California’s ZEV mandate, which will require 15 percent of cars sold in the state to be zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) by 2025, will soon be expanded to include medium-size OEMs such as Mitsubishi and Volvo, which naturally have some helpful ideas as to how the rules could be watered down. At a May hearing, automakers and… Read more »
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California: Smaller automakers can earn ZEV credits with PHEVs (UPDATED)
For several years now, the California Air Resources Board’s ZEV mandate has required the largest automakers to produce a certain number of zero-emission vehicles for sale in the state. Beginning in 2018, smaller OEMs will be subject to the rules, too. Unsurprisingly, these companies would rather skip it, and at a May hearing, Jaguar Land… Read more »
LG Chem Power CEO: We’re the Li-ion leader for PEVs because of material science
Q&A with LG Chem Power’s CEO: Dr. Prabhakar Patil on how the company became a Li-ion battery front-runner, the economics of building batteries, and why it spends little energy on what comes after lithium. Among Tier 1 automotive suppliers of lithium-ion cells, LG Chem is off to a clear lead, based on the number of announced… Read more »
Cadillac CT6 PHEV has more electric range than others in its class
The plug-in hybrid version of Cadillac’s CT6 large luxury sedan, which made its debut at this month’s Shanghai Motor Show, will use a version of GM’s second-generation Voltec hybrid system. The 18.4 kWh battery pack is the same size as the one in the 2016 Chevrolet Volt, which should give the new Caddy an electric… Read more »
Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV US launch delayed again
Mitsubishi’s Outlander Plug-In Hybrid has sold well since going on sale in Europe and Japan two years ago, and there’s reason to believe that it could be a huge hit here as well. However, US buyers will have to wait for a plug-in crossover – the US launch has been delayed once again. Mitsubishi recently… Read more »
Utah State University builds a dynamic wireless charging test track
Wireless charging is gradually making its way to the market. We’ve seen countless demonstration projects over the past few years, and a couple of OEMs have announced that they have wireless charging systems in the pipeline. Convenience is the most obvious reason to cut the cable, but wireless can deliver several other benefits as well… Read more »
Thin-film supercapacitors could be embedded in body panels
Researchers around the world are working on supercapacitors (aka ultracaps), whose high power density makes them a perfect complement for lithium-ion batteries. Meanwhile, a couple of visionaries at Volvo have been thinking about ways to get around the high space requirements of batteries by storing energy in a car’s body panels. Image Courtesy of Volvo… Read more »
Swedish company to develop fuel cell range extender
The Swedish Energy Agency has awarded Volvo Group spinout PowerCell 7 million kronor ($964,000) to develop a fuel cell system for use in a modular range extender system for EVs. PowerCell, together with its partners in the MoRE Zero consortium, will develop a scalable fuel cell system on the order of 20-25 kW, which will… Read more »
Electric buses begin to take over the public transit world
The humble city bus is quietly (also smoothly and emissions-free) going electric. In the past couple of months alone, Chicago, Washington DC, Portland, Oregon and London have begun trials of battery-electric buses, and the Chinese city of Hangzhou has placed an order for 2,000. China’s BYD is building buses in California and planning a factory… Read more »
European EV sales – a very different selection from the US
The US and European auto markets differ in several significant ways, so it’s not surprising that the sales figures for the various plug-in models available look quite different across the water. One of the biggest differences is size. We Americans love our pickups and SUVs, while Europeans love cute little cars that would be laughed… Read more »