Automotive

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Bring me my charger!

Russian EV charger manufacturer L-Charge announced in June that its first mobile EV charger is in service on the streets of Moscow, where customers can summon it to wherever they are using an app (writes Peter Donaldson). Mounted on a light truck, the charging system can deliver 120-250 kW and can charge an EV as […]

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Bipolar nickel-hydrogen battery for 2021 Toyota Aqua

Toyota’s new Acqua compact HEV comes with a bipolar nickel-hydrogen battery, a world first for a road vehicle according to the Japanese automotive giant (writes Peter Donaldson). Conventional non-bipolar nickel-hydrogen batteries have a much lower energy density than lithium-ion versions but much longer service lives. Compared with the nickel-hydrogen battery in the previous-generation Aqua, says […]

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Solid-state batteries will be big in EVs – eventually

The promise of much safer electrolytes makes solid-state batteries attractive for EVs, particularly passenger cars, and EVs are expected to be their biggest single market (writes Peter Donaldson). However, the technology is far from mature and several challenges remain, according to Dr Xiaoxi He, principal technology analyst at IdTechEx, which has published an in-depth report […]

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Anglo-American partnership to build electric versions of iconic sportscars

Everrati, which specialises in futureproofing automotive icons by integrating advanced EV powertrains, and 1960s-era continuation component sportscars Superformance, based in the US, have formed a strategic partnership. The first result of it will be an electrified version of the Ford GT40. Each Everrati is fitted with a custom-designed electric power unit and battery system. Superformance […]

PS

Battery reuse and recycling

As awareness grows of the environmental problems associated with several types of lithium mining and extraction, it is becoming obvious that the eco-friendly shine on EVs could soon become tarnished unless those processes are cleaned up and a circular economy for lithium-ion batteries and the materials in them can be established (writes Peter Donaldson). A circular economy means reusing...

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Sono Motors’ Sion gets more powerful battery with greater range

Munich-based mobility provider Sono Motors has announced it will use a more powerful, 54 kWh, battery for use in its Sion solar EV. The new LFP (lithium iron phosphate) battery extends the vehicle’s total range by up to 305 km and its maximum charging power by up to 75 kW. The additional range provided by […]

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GM to use US lithium for next-generation EV batteries through closed-loop process

General Motors has agreed to form a strategic investment and commercial collaboration with Controlled Thermal Resources (CTR) to secure local and low-cost lithium. The lithium will be produced using a closed-loop, direct extraction process that results in a smaller physical footprint, no production tailings and lower CO2 emissions than traditional processes such as pit mining […]

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Power semiconductors battleground

Even though wide bandgap semiconductors such as silicon carbide (SiC) and to a lesser extent gallium nitride (GaN) are making their presence felt in EV power conversion systems still dominated by silicon (Si), there is more performance to come from Si – and EVs are positioned to take advantage of competition among all three materials […]

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Parallel processing saves energy

As EVs become more sophisticated to appeal to potential buyers, manufacturers will have to pay close attention to both the power consumption and heat dissipation of sensors and their associated computers if they are to squeeze maximum range from the battery, which will require more parallelisation (writes Peter Donaldson).  Among the most important of these […]

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Dyno development

For ICE powertrain companies looking to transition into e-powertrain engineering, the construction of the new test cells poses on of the biggest cost-barrier to entry, writes Rory Jackson. High-speed dynamometers and test benches capable of measuring the performances of e-motors are inevitably pricey, and many such companies already possess significant testing equipment for cycling combustion […]
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