For the second month in a row, total plug-in sales fell short of last year’s figures. Overall US sales were 10,365 in June, 10% lower than May, and 16% lower than June 2014. The good news is that worldwide sales have shattered last year’s numbers every month so far this year. After a slow start,… Read more »
Search Results Found For: "demand charge"
Proterra raises $55 million in strategic financing
Electric bus builder Proterra has announced the completion of strategic financing intended to fund the company’s business plan to achieve positive cash flow, as production scales up to meet growing demand. The new capital will be used to fully fund Proterra’s new Advanced Manufacturing facility in California. Proterra has closed a $30-million Series 4 equity round… Read more »
DOE report examines opportunities for US battery manufacturers
Asia currently dominates automotive lithium-ion cell production – it controls around 79% of the market. However, a recent report by the DOE’s Clean Energy Manufacturing Analysis Center (CEMAC) found that the US has a growing opportunity in the industry, which is expected to swell from the current $9 billion to $14.3 billion by 2020. The… Read more »
Proterra’s electric buses approach $1 billion in total pipeline sales opportunities
Will the transit vehicle market be the first to completely eliminate petroleum use? Proterra thinks so. During a recent interview for the latest issue of Charged, CEO Ryan Popple told us that the company is currently in contention for roughly 20% of the potential transit vehicle orders in the US over the next couple years,… Read more »
Center for Sustainable Energy to develop platform for integrating EV charging with the grid
The California Energy Commission has awarded a $1.5-million grant to the Center for Sustainable Energy (CSE) to develop a platform for integrating EV charging with utility-scale energy systems. CSE will work with charging network operator KnGrid to create a standardized data platform using the ISO/IEC 15118 standard. “By leveraging an international standard for how EVs… Read more »
Nissan, GM and Toyota repurpose used EV batteries for stationary storage
Tesla may have made it trendy, but the California company is far from the only automaker exploring the commercial energy storage market, which is expected to grow from $200 million in 2012 to $19 billion in 2017, according to research firm IHS CERA. Nissan has joined forces with Green Charge Networks to deploy second-life EV… Read more »
Toyota Research team reports critical advance in electrolytes for magnesium batteries
Still looking for a replacement for lithium? How about magnesium? It’s divalent, so it can displace double the charge per ion (i.e., Mg2+ rather than Li+). It’s much more abundant than lithium, and more stable. However, researchers investigating Mg-ion batteries have run into several limitations, including anode/electrolyte incompatibility. Now a team at the Toyota Research… Read more »
Wildcat Discovery Technology creates new experiments to accelerate battery research
The pulse of the industry: Wildcat Discovery Technology is at the forefront of battery research, solving problems and accumulating insight. When Charged wants to catch up on the newest trends in cutting-edge battery technology, there are a few companies we turn to for insight. At the top of the list is a group whose high-speed… Read more »
A123 to double global production capacity with $200 million investment over three years
Since battery-maker A123 was acquired by China’s Wanxiang Group, it has shifted its focus to concentrate on starter batteries, and has big plans to produce batteries for microhybrids, aka start-stop systems. The company recently announced a plan to double global manufacturing capacity to 1.5 GWh within the next three years. A123 operates manufacturing hubs in… Read more »
The New Motion smart charging pilot lets Dutch drivers choose clean electrons
A pilot program in the Netherlands will give EV drivers the option of scheduling charging to take advantage of lower nighttime rates, and also to choose among different energy suppliers. “Flexible Charging Rates” is a joint project of network operator Enexis, energy suppliers Green Choice and NieuweStroom, and service providers The New Motion and Greenflux…. Read more »