Falken Tire Europe, the European affiliate of the Japanese tire manufacturer Sumitomo Rubber, has launched a new summer tire with optimized rolling resistance. The new Ecorun A-A is designed to save fuel and offer good braking performance in wet conditions. Falken used its 4D Nano Design to develop a tire compound that delivers exceptional performance… Read more »
Tesla may have made it trendy, but the California company is far from the only automaker exploring the commercial energy storage market, which is expected to grow from $200 million in 2012 to $19 billion in 2017, according to research firm IHS CERA. Nissan has joined forces with Green Charge Networks to deploy second-life EV… Read more »
Eight of the top global automakers are collaborating with the Electric Power Research Institute, 15 utility companies and Sumitomo Electric to develop a two-way communication platform that would allow plug-in vehicles from all participating manufacturers to communicate with power grids via the cloud. The new technology, which was demonstrated this week, enables utilities to send… Read more »
The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) is working with 8 automakers and 15 electric utilities to develop an open platform that will integrate plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) with smart grid technologies. PEVs will be a critical part of the smart grid of the future, serving as a distributed energy resource to support grid reliability, stability… Read more »
Sumitomo Corporation has developed and installed the first large-scale power storage system that uses used EV batteries. This prototype commercial-scale (600 kW, 400 kWh) storage system consists of sixteen used EV batteries. Located on Yume-shima Island, Osaka, the system begins operation this month. Over the next three years, Sumitomo will measure the facility’s smoothing effect… Read more »
Celgard, a subsidiary of Polypore International (NYSE:PPO), has filed a complaint against LG Chem, alleging that the Korean chemical giant has infringed one of Celgard’s US patents for a battery separator. The patent in question covers ceramic composite layer lithium-ion battery separators. Celgard filed the lawsuit following a lengthy period of discussions with LG regarding… Read more »
“Just one word, young man: lithium!” As EV production ramps up, companies at all points in the supply line for the lightest metal are getting ready for new levels of demand, from Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who recently warned that a “truly gargantuan battery factory” will soon be needed, to Panasonic, which is investing $200… Read more »
ABB announced this week that it has formed a partnership with Nissan, 4R Energy and Sumitomo Corp to evaluate the reuse of Nissan Leaf lithium-ion battery packs in energy storage systems.
Nissan announced last week that its DC quick chargers will power up in the US market early next year.