Meet Furno. Sustainable concrete

The Department of Energy has awarded Furno of Chicago “$20 million selection to construct a new circular, low carbon cement production facility. The facility will use recycled industrial waste materials as feedstock to make low-carbon Ordinary Portland Cement, reducing carbon intensity by 47%, and creating 80 total jobs with above average wages and benefits. “

TechCrunch | Cement startup Furno lands $20M grant to build low-carbon micro-kilns in Chicago

partnership: Lyft and May Mobility

Lyft and May Mobility are partnering to launch autonomous vehicles on the Lyft app starting in Atlanta in 2025. May Mobility has made a name for itself rolling out autonomous micro-transit services mainly in geofenced areas around the U.S. universities. MarketWatch says the AV partnerships sent Lyft shares up 20%

TechCrunch | Lyft partners with May Mobility, Mobileye to bring autonomous vehicles to the app

States that have autonomous vehicle laws

States that have a legislative and regulatory framework for autonomous vehicles to operate on their roads include  Alabama, Kentucky and South Dakota allow for the operation of fully autonomous vehicles, while California’s new law deals with safety requirements. North Carolina’s brings the vehicles under updated dealer regulations for all cars.

Route Fifty | Self-driving cars aren’t here yet, but states are getting the rules ready

Autonomous Vehicle Law in Kentucky

Kentucky Legislature enacted HB 7 (2024 | KY) that will require that autonomous vehicles owners file a safety and communication plan that law enforcement can use and have a minimum of $1 million in liability insurance per vehicle. That’s 10 times the liability coverage of regular vehicles in Kentucky.

Route Fifty | Self-driving cars aren’t here yet, but states are getting the rules ready

$3 billion in sustainable jet fuel funding

The US DOE approved $3 billion in conditional loan guarantee commitments for 2 sustainable aviation fuel projects. $1.44 billion to Calumet in Montana &  $1.46 billion loan guarantee to renewable fuels company Gevo in South Dakota.

Reuters | US offers conditional loan guarantees worth about $3 bln for two sustainable aviation fuel projects

Map apps supporting safety

You know how we lower our speed or move over for law enforcement that is stopped on a shoulder? Map apps like  Waze and Google Map will be alerting drivers to roadside personnel. The goal is to reduce the number of move over fatalities. Illinois State Police will be one of the first agencies in the country to provide real-time information.

Route Fifty | Move over! Two map apps to notify drivers when state police are stopped ahead