The Corporate Electric Vehicle Alliance (CEVA), a coalition of 28 major US and global companies and fleet operators, released a letter today urging automakers to rapidly expand their zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) offerings. The group also specified what kind of vehicles they want. CEVA, which is led by nonprofit Ceres, includes such corporate heavy hitters as Amazon, American Airlines, Best Buy, DHL, T-Mobile, and Uber.
There’s a tariff battle under way within the US solar industry. On one side are project builders that rely on imported materials, and on the other side are domestic manufacturers.
Hot-rodding, hacking, or e-bike tampering – call it whatever you’d like. But Europe’s major electric bicycle companies are doing everything they can to prevent riders from finagling more speed from their e-bikes.
ABB is one of the largest EVSE suppliers, and it aims to be the fastest too. The beefiest passenger-car chargers currently in service that we’re aware of deliver 350 kW of power. ABB’s newest product ups the ante to 360.
ABB’s new Terra 360 has a maximum output of 360 kW, which the company says is capable of fully charging an EV in as little as 15 minutes. It’s a modular charger that can simultaneously charge up to 4 vehicles with dynamic power distribution—a feature that could reduce the need to wait in line at public charging stations.
The Terra 360 is designed to deliver speed, convenience and ease of use. A special lighting system guides the user through the charging process, showing state of charge and remaining charging time. It’s wheelchair-accessible, and features an ergonomic cable management system designed to help drivers plug in quickly with minimal effort.
The new charger is designed for public charging sites as well as commercial fleet charging facilities. Its small footprint allows it to be installed in small depots or parking lots where space is at a premium.
The Terra 360 is fully customizable—to personalize the appearance, customers can brand the chargers by using different foiling or changing the color of the LED light strips. An optional 27-inch advertisement screen allows owners to display pictures and video.
“With governments around the world writing public policy that favors electric vehicles and charging networks, the demand for EV charging infrastructure, especially charging stations that are fast, convenient and easy to operate, is higher than ever,” said Frank Muehlon, President of ABB’s E-mobility Division. “The Terra 360, with charging options that fit a variety of needs, is the key to fulfilling that demand.”
The new Terra 360 will be available in Europe from the end of 2021, and in the US, Latin America and Asia Pacific regions in 2022.
Microchip Technology has developed a new 1,200 V digital gate driver, providing system developers with multiple levels of control and protection. The 2ASC-12A2HP AgileSwitch gate driver provides multiple levels of control and a higher level of protection for silicon carbide MOSFET-based power systems.
The company says its new gate drivers have the ability to dampen drain-source voltage overshoots by up to 80% and reduce switching losses by as much as 50%. The 2ASC-12A2HP digital gate driver can source-sink up to 10 A of peak current, and includes an isolated DC/DC converter with low-capacitance isolation barrier for pulse-width modulation signals and fault feedback.
The new driver is compatible with the Intelligent Configuration Tool (ICT), allowing users to configure gate driver parameters including the gate switching profiles, system critical monitors and controller interface settings.In addition to commercial vehicles, other applications include charging infrastructure, energy storage systems, solar inverters and aircraft flight actuators.
“The trend toward electrification of all vehicles including buses, trains, trams and agriculture transportation hinges on innovative power electronic solutions to get more productivity from less energy,” said Microchip Vice President Leon Gross. “When combined with our silicon carbide power devices, this gate driver technology enables engineers to achieve new levels of power density in transportation systems and industrial applications.”
NIO has launched a new battery type. New NIO EVs will now be available with a choice of the 100 kWh long-range ternary lithium battery pack or the new 75 kWh standard-range hybrid-cell battery. Models equipped with the new pack will be delivered to customers starting in November.
The 75 kWh standard-range battery features a combination of ternary lithium and lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells, and employs a cell-to-pack system, which forgoes the use of battery modules.
NIO says the new battery offers longer range in cold weather. A new thermal management software and hardware system reduces the range loss in low temperature by 25% compared to the LFP-based pack.
A “comprehensive environment shielder” applies low-thermal-conductivity materials and innovative structural design in order to effectively improve passive thermal insulation performance. An intelligent thermal system dynamically adjusts thermal control targets in combination with battery heat to balance the drive experience and energy consumption. A radiant thermal compensation heater uniformly heats the battery cells to maintain the working temperature of the battery while taking energy consumption into account.
The hybrid layout of ternary lithium cells and LFP cells makes full use of the low-temperature performance advantage of ternary lithium cells to improve the overall battery performance in low temperature, and the dual-chemistry control algorithm precisely controls the performance of ternary lithium and LFP cells in cold temperatures to improve the energy efficiency of the whole battery system.
NIO says the new standard-range battery’s cell-to-pack technology simplifies manufacturing and assembly by 10%, increases volume utilization by 5%, and increases specific energy by 14%, to 142 Wh/kg.
Constellium (NYSE: CSTM), a supplier of rolled and extruded aluminum solutions for the global automotive market, will supply aluminum structural components for the electric Ford F-150 Lightning, which is expected to go on sale in the spring of 2022. The F-150 Lightning, like all F-Series pickup trucks, makes extensive use of high-strength aluminum alloys.
Constellium-supplied structural components for the F-150 Lightning include the windshield header, rocker and radiator support.
Plug-in vehicles typically use more aluminum than legacy vehicles. Constellium calls aluminum “a natural choice for electric vehicles to manage crash energy in certain front, side and rear impacts, and provide intrusion resistance.” Aluminum components offer the strength and stiffness needed for body structure applications while saving weight and integrating multiple parts into single pieces to reduce complexity and assembly time.
“Constellium is proud to supply the electric Ford F-150 Lightning with recyclable aluminum and to contribute to Ford’s commitments to sustainability,” said Philippe Hoffmann, President of Constellium’s Automotive Structures & Industry business unit. “Aluminum is the metal of choice for electric vehicles and our light, strong, crash- and intrusion-resistant solutions help make electric vehicles safe and more sustainable.”
Ola has just announced a major new funding round and a sky-high valuation that follows on the heels of unprecedented demand for its new electric scooters. With an extra $200 million of funding raised at a new $3 billion valuation, Ola is quickly becoming a major disruptor in the electric scooter market.
Buying a Polestar has been billed by the automaker as simple as a few clicks on a smartphone. How very Tesla like. In reality, there are some slight growing pains as the new EV brand takes advantage of its relationship with an established automaker, Volvo. But the slick process first modeled by Tesla is coming along. Polestar and Volvo…
Source: Hybrid and Electric Car News and Reviews
Buying a Polestar has been billed by the automaker as simple as a few clicks on a smartphone. How very Tesla like. In reality, there are some slight growing pains as the new EV brand takes advantage of its relationship with an established automaker, Volvo. But the slick process first modeled by Tesla is coming along. Polestar and Volvo…
