New EV companies are cropping up like dendrites on a lithium metal anode. The latest startup to emerge from stealth mode is called NextEV. Like many of the current crop (see Faraday Future, Atieva, Fisker, Leshi), NextEV is backed by Chinese investors, and is not affiliated with a traditional automaker, although it has recruited execs… Read more »
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Mercedes confirms plans for high-end EV
Daimler is accelerating into the electric future. Last year the company spent about half of its 5-billion-euro R&D budget on electrification and other emission-reducing technologies, and announced that it would introduce 10 new plug-ins by 2017. The Mercedes S550 Plug-In Hybrid, the group’s third model with a cord, went on sale in the US in… Read more »
Efficient Drivetrains builds fleet of plug-in trucks for Port of Shanghai
Efficient Drivetrains, Inc. (EDI) has partnered with Shaanxi Automotive to build a fleet of plug-in hybrid trucks to the Port of Shanghai. Shaanxi said it expects to provide up to 200 of the PHEVs in 2016. The two companies are already working together on plug-in natural gas hybrid city buses. Shaanxi built a prototype bus… Read more »
Solid-state battery innovator Seeo acquired by Bosch
Giant German automotive supplier Bosch has announced that it will acquire the Silicon Valley startup Seeo, a pioneer in solid-state battery technology. Seeo’s cell design combines a solid lithium metal anode with a conventional porous lithium iron phosphate cathode and Seeo’s proprietary DryLite solid polymer electrolyte. Seeo says its cells achieve specific energy of around… Read more »
Korean battery-maker SK Innovation doubles production capacity
SK Innovation, a unit of SK Group, is a small fish in a sea of Asian battery suppliers like Panasonic, Samsung and LG, but its automotive customer base is growing, and it is rapidly ramping up production. Since the Korean firm opened its battery plant in Seosan in 2012, it has been enlarging its production… Read more »
BRUSA licenses Qualcomm Halo wireless charging tech
The Swiss Tier 1 power electronics supplier BRUSA Elektronik has licensed Qualcomm’s Halo wireless charging technology. BRUSA has already been working on wireless technology with its ICS wireless charging system. The company has developed its own rectangular coil geometry, which it calls FRAME. The integration of power electronics both in the vehicle and in the… Read more »
MTU and AKASOL partner to develop heavy-duty diesel hybrids
MTU Friedrichshafen, a manufacturer of large diesel engines, has formed a development partnership with Li-ion battery-maker AKASOL, with the aim of developing battery systems for MTU’s hybrid and electric propulsion systems. Using AKASOL battery systems, MTU plans to produce hybrid powertrains for the marine, heavy-duty ground vehicle and rail sectors, as well as stationary industrial… Read more »
MAHLE software combines GPS and topographic data to manage PHEV energy consumption
International automotive supplier MAHLE has been testing electrified powertrain technology using a range-extending combustion engine and a demonstrator vehicle that it developed in-house. The company’s Powertrain division has developed control software that can manage the consumption of battery energy for plug-in hybrids through a combination of GPS and topographical road data. MAHLE’s REEV demonstrator vehicle… Read more »
The 2016 Volvo XC90 T8 Twin Engine PHEV enters the US market with great promise
These days when most Americans think of Swedish engineering, they probably remember a frustrating experience with an Allen wrench and one too few pieces of particle board. But we didn’t always buy our Swedish creations under the same roof as our Swedish meatballs. Any American old enough to drink remembers a friend whose parents drove… Read more »
Tesla boosts battery performance to ludicrous levels
The Model S is just about the greatest car ever made, but it’s always had one major defect: there are a couple of other production vehicles that can beat it in a drag race. For those of us who wish to go beyond Insane, Tesla has introduced Ludicrous mode (the name is a reference to… Read more »
