A team of researchers at the DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory has conducted a review of 40 automotive market studies from 16 countries, including the US, Germany, China, South Korea, the UK and Ireland. These studies modeled the decision factors that drive consumers to buy plug-in vehicles (PEVs). The study addressed such issues as: projected market… Read more »
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A closer look at film capacitors
Plastic film capacitors relentlessly continue to take over many of the duties in EV power electronics that were once performed by the venerable aluminum electrolytic type, mainly because film capacitors exhibit much lower losses and have a much longer operational lifespan, especially at ambient temperatures in the 75-85° C range. The tradeoff is that film… Read more »
Motiv provides electric chassis for Winnebago, Champion Bus
Iconic RV maker Winnebago Industries (NYSE: WGO) has launched an EV platform, and formed a strategic partnership with commercial EV chassis builder Motiv Power Systems for the development and supply of EV components. As part of the deal, Winnebago intends to make a financial investment in Motiv. Winnebago’s EV is designed for short-range commercial applications… Read more »
OVO launches domestic vehicle-to-grid-capable charging station
UK utility OVO has unveiled a range of products intended to form an intelligent distributed domestic energy system, including a vehicle-to-grid-capable charging station. The OVO Vehicle-to-Grid Charger uses a smart-charging platform called VCharge to manage charging, allowing drivers to take advantage of cheaper and/or renewable electricity, and to sell surplus energy from their EV batteries… Read more »
Wildcat sorts through the avalanche of new battery materials to find the best
As automakers and cell manufacturers begin to realize the complexity of benchmarking new battery materials, Wildcat Discovery Technology is using its high-speed R&D technology to help find clarity If you follow battery technology news on a regular basis as we do, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the volume of new announcements. There are… Read more »
A look at Lucid Motors: Q&A with CTO Peter Rawlinson
The legacy automakers are slowly and methodically developing new EVs, with various levels of enthusiasm, but the most ambitious plans for new vehicles are coming from a handful of EV startups. Most of these pioneers of the new auto industry share a formula: deep-pocketed investors (many from China), former Tesla employees on staff, and plans… Read more »
Goodyear unveils new EV-optimized tire technology
Goodyear presented a prototype of a new tire design optimized for EVs at the recent Geneva International Motor Show. The EfficientGrip Performance with Electric Drive Technology is to go on sale in Europe by 2019. Goodyear’s testing has revealed that traditional tires can wear out up to 30% faster on EVs, due to the powerful… Read more »
Nissan starts LEAF battery exchange program in Japan
Starting in May, Japanese LEAF owners will be able to exchange their old batteries for refurbished ones. Nissan will initially offer 24 kWh refabricated batteries for ¥300,000 ($2,853) each. Prices for brand-new replacement batteries range from $6,182 for a 24 kWh battery to $7,800 for the 40 kWh version. Nissan is using the battery-rebuilding capabilities… Read more »
Buick announces new PHEV, BEV models for China
Buick plans to add two new models to its offerings in China: the Velite 6 PHEV and the Velite 6 EV. China is by far the world’s largest market for the Buick brand, supposedly because former Emperor Pu Yi owned one (one expert on the Chinese automotive market told Charged that this story is apocryphal)…. Read more »
nanoFluidX models lubrication flow to reduce drivetrain drag losses
Engineering consultancy Drive System Design (DSD) has partnered with software specialists Altair and FluiDyna to develop and enhance nanoFluidX, a computer modelling technique that is used to analyze lubrication flow. DSD uses nanoFluidX to reduce drivetrain drag losses, which the company says represent the largest energy draw on the battery pack at speeds up to… Read more »