Every EV driver understands the importance of an accurate “fuel gauge.” Engineers working on the batteries of the future also need a reliable way to measure the state of charge (SOC), even in cases where they may be testing different battery chemistries. Researchers at the University of Connecticut have developed a chemistry-adaptive battery fuel gauge… Read more »
The City of Grenoble, France has launched a unique car-sharing service featuring ultra-compact EVs and close integration into the local public transport system. Cité lib by Ha:mo (for Harmonious Mobility), which is patterned after a system that Toyota has been piloting in Japan, opens October 1 for a three-year trial period. Toyota is providing 70… Read more »
After years of operating in secrecy, battery startup Sakti3 has been much in the news lately, the subject of feature articles in Scientific American and Fortune (via Green Car Reports). The Ann Arbor company, founded in 2008 by Ann Marie Sastry, has developed a solid-state electrolyte, which could eliminate some of the drawbacks of liquid electrolytes, including… Read more »
Researchers at Argonne National Laboratory are using a new imaging technique to learn more about the process that causes lithium-ion batteries to degrade over time. Using coherent X-ray diffractive imaging at the DOE’s Advanced Photon Source facility, a team of researchers mapped the three-dimensional strain in individual nanoparticles within the electrodes of operating batteries. In… Read more »
What’s more efficient, using natural gas to power an ICE vehicle, or using it to generate electricity to power an EV? A well-to-wheels (WTW) analysis by a team of researchers at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has found that, with a high PTW (pump-to-wheels) efficiency and the potential for high generation efficiency with NGCC… Read more »
It’s becoming apparent that EV charging should be considered as part of an “ecosystem” that also includes renewable energy generation and stationary storage. France’s Eco2charge consortium, coordinated by Bouygues Energie, has launched an R&D program to study the deployment of solutions of this kind, especially for commercial buildings. Eco2charge notes that an average EV consumes… Read more »
In honor of National Drive Electric Week, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law half a dozen bills to further strengthen California’s EV market. In 2012, Governor Brown set a target of 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles on the road in California by 2025. California accounts for 40% of US plug-in sales, and recently surpassed the… Read more »
How important is the $7,500 federal tax credit for EV buyers, and what will happen to the market when it is eventually phased out? Vehicles from a particular automaker are eligible for the tax credit until it has sold 200,000 EVs in the US. After that, buyers of the company’s vehicles will get 50 percent… Read more »
Electrification is quietly sneaking into “conventional” vehicles, as more models incorporate stop/start technology. Navigant Research predicts that 54% of new vehicles worldwide will have stop/start capability by 2022. Different automakers are applying stop/start in very different ways. For energy storage, a stop/start system may use Li-ion batteries, advanced-glass-mat (AGM) lead-acid batteries, ultracapacitors (UCs), or some… Read more »
DC chargers are getting smaller and lighter, with commensurate cost savings. Portuguese electrical manufacturer Efacec has introduced its new QC24S, which provides fast charging for CCS-compatible EVs (VW, BMW, Daimler, GM). A CHAdeMO version is scheduled for launch by the end of this year. “This new product is a breakthrough and will be a huge… Read more »
