After years of operating in secrecy, battery startup Sakti3 has been much in the news lately, the subject of feature articles in Scientific American and Fortune (via Green Car Reports). The Ann Arbor company, founded in 2008 by Ann Marie Sastry, has developed a solid-state electrolyte, which could eliminate some of the drawbacks of liquid electrolytes, including… Read more »
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What happens when the EV tax credit is phased out? (Don’t ask the IRS.)
How important is the $7,500 federal tax credit for EV buyers, and what will happen to the market when it is eventually phased out? Vehicles from a particular automaker are eligible for the tax credit until it has sold 200,000 EVs in the US. After that, buyers of the company’s vehicles will get 50 percent… Read more »
iPhone contract manufacturer Foxconn invests $811 million in EV factory
The rumors have been flying since the Foxconn Technology Group’s June announcement that it plans to build an EV with a price tag of less than $15,000. The Taiwanese company builds iPhones for Apple and the touchscreen for the Tesla Model S. [Correction 1:00pm EDT 9/26/14: Despite widespread internet reports that Foxconn produces the Model… Read more »
Electric buses begin to take over the public transit world
The humble city bus is quietly (also smoothly and emissions-free) going electric. In the past couple of months alone, Chicago, Washington DC, Portland, Oregon and London have begun trials of battery-electric buses, and the Chinese city of Hangzhou has placed an order for 2,000. China’s BYD is building buses in California and planning a factory… Read more »
European EV sales – a very different selection from the US
The US and European auto markets differ in several significant ways, so it’s not surprising that the sales figures for the various plug-in models available look quite different across the water. One of the biggest differences is size. We Americans love our pickups and SUVs, while Europeans love cute little cars that would be laughed… Read more »
A better way to battery-swap?
The idea of battery swapping for EVs has been around for some time, but the reality has not been auspicious. Better Place bet on the concept and went bankrupt. Tesla successfully demonstrated a battery swap in 2013, but so far has not gotten around to opening any swap stations to the public. A team of… Read more »
New report: Used EV batteries and California’s energy storage needs
As California searches for cheap energy storage options, a new report by the Climate Change and Business Research Initiative at the UCLA and UC Berkeley law schools suggests that used EV batteries may be the ideal solution. “Most batteries will retain much of their capacity and value after the use of the car,” said report… Read more »
Daimler/BYD’s DENZA EV enters production
DENZA, the “made in China, for China” EV from Daimler’s joint venture with Chinese automaker BYD, has started rolling off the production line in Shenzhen. The joint-venture company, BYD Daimler New Technology (BDNT), was established in 2010 with a 600-million-yuan ($98 million) initial investment. The DENZA is a four-door, five-passenger sedan with an 86 kW… Read more »
Nissan to shutter US battery plant?
Is Nissan is thinking of closing its US and British battery plants? According to Reuters (via Green Car Reports), the company may end up sourcing cells from South Korea’s LG Chem. Nissan currently produces its own batteries through a joint venture with NEC. With the help of governments eager to aid domestic manufacturing, it built battery plants in… Read more »
Chinese and US policymakers cooperate to spur EV adoption
The University of California, Davis, and the China Automotive Technology and Research Center (CATARC) have agreed to work together to establish the China-US ZEV Policy Lab, a research institution for US and Chinese ZEV/new energy vehicle policies. The California Air Resources Board (ARB) and China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) will co-chair the new… Read more »