Panasonic eneloop rechargeable battery bundle drops to $52 in New Green Deals

It’s time to cut down on single-use batteries by taking advantage of this Panasonic eneloop pro rechargeable package, which is on sale today. Dropping to one of the best prices yet, this bundle is joined by discounts on electric lawn mowers and much more below, as well. We also have a wide selection of Tesla, Greenworks, and other e-bike discounts in today’s New Green Deals, so you won’t want to miss that either.

Head below for other New Green Deals that we’ve found today, more on why going electric for your yard tools like the mower on sale is important, and of course Electrek’s best EV buying and leasing deals. Also, check out the new Electrek Tesla Shop for the best deals on Tesla accessories.

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Source: Charge Forward

Simplifying EV traction inverters emergency power supply architecture

The low voltage power architecture used in EV traction inverters drives control electronics and provides gate driver power for the main traction IGBTs/MOSFETs. It must also provide redundancy to meet ASIL requirements. This requirement represents a special challenge as it means the Emergency Power Supply (EPS) must operate from low voltage and high voltage sources requiring it to operate from 30 V to more than 400 V or 800 V (depending on system voltage).

Join this session at the Charged Virtual Conference on EV Engineering, presented by Power Integrations, to learn about a scalable solution, supporting both for 400 V and 800 V systems and significantly reduces part count and PCB area by eliminating additional DC/DC conversion stages. The solution delivers very high efficiency and does not require heatsinks or optocouplers.

Register here—it’s free!

A Chinese company is building a colossal 16 MW offshore wind turbine

Zhongshan, China-headquartered MingYang Smart Energy is in the process of building the largest offshore wind turbine yet: the MySE 16.0-242 wind turbine. Once it launches, it will dwarf the 14-megawatt (MW) GE Haliade-X. Why do they keep getting bigger?

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The post A Chinese company is building a colossal 16 MW offshore wind turbine appeared first on Electrek.


Source: Charge Forward

Tesla Insurance expands to Texas next week , ‘aspirationally’ most of the US next year

After a long wait, Tesla Insurance is finally expanding outside of California, starting with Texas next week.

The automaker aims to “aspirationally” expand to “most of the US” next year.

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Source: Charge Forward

New MAHLE/Allotrope battery tech combines supercapacitors and lithium-carbon cells

MAHLE Powertrain and Allotrope Energy have unveiled a new battery technology for small EVs that combines supercapacitors with lithium-ion batteries in order to offer ultra-fast charging coupled with good power density.

The two companies considered how an electric moped could be powered by an inexpensive, small-capacity battery that could be recharged between stops in as little as 90 seconds.

Allotrope’s technology features a high-rate battery-type anode and a high-capacity electric double-layer capacitor (EDLC)-style cathode, separated by an organic electrolyte. The company says its battery cell suffers none of the thermal degradation effects that plague traditional lithium-based batteries. “Its stability, even at high temperatures, permits high current delivery and fast recharging, all without the need for complex external cooling or elaborate battery management systems.”

Allotrope says the battery’s “capacitor-style cathode” enables a lifetime of over 100,000 cycles, uses no rare-earth metals, and is completely recyclable.

MAHLE Powertrain investigated the scenario of an electric moped used for food delivery, with a range of 25 km. A 500 Wh conventional lithium-ion battery would require a 30-minute recharge mid-shift, and frequent fast charging would shorten battery life. A lithium-carbon pack, however, could be recharged at 20 kW in 90 seconds—just enough time for the next delivery to be collected.

“With ultra-fast charging, the size of the battery can be optimized to suit the scenarios the vehicle will be used in, and that leads not only to weight savings but also cost reductions,” says Dr. Mike Bassett, MAHLE Powertrain’s Head of Research. “The real challenge came in designing the electrical architecture capable of absorbing such high rates of charge. Also, with no suitable charging systems on the market that can deliver these charge rates from a domestic supply, we created our own bespoke design.”

The solution Bassett’s team came up with uses its own built-in capacitor-based energy store to deliver ultra-fast charging at up to 20 kW by augmenting the power from a typical 7 kW single-phase connection, thereby reducing cost and complexity while eliminating the need for expensive power grid connection upgrades.

Japanese charging provider e-Mobility Power chooses Driivz charging management platform

Japanese charging provider e-Mobility Power (eMP) has migrated and unified its network of more than 27,000 chargers onto the Driivz end-to-end EV charging and energy management software platform. Driivz’s technology comprises operations management, authentication and billing, a mobile app and web self-service tools.

In April 2021, eMP took over the Nippon Charge Service (NCS). Driivz provides eMP with the ability to consolidate the former NCS partners, including charger owners and operators, into a single managed system.

eMP selected Driivz following an extensive six-month evaluation. Key factors in the decision were Driivz’s extensive experience integrating chargers from multiple vendors and its proven scalability and flexibility.

Under the Driivz EV management platform, drivers use a single mobile app and web portal to start charging sessions and self-manage their accounts. The platform is also interfaced with an Integrated Authentication system that connects more than 27,000 chargers in Japan. This allows eMP drivers to use other networks’ chargers, and enables non-eMP members to use eMP chargers.

“This partnership with Driivz will aid in future-proofing our EV charging business and streamlining EV charging management while giving our EV drivers the most seamless experience possible,” said Shoko Yotsuyanagi, President of eMP.

“The Driivz platform is empowering eMP to achieve their vision of integrating separate charging operators and creating a single unified network,” said Doron Frenkel, founder and CEO of Driivz.

Charge Now for Business offers a turnkey charging solution for European fleets

Digital Charging Solutions (DCS) has teamed up with the EVBox Group and The Mobility House to launch a new fleet charging solution in the DACH region (Germany [D], Austria [A] and Switzerland [CH]—get it?).

Charge Now for Business features EVBox’s hardware and intelligent Everon software, as well as The Mobility House’s energy management system. The solution allows users to manage contracts, charging cards and tariffs, as well as analyze charging behavior data. It is aimed at leasing providers and fleet managers, but small and medium-size enterprises can also sign up for the solution via an online self-service portal.

Charge Now for Business is designed to be seamlessly integrated into existing fleet management software via open interfaces.

ChargePilot, The Mobility House’s hardware-agnostic charging and energy management system, is used to maintain a stable power supply at fleet and company locations in order to minimize grid connection and operating costs. The Mobility House also supplies charging infrastructure for workplaces and fleet locations, offers advice at the design stage, and arranges installation services.

EVBox’s Everon software acts as an intelligent platform-as-a-service solution. Everon is integrated into DCS’s solution, allowing fleet managers to manage their charging infrastructure via a unified front end. EVBox also provides AC and DC charging stations.

The service includes residential charging, so employees can be reimbursed by employers for the electricity they use at home to charge company EVs.

“We have already shown what a seamless public charging process can look like with Plug & Charge, [which enables] starting and stopping charging processes directly from the vehicle navigation system,” said DCS Managing Director Markus Bartenschlager. “With the help of EVBox Group and The Mobility House, we are now able to integrate residential and workplace charging into a comprehensive and customer-friendly fleet solution.”

“Open interfaces are essential for the successful implementation of charging infrastructure, as they allow the best solutions to be connected efficiently,” said The Mobility House Managing Director Marcus Fendt. “With our partners, we have created a one-stop-shop solution for EV fleets. As part of Charge Now for Business, The Mobility House is providing energy management expertise in the shape of ChargePilot, which will help to lower the cost of EV charging for customers right from the start.”

“Our intelligent charging management software, Everon, can be effortlessly integrated into each customer’s unique environment,” said Hermann Winkler, Regional Director DACH at EVBox Group. “With Everon, DCS can offer a complete solution for its business customers that gives them total control over their EV charging operation.”

GM expands its battery tech development at new Wallace Battery Cell Innovation Center

General Motors has announced plans to build a new battery development facility on the grounds of its Global Technical Center in Warren, Michigan. The Wallace Battery Cell Innovation Center will “significantly expand the company’s battery technology operations and accelerate development and commercialization of longer-range, more affordable electric vehicle batteries.”

The facility is named after the late Bill Wallace, a GM director who played a pivotal role in the development of the automaker’s battery technology.

The center will connect GM’s existing battery development sites at the Global Technical Center, including the Chemical and Materials Subsystems Lab, which currently leads the company’s battery development, and the Estes Battery Systems Lab, a 100,000-square-foot battery validation lab.

The Wallace Center will include cell test chambers, cell formation chambers, a material synthesis lab where GM can design its own cathode active materials, a slurry mixing and processing lab, a coating room, an electrolyte production lab, and a forensics lab with material analysis equipment. A data farm will enable GM’s battery development team to harness the latest AI breakthroughs.

GM says the Wallace Center will allow it to accelerate the development of new technologies such as lithium-metal, silicon and solid-state batteries, along with new production methods that can quickly be deployed at GM’s cell manufacturing plants.

The Wallace Center will be capable of building large-format, prototype lithium-metal battery cells for use in EVs. These cells could be as large as 1,000 mm, nearly twice the size of the initial Ultium pouch cells, and will be based on GM’s proprietary formula.

The Wallace Center is currently under construction, and will be completed in mid-2022. The facility is expected to build its first prototype cells in the fourth quarter of 2022. It’s designed for expansion, and is projected to grow to three times its initial footprint as demand for EVs increases.

“The Wallace Center will significantly ramp up development and production of our next-generation Ultium batteries and our ability to bring next-generation EV batteries to market,” said GM Executive VP Doug Parks. “The addition of the Wallace Center is a massive expansion of our battery development operations, and will be a key part of our plan to build cells that will be the basis of more affordable EVs with longer range in the future.”