ITECH Electronics has introduced the IT7900 regenerative grid simulator, a programmable grid simulator and 4-quadrant AC source. The IT7900, which is designed to test grid-tied products, integrates the functions of a built-in RLC anti-islanding load, a grid simulator and a power meter in one unit. Users can configure parameters such as RLC, active power and reactive power of… Read more »
Five years ago, Alexander Dennis (ADL), a subsidiary of global bus manufacturer NFI Group, formed a partnership with BYD UK to build electric buses, using BYD’s battery-electric driveline technology and ADL’s British-built, customizable bodies. There are now over 400 BYD ADL electric buses operating in London alone, and another 300 vehicles are on order. Now… Read more »
SK has invested an additional $35.9 million in SES (formerly SolidEnergy Systems), a developer of lithium-metal batteries. Coupled with its original $26.7 million investment in 2018, SK now becomes the third-largest shareholder of the battery company. SES, which launched in 2012 as an MIT research lab startup, is headquartered in Singapore, and operates labs and… Read more »
Tesla has its corporate fingers in quite a lot of cutting-edge technological pies. Its cars, solar panels and stationary storage systems are widely discussed, but it’s less well-known that the company is also a pioneer in the field of supercomputers. Tesla recently unveiled a new supercomputer, which it says is the fifth most powerful in… Read more »
After weeks of back-and-forth on the infrastructure bill, President Joe Biden announced, “We have a deal,” standing with a group of Republicans and Democrats after a meeting in the Oval Office. “I think it’s really important we’ve all agreed that none of us got all that we wanted.” EV advocates certainly aren’t going to get… Read more »
High-nickel-content cathodes have captured the imagination of scientists, as they could enable much higher energy density. However, the high nickel content causes these cathode materials to degrade more quickly, creating cracks and stability issues as the battery cycles. A team of researchers at the DOE’s Brookhaven National Laboratory investigated the valence gradient of cathode materials… Read more »
Johnson Matthey (JM) has teamed up with CPI and Thomas Swan to explore how to best optimize battery technology. The ICE-Batt project, which receives funding support from the Faraday Battery Challenge, will investigate how carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) can improve battery performance. Ultimately this could lead to improvements in energy density, power… Read more »
Unifrax, a manufacturer of specialty materials, has announced plans to build its first large-scale SiFAB (silicon fiber anode material) manufacturing line at its north-central Indiana facility. SiFAB is a proprietary silicon anode battery technology designed to enable greater energy density in lithium-ion batteries. The company also expects SiFAB to provide faster charging and longer battery… Read more »
As the world’s automakers prepare for an electric future, what do the world’s auto dealers have to say about what’s going on? As regular readers of Charged know, dealers have long been considered a major roadblock for EV adoption. (Advocacy group Plug in America, believing that the problem is one of education rather than will,… Read more »
FTEX, a maker of motor controllers for small EVs, has introduced the GaNRunner, the company’s first programmable motor controller featuring gallium nitride (GaN) technology. Built to control brushless DC motors, the GaNRunner works with standard electric motor architectures and includes standard HIGO connectors. It’s available in 750 W (GNRR-750) and 1500 W (GNRR-1500) single- and… Read more »
