Wireless charging technology is almost ready for the big stage. Qualcomm has demonstrated its Halo system in various vehicles, including the Drayson B12/69 electric race car. Evatran’s Plugless aftermarket system is now commercially available for the Volt and the LEAF, and a Model S-compatible version is coming soon. Several major automakers have indicated that they’re… Read more »
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New study identifies one culprit behind Li-sulfur battery capacity fade
Lithium-sulfur batteries theoretically offer high energy density, and are widely seen as a promising next-generation energy storage system. However – you guessed it – they have several drawbacks. Among other issues, capacity tends to fade quickly. Researchers at the DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have identified one of the reasons behind this problem, and found… Read more »
Chinese researchers develop aluminum-graphite dual-ion battery
A team from the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed a novel, environmentally friendly low-cost battery. In “A Novel Aluminum-Graphite Dual-Ion Battery,” published in Advanced Energy Materials, Yongbing Tang and colleagues present a new aluminum-graphite dual-ion battery (AGDIB) that they say offers higher energy density than conventional LIBs, as… Read more »
True Super-Hero Tales: Can Tesla survive the new Valley of Death?
Whatever happens next, Tesla made automotive history last week. At last count, the Disruptors of Detroit had received over 325,000 reservations for their new super-vehicle. That’s nearly three times the total number of plug-in vehicles sold in the US last year (116,099), and it’s similar to the annual sales of some of the country’s top-selling… Read more »
Which US cities are the most EV-friendly?
Portland, Oregon is the most plugged-in city in the US, according to researchers at the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs. In “Plug-in electric vehicle readiness: Rating cities in the United States,” published in Electricity Journal, the researchers ranked 36 cities, including the nation’s 25 largest, in terms of the policies they have… Read more »
A closer look at electrolytes in advanced batteries
The electrolytes in advanced batteries are based on incredibly complicated formulations. If you calculated all of the possible combinations of solvents, salts and additives while trying to find the optimal ratios for just one electrolyte formulation, it would add up to an extraordinary number of possibilities. Because it plays such a critical role in battery… Read more »
Greenlots and Hawaiian Electric demonstrate fast charger with storage and vehicle-grid integration
Greenlots and Hawaiian Electric Company have collaborated to demonstrate a fast charger that incorporates Greenlots’ SKY vehicle-grid integration (VGI) platform, as well as stationary storage. The Greenlots SKY Smart Charging platform, which uses OpenADR and the Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP), can respond to demand response load modification requests and allow Hawaiian Electric to remotely… Read more »
Faraday Future awarded patent for FF Echelon Inverter
EV startup Faraday Future (FF) has applied for more than 100 patents over the last year. This week it announced that its first one has been granted, for a new assembly process called “FF Echelon Inverter.” The inverter is designed to be small and simple. FF claims it achieves 20-30% greater power density than competitors’… Read more »
Volvo reveals new plug-in V90 wagon
Despite the ascendance of the SUV, the station wagon (or “estate car,” to our British friends) is alive and well, at least in Europe. Now Volvo has unveiled a plug-in version of its V90 wagon. “We have a very strong position in the estate [station wagon] segment,” said Håkan Samuelsson, CEO of Volvo Cars. “In… Read more »
Inventev wins grant to develop plug-in hybrid Energy SWAT Truck
Detroit startup Inventev has won a $500,000 grant from the DOE’s ARPA-E agency, as well as a $50,000 matching grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, to develop its plug-in hybrid drive system for commercial trucks. Other collaborators include Pacific Gas & Electric, A123, BorgWarner, Ford and NextEnergy, which will provide testing and demonstration services… Read more »