As every truck driver or heavy equipment operator knows, diesel engines can be difficult to start in low temperatures, or after not being started for long periods. Maxwell Technologies’ Engine Start Module (ESM) is an ultracapacitor-based system that takes over the engine cranking function and remains fully charged, even if battery voltage drops. Now Maxwell… Read more »
We’ve become used to the mainstream press insisting that EVs aren’t selling, and that cheap gas will be the final nail in the electric coffin (most recently in a widely-cited report from Edmunds that found that car buyers are rushing to trade in their “hybrid and electric cars” for gas-guzzling SUVs). Bloomberg, however, has long… Read more »
Toyota has made no secret of its disdain for battery-electric vehicles in favor of fuel cells, but like other high-volume OEMs, it was compelled to produce an EV by the California authorities – the RAV4 EV, which the company did not market, and discontinued as soon as possible. Now it seems that the world’s largest automaker will… Read more »
Energica Motor Company has received NHTSA and EPA certification, clearing the way for its Energica Ego electric sport bike to be sold in the US. Deliveries are planned for the third quarter of this year, and the first batch is almost sold out. Energica, located in northern Italy’s Motor Valley, grew out of a company… Read more »
Here come the plug-in SUVs! The Audi Q7 e-tron 2.0 TFSI quattro made its debuts at this week’s Auto Shanghai show, along with the Audi A6 L e-tron. Both are scheduled to go on sale in Asia in 2016. The Q7 e-tron is a large SUV that Audi has developed specially for China, Singapore and Japan. It features a… Read more »
American Volvo fans have been feeling left out, watching the V60 diesel PHEV wagon shatter sales projections in Europe. However, their depression should lift soon, when the Swedish automaker introduces what it considers to be a more US-friendly model, the new XC90 T8 Twin Engine Plug-In Hybrid. The corded crossover will go on sale in… Read more »
“Iron fluoride has the potential to triple the amount of energy a conventional lithium-ion battery can store,” says Song Jin, a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “However, we have yet to tap its true potential.” Jin and his colleagues have been using a novel X-ray imaging technique to visualize and study the… Read more »
The California Energy Commission has awarded nearly $9 million in grants to three companies to encourage the manufacturing of heavy-duty EVs and components in the state. Proterra received a $3 million grant to develop a manufacturing line for battery-electric transit buses in the City of Industry in the San Gabriel Valley. The location is in… Read more »
Siemens’s new VersiCharge Smartgrid (SG) is a Wi-Fi-enabled charging station that allows residential owners to monitor and control usage remotely through a mobile app. Users can automatically turn charging on or off, schedule charging when rates are lowest, and view past power consumption data in graphical form. The cloud-based charging station can also interact with… Read more »
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has set out his vision for the city’s environmental goals in an upbeat report entitled “the pLAn.” It covers a wide range of topics, from water conservation to energy-efficient buildings to renewable energy to recycling to public transit. Many of the goals are very modest, such as the call for… Read more »
