Microvast, headquartered in Stafford, Texas, with offices in China, the UK and Germany, is a manufacturer of lithium-ion battery systems for electric and hybrid transit buses. The company recently announced record annual sales for 2016 – over 7,500 units. As of the end of 2016, more than 15,000 Microvast battery-powered buses were operating in public… Read more »
Japanese automotive supplier NSK has demonstrated what it says is the first transmission-equipped wheel hub motor. In-wheel motors have several advantages – they can reduce the weight of the vehicle, control the drive force of each wheel for improved torque vectoring, and possibly free up room for more passenger and cargo space. However, achieving both… Read more »
The Right to Repair is a concept that aims to make our throwaway society a bit more sustainable by requiring manufacturers to sell replacement parts for their products, and make their diagnostic codes and service manuals available to independent repair shops. The Right to Repair is currently the law only in Massachusetts, which is thus… Read more »
Most major retailers require that electrical products sold in their stores undergo third-party independent safety testing and certification, Amazon does not. After Charged encouraged the company to change its policy for EV charging stations, an Amazon spokesperson provided this official comment, “We monitor the products sold on our website for product safety concerns, and when appropriate, we… Read more »
With a newly-acquired magnetic material caster, NASA’s Magnetic Materials Lab allows researchers to create custom alloy magnetic ribbons as large as one mile long and 50 mm wide. This ribbon can then be used to manufacture parts that generate or transform electrical power more efficiently and at a larger scale than ever before. “As the… Read more »
Car buyers have a growing array of options for going electric, especially in California. However, getting the information they need to decide which plug-in vehicle meets their needs is no simple task – getting objective information from auto dealers has always been difficult, and many of them are sadly uninformed about EVs. A new web… Read more »
January 20 was an important day for transportation electrification in California. That was the deadline for the state’s three major investor-owned utilities (IOUs) to submit applications for major upgrades to electric transportation infrastructure. California’s Senate Bill 350 (2015) requires the IOUs to establish programs that will increase “access to the use of electricity as a… Read more »
IMAGE: Using specialized equipment, a team from MIT did tests in which they used a pyramidal-tipped probe to indent the surface of a piece of the sulfide-based material. Surrounding the resulting indentation (seen at center), cracks were seen forming in the material (indicated by arrows), revealing details of its mechanical properties. Battery scientists are the world are exploring… Read more »
The Harrogate Bus Company of the UK has placed an order for eight Volvo 7900 electric buses. The vehicles will operate in Harrogate, 90 km northeast of Manchester. When the vehicles enter service in 2018, the project will be the first in the UK to use opportunity charging via the common interface OppCharge. The charging stations can also be… Read more »
Argentina’s Ministry of Environment plans to support the purchase of 50 electric buses as a pilot project in several cities throughout the country, and has recommended Chinese EV-builder BYD as the vendor. A bid evaluation committee chose BYD from a pool of five bidders on the strength of its 12-meter electric bus, which is already… Read more »
