Stanford researchers have invented a new technology that could eliminate thermal runaway in high-energy-density batteries. Thermal runaway refers to a chain reaction in which an increase in temperature causes further increases in temperature and uncontrollable release of energy. In “Fast and reversible thermoresponsive polymer switching materials for safer batteries,” published in Nature Energy, Professor Zhenan Bao and… Read more »
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New e-Golf will have improved batteries, 30% more range
An upcoming battery upgrade will increase the VW e-Golf’s range by almost 30 percent, Volkmar Tanneberger, the company’s head of electronic development, told Autoblog at the 2016 CES. The capacity of the e-Golf’s cells will be increased from 28 amp hours to 37 amp hours, and no physical changes to the pack design will be… Read more »
VW electric van could use Porsche 800-volt fast-charging system
Between consumer desire for larger EVs with substantial cargo space and nostalgia for the classic VW bus, an electric van from Volkswagen could surely be a huge hit. But don’t pack up the surfboards and granola bars just yet – VW’s Budd-e concept, which attracted a lot of attention at CES, is a showpiece for… Read more »
Faraday Future’s Variable Platform Architecture – a modular skateboard to build an EV on
EV startup Faraday Future’s carmaking prowess has yet to be tested, but it has already revealed some impressive marketing talent. After milking several months of mystery, the company unveiled its FFZERO1 supercar concept at the recent CES in Las Vegas. The event was one of the hottest tickets at a show that has reinvented itself… Read more »
Q&A with Tesla’s lead motor engineer (Full Interview)
The principal motor engineer at Tesla describes why modeling and optimization is so vital to its design process. Creating a start-of-the-art electric vehicle requires a deep understanding of all the components. More importantly, it requires a continual process of analysis and optimization of the components to push the limits of driving range, efficiency, performance and… Read more »
Zero Motorcycles was forced to abandon DC fast charging option in 2013, Interoperability testing is needed
Editor’s note: After this article appeared in print, we received some feedback suggesting that the thesis is not clear enough. So, we’d like to point out a few things at the beginning. Today’s DC Fast Charging installations are very reliable. If you buy a production EV, such as a Nissan LEAF or BMW i3, it is unlikely that you will… Read more »
Tesla Model X: The all-electric crossover hits the road
Tesla was founded on a single profound insight: If you want to sell EVs, you have to sell them the way all other cars are sold – not on practicality, but on style and glamor. A related idea is summed up in Elon Musk’s oft-stated promise to build “not just the best electric cars, but… Read more »
Paraclete Energy says its low-cost silicon nanoparticles can at least double your current anode capacity
Silicon has a theoretical charge capacity ten times higher than typical graphite. That is why a mind-blowing number of researchers are working towards replacing more and more of the graphite used in today’s lithium-ion battery anodes with silicon. In the last issue of Charged, we discussed Tesla’s announcement that it had begun to use small… Read more »
EV marketing efforts continue to miss the mark, determining the reasons why is complicated
Most of us in the EV industry are probably tired of the mainstream media’s constant stream of “EVs aren’t selling” articles, which began around the time the Volt made its debut, and will probably continue until the day the last ICE vehicle rolls off the line. Well, for the near future, it’s only going to… Read more »
Gallium nitride power diode shows near-ideal performance in all aspects simultaneously
Silicon-based semiconductors are approaching their performance limits, so researchers are investigating materials such as gallium nitride (GaN) as potential replacements. A team of engineers from Cornell, Notre Dame and the semiconductor company IQE has created GaN power diodes capable of serving as the building blocks for future GaN power switches. Alas, GaN is prone to… Read more »