Nissan has announced the launch of the United States’ largest lithium-ion automotive battery plant in Smyrna, Tennessee. The first batteries produced at the plant have completed the required aging process and are ready to receive their first charges. The new facility, adjacent to the vehicle assembly plant where the LEAF is built, is part of… Read more »
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“EPA-certified” fuel economy figures – are they reliable?
Consumer Reports reported that they achieved only 39 mpg overall for the Fusion Hybrid, and 37 mpg for the C-Max Hybrid, about 20 percent lower than the EPA figures.
Wanxiang wins A123 at auction
Chinese auto parts firm Wanxiang is the proud owner of battery maker A123 Systems, having won this week’s bankruptcy auction with a bid of between $250 million and $260 million, according to the Wall Street Journal. Other bidders included Johnson Controls, NEC and Siemens. Wanxiang will not be buying the segment of A123 that provides… Read more »
Auction for assets of A123 begins in Chicago
Fisker was forced to temporarily shut down production of its Karma luxury sedan due to A123’s troubles, and is hoping for a quick resolution.
Austin Energy gets $500,000 to promote plug-in vehicles in Central Texas
Deep in the heart of a state that’s famous for petroleum and pickup trucks, Austin Energy, the electric utility that serves the capital city, is a leader in promoting electric vehicles. The US Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded the company an additional $500,000 to encourage plug-in vehicle adoption in Central Texas. Austin Energy has… Read more »
November sales: Prius Plug-in takes lead, Volt drops to third place
The good news: 2012 plug-in vehicle sales may turn out to be triple the 2011 figure. The bad news: November’s total is down a little from October, and sales of the former front-runner, the Chevy Volt, took a big hit. The Volt sold 1,519 units in November, a steep decline from October, in which the… Read more »
US establishes Joint Center for Energy Storage Research to build better batteries
The federal government will award up to $120 million over five years to establish an Energy Storage Hub led by Chicago’s Argonne National Laboratory.
Chevy reveals specs and price for 2014 Spark EV
Chevrolet’s 2014 Spark EV will have its official coming out party at the upcoming Los Angeles Auto Show, but GM has released a few details ahead of the ball. It plans to price the electric hatchback under $32,500 (before incentives), slightly undercutting the $35,200 Nissan LEAF, and to sell it in several global markets (not… Read more »
Three of a kind: PolyPlus reaches for 1,500 Wh/kg
After decades of patent-protected breakthroughs, PolyPlus stands poised to make its first commercial move from its trio of power-dense battery technologies: lithium-sulfur, lithium-water, and lithium-air. It’s a balmy, 95-degree August day in the nation’s capital, but Steven J. Visco, PhD, the CEO, CTO, and co-founder of PolyPlus, sits in the climate-controlled comfort of the White House… Read more »
Proceed with caution: charging for EV charging
ChargePoint President and CEO Pat Romano on the danger that high fees for public charging could pose to the industry. ChargePoint (formally known as Coulomb Technologies) does not install, own, or set rates for EV charging stations – although it often gets confused with companies that do. ChargePoint provides a broad-based, open network for EV… Read more »



