The DOE is awarding $19.4 million to 22 new cost-shared research projects in the fields of advanced batteries, lightweight materials, emission control, and energy-efficient mobility systems. Fifteen of these are Phase 1 Battery Seedling projects, aimed at battery materials and approaches that complement the Battery500 Consortium’s research. Promising Phase 1 awardees will be competitively weeded… Read more »
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Alta Motors says its electric dirt bike has world-class energy density
Alta Motors claims that its dirt bikes have a battery pack with energy density that’s among the highest of any production vehicle. With help from Scheugenpflug’s custom production equipment and Wevo-Chemie materials, the motorcycle builder says its thermal design was the key to achieving that. Seven years ago, a group of motorcycle and off-road dirt… Read more »
California ARB opens funding solicitations for Class 7 and 8 trucks
The California Air Resources Board is seeking solicitations for up to $17 million in grants for its On-Road Advanced Technology Demonstrations Projects. Eligible projects will demonstrate pre-commercial Intelligent Transportation Systems and Connected Trucks; Advanced Engines and Powertrains; and Zero-Emission Short and Regional Haul Trucks. ARB is currently funding a 43-truck demonstration of zero- and near-zero-emission… Read more »
California Energy Commission awards $36 million for clean transportation projects
The California Energy Commission has awarded more than $36 million in grants for various clean energy transportation projects. The South Coast Air Quality Management District and Long Beach Harbor Department received $10 million each and the Los Angeles Harbor Department received $4.5 million to conduct field demonstrations of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and cargo handling… Read more »
New Eagle teams up with Inventev to offer electric Ford Transit vans
The business case for electrifying commercial vans would seem to be a no-brainer – the savings on fuel and maintenance are substantial and demonstrable. In the real world however, pilot projects are plentiful, but substantial orders have been slow to materialize. More than one promising startup has gone under while waiting for fleet customers to… Read more »
Plugless chargers pass a milestone: one million hours of charging
Evatran Group has announced that its installed base of Plugless wireless chargers has logged one million hours of charging time. Evatran field-tested its Plugless inductive charging systems from 2012 to 2014 with partners including Google, Duke Energy, and Hertz. In 2014 it began selling 3.3 kW wireless chargers for the Volt and the LEAF. Since… Read more »
Southwest Research Institute consortium conducts independent battery benchmarking
Comparing the spec sheets from different parts manufacturers is tricky business for engineers in any industry. However, the advanced battery market seems to be uniquely challenged in this regard. As Tesla CEO Elon Musk often points out, when it comes to batteries, the BS factor is outrageous. Even if you assume that every vendor provides… Read more »
Wolfspeed launches a new silicon carbide MOSFET for EV inverters
Wide Bandgap (WBG) semiconductor technologies have attracted a lot of attention and research funding in the past decade. Both public and private institutions around the world have been obsessed with accelerating the evolution of WBG tech into commercial power electronics applications. What’s all the fuss about? WBG materials such as silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium… Read more »
XL Hybrids upfit powertrains now available to government fleets in all 50 states
XL Hybrids has been selected by the Massachusetts Operational Services Division (OSD) as a vendor for the new Advanced Vehicle Technology statewide contract VEH102. This multi-year contract allows public fleets nationwide to purchase the company’s XL3 Hybrid Electric Drive System as an upfit or retrofit product through an established public contracting mechanism with competitive volume… Read more »
MIT researchers investigate mechanics of sulfide-based solid electrolyte material
IMAGE: Using specialized equipment, a team from MIT did tests in which they used a pyramidal-tipped probe to indent the surface of a piece of the sulfide-based material. Surrounding the resulting indentation (seen at center), cracks were seen forming in the material (indicated by arrows), revealing details of its mechanical properties. Battery scientists are the world are exploring… Read more »