Most wireless EV charging systems use an induction coil on the underside of the vehicle and a floor-mounted charging station, but researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Systems and Device Technology (IISB) in Germany are developing an alternative method that makes the connection at the front end of the vehicle. This addresses a number… Read more »
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Security buffs win a prize for hacking into a Tesla Model S
The hyperconnected automobile presents all sorts of opportunities for criminal mischief, and it’s no hypothetical danger – last year, DARPA researchers were able to remotely hack into Toyota and Ford vehicles and disable the brakes. At this month’s Symposium on Security for Asia Network (SyScan360), a security conference in Beijing, security buffs were invited to… Read more »
Phinergy CEO on aluminum-air batteries and 1,000-mile range-extended EVs
Along with its industry giant partner Alcoa, Israeli startup Phinergy says it has aluminum-air batteries for EVs in the can. More than 550 feet over the National Mall in Washington, DC, the single most significant piece of American aluminum triangulates a point between the White House, the US Capitol, and the Lincoln Memorial. It is… Read more »
Q&A with Ian Wright: The CEO of Wrightspeed on Tesla, gas turbines and electric trucks
Ian Wright is originally from New Zealand. He came to California in 1993, where he happened to be a neighbor of Tesla founder Martin Eberhard. He worked with optical switching systems at a company called Altamar Networks until it went out of business, then decided he wanted to start his own company. Eberhard and his… Read more »
Daimler and BMW commit to common technology for wireless charging
Daimler and BMW have agreed to jointly develop and implement a common technology for wireless charging. The system consists of two components: a secondary coil integrated into the under tray of the car and a primary coil integrated into a floor plate that can be placed on a garage floor. Electrical energy is transmitted at… Read more »
A closer look at the semiconductor switch
In this article I’ll be giving an overview of that most important of power electronics components: the semiconductor switch. I’ll first address what a switch is, and then delve into some of the more important compromises and shortcomings that exist in real-world switches that engineers must contend with when designing chargers, motor controllers, DC-DC converters… Read more »
Will Nissan’s No Charge to Charge program drive LEAF sales?
Image above courtesy of WSDOT/Flickr Nissan and NRG eVgo have pioneered a multi-network consortium to make topping up the bestselling EV a considerable re-LEAF. When Nissan last graced the Charged cover (March/April 2013 issue), the company was picking itself up and dusting itself off. Its LEAF had taken a shellacking in the press after the… Read more »
Automotive segment consumes 10.5% of global advanced battery production
Batteries are big business. According to the latest Advanced Battery Tracker from Navigant Research, more than 6 billion advanced battery cells were sold in 2013, representing 40 gigawatts of power capacity and more than $13.4 billion in sales (a modest increase over 2012’s $12.8 billion). The majority of these batteries were manufactured in China. Most… Read more »
New simulation software provides a powerful tool for battery developers
In the holy quest for a better battery, engineering simulation software is a key tool, helping battery developers to shorten the time-consuming cycle of prototyping and manufacturing. Software developer ANSYS (NASDAQ: ANSS) has now incorporated battery models in the latest release of its Fluent software, thanks to the efforts of a team that also includes GM… Read more »
Swedish researchers: Carbon fiber can serve as both body panel and battery
It’s one of the dilemmas of EV design: It’s imperative to keep a vehicle’s weight as low as possible, but the most critical component – the battery – is necessarily quite heavy (and bulky). A little outside-the-box thinking yields an elegant solution – make the box the battery. In other words, design a battery material… Read more »