Electric bus manufacturer Proterra has raised more than $30 million in additional funding, and expects to close on another $10 million within the coming weeks. Kleiner Perkins and GM Ventures led the financing, with another ten or so venture capital firms participating. Proterra electric vehicles have logged over 400,000 zero-emission miles in 11 US cities…. Read more »
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Volt drivers log half a billion electric miles
Since its 2010 launch, the Chevy Volt has driven more than half a billion all-electric miles, according to the latest figures from GM. The company made a study of 300 California Volt drivers for over 30 months, and found that many are exceeding the EPA-rated electric range of 35 miles. About 15 percent of the… Read more »
Tesla shares all of its patented technology
Last week, while speaking at the company’s first-quarter shareholders’ meeting, Elon Musk expressed frustration with the other automakers for moving so slowly into EVs, and hinted that he’s thinking about offering them a helping hand. “I’m contemplating doing something fairly significant on that front, which would be kind of controversial with respect to Tesla’s patents.” Today,… Read more »
Wildcat’s new copper fluoride cathode material offers 2.5x more capacity than today’s battery tech
The current generation of lithium-ion battery materials is quickly approaching its theoretical limit. In commercial layered oxide cathodes, like the popular nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC), there is only one lithium ion for every metal. So, the most energy you could possibly store with those materials is one full lithium in and out, or about 300 mAh per… Read more »
The Buckeye Bullet: A student-built EV that’s racing towards 400 mph
As it stands today, Ohio State’s Buckeye Bullet 1 holds the US record speed for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) at 314.958 mph, its Venturi Buckeye Bullet 2 holds the world record for hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles at 302.877 mph, and the Venturi Buckeye Bullet 2.5 holds the world record for BEVs at 307.666 mph. … Read more »
Lux Research: market for 48-Volt micro-hybrids poised for major growth
According to a new forecast by Lux Research, automakers will begin producing 48-Volt micro-hybrids in 2015, and the market is likely to exceed 7 million vehicles by 2024. Lux believes that 48 V power systems represent an unfilled niche between 12 V start-stop micro-hybrids and larger mild hybrid systems. As the number of production models… Read more »
Bolloré launches all-electric car sharing service in Indianapolis
The Bolloré Group will invest $35 million in Indianapolis for what it says will be the largest electric car sharing service in the US. The BlueIndy service is based on Bolloré’s existing Autolib’ in Paris, and its similar offerings in Lyon and Bordeaux. French industrial conglomerate Bolloré partnered with Italian car designer Pininfarina to build… Read more »
DOE to award up to $10 million for Zero Emission Cargo Transport projects
The DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) has issued a funding opportunity announcement (DE-FOA-0001106) to award up to $10 million for projects to accelerate electrification of the cargo transport sector, a worthy mission that has been dubbed Zero Emission Cargo Transport (ZECT). ZECT technologies are defined as those that produce zero emissions from a cargo-carrying… Read more »
Exhaustive infrastructure testing: Converging industries present challenges for automakers
In the past few decades, the automotive industry has seen a shift from traditional mechanical systems to a world dominated by electronics, chips and software. If you go to a car show and look in the engine compartment of an older vehicle, you’ll see only a handful of connections from the cockpit. Modern vehicles, however,… Read more »
WiTricity licenses wireless charging patents to TDK
Wireless charging pioneer WiTricity has announced an intellectual property license agreement with TDK Corporation, which will enable the Japanese firm to commercialize WiTricity’s patented technology to create wireless charging systems for carmakers. TDK may be most familiar to (older) US readers for its high-quality cassette tapes, but in fact its forte is the manufacture of… Read more »
