Q&A with emissions standards expert Michael Steel of the law firm Morrison & Foerster For better or for worse, the proliferation of plug-in vehicles that has occurred over the past few years is largely the result of government regulation. Automakers are producing some excellent EVs, but (except for a certain California carmaker) to put it… Read more »
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Arnold Schwarzenegger backs Austrian battery startup
Austrian battery startup Kreisel Electric grabbed some attention in the EV media by facing off with a Model S in a converted Porsche Panamera. Now it’s in the spotlight again after announcing the backing of Arnold Schwarzenegger and his nephew, Patrick Knapp-Schwarzenegger. The Governator, a longtime EV fan, became familiar with Kreisel when he hired… Read more »
Mercedes to invest $1 billion to build electric SUVs, batteries in Alabama
Daimler has announced that it will invest up to $1 billion to build electric SUVs and batteries at its assembly plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The company said it will build a new battery plant near the site in 2018, and that production of a Mercedes-Benz EQ electric SUV will begin “early next decade.” More than… Read more »
Dyson to build “radically different” EV
When British inventor Sir James Dyson’s eponymous company acquired Michigan solid-state battery pioneer Sakti3 in 2015, we suspected it wasn’t about better batteries for handheld vacuum cleaners. Now Dyson has announced that it has had 400 engineers working since 2015 on an EV that will be “radically different” from current models and go on sale… Read more »
VW chief: Diesel engines have “a great future”
Volkswagen CEO Matthias Mueller rejected predictions of diesel’s demise, saying that the diesel engine has “a great future” ahead of it. “The diesels we are offering today are clean,” Mueller told CNBC at the recent Frankfurt Motor Show. “They comply with the Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicle Test Procedure requirements, and they meet the requirements and… Read more »
Flying electric: Both startups and industry giants push ahead with electric airplanes
In the popular imagination, aviation represents the last frontier for electrification. Considering the weight and limited range of batteries, an electric airplane might seem practically impossible. However, while electric long-haul airliners probably lie pretty far in the future, the fact is that, in some applications, the technical obstacles to electrified aircraft are not as formidable… Read more »
A closer look at rare earth permanent magnets
Rare earth magnets have gotten a lot of coverage in the EV press over the years for being expensive – especially back in 2011 when a supply disruption in China sent the prices up anywhere from fivefold for neodymium to 20-fold for dysprosium over the course of a few months – yet they are still… Read more »
Nissan reveals long-awaited second-gen LEAF
Since the Bolt and Model 3 cracked the 200 mile/$40k barrier earlier this year, we’ve been eagerly waiting to see how EV pioneer Nissan would respond. Well, the company has just unveiled its new 2018 LEAF and…we’re not sure what to think. From a technical standpoint, the next-gen model offers only an incremental improvement –… Read more »
Cummins unveils electric Class 7 truck
Diesel engine manufacturer Cummins beat Tesla to the punch by unveiling its own electric truck at a recent event at the Cummins Technical Center in Columbus, Indiana. The new truck, called AEOS, is “a fully electric class 7 demonstration Urban Hauler Tractor.” It’s still just a concept, but Cummins has a prototype, built by Roush…. Read more »
VGI: California’s cooperative effort to capitalize on EV-grid potential
Last September, Carla J. Peterman, a commissioner with the California Public Utility Commission (CPUC), outlined new requirements for California’s investor-owned utilities that would measurably advance commitments to transportation electrification (TE). One technical requirement singled out by Peterman was addressed in a document called “Enabling Vehicle-Grid Integration Through a Communications Standard,” which focused on the question… Read more »