In May, Tesla acquired Riviera Tool & Die, a Michigan-based firm that makes large stamping die systems used to produce automotive sheet metal parts. The Californians have now taken over the company’s Grand Rapids facility and rebranded it as Tesla Michigan. Reporter Rick Albin from local TV station WOOD recently took a factory tour and… Read more »
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Navigant: Global market for automotive Li-ion batteries will quadruple by 2024
The battery business is booming, and a new report from Navigant Research aims to flesh out the picture with some facts and figures. “Advanced Energy Storage for Automotive Applications” predicts that the global market for automotive Li-ion batteries will grow from $7.8 billion in 2015 to $30.6 billion in 2024, an almost fourfold increase. Total… Read more »
New paper: Cost of hybrid systems will be halved by 2025
For those of us who are puzzled and discouraged by the recent decline in sales of hybrid vehicles, a new paper from the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) offers plenty of hope for the future. According to “Hybrid Vehicles: Technology Development and Cost Reduction,” the costs of full-function hybrid systems are likely to drop… Read more »
Tesla acquires Michigan tool-and-die manufacturer
Tesla reached another corporate milestone this week, making its first acquisition, Michigan tool and die manufacturer Riviera Tool. The company will be renamed the Tesla Tool and Die Factory, and most of the 100 employees are expected to stay on, the Detroit News reported. “This acquisition enables Tesla to bring additional capabilities in-house, streamlining production… Read more »
Odyne delivers 6 plug-in hybrid trucks to Michigan utility
Odyne Systems has delivered six new plug-in hybrid trucks to Consumers Energy, Michigan’s largest utility. The vehicles include three Terex Commander digger derricks, two Terex bucket trucks and an under-deck compressor vehicle with a Boss hydraulic lift and compressor. All six trucks were manufactured by Milwaukee-based DUECO, an independent provider of trucks for the utility… Read more »
Ultracapacitors supercharge stop/start systems
Electrification is quietly sneaking into “conventional” vehicles, as more models incorporate stop/start technology. Navigant Research predicts that 54% of new vehicles worldwide will have stop/start capability by 2022. Different automakers are applying stop/start in very different ways. For energy storage, a stop/start system may use Li-ion batteries, advanced-glass-mat (AGM) lead-acid batteries, ultracapacitors (UCs), or some… Read more »
Johnson Controls and Fraunhofer collaborate on new battery cooling systems
Johnson Controls and the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, one of Europe’s biggest organizations for applied research, have signed an agreement to develop next-generation cooling systems for vehicle batteries. The collaboration will focus on technologies and thermal management strategies for lithium-ion battery packs. Currently, systems with fans, compressors or pumps use energy to pull heat out of a battery…. Read more »
Navigant: Wireless charging equipment sales will exceed 300,000 units by 2022
According to Navigant Research, the prospects for wireless EV charging have taken off in the last 12 months, as several major automakers plan to bring wireless systems to market, and a significant portion of the industry believes that wireless technology represents the future of charging. In a new report, Wireless Charging Systems for Electric Vehicles,… Read more »
Houston Harbor container cranes to get Li-ion powered hybrid systems
MJ EcoPower Hybrid Systems has awarded a contract to battery manufacturer Saft to supply lithium-ion batteries and battery management systems for four new hybrid rubber tire gantry (RTG) cranes serving Houston Harbor. RTGs are used to transport and stack shipping containers at port facilities and rail yards. Normally, the electric motors for the movement and… Read more »
Navigant Research releases Leaderboard Report on lithium-ion battery manufacturers
In a new report, Navigant Research profiles 11 Li-ion battery vendors that are active in the EV market, and rates them on 13 criteria, including systems integration, safety engineering, chemistry performance, geographic reach, manufacturing and product performance, pricing, and overall corporate financial health. According to Navigant, “Li-ion batteries have won the race to be the chemistry… Read more »