Traditional 12-volt automotive batteries are grounded to the metal chassis of vehicles for a few different reasons, mainly driven by cost. Using the metal frame as a common ground essentially reduces the number of wires needed for all of the 12-volt systems by half – saving money and reducing weight. For example, to power a… Read more »
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Researchers use nanolithia to improve efficiency and longevity of lithium-air batteries
Lithium-air, or lithium-oxygen, has been touted as the ultimate battery technology, because its theoretical energy density is ten times that of current lithium-ion solutions. However, scientists have struggled to overcome major challenges with the technology. The batteries waste a lot of energy as heat, degrade relatively quickly, and often require extra components to pump oxygen… Read more »
Colorado sweetens EV tax credit
As auto dealer Heath Carney wrote in the March/April 2016 issue of Charged, EV purchase incentives might be more effective if buyers received them in cash at the point of sale, rather than having to claim them later as tax credits. Connecticut instituted such a program in 2015. Now the state of Colorado has acted… Read more »
Musk’s manufacturing math: Cars should be able to exit the factory at walking speed
As it faces a huge pile of orders for Model 3, Tesla’s new challenge is not to build great cars (it’s already proven it can do that), but to build great cars quickly, in large volume. Along the way, it just might add manufacturing to the list of realms it has reshaped. As Elon Musk… Read more »
BASF licenses CAM-7 Li-ion cathode materials from CAMX Power LLC
Massachusetts-based battery technology developer CAMX Power has granted a license for its CAMX suite of CAM-7 cathode materials to chemical giant BASF. CAM-7 is a patented cathode material that features high-nickel compounds. According to the company, it features a discharge capacity over 200 mAh/g, and retains more than 80% of capacity at -20° C. It… Read more »
Mahindra to launch £13,000 EV in UK market
The Indian conglomerate Mahindra has been developing a variety of EVs since it bought automaker Reva in 2010. One of these is a small city runabout called the e2o that has been undergoing trials in India. Now Mahindra says it will launch the e2o, with a starting price just under £13,000, in London in April,… Read more »
A closer look at electrolytes in advanced batteries
The electrolytes in advanced batteries are based on incredibly complicated formulations. If you calculated all of the possible combinations of solvents, salts and additives while trying to find the optimal ratios for just one electrolyte formulation, it would add up to an extraordinary number of possibilities. Because it plays such a critical role in battery… 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 »
Can Tanktwo redefine the battery pack with big data?
A Finnish-American start-up with ambitious goals wants to change how we think about batteries. The concept of an EV that supports the quick removal and replacement of a discharged battery pack was all the rage about 5 years ago. Since then, however, various systems have been attempted and subsequently abandoned by companies like BetterPlace, Renault,… 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 »
