Month: December 2022

As more fleets of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles go electric, there’s a growing awareness that building the necessary charging infrastructure will be a complex proposition, requiring specialized expertise and considerable capital. Fleet vehicle depots will need to incorporate not only charging stations, but energy management systems, and possibly energy storage...

EV fleet-as-a-service (FaaS) provider Zeem Solutions has announced that client Kuehne+Nagel is successfully operating electric box trucks for air cargo freight forwarding at Los Angeles International Airport. Under Zeem’s FaaS model, Kuehne+Nagel fleet drivers arrive at Zeem’s Los Angeles EV depot, park their personal cars, and drive away with a...

Researchers from Renmin and Tsinghua Universities in China have developed a novel shape-memory current collector (SMCC) that they say can stop battery thermal runaway in an overheated battery. Their paper, Early Braking of Overwarmed Lithium-Ion Batteries by Shape-Memorized Current Collectors, is published in the ACS journal Nano Letters. Unlike traditional...

British retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S) and bp pulse have signed an agreement to install 900 EV charge points at around 70 M&S stores across the UK in the next two years. The roll-out will significantly expand bp pulse’s network, growing the UK’s charging network and adding up to 40,000...

Israeli startup EVR Motors and Indian tech firm EKA Mobility have teamed up to design small, lightweight electric motors for EKA’s e-buses and Light Commercial Vehicles (LCVs) for the Indian market. Under the agreement, EVR will design and develop electric motors for EKA based on its proprietary Trapezoidal Stator Radial...

TurnOnGreen has been selected by Best Western Hotels & Resorts as an endorsed supplier of EV chargers for the hotel chain’s North American properties. Under the agreement, TurnOnGreen will supply Best Western’s hotels and resorts in the US and Canada with its EV700 and EVP700 Level 2 wall chargers. Both...

Vale Canada has signed a long-term deal with GM to supply the automaker with nickel sulfate, a chemical compound used for producing cathode active materials for nickel-based lithium-ion batteries. Under the agreement, Vale will supply GM with battery-grade nickel sulfate, equivalent to 25,000 metric tons of contained nickel per year,...

Hyundai-Kia has named Eaton’s Breaktor circuit protection technology “Best Technology” in its electrification category. Power management company Eaton developed Breaktor as a circuit protection system for EVs that combines the functions of fuses, pyro switches and contactors into one coordinated device. “Our technology fills a unique need in the growing...

Germany-based team energie provides customers with a variety of energy products, including both fossil fuels and electricity. The company has selected GreenFlux, a provider of EV charging software and services, to help it add e-mobility services to its offerings. team energie says it will add charging services to its fuel...

GMs subsidiary BrightDrop has expanded to its first international market in Canada, agreeing to supply DHL Express Canada with Zevo 600 electric delivery vans.  The company has also begun production of the BrightDrop Zevo 600 electric delivery van at GM’s CAMI Assembly plant in Ontario. To help meet customer demand,...

The DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has licensed a new battery electrolyte technology to Safire Technology Group, a battery tech startup formerly known as BTRY. The collection of five patented technologies is intended to be a drop-in additive for lithium-ion batteries. It’s designed to prevent explosions and fire from...

German auto parts manufacturer MAHLE is increasingly becoming an e-mobility supplier. The company says its electric AC compressor is particularly sought-after thanks to its peak power of 18 kW, which makes it the most powerful e-compressor on the market at the moment. The company says it has already secured numerous...

GreenPower Motor Company, a manufacturer of medium and heavy-duty EVs, has expanded its partnership with Malaysian bus manufacturer Gemilang International (GML) by agreeing to supply right-hand-drive heavy-duty Class 4 trucks and vans for fleet customers across Asia, the Middle East and Europe. GML has more than 30 years of experience...

ADS-TEC Energy, a manufacturer of battery-buffered energy systems, has unveiled a new battery-based charging system. The new ChargePost is equipped with two DC fast charging points and two optional 75-inch monitors that can be used for advertising space. It’s aimed at gas stations, car dealerships, fleet operators, offices and commercial...

Airbus and Renault Group have signed an R&D agreement under which their engineering teams will join forces to improve energy storage-related technologies. More specifically, the cooperation agreement will focus on technologies related to energy management optimization and battery weight improvement, including solid-state battery designs, which some say could double the...

Power management company Eaton has expanded the residential demonstration area within its Experience Center in Pittsburgh. As vehicle electrification continues to have a cascading impact on energy infrastructure, Eaton installed its latest smart breakers and EV charging infrastructure to show visitors how these technologies can contribute to home energy management...

Large-format lithium-metal battery developer Sion Power has announced plans to expand its existing manufacturing operations in Tucson, Arizona. The expansion is expected to be complete by 2026 and create over 150 jobs, primarily in engineering and other manufacturing-related positions. The overall economic impact of the expansion is expected to be...

EV startup Canoo has delivered its new Light Tactical Vehicle (LTV) to the US Army for analysis and demonstration. Canoo says the electric LTV is engineered for extreme environments and includes stealth configurations. It incorporates carbon Kevlar for strength without added weight and is designed for passenger ergonomics and battery...

In Q3 2022, more than 77,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) were deployed in the cells of recently sold passenger plug-in vehicles globally, 70% more than was deployed in the same period the year before, according to Adamas Intelligence. In the Asia Pacific region, LCE deployment rose 100% year-over-year...

US-based bus manufacturer ENC, a subsidiary of the REV Group, will use propulsion and power management technology from BAE Systems in its new battery-electric and hydrogen fuel cell transit buses. BAE Systems will supply its Gen3 power inverters and electric motors, Modular Power Control System (MPCS) and Modular Accessory Power...

Georgia-based EV charging company EnviroSpark has completed a $10-million funding round led by Ultra Capital. The company announced its $5-million Series A funding earlier this year, bringing total outside investment to $15 million. EnviroSpark plans to use the additional funding to expand its services and increase its employee headcount nearly...

Ford has invested an additional £125 million in its Halewood plant in the UK, bringing the total investment to almost £380 million and increasing its capacity by 70%. This latest investment secures employment for another 500 people and increases annual production from 250,000 to 420,000 units, says the company.  Ford...

Solid-state batteries are a major focus for battery researchers, as they could offer weight and size reductions, as well as greater safety, compared to current Li-ion designs. However, they have a major drawback: dendrites, root-like structures that build up on the lithium surface and penetrate the solid electrolyte, eventually crossing...

EVSE manufacturer Splitvolt has unveiled its next-generation Splitter Switch. The newest iteration of the Splitter Switch features a more stylized look, new components and cETLus safety certification. Splitvolt says its Splitter Switch is designed to make home EV charging simple, affordable and safe by automatically sharing an existing 30 A...

Electrified Automation, a robotic technology specialist based in England, has been awarded £6 million in government funding to develop its process for manufacturing electric motors. The grant was awarded through the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) Collaborative Research and Development program, which supports the development of innovative low- and zero-carbon automotive...

Batteries represent nearly one third of the total price of a typical EV, and there’s a push to get that down to 20% or less by the end of this decade. In an effort to lower costs and accelerate production, the EV industry has been searching for ways to make...

Exro Technologies is building a future in which an EV’s motor, drive, gearing and AC charging system are integrated into one highly compact and efficient system. Engineers are always looking for cost-effective ways to get the most range out of an electric vehicle’s battery pack. Exro Technologies is triangulating on...

In the electrical/electronic world, the terms interconnect and disconnect both refer to a means of joining two sides of a circuit together. The subtle—and entirely informal—difference is that an interconnect is directly or manually operated (inserting a plug into a jack, for example) while a disconnect is indirectly or automatically...

Postal delivery vehicles arguably represent the perfect use case for EVs: they’re small, they drive short regular routes, and they return to central depots every day. Furthermore, in January 2021, President Biden announced a goal of replacing the massive US federal fleet with US-made electric vehicles, and the US Postal...

Hyundai has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Korean EV battery manufacturer SK On, to secure a battery supply for the North American market. Under the MOU, SK On will supply batteries to Hyundai’s US plants after 2025, as the Korean automaker aims to bolster its EV presence and sales...