Search Results Found For: "panasonic"

StoreDot says its battery tech charges 10 times faster

Put this one in the “If it can do what they claim, it really will be revolutionary” category. Israeli battery developer StoreDot says its EV FlashBattery can charge a 300-mile battery in 5 minutes – almost 10 times faster than today’s state of the art. In 2014, StoreDot demonstrated the FlashBattery, which it says can… Read more »

First phase of Tesla Gigafactory nearly complete

Tesla’s game-changing Gigafactory in Northern Nevada is taking shape even faster than expected. The first building phase is nearly complete, the company told Nevada’s Legislative Commission in a quarterly report that it is required to provide under the terms of the $1.3-billion package of tax incentives it received from the state. The first phase is… Read more »

Sumitomo Chemical increases production capacity for battery separators

Sumitomo Chemical is ramping up production capacity for its Pervio lithium-ion secondary battery separators. Production at the company’s Ohe Works in Niihama, Japan will be raised to approximately 1.3 times the current capacity by next spring. The company also plans to build a new plant for Pervio at its subsidiary in South Korea, to start… Read more »

Apple and A123 settle engineer-poaching lawsuit

The iCar is still just a rumor, but Apple surely has been showing a lot of interest in EV-related technology, including large-format batteries. This week, the Cupertino computer-maker agreed to settle a lawsuit alleging that it had been showing a little too much interest in engineers working for Massachusetts battery-maker A123. In February, A123 filed… Read more »

LG Chem Power CEO: We’re the Li-ion leader for PEVs because of material science

Q&A with LG Chem Power’s CEO: Dr. Prabhakar Patil on how the company became a Li-ion battery front-runner, the economics of building batteries, and why it spends little energy on what comes after lithium. Among Tier 1 automotive suppliers of lithium-ion cells, LG Chem is off to a clear lead, based on the number of announced… Read more »

Report: EV makers slowly increasing power capacity of onboard chargers

In quest of faster charging times, some EV-makers are gradually raising the power capacity of their vehicles’ onboard chargers. However, a new analysis from Frost & Sullivan predicts that onboard chargers with power ratings between 3 and 3.7 kW will remain the norm, especially in lower-end models, and will account for 62 percent of sales in… Read more »

Polypore separates itself and sells two main elements for $3.2 billion

Polypore, the maker of battery separators and microporous membranes, is to be split in two and sold. The company announced that 3M will acquire the assets of Polypore’s Separations Media segment for about $1 billion, and Asahi Kasei will purchase the rest of the company for $60.50 per share. This represents an enterprise value for… Read more »

Tesla and Samsung to expand battery partnership?

Tesla and Samsung are talking about expanding their battery partnership, industry officials have told the Korea Times. “With Tesla seeking to diversify its battery sourcing channels beyond its key partner Panasonic, Samsung SDI will have greater room to supply more EV batteries to Tesla,” said an unnamed source. Samsung is expected to supply about 8… Read more »

2015 VW e-Golf ushers in an era of interchangeable drivetrains for every Volkswagen model

Rising above the waters of the Mittelland Canal in Wolfsburg, Germany, four iconic smokestacks cut through an otherwise sparse skyline. These are the most recognizable – and among the last – vestiges of the original Volkswagen factory from 1938. Symbolically, however, the smokestacks represent much more than the symbols of a power plant that –… Read more »