Sweden’s government has appointed a commission of inquiry to offer proposals on when and how sales of new fossil fuel cars, and fossil fuels themselves, should be phased out. The group is also tasked with developing a plan to bring about the same changes in the EU as a whole. The commission is to propose… Read more »
Automotive powerhouses Mercedes-Benz and Geely have formally established the global joint venture “smart Automobile Co., Ltd.” for the smart brand. Each company will contribute 2.7 billion RMB in capital. The new JV, headquartered in Hangzhou Bay, China, will design the new vehicles using the Mercedes-Benz Design network, while Geely Holding will be responsible for development… Read more »
Flanders, Belgium, is about to become a whole lot friendlier to EV drivers. Fastned, a growing charging network operator, plans to add 13 new highway fast charging stations to its network. The new stations, featuring charging levels up to 350 kW, will be constructed at current highway parking facilities throughout the Flemish provinces of Limburg,… Read more »
Bloomy, a provider of automated testing, data acquisition and control systems, has released the third version of the Soft Front Panel for its Battery Simulator 1200, which provides 12 programmable cells that sink and source current for testing battery management systems. The new update is designed to simplify the program and allow PC users to… Read more »
The mission of California-based startup EVmatch, a charging solution provider that was profiled in the latest issue of Charged, is to make charging stations more readily available to EV drivers. The company offers two solutions: a peer-to-peer sharing platform that makes private chargers available to the public; and a subnetwork platform, which allows a customer… Read more »
BMW Group has signed a €540-million contract with China’s Ganfeng Lithium for the supply of raw lithium from mines in Australia. The carmaker has restructured its supply chains for its upcoming fifth generation of battery cells. From 2020 on, it will directly source both lithium and cobalt. The raw materials will then pass on to… Read more »
Dominion Energy has selected Thomas Built Buses (TBB) as the provider of 50 electric school buses, which will make up the initial phase of Dominion’s electric school bus replacement program in Virginia. According to TBB, this program represents the largest deployment of electric school buses in the US to date. TBB’s Saf-T-Liner C2 Jouley is… Read more »
Volkswagen plans to acquire 20% of Chinese battery maker Guoxuan, Reuters reports, accelerating the German giant’s foray into China’s growing EV market. At current prices, the 20% stake would be worth about $560 million. Volkswagen is currently the top foreign automaker in China, and has set a goal of selling 1.5 million new energy vehicles… Read more »
Electrify America will invest $1.3 million in the Sacramento Municipal Utility District’s (SMUD) Energy StorageShares program, which incentivizes energy storage in grid-stressed locations throughout the city. Through the program, Electrify America will receive recurring credits for the demand reduction needs at its 12 charging stations powered by SMUD in the Sacramento area. “This program will… Read more »
Canadian charger manufacturer Delta-Q has launched its new Vehicle Charge Interface Module (VCIM) to allow its Stackable Charging System to support AC charging stations and two-way communicating electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE). The VCIM allows the Delta-Q chargers to be used with standard EVSE by helping negotiate the AC current limits and communicate the electrical… Read more »
