, which integrates the Xiaomi XLA architecture and the MiMo-Embodied foundation model introduced in March 2026. The end-to-end architecture enabled the vehicle to coordinate steering, braking and power delivery in real-time, maintaining stability under high-speed and high-load conditions.

Xiaomi’s autonomous driving programme has evolved since the 2024 launch of Xiaomi HAD. The current system moves beyond simple behaviour imitation toward autonomous decision-making and deeper environmental interpretation. The company stated that the Nurburgring project serves as a critical testing ground to collect data for refining vehicle dynamics modelling, control strategy optimisation and safety redundancy mechanisms.

This achievement underscores Xiaomi’s commitment to advancing artificial intelligence in the automotive sector through rigorous real-world validation.

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QuantumScape Corporation has announced a multi-year joint research agreement with Honda R&D Co., a subsidiary of Honda Motor Co.

The collaboration focuses on advancing QuantumScape’s solid-state lithium-metal battery platform, including the development of associated manufacturing processes.

This agreement follows a successful technology evaluation period during which Honda conducted a technical study and competitive benchmarking of QuantumScape’s battery platform.

Atsushi Ogawa, Chief Operating Officer, Research Center of Excellence, Honda R&D Co, said, “QS technology demonstrated compelling and unique advantages during our evaluation. We see potential for QS technology to add value across a range of applications, including automotive, and we are excited to move forward into the next phase of our partnership.”

Dr. Siva Sivaram, CEO and President, QuantumScape, added, “Honda is a leading global automaker renowned for its engineering excellence and product quality across automotive and other applications worldwide, and its evaluation represents one of the most rigorous assessments of our technology to date. This agreement reflects the growing confidence in QS solid-state lithium-metal batteries to enable safer, higher-density energy storage.”

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Ola Cell Technologies (OCT), a subsidiary of Ola Electric, has become the first Indian company to receive Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification for its indigenously developed 46100 Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) cylindrical cell. The certification was granted under the IS 16046 (Part 2):2018 / IEC 62133-2:2017 standards.

In addition to BIS approval, the cell has qualified under IS 16893 (Parts 2 and 3) and UN 38.3 standards, following comprehensive electrical, mechanical and safety testing at an NABL-accredited laboratory.

The 46100 LFP cylindrical cell has a claimed energy density of over 170 Wh/kg, targeting over 4,000 charge-discharge cycles. It is optimised for applications where safety, lifecycle and cost-efficiency are critical.

The cell complements Ola Electric’s existing NMC 4680 Bharat Cell portfolio. By developing both chemistries on a common 46-series architecture, the company intends to increase domestic value addition and reduce reliance on imported battery technology.

‘The successful certification and qualification of this cell reflects the strength of our R&D, engineering, and manufacturing capabilities, while reinforcing our commitment to developing world-class battery technologies in India. As we continue to expand our in-house cell portfolio, we are creating the technological foundation required to accelerate EV adoption, support future energy storage solutions, and strengthen India’s energy independence,’ the company said in a statement.

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Hindustan Zinc has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Advantek Associates and Aero Eagle Automobiles to explore the use of green hydrogen and clean energy solutions.

The company aims to evaluate hydrogen applications across its operations, including underground mining, heavy earth-moving machinery and surface vehicles.

This partnership is part of the company’s strategy to achieve Net Zero by 2050. It marks an effort to integrate hydrogen fuel into mining, an industry that remains difficult to decarbonise.

Arun Misra, CEO, Hindustan Zinc, said, “At Hindustan Zinc, we are focused on pioneering solutions that can redefine the future of sustainable mining. Hydrogen has the potential to support cleaner mobility, reduce emissions from heavy-duty equipment and create new pathways for decarbonising hard-to-abate industrial operations. This collaboration is a forward-looking step in evaluating hydrogen-based technologies, including their potential application in underground mining, as we continue to build a future-ready metals business aligned with global sustainability benchmarks.”

The collaboration will follow a phased approach, beginning with feasibility studies covering green hydrogen generation, storage and dispensing infrastructure. Assessment of Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine (H2-ICE) and fuel cell technologies. Potential use in underground mining equipment, heavy earth-moving machinery and power generators.

This initiative aligns with Hindustan Zinc’s ESG roadmap and its commitment to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). The company has already increased its renewable energy usage to nearly 18 percent of its power mix. Hindustan Zinc was ranked as a sustainable metals and mining company in the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment 2025.

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