Tesla’s Gigafactory, now under construction in northern Nevada, is expected to offer some 6,000 manufacturing jobs, which will be welcome in a state whose economy is dependent on gambling and tourism. Most are enthusiastic about the new development, but there are questions about whether local resources and infrastructure will be adequate. As always in this… Read more »
While lithium-ion is the chemistry of choice for EV batteries, almost every ICE vehicle made today still uses the ancient lead-acid battery technology for its 12-Volt starter battery (Porsche and a couple of other makers of high-performance cars offer lithium-ion starter batteries). Auto OEMs and battery providers want to preserve the leaded status quo. In… Read more »
So, it turns out that the much-anticipated Roadster news is not just a better battery, but a package of range-enhancing improvements dubbed Roadster 3.0. Tesla announced the day after Christmas that it will apply several lessons learned from producing Model S to the Roadster. Noting that cell technology has improved substantially since the Roadster battery went… Read more »
Lithium-sulfur batteries are of great interest, as they could offer specific energy densities far greater than those of current lithium-ion chemistries. However, current designs are plagued by low efficiency and capacity degradation. A team of researchers from the University of Cambridge and the Beijing Institute of Technology has devised a three-dimensional sandwich-type graphene sheet-sulfur/carbon composite… Read more »
Scania plans to test a wirelessly charged plug-in hybrid city bus in Södertälje, Sweden. The prototype bus, which is scheduled to hit the streets in June 2016, can be wirelessly charged at one of its stops via a charging station located under the road surface. A six-to-seven-minute charging session delivers enough charge for a complete… Read more »
Battery manufacturer Boston Power has secured $290 million in local government support for the expansion of its two facilities in China. The company’s Liyang facility will increase its manufacturing capacity fivefold by 2016. Its Tianjin facility is expected to reach 8 GWh in manufacturing capacity by 2018. Boston Power expects China’s EV market to be… Read more »
New York-based ultracapacitor manufacturer Ioxus has introduced a new line of high-temperature 1250-Farad cells. According to the company, its proprietary Titan technology meets the requirement of automotive customers for ultracaps with a wider operating range that meets both cold and high temperature standards. Ioxus’ newest line of cells functions at temperatures ranging from -40 to… Read more »
Tesla has a couple of Christmas presents for those of little faith who have been getting impatient for a couple of goodies promised for this year. A prototype battery-swapping station should be up and running within days, and details of the Roadster battery upgrade are to be released soon. “Roadster update details coming next week,”… Read more »
As the 2016 Chevrolet Volt’s official debut at the Detroit Auto Show in January draws closer, GM is revealing more and more details of its second-generation PHEV. In a video released this week, GM Executive VP Mark Reuss and Volt Chief Engineer Andrew Farah demonstrate the new driver-controllable regen. Like the 2014 Cadillac ELR, the… Read more »
Audi has released some details of the 2016 Q7 crossover, which will be offered in a diesel plug-in hybrid version. The new Q7 is built on the Volkswagen Group’s MLB-Evo platform for large cars with longitudinal engines. Audi says high-tech materials have allowed it to reduce the vehicle’s weight by over 700 pounds compared to… Read more »
