The US Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC), a collaboration among the Big Three US automakers, has awarded a $7.7-million battery technology development contract to Envia Systems of Newark, California. The competitively bid contract, which is co-funded by the DOE and includes a 50 percent Envia Systems cost-share, is for a 36-month program that will focus on… Read more »
CALEB Technology and California Lithium Battery (CalBattery) have agreed to establish a joint venture to produce a new line of high-performance lithium-ion batteries, which will be manufactured in the Los Angeles area starting in 2016. The first generation of batteries will be aimed at the consumer electronics market, but the second generation will also be… Read more »
The hyperconnected automobile presents all sorts of opportunities for criminal mischief, and it’s no hypothetical danger – last year, DARPA researchers were able to remotely hack into Toyota and Ford vehicles and disable the brakes. At this month’s Symposium on Security for Asia Network (SyScan360), a security conference in Beijing, security buffs were invited to… Read more »
Chinese EV-maker BYD plans to build a factory in Campinas, in the São Paulo region of Brazil, where it will manufacture electric transit buses and their iron-phosphate battery packs. The factory is slated to open in 2015. “In the first year of operation, the plant will have a maximum production capacity of 1,000 electric buses… Read more »
LG Chem CFO Cho Suk-jeh told Reuters this week that the South Korean company plans to supply batteries for an EV with more than 200 miles of range in 2016. Cho Suk-jeh did not say which automaker(s) would be using the new cells, but GM seems to be a likely candidate. It currently has a… Read more »
Electric utilities are a key part of the e-mobility revolution, and a growing number of them are getting on board. According to a new study by the Northeast Group, 25 utilities in 14 states currently offer rate structures tailored for EV owners – typically discounts for charging during off-peak hours. The enlightened energy providers include… Read more »
Proterra has announced the first sale of its second-generation battery-electric bus to Foothill Transit of West Covina, California. Foothill Transit, which became Proterra’s first customer in 2010, has agreed to purchase two more buses from the company, to be delivered in December. The new model has a 220 kW peak permanent magnet motor, a Proterra… Read more »
Researchers at Rice University and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have developed a new theoretical model that predicts how carbon components will perform as electrodes. The research, published in the journal Physical Review Letters, examined the electronic characteristics of anode materials, including quantum capacitance (the ability of a material to absorb charge) and absolute Fermi level… Read more »
At least 30 percent of new government vehicles in China must be new energy vehicles (EVs, PHEVs and/or fuel-cell cars) according to a joint plan from five government ministries that will be phased in over the next two years, the Xinhua news agency reported. The rules call for urban areas with fixed routes for official… Read more »
PlugShare will be the official app for Nissan’s No Charge to Charge campaign, which offers two years of free charging to buyers and lessees of a new LEAF. The program includes 2,600 participating stations in 10 US metropolitan areas. PlugShare, available for iOS, Android and on the web, allows EV drivers to find charging stations… Read more »
