Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) has announced that its proprietary Detroit ePowertrain will power the upcoming Freightliner eCascadia and Freightliner eM2, as part of Daimler Trucks’ strategy to establish a uniform basic architecture for its global line-up of battery-electric vehicles. Daimler also announced plans to invest $20 million in its subsidiary Detroit’s manufacturing facility located… Read more »
Sponsored by HBK Understanding how vehicles use and distribute energy is crucial for electric vehicle development and certification. Electrical powertrain, including motors and inverters, heating, air conditioning, infotainment, and other sub systems all consume energy that is being supplied by the battery pack. Any energy usage or inefficiency can result in a shorter range of… Read more »
The DOE has announced $47 million in new funding for seven projects as part of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy’s (ARPA-E) Seeding Critical Advances for Leading Energy technologies with Untapped Potential (SCALEUP) program. These selections bring total SCALEUP program funding to over $70 million, building on $24 million in previously announced SCALEUP “Fast Track” selections…. Read more »
German battery manufacturer AKASOL is has partnered with the Fraunhofer Research Institution to develop automated recycling processes for battery packs. “The rising demand for high-performance battery systems means that more raw materials, such as lithium, cobalt or nickel, are needed to manufacture these energy-storage technologies,” explains AKASOL Head of Product Management Dr. Björn Eberleh. “In… Read more »
In 2020, a total of 134.5 GWh of passenger EV battery capacity was deployed globally in newly sold passenger EVs, an increase of 39.6% over the prior year, according to an analysis by Adamas Intelligence. This figure excludes an additional 15 to 20 GWh of installed passenger EV battery capacity idling in sales channels and… Read more »
Effenco, a designer of electric propulsion systems for heavy-duty commercial vehicles, says its new electric solution is available at the same purchase price as diesel alternatives. Effenco’s powertrain uses ultracapacitors to optimize the battery load and increase efficiency. The company says its ultracapacitors also enable much faster charging than competing systems, and it’s equipped with… Read more »
Elon Musk and Sandy Munro covered a lot of ground in their recent video chat, discussing a great number of advances and improvements to Tesla’s vehicles and manufacturing processes. Here’s just one tidbit that many may have overlooked: beginning with the upcoming Model S/X refresh, Tesla plans to abandon the century-old lead-acid battery technology in… Read more »
One of the most significant innovations Tesla introduced with Model Y was the replacement of about 70 parts with two enormous aluminum castings. Now the company says it has plans to take this idea a step further by developing a battery pack that forms part of the structure of the vehicle, linking the front and… Read more »
Some EVs employ regenerative braking to recover energy whenever the accelerator pedal is released, while others simply allow the vehicle to coast. For the new ID.4 electric compact SUV, Volkswagen decided that coasting will take priority because energy conversion inevitably leads to losses. This applies to the Drive position, which is activated by default upon… Read more »
Which auto brands will meet the EU’s ever-tightening emissions targets? The answer may provide an indication of which brands are serious about electrification. Mercedes-Benz seems to want to be included on that list—the company reported significant progress on its “journey towards CO2 neutrality” in 2020. Mercedes-Benz Cars sold more than 160,000 PHEVs and EVs worldwide… Read more »