EV4 Oregon’s Energy Transfer Merchant (ETM) is a complete system for charging EVs with renewable energy – a solar carport with battery storage and both AC and dual-mode DC chargers. The ETM is a completely bolted system that covers two parking spaces. Its foundation is a concrete slab or an underground vault, depending upon the… Read more »
The recent tragedy involving an Autopilot-equipped Model S has focused the world’s attention on the rapidly advancing field of vehicle autonomy. It’s widely assumed that Tesla is hard at work revamping Autopilot to make it better and safer. But in fact, the Disruptors of Detroit have been incrementally improving their autonomy technology on a continuous… Read more »
The iCar is still purely hypothetical, but there’s no longer any question that Apple is delving ever deeper into the automotive space. The company has invested millions of dollars in R&D, and assembled a team of nearly 1,000, including some high-profile auto industry veterans with deep experience, especially in the battery department. The latest clue… Read more »
Current electrode materials such as graphite are able to stably adsorb only a limited number of lithium ions, an inconvenient truth that restricts capacity. That’s why researchers around the world are investigating semiconductor materials such as silicon as alternative electrodes. Bulk silicon is able to accommodate enormous quantities of lithium, but the migration of the… Read more »
The criticism that EVs are playthings for the rich is one that resonates with local government officials and community groups. Many of them want to implement measures to advance EV adoption, but they don’t want to advocate policies that leave lower-income groups behind. The high up-front cost of EVs and the difficulties of providing charging… Read more »
If the major automakers really want to begin selling their EVs in volume (and not everyone is convinced that they do), sooner or later they will have to start advertising them. BMW has been ahead of the curve in this regard – it has run several TV ads for the i3 featuring cool people discovering… Read more »
Opinion by Urvi Nagrani, Director of Marketing & Business Development, Motiv Power Systems The state of California has approved a number of measures to advance sustainable transportation. Governor Jerry Brown has both a Zero-Emission Vehicle Action Plan and a Sustainable Freight Plan, and the senate passed a landmark climate bill last year. California’s leadership on… Read more »
GM execs are hoping the upcoming Bolt EV will sell in serious volume, and they wanted a design that’s expressive and distinct without looking too sci-fi. For this, they turned to the company’s South Korean design studio. The center began designing the Bolt in 2012, and found it to be a tall order. Designers were… Read more »
Wanxiang Group, the Chinese owner of Karma Automotive, has confirmed plans to build a $375-million plant in China to produce plug-in vehicles. The plant, which will be built in Wanxiang’s headquarters city of Hangzhou, will be able to produce 50,000 extended-range electric cars a year, according to the company. A spokesman said Wanxiang has yet… Read more »
The aluminum-air battery, which uses a catalytic air cathode and an aluminum anode, has intrigued researchers for some time, because of its high theoretical specific energy. However, the problem is overcoming parasitic hydrogen evolution caused by the corrosion of the aluminum anode during discharge. In “Improvement of Aluminum-Air Battery Performances by the Application of Flax… Read more »
