The Toyota Prius is a historic vehicle by any measure. It was the first hybrid to be mass-produced, and it remains the only one to achieve truly mass-market popularity – since it first went on sale in Japan in 1997, it has sold nearly six million units in over 90 worldwide markets. Toyota introduced the… Read more »
Search Results Found For: "second life"
Lux Research: Recycling is preferable to reuse for retired EV batteries
Companies around the world, including Nissan, Renault, Daimler, BMW and Siemens, are investigating ways to reuse EV batteries after they retire from the road. Bloomberg analysts recently predicted that by 2025, there will be 29 GWh of used EV batteries available, and that a third of these will enjoy second lives in the stationary storage… Read more »
Next phase of BMW’s ChargeForward program pays drivers to use smart charging
In the first phase of BMW’s ChargeForward program, 100 Bay Area i3 owners received incentives to reduce charging usage during periods of high peak demand, in order to optimize the impact on the electrical grid. The next phase will explore the ability to optimize charging events both at home and at public chargers. BMW will… Read more »
Boeing orders space-qualified Li-ion cells from GS Yuasa Lithium Power
Boeing has placed an order with GS Yuasa Lithium Power for LSE190 lithium-ion cells, which will be used to power two ViaSat-3 geostationary communications satellites. Each satellite will provide one terabit per second of throughput. The LSE190 cell is specifically engineered to support these kinds of high-power duty cycles, and to achieve a 15-year mission… Read more »
BMW electrifies its best-selling model: the 330e iPerformance PHEV launches in the US
Which major automaker has sold the highest percentage of plug-in vehicles relative to its overall US sales? You may be surprised to learn that it’s BMW – aside from Tesla, of course, which sells 100% EVs. In the first half of 2016, BMW’s four plug-in vehicles – the i3, i8, X5 xDrive40e and 330e iPerformance… Read more »
Henrik Fisker to launch new company, build 400-mile EV
Danish-born car designer and entrepreneur Henrik Fisker has relaunched his namesake company, and plans to showcase a vehicle in the second half of 2017. The new luxury EV will be a “spiritual successor” to the ill-fated Fisker Karma, and will use proprietary batteries made by a new Fisker subsidiary, Fisker Nanotech. “We have really been… Read more »
Karma releases specs for its Revero PHEV
Karma Automotive, the successor to the ill-fated Fisker, has officially launched the Revero, a plug-in hybrid based on the earlier Fisker Karma. The Revero has a 21.4 kWh LiFePO battery pack mounted in the center of the vehicle. Electric range is an estimated 50 miles, 0-60 time is 5.4 seconds, and top speed is a… Read more »
WattZilla designs its high-power charging stations to be the first and last EVSE you buy
One size serves all. When interviewing the founders of technology startups, we often hear a common narrative as they recount the inception of the company. They go shopping for a product, find the available options lacking and then ask themselves, “Why doesn’t a better solution exist?” That’s Frank Gangi’s story. He bought a Tesla Model… Read more »
MIT study: Existing EVs can meet most drivers’ needs, and reduce carbon emissions
Many electro-skeptics concede that electrification is the future, but maintain that major breakthroughs will be needed before EVs are practical. Others insist (despite the findings of studies, studies and more studies) that going electric has little impact on carbon emissions. A new paper by MIT Professor Jessika Trancik and colleagues, published in the journal Nature… Read more »
Water-in-salt electrolyte boosts energy density
Researchers at the University of Maryland (UMD) and the US Army Research Lab (ARL) are collaborating on a new type of lithium-ion battery that uses a high concentration of salt in an aqueous electrolyte. They hope to develop a battery that offers greater energy density and better safety than current designs. “Lithium-ion batteries raise safety,… Read more »