Engineers have been searching for ways to mitigate the risk of fire with Li-ion batteries since the technology was first commercialized. Chemists are creating new cell formulations that are less prone to problems, electronics experts are designing fail-safe battery management systems, and mechanical engineers are building complex cooling and fire suppression systems. A common rule… Read more »
Search Results Found For: "DOE "
Researchers complete bench testing to validate SAE wireless charging standard
Researchers from Idaho National Laboratory (INL), along with the DOE and several automotive companies, have completed bench testing to support SAE Technical Information Report (TIR) J2954, a guideline for wireless charging that was published earlier this year. The SAE’s TIR J2954 is designed to ensure the performance and safety of Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) systems,… Read more »
Will America maintain its EV lead?
Here at Charged, we believe EVs are for everyone, regardless of political leanings. While we certainly comment on government policies that we feel are pro- or anti-EV, we avoid endorsing any particular candidate or party. However, America has elected a new president who has promised a radical change from the policies of the past eight… Read more »
VW to provide $2 billion for ZEV infrastructure, drawing criticism and praise from insiders
By now, the main events in Volkswagen’s dirty diesel scandal are familiar to Charged readers. For years, the world’s second-largest automaker opted not to produce hybrids or EVs, instead relying on “clean diesel” to meet government-mandated emissions standards. In 2015, scientists at the International Council on Clean Transportation were puzzled to find that they couldn’t… Read more »
Fresno County, California orders 13 solar-powered EV ARC chargers
Envision Solar (OTCQB: EVSI) has secured an order for 13 of its EV ARC self-contained charging units from the Fresno County Rural Transit Agency (FCRTA). The solar-powered EV ARC EV chargers will be installed throughout Fresno County, particularly in disadvantaged communities. The EV ARC fits inside a parking space and does not reduce available parking…. Read more »
Penn State professor wins grant to develop self-healing layers for Li metal anodes
Donghai Wang, who leads the Energy Nanostructure Laboratory at Penn State, has won a $1.1-million grant from the DOE’s Vehicle Technologies Office to develop a new lithium-ion conductor that will prevent the formation of dendrites, the bane of lithium metal anodes. Wang and his team plan to use thin layers of nanostructured hybrid materials to… Read more »
Tesla subsidies amount to a fraction of what the Big Three have received
Tesla has been the target of trolls, misinformation and fake news stories since its founding. Whole web sites are devoted to trumpeting the company’s failings, real and invented. Since the US presidential election, the torrent of tirades has kicked into high gear. The Institute for Energy Research, a think tank funded by oil and coal… Read more »
Consumer Reports blasts Tesla Model X
The honeymoon is over. Consumer Reports praised Tesla’s Model S to the skies in 2013, and again in 2014. Now however, the respected source of unbiased product reviews says that in spite of its “brag-worthy magic,” the Model X “largely disappoints.” CR praised the electric SUV’s performance: “Despite its 5,400-pound weight, the X has warp-speed… Read more »
LORD Corporation builds on its work potting electric motors, reducing hot spots by up to 40%
In 2013, Shafigh Nategh completed his doctoral thesis on the thermal management of high-performance electrical machines at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden, and by 2014, the results of his doctoral work had begun to pique the interest of some heavy hitters in the electric motor industry. For his thesis, Nategh designed… Read more »
US plug-in vehicle sales surpass 500,000 units
There are now over half a million plug-in vehicles on US roads, the DOE reported. The milestone of 500,000 cumulative sales was reached in September. The first mass market plug-in vehicles, the Chevrolet Volt and Nissan LEAF, were introduced in the US in December of 2010. By the end of 2012 there were 11 different… Read more »