Are eVTOL companies starting a charging standards war?

Joby Aviation, a company developing electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for commercial passenger service, has announced a collaboration with Atlantic Aviation, a provider of aircraft ground handling and corporate flight support, to electrify aviation infrastructure in New York and Southern California, paving the way for the launch of Joby’s air taxi service.

The companies plan to deploy charging infrastructure based on Joby’s Global Electric Aviation Charging System (GEACS). Joby recently released the technical specs for GEACS, which incorporates cooling technology, and is designed for simultaneous recharging of multiple battery packs, and said it’s “working with numerous electric aircraft developers to ensure interoperability.”

Meanwhile, Joby rival Beta Technologies has already installed its multi-modal CCS-based charging system at 17 locations across the eastern US, and plans to install another 55 soon. Are we seeing the emergence of two competing standards for eVTOL charging?

Beta, which makes both eVTOL aircraft and equipment to charge them, recently sold several of its Charge Cube DC fast chargers to another eVTOL aircraft manufacturer, Archer Aviation.

Furthermore, Archer recently announced that it too is working with Atlantic Aviation, to install Beta’s CCS chargers in New York, California and Florida.

Atlantic, which supports aircraft operations at some 100 US airports, says it is technology-agnostic. “We are not here to pick a winner. We’re here to support a market,” Eric Newman, the company’s VP of Commercial Strategy and Sustainability, told Axios.

“Our core business is supporting aviation, in any form,” said John Redcay, Chief Commercial and Sustainability Officer at Atlantic, adding that his company provides different kinds of fuel to airplanes, depending on their needs, so there’s no reason it can’t support more than one EV charging standard.

Be that as it may, there are several good reasons to establish a single charging standard (see the ongoing brouhaha over CCS vs NACS). The CCS standard is widely used in earthbound EVs, including airport ground support equipment. A baker’s dozen of e-aviation firms (but not Joby) recently signed onto a report from the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) endorsing CCS.

“Interoperability of chargers and infrastructure is critical to making urban air mobility a reality because it lowers costs for everybody, instead of favoring one player,” said Archer Chief Commercial Officer Nikhil Goel.

Sources: Joby Aviation, Archer Aviation, Axios

Source: Electric Vehicles Magazine

Smart robotic automation solutions from ABB to build Volvo EVs

Swedish/Swiss automation company ABB has announced a partnership with Volvo Cars to supply over 1,300 robots and functional packages to help build the automaker’s next generation of EVs.

The deal includes functional packages for spot-welding, riveting, dispensing, flow drilling and ultrasonic weld inspection. Volvo Cars will install each ready-to-use hardware, software and services package in Torslanda, Sweden and Daqing, China. ABB will use RobotStudio software to design and optimize the deployment before installing the robots to maintain production continuity. Alongside the hardware and functional packages, ABB will also deploy OmniCore robot controllers with efficient power electronics and regenerative braking.

“During the deployment, ABB will ensure production remains uninterrupted through the use of its RobotStudio planning and programming software platform to visualize and optimize the deployment before the robots are installed. By developing and validating the required automation systems in a virtual space, Volvo Cars and ABB will create solutions that can be engineered once but deployed multiple times,” ABB stated.

Source: ABB

Source: Electric Vehicles Magazine

China’s CBL to invest $420 million in Indonesian nickel mining and EV battery manufacturing

Chinese EV battery company Ningbo Contemporary Brunp Lygend (CBL) has agreed to invest $420 million in Indonesia’s nickel mining and EV battery manufacturing industries.

Coordinating Maritime and Investment Affairs Minister Luhut Binsar Panjaitan said that CBL has partnered with state-owned diversified miner PT Aneka Tambang (Antam) and battery maker PT Industri Baterai Indonesia (IBC). CBL is a consortium and a subsidiary of China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL). The collaboration between Antam and CBL aims to develop and operate an industrial zone for the EV battery ecosystem in East Halmahera, North Maluku.

“It’s been signed. [The deal is worth] around $420 million, so even though nickel prices have slightly dropped, progress has been made,” Luhut said during an online press conference.

Source: Jakarta Post

Source: Electric Vehicles Magazine

Is it true that only 13 EVs currently qualify for a US tax credit?

Sometimes public policy gets skewered on the horns of a dilemma.

The Buy American provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act are aimed at protecting US jobs (and national security) by making EVs with substantial amounts of battery components from “nations of concern”—namely China—ineligible for tax credits. That’s a worthy goal, but to a certain extent it conflicts with the IRA’s more central objective of quickly increasing EV adoption.

Automakers and suppliers are scrambling to secure domestic sources of critical mineral and components, but disentangling from China, which dominates crucial parts of the EV battery supply chain, will take time.

As of mid-January, only 13 of the 50 or so EVs currently on sale in the US appeared to be eligible for the credits. In 2023, before some of the Buy American rules started to bite, some 24 models were eligible. (Volkswagen recently announced that “most 2023 and 2024 model year ID.4 SUVs” are eligible for the full federal tax credit this year.)

Some of the most popular models—the Tesla Model Y, Chevrolet Bolt and Rivian R1T pickup—still qualify, but others—the Ford Mustang Mach-E and Nissan LEAF—do not.

Automakers are experimenting with different battery chemistries and formats, so different trim levels and variants of the same model may or may not qualify for the credits. For example, Tesla offers different battery options, so some variants are eligible and some aren’t.

Most industry observers expect the reduced selection of tax-credit-eligible EVs to be a temporary problem, as automakers have a strong incentive to bring their supply chains into compliance tout de suite. Furthermore, some may discount the prices of non-eligible models—GM has already announced plans to do so.

“There’s still enough variety out there in terms of vehicles,” Elizabeth Krear, Vice President of J.D. Power’s EV practice, told the Associated Press. “There are still the incentives that we’ll see from automakers as they balance their inventory. There are still automakers that are going to work their supply chains throughout the year to come back into the fold. This would be a near-term hiccup.”

Consumers who are interested in leasing can get the credits in any case—a loophole in the IRA defines leased EVs as “commercial vehicles,” which are not subject to the same Buy American requirements. Leasing is already a popular option for EV drivers as an Osbornian hedge against poor resale values driven by the constant stream of performance improvements. J.D. Power expects the proportion of leased vehicles in the US, which doubled to 26% in 2023, to continue to grow.

The worst aspect of all this may be increased consumer confusion about EVs (which is already rampant). One EV-curious buyer told the AP that uncertainty over the tax credits may lead her to opt for a hybrid instead: “Do you get a break, do you not? Will it apply next year, who knows? You’re playing the odds as to whether the benefit will be there when you’re ready to purchase.”

Source: AP

Source: Electric Vehicles Magazine

Iveco Bus to supply electric models to QBUZZ in the Netherlands

Italy-based bus manufacturer Iveco Bus, one of the eight commercial vehicle brands of Iveco Group, has won a tender to supply 140 electric buses to public transport operator QBUZZ in the Zuid-Holland Noord concession area in the Netherlands.

The 102 CROSSWAY Low Entry ELEC and 38 E-WAY units are scheduled to begin service by December 2024. QBUZZ already operates Iveco electric buses in the Groningen-Drenthe region and Utrecht.

“The company came out with the best combination between price and quality, and that was the deciding factor for us,” said Gerrit Spijksma, CEO of QBUZZ.

Source: Iveco

Source: Electric Vehicles Magazine