Two Michigan companies, New Eagle and Inventev, have teamed up to convert full-size commercial vans to electric drive. They are demonstrating a fully electric Ford Transit van at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Production and sale of the vehicles is scheduled to begin in early 2018. New Eagle will provide the core… Read more »
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Seattle transit authority to order 73 Proterra buses, will acquire 120 electric buses by 2020
King County Metro Transit, which serves metro Seattle, has announced plans to acquire 120 battery-electric buses by 2020. Up to 73 of these will be ordered from Proterra, at a cost of up to $55 million. Eight of the buses are to go into service this year, and 12 more in 2019. In a pilot… Read more »
DOE awards $18 million for plug-in work trucks, electric school buses and highway charging
The DOE has announced new awards of $18 million to five alternative fuel projects, four of them EV-related: Odyne Systems will receive $2.9 million to develop plug-in hybrid work trucks (class 7) that reduce fuel consumption by more than 50% and eliminate fuel consumption during stationary operations. Blue Bird Body Company will receive $4.9 million… Read more »
Funding available for Battery500 Seedling Projects
The DOE is issuing a funding opportunity (DE-FOA-0001629) for the Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) of up to $19.7 million to support research and development of advanced vehicle technologies. The funding opportunity seeks projects in four areas, including Battery500 Seedling Projects. The VTO Battery500 Consortium has set a goal of doubling the specific energy of lithium… Read more »
Nissan introduces driverless towing system at Oppama Plant
Nissan has introduced a fully automated vehicle towing system at its Oppama Plant in Japan. The Intelligent Vehicle Towing (IVT) system uses a modified LEAF with autonomous capability to tow trollies carrying finished vehicles between loading and unloading points at the plant. The plant’s existing logistics system uses human drivers to transport finished vehicles from… Read more »
Turnkey drivetrains: UQM, Eaton and Pi Innovo collaborate to help build better heavy-duty EVs
We write about electric buses a lot at Charged. That’s because, as our July/August cover story pointed out, we think that e-buses will inevitably become the top choice for cities and municipalities. This could happen a lot quicker than many people realize, and some have predicted that transit buses will be the first segment in… Read more »
An airbag for battery packs: PyroPhobic says its unique thermoplastics will stop thermal runaway
Engineers have been searching for ways to mitigate the risk of fire with Li-ion batteries since the technology was first commercialized. Chemists are creating new cell formulations that are less prone to problems, electronics experts are designing fail-safe battery management systems, and mechanical engineers are building complex cooling and fire suppression systems. A common rule… Read more »
Study: Consumers want optimized charging, renewables, V2G
A national survey of consumer attitudes towards plug-in vehicles suggests that people would prefer control to convenience in many charging scenarios, and that most want to be able to choose renewable energy. For “Consumer Preferences for the Charging of Plug-In Electric Vehicles,” researchers Brandon Schoettle and Michael Sivak of the University of Michigan Transportation Research… Read more »
Leclanché and Narada Power form strategic alliance for Li-ion technology
Swiss battery manufacturer Leclanché and China-based battery manufacturer Zhejiang Narada Power Source have announced a strategic partnership to manufacture and develop lithium-ion battery technology for the Chinese and global markets. Narada aims to achieve low-cost, scale manufacturing of Leclanché’s proprietary high-cycling and fast-charging lithium titanate (LTO) and high-energy-density graphite nickel manganese cobalt (G-NMC) battery technologies…. Read more »
Tesla acquisition of German engineering firm should help with production ramp-up
Tesla has announced plans to acquire Grohmann Engineering, a German company that the California carmaker called “one of the world leaders in highly automated methods of manufacturing.” Grohmann currently has around 700 employees, and had revenues of 123 million euros ($136 million) in 2015. It has developed battery production lines for several automakers. The company… Read more »