Search Results Found For: "Plug & Charge"

A new LEAF, localized manufacturing, and a focus on infrastructure

With a longer range and a lower price, the 2013 Nissan LEAF screams upgrade, but it’s only one small aspect of the company’s aggressive EV strategy. Proprietary, localized manufacturing and improved infrastructure also play key roles in Nissan’s plan for world domination electrification. Sometime back in the 60s, Mr or Mrs Ghosn must have put… Read more »

Linear Technology’s new active cell balancer

Linear’s new addition to the battery pack systems family is what it calls a “high efficiency bidirectional multicell active balancer” (part number LTC3300). Have you heard the old adage – no two snowflakes are alike? Well, the same goes for cells in a battery pack. No matter how precise the manufacturing techniques, there will always… Read more »

Working together: avoiding EVSE-to-vehicle interoperability issues

Intertek’s Rich Byczek on avoiding EVSE-to-vehicle interoperability issues.   Back in January, Plugincars.com published an article by Colby Trudeau – a Honda Fit EV owner, Plug In America volunteer, and electrical engineer at Qualcomm Technologies – that detailed his charging troubles using Ecotality’s Blink charging stations at work. Trudeau found that after about 20 minutes… Read more »

Supercars, hybrids and EVs take the stage in Geneva

At Geneva’s enormous Palexpo convention center, it’s obvious we’re not in Detroit – there’s hardly a pickup truck in sight, and the wine and coffee are flowing freely. Reflecting Europe’s colorful collage of cultures, a vast variety of vehicles from hybrids to EVs to seven-figure super-sports cars are spinning on the turntables.  Europe is just… Read more »

Erik Spek on battery abuse testing, improving safety, and developing standards

(This article originally appeared in Charged Issue 7 – MAR/APR 2013) Q&A with Erik Spek: The Chief Engineer at TÜV SÜD Canada on battery abuse testing, improving safety, and developing standards. When analyzing the current state of lithium-ion technology, it helps to look back at the development of the nickel metal hydride battery (NiMH). Some argued that hybrid automotive… Read more »

Will Tesla add battery swap capability to the Model S?

Just as the idea of battery swapping seems to have stalled (its main proponent, Better Place, is retrenching amid hard times, and Nissan’s Carlos Ghosn has poo-pooed the concept) it may get a recharge from the alpha dog of the EV pack. A careful reading of the leaves from Elon Musk’s last cup of tea… Read more »

Ford selects AeroVironment to provide turnkey charging station installation

Ford has chosen AeroVironment as its preferred installation partner and charging station supplier for its Focus Electric, C-MAX Energi and Fusion Energi plug-in vehicles. AeroVironment (NASDAQ: AVAV) offers turnkey installation through its nationwide network of certified installers, and a three-year warranty. AeroVironment’s 240-volt home charging station will recharge Ford’s Energi plug-in hybrids in 2.5 hours,… Read more »

Carlos Ghosn sees little future in battery swapping

The future of the battery swapping concept looks dim, which is bad news for the pioneering firm Better Place. In an interview with Danish news outlet Energi Watch, Renault-Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn seemed to say that Renault’s Fluence ZE will probably be the first and last production vehicle to offer battery swapping capability. “When you… Read more »