Aluminum rolling and recycling specialist Novelis plans to create a continuous annealing solution heat (CASH) treatment line in order to add 100 kilotons to its aluminum production capacity. This expansion of an existing facility is expected to begin in 2018 and be fully operational by 2020. The $180-million endeavor will include a fully automated packaging… Read more »
The US is soon going to be seriously wired for electric driving, at least on the coasts. The California Public Utility Commission (CPUC) has approved a portfolio of EV charging projects worth a cool $738 million for Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) and Southern California Edison (SCE), perhaps the… Read more »
As expected, a shareholder proposal to remove Elon Musk as Chairman was voted down at the company’s recent shareholders’ meeting, as was an attempt to get rid of three board members that some see as not sufficiently independent. Elon himself made a lengthy speech in which he addressed many of the current criticisms of the… Read more »
New York is getting serious about going electric. The New York Power Authority (NYPA) has launched a new $250-million initiative called Evolve NY that will seek to create private sector partnerships to accelerate EV adoption throughout the state. Evolve NY is part of the Governor’s Charge NY 2.0 initiative, which has a goal of installing… Read more »
TDK has improved its DC link EPSCOS film capacitors, which can now handle a variety of worst-case-scenario environmental conditions. Besides being a mouthful, the B3277*H series can operate at temperatures as high as 105° C with voltage ranges of 450 VDC-1,100 VDC and capacitance values of 1.5 µF-120 µF. These capacitors are designed for use with DC… Read more »
Nissan has received over 4,600 orders for its upgraded e-NV200 since sales began in January. The new electric van is now being shipped to customers in Europe and Hong Kong, with Japanese deliveries to follow. Nissan has sold more than 18,000 units of the original e-NV200 since its introduction in 2014. The upgraded version features… Read more »
As transit agencies around the world gradually make the transition to electrified vehicles, some companies are finding ingenious ways to try to improve fossil fuel systems in legacy vehicles. Power conversion specialist Vanner has unveiled a new single-belt electrical system which is designed to decouple electrically-powered vehicle accessories from a diesel or CNG engine. The… Read more »
There were several electric buses on display at the recent American Public Transportation Association (APTA) Bus & Paratransit Conference in Tampa, lined up along the waterfront behind Amalie Arena, home ice for the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Sierra Club’s Phil Compton was there to speak to the manufacturers’ reps and snap some photos. Conference attendees… Read more »
BMW has introduced a factory-fitted, integrated inductive charging feature for its 530e iPerformance PHEV. The system can be ordered now as a leasing option in Germany, and will subsequently be rolled out in the UK, the US, Japan and China. The BMW Wireless Charging system consists of a GroundPad, which can be installed in a… Read more »
Plug-in vehicle sales in the Nordic countries have been soaring for over two years, setting one sales record after another. However, that trend stalled in the first quarter of this year, Insero reports. In the first three months of 2018, 24,893 plug-in vehicles were sold in Norway, Finland, Sweden, and Denmark, compared to 27,640 sold… Read more »