Sponsored by Littelfuse. The automotive environment is one of the most severe environments for electronics. Today’s vehicle designs proliferate with sensitive electronics, including electronic controls, infotainment, sensing, battery packs, battery management, electric vehicle powertrains, and on-board chargers. In addition to the heat, voltage transients, and electromagnetic interference (EMI) in the automotive environment, the on-board charger… Read more…

To date, most EV buyers, at least in the US, have been suburban dwellers, and these folks may not understand what the fuss is about charging. They install a charger in their carport or driveway, and never look back. But for EV adoption to reach the next cohort of drivers, there needs to be a… Read more…

There’s more to a lithium-ion battery cell than a handful of lithium in a little metal can. Actually, the enclosure is called a can, but it’s a highly engineered piece of hardware, designed to reduce the incidence of issues such as cell rupture and ignition. Battery supplier Panasonic Energy has signed a long-term agreement with… Read more…

Sports boat manufacturer Supra, a division of Skier’s Choice, has partnered with EVOA, a provider of electrified performance solutions, to introduce new electric propulsion solutions for the towed water sports market. The centerpiece of this collaboration is the EVOA E1 electrified performance package. The electrical system is built on an 800 V architecture, and features… Read more…

EV charging provider ChargePoint, energy solutions provider EnTech Solutions and bank Wells Fargo are collaborating to offer flexible financing solutions for businesses building charging infrastructure for EV fleets. Wells Fargo has created a financing program specifically for EnTech’s eSkid charging solution, a rapidly deployable EV charging platform that uses ChargePoint hardware and software. The funding… Read more…

The Charger sedan and Challenger coupe exuded testosterone, courtesy of snarling V-8s. Dodge says the EVs that replace them will be just as noisy. The 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona is a Detroit anomaly: it’s a passenger car in an age of trucks and SUVs, it’s battery-electric when U.S. makers seem to be in an EV… Read more…

According to Adamas Intelligence, 493,472 tons of graphite were deployed globally in the batteries of all newly marketed passenger EVs and hybrids from January to October 2023, up 45% or 153,034 tons from the same period in 2022. Over the same period, passenger EV unit sales rose 33% and sales-weighted average battery capacity in kWh… Read more…

Microchip Technology has launched a new family of dsPIC digital signal controller-based integrated motor drivers. These devices incorporate a dsPIC33 digital signal controller (DSC), a three-phase MOSFET gate driver and optional LIN or CAN FD transceiver into one package. This integration is designed to reduce the component count of a motor control system design, and… Read more…

Things are moving along briskly at electric automaker Polestar. The company has begun production of its third model, the Polestar 3 SUV, in Chengdu, China. Importantly for US buyers, production is also slated to begin in South Carolina in mid-2024. The company has successfully completed a production test series at its Carolina plant. “This stunning… Read more…

Logistics provider NFI and charging network Electrify America have announced the grand opening of NFI’s new DC fast charging facility in Ontario, California. The charging hub will support NFI’s fleet of 50 heavy-duty electric trucks, which perform drayage operations in and around the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. When fully completed, the new… Read more…

Yellow-machine icon Caterpillar has signed an electrification strategic agreement with building materials firm CRH, a major North American producer of aggregates, to advance the deployment of Caterpillar’s zero-emission off-road vehicles. CRH will participate in Caterpillar’s Early Learner program, testing and validating 70- to 100-ton-class battery-electric off-highway trucks and charging solutions in real-world applications. CRH will… Read more…

Hyundai Motor and Kia have unveiled a technology that reduces aerodynamic resistance generated during high-speed driving. The Active Air Skirt (AAS) technology controls airflow entering through the lower bumper and reduces turbulence around the vehicle wheels by operating variably depending on vehicle speed during high-speed driving.  AAS is installed between the front bumper and the… Read more…

UK-based EV leasing company Octopus Electric Vehicles has launched its DriveFree plan in the Houston area. The program, which customers access online, includes the lease of a pre-owned EV, as well as a maintenance contract and smart home charging through Octopus Energy. “With DriveFree, we wanted to address all the concerns people have about switching… Read more…

Microchip Technology has added a new offering to its line of silicon carbide (SiC) semiconductor solutions. The new 3.3 kV XIFM plug-and-play mSiC gate driver uses the company’s patented Augmented Switching technology, and is designed to work out of the box with preconfigured module settings to reduce design and evaluation time. “The complex development work… Read more…

Q&A with AMPECO CEO Orlin Radev Large hardware installations need complex software to keep them running, and EV charging infrastructure projects are no exception. Any organization running more than a couple of EV chargers—whether it’s a public charging provider, a fleet operator, a multi-unit residential property, or just a business that offers EV charging to… Read more…

FreeWire Technologies, a provider of battery-integrated EV charging stations and energy management solutions, has announced Boost Power Pro, the flagship offering within FreeWire’s new Pro Series product line. FreeWire’s chargers feature built-in energy storage, which enables site hosts to rapidly deploy public fast charging, avoiding expensive upgrades to local electrical service. Ports can be customized… Read more…

Sponsored by Parker Lord. The electrification of commercial vehicles, including trucks, buses and fleet vehicles, is gaining significant momentum globally. According to a report by Smart Energy Decisions, there were more than one million electric vehicles (EVs) in commercial and government fleets in the United States as of 2021, up from just over 300,000 in… Read more…

As the popular narrative has it, GM, Ford et al are walking back on their electrification plans because EV sales have slowed. Seldom mentioned in the headlines is the fact that GM and others have very few EVs for sale at the moment, and have fallen way behind their putative schedules for releasing new models…. Read more…

Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology is expected to support a cleaner, more resilient electrical grid, while enabling EV owners to save money while charging their vehicles. However, some sort of managed charging platform will be needed to match up EV owners with local utilities. Software provider WeaveGrid, in collaboration with Toyota, has developed just such a platform…. Read more…

Volvo Construction Equipment and Mack Trucks, both Volvo Group companies, recently delivered an electric excavator and an electric refuse truck to Boca Raton, Florida-based Coastal Waste & Recycling, which has 25 locations in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, and operates more than 700 vehicles. Coastal is piloting a 23-ton Volvo EC230 Electric excavator at a… Read more…