Amid all the excitement about the new Model X and the upcoming Model 3, Tesla hasn’t forgotten its flagship sedan. The company has made several updates to Model S, including the first major styling changes since it went into production in 2012. Unlike other automakers, Tesla doesn’t bother with model years – it simply makes… Read more »
Search Results Found For: "DOE "
New study identifies one culprit behind Li-sulfur battery capacity fade
Lithium-sulfur batteries theoretically offer high energy density, and are widely seen as a promising next-generation energy storage system. However – you guessed it – they have several drawbacks. Among other issues, capacity tends to fade quickly. Researchers at the DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have identified one of the reasons behind this problem, and found… Read more »
Tesla kills the instrument cluster
Automobiles, and the automotive industry itself, have a lot of features that survive as vestiges of earlier technological times, and may no longer serve any real purpose. Tesla has eliminated a few of these (model years, free press trips) and tried hard to eliminate others (rear-view mirrors, independent dealerships). With the advent of the Model… Read more »
ORNL seeks US manufacturers to license new carbon fiber process
Researchers at the DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have demonstrated a production method that they estimate will reduce the cost of carbon fiber by as much as 50% and the energy used in its production by more than 60%. After analysis and prototyping by industrial partners, ORNL is making the new process available for licensing…. Read more »
Tesla unveils the mass-market Model 3, reservations flood in
The next era of automotive history began last night at the Tesla Design Studio in Hawthorne, California, as the company unveiled its long-awaited Model 3, and hordes of buyers around the world put down deposits to reserve their copies of the new EV, sight unseen. Elon Musk began the presentation with a synopsis of Tesla’s… Read more »
Saarland University team developing self-analyzing electric motors
Engineers from Germany’s Saarland University are developing intelligent motor systems that function without the need for additional sensors. The team’s aim is to transform the motor itself into a sensor, so that it can keep its human minders advised as to whether it’s running smoothly, and can communicate and interact with other motors. “We’re developing… Read more »
2017 Toyota Prius Prime plug-in hybrid unveiled
The auto world is already abuzz over the new and improved Toyota Prius, and this week the plug-in posse got a charge as the new plug-in hybrid version was unveiled at the New York Auto Show. The 2017 Toyota Prius Prime, as the new PHEV is called, will have an 8.8 kWh battery pack and… 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 »
Telefonix makes the case for free Level 1 workplace charging
Everyone who watches the sketch comedy show Portlandia knows that the dream of the 90s is alive in Portland. Our dream of the 90s was vehicle electrification, and we hoped the GM EV-1 would kick-start the trend more than a decade before the Tesla Roadster actually did it. Well, the vehicle electrification dream is alive… Read more »
2016 Audi A3 Sportback e-tron delivers performance and practicality
The selection of plug-in vehicles available to US buyers continues to grow steadily – it now stands at 27 models, with several more expected this year. The latest entrant to the market is the 2016 Audi A3 Sportback e-tron, the German luxury brand’s first plug-in model available in the US. Every time a new plug-in… Read more »
