ABB is an EVSE powerhouse—it claims to have some 400,000 EV chargers installed in 85 global markets. The newest version of its Terra HP fast charger adds several new features and customization options. ABB’s new 350 kW Terra HP Generation III is “ideal for highway corridor charging and EV fleets.” It’s designed to deliver high
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Self-driving technology startup Cruise completed its latest round of founding on April 15, raising $2.75 billion and seeing its total valuation climb to $30 billion. Among the latest investors was retail giant Walmart which has been working with Cruise since last November to develop a trial driverless delivery service in Scottsdale, Arizona. Cruise is majority
Rolls-Royce and Italian aeronautics manufacturer Tecnam are joining forces to deliver an all-electric passenger aircraft for the commuter market. The new plane is expected to go into revenue service with Widerøe, a regional airline serving Scandinavia, in 2026. Rolls-Royce and Widerøe began a joint research program to evaluate and develop electric aircraft concepts in 2019.
Volvo Group Venture Capital makes investments that support collaborations between startups and the Volvo Group, especially in areas such as logistics services, site solutions and electrical infrastructure. The group’s latest investment is Driivz, a software company that calls itself “the operating system for global EV charging.” The Driivz platform is designed for managing large charging
In March, the state of Washington one-upped EV trendsetter California with a proposal to phase out gas-burning cars by 2030—five years earlier than the Golden State’s proposed ban. Washington’s legislature has now passed Clean Cars 2030, part of a larger bill (E2SHB 1287) that directs the state’s utilities to prepare for all-electric transportation. Unlike California
Sponsored by TTI The rechargeable battery industry has experienced significant growth and is expected to continue to grow into the future. Most of this growth is expected to be propelled by next-generation high voltage energy systems for electric vehicles, and marine and home storage applications that use seriesconnected battery packs. The most popular batteries for
This week’s Auto Shanghai 2021 was the first major auto show to be held since the pandemic hit, and it didn’t disappoint. But it wasn’t the established automakers that stormed the show. Rather, it was China’s domestic brands which put their mark on their home show for the first time. Case in point was a
Commercial vehicle OEM Lion Electric has announced plans to build a battery manufacturing plant and innovation center in Quebec. The factory will produce both battery packs and modules, and is expected to begin operations in early 2023. The planned yearly production capacity is 5 GWh of battery storage, enough to electrify approximately 14,000 medium and
EV Design Prophet Sandy Munro is always worth listening to—he explains highly technical EV engineering topics in an engaging, accessible style. His most recent appearance was a discussion of the next generation of EV technologies, part of this week’s Spring 2021 Charged Virtual Conference on EV Engineering. Munro covered an amazing amount of ground in
Wildcat Discovery Technologies, a creator of high-throughput methods to rapidly design new battery materials, has developed a new Linear Displacement Measurement (LDM) Device that measures small thickness changes in pouch cells during cycling. Developed in partnership with BMW, Wildcat’s LDM capability allows new cell performance feedback as parts of projects with its collaboration partners. Measurements
Charged is hosting a virtual conference on EV engineering that’s free to attend, and it starts today. The conference includes live webinar sessions with interactive Q&As and on-demand webinars. View the daily session schedule online here. All of the live sessions will be recorded and available to view after the broadcasts. You can access the
General Motors President Mark Reuss wasn’t kidding when he said in 2019 that it was electric or bust for Cadillac. Every new vehicle launch from Cadillac going forward will be electric, at least here in North America, Cadillac brand boss Rory Harvey said on Wednesday during an online presentation for the reveal of the 2023
Lithium-metal batteries, which use anodes made of lithium metal rather than graphite, could offer great improvements in energy density and weight. The DOE’s Battery 500 Consortium has set a goal of developing lithium-metal EV batteries with triple the energy density of today’s Li-ion cells. Now scientists at Stanford University and the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
At this week’s Auto Shanghai motor show, Toyota unveiled a concept version of a new electric SUV, the bZ4X, which will be the first in a new line of battery-electric vehicles. The Japanese giant now says it plans to introduce 15 BEV models by 2025, including 7 models in the bZ series (the name stands
Charged is hosting a virtual conference on EV engineering that’s free to attend and it starts today. The conference includes live webinar sessions with interactive Q&As and on-demand webinars. View the daily session schedule online here. All of the live sessions will be recorded and available to view after the broadcasts. You can access the
Vehicle and powertrain development specialist FEV recently opened a comprehensive test facility capable of accounting for a variety of environmental factors. The company’s new e-Dauerlauf Prüfzentrum (e-Duration Test Center, or eDLP) is a development and endurance testing environment for electric powertrain components. The facility is situated near Leipzig, Germany, and provides around 70 test systems
Mercedes-Benz on Tuesday released a teaser photo for a concept vehicle that previews a new electric van currently in the works. Called the Concept EQT, the concept will be unveiled on May 10 as a preview of an electric version of the upcoming T-Class (teaser below). The T-Class is a new passenger van being developed
The UK is generating an increasing amount of its electricity from renewable sources, but, depending on the day-to-day relationship between supply and demand, some of that energy goes to waste. Why not allow EV owners to take advantage of some of that “excess energy?” That’s the premise of a new service from clean power company
Charged is hosting a virtual conference on EV engineering that’s free to attend and it starts today. The conference includes live webinar sessions with interactive Q&As and on-demand webinars. View the daily session schedule online here. All of the live sessions will be recorded and available to view after the broadcasts. You can access the
Taiga Motors, a developer of electric off-road vehicles, has announced plans to build a mass-production assembly facility in Shawinigan, Québec. The first phase of construction is scheduled for completion in 2022, and the company expects to begin production of electric snowmobiles and personal watercraft immediately. Taiga expects its new facility to increase production capacity to
Yamaha Motors may be best known for its motorcycles, but the company is increasingly getting involved in the development of motors for electric motorcycles and cars. Last year, Yamaha showed off new electric motor systems ranging from 35 kW (47 hp) to 150 kW (200 hp). The smaller motors were designed for electric motorcycles, while
The Hyundai Santa Cruz shows that at least one established automaker is committed to building a truly compact pickup truck, but startup Alpha Motors is developing its own, all-electric competitor. The Alpha Wolf hasn’t started production yet, but the company has already unveiled a second version. The Alpha Wolf+ gets a larger cab than the
Polish bus builder Solaris has further expanded its penetration of Europe’s public transport market with a hefty order for 123 electric buses in Romania. The total value of the contract is estimated at nearly €65 million. Seven Romanian municipalities have joined in a tender for 131 zero-emission e-buses. Solaris will supply 123 12-meter vehicles to
Now there’s yet another reason to visit the stunningly beautiful Atlantic island of Bermuda. The local government has approved the purchase of 30 electric buses to replace aged diesel buses, the first step in a multiyear strategy to fully electrify the public transit fleet. The purchase represents over one third of the small island’s total
A team of researchers led by MIT Professor Ju Li has found an electrolyte that overcomes the problems associated with metal electrodes, which could result in batteries with longer lifespans and more energy storage capacity. The research was reported in the journal Nature Energy in a paper by Li and others. The researchers say the
Charged is hosting a virtual conference on EV engineering next week that’s free to attend. The conference includes live webinar sessions with interactive Q&As and on-demand webinars. Just like the content Charged brings you every day, conference topics will span the entire EV engineering supply chain and ecosystem including motor and power electronics design and
Ferrari will unveil an electric vehicle in 2025, Chairman John Elkann said on Thursday during the company’s annual general meeting. The news of an electric Ferrari doesn’t come as a huge surprise as patent drawings filed by Ferrari for a modular electric drive system were discovered last year. Elkann didn’t provide any details on the
Sponsored by Herrmann Ultrasonics Requirements for reliable and repeatable methods for power distribution, wire harness and cable assembly have become more in demand. It’s not just electric vehicles that are driving this innovation. Newer, modern vehicles improve safety, drivability, and infotainment with a myriad of sensors, cameras, and other electronics. These components and the modules
In 2018, Swiss rail vehicle manufacturer Stadler began a research project to develop a battery-powered train designed to operate on non-electrified or semi-electrified lines. Now the Flirt Akku (akku is the German term for a battery), which carries its batteries on the roof, has covered some 15,000 km in pure battery operation, and has demonstrated
WAFIOS has introduced the SpeedFormer, a new approach to the production of hairpins for electric motors, which unites three wire and tube bending techniques into one system. WAFIOS modified and optimized a previously used technique for simple hairpin bends in order to improve production speeds. The company developed and patented a second bending technique, based