Swedish manufacturer Northvolt, which is partially owned by Volkswagen and BMW, announced that it has produced its first lithium-ion battery cell using 100% recycled nickel, manganese and cobalt. The company recovered the materials from battery waste through a low-energy hydrometallurgical treatment, which involves the use of an aqueous solution to isolate the metals and separate… Read more »
The road to faster charging runs through greater cooling capacity (so to speak). Higher charging power levels mean higher current, which means that greater amounts of heat must be removed from charging cables. Purdue University engineers have invented a new, patent-pending charging cable that uses a novel cooling method. The researchers say their wonder cable… Read more »
Johnson Matthey has been working to commercialize its high-nickel cathode materials for the automotive industry, but has now concluded that the potential returns from its battery materials business will not be adequate to justify further investment. Citing competition from alternative technologies and other manufacturers, the company’s board has decided to pursue the sale of all… Read more »
BMW i Ventures will invest in Our Next Energy (ONE), a Michigan-based energy storage company that’s working to develop longer-range, lower-cost batteries. ONE will use the investment to scale production of its first products. ONE has demonstrated two proprietary technologies. The first, called Aries, uses lithium iron phosphate (LFP) chemistry in a structural cell-to-pack architecture… Read more »
Engineering services provider Ricardo has received funding from the UK’s Office for Zero Emissions Vehicles, in partnership with Innovate UK, for a project to optimize in-car thermal and energy management systems to improve EV range and battery performance. Partnering with Jaguar Land Rover and using a Jaguar I-PACE as a demonstrator vehicle, engineers will look… Read more »
Enphase Energy (NASDAQ: ENPH), a supplier of microinverter-based solar and battery systems, has agreed to acquire California-based charger manufacturer ClipperCreek. The acquisition is expected to close by the end of 2021. ClipperCreek has served the EV charging market since 2006, and has sold more than 110,000 Level 2 AC charging stations since its inception. Enphase… Read more »
Commercial EV specialist Proterra will provide battery technology for a new generation of electric buses made by Turkish commercial vehicle manufacturer Anadolu Isuzu. Anadolu Isuzu operates in the medium-size bus and truck segments, and sells in around 50 countries, mostly in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. The company recently took its first 8-meter NovoCiti… Read more »
SCHURTER’s new reflowable thermal switch (RTS) has a trip temperature of >175° C, lower than their current offering’s >210° C. The RTS is a compact over-temperature protection device for power semiconductors. Prior to mechanical activation, the new thermal fuse can be soldered on conventional reflow soldering machines with profiles up to 260° C. The lower… Read more »
Barcelona-based Wallbox (NYSE:WBX) has added its Eco-Smart and Power Boost home energy management features to its US charging products. Eco-Smart and Power Boost now come standard with Wallbox’s Pulsar Plus, a 48-amp, 11.5 kW compact home charger that features flexible amperage, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, charge scheduling, power sharing and voice control. Eco-Smart uses a… Read more »
SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust (SEEIT), an investment company that invests exclusively in the energy efficiency sector, has made an agreement via its partner The EV Network with charging provider ESB Energy to significantly expand its network of fast charging infrastructure across the UK. The ESB Energy roll-out will be funded as part of a… Read more »
