Pivot Power has unveiled plans to build a 2 GW network of grid-scale batteries and fast charging stations across the UK. The company plans to invest some £1.6 billion to develop 45 sites around the country, installing grid-scale 50 MW batteries at electrical substations. The battery network will store enough electricity to supply 235,000 average… Read more »
Talk about shortening timelines in the auto industry – when Consumer Reports reported that it had found Model 3’s stopping distance to be unacceptably long, Tesla CEO Elon Musk responded within hours, promising to look into the matter and do whatever it takes to improve braking performance. CR announced that it would not award Model… Read more »
At least a couple of the oil giants see the handwriting on the garage wall, and are taking some baby steps toward the electric future. BP has installed over 70 EV charging stations at retail sites in several countries. It has also invested $5 million in FreeWire, a manufacturer of mobile EV charging systems, and… Read more »
Private aviation company JetSuite has announced plans to add up to 100 Zunum Aero electrified aircraft to its fleet. Washington-based Zunum Aero, profiled in the July/August issue of Charged, is developing a “hybrid-to-electric” plane with a capacity of 12 passengers, a maximum cruise speed of 340 mph and a take-off distance of 2,200 feet. The aircraft is optimized… Read more »
Indiana-based heavy-duty engine specialist Cummins unveiled its lithium-ion battery portfolio at the recent Battery Show Europe in Hannover, Germany, including battery packs and modules that can be integrated with the company’s new electric and hybrid powertrain portfolio. Cummins’s product range includes the BM44E (44 kWh) and BM20E (20 kWh) low-voltage modules, designed to power material… Read more »
Los Angeles-based Advanced Vehicle Manufacturing (AVM) has signed a memorandum of understanding with UBSI, an operator of more than 650 buses in Israel and the Palestinian Territories, to purchase 58 of AVM’s commercial electric vehicles. AVM unveiled the first vehicle in its line of electric mid-size shuttle buses, the EV27, at the recent Advanced Clean… Read more »
The DOE is awarding $19 million in funding to 12 cost-shared research projects focused on “extreme fast charging,” which is defined as a system with power levels up to 400 kW and typical charging times of 15 minutes or less. Nine of the selected projects focus on advanced anodes, electrolytes, and battery cell designs: UC… Read more »
The Fuso eCanter light-duty electric truck, which is now in production in Europe and Japan, uses a PD400 inverter from John Deere Electronic Solutions (JDES). The JDES PD400 has been proven in off-road vehicles from John Deere and other OEMs. The inverter’s software is designed to be flexible, offering a broad set of features and… Read more »
Nidec ASI’s new Ultra Fast Charger (UFC) incorporates 160 kWh of batteries, and functions as a buffer between a charging station and the electrical grid. It can use LV or MV grid connections and, according to Nidec, can supply 320 kW of power to a vehicle, while drawing only 50 kW from the grid. Nidec… Read more »
As EVs proliferate, oil demand is bound to plateau sooner or later. Don’t start planning Big Oil’s funeral yet, however – according to a new analysis from IHS Markit, short-term oil demand is still growing and will continue to do so through the end of 2020. At present, the globe gobbles up around 100 million… Read more »
