There were several electric buses on display at the recent American Public Transportation Association (APTA) Bus & Paratransit Conference in Tampa, lined up along the waterfront behind Amalie Arena, home ice for the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Sierra Club’s Phil Compton was there to speak to the manufacturers’ reps and snap some photos. Conference attendees… Read more »
Search Results Found For: "FLO"
Chakratec raises $4.4 million for flywheel storage technology for DC fast charging
Israeli startup Chakratec has raised $4.4 million from the iArgento Group and the Singaporean company Goldbell in a series C financing round. The company will use the new funding to conduct pilot projects with three European utilities. It hopes to receive its first orders later this year. Chakratec, established in 2013, has developed an energy… Read more »
AVM sells 58 electric buses to Israeli transit operator
Los Angeles-based Advanced Vehicle Manufacturing (AVM) has signed a memorandum of understanding with UBSI, an operator of more than 650 buses in Israel and the Palestinian Territories, to purchase 58 of AVM’s commercial electric vehicles. AVM unveiled the first vehicle in its line of electric mid-size shuttle buses, the EV27, at the recent Advanced Clean… Read more »
Nidec’s Ultra Fast Charger smooths out power demand from the grid
Nidec ASI’s new Ultra Fast Charger (UFC) incorporates 160 kWh of batteries, and functions as a buffer between a charging station and the electrical grid. It can use LV or MV grid connections and, according to Nidec, can supply 320 kW of power to a vehicle, while drawing only 50 kW from the grid. Nidec… Read more »
Cloud-based monitoring helps keep ABB fast chargers operational in Icelandic weather
How do public chargers hold up in extreme weather? There’s probably no better place to answer that question than Iceland, where over 20 ABB fast charging stations have been installed along the country’s main highway, Route 1. The chargers are exposed to the most punishing weather conditions, including temperatures as low as -30° C. “You… Read more »
Tesla responds to Munro’s Model 3 teardown findings
The most interesting Tesla news in recent months (at least for those who are more interested in the company’s cars than the antics of its CEO or the gyrations of its stock) was Munro & Associates’ teardown of a Model 3. Automotive expert (a real one) Sandy Munro praised Model 3’s electronics and battery technology… Read more »
Tesla Autopilot goes mano a mano with Cadillac Super Cruise
Automakers around the world are hustling to develop vehicle autonomy features. Tesla will soon have a crop of competitors for its Autopilot driver assistance system. So far however, Cadillac is the only automaker that’s brought a system to market: Super Cruise, which debuted this year on the CT6 luxury sedan. Dan Edmunds and Jason Kavanagh,… Read more »
A closer look at contactors
Contactors may not be the sexiest component in an EV, but they are critical both for safety and general functioning. Basically a heavier-duty version of the relay, a contactor is used to switch power to any of the loads supplied by the traction battery in an EV. The motor drive, the heating and cooling systems,… Read more »
Electric Hyundai Kona to go on sale in the US this year
Hyundai unveiled the US version of its Kona Electric crossover at the recent New York Auto Show. The electric version of the Kona is to go on sale in California in the fourth quarter of 2018, and in the other ZEV states “shortly thereafter.” The Kona Electric features a 64 kWh liquid-cooled battery pack that… Read more »
Auto consultant Munro gives Model 3 thumbs-down for build quality, thumbs-up for electronics and handling
Sandy Munro takes cars apart for a living. Specifically, Munro & Associates, the Detroit consulting firm of which he is the CEO, performs teardowns. Munro and his team dismantle cars and analyze each part in minute detail (what’s it made of, what supplier made it, and how much did it cost?) and write up their… Read more »
