Whatever happens next, Tesla made automotive history last week. At last count, the Disruptors of Detroit had received over 325,000 reservations for their new super-vehicle. That’s nearly three times the total number of plug-in vehicles sold in the US last year (116,099), and it’s similar to the annual sales of some of the country’s top-selling… Read more »
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Which US cities are the most EV-friendly?
Portland, Oregon is the most plugged-in city in the US, according to researchers at the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs. In “Plug-in electric vehicle readiness: Rating cities in the United States,” published in Electricity Journal, the researchers ranked 36 cities, including the nation’s 25 largest, in terms of the policies they have… Read more »
A closer look at electrolytes in advanced batteries
The electrolytes in advanced batteries are based on incredibly complicated formulations. If you calculated all of the possible combinations of solvents, salts and additives while trying to find the optimal ratios for just one electrolyte formulation, it would add up to an extraordinary number of possibilities. Because it plays such a critical role in battery… Read more »
Greenlots and Hawaiian Electric demonstrate fast charger with storage and vehicle-grid integration
Greenlots and Hawaiian Electric Company have collaborated to demonstrate a fast charger that incorporates Greenlots’ SKY vehicle-grid integration (VGI) platform, as well as stationary storage. The Greenlots SKY Smart Charging platform, which uses OpenADR and the Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP), can respond to demand response load modification requests and allow Hawaiian Electric to remotely… Read more »
Faraday Future awarded patent for FF Echelon Inverter
EV startup Faraday Future (FF) has applied for more than 100 patents over the last year. This week it announced that its first one has been granted, for a new assembly process called “FF Echelon Inverter.” The inverter is designed to be small and simple. FF claims it achieves 20-30% greater power density than competitors’… Read more »
Volvo reveals new plug-in V90 wagon
Despite the ascendance of the SUV, the station wagon (or “estate car,” to our British friends) is alive and well, at least in Europe. Now Volvo has unveiled a plug-in version of its V90 wagon. “We have a very strong position in the estate [station wagon] segment,” said Håkan Samuelsson, CEO of Volvo Cars. “In… Read more »
Inventev wins grant to develop plug-in hybrid Energy SWAT Truck
Detroit startup Inventev has won a $500,000 grant from the DOE’s ARPA-E agency, as well as a $50,000 matching grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, to develop its plug-in hybrid drive system for commercial trucks. Other collaborators include Pacific Gas & Electric, A123, BorgWarner, Ford and NextEnergy, which will provide testing and demonstration services… Read more »
Advancing BMS: Linear Technology launches its fourth-generation battery stack monitor
Engineers use battery management systems (BMS) to prevent problems that occur in Li-ion batteries when they are over-charged or over-discharged, including premature capacity loss and thermal events. A BMS ensures precise control and keeps the individual cells balanced, which is critical to extracting the most useful energy from a pack. Fortunately for EV systems designers,… Read more »
Oregonians argue about energy plan: Do EVs save money for ratepayers?
Lawmakers in Oregon are considering an energy initiative that sets some modest goals for phasing out coal-based generation and encouraging renewable energy sources. The plan also incentivizes the rollout of EV charging infrastructure by allowing charging station owners to sell clean-fuel credits. A recent editorial in The Oregonian lambasted the Oregon Clean Electricity & Coal… Read more »
Carlos Ghosn talks EVs: Governments may be leading now, but consumers will follow
There’s been a lot of talk lately about whether automakers that aren’t named Tesla are truly committed to zero-emission vehicles. Yes, they’re building EVs, but many observers believe that this has more to do with government regulations than customer demand – a controversial article in The Detroit News recently made this point. At the North… Read more »