Electric Vehicles

Villanova University and Unmanned Ocean Vehicles, Inc., in the USA have been developing the electric powertrain and harvesting for an unmanned surface boat using funding from the US Office of Naval Research since 2006.

The US Coast Guard Sea Eagle uses a total of 5,000hp from Solar Hybrid power sources that include cleaner MTU tier 4i Diesels. With less than half the fuel consumption of the Sentinel Class FRC's.

In 2022, over 128 million electric vehicles will be made, mainly two wheelers, according to the IDTechEx report, Electric Vehicles 2012-2022. That means over $260 billion dollars of business in our estimations, even at ex-factory prices, with cars being under 50% of that figure.

EVS26 in Los Angeles this month reminded one of the children's chant, "When she was good she was very, very good but when she was bad she was awful". The networking opportunities were superb, the welcoming reception and the Gala Dinner being truly memorable.

At EVS26 this week, Ample International of China presented its imminent eZero world's smallest electric car.

So far, most supercapacitors use organic electrolytes because they give higher cell voltage and other benefits, though these electrolytes do have pollution and fire issues in large capacitor constructions in some cases. For example, Japanese manufacturers have agreed to shun the dangerous chemical acetonitrile, the electrolyte used by Maxwell Technologies in the USA but using aqueous propylene carbonate means the lower temeprature limit of their supercapacitors is around minus 25C meaning they cannot be used for starting very cold vehicles.

Electrochemical Double Layer Capacitors EDLCs are known by many other names but EDLC is the most popular on search engines.

Mayoral Candidates endorse motorcycling as a personal transport solution for London but more than warm words are needed says MCI.

This article shares some of the research carried out for the new IDTechEx report, Electrochemical Double Layer Capacitors 2013-2023.

SIM-Drive a spin-off from Keio University has developed an electric car that can travel 351km on a single charge based on the Japanese test JC08 urban driving cycle for emission and fuel economy measurements of light-duty vehicles.

The award-winning Ampera will now be available with a fast-charge kit that reduces its full charging time by around two hours, thanks to an agreement between Vauxhall and British Gas.

Electric Futures London took place 27 April with about 40 people present. Its focus was rail and bus electrification.

The new DENZA brand for the electric vehicle developed by BYD Daimler New Technology the 50:50 joint venture between Daimler and Chinese electric battery and car manufacturer BYD, was recently revealed in China.

"These orders mark a high level of confidence from a number of our major customers further establishing our market leading position in hybrid technology. The Government's continued support through the Green Bus Fund is welcomed and is a much needed boost to our industry."

Hitachi announced a 11kW highly efficient permanent magnet synchronous motor co-developed with Hitachi Industrial Equipment Systems Co., Ltd., without using magnetic material containing rare-earth metals such as neodymium and dysprosium. The motor employs an iron-based amorphous metal(1) in the core, the heart of the motor.

IBM announced that two industry leaders Asahi Kasei and Central Glass will join its Battery 500 Project team and collaborate on far-reaching research with the potential to accelerate the switch from gasoline to electricity as the primary power source for vehicles.

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) announced the release of a Standardization roadmap for electric vehicles - Version 1.0, developed by the Institute's Electric Vehicles Standards Panel (EVSP).

Enova Systems a developer of hybrid electric and all-electric drive systems and drive system components has delivered 4 incremental 120kW drive systems to Optare Plc for integration into their Solo Electric Bus.

Mean Green, the world's fastest hybrid truck, will attempt to reach speeds in excess of 260 km/h (165 mph) April 27 at Wendover Airfield in Utah to best its own world speed records.

Czech Republic Company AWM recently finished testing its second prototype of a revolutionary wind machine that can recharge electrical cars or batteries in houses, boats, lawn mowers and other electrical home appliances overnight.

AC Transit, and a coalition of regional transit partners serving 7 million people in the Bay Area, has unveiled the newest hydrogen production and dispensing station to fuel the latest generation of zero-emission fuel cell buses.

Ford and Dow team up to bring low-cost, high-volume carbon fiber composites to next-generation vehicles.

The energy requirements for electric vehicles will challenge the current power grid as plug-in vehicle counts continue to grow to an expected 2.9 million worldwide by 2017.

Meidensha Corporation and Sumitomo Electric Industries are developing a new electric double-layer capacitor (EDLC) which they plan to commercialise for pure electric and hybrid vehicles in 2015.

A fleet of locally manufactured Holden Commodore passenger cars will be converted to proof-of-concept electric vehicles by June 2012.

CAP-XX Limited a leading developer of thin, prismatic supercapacitors (also known as ultracapacitors or EDLC), announced that it has developed a supercapacitor module which supplies the cranking current to start the engine in Stop-Start vehicles (also known as start-stop, idle-stop, or micro-hybrid vehicles), reducing wear on the battery and eliminating the need for larger, more expensive ones.

IBM has teamed with Západoslovenská energetika, a.s. (ZSE), the largest distributor and supplier of electricity in Slovakia, on a smart energy "feasibility" study that will help prepare the capital city Bratislava for electric vehicles.

Atlantic design prototype confirms Fisker Automotive's bold future direction. Uncompromised styling reinforcing commitment to exquisite design. Four-door sporting sedan with a luxurious and practical interior. Driven by Fisker's advanced EVer powertrain technology: electric car with extended-range freedom. Rear-wheel drive with all-wheel drive option

To enable radio reception in electric vehicles, manufacturers must install filters and insulate cables, since electrical signals will otherwise interfere with music and speech transmissions. Now, using new calculation methods, researchers are paving the way for pure listening pleasure while also helping to lower the associated costs.

The entries were judged by Dr Zafer Sahinoglu, Mitsubishi Electric Research Labs; Ed Benjamin, Chairman Light Electric Vehicles Association and Dr Brien Seeley, President Café foundation.

Under the agreement, HHI and Magna E-Car will jointly conduct engineering, design, development and testing activities with the goal of preliminary validation of battery cell and battery pack technologies for electric and hybrid electric vehicle applications.

Saft has entered into an agreement with BAE Systems to design and build ultra high-power batteries for the vehicle's hybrid electric drive system as part of the U.S. Army's Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV) program.

Most green technologies are not so green on closer examination.

EVI's signature all-electric powertrain is seamlessly integrated into an industry standard Daimler Freightliner M2 business class chassis providing customers with significant fuel and maintenance savings.

The project's goal? To advance electric transportation and alternative fuel vehicles by outfitting the I-5 corridor with charging stations all the way from "BC to Baja."

A123 Systems a developer and manufacturer of advanced Nanophosphate® lithium iron phosphate batteries and systems, has recalled battery modules and packs that may contain defective prismatic cells produced at A123's Livonia, Mich. manufacturing facility.

The Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for Science and Technology, announced last week six new projects supported by the Automotive Partnership Canada (APC) initiative at the University of Windsor.

The Energy Department's support for the development and demonstration of innovative alternative vehicle technologies is helping reduce the nation's reliance on gasoline and diesel and diversifying our nation's energy portfolio.

Fink unveiled the lake lander, named Tucson Explorer II, or TEX II, in a paper titled "Robotic Lake Lander Test Bed for Autonomous Surface and Subsurface Exploration of Titan Lakes," which he presented March 8 at an aerospace conference organized by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers in Big Sky, Mont.

Aurora's Skate small unmanned air vehicle system (SUAS) was awarded first place in the 2012 Border Security Technology/Product Challenge at the recently held 2012 Border Security Expo in Phoenix, Arizona.

Phantom Eye reached speeds of up to 30 knots.

BASF, through its global Battery Materials business unit, today announced that it has signed a long-term licensing agreement to acquire global rights for the production and sale of Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) battery materials technology from LiFePO4+C Licensing AG, Muttenz, Switzerland.

In 2012, four Liquid Robotics "PACX Wave Glider" AUV gliders set a new distance world record by travelling autonomously almost 6000 kilometers.

Smith Electric Vehicles and Wanxiang Group announce investment and joint venture.

Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems inaugurated a solar hydrogen filling station.

Transaction will create global, vertically integrated rare earth technology leader and will give Molycorp a greater range of products and increased sales opportunities across Asia.

By 2022 the USA Energy Department hopes that companies in the United States will be the first in the world to produce a 5-passenger affordable American electric vehicle with a payback time of less than 5 years and sufficient range and fast-charging ability to enable average Americans everywhere to meet their daily transportation needs more conveniently and at lower cost.

The yacht uses a 9 MW Solar Hybrid Propulsion System powered by a combination of Sustainable Sources of energy.

IDTechEx is once again meeting its promise to allow a wider community of e-mobility players to compare notes. As its name implies, {{Electric Vehicles Land Sea Air USA 2012|www.idtechex.com/evusa}} in San Jose California March 27-28 lets you meet people not present at events with a narrower product and geographical focus. This unique forum is vital to those widening their scope in the EV value chain, leaving behind those with tunnel vision.

The word is spreading quickly and hybrid propulsion is becoming the fastest growing form of auxiliary propulsion for sailboats today.