Mercedes-Benz has ended its development of fuel cell-powered passenger cars, saying that they would be too expensive—around double the cost to produce of comparable battery-electric vehicles. The company has been working on fuel cell technology for over 30 years. Mercedes says it will wind down production of the GLC F-Cell, which was developed in a… Read more »
Researchers have demonstrated the use of ionic liquids for recycling bonded neodymium (NdFeB) permanent magnets—-the type often used in EV motors. Their work, which could ease the strain on rare earth materials, is published in the open-access journal Green Chemistry. “Ionic liquids (ILs) are known to be excellent green solvents for many types of synthetic… Read more »
Who knew that bakers would be major drivers of the electromobility revolution? Mexican bakery giant Bimbo is building its own electric delivery vans, and now we learn that German organic baker Roland Schüren is building what’s billed as Europe’s largest electric car charging park. The bakery’s charging facility is located at the busy Kreuz Hilden… Read more »
Transit operator Keolis Métropole Orléans, which serves the city of Orleans, France, has ordered 29 Irizar ie tram electric buses. The order is part of the city’s plan to convert its entire public transport system to electric drive by 2025. The first of the Irizar e-buses are scheduled for delivery in mid-2021. Each bus is… Read more »
Another game of California cat and Tesla mouse may be getting underway—a reverse of the game that played out in March, as the carmaker went back and forth with the local authorities, trying to keep production going as long as possible. A couple of days ago, Bloomberg reported that staff working in paint and stamping… Read more »
China has announced a cut to its subsidies on new energy vehicles (NEVs), effective immediately. It’s been something of a rollercoaster ride for the subsidies of late. In 2015, the government announced plans to end the subsidies this year. In January, it said there would be “no significant cuts” this year. In March it confirmed… Read more »
Sponsored By Keysight Technologies Download a beautifully designed automotive communications poster. It provides an overview of the technologies that make new cars safer and more convenient, including a comparison of dedicated short-range communications and C-V2X technologies. Get into the fast lane with the latest technical resources on autonomous driving. Learn about design and test of… Read more »
Researchers at Tokyo Metropolitan University have developed a new method to make ceramic-based flexible electrolyte sheets for lithium metal batteries. They combined a garnet-type ceramic, a polymer binder, and an ionic liquid, producing a quasi-solid-state sheet electrolyte. The synthesis is carried out at room temperature, requiring significantly less energy than existing high-temperature (>1,000° C) processes…. Read more »
As part of a field test of four comparable vehicles, the first DAF CF Electric 6×2 refuse collection truck has begun operations with Dutch public waste disposal firm ROVA. The vehicle will serve the Dutch city of Zwolle. Since the end of 2018, DAF CF Electric 4×2 tractors have been in operation for inner-city distribution… Read more »
Toshiba Corporation‘s SCiB lithium-ion battery modules have received approval for use in marine vessels from international ship classification society Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK). Ships with the battery system can use renewable energy sources to charge the SCiB while at sea, allowing the system to power on-board equipment while the ship is at anchor and to… Read more »
