Recently, a bit of a kerfuffle kicked up when a Tesla Model S owner noticed that the maximum charge rate for his car on the Supercharger network had suddenly been cut from 120 kW down to 90 kW, apparently the result of too many fast charge cycles. Tesla’s explanation was, essentially, that many things can… Read more »
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Details of Tesla Model 3 continue to trickle out
As the long-awaited delivery date for Model 3 draws closer, more details of the world’s most anticipated vehicle are slowly coming to light. Production is to start in July, and Elon Musk has said that deliveries will begin in July as well – probably with a ceremonious handing-over over of keys to a handful of… Read more »
Wire bonding for EV batteries and inverters: application and process tips from Hesse Mechatronics
Sponsored by Hesse Mechatronics All electronic devices need to be connected electrically (and mechanically) and there are numerous ways of completing this task. Wire bonding is one type of interconnection. There are three types of wire bonding: thermocompression, thermosonic and ultrasonic. We will focus on ultrasonic wedge bonding with aluminium wire and discuss the wire bonding process… Read more »
The US is generating plenty of power, ready and waiting for EVs
DOE’s Electricity Advisory Committee meets for the first time since the new administration took office. On March 29 and 30, the DOE’s Electricity Advisory Committee (EAC) held its first meeting of 2017. The EAC has 31 members from across the country, representing all aspects of the electricity sector. Its focus includes generation, grid security, and… Read more »
NRDC report quantifies American jobs supported by fuel economy standards
Over 288,000 American workers are employed building technologies for the auto industry to reduce pollution and improve gas mileage, according to a new report from the Natural Resources Defense Council. “Supplying Ingenuity II: U.S. Suppliers of Key Clean, Fuel-Efficient Vehicle Technologies,” a joint production of NRDC and the BlueGreen Alliance, finds that hundreds of thousands… Read more »
EV tech explained: What are the limiting factors of an EV’s regenerative braking force?
In many EVs, regenerative braking is limited by the manufacturer to a modest level, and usually offers little or no ability for the driver to adjust it (aside from the few cases in which regen is made proportional to the initial movement of the brake pedal). Is tepid regen braking the result of some sort… Read more »
Mersen beats next generation DOE power density targets through Stack Reference designs
150 kVA – 16kW/L SiC power stack for heavy-duty EV Mersen partnered with AgileSwitch and FTCAP to develop two high performance 3-phase inverter power stack reference designs. The SiC MOSFET version uses Wolfspeed SiC modules to deliver 150 kVA at a power density of 16 kVA/l, exceeding the DOE’s 2020 roadmap for electric vehicle applications…. Read more »
Monolithically integrated GaN half bridge enables smaller, more powerful voltage converters
Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Solid State Physics has demonstrated what it calls the world’s first monolithically integrated GaN half bridge for the 600 volt class. Half bridge circuits are the centerpiece of many voltage converters. Monolithic integration combines several components on a single GaN chip, enabling small, powerful systems to be created. Monolithically integrated… Read more »
Will Ford’s new CEO put more emphasis on EVs and AVs?
Ford has replaced CEO Mark Fields with Jim Hackett, the head of the company’s Smart Mobility division. The company also appointed a new executive in charge of “strategy and business model development for electrified vehicles and autonomous vehicles.” The buzz in the media is that the new regime will put more emphasis on electric and… Read more »
Motiv Power Systems to power 13 electric school buses
Motiv Power Systems, in partnership with school bus manufacturer Trans Tech, will build 13 zero-emission school buses for two school districts in the Sacramento region. The project is supported by a $7.5-million grant from the California Air Resources Board. The Trans Tech eSeries buses will be built on the Ford E450 chassis, and powered by… Read more »