Honda’s new Smart Home US, located on the West Village campus of the University of California, Davis, is a showcase for technologies that enable zero net energy living and transportation, including Honda’s home energy management system (HEMS), a hardware and software system that monitors and optimizes electrical generation and consumption. The Smart Home is capable… Read more »
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Echo Automotive offers aftermarket PHEV powertrains for Ford and GM vans
Echo Automotive, a developer of aftermarket plug-in hybrid powertrains, plans to extend its EchoDrive system to GM 2500 and 3500 vans, including the Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana, model years 2010-2014. EchoDrive is already available for Ford E-Series vans – orders are currently being accepted and production is scheduled to begin later this year. Production… Read more »
EVDrive Terra-Torque-Drive targets off-road vehicle market
EVDrive has demonstrated its new Terra-Torque-Drive torque vectoring technology, which is specifically geared to 4-wheel off-road vehicles, aka Utility Terrain Vehicles or UTVs. The company is targeting OEMs such as Polaris, Deere and Bobcat. Some 323,000 UTVs were sold in North America in 2012. According to the company, a Terra-Torque-Drive-equipped UTV with the LPG- gas-… Read more »
NC State University to lead new institute for next-generation power electronics
President Obama has announced the selection of a consortium of businesses and universities to lead a manufacturing innovation institute for next-generation power electronics. Last May, the President committed $200 million in federal funding to three new regional hubs, designed to bridge the gap between applied research and product development, and launched a competition to select… Read more »
December plugin sales: LEAF has best month ever, but Volt wins top spot for 2013
It was a banner year for plug-in vehicles, as 2013 sales (94,019) almost doubled 2012’s figure (52,581), and several new models made strong debuts – US buyers now have a choice of 16 mainstream plug-in models, compared to 9 at the end of last year. Overall US auto sales are up 8% in 2013, according… Read more »
Researchers demonstrate major advance in lithium-sulfur battery chemistry
Researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have demonstrated a lithium-sulfur (Li/S) battery that has more than twice the specific energy of current lithium-ion batteries, and that lasts for more than 1,500 charge/discharge cycles with minimal capacity loss. This is the longest cycle life yet reported for any lithium-sulfur battery. The results were reported in the… Read more »
UQM Technologies introduces PowerPhase HD 250 high-voltage motor/controller system
Colorado-based UQM Technologies, Inc. (NYSE MKT: UQM) has added the PowerPhase HD 250 to its line of components for heavy-duty EVs. This system consists of a permanent magnet motor/generator and a DSP-based controller, and is designed for high-voltage electric and hybrid vehicles, including heavy commercial truck, transit bus and marine applications. “The PowerPhase HD 250… Read more »
AMP Electric Vehicles: From car converter to truck OEM
The unusual journey of AMP Electric Vehicles has positioned it to become a leading OEM producing alternative-fuel vehicles for the medium-duty market. Seven years ago, AMP Electric Vehicles was founded on the idea of converting passenger vehicles – originally designed with an internal combustion engine, gas tank, and related components – to electric drive. The… Read more »
ARPA-E awards $27 million for power electronics research
The DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) has selected 14 projects to receive $27 million in funding to support the development of next-generation power conversion devices. These devices, which convert electrical energy from high to low voltages, are critical to all electronic devices, and represent a key enabling technology for electric vehicles. The DOE’s talent… Read more »
8 to 10 Mini models to be based on new platform, one of them a PHEV
The Mini is one of those cult cars. It might be called the Grateful Dead of automobiles – its fanatical followers love every one of its dozens of variations, while other people just don’t see the attraction. Of course, the important question is, when will an electric version be available? Peter Schwarzenbauer, BMW’s board member… Read more »