One of the biggest beefs we hear from new EV owners is the high cost of home charging stations. ClipperCreek has made it its mission to bring those prices down. This week, the Auburn, California-based company continued the downward slide with a $395 Level 2 charger. The new LCS-20 charges at 3.6 kW, 15 Amps,… Read more »
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Wildcat’s new copper fluoride cathode material offers 2.5x more capacity than today’s battery tech
The current generation of lithium-ion battery materials is quickly approaching its theoretical limit. In commercial layered oxide cathodes, like the popular nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC), there is only one lithium ion for every metal. So, the most energy you could possibly store with those materials is one full lithium in and out, or about 300 mAh per… Read more »
Will Tesla really have highway autopilot capabilities within a year?
Elon Musk touched on a lot of interesting topics at Tesla’s first-quarter shareholders’ meeting, but one of the biggest bombshells of all slipped by almost unnoticed, a single sentence towards the end of the 75-minute presentation (at about 15:30 of part 2): “I think we’re making some really good progress on the autopilot side,” said the… Read more »
Volvo may test dynamic wireless charging on Swedish city bus line
The Volvo Group is studying the possibility of developing a dynamic charging solution for city buses. Dynamic charging, in which vehicles are charged by an inductive charging coil in the roadbed, is generally considered to be several years from commercialization, although a group of Korean researchers has tested a prototype system. Volvo plans to develop… Read more »
BMW joint venture to double – wait, make that triple – carbon fiber production
Back in February, we reported that SGL Automotive Carbon Fibers, a joint venture between BMW and the SGL Group, was planning to double the capacity of its carbon fiber plant in Moses Lake, Washington. Well, they’re not. They’re going to triple it. The $300-million site expansion, to be completed by early 2015, will bring production… Read more »
OLEV Technologies’ dynamic wireless inductive system charges vehicles while in motion
When one thinks of Nikola Tesla and electric vehicles, the obvious connection points to Elon Musk’s favorite part-time project. However, we also have to give the Serbian inventor proper credit for pioneering technology that eventually may become even more important to EVs than battery breakthroughs. Tesla’s obsession with wireless power transmission defined much of his… Read more »
Croatian supercar startup secures funding
Elon Musk is not the only EV pioneer who’s been inspired by Nikola Tesla. Just a few hours’ drive from the small village where Tesla was born, a Croatian company is building a 1,088-horsepower beast called the Rimac Concept_One. Like Musk, Mate Rimac, the 26-year old founder of Rimac Automobili, has plans that extend far… Read more »
WiTricity licenses wireless charging patents to TDK
Wireless charging pioneer WiTricity has announced an intellectual property license agreement with TDK Corporation, which will enable the Japanese firm to commercialize WiTricity’s patented technology to create wireless charging systems for carmakers. TDK may be most familiar to (older) US readers for its high-quality cassette tapes, but in fact its forte is the manufacture of… Read more »
Saft to supply lithium-ion batteries for Stockholm electric ferry
Industrial battery manufacturer Saft has received an order from Swedish ferry operator Ballerina for lithium-ion battery systems that will power a new electric ferry for the city of Stockholm. When it starts operation in September, Ballerina’s ferry will carry foot passengers and cyclists between 10 stops on a 50-minute route of Stockholm’s waterways. The batteries… Read more »
VW’s Chinese expansion plans include plenty of plug-ins
The Volkswagen Group is the latest automaker to trumpet a major push into the Chinese market, and electrification is very much a part of its strategy. The Porsche Panamera S E-hybrid is already in showrooms in China, the electric up! and e-Golf will be launched this year, and the Audi A3 e-tron and Golf GTE… Read more »