Both government agencies and private owners are deploying public charging stations in the US at a combined rate of about 180 units a month, according to the latest figures from the DOE. As of this writing, the US has 5,548 public charging stations, and at the current pace, will have about 7,400 by the end… Read more »
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February plug-in sales: Volt back on top, LEAF in short supply
As overall sales continue to be slow, the Chevrolet Volt regained its title of best-selling plug-in vehicle in the US with deliveries of 1,626 units in February. It was no surprise to see a large increase over January’s meager sales of 1,140, which GM attributed to a holiday production pause. Significantly, the latest number handily… Read more »
German researchers seek to demonstrate that EVs are cheaper than ICEs
Do the lower operating costs of EVs justify their higher purchase prices compared to legacy gas-burning vehicles? That question may have no definitive yes-or-no answer (it depends on an individual’s driving habits), but more data is always welcome. The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research, in cooperation… Read more »
Fisker settles suit with insurance company – precursor to a sale?
The carmaker filed suit in December, after the insurer refused to cover the loss of 338 Karma sedans, worth about $33 million, that were destroyed in Superstorm Sandy.
ARPA-E’s new RANGE program offers $20m for battery research
If you think you can develop an EV battery that delivers three times the range for a third less cost than current designs, you can claim a slice of $20 million in research funding from the DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E). The agency has issued a funding opportunity announcement (FOA) for the… Read more »
Smith Electric Vehicles: the long haul and the short end of the stick
Smith sees a bright future in electric trucks on the horizon, but must wade through a sea of speculation to get there. All Smith Electric Vehicles Corp. wanted was a long-term growth strategy that would let the company scale up production of its all-electric, zero-emission medium-duty trucks at the same time that it beefed up… Read more »
Can phase change material mitigate thermal runaway in Li-ion packs?
(This article originally appeared in Charged Issue 6 – JAN/FEB 2013) AllCell Technologies’ new phase change thermal management material If you have spent time at any of the EV industry trade shows, you’ve probably heard the term thermal runaway. It refers to a chain reaction in which an increase in temperature causes further increases in temperature and uncontrollable… Read more »
Workplace charging: employers face a maze of issues when considering EV charging
The charging experts talk workplace EVSE: free vs fee, Level 1 or 2, ROI, networking and more. After charging an EV at home, the workplace is the next logical locale to “fill ‘er up.” It’s a place where vehicles generally spend long hours parked. It’s a predictable daily route. And with access to charging at… Read more »
Rich Byczek on delayed battery overheating and stranded energy
(This article originally appeared in Charged Issue 6 – JAN/FEB 2013) EV standards gaps: Intertek’s Rich Byczek on two of the biggest safety concerns centered around batteries. The EV industry is young and evolving quickly – too quickly, in some cases, for the standards community to keep up. The competing charging standards provide the most obvious example. There are… Read more »
What’s up with wireless EV charging
Wireless charging is one of the hottest topics in the EV world these days. Several companies have systems on the path to commercial availability. Evatran has plans to sell aftermarket systems that will work with popular plug-in models such as the LEAF and the Volt. Qualcomm is using its London trial as a test bed… Read more »