We EV pundits have been writing about the rise of the Chinese EV industry for years. In recent weeks, the mainstream press has picked up on the story—many articles describe the coming wave of Chinese exports in apocalyptic terms. A recent headline in the New York Times warned of a “wrecking ball” heading for Detroit…. Read more »
Search Results Found For: "California ice ban"
Electrify America opens an amenity-rich indoor EV charging station in San Francisco
Electrify America, along with every other non-Tesla public charging network, has gotten a lot of negative press lately. Among the criticisms: sites need more chargers and more customer amenities. In 2022, Electrify America introduced The Charging Station of the Future, Today—an initiative to add next-generation chargers and various customer-focused services at “flagship” locations. Two of… Read more »
Zūm raises $140 million for electric school bus platform
California-based student transportation services company Zūm has completed a $140-million Series E funding round led by Singapore-based global investment firm GIC. UK-headquartered decarbonization investor Climate Investment and existing investors including Sequoia and SoftBank Vision Fund 2 also participated. This latest round brings Zūm’s total funding to $350 million. The new funding will be used to… Read more »
Are eVTOL companies starting a charging standards war?
Joby Aviation, a company developing electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for commercial passenger service, has announced a collaboration with Atlantic Aviation, a provider of aircraft ground handling and corporate flight support, to electrify aviation infrastructure in New York and Southern California, paving the way for the launch of Joby’s air taxi service. The… Read more »
To catch up on electric buses, Europe’s transit firms are working with China
When it comes to the EV race, China hasn’t just lapped the US and Europe—they’re running circles around us. No segment illustrates this embarrassment better than the electric bus market. As Michael Barnard reports in a recent CleanTechnica article, China currently has around 600,000 battery-electric buses operating in its cities. The US (which has 24%… Read more »
Volvo to acquire Proterra’s battery business
Proterra’s filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection was a shock to the EV industry, but the blow was softened by the company’s assurance that it would either recapitalize its businesses or sell them off. Now the first step in that process appears to have taken place—the Volvo Group has been selected as the winning bidder… Read more »
The lowly refuse truck offers the perfect use case for electrification
Q&A with Mack Trucks’ Scott Barraclough Most followers of tech trends probably think of electric vehicles as luxury performance cars, but here at Charged, we get just as excited about commercial vehicles. As regular readers know, the electrification of trucks and other heavy-duty vehicles is quickly picking up, driven by both regulation and technological developments…. Read more »
An inside look at how utilities view EVs: expanding electricity sales without adding new customers
Q&A with the Orlando Utilities Commission’s Peter Westlake. Anyone who would deploy any kind of large-scale EV charging project needs to work closely (and early) with their local electrical utility. This can be a complex undertaking, especially for companies that work in different regions, as there are around 1,600 utilities in the US, subject to… Read more »
As the off-road vehicle market rushes to electrify, standards are lagging behind
Q&A with Littelfuse’s Geoffrey Schwartz Construction vehicles are being electrified at a surprisingly rapid pace, as operators recognize not only the cost savings, but the advantages of silent, emission-free operation. However, the high power requirements of these vehicles mean that vehicle designers face unique technical challenges, especially when it comes to circuit protection. High-voltage DC… Read more »
Rideshare/charging provider Revel: CCS or NACS, EVs need bidirectional charging capabilities
Amid the giddy rush to adopt Tesla’s NACS charging system, a few voices in the wilderness can be heard crying, “But what about bidirectional charging?” Many see bidirectional charging, which enables V2G and related technologies, as a necessary part of the future EV ecosystem (California may soon mandate the capability for all new EVs). Vehicle-to-home, which… Read more »