Yellow school bus maker Blue Bird has delivered its 1,500th electric school bus. Modesto City Schools in California purchased the historic EV through Blue Bird’s authorized school bus dealer A-Z Bus Sales. Modesto’s milestone unit is one of 1,500 Blue Bird electric school buses now serving school districts across 41 US states. The company says… Read more…

Freudenberg Sealing Technologies has added a new battery testing laboratory to its R&D labs at its North American headquarters in Plymouth, Michigan. The company says the multi-million-dollar investment will facilitate in-house battery and battery component testing, including simulated thermal runaway, and will increase the company’s functional knowledge and product development capabilities in the field of… Read more…

Does bp’s purchase of $100 million worth of Tesla EV chargers signal that the British oil giant is preparing for a future beyond petroleum? Has it decided to join ‘em instead of trying to beat ‘em? Well, not just yet. The company has said it plans to invest “up to $1 billion in EV charging… Read more…

Since the advent of modern EVs, the mantra has been “cell/module/pack.” More recently, some battery makers have started removing modules from the equation with cell-to-pack architectures. Now Massachusetts-based battery developer 24M Technologies wants to eliminate the whole hierarchy. The company calls its Electrode-to-Pack system, which it introduced at the recent Japan Mobility Show, “a streamlined… Read more…

Sponsored by Intertek. Identifying the root cause of a problem Failure analysis is the process of collecting and analyzing data to identify the root cause of a failure. The findings from a failure analysis are often used to determine corrective actions such as preventing the failure of similar products, improving the design of future products… Read more…

Powering the Future of Electric Vehicles: Step Inside EV Test Labs Go behind the scenes of UL Solutions’ and Keysight’s electric vehicle labs to see the tech driving high-power charging, batteries, and how EVs might fuel the grid. Register now for your exclusive ticket and get your questions answered during a live Q&A with automotive… Read more…

Barcelona-based Circontrol provides efficiency solutions for public and private car parks, along with smart EV chargers. Now the company has made important improvements to its eVolve Smart “semi-fast” EV charger. The latest upgrade of the eVolve Smart charger adds new cybersecurity, electrical protection and communications features, as well as a new integrated contactless payment system…. Read more…

GKN Automotive has unveiled a new plug-and-play eDrive concept aimed at the niche EV and EV conversion markets. GKN will use the concept to test market appetite for a new eDrive that’s suitable for various purposes, including small to large cars and light commercial vehicles in series production. The first commercial products based on the… Read more…

As the demands for electric vehicles evolve, so do the venting requirements used to protect Electric Drive Modules. Applying the appropriate Electric Drive Module (EDM) venting solution helps maintain vehicle performance in both every day and more challenging driving conditions. Join this session and discover the role venting technology plays when considering pressure equalization and… Read more…

When GM agreed to unionize its EV battery plants, we applauded the move, believing that the destructive UAW strike would end with the US Big Three legacy automakers and their unions beginning to come to terms with the EV future. We were wrong. As of this writing, the UAW has reached a tentative agreement with… Read more…

SkillFusion calls itself “a customer success platform for EVSE operations and maintenance (O&M) providers.” The company has launched a certification program and database for EVSE repair workers, with the aim of providing EV operations and maintenance companies with access to a nationwide credentialed talent pool of electricians and other workers. “The NEVI program is working… Read more…

Omnitrans of San Bernardino Valley, which provides public transit services to 15 cities and unincorporated San Bernardino County, has placed orders for 18 battery-electric Xcelsior CHARGE NG buses and 4 fuel cell Xcelsior CHARGE FC models with NFI subsidiary New Flyer of America. “Since 2000, NFI has delivered 300 buses to Omnitrans, and we are… Read more…

Battery safety is one of the key priorities in battery development. Even though the safety of the battery is already of a high standard today due to many measures, the future designs demand innovative battery safety materials. In this session, we will talk about the application-specific material development and how simulations and testing methodologies under… Read more…

Kempower, a Finnish manufacturer of DC fast charging solutions, has added hardware based on the Megawatt Charging System to its offerings. A Kempower spokesperson confirmed to Charged that the company’s MCS solution will be compliant with CharIN specifications. The new Kempower Megawatt Charging System is based on the company’s existing technology, including its high-power satellite… Read more…

Beam Global, maker of the EV ARC solar-powered charging system, has acquired Europe-based Amiga DOO Kraljevo, a manufacturer of specialized structures and equipment including street lights, communications and energy infrastructure. Beam Global hopes the acquisition of Amiga, which will be re-branded as Beam Europe, will fast-track its growth into the European market. Beam sees Europe… Read more…

Swiss battery solutions provider Leclanché has won a second battery system project for Scotland’s Caledonian Maritime Assets (CMAL), for two roll-on/roll-off passenger and vehicle ferries (RoPax) to serve three Outer Hebrides islands. Leclanché won a contract to supply batteries for two 1.1 MWh Navius MRS-3TM Marine Rack Systems from Istanbul-based electric system integrator Elkon. Elkon… Read more…

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…

Albemarle, a US-based chemical manufacturer, has won a $90-million grant from the US Department of Defense to expand domestic mining and production of lithium for EV batteries. Using Defense Production Act authority, the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy will subsidize the company’s planned reopening of its lithium mine in… Read more…

Phoenix Motorcars has won a two-year contract with the California Department of General Services that will enable school districts to procure the company’s Z600 Type A Cutaway Chassis electric school buses without having to go through a bid process. Phoenix’s Z600 school bus is offered with both 90 kWh and 141 kWh battery pack options,… Read more…