Jeremiads lamenting China’s takeover of the global auto industry are everywhere these days. Three recent accounts stand out from the pack. These articles cover three different aspects of the tragic tale, but all are authoritative, fact-filled pieces written by journalists with first-hand knowledge of what’s going on in the Middle Kingdom, and I recommend that… Read more »
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NYC’s curbside EV chargers see 72% utilization rate
It’s becoming increasingly clear that the solution to the Plight of the Drivewayless (those poor souls who can’t install EV chargers at their homes) is simply lots of curbside chargers (see London and Oslo). New York City began installing public curbside EV charging stations in 2021 as part of a pilot that was originally expected… Read more »
Aqua Metals is building a more sustainable battery recycling ecosystem
Q&A with Aqua Metals execs Steve Cotton and David Regan Regardless of the claims made in Facebook memes, Li-ion batteries are eminently recyclable, and current recycling methods cause far less environmental damage than the well-documented depredations of the petroleum industry. However, as sustainability is central to the mission of the EV industry, we need to… Read more »
British Telecom is repurposing old street cabinets as EV charging points
Streetscapes change as technology evolves. As phone booths became obsolete, most disappeared, but some were repurposed as WiFi hotspots, neighborhood libraries and other useful things. British Telecom has thousands of boxy green metal cabinets, used to store internet and phone cabling, all over the UK, and the nationwide rollout of fiber broadband connections is making… Read more »
Curbside charger maker Trojan Energy secures £26 million in investment
On-street EV charger manufacturer Trojan Energy, based in Aberdeen, Scotland, has secured £26 million in investments to facilitate its growth plans—£8 million from UK growth capital investor BGF and £18 million from the Scottish National Investment Bank. Trojan Energy, which manufactures its units in Aberdeen, currently has 600 on-street charge points in operation in the… Read more »
Oxford promises transit operators faster journeys as incentive to deploy 159 electric buses
The famous English university town of Oxford has officially launched a fleet of 159 new battery-powered buses. Some of the buses are already in service, and the city plans to convert all of its buses to zero-emission models. Operators Go-Ahead and Stagecoach put up about half of the £82.5-million cost to deploy the e-buses, and… Read more »
Is curbside charging the solution for the Plight of the Drivewayless?
The Plight of the Drivewayless—those poor souls who live in urban locales where they can’t charge their EVs at home—has emerged as a major drag on the speed of EV adoption. Solutions from the clever to the silly have been proposed, but if we look at dense cities where adoption is already well advanced, we’re… Read more »
Westminster City Council powers fleet of 45 electric refuse trucks with waste
In a recent interview, a Mack Trucks exec gave Charged several reasons that garbage trucks represent an ideal use case for EVs, and here’s one more: refuse trucks can be powered by electricity generated by the waste they collect. That’s just what’s going on at the Landmann Way depot in London, where an adjacent waste… Read more »
Formula E 2022-23 season hits record fan figures, sets new performance records
The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship electric racing series continues to go from strength to strength. Formula E reports that its international fanbase grew by 17% over the last year, to 344 million viewers, edging out NASCAR to become the world’s fourth-largest motorsport championship. More than 225 million viewers watched Formula E races live… Read more »
UK auto industry execs slam Sunak’s abandonment of net zero pledges
In UK politics, climate change policies cut across party lines. Boris Johnson’s Tory government set an official goal of reaching “net zero” emissions by 2030. This translated to a wide range of pro-EV policies, and the results can be plainly seen in London, which has become one of the world’s most charged cities. Now Rishi… Read more »