The UK is becoming one of the most EV-friendly countries in Europe – its government announced this week that it will invest £500 million between 2015 and 2020 to boost what it calls the ultra low emission vehicle (ULEV) industry. Noting that the automotive sector is worth £11.2 billion to the economy, and that ULEVs… Read more »
Proterra claims to have set a record for the most miles traveled by a battery-electric bus in a day. One of its buses completed a test run on which it traveled more than 700 miles in 24 hours. The test route was designed to simulate both commuter and central business district routes and drive cycles…. Read more »
Every automaker has its own electrification strategy. Tesla, Nissan and BMW are pushing pure EVs. GM and Ford have each put most of their chips on plug-in hybrids, while hedging their bets with a low-volume EV. Toyota, and its luxury division Lexus, firmly believe hybrids are the way to go. Lexus has five hybrid models… Read more »
Lithium-air batteries are widely expected to be the next big thing – more than 300 research papers have been published on the topic in the past 3 years. Li-air has the potential to deliver far more energy density than current lithium-ion technology. A new review in the ACS journal Chemical Reviews sums up the current… Read more »
Audi’s TT Offroad concept PHEV, presented at the recent Beijing auto show, showcased several interesting features, including the Volkswagen Group’s modular transverse matrix system, and a powertrain with two electric motors and 408 total horsepower. However, as Business Insider reports, most of the media buzz has been about Audi’s Wireless Charging technology, which the business… Read more »
There’s a new kid in the EV pool, and there’s every reason to believe it’s going to make a big splash. BMW proudly announced the first delivery of an i3 to a US customer this week. A Boston university professor and ActiveE “electronaut” drove his new i3 off the lot on May 2. Demand for… Read more »
A team of Belgian entrepreneurs has resurrected a storied motorcycle brand to create an electric racing bike that will compete in the 2014 TT Zero race on the Isle of Man at the end of May, and also in the FIM eRoadRacing world cup series. Saroléa was one of the first producers of motorcycles in… Read more »
The city of Boulder, Colorado has installed two Envision Solar EV ARC standalone solar charging stations. The new chargers are located at the East Boulder Community Center and the Broadway & Spruce Parking Lot, and are available free of charge to the public. San Diego-based Envision Solar (OTCQB: EVSI) bills its EV ARC as a… Read more »
Monthly plug-in sales dropped a bit in April after the March surge, a typical pattern for this time of year. 8,605 car buyers saw the light last month. The LEAF easily held onto its lead with 2,088 units, a little less than its March sales but an incremental increase over last April. Nissan has already… Read more »
The DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) has issued a funding opportunity announcement (DE-FOA-0001106) to award up to $10 million for projects to accelerate electrification of the cargo transport sector, a worthy mission that has been dubbed Zero Emission Cargo Transport (ZECT). ZECT technologies are defined as those that produce zero emissions from a cargo-carrying… Read more »
