EVs have many advantages over legacy vehicles, but towing capacity is not (yet) one of them. When John Voelcker recently tested the new Ford Lightning F-150 for Charged, he confirmed that towing a sizable trailer can cut the vehicle’s range in half. Of course, a fossil fuel pickup will also take a huge range hit… Read more »
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New Hampshire utility to offer EV owners special rates in V2G program
Utilities around the country are experimenting with vehicle-to-grid (V2G) systems. Now the New Hampshire Electric Co-op plans to offer its members real-time energy rates that will allow them to earn revenue from their EVs and battery storage devices. The co-op plans to offer members a “transactive energy rate” as soon as the end of this… Read more »
Ford establishes requirements for dealers to sell EVs
Auto dealers have long been considered a bottleneck for EV sales, and automakers that are serious about selling EVs are working closely with their dealers to make the necessary changes (and to weed out those who really don’t want to go electric). Ford has now unveiled an electrification strategy to its 3,000-strong dealer network. Dealers… Read more »
3 design considerations for next-gen EV charging stations
Sponsored by Littelfuse How to make tomorrow’s charging stations more efficient, highly reliable, and safer Global hybrid and electric vehicle adoption depend on the network of fast-charging EV stations available. Users don’t want to run out of juice where they cannot recharge their vehicles. Widespread adoption also depends on reducing the charging time, with the… Read more »
Duke Energy tests EV batteries as grid resource in Florida lab
Florida utility Duke Energy is testing the V2G features of the new Ford F-150 Lightning at the company’s Energy Wise Lab in St Petersburg, Florida (the home of Charged). The R&D pilot will evaluate the viability of the Lightning’s high-capacity batteries and two-way charging capability as a way to power Florida homes during outages and… Read more »
The promise of wireless charging: smaller batteries, longer battery life, fewer charging stations
Q&A with Momentum Dynamics Wireless charging is nothing new—Charged has covered wireless EV charging since at least 2011—but it may be that its true value is only coming into focus now, as more and more commercial and transit fleets are electrifying. There are many reasons (safety, reliability, liability) that a fleet operator might not want… Read more »
Startup led by Tesla alums aims to build electric RVs
As is the case with a legacy vehicle, towing a trailer with an EV greatly reduces range—as John Voelcker found in his recent test of a Ford F-150 Lightning (see the latest issue of Charged), towing can reduce range by 40% or even more. But what if the trailer had its own electric powertrain? That’s… Read more »
CEO Mary Barra: GM is playing a long EV game, and intends to win
GM hasn’t been getting much respect in the EV press lately. Industry bad boy Tesla continues to dominate the market, racking up global sales of more than 310,000 units in the first quarter of this year. Ford’s still a startup as far as EVs are concerned, but its F-150 Lightning has been getting a lot… Read more »
BrightDrop: GM’s silent push into electric commercial vehicles
Upcoming electric passenger vehicles and light trucks from GM get most of the attention, but its new commercial EV brand is a quiet and very serious push too. Many US drivers now have a vague idea that General Motors is doing something with electric vehicles. They’ve seen Super Bowl ads for the GMC Hummer EV,… Read more »
Emporia’s energy management system prepares for the bidirectional EV charging future
Total control of power usage: from solar to EV and back to the house. Bidirectional charging promises to completely transform the vehicle ownership experience. Once an EV can double as a stationary storage device, it will take its place as part of an energy ecosystem that includes rooftop solar and energy management—and could even become… Read more »