Electric Vehicle News

Green Deals: Sun Joe 2000PSI Electric Pressure Washer $79, more

Walmart offers the Sun Joe 2000PSI 1.65GPM Electric Pressure Washer and Accessory Kit for $79 shipped. As a comparison, you’d pay over $180 at Amazon for a comparable model, and today’s deal is the best we can find by 20%. Notable features here include a 14.5A electric motor and adjustable pressure up to 2000PSI. With no oil or gas to deal with, you’ll be clean and fume-free. Rated 4.3/5 stars.

Head below for more deals on solar lights, tankless water heaters, and of course Electrek’s best EV buying and leasing deals. Also, check out the new Electrek Tesla Shop for the best Tesla accessories.

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Source: Charge Forward

ABB installs its 1,000th DC fast charger in Norway

ABB is one of the world’s major players in the EVSE hardware realm. Since 2010, the Swiss-based multinational has sold more than 17,000 DC fast chargers across 80 countries. The company has the prestigious position of official charging supplier to the FIA Formula E World Championship, which is about to enter its fourth season.

The latest milestone: ABB recently installed its 1,000th fast charger in Norway, the world’s EV capital. Charging station number 1,000, located in the city of Bergen, is a Terra HP model, capable of delivering 200 km of range in as little as eight minutes.

Norway is well on its way to building a zero-emission transport system: EVs make up 10 per cent of the country’s three million cars, and 50% of new cars sold are now pure EVs. The country’s energy mix is around 98 per cent renewable, largely from hydro power. Many gas stations now offer EV charging, and according to ABB, at busy stations, every third car refueled is an EV.

ABB offers a full range of electrification solutions, not only for cars, but for electric and hybrid buses, ships and railways. The company has provided power to 150 of Norway’s electric buses, and is providing charging infrastructure and services to Norwegian groc ery wholesaler ASKO for its growing fleet of electric trucks. ABB e-mobility products for the maritime industry include shore-to-ship power solutions at cruise and ferry ports around the country.

“We are very proud of the role we play in supporting the energy revolution in Norway,” said Frank Muehlon, Head of ABB’s global business for e-mobility Infrastructure Solutions. “Norway has pioneered the early adoption of EVs and green public transport networks and we are confident that other European countries will see this as a positive blueprint for sustainable infrastructure.”

With backing from VW and JB Straubel, QuantumScape stands out from the crowd of new EV stocks

Electromobility companies are going public at a pace that recalls the dot-com frenzy of the 1990s. Yes, history will probably repeat itself to a certain extent—some of these firms will go belly-up, but others will eventually grow into successful and influential players.

One that seems particularly promising is QuantumScape, a California developer of solid-state lithium-metal batteries that was founded in 2010. The company, which is now trading on the NYSE under the ticker symbol QS, has attracted an outsize amount of attention thanks to its influential supporters. Volkswagen has invested $300 million in the company, and Tesla co-founder JB Straubel has joined its board. Other backers include Bill Gates’ investment fund, Chinese automaker SAIC, Tier 1 auto supplier Continental, and several major VCs.

The proceeds of the SPAC transaction were about $680 million, which is expected to fully support the company through the start of production in the second half of 2024.

QuantumScape’s batteries use a unique anode-less design quite different from that used in today’s lithium-ion technology, and the company claims they will deliver improvements in all the most important performance aspects:

  • Eliminating graphite/silicon anode host material could increase specific energy (gravimetric energy density) to as much as 400 or 500 Wh/kg.
  • Eliminating the lithium diffusion bottleneck in anode host material could enable faster charging (0 to 80% in under 15 minutes).
  • Eliminating capacity loss at the anode interface could extend battery life.
  • The solid-state separator is nonflammable and noncombustible.
  • Eliminating the anode host material could reduce manufacturing costs.

“QuantumScape’s solid-state anode-less design represents the most elegant architecture I’ve seen for a lithium-based battery system, and the company has an opportunity to redefine the battery landscape,” said JB Straubel, who knows whereof he speaks, having tested just about every battery cell technology out there during his tenure at Tesla.

For Electrek’s Fred Lambert, Straubel’s involvement was enough to convince him to invest in QS shares: “I believe he is one of the most knowledgeable persons in the world when it comes to batteries, and he is perfectly aware that prototypes don’t mean anything if you can’t bring them to mass production. If their technology is as good as they claim, they won’t have any issue finding buyers, but already having Volkswagen as an early customer is going to facilitate the production ramp.”

Going public “marks a big step in the evolution of our company,” said founder and CEO Jagdeep Singh. “This transaction allows QuantumScape to fund development and commercialization of our OEM-validated battery technology as we look forward to playing our part in the electrification of the automotive powertrain.”