As part of the DOE’s Computer Aided Engineering for Batteries (CAEBAT) project, scientists at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have developed an open-architecture battery modeling framework that integrates multi-physics and multi-scale battery models. The Virtual Integrated Battery Environment (VIBE) allows researchers to test lithium-ion batteries under different simulated scenarios. The physics phenomena of interest… Read more »
GM has suspended production of the Volt at its Detroit-Hamtramck plant in order to get ready for the revamped 2016 Volt, which is to go on sale in the second half of this year. The company plans to invest a total of $343 million to retool for its lineup of next-generation hybrid vehicles. The production… Read more »
Since battery-maker A123 was acquired by China’s Wanxiang Group, it has shifted its focus to concentrate on starter batteries, and has big plans to produce batteries for microhybrids, aka start-stop systems. A quarter of the company’s revenue still comes from EV battery packs – its factory in Hangzhou is running at full capacity to supply… Read more »
Like EVs in general, Teslas just keep getting better, one incremental step at a time. The company has just announced that its base model will now come with AWD capability and a larger battery pack. The Model S 60 has been replaced by the Model S 70D, which features a 70 kWh battery pack and… Read more »
Chinese automaker BYD aims to be a major player in the battery business, adding 6 gigawatt-hours of global production in each of the next three years, company spokesman Matthew Jurjevich told Reuters recently. If it continues at that pace, BYD’s capacity will be some 34 GWh of batteries by the beginning of 2020, putting it about… Read more »
Sales of the BMW i3 are approaching “a sustainable rate” of 12,000 i3s annually, Ludwig Willisch, CEO of BMW of North America, told Automotive News. This figure seems roughly in line with that of auto consultant Sandy Munro, who has estimated that the i3 could be profitable for the company at a global volume of… Read more »
When it comes to EV sales, the biggest party-poopers may not be shadowy oil industry conspirators, but auto dealers, who often lack information about their manufacturers’ electric models, and sometimes actively discourage buyers from considering them. Kia of Vancouver provided a blatant example of this recently, when a sales manager replied to a potential customer’s… Read more »
Modern automobiles are complex beasts, with numerous subsidiary systems that consume energy. In an EV, more energy consumption means reduced range, so it can be well worthwhile to study more efficient ways to power the various accessories. One of these accessory systems is assisted steering, which reduces the physical effort required for the driver to… Read more »
Contrary to popular belief, Level 2 charging does not necessarily require a custom-installed, hard-wired charging station. ClipperCreek offers a line of portable chargers that can be plugged into existing 240 V outlets. The company’s latest offering is the LCS-20P, a plug-in version of its popular LCS-20 hard-wired charger. “As the popularity of moveable charging stations… Read more »
Two of the world’s biggest industrial companies are preparing for a high-stakes court battle over an arcane battery chemistry, and the outcome could have important implications for next-gen EVs, according to Quartz. Chemical colossus BASF and the Argonne National Laboratory have filed a lawsuit against Belgian battery-maker Umicore, accusing it of selling a battery component to… Read more »
