Nissan & LG Chem, RESOLVE, University of Wisconsin, Hankook.

Leaf with LG battery? According to the Wall Street Journal, Nissan considers switching to LG batteries for its electric cars. The article is based on comments by Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn, who said he wants the best available battery cells for Nissan, which he says are currently made by LG Chem. Nissan partner Renault already makes use of LG batteries.
wsj.com

Electric commuter: Piaggio and KTM have been asked to develop cost-effective ELVs (Electric L-category Vehicles) that will primarily attract ICE car drivers to switch to ELVs for daily urban commutes, as part of the EU-funded programme RESOLVE (Range of Electric Solutions for L-category Vehicles). Bosch, as well as a number of universities also take part in the project.
motorbikeonly.com, visordown.com, autoevolution.com

Platinum alternative: Researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have developed a new molecular catalyst system for the fuel cell oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) that approaches the efficiency of platinum. The new catalyst is composed of a mixture of nitroxyls and nitrogen oxides.
greencarcongress.com, techtimes.com

Airless tyres: Hankook has successfully put its airless iFlex tire through a series of high speed tests. The EV used for testing hit 130 kph without a problem and the tyres matched the performance of a conventional pneumatic counterpart. Airless tyres might just be one step closer to production.
gizmag.com