Newswire

Ionic Materials raises $65 million to develop its solid-state electrolyte

Ionic Materials has secured $65 million in a Series C financing round from investors in the battery manufacturing, consumer electronic and EV fields, who will be working with the company to speed the development of its solid polymer electrolyte battery material. “This funding round will allow us to add to our talented technical staff while… Read more »

US budget deal reinstates EV charging station tax credit

Green initiatives are on the chopping block in Washington these days, but two of the most important federal incentives have escaped the axe for now. After a bit of back-and-forth, the federal tax credit for plug-in car purchases survived in the final version of the Republicans’ tax cut bill. Now Congress has added a few… Read more »

Efficient Drivetrains delivers electric bus powertrains to Golden Dragon in China

Efficient Drivetrains, Inc. (EDI) has fulfilled its largest order of all-electric buses for Golden Dragon in China. The EDI PowerDrive 6000EV system was integrated into a fleet of 18 Golden Dragon 10.5-meter buses, which will run on urban and rural routes around the city of Nantong, China. The EDI PowerDrive 6000 received Chinese government certification… Read more »

Cummins acquires Johnson Matthey’s automotive battery business

Engine builder Cummins has acquired Johnson Matthey’s UK automotive battery systems business, a subsidiary that specializes in high-voltage battery systems for electric and hybrid vehicles. Cummins and Johnson Matthey also agreed to collaborate on the development of battery materials for commercial heavy-duty applications. Last October, Cummins acquired Brammo, which is known for designing and developing… Read more »

Adding graphene girders to silicon electrodes could double battery life

Graphite has long been the default choice of material for anodes, but researchers dream of replacing graphite with silicon, which has ten times the gravimetric energy density. Unfortunately, silicon has several issues that limit its commercial use – it expands during lithiation, causing particles to agglomerate in ways that impede efficiency, and it is not… Read more »

New report examines EV policy in all 50 states

The NC Clean Energy Technology Center (NCCETC) has launched a new series of reports, The 50 States of Electric Vehicles, with a special 2017 Review issue. The new series, which will take the form of quarterly reports, provides insights on state regulatory and legislative discussions and actions that relate to EVs. The report found that… Read more »

New study finds consumers are behind the curve on EVs

Automakers and policymakers around the world are preparing for the transition to EVs. Toyota, Volvo, VW, BMW, Mercedes and other brands are setting ambitious sales goals and investing substantial sums. Norway, the Netherlands, France, the UK and China are talking about phasing out sales of legacy ICE vehicles. There’s just one key group of stakeholders… Read more »

Volta Charging partners with LOOM Media to expand free charging network

Volta Charging, which operates a free EV charging network, has announced a partnership with LOOM Media to bring Volta to nationwide scale. Funded through sponsored content, the Volta network is provided to hosts as a free turnkey service, and offers charging at high-traffic locations, at no cost to drivers. LOOM will provide Volta with third-party… Read more »

New EV battery recycling model quantifies cost and energy savings

What’s going to happen to all those lithium-ion batteries after they die? What’s the best way to recycle them? A new model developed at the DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory allows industry insiders to assess the money and energy savings from recycling EV batteries. ReCell, a closed-loop battery recycling model, offers preliminary estimates of total costs… Read more »

Bite Squad to convert its delivery fleet from Prius to Tesla Model 3

Bite Squad, the Minneapolis-based restaurant delivery service that now operates in 30 markets around the country, hopes to swap out its current fleet of several hundred Toyota Priuses for Tesla Model 3s. It plans to test a handful of 3s on the road in its home base of Minneapolis this fall. Company-owned vehicles account for… Read more »