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…

Conventional wisdom is that most EV owners are Democrats, and that Republicans shun the newfangled contraptions. A recent poll conducted by The EV Politics Project appeared to confirm this narrative—49 percent of Republican respondents took a negative view of “electric car brands,” and a majority of Republican respondents agreed with the statement: “EVs are for… Read more…

REE Automotive has begun customer deliveries of its electric chassis cab. REE’s P7-C medium-duty electric commercial truck is a fully steer-by-wire, brake-by-wire and drive-by-wire vehicle. REE has initiated customer deliveries of the first batch of P7-C demonstration trucks for multiple fleet evaluations in North America via its dealer network. US dealer Pritchard EV is the… Read more…

Infineon Technologies and GlobalFoundries have signed a multi-year deal to offer AURIX TC3x 40 nm automotive microcontrollers, power management, connectivity and security solutions. The extra capacity will help Infineon develop from 2024 to 2030. GlobalFoundries and Infineon have developed distinctive automotive, industrial and security semiconductor technology and products since 2013. This partnership centers on a… Read more…

Chemicals company Elkem and its project partners VTT, Siemens, Stellantis and Gemmate Technologies have developed a 3D printing powder for EV motors. The development is part of the SOMA project, which aims to develop lightweight solutions for e-mobility by using additive manufacturing for soft magnetic alloys. Elkem has developed a new specialized iron silicon powder … Read more…

Global motion technology company Schaeffler plans to expand its US operations with the addition of a new manufacturing facility focused on producing automotive electric mobility solutions. Schaeffler will invest over $230 million to build a new greenfield manufacturing facility in Dover, Ohio, and is also planning future expansions in the state. Construction of the new… Read more…

Brightmerge has released a new and improved version of its Business Optimization Platform, a “business performance optimization platform for the sales, design, optimization and operation of EV fleets.” The new version features enhanced sensitivity analysis and improved techno-financial reporting options, including the ability to incorporate carbon emissions calculations into financial reports. The Brightmerge platform uses… Read more…