ECOtality, operator of the Blink charging network and manager of the EV Project, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and intends to seek the approval of the court for an auction and sale of substantially all of its assets. In connection with the filing, ECOtality and its subsidiaries entered into a Credit and Security Agreement… Read more »
Balqon Corporation (OTCBB: BLQN) has entered into a joint development agreement with Polar Power Inc. to develop series plug-in hybrid systems for its line of heavy-duty electric trucks and buses. The companies will develop a 40 kw on-board DC hybrid generator to charge batteries during the daily drive cycle to increase the range of the… Read more »
General Motors has greatly increased the size of its Global Battery Systems Laboratory, North America’s largest OEM-owned battery lab. The 85,000-square-foot lab now has 112 pack-level test channels and 120 cell-level test channels. The added space will let the company test batteries and computer controls much faster than before. It took GM about four years… Read more »
It may not be the most glamorous piece of hardware on display in Frankfurt, but Johnson Controls’ first-generation dual-voltage Micro Hybrid battery represents a technology that some say is likely to be incorporated into almost every new vehicle within a few years. Johnson Controls says that its Micro Hybrid technology (aka start-stop technology) can offer… Read more »
More Ford employees will soon be driving to work entirely on electrons, thanks to a new workplace charging network. Ford plans to install EV charging stations at more than 50 of its company offices, product development campuses and manufacturing facilities – nearly every Ford facility in the US and Canada. Ford already has more than… Read more »
Another objection to buying an EV just fell by the wayside, as ClipperCreek announced the availability of a compact Level 2 charger with a plug-in connection to the grid. The 20 Amp LCS-25P can be installed in minutes by simply attaching it to the wall and plugging it into a 240 V outlet. The American-made… Read more »
Could skillful diplomacy avoid a senseless, destructive war? The CHAdeMO Association fired off a diplomatic salvo to the European Commission this week, expressing its concern over the possibility that CHAdeMO might be phased out in Europe, and its support for dual-standard DC chargers. For those who’ve just tuned in: European automakers have thrown their support… Read more »
While BMW has been shining a spotlight on its new i3 electric city car, the second vehicle in the i line still had a bit of mystery about it. The i8 rolled out of the shadows this week in Frankfurt, as BMW announced that the plug-in hybrid sports car will arrive in US showrooms in… Read more »
Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) has announced a multiyear agreement to become a Technology Partner of the FIA Formula E Championship, the new international electric racing series. Qualcomm’s Halo Wireless Electric Vehicle Charging (WEVC) technology will be used by the Formula E safety cars in the 2014 inaugural season, and will be made available to the race… Read more »
Mitsubishi’s Outlander PHEV is back on track and spinning on the turntable in Frankfurt this week. The new ‘bishi has seen overwhelming demand since it went on sale in Japan in, January (some 18,000 units have been ordered), but production was halted in March after a couple of battery-related fires. Mitsubishi tracked down the problem,… Read more »
