Long-haul trucks are going to be a tough nut for EVs to crack, but it’s never smart to bet against Tesla. That’s the one-sentence summary of the trucking industry’s reaction to Tesla’s recent announcement that it will unveil an electric semi-truck in September. The challenges involved in electrifying big rigs are huge. The battery for… Read more »
BMW switched on a new charging station at Thomas Edison National Historical Park, the site of Edison’s New Jersey laboratory and home, the symbolic first step of a project that will install up to 100 stations in national parks and nearby communities across the country. The project is a partnership that includes BMW, the National… Read more »
Carpinteria, California-based GIGAVAC has announced a pair of additions to its line of switching devices. The HX241 and HXNC241 are hermetically sealed HVDC contactors in normally-open and normally-closed versions. Both models have UL and IEC approval for operation at 1,500 volts DC. Package size is approximately 3×3 inches. Sealed internal chambers for both contacts and… Read more »
Circuit protection specialist Littelfuse has introduced three series of PolySwitch AEC-Q200 qualified resettable Polymeric Positive Temperature Coefficient (PPTC) devices. These surface-mount devices are designed for robust overcurrent protection in harsh automotive environments. Unlike fuses, resettable PPTCs do not require replacement after a fault event – they allow a circuit to return to its normal operating… Read more »
EV owners in New York City and Westchester County can earn gift card rewards by participating in a new Con Edison program. The utility has partnered with charging specialist FleetCarma to offer a program called SmartCharge New York that will pay EV owners to charge their vehicles at off-peak times. The program is open to… Read more »
Uber has launched a program to incentivize its Oregon drivers to go electric. The company’s subsidiary Xchange Leasing will buy EVs and lease them to drivers in the Portland area. The goal is to make 10% of Uber’s vehicles in Oregon electric by 2019. About 100 of Portland’s 6,000 drivers already drive EVs, according to… Read more »
With the next-generation LEAF expected to go on sale this fall, Nissan is ready to make deals to clear out the old models. The company has announced discounts of $10,000 on 2016 and 2017 LEAFs for certain buyers. The deal is available to customers and employees of certain electric utilities in several states, including Indiana,… Read more »
The EV revolution is helping to spread the automotive industry all around the globe. XING Mobility is a Taipei-based startup that develops EVs technology through racing. The company, which includes some ex-Tesla engineers, released an electric race car prototype in 2015, and has since developed several EV products aimed at the commercial vehicle market. The… Read more »
Biologists have long considered the excited oxygen molecule singlet oxygen to be the main cause of aging in cells. To counter this, nature uses an enzyme to eliminate superoxide as a free radical. Superoxide also occurs in cell respiration for energy production. Stefan Freunberger of the Graz University of Technology in Austria has found parallels… Read more »
A new analysis of manufacturer sales predictions from the nonprofit Consumer Federation of America (CFA) predicts that 2017 plug-in sales will increase by over 100% compared to 2016. The Tesla Model 3 and Chevrolet Bolt are expected to lead the pack, with the Volt close behind. “With batteries becoming more efficient, an increasing variety of… Read more »
