Wrightspeed, the startup led by Tesla co-founder Ian Wright, has identified a promising target for electrification – it retrofits plug-in powertrains to urban service trucks, the most inefficient and polluting of commercial vehicles. Customers include FedEx, which recently ordered an additional 25 of the company’s powertrains. Now Wrightspeed has unveiled the Fulcrum, a new turbine… Read more »
The proliferation of public EV charging infrastructure in the US continues, with no sign of slowing down. The total number of public stations of all connector types and charging levels has skyrocketed from less than 1,000 in 2010 to more than 25,000, according to PlugShare Data. Ambitious new infrastructure projects continue to be announced, including:… Read more »
VIA Motors has announced a voucher program for Chicago-area fleet and business owners that reduces the purchase price of its extended range electric pickups and vans. The Drive Clean Chicago program offers a voucher worth $41,200 for the VIA Motors Extended Range Electric Pickup, $42,892 for the Cargo Van, and $39,460 for the Passenger Van. Combining… Read more »
Massachusetts-based MIT spinout WiTricity has announced a licensing agreement with BRUSA Elektronik AG, a global supplier of EV power electronics. BRUSA will license WiTricity’s IP to commercialize wireless charging systems. BRUSA’s ICS wireless charging system, using WiTricity’s technology, uses a charging pad on the ground to transfer power to a vehicle using magnetic resonance. The… Read more »
EV heating and cooling presents a dilemma: how to keep a vehicle’s occupants comfortable without draining the battery? Engineers are working on various solutions, from heat pumps and adsorption chillers to passenger-focused AC and heat. A group of researchers from the University of Utah, HRL Laboratories and GM Global R&D has developed a novel approach… Read more »
In his usual highly entertaining style, Elon Musk announced the new Tesla Energy line of energy storage products. “We have this handy fusion reactor in the sky called the sun…that shows up every day and produces ridiculous amounts of power.” Batteries are the “missing piece” that will allow us to capture this energy and build… Read more »
CLEVER, a Danish “Electric Mobility Operator” that’s owned by five utilities, is opening a subsidiary in Sweden, with the Swedish energy company Öresundskraft as majority shareholder. “With five years of experience as an operator of both electric vehicles and charging in Denmark, the company is now ready to scale up, and transfer our knowledge and… Read more »
EVSE manufacturer eMotorWerks has delivered over 3,500 of its JuiceBox charging stations since it began volume shipments in October 2013, and expects sales to double in 2015. The lightweight plug-in JuiceBox comes in two versions: the Classic, which starts at $449, and the Pro, which adds additional functionality including WiFi data collection and remote control…. Read more »
Sevcon (Nasdaq: SEV), a global manufacturer of controls for electric and hybrid vehicles, has received a £400,000 grant from a UK government fund, which it will use to develop the next generation of its Gen4 controller. The new low-voltage controller will provide additional functionality and improved performance in a smaller package than its predecessor. “The… Read more »
Four years ago, researchers from nine European countries launched the MotorBrain project, which aimed to develop an EV drivetrain that didn’t need costly rare earth metals in the motor. Now they’re ready to present a prototype of a fully-integrated drivetrain with a rare-earth-free permanent magnet synchronous motor at this year’s CWIEME Berlin exhibition. “Rare earth metals… Read more »
