Geotab, a Canada-headquartered developer and marketer of transportation telematics hardware and software, has released its second commercial transportation report, entitled “In the Driver’s Seat: Accelerating ROI Through Data Driven Insights.” The report found an 81% year-over-year increase in the number of EV commercial vehicles in the US in 2023, which is still well behind more… Read more…

Designwerk Technologies, based in Winterthur, Switzerland, has developed a DC fast charging station for commercial EVs that’s packaged in a container format. Now, after a development phase of around two years, the company has officially put its first Stationary Battery Backed Mega Charger (SBC) into operation, with Swiss logistics provider Galliker Transport, a century-old family-run… Read more…

US-based GaN semiconductor producer Transphorm has released a new 300 W DC-to-DC GaN reference design for two- and three-wheeled EV battery chargers. The TDDCDC-TPH-IN-BI-LLC-300W-RD design uses TP65H150G4PS 150 mOhm SuperGaN field-effect transistors (FETs) in a TO-220 package to power a high-performance, high-efficiency energy harvesting and distribution battery charging system, according to the company. The TDDCDC-TPH-IN-BI-LLC-300W-RD… Read more…

PHYTEC, a system on module (SoM) manufacturer and systems integrator, and Pionex, an EV charging infrastructure backbone provider, have announced the phyVerso universal charging controller. An SoM is a single printed circuit board with an embedded processing system including processor cores, communications interfaces and memory blocks. SoMs are suitable for embedding into a variety of… Read more…

California-headquartered electric-powered trailer manufacturer Range Energy has introduced its RB-01 next-generation trailer system.  The new system includes an e-axle, a 200 or 300 kWh battery pack and a smart kingpin. According to Range, the RB-01 offers a 47% to 67% miles-per-gallon improvement over the previous generation in the series, and the tractor towing the RB-01… Read more…

California-headquartered RIZON Truck, a Daimler Truck brand, has expanded its Class 4 to 5 offerings with the debut of two new models, e18Mx and e18Lx. RIZON’s cabover trucks are designed for local goods movement, urban deliveries and refrigerated deliveries. They can be customized as box trucks and stake beds and feature a tight turning radius… Read more…

As part of its commitment that all Uber vehicles operating in London be electric by the end of 2025, the San Francisco-headquartered company is offering its London drivers a three-component PowerUp Package worth up to £22,750 to make the switch.  Currently, 25% of miles driven by Uber operators in London are electric. The package, which… Read more…

Daimler Truck has unveiled its European TruckCharge brand, which consolidates in one package the company’s truck charging offerings.  TruckCharge, which is available irrespective of truck brand, is designed for truck fleet operators and industrial companies with their own or an outsourced fleet. TruckCharge will officially launch in September. The brand’s Depot Charging package includes consulting,… Read more…

California-headquartered warehousing and distribution provider Performance Team (a Maersk company) and California-headquartered logistics real estate leasing company Prologis have opened a 9 MW EV truck charging depot in Los Angeles.  The Denker depot joins Performance Team’s other Southern California facilities in Santa Fe Springs and Commerce, which are also equipped with Prologis Mobility charging infrastructure… Read more…

Houston-based renewable energy company Octopus Energy has introduced a home energy program with California-headquartered EV maker Rivian.  All Rivian customers in those parts of Texas where Octopus is an eligible energy provider will be offered a time-of-use energy rate plan with an overnight off-peak discount of up to 50%. “Demand flexibility is the key to… Read more…

German automaker Volkswagen has announced a program to promote entry-level electric mobility by introducing compact EVs to the European market priced at around €20,000. The cars are scheduled to launch in 2027. The company says work is already underway on the Electric Urban Car Family, and Volkswagen’s Brand Group Core is set to offer EVs… Read more…

Australian autonomous technology developer Applied EV has chosen CISSOID‘s new CXT-ICM3SA series of silicon carbide (SiC) inverter control modules (ICMs) for its latest generation of electric motors for autonomous vehicles. CISSOID’s software-powered SiC ICMs designed for the EV market are augmented with onboard programmable hardware, accelerating response times to critical events, off-loading the processor cores… Read more…

US electronics giant Honeywell has introduced its Battery Manufacturing Excellence Platform (Battery MXP), software package, which is designed to optimize the operation of gigafactories by improving battery cell yields and expediting facility startups.  Battery manufacturers’ material scrap rates can be as high as 30% at steady state and even higher during the gigafactory startup process,… Read more…

Clarios, a provider of low-voltage battery solutions, and Altris, a Swedish manufacturer of sodium-ion batteries, have announced a Joint Development Agreement (JDA) for low-voltage mobility applications. Under the new JDA, Altris will focus on developing the sodium-ion cell technology for low-voltage applications, while Clarios will develop Battery Management Systems (BMS) and software to design the… Read more…

California-based EV charging network ChargePoint and Porsche Cars North America (PCNA) have announced an agreement that will give PCNA access to the ChargePoint network in the Porsche Charging Service, increasing the number of North American chargers available to Porsche customers to more than 100,000. The integration is expected to become operative in the fourth quarter… Read more…

Terminal tractor and trailer maker TICO Manufacturing, based in South Carolina, has introduced the next generation of its Pro-Spotter electric terminal tractor, which features additional battery and driveline options from a number of suppliers. The new model builds on TICO’s first-generation electric terminal tractor launched in 2023 from its partnership with Volvo Penta. It offers… Read more…

Battery materials company Sila has raised $375 million in a Series G funding round led by existing investors Sutter Hill Ventures, with participation by new outside investors as well as existing investors Bessemer Venture Partners, Coatue, Perry Creek Capital and others. The funding will secure the completion of the company’s Moses Lake plant in Q1… Read more…

Sponsored by Pickering Interfaces. In the rapidly evolving landscape of electric vehicles, the shift towards 800 V power system architectures is gaining serious momentum. This white paper, “HIL Simulation’s Crucial Role in the 800 V EV Transition,” explores the reasons behind the move to 800 V, the varied challenges this move presents to test professionals,… Read more…

Chinese battery suppliers are making their wares cheaper and faster. Two of the country’s largest battery-makers have announced plans to release EV batteries supporting 6C fast charging this year. CarNewsChina reports that BYD will launch its Blade 2.0 battery in the second half of the year, and CATL will launch its Qilin 2.0 battery by… Read more…

FLO, a Canada-headquartered EV charging network and infrastructure supplier, has secured $136 million in long-term capital, principally from a Series E equity financing led by Export Development Canada.  Other participants were Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec; Investissement Québec, as an agent of the Québec government; Business Development Bank of Canada; Energy Impact Partners;… Read more…