Researchers from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have discovered a means to extend the lifetime of lithium-air (Li-air) batteries, a technology that offers the promise of higher energy densities than those achievable with conventional lithium-ion batteries. They report their findings in the February issue of the journal ChemSusChem. Li-air batteries are… Read more »
Mitsubishi has suspended production of its Outlander PHEV and some models of the i-MiEV, after two separate incidents in Japan in which the battery packs caught fire.
It’s no April fool. Tesla Motors has announced that it sold 4,750 units of its Model S electric sedan in the first quarter, cruising past the target of 4,500 that it set in its February shareholder letter. As a result, the company will adjust its Q1 financial guidance from achieving an operating profit (which excludes… Read more »
The German automakers are plugging in. Audi introduced its first PHEV, the A3 Sportback e-tron, in Geneva in February, and VW has promised an electric version of its blockbuster Golf later this year. Now Mercedes has unveiled its B-Class Electric Drive at this week’s New York Auto Show. Daimler hasn’t offered many details, but it seems that… Read more »
Initial shipments will support the CHAdeMO fast-charging standard, and SAE/Combined Charging System units will be available later this year.
Its production line idle since July, and its search for a suitor seemingly in limbo, Fisker Automotive put its US workforce of about 200 employees on furlough this week to cut costs.
After several delays and much controversy, the Long Beach Transit Board voted on Monday to award a $12.1 million contract to purchase 10 electric buses to a US subsidiary of the Chinese firm BYD. The contract is funded mainly by the federal government’s Transit Investment for Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reduction (TIGGER) program, one of… Read more »
A report from technology advisory firm Lux Research predicts that new battery technologies will become strong competitors with existing lithium-ion technology by 2020, and that solid-state batteries will surpass Li-ion by 2030. However, consumer electronics, not electric vehicles, will be the market driving the advances. “While much of the motivation for next-generation batteries – whether… Read more »
Rolls-Royce plc has signed a contract to deliver its Azipull propulsion and control system for the battery-powered “ferry of the future.” The new vessel is being built at the Fjellstrand yard in Norway, and will go into service in 2015 on the route between Lavik and Oppedal, across the Sognefjord, operated by Norwegian transport company… Read more »
Their novel approach offers an advantage in terms of safety and also results in a broad (5 V wide) electrochemical window.
