Hawaiian Electric has opened a new fast charger at a shopping center in the Iwilei district of Honolulu. The opening ceremony included a traditional Hawaiian blessing, complete with a maile lei. The new dual-standard (CHAdeMO and CCS) fast charger is the company’s 12th. Hawaiian Electric will operate the equipment at no cost to the host… Read more »
GKN Driveline’s new eTwinsterX system is designed to be adaptable to any vehicle type, from small electric city cars to plug-in luxury SUVs to electric hypercars, in front-wheel, rear-wheel or all-wheel drive configurations. GKN says the new eTwinsterX axle offers three advantages over competing electric drivelines. Its coaxial format is significantly smaller than other systems… Read more »
Diesel engine manufacturer Cummins beat Tesla to the punch by unveiling its own electric truck at a recent event at the Cummins Technical Center in Columbus, Indiana. The new truck, called AEOS, is “a fully electric class 7 demonstration Urban Hauler Tractor.” It’s still just a concept, but Cummins has a prototype, built by Roush…. Read more »
BMW has released details of its 2018 i3, as well as a new version, the i3s, which features a more powerful motor and a sportier suspension. Both will be shown at the upcoming International Motor Show in Frankfurt. BMW will announce pricing closer to the market launch date. BMW describes the new i3s as a… Read more »
Last September, Carla J. Peterman, a commissioner with the California Public Utility Commission (CPUC), outlined new requirements for California’s investor-owned utilities that would measurably advance commitments to transportation electrification (TE). One technical requirement singled out by Peterman was addressed in a document called “Enabling Vehicle-Grid Integration Through a Communications Standard,” which focused on the question… Read more »
Like most of the legacy auto brands, Mercedes has given conflicting signals about its interest in electrification. Its only EV to date, the B-Class Electric, was a compliance car that it sold in limited volume, and recently discontinued. However, the company says it plans to introduce a line of purpose-built EVs under the new EQ… Read more »
Germany-based TerraE Holding has organized 17 companies and research institutions into a consortium to plan for large-scale lithium-ion battery cell manufacturing in Germany. The goal is to gradually build up production capacities to 34 GWh/year by the year 2028. The consortium includes companies from throughout the supply chain: infrastructure manufacturing planners, material producers, machine engineering… Read more »
As rare-earth magnets are used in an increasing number of modern technologies, the ability to produce them domestically could be important for national security. Now the Critical Materials Institute, a DOE Innovation Hub, has fabricated a batch of magnets entirely from domestically sourced and refined rare-earth metals. The Idaho National Laboratory sourced the raw materials… Read more »
As PHEVs equipped with diesel engines begin to come on the market, a new potential problem has come to light: diesel fuel/biodiesel blends show a tendency to form precipitates, which can cause the fuel to become unstable. To make the problem more complex, different countries have different quotas for biodiesel blend ratios. Substances such as… Read more »
Royal Mail has begun a trial of 9 commercial EVs in partnership with Oxfordshire-based Arrival (formerly Charge Auto). The postal operator is testing the 3.5-, 6- and 7.5-ton trucks at its Mount Pleasant depot in central London. They will be used to transport packages between mail distribution centers in the city and surrounding area. The… Read more »
