Toyota confirms US arrival for two electric vehicle models in 2021

Toyota future electric vehicle designs - 2019Toyota’s all-electric vehicles are coming to America—in 2021, the company confirmed in an announcement Wednesday. That includes an arrival for two battery-electric vehicles, according to Toyota North America, and an additional plug-in hybrid model. By 2025, Toyota’s goal is to have 40% of new U.S. vehicle sales be electrified…
Source: Hybrid and Electric Car News and Reviews

AKASOL partners with Fraunhofer to develop automated battery recycling

German battery manufacturer AKASOL is has partnered with the Fraunhofer Research Institution to develop automated recycling processes for battery packs.

“The rising demand for high-performance battery systems means that more raw materials, such as lithium, cobalt or nickel, are needed to manufacture these energy-storage technologies,” explains AKASOL Head of Product Management Dr. Björn Eberleh. “In order to cover the increased demand for raw materials, it is necessary to promote their recovery from used batteries and to gradually increase the recovery rates. An important step is to align product design around considerations of recyclability at the end of service life.”

AKASOL and Fraunhofer hope to develop an automated system for the efficient disassembly of traction batteries and the recovery of raw materials. “The goal is to implement a process that checks a battery system to determine its condition and then uses relevant parameters to decide whether it can be used in a second-life application, or whether it needs to be fed directly to recycling,” Eberleh explains.

The project will also study the reusability of battery modules in second-life applications. “We are studying the extent to which modules recovered from battery systems can be repurposed with the aid of a modular system—to create stationary battery storage, for example,” says Eberleh. As they develop the disassembly and recycling processes, the partners will assess their overall environmental impact. “We want to improve the ecological balance of the lithium-ion batteries and contribute to the reduction of CO2 in production.”

Passenger EV battery capacity reached 134.5 GWh in 2020

In 2020, a total of 134.5 GWh of passenger EV battery capacity was deployed globally in newly sold passenger EVs, an increase of 39.6% over the prior year, according to an analysis by Adamas Intelligence. This figure excludes an additional 15 to 20 GWh of installed passenger EV battery capacity idling in sales channels and another 15 to 20 GWh in assembly lines.

LG Energy Solution took the top spot in 2020 by passenger EV battery capacity deployed onto roads, thanks in part to its supply agreement with Tesla in China, coupled with its European clients, including VW, Renault and Mercedes.

CATL claimed a distant second place, propped up by its presence in China and entry into the European market in the second half of the year, courtesy of Tesla and Groupe PSA, among others.

Trailing CATL by a thin margin was last year’s leader, Panasonic, which posted virtually no growth in deployment year-over-year, while LG Energy Solution, CATL, Samsung SDI, SK Innovation and numerous others posted significant gains.

Effenco offers its heavy-duty EV powertrain at the same purchase price as diesel alternatives

Effenco, a designer of electric propulsion systems for heavy-duty commercial vehicles, says its new electric solution is available at the same purchase price as diesel alternatives.

Effenco’s powertrain uses ultracapacitors to optimize the battery load and increase efficiency. The company says its ultracapacitors also enable much faster charging than competing systems, using a wireless charging system.

Effenco’s modular system is designed to be easily installed on existing fleets of heavy-duty commercial vehicles, including refuse trucks, dump trucks, terminal tractors, buses and agricultural machinery, as well as on new vehicles, without sacrificing loading capacity.

Montreal-based Effenco was founded in 2006, and now operates in ten countries. Its technologies are in use in more than 400 trucks, which have logged over 3 million miles.

“With over fifteen years in the sector, our team has been able to develop innovative solutions that will make a real difference to fight climate change,” said co-founder and President David Arsenault. “By making it possible to have a 100% electric fleet for the same price as a traditional diesel fleet, our team has overcome the biggest obstacle to electrification.”