Drayage trucks, which move freight around inside and between port facilities, are a major source of air pollution, and an excellent candidate for electrification. The twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have been testing various electrified options for several years. Now the state of California has awarded $23.6 million to the South Coast… Read more »
Researchers from Nissan and its materials research subsidiary Nissan Arc have developed a heterostructure model of the atomic structure of silicon monoxide (SiO), which explains the distinctive structure and properties of the promising material. In “Atomic-scale disproportionation in amorphous silicon monoxide,” published in Nature Communications, Akihiko Hirata and colleagues explain that silicon (Si) is capable… Read more »
Chinese Li-ion battery manufacturer Lishen has ordered four electrode slurry production lines from the Swiss firm Bühler, a contract worth almost $10.5 million. Over the next few years, Lishen plans to open three new battery factories in China, with a combined annual capacity of 40 GWh, equivalent to about 700,000 average car batteries. The processing… Read more »
Global lithium prices have doubled over the last six months, sparking a scramble to secure sources of the metallic element, and causing pundits to ponder whether white lightning may be the new black gold. However, a new study by a Carnegie Mellon University team has found that even large increases in lithium prices are unlikely… Read more »
The next frontier for EVs could be…Iran? LG International has signed a tentative deal with the Iranian government to cooperate in developing EVs and charging infrastructure, according to Yonhap News. Few details are available, but Iran’s Mehr News Agency (via Green Car Congress) reported that LG International will oversee the project jointly with the Iranian… Read more »
San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) plans to invest $7.5 million over the next five years in an education campaign to complement its recently approved $45-million charging station pilot. SDG&E will be installing 3,500 charging stations at 350 local businesses and apartment communities. At least 10% of the chargers will be in disadvantaged neighborhoods. The… Read more »
As Volvo unveiled two concept cars built around the new Compact Modular Architecture, it announced that its new global small car range will include a pure battery electric vehicle, as well as Twin Engine plug-in hybrid powertrain variants. Volvo previously announced that it would produce a pure EV based on its larger Scalable Product Architecture… Read more »
Silicon Valley-based Efficient Drivetrains Inc. (EDI) supplies electrified powertrains for a wide range of commercial vehicles. Now the company has added an electrification kit for OEMs to its product line. The EDI PowerDrive kit offers OEMs a framework to rapidly develop PHEV solutions. Electrification kits include a drivetrain (EDI PowerDrive); vehicle control and telematics software… Read more »
Plug-in vehicles are a rapidly growing segment for BMW. The BMW Group reports that it sold 4,504 battery-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles around the world in April. This represents 2.5% of the company’s total vehicle sales. The top three markets for plug-ins were the US, Scandinavia and the UK. The i3 electric city car sold… Read more »
Semiconductor pioneer Fairchild (NASDAQ: FCS) is expanding its portfolio of automotive-grade semiconductor solutions for electrified vehicles with its new discrete and bare die IGBTs and diodes, which are designed to be well-suited for traction inverters. The new components feature Field Stop Trench IGBT technology and a soft fast recovery diode. Designers can add IGBTs in… Read more »
