Tesla has confirmed that it has a contract with South Korean firm LG Chem to provide batteries for Roadster 3.0, a package of range-enhancing improvements for Tesla’s famous first vehicle. The company began taking orders for the $29,000 upgrade in September. Until this announcement, Tesla’s only known battery supplier was Panasonic, which is a partner… Read more »
As California lawmakers continue to promote the transition to a modern energy and transportation ecosystem, oil companies and electric utilities are furiously maneuvering to protect their existing business models. Senate Bill 350, which Governor Jerry Brown recently signed into law, originally included a mandate to cut the state’s petroleum consumption 50 percent by 2030. However,… Read more »
Since Tesla’s 2003 founding, there’s been a steady stream of articles explaining why it would soon go belly-up. The latest comes from a seemingly unlikely source: Bob Lutz, the “father of the Chevrolet Volt.” Back in the day, Lutz and Musk seemed like fellow travelers – the former GM exec said he would always be… Read more »
The New Energy Industrial Technology and Development Organization (NEDO), a Japanese R&D organization, has partnered with Nissan and the Kanematsu Corporation to perform a study of EV use patterns in Northern California. With the help of the California state government, and charging network operator NRG eVgo, the companies will install quick chargers at suitable locations… Read more »
Like a lot of other things, charging stations are turning into mini-computers that need software to reach their potential. To this end, two heavy hitters in their respective industries, ABB and Microsoft, have announced a partnership. All ABB chargers will now be connected to Microsoft’s Azure suite of cloud-based services, which provides several “value-adding services.”… Read more »
GM and LG have a real bromance going. The Korean electronics giant has been supplying key components of the Detroit automaker’s OnStar telematics system since 2007. Battery subsidiary LG Chem was the sole supplier of battery cells for the first-generation Volt. The two buddies will collaborate even more deeply on the upcoming Bolt 200-mile EV…. Read more »
Instant replay department: An auto exec makes a passing comment about future electrification plans; the pro-EV press hears what it wants to hear, and reports that the company is making a major new push to get charged. A couple of weeks ago, VW announced that it would continue several EV development programs – most of… Read more »
Don’t know about you, but I sure am ready for e-mobility to reach that critical mass, that tipping point, that hundredth monkey buying an EV. A couple of Nissan execs believe that the blessed event will occur around 2019-2020. Speaking at Nissan’s Yokohama headquarters this week, corporate officers Hiroto Saikawa and Akiko Hoshino told reporters… Read more »
Dyson, the manufacturer of high-tech vacuum cleaners and restroom hand dryers, has acquired Michigan startup Sakti3 for $90 million in cash, as reported by Quartz. Founder and CEO Ann Marie Sastry will oversee development of her company’s solid-state battery technology as an executive for Dyson. UK-based Dyson, which invested $15 million in Sakti3 last March, also… Read more »
Toshiba has begun mass production of a system regulator IC with monitoring function for motor control systems in electric and hybrid vehicles. The new IC (TB9042FTG) has a strengthened monitoring function to reduce potential system failures. TB9042FTG provides a Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) communication function to avoid microcontroller (MCU) failures. The system regulator IC and… Read more »
