Volkswagen has appointed former Tesla exec Matthew Renna as Vice President, North American Region G4. Renna will manage VW’s “NAR-G4” team, overseeing the Modular Electrification Toolkit (MEB), the automaker’s modular EV platform. His responsibilities will include “product content, costs, financial results, timing, quality, launch, and risk management throughout the entire MEB product line life cycles.”… Read more »
Commercial EV-maker Workhorse Group (NASDAQ: WKHS) is deploying a fleet of its electric N-GEN cargo vans in the San Francisco Bay area, in partnership with Ryder System, Workhorse’s exclusive maintenance provider. To commemorate the launch, Workhorse will display the N-GEN at City Hall in San Francisco on Wednesday, March 28. Designed from the ground up… Read more »
Engineering consultancy Drive System Design (DSD) has partnered with software specialists Altair and FluiDyna to develop and enhance nanoFluidX, a computer modelling technique that is used to analyze lubrication flow. DSD uses nanoFluidX to reduce drivetrain drag losses, which the company says represent the largest energy draw on the battery pack at speeds up to… Read more »
Dutch fleet charging specialist Heliox has supplied 109 fast chargers to power a fleet of 100 battery-electric buses for Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport. The articulated VDL Citeas e-buses will operate on a 24/7 basis on 6 lines in the environs of the airport, and are expected to drive a total of 30,000 km per day. Heliox… Read more »
Chile’s state development agency, CORFO, has selected the Chilean firm Molymet and China’s Fulin Group (a joint venture between Samsung SDI and South Korea’s POSCO) to develop value-added lithium products in Chile. Within two years, the companies are expected to be ready to produce some 58,000 metric tons of cathode materials per year. This announcement… Read more »
Tesla’s high-flying stock lost some substantial altitude over the past few days, as a number of negative news items hit the wires. The stage was set by the growing realization that the company isn’t likely to reach its Model 3 production target of 2,500 units per week any time soon. Then a fatal Model X… Read more »
More than a dozen shipping-related organizations, including flag states, research institutions, battery and propulsion suppliers, fire extinguishing system providers and ship operators, have formed a joint development project to advance the understanding of the use of lithium-ion batteries in the shipping industry. The new project aims to create a deep pool of expertise from different… Read more »
In response to customer demands for a yellow machine that can work indoors, underground and close to people in urban areas, UK-based heavy equipment manufacturer JCB has developed its first electric excavator (a “digger” to our British mates). The 19C-1 E-Tec mini-excavator not only delivers zero emissions, it is five times quieter than its diesel-powered… Read more »
Mercedes-Benz has added more power and new features to its Wallbox home charging station. The new version offers up to 22 kW of power, and makes it possible to control various functions from a smartphone, including charging control, user management and consumption overview. The new Wallbox comes in three versions: the basic Wallbox Home, the… Read more »
London’s world-famous red buses are steadily going electric. Route 153 serves many of the City of London’s most congested streets, between Finsbury Park in the north and Moorgate in the heart of the financial district. This route will be the fourth in the capital to go fully electric, with a new fleet consisting of eleven… Read more »
