The all-electric Firefly Sport launches in Britain for 4- to 10-year-old drivers

The all-electric Firefly Sport, a scaled-down EV model made by Young Drive Motor Cars, is debuting this week at the British Motor Show. The EV model teaches young drivers the importance of road safety and EVs for a sustainable future.

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Source: Charge Forward

Researchers describe benefits of an ultrasound-based thermal runaway early warning system

A team of researchers from Titan Advanced Energy Solutions and Carnegie Mellon University have studied a method for identifying and preventing thermal runaway in lithium-ion batteries and described some of its benefits.

The research examined Titan Advanced Energy Solution’s ultrasound-based thermal runaway early warning technology. “Titan’s work is centered on developing an ultrasound-based early warning system that monitors transmitted and reflected signals through a battery or pack,” says the company.

In an article published in the Journal of Power Sources, the researchers write: “In this work, we show that this ultrasound methodology can detect potentially dangerous conditions rapidly after they were experimentally induced, consistent with venting and accidental overcharge in 0.950 Ah commercial battery cells, demonstrating the feasibility of generating actionable alarms, well in advance of a catastrophic failure.”

“In slightly more detail, it was demonstrated that two types of alarms could be generated, an early indication that a battery has entered an abnormal state and an emergency-stop to register that a battery has entered a condition almost certain to lead to a catastrophic failure,” say the researchers.

According to Titan Advanced Energy Solutions, its technology is currently undergoing testing by three battery cell manufacturers and four EV makers. The company anticipates the technology becoming available in early 2023.

Blue Bird and Lightning eMotors to offer electric retrofits for gas and propane school buses

School bus icon Blue Bird plans to offer a factory-certified electric repower program for some of its gasoline- and propane-powered school buses. The company is working with Colorado-based powertrain manufacturer Lightning eMotors to jointly develop this retrofit powertrain system.

Blue Bird will launch the repower program in 2023 for gasoline- and propane-powered Blue Bird Vision Type C school buses built after September 2021. The electric powertrain system will allow for several battery configurations, from 100 kWh to 225 kWh, supporting vehicle ranges up to 150 miles.

The conversions will be done at authorized Blue Bird and Lightning eMotors conversion centers in the US and Canada, and Blue Bird says the repowered buses will meet the same performance and safety standards as its purpose-built electric buses. The retrofitted bus will retain the remainder of its original warranties, and the EV powertrain will be issued a new OEM warranty. The full repower process could be completed within 30 days.

“An increasing number of states such as New York are in the process of mandating the purchase of all zero-emission school buses starting in 2027,” said Britton Smith, Senior VP of Electrification at Blue Bird. “Currently, gasoline- and propane-powered school buses serve as lower up-front cost vehicle choices compared to electric vehicles, and emit less greenhouse gases than a traditional diesel bus. Blue Bird’s innovative repower program allows customers to invest in new school buses to meet their current transportation needs with a built-in option to transition to zero-emission, electric student transportation when needed.”

“Repowering gasoline and propane Type C school buses is a good solution for school bus fleets that may not have the charging infrastructure in place yet but still need to purchase new buses now,” said Tim Reeser, CEO of Lightning eMotors. “Being able to purchase new buses with the understanding that Blue Bird and Lightning eMotors can repower them to zero-emissions at a later date with complete charging and telematics support is a great bridge strategy to electrification.”