SAE International has announced revisions to SAE J3072 Standard: Interconnection Requirements for Onboard, Utility-Interactive Inverter Systems and SAE J2847/3 Recommended Practice: Communication for Plug-in Vehicles as a Distributed Energy Source. The updated EV charging documents will play a role in advancing automotive requirements for distributed energy resources (DER) projects. The revisions to SAE J3072 establish… Read more »
Polish startup Ekoen plans to build 100 EV charging hubs in Poland. Each of the hubs will be “a space to fully rechange both the vehicle as well as the driver,” featuring open-access fast charging, an EV driver lounge open 24/7, and a café serving local food. “The e-mobility market is entering a new stage,”… Read more »
Freudenberg Sealing Technologies is introducing a new generation of electrically conductive seals at the virtual 2021 Vienna Motor Symposium. The seals are designed to prevent bearing damage caused by electrically-induced corrosion and to decrease electromagnetic interference. The power semiconductors in an inverter are often positioned directly above the motor. Silicon carbide semiconductors, which are often… Read more »
Rio Tinto has commenced production of battery-grade lithium from waste rock at a lithium demonstration plant at the Boron mine site in California. The demonstration plant is the next step in scaling up a lithium production process developed at Boron, to recover the mineral and extract additional value out of waste piles from over 90… Read more »
UPS’s Flight Forward subsidiary plans to purchase electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft from Beta Technologies. The delivery giant will take delivery of the first ten aircraft beginning in 2024, with the option to purchase up to 150. Beta’s vehicle has a 1,400-pound cargo capacity and a range of 250 miles. UPS envisions that… Read more »
LG Chem has launched what it says is the largest carbon nanotube (CNT) plant in Korea. The company is targeting the growing market for CNT, often used as a cathode material for EV batteries. CNT has the same level of electrical and thermal conductivity as copper and diamond, and 100 times the strength of steel. … Read more »
SABIC has introduced its new 5-micron ELCRES HTV150 dielectric film for high-temperature, high-voltage capacitor applications such as EV traction inverters. The company says its new film withstands temperatures up to 150° C. The film is intended to support the transition from conventional silicon-based semiconductors to next-generation, wide-band-gap silicon carbide (SiC) technologies, improving inverter efficiency. “Multiple… Read more »
Swiss car-sharing provider Mobility operates a fleet of some 3,000 vehicles, many stationed at Switzerland’s ubiquitous train stations to provide last-mile transportation. The company’s first foray into electrification was a bit too early—it began offering EVs in 2011, but later took most of them out of service. Now the value proposition for EVs has improved,… Read more »
Charging technology developer L-Charge has demonstrated a fully working prototype of its gas-powered off-grid charging station. L-Charge’s system offers a charging power range of 250-600 kW, and comes in two versions—stationary and mobile. Designed for highways, gas stations, and parking lots, L-Charge’s stationary charger requires no connection to an external power grid—it runs on an… Read more »
Electrify America is on a roll—less than 3 years after opening its first charging station in Chicopee, Massachusetts, the company now operates 600 public charging stations, with 2,600 individual fast chargers, across the continental US. EA will build on this momentum by adding its first stations in Hawaii, South Dakota, Wyoming and Vermont, bringing its… Read more »
