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 »
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UPS to purchase electric VTOL aircraft from Beta Technologies
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 launches carbon nanotube plant in Korea
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 introduces new dielectric film for high-voltage capacitors in EV inverters
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 firm to install hundreds of charging stations
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 »
L-Charge demonstrates LNG-powered off-grid EV chargers
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 opens 600 public fast charging stations in less than 3 years
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 »
Integrated laser welding and stripping system for EV motor manufacturing (Whitepaper)
Sponsored by TRUMPF This whitepaper provides an overview of laser technology for EV motor manufacturing with proven high-quality results for two production steps of the stator with hairpin design: stripping and welding of the hairpin ends. Sponsored by TRUMPF
Siemens offers a new charge controller and calibration kit for EV charging tech
Siemens offers charging system suppliers a new plug & play solution, which now enables calibration of the Powerline signal level in line with CCS CharIN Association Implementation Guidelines. The solution comprises the company’s Simatic ET 200SP TM ECC PL ST charge controller and its TM ECC CCS calibration kit. When calibrating the signal quality of… Read more »
Ford accelerates battery R&D with dedicated team and new global battery center
Ford has announced a new global battery center—Ford Ion Park—to accelerate R&D in battery technology. The Ford Ion Park team is exploring better integration and innovation opportunities across all aspects of the value chain—from mines to recycling—working with all units within Ford, including experts at Ford’s new Battery Benchmarking and Test Laboratory and Customer Service… Read more »