GM is developing a next-generation power inverter capable of 55 kW peak/30 kW continuous power. According to GM’s Sean Gleason, who gave a presentation on the project at the DOE’s Annual Merit Review, GM is almost two-thirds of the way through the $16.6-million project ($6 million of the funding support came from the DOE), which… Read more »
LG Chem has agreed to license its separator film technology agreement to Ube Maxell. Under the agreement, Ube Maxell acquires patent use rights from LG Chem for ceramic coating of separator substrates, a key component of lithium-ion batteries. Ube Maxell, a joint venture between Ube Industries and Hitachi Maxell, was formed in 2011 to manufacture… Read more »
Dallas, Texas market research and consulting company MarketsandMarkets predicts that the global battery materials market will be worth $11.3 billion by 2018. In 2012, its value was $5.1 billion, and the firm estimates a 13 percent compound annual growth rate from 2013 to 2018. They expect electric vehicles to be the key revenue generators for… Read more »
Hitachi has begun a demonstration of the Japan-US Island Grid Project on Maui. This joint American/Japanese project, which will operate from December 2013 through March 2015, will demonstrate smart grid technologies that enable the efficient use of renewable energy, using EVs as an energy storage medium to respond to the rapidly changing demands in the… Read more »
British Gas will be testing 28 Nissan e-NV200 vans through the coming Blighty winter to determine the future viability of EVs as part of its fleet. Also involved are Hitachi Capital Commercial Vehicle Solutions, which manages BG’s fleet, and Gateshead College, which has trained the drivers in the proper care and feeding of the 100%… Read more »
NOHMs Technologies, a lithium-sulfur battery spin-off from Cornell University, will locate a new research, manufacturing and product development facility in Lexington, Kentucky. The company will use the Kentucky-Argonne Battery Manufacturing Research and Development Center, a partnership of the Argonne National Laboratory, the state and the Universities of Kentucky and Louisville. Ford, Hitachi and Toyota are some… Read more »
It is by far the largest fast-charging network in Europe, and the largest single project of its kind in the world.
Topping the list of EV inhibitors are cost and consumer perception of long-term reliability of the vehicle. After batteries, power electronics contribute the greatest cost to EVs, when compared to a traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle. Additionally, inverters and converters are among the most stressed powertrain components. Increasing inverter performance, reliability, and lifetime –… Read more »
Lithium ion batteries – we EV boosters love ‘em (though we wish they could be a bit lighter and a lot cheaper). EV party-poopers hate ‘em, telling anyone who will listen that they’re bound to explode, stop working after a year or two, or maybe even channel mind-controlling signals from hippy Communist aliens. Everyone agrees… Read more »