Wright Electric, a US developer of ultra-lightweight motors, generators and batteries for the aerospace and military sectors, along with its partners, which include NASA, DOE and DOD, has been awarded a $3.34-million grant from the FAA’s Fueling Aviation’s Sustainable Transition (FAST) program. The funding will be used to develop a new class of batteries for… Read more »
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Wright Electric aims to develop EV battery with 1,000 Wh/kg specific energy
Wright Electric, provider of electric propulsion systems for regional aircraft, has launched an initiative to develop batteries targeting 1,000 watt hours per kilogram (Wh/kg) pack-level specific energy. “When I founded Wright, the best vehicle batteries had [specific energy] below 250 Wh/kg,” said Jeff Engler, CEO of Wright. “Now several large manufacturers are advertising cells at… Read more »
Wright Electric proposes to convert BAe 146 regional aircraft to hydrogen or aluminum fuel cell drive
Electric aviation is in its infancy—as far as we know, no e-planes are yet carrying passengers in commercial service. However, several firms are rapidly developing electric aircraft—Rolls Royce, Bye Aerospace, Heart Aerospace and Eviation are developing battery-electric planes, while ZeroAvia is placing its bet on hydrogen fuel cells. California-based Wright Electric is taking what appears… Read more »
Wright Electric unveils design concepts for electric aircraft
Wright Electric, a partner of European airline easyJet, recently unveiled design concepts for the Wright 1, a 186-seat electric aircraft. Wright is building a 1.5 MW electric motor and 3 kV inverter. The company is in discussions with BAE Systems to develop flight controls and energy management systems. Wright plans to conduct ground tests in… Read more »
Q&A with Ian Wright: The CEO of Wrightspeed on Tesla, gas turbines and electric trucks
Ian Wright is originally from New Zealand. He came to California in 1993, where he happened to be a neighbor of Tesla founder Martin Eberhard. He worked with optical switching systems at a company called Altamar Networks until it went out of business, then decided he wanted to start his own company. Eberhard and his… Read more »
Scotland to invest £45 million to support deployment of 334 electric buses
The UK may not yet be in Norway’s EV league, but it is steadily moving to electrify its transport networks. A couple of weeks ago Albion announced plans to fund 484 new electric buses in 10 regions of England. Now the Scots, not to be outdone by their southern neighbors, have confirmed £45 million in… Read more »
Allye Energy wins order for five MAX500 battery storage systems for charging electric construction vehicles
Mobile battery energy storage specialist Allye Energy has secured its largest purchase order to date: five MAX500 battery energy storage systems for deployment in the construction industry. The MAX500 systems (500 kWh, 420 kW each) will charge zero-emission construction equipment and vehicles at locations where grid constraints and site logistics make fixed charging impractical. Construction… Read more »
Wright to develop high-power lightweight batteries for US Air Force
US-based Wright Electric, a manufacturer of ultra-lightweight motors, generators and batteries for aerospace and military applications, has been awarded the US Air Force AFWERX SBIR Phase 1 contract to develop Wright’s rechargeable thermal batteries for use in multi-rotor unmanned aerial vehicles. Wright, in conjunction with NASA, Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) and the Department of… Read more »
Wrightspeed partners with Matthews Specialty Vehicles to convert buses and trucks to electrified drive
Wrightspeed, the firm founded by Tesla co-founder Ian Wright, builds electric powertrains for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. Now the company has announced an agreement with vehicle manufacturer Matthews Specialty Vehicles to convert buses, trucks and specialty vehicles to EVs and/or PHEVs. The companies aim to produce 5,000 vehicles over the next five years. For the… Read more »
Lightning eMotors and Forest River partner to deploy up to 7,500 electric shuttle buses
Lightning eMotors (NYSE: ZEV), a provider of specialty commercial EVs for fleets, and Forest River, a Berkshire Hathaway company, have formed a strategic partnership to deploy up to 7,500 zero-emission shuttle buses. The $850-million deal calls for Lightning to build fully electric powertrains and provide charging products and services for Forest River over the next… Read more »