Electric Vehicle News

The company refused to comment on the matter, but it did not deny the rumor.
Source: Electric Vehicle News

The ID.4 1st Edition sold out in 8 hours, so VW made more.
Source: Electric Vehicle News

In just seven months, the company managed to produce and sell some 127,000 of those tiny EVs.
Source: Electric Vehicle News

The ET Preview’s production version will have a 150 kWh battery pack and a 559-mile range.
Source: Electric Vehicle News

In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):

• EnergySage launches a new community solar marketplace in the US so consumers can save money.
• Sustainable lithium mining is becoming a requirement as battery demand grows.
• UnderstandSolar is a free service that links you to top-rated solar installers in your region for personalized solar estimates. Tesla now offers price matching, so it’s important to shop for the best quotes. Click here to learn more and get your quotes. — *ad.

more…

The post EGEB: A new community solar marketplace launches in the US appeared first on Electrek.

Source: Charge Forward

Tesla’s (TSLA) stock has received a new street-high price target of $810 per share from Morgan Stanley on a clearer path to selling millions of electric cars per year.

more…

The post Tesla (TSLA) stock gets new street-high price on clear path to millions of electric car sales per year appeared first on Electrek.

Source: Charge Forward

Powerful Pickup Moves a Little Towards Electrification

The Ford F-150 has been America’s favorite pickup for 43 years—and often, as now, the top-selling vehicle of any kind. So, it really needs no introduction to most people.

The 2021 model brings a fresh new design, and along with it, the first F-150 hybrid. In fact, for the moment, it’s the only light-duty full-size pickup to offer a full hybrid powertrain. You can order the hybrid at any level, from XL to Limited. My Iconic Silver tester was a Limited, so it had pretty much everything, and with its four doors and generous cargo bed it dominated my driveway during its stay with me.

Before jumping into the details, you should know that I am not someone who would ever buy a full-size pickup. I live in an urban area and never have to transport heavy loads. I haven’t tested a truck for a while for that reason—they are big gas users—but now, with a hybrid available, it was time to take another look.

Power to Amaze Inside

The amazing thing about big pickup trucks is that they are so easy to drive! With power assist and good visibility, as long as you’re careful, it feels effortless, and I completely understand and appreciate the feeling of owning the road that you enjoy when cruising along in a big unit like this.

Part of that good feeling is from the large and attractively rendered cabin. Although you may not be hauling rocks or heavy-duty equipment, the F-150’s interior feels rock solid and has been completely redesigned for 2021. The massive, leather-wrapped shift knob feels worthy of an airliner. The dash has four shiny knobs, with grip-worthy indentations, for the radio and climate controls. That part feels completely traditional and welcome. The sculpted dash panel and doors look carved rather than assembled. In my tester, the diamond quilt pattern on the supportive buckets was quite elegant. Those seats were optioned with Max Recline feature, making them comfy for taking rest breaks on long hauls. I admired the metal Limited emblem installed on the center console lid that bore its VIN# and 0019 – its unique serial number. It must be limited!

The 12-inch center screen (on all but the base model) makes finding information easy. You can split it and view multiple features simultaneously. Many of us are used to this on our laptops. When you’re using the screen with the rearview camera, it’s very easy to see. The optional Interior Work Surface enables working on a 15-inch laptop or having a meal—not while driving, of course.

The Hybrid Value Proposition

 So, what benefit does the hybrid drivetrain give? Beyond any fuel savings, the hybrid is the most powerful F-150. The PowerBoost drivetrain marries the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 to a 35-kilowatt motor integrated into the 10-speed automatic transmission. That gives drivers 430 horsepower and a stump-pulling 570 pounds-feet (lb.-ft.) of torque. The electric motor regenerates power for the 1.5-kWh battery, which is positioned on the bottom of the truck. That means the hybrid loses no passenger or cargo capacity.

Looking at fuel efficiency, the hybrid gives the truck a little bit of a bump, but not a lot. The U.S. EPA numbers for my test car, with four-wheel-drive, are 24 mpg city/24 highway/24 combined. You can add an extra mpg by ordering only two-wheel drive. The V6 EcoBoost non-hybrid model gets 19 city/22 highway/20 combined. The 5.0-liter V8-equipped model delivers numbers of 16 city/22 highway/19 combined. Doing the math, you see that the hybrid provides up to a 20 percent improvement over the popular V6 EcoBoost model, and a little more over the V8. My tester scored a 5 for Greenhouse Gas, but the EPA Smog scores I like to post are apparently not available yet. The F-150 Hybrid is still very new.

[Ed. note: The key to the significance of the “small” fuel economy gains for the F-150 are the impact because of the quantity of the F-Series model that will hit the marketplace. As an example, the most recent numbers available for 2020 (through November) showed 713,000 F-Series being sold for the year. A four mpg improvement with the average 15,000 miles/year of use equals means the new hybrids will save roughly 89 million gallons of gasoline a year.]

As a next-generation model, the new F-150, regardless of powertrain, gets some worthwhile updates.  While retaining its fully-boxed steel frame and “military grade” aluminum alloy body panels, you now can choose from 11 grille options and many other ways to customize. One of the wonders of my test car was the set of automatic power running boards that extended themselves as I approached the truck, aiding my climb in.

Grille Aerodynamics & More

Speaking of grilles, aerodynamics on this otherwise blocky vehicle is enhanced with active grille shutters and an automatically deploying air dam.  Drag has been carefully reduced to improve airflow a little.

The list of features is long. The dash has a new digital gauge cluster that welcomes you with glamorous photos of the truck itself. There’s a full-width optional lockable compartment below the rear seat, great for stashing your fishing rods or other valuables. There’s an optional tailgate work surface for use at the job site.

Something that sounds very handy is the Trailer Reverse Guidance and Pro Trailer Backup Assist. Of course, I didn’t get to try it, but some users would love it. It uses multiple cameras and graphics that tell you which way to turn.

Many of these trucks are working machines, so having the optional Pro Power Onboard lets you hook up your electric tools when out at the worksite or campsite.

The 2021 Ford F-150 gets the all-new Sync 4 system standard for connection and a huge menu of entertainment options. In the style of Tesla, Ford is introducing  over-the-air software updates. And, to add to the list, the F-150 has loads of electronic monitoring equipment to keep you safe.

These all-American favorites are assembled in Dearborn, Michigan, or Claycomo, Missouri.

While I do not want one of these beautiful beasts, I can completely understand why many people would. The 2021 Ford F-150 Hybrid shows its leadership in the latest iteration of an incredibly successful product. A fully electric version is coming, and it will have competition when it does. The need for big, powerful trucks isn’t going away, but the way we fuel them is changing.

Story by Steve Schaefer; photos by Steve Schaefer, Michael Coates & Ford

[See image gallery at cleanfleetreport.com]

Related Stories You Might Enjoy—The Electrified Pickup Wars

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News: Ford Pumps Up the Electrification of the Crown Jewel

News: Electric Partnerships in High Gear

Analysis: Tesla Cybertruck—Is It More Streamlined Than It Looks?

News: Lincoln and GMC Make Electric News

Opinion: Tesla Cybertruck Revisited

News: Pickup Electrification a Hot Topic

News: Rivian Electric Pickup/SUV Revealed

News: Bollinger Motors B2 Pickup

Disclosure:

Clean Fleet Report is loaned free test vehicles from automakers to evaluate, typically for a week at a time. Our road tests are based on this one-week drive of a new vehicle. Because of this we don’t address issues such as long-term reliability or total cost of ownership. In addition, we are often invited to manufacturer events highlighting new vehicles or technology. As part of these events we may be offered free transportation, lodging or meals. We do our best to present our unvarnished evaluations of vehicles and news irrespective of these inducements.

Our focus is on vehicles that offer the best fuel economy in their class, which leads us to emphasize electric cars, plug-in hybrids, hybrids and diesels. We also feature those efficient gas-powered vehicles that are among the top mpg vehicles in their class. In addition, we aim to offer reviews and news on advanced technology and the alternative fuel vehicle market. We welcome any feedback from vehicle owners and are dedicated to providing a forum for alternative viewpoints. Please let us know your views at publisher@cleanfleetreport.com.

The post Road Test: 2021 Ford F-150 Hybrid first appeared on Clean Fleet Report.
Source: Electric, Hybrid, Clean Diesel & High-MPG Vehicles

Magnesium batteries have long been considered a potentially safer and less expensive alternative to lithium-ion batteries, but previous versions have been severely limited in the amount of power they delivered.

Researchers from the University of Houston and the Toyota Research Institute of North America (TRINA) reported in Nature Energy that they have developed a new cathode and electrolyte—previously the limiting factors for a high-energy magnesium battery—to demonstrate a magnesium battery capable of operating at room temperature and delivering a power density comparable to that offered by lithium-ion batteries.

Magnesium ions can hold twice the charge compared to lithium, and have a similar ionic radius. As a result, magnesium dissociation from electrolytes and its diffusion in the electrode, two essential processes that take place in classical intercalation cathodes, are sluggish at room temperature, leading to low power performance.

One of the paper’s co-authors, Professor Yan Yao, said the results came from combining both an organic quinone cathode and a newly-tailored boron cluster-based electrolyte solution.

“We demonstrated a heterogeneous enolization redox chemistry to create a cathode which is not hampered by the ionic dissociation and solid-state diffusion challenges that have prevented magnesium batteries from operating efficiently at room temperature,” Yao said. “This new class of redox chemistry bypasses the need for solid-state intercalation while solely storing magnesium, instead of its complex forms, creating a new paradigm in magnesium battery electrode design.”

TRINA researchers have made advancements in magnesium batteries, including the development of highly recognized, efficient electrolytes based on boron cluster anions. However, these electrolytes had limitations in supporting high battery cycling rates.

“We had hints that electrolytes based on these weakly coordinating anions in principle could have the potential to support very high cycling rates, so we worked on tweaking their properties,” said Rana Mohtadi, a Principal Scientist at TRINA and another of the paper’s co-authors. “We tackled this by turning our attention to the solvent in order to reduce its binding to the magnesium ions and improve the bulk transport kinetics. We were fascinated that the magnesium plated from the modified electrolyte remained smooth even under ultrahigh cycling rates. We believe this unveils a new facet in magnesium battery electrochemistry.” 

The work is in part a continuation of earlier efforts described in 2018 in Joule that involved many of the same researchers. 

“The new battery is nearly two orders of magnitude higher than the power density achieved by previous magnesium batteries,” said post-doctoral researcher Hui Dong, who also contributed to the paper. “The battery was able to continue operating for over 200 cycles with around 82% capacity retention, showing high stability. We can further improve cycling stability by tailoring the properties of the membrane with enhanced intermediate trapping capability.”

Bureau Veritas, a specialist in testing, inspection and certification, has introduced a portfolio of services covering the full EVSE lifecycle, from the design, construction and commissioning of charging stations to charging network operation.

The new ChargeScan by BV service offers clients real-time information verified by Bureau Veritas inspectors, allowing them to ensure that their charging stations are always available and fully functional for end customers. This information can be embedded into the client’s existing digital platform, or delivered by a customized digital hub developed by Bureau Veritas.

“ChargeScan by BV brings trust and transparency to our clients, giving them full visibility of their [EVSE] network during both construction and operations,” said Renato Catrib, Senior VP Global Service Lines. “We enable them to take immediate action, based on reliable information from Bureau Veritas experts.”

ChargeScan by BV assists with project management for charging stations under construction, including:

• Consulting services for preliminary studies
• Technical support and document management for design and permitting phases
• Management assistance for construction, permitting and commissioning
• Training for product and installation

 The service also delivers inspection services for charging stations in operation, including:

• Regulatory compliance
• Safety and security reviews
• Network availability
• Performance monitoring
• Wireless connectivity testing

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker has issued a new mandate that all new cars sold in the state be electric by 2035. The plan is part of the state’s 2050 Decarbonization Road Map, which also calls for retrofitting 1 million homes with electric heating, cutting commuters’ driving miles by 15 percent, and dramatically increasing offshore wind power generation.

Massachusetts has a legally binding commitment to reduce its carbon emissions to 45 percent below 1990 levels by 2030, a milestone that will put the state on track to reach its goal of net zero fossil-fuel emissions by 2050.

Like a proposed ban recently announced by California, the Massachusetts policy applies only to new vehicles—sales of used ICE vehicles will still be allowed. New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection has also set a goal of eliminating ICE vehicles by 2035, although there is no binding mandate.

Massachusetts plans to expand its public charging infrastructure to accommodate drivers without dedicated parking spaces.

“We know that achieving Net Zero emissions by 2050 will require hard work and collaboration across all sectors of the economy,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Kathleen Theoharides. The new plan “establishes a blueprint that will help us achieve our climate goals in a way that is cost-effective and delivers significant benefits to residents across the Commonwealth, especially those in our most vulnerable communities.”

The recent announcements by Massachusetts and California will likely inspire other states to follow suit, said Ken Kimmell, President of the Union of Concerned Scientists. “When you get fossil fuels out of transportation and heating, you clean up the air, that particularly benefits the most vulnerable populations. It can be done and a decade is enough time to hit the targets, but it’s going to require a high level of governmental policy and investment and partnership with the private sector to achieve it.”