Proterra’s electric buses are on a roll. The company has sold buses to 16 transit operators around the country, from Metro LA to Seattle to Massachusetts to Florida. The recent round of Low or No Emission grants from the Federal Transit Administration funded purchases of 33 more Proterra buses. Proterra has a smooth marketing operation… Read more »
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A closer look at wire bonding
Wire bonding technology – widely utilized in the microelectronics and power electronics industries since the 1970s – is finding its way into interesting new applications in the growing EV industry – in particular, battery connections. We’re quite certain that a few EVs are using wire-bonding technology for production battery pack connections, but Charged was unable… Read more »
Volkswagen reopens Transparent Factory as showcase for electric mobility
Volkswagen’s Transparent Factory, which allows customers to watch their new vehicles being assembled, has been redesigned as a showcase for electromobility and digitalization. The site now features some 50 interactive exhibits, including a glass frame model of the e-Golf. Several of VW’s electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles are available for test drives. The exhibition is… Read more »
New report from JATO details German EV market
Germany is Europe’s third-largest market for plug-in vehicles, and sales are growing quickly. However, electrified vehicles still represent a minute fraction of the overall automotive market, and better information for consumers will be necessary to get the country to start plugging in. These are among the conclusions of a new report from London-based automotive business… Read more »
March plug-in sales take off as Tesla factory cranks into high gear
US plug-in sales have resumed their steep upward climb. March sales shattered last year’s figure, setting a new all-time record. Around 13,725 plug-ins were sold in March, a 33% increase over March 2015 and a few units more than the previous monthly record set in December. American car buyers now have around two dozen EV and… Read more »
UN aviation agency bans shipment of Li-ion batteries on passenger aircraft
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has prohibited shipments of lithium-ion batteries as cargo on passenger aircraft, responding to concerns by pilots and airplane manufacturers that they pose a fire risk. A 2015 paper published by an aircraft manufacturing trade group found that existing fire-fighting systems on airliners could not “suppress or extinguish a fire… Read more »
Koch Brothers turn their wrath (and their wealth) on EV subsidies
The good news: EV sales are growing steadily. The bad news: They’ve now grown enough to attract the attention of Big Oil, which is planning a multi-million-dollar counterattack. Citing “refining industry sources,” the Huffington Post reports that a consortium of fossil fuel interests is making plans to form a new advocacy group that hopes to… Read more »
Porsche to invest a billion euros at EV plant
As Porsche begins work on its first pure EV, it is embarking on a major program of capital investment. Reuters reported that the company will invest about 1 billion euros ($1.12 billion) at its Zuffenhausen plant, where the new EV is in development. Chief Executive Oliver Blume said that the company has “many new products… Read more »
Motorola invests in magnesium-ion battery startup Pellion
Motorola Solutions has invested an unspecified amount in Pellion Technologies, a startup that was founded by a team of MIT researchers. Pellion is focused on commercializing magnesium-ion battery technology. Because magnesium is divalent, it can displace double the charge per ion that lithium can, and the element is more abundant and more stable. Magnesium-ion batteries… Read more »
Volkswagen CEO: Europe needs to take the lead in electric mobility
Since the public humiliation of the diesel debacle, Volkswagen’s execs have had much to say about producing more electrified vehicles. Speaking at the company’s New Year’s party in Brussels, CEO Matthias Müller promised that the Volkswagen Group would concentrate on sustainability “more than ever before,” and confirmed plans to introduce about 20 new plug-in models… Read more »