The all-electric off-road racing series Extreme E has announced that its first race will take place in Greenland in 2021. Organizers are currently reconnoitering sites for four more races in other regions of the world. The three-day event, which will be the first-ever motorsport race in the Arctic country, will take place on the sandbars… Read more »
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Aptera returns from the dead, unveils 1,000-mile EV
Long-time followers of the EV scene may remember Aptera, a startup that was founded in 2006, designed a unique three-wheeled two-seater EV, then went into liquidation in 2011. Now, Aptera is back. Three of the founders have bought back the intellectual property, and have spent many months working on an improved version of Aptera’s vehicle… Read more »
Michigan school districts to buy 17 electric buses
Seven Michigan school districts – Ann Arbor, Gaylord, Kalamazoo, Oxford, Roseville, Three Rivers and Zeeland – will be the first in the state to purchase electric buses. The districts will receive $4.2 million from the state to cover up to 70 percent of the costs of buying 17 electric buses, along with Level 2 and… Read more »
Seat shows a concept for a high-performance electric SUV
We usually have little interest in “concept” vehicles, unless their makers indicate a clear path to the dealership and the street. However, the need for electric SUVs and crossovers is pressing, so let’s take a look at this new electric SUV concept from Seat, a Spanish automaker owned by the Volkswagen Group. Seat unveiled an… Read more »
Study at University of Texas demonstrates silicon’s ability to harvest energy from heat
A team from the University of Texas at Dallas has teamed up with Texas Instruments to demonstrate silicon’s ability to harvest energy from heat while still remaining mass-producible. “In a general sense, waste heat is everywhere: the heat your car engine generates, for example,” said Mark Lee, head of UT Dallas’s Department of Physics and… Read more »
Embraer plans first flight of all-electric prototype aircraft in 2020
Brazilian aerospace company Embraer plans to launch its first all-electric prototype aircraft in 2020. Electric equipment manufacturer WEG will produce the demonstrator aircraft’s motor and controller at its headquarters in Jaraguá do Sul, Brazil. Parker Aerospace will supply the aircraft’s cooling system. The technology will be tested on the single-engine EMB-203 Ipanema. Source: Embraer via… Read more »
DOE awards $1.2 million to Wildcat Discovery for improved solid-state batteries
The US DOE has awarded $1,223,833 to Wildcat Discovery Technologies, a company that uses high-throughput methods to develop next-generation battery materials, to develop materials for an all-solid-state battery. Solid-state batteries will allow for higher energy densities and better safety performance, according to Wildcat, which will use the money to explore the development of a composite… Read more »
As VW shows 2 new EVs in Frankfurt, has it brought battery costs under $100/kWh?
Volkswagen’s first EV designed for mass production, and the first to be based on the modular MEB platform, is on display at this week’s Frankfurt Motor Show. So are a lot of other EVs – mainstream outlets from CNET to the Wall Street Journal reported that electrification is the dominant theme at this year’s show…. Read more »
Australia grants $15 million for first phase of highway EV charging network
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has granted $15 million to Evie Networks to develop the largest ultra-fast EV charging network on Australian highways, helping to support the first phase of a planned $50.2-million intercity highway charging network. Forty-two charging sites powered by renewable energy will be installed at service centers connecting Adelaide, Melbourne, Canberra,… Read more »
CNH Industrial invests $250 million in fuel cell truck maker Nikola, plans to enter European market
Dutch commercial vehicle maker CNH Industrial plans to form an exclusive partnership with Nikola, an Arizona manufacturer of Class 8 heavy-duty trucks powered by hydrogen fuel cell and battery technology. CNH Industrial will take a $250-million strategic stake in Nikola as the lead Series D investor. CNH will provide $100 million cash and $150 million… Read more »