Efficient Drivetrains, Inc. (EDI), a provider of hybrid and electric drivetrain solutions, will be moving its Dixon, California vehicle engineering and support operations into a new 10,000-square-foot space in February. The expansion will support the manufacturing of up to 5,000 drivetrains annually, as well as large numbers of vehicle engineering and upfit projects. The company… Read more »
An electrical current is starting to buzz around the automotive world, as even EV skeptics such as Toyota and Chrysler start to explore more electrified options. Now Honda, one of the largest holdouts, has turned the potentiometer up a millivolt or so, announcing that a planned new Chinese plant “will be designed with a concept… Read more »
Lithium metal, which can store more energy than carbon, would seem to be an ideal anode material, except for one serious flaw: dendrites, tiny needle-like branching structures that can grow through the battery, eventually causing a short circuit. Now, a joint team of researchers from Caltech and Carnegie Mellon University has measured the strength of… Read more »
Employees of electronics giant Siemens at 100 of the company’s locations in Germany will be able to recharge their EVs free of charge in 2017, using the company’s existing network of charging stations. The charging stations are equipped with smart charging technology and Siemens software that integrates metering, billing and user identification. Employees and family… Read more »
Visedo, a Finnish manufacturer specializing in electric powertrains and components, has secured a financing package worth €20 million ($21 million) to support its international growth plans. Founded in 2009, Visedo specializes in electric powertrains and components for heavy-duty machinery, commercial vehicles and the marine industry. Its powertrains are suitable for hybrid and electric systems in… Read more »
Another secretive startup, another web site with pix of smiling multicultural techies and vaguely-worded flights of eloquence about redefining the automobile. But now Rivian Automotive has taken a concrete step towards realizing its dreams, buying a 2.4-million-square-foot former Mitsubishi factory in Normal, Illinois. According to county records, the company paid $2 million for the 500-acre… Read more »
German firm Batteryuniversity (BU) has introduced new test benches capable of testing the largest EV batteries. BU’s new 120 kilonewton shaker can handle a weight of 800 kg, and can test random profiles, sine sweep, superimposed sine and shock impulses. Frequency can be set between 5 and 2,500 hertz. A large low-pressure chamber (8x3x3 meters)… Read more »
London Mayor Sadiq Khan recently presided at the unveiling of a hydrogen-powered double-decker bus, as he committed to phasing out the procurement of diesel buses. No more pure diesel (non-hybrid) double-decker buses will be added to the capital’s fleet from 2018, and all new single-deckers for central London will be zero-emission. London already has 79… Read more »
Charging network EVgo, which operates over 800 DC fast chargers in 66 markets, has chosen Driivz, which has offices in California and Israel, as its preferred IT solutions service provider in North America. Driivz offers a cloud-based software platform that manages operations, user grid integration, billing and driver applications. According to the companies, the new… Read more »
Automotive supplier Schaeffler has acquired 51% of the shares of electric motor manufacturer Compact Dynamics from SEMIKRON International. Schaeffler and SEMIKRON have also agreed to cooperate on the development of power electronics systems and the integration of power electronics components. Compact Dynamics, based in Starnberg, Germany, specializes in lightweight electric drive concepts in small volume… Read more »
