Taking a page from Tesla’s book, Toyota plans to make some 5,680 patents on fuel cell technologies available royalty-free. The motivation appears to be much the same – just as Tesla hopes to encourage other automakers to produce battery EVs, Toyota wants to “open the door to the hydrogen future” and “spur development and introduction… Read more »
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BMW i3: “The most advanced vehicle on the planet” taken apart and reverse-engineered
The BMW i3 incorporates several extremely innovative features (as we noted in our August 2013 cover story), from its carbon fiber “life module” to its bottom-mounted battery pack to its unique optional range extender. In a recent Forbes article and accompanying video, Sandy Munro calls it “the most advanced vehicle on the planet…as revolutionary as… Read more »
EVs, renewables & energy storage: The unstoppable trio of energy’s future
The ripples of disruption: Q&A with Mike Calise The concept of disruption is often discussed in the fields of semiconductors, the internet, data, computers and software. But what about the energy industry? The world has been largely generating and consuming energy the same way for over a century. Charged talked to Mike Calise, Head of Electric… Read more »
Hyundai to release EV in 2016
Hyundai will release an electric sedan in 2016, to be followed later by a sports car and an SUV, company officials told the Korea Times this week. This seems to represent a change in strategy from 2012, when Hyundai Motor Group announced that its Kia division would focus on pure EVs, while Hyundai would develop… Read more »
DOE and electric utilities produce report on EV charging impact
A new report from the DOE describes the findings from six Smart Grid Investment Grant (SGIG) projects, in which electric utilities around the country evaluated operations and customer charging behaviors for home and public EV charging stations. The report, Evaluating Electric Vehicle Charging Impacts and Customer Charging Behaviors, is intended to help utilities determine how… Read more »
EV City Casebook highlights 50 big ideas driving EV adoption
Falling gas prices and changes in Congress got you feeling pessimistic about the future of EVs? Here are 50 reasons to celebrate the advent of the electric century. The second edition of the EV City Casebook highlights 50 “big ideas” that have the potential to turbocharge EV adoption around the world. Some of the big… Read more »
How to calculate the cost of your EV conversion
More and more gearheads are converting their favorite cars (and boats) to electric drive. However, it can be tough to estimate how much a particular project will cost. The final bill may be anywhere from $6,000 for a basic city car to $125,000 for a state-of-the-art Tesla-killer. It all depends on the type of vehicle,… Read more »
Are multispeed transmissions the future of EVs?
One of the many ways in which current EVs differ from legacy vehicles is that they don’t shift gears. While modern ICE vehicles sport 8- and 9-speed automatics, 7-speed manuals and continuously variable transmissions, which help to improve fuel efficiency, most EVs get by with a simple single-speed gearbox. Conventional wisdom is that, because electric… Read more »
Volkswagen buys piece of solid-state battery startup
Volkswagen has bought a five-percent stake in battery startup QuantumScape. Confidential sources told Bloomberg that the Volkswagen Group plans to complete tests of QuantumScape’s technology by mid-2015, and is considering using it in VW, Porsche and Audi vehicles. Closely-held QuantumScape, founded in 2010 by former Stanford University researchers, is working on solid-state batteries, which it… Read more »
November plug-in sales: LEAF (still) leads, Ford falters, Toyota tanks, smart surges
The US auto industry had another banner month, and plug-ins were present at the party, though perhaps not first in line at the punchbowl. PEV sales were down a tick from October, but eked out a gain compared to November 2013. Year-to-date sales have now surpassed 2013’s total, and it appears that annual sales will… Read more »