Iconic school bus OEM Blue Bird has delivered 23 electric school buses to Carter County Schools in Kentucky, which operates 11 schools serving some 4,200 students. Carter County Schools purchased the electric bus through Blue Bird’s authorized dealer Central States Bus Sales in Lexington, Kentucky. The district received a $9,085,000 grant through the EPA’s 2022… Read more…

Smart charging specialist IoTecha has developed a verticalized platform including hardware, embedded software and cloud services, that’s designed to power turnkey EV charging solutions. The IoT.ON platform was recently upgraded with a new processor (the brain of a Smart Charger) that includes the STMicroelectronics STM32MP1 MPU along with the ST33 Trusted Platform Module. Key features… Read more…

EcoPro BM, a South Korean cathode materials company, has won a 5-year, $33.4-billion (43.87 trillion KRW) contract to supply high-nickel NCA cathode material to battery manufacturer Samsung SDI. The contract runs from 2024 through 2028. The sales unit price for the actual transaction will be determined by applying the price of raw materials (nickel, cobalt,… Read more…

Duplicitous doublespeak has become de rigueur dialect in the auto industry. “We remain committed to an all-electric future,” says GM as it announces a rollback of its electrification plans. “We strongly believe in EVs,” say auto dealers as they support efforts to slow the EV transition. “The greatest responsibility for us as a company is… Read more…

Sodium-ion batteries have long been touted as a possible successor to the lithium-ion kind—they may have lower energy density, but they rely on more abundant sodium rather than lithium, perform better in cold temperatures, and above all, tend to be cheaper. Now, after years of anticipation, cars equipped with sodium-ion batteries have begun rolling off… Read more…

US school bus manufacturer Blue Bird and sustainable investment company Generate Capital have formed Clean Bus Solutions, a joint venture (JV) designed to meet increasing demand for electric school buses.  Blue Bird recently opened its 40,000-square-foot EV Build-up Center, designed to enable the company to increase its electric school bus production capacity to as many… Read more…

Ford and home automation company Resideo Technologies have announced a joint V2H simulation project called EV-Home Power Partnership.  The project involves pairing the bidirectional EV charging of Ford’s F-150 Lightning with a Resideo smart thermostat to explore the potential of the EV batteries to optimize home energy management, reduce customer electricity costs and relieve strain… Read more…

The trucking industry has a serious driver shortage, and operators are exploring all kinds of ways to improve driver recruitment and retention. Meanwhile, trucking industry trade groups are fighting tooth and nail against electrification. They might be surprised to learn that deploying EVs could be a major hiring advantage, because drivers love them. In a… Read more…

One’s a three-row midsize SUV under $60,000; the other’s a compact hatchback that starts in the mid-30s. Now we’ve driven both. Choosing “best of” or “most important” new cars is always dicey, and doubly so with electric vehicles. New entries are announced virtually every month, and picking the 2025 models that will be most important… Read more…

When it comes to electrifying by the magic date of 2030, automakers talk a great game—but if you want to know which companies are serious about electrification, look into which ones are lining up supplies of critical battery minerals. According to a recent report from Transport & Environment (T&E), automakers in the European market have… Read more…

California-based EV charging software developer WeaveGrid and Spanish EV charging equipment supplier Wallbox have partnered to expand North American Wallbox owners’ access to utility-managed charging programs, beginning with Xcel Energy’s Charging Perks Program in Colorado. The program optimizes residential EV charging times to align with low power grid demand and high availability of renewable energy… Read more…

Freight management and logistics company Uber Freight and commercial truck charging network Greenlane are collaborating on the development and installation of public charging infrastructure for heavy-duty battery-electric vehicles. The aim is to augment Greenlane’s data analysis with Uber Freight’s network data to determine corridors that are prime candidates for electric truck deployment, as well as… Read more…

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) will delay enforcing some of the registration and reporting provisions of its Advanced Clean Fleets regulation, which had been scheduled to take effect at the end of 2023. Under the rule, drayage fleets and other “high-priority” fleets had until December 31 to register any legacy combustion-powered trucks operating at… Read more…

UK-based EV battery testing, repair and remanufacturing company Autocraft EV Solutions has begun operations from its new site in Arnhem, the Netherlands. The new center can repair 1,340 battery packs per year, and has road and sea transport links to reduce the logistical and environmental challenges of long-distance battery transportation. The company has deployed its… Read more…

Cornell Dubilier, a supplier of advanced components and solutions, has introduced a new MXT Series capacitor.  The metalized polypropylene film capacitor is designed to suppress conducted electromagnetic/radio frequency interference (EMI/RFI) at a circuit’s power input. It passed the 85/85 THB (Temperature, Humidity, Bias) test for use in harsh environments. It has successfully passed accelerated testing… Read more…

Toshiba has introduced a photovoltaic output photocoupler for solid-state relays for automotive equipment with improved minimum open voltage. The new AEC-Q101-compliant TLX9910 photovoltaic coupler gates high-voltage power MOSFETs in solid-state semiconductor relays. Together with a high-voltage power MOSFET, TLX9910 can achieve high-voltage and high-current switchings that photo relays cannot, according to the company. Its main… Read more…

Versinetic, a UK smart charging consultancy, has launched three new products: the Remora PLC Module, BalanSea software and White Label Installer App. The Versinetic Remora PLC Module is a new EV charging communication solution that meets ISO 15118-3 and DIN SPEC 70121 standards. The HomePlug Green PHY (HPGP) powerline communication (PLC) module offers versatile interfaces…. Read more…

Toyota Motor North America is expanding its battery recycling network with Cirba Solutions, a battery recycling materials and management company. The agreement expands Toyota’s battery recycling network and optimizes its logistics network for end-of-life lithium-ion battery collection from Midwest and East Coast regions, including those from hybrid and battery EVs. Processing will take place at… Read more…

US-based vehicle electrification system supplier HummingbirdEV has provided 393 electric mining vehicles powered by its EV technologies under a licensing agreement with Keshi Group, a China-based manufacturer of coal mining vehicles and equipment. They are now in operation in Chinese mines. The vehicles have payload capacities of between 16,000 and 30,000 lbs. They include HummingbirdEV’s… Read more…

German mechanical and plant engineering firm Dürr Group has expanded its range of production technology for battery electrodes. Following its acquisition of French mechanical engineering company Ingecal, Dürr can now supply calendaring systems for coating lithium-ion battery electrode foils. Dürr has also partnered with US-based LiCAP Technologies, which provides engineering in activated dry electrode technology…. Read more…