It’s common for a new car model to have problems – call them teething troubles, bugs, glitches, or more colorful epithets. Tesla’s Model X is not only a new model, but an entirely new type of vehicle, so it would be strange if some substantial snags didn’t come up. In fact, the company has already… Read more »
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Researchers developing improved method for lithium recovery from brine
Demand for lithium is on the rise, and the rush is on for new sources of the light white stuff. Researchers in Finland are developing new methods to extract lithium from natural brine that promise more efficiency and greater purity. Most lithium is produced from salt lake deposits. Brine is pumped up and concentrated by… Read more »
Loop Energy wins $7.5 million grant for battery/fuel cell truck powertrains
Loop Energy (formerly PowerDisc Development) has won a $7.5-million grant from Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) to accelerate deployment of the company’s zero-emission powertrain for heavy-duty trucks. The Loop powertrain combines an electric battery with a hydrogen fuel cell designed around its patented eFlow technology. eFlow addresses unequal current distribution in the fuel cell by… Read more »
Study: Electric buses earn 82% more profit than diesel buses
Cities around the world are investigating the potential of electric transit buses to reduce costs and improve air quality. The latest is Bangalore, India’s high-tech hub, which recently tested what it says are the country’s first electric buses. Electric buses’ greater energy efficiency compared to legacy diesel vehicles (and even CNG buses) has already been… Read more »
Which US cities are the most EV-friendly?
Portland, Oregon is the most plugged-in city in the US, according to researchers at the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs. In “Plug-in electric vehicle readiness: Rating cities in the United States,” published in Electricity Journal, the researchers ranked 36 cities, including the nation’s 25 largest, in terms of the policies they have… Read more »
New study suggests advanced support systems for energy-efficient driving
Obviously, hybrids can save gas, but reaching the true potential of the technology requires drivers to adopt a driving style that maximizes fuel economy. A team from the Technical University of Chemnitz in Germany and the University of Southampton in the UK attempted to quantify these driving techniques. In “Ecodriving in hybrid electric vehicles –… Read more »
Advancing BMS: Linear Technology launches its fourth-generation battery stack monitor
Engineers use battery management systems (BMS) to prevent problems that occur in Li-ion batteries when they are over-charged or over-discharged, including premature capacity loss and thermal events. A BMS ensures precise control and keeps the individual cells balanced, which is critical to extracting the most useful energy from a pack. Fortunately for EV systems designers,… Read more »
Motorola invests in magnesium-ion battery startup Pellion
Motorola Solutions has invested an unspecified amount in Pellion Technologies, a startup that was founded by a team of MIT researchers. Pellion is focused on commercializing magnesium-ion battery technology. Because magnesium is divalent, it can displace double the charge per ion that lithium can, and the element is more abundant and more stable. Magnesium-ion batteries… Read more »
Sony working on high-capacity lithium-sulfur and magnesium-sulfur batteries
Sony, the company that introduced the world’s first commercial lithium-ion battery in 1991, is already well along the road to a Li-ion replacement, according to Nikkei Technology. The company is reportedly developing high-capacity lithium-sulfur and magnesium-sulfur batteries, aiming for a 40% increase in volumetric capacity to 1,000 Wh/l, and plans to commercialize the new chemistries… Read more »
California ARB: Battery-electric trucks and buses are beginning to appear on the market
The California Air Resources Board (ARB) has released a draft technology assessment finding that battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) are beginning to penetrate the medium- and heavy-duty vehicle markets. The new report notes that electric transit buses, shuttle buses and delivery vehicles are increasingly available from a variety of manufacturers, and some school buses are starting to… Read more »