Making transport more sustainable isn’t only about electric powertrains—companies are finding ways to make all types of components and all aspects of the manufacturing process greener. Automotive wiring specialist Leoni has introduced a new line of vehicle cables that are 100% recyclable and can help to substantially reduce the CO2 footprint of vehicles. LIMEVERSE cable… Read more…

ZeroAvia is developing hydrogen-fueled engines for commercial aircraft, and has successfully completed flight tests of electric aircraft in the US and in the UK (see our 2021 interview with CEO and founder Val Miftakhov). Now the company has secured a conditional agreement from American Airlines to purchase 100 hydrogen-electric engines intended to power regional jet… Read more…

The first session topics for the Fall 2024 Charged Virtual Conference on EV Engineering are out now. Just like the content Charged brings you every day, conference topics will span the entire EV engineering supply chain and ecosystem, including motor and power electronics design and manufacturing, cell development, battery systems, testing, powertrains, thermal management, circuit… Read more…

Lincoln Electric’s Velion 150 kW DC fast charging station has achieved Canadian Standards Association (CSA/US) certification to standards UL 2202, UL 2231-1 and UL 2231-2 for EV chargers. The certification indicates that Lincoln Electric’s Velion EV fast charging station adheres to stringent safety and performance standards. Having earned CSA/US certification, Velion EV fast chargers are… Read more…

Japan-based Asahi Kasei Microdevices (AKM) and Silicon Austria Labs (SAL), a European research center for electronics and software-based systems research, have completed a joint proof of concept of AKM’s eFuse technology in high-voltage applications using silicon carbide-based power devices. The growing use of power devices based on silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) in… Read more…

Sakuu, a provider of commercial-scale equipment and technologies to the battery manufacturing industry, has announced a joint development agreement (JDA) with EV battery manufacturer SK On. Central to the agreement is the industrialization of Sakuu’s dry-process Kavian platform. Sakuu says its dry-process manufacturing, together with its electrode printing technology, eliminates the use of solvents and… Read more…

Revolv, which describes itself as “a complete single-partner solution to seamlessly deploy, charge, and integrate EVs into operations,” has secured a total of $445,000 in award funding from CALSTART’s EnergIIZE program. The grant, which Revolv managed for two of its existing clients, will cover 70% of the customers’ charging infrastructure costs. As an EnergIIZE-approved vendor,… Read more…

Microchip Technology is offering an on-board charger (OBC) package designed to help developers speed their time to market by using key technologies from one supplier, including the control, gate drive and power stage.  The package uses a selection of Microchip’s automotive-qualified digital, analog, connectivity and power devices, including the dsPIC33C Digital Signal Controller (DSC), the… Read more…

Right now, the world is seeing the equivalent of what could only be termed a gold rush to build battery factories, and these plants will be able to produce many more cells than the global economy could conceivably need or use in the coming decade. That warning comes from a new report from BloombergNEF, but… Read more…

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…