Hydrogen fuel cells are controversial—several automakers, including Daimler, Honda, GM and Volkswagen, have abandoned the technology, while Toyota continues to pursue it. Hydrogen opponents cite its inefficiency relative to batteries, and question the wisdom of building a complex and costly new infrastructure. On the other hand, many believe that hydrogen may have a role to… Read more »
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Oil companies buying up EV charging networks: Shell acquires ubitricity
The European oil giants Total, BP and Shell have been buying up assets all along the EV charging value chain. The latest news is that Shell has agreed to buy 100% of the European charging network ubitricity. Founded in Berlin, ubitricity operates in a number of European countries, and claims to be the largest public… Read more »
Global plug-in vehicle sales surpassed 3.2 million in 2020
2020 may have been a bummer of a year by most measures, but it was a banner year for plug-in vehicles. Global sales of EVs and PHEVs reached 3.24 million (as reported by EV-Volumes), compared to 2.26 million in 2019. That’s an increase of some 43%, which is all the more impressive in light of… Read more »
DENSO buys a stake in e-mobility startup Envoy
Auto component supplier DENSO has taken a stake in Envoy Technologies, a California startup that offers mobility services to the commercial real estate (CRE) industry. Through the investment, DENSO aims to create new revenue streams by offering the benefits of Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) to businesses. Founded in 2017, Envoy partners with CRE industry leaders to offer… Read more »
Charged and umlaut partner on EV charging infrastructure testing
Q&A with Hakan Ekmen, Managing Director umlaut US How do the various public fast charging networks compare in terms of reliability, convenience, coverage and price? Charged recently partnered with the German firm umlaut to begin to determine the state of the charging network user experience. After performing a comparative study of network providers in Germany,… Read more »
VW: German auto industry push to subsidize hydrogen is “nonsensical”
The latest battle in the War of the Energy Storage Media has broken out in Germany, where the Volkswagen Group and an auto industry lobbying group (the German Association of the Automotive Industry, or VDA) are at daggers drawn over the government’s proposed plan to implement the EU’s renewable energy directive. Germany’s Federal Ministry of… Read more »
Both candidates support EVs? Don’t you believe it.
During the recent presidential debate, Donald Trump falsely stated that he has “given big incentives for electric cars.” At least one credulous major news outlet took the bait, and ran a headline saying that Biden and Trump agreed on support for EVs. In fact, as everyone who follows the industry knows, nothing could be further… Read more »
The emerging “non-utilities”—EVs are helping new players in the energy marketplace.
Gordon Feller serves on the boards of several non-profit organizations focused on the future of greener mobility. He formerly served as President Obama’s appointee to a US Federal Commission established to assess emerging energy-focused digital technologies. Dramatic pricing changes, shifting cost structures, new demand curves and technologies that enable efficient decentralization are driving a dramatic… Read more »
COVID-19 vs EVs: What happens?
EVs may experience minor hiccups, but they shouldn’t suffer much more than the rest of the auto industry. It’s the question everyone has to ask: How will the Covid-19 pandemic affect my business? For those in the electric-car world, the question is more pointed: Will the pandemic hurt the growth of electric vehicles over the… Read more »
Tesla sues county over lockdown, Elon Musk threatens to move HQ
Tesla has been champing at the bit to restart production at its Fremont factory. Now the state of California is lifting the lockdown, but Alameda County’s shelter-in-place order is scheduled to remain in place until the end of May, and county officials say Tesla cannot resume vehicle production yet. In response, Tesla has filed a… Read more »