Isuzu unveiled the company’s first battery EV at the 45th Bangkok International Motor Show in Thailand. Isuzu developed the D-MAX one-ton pickup truck to meet a broad range of commercial and passenger vehicle needs while retaining the tough performance expected of pickup trucks. The full-time 4WD system with newly developed e-axles in front and rear… Read more…

AutoFlight, an aviation firm with operations in Germany, China and the US, has delivered its first five-seater Prosperity electric aircraft to an unnamed aircraft operator in Japan. In February, AutoFlight made a demonstration flight between the Chinese cities of Shenzhen and Zhuhai. AutoFlight’s Prosperity aircraft autonomously flew a 31-mile route across the Pearl River Delta… Read more…

Heraeus Electronics will host an event focusing on the latest developments in high-efficiency power electronics, particularly the capabilities of gallium nitride (GaN) chips, which offer high efficiency, high power density and compact sizes. Heraeus will host this ALL2GaN event April 9-10 at its facilities in Hanau, Germany. The company is part of the EU-funded research… Read more…

South 8 Technologies, a developer of liquefied gas electrolytes for lithium-ion batteries, has demonstrated high performance with cobalt-free, low-nickel battery cells. This work is funded by the DOE’s EVs4ALL program. South 8 has partnered with an unnamed automotive OEM on the project.  The EVs4ALL effort aims to create a reliable, affordable battery that charges quickly and… Read more…

Construction giant Skanska is piloting an electric compaction roller (a piece of heavy equipment analogous to what a previous generation called a “steamroller”) on its Los Angeles Purple (D Line) Extension Transit Project. The Wirtgen Group’s battery-powered HAMM HD 12e VV is designed to have the same capabilities as a conventional diesel compaction roller. Skanska’s… Read more…

Bidirectional electronics have been around us for years, tracing back to transcontinental, bidirectional communication lines laid under our oceans that utilize in-line amplifiers and repeaters. Bidirectional components have grown to affect our everyday lives, and this technology is now contributing to the development of sustainable, power-independent microgrid communities. Bidirectional power electronics are making a significant… Read more…

ENNOVI, a provider of mobility electrification solutions, has introduced a new process for producing flexible circuits for low-voltage signals in EV battery cell contacting systems. “While flexible printed circuits (FPC) are often employed in these systems, they are the most expensive component in the current collector assembly,” says the company. “ENNOVI’s flexible die-cut circuit (FDC)… Read more…

VertexCom, a Taiwanese provider of smart charging communication chips, and chargebyte, a German maker of EV charging communication modules, have announced the availability of two new Supply Equipment Communication Controller modules based on VertexCom’s HomePlug GreenPHY chipset MSE1021+MSEX24-i. Chargebyte’s new Charge Control D and PLC Stamp Multi VERT are designed specifically for EV charging systems,… Read more…

German logistics company Schenker, a subsidiary of railway company Deutsche Bahn, has been operating two FUSO eCanter 7.5-ton battery-electric trucks since the beginning of the year in Kuusamo and Oulu, Finland, near the Arctic Circle. The truck based at the Schenker terminal, which has been driven more than 1,200 km in recent weeks, is charged… Read more…

ACEL Power , a startup founded in 2021, has added two offerings to its lineup of electric outboard motors. The introduction of the new IE150 and IE250 models expands the ACEL line to 4 models. The model numbers denote horsepower, so the existing IE50 and IR75 deliver 50 and 75 hp respectively; the IE150 delivers… Read more…

The soaring demand for EV batteries of increasing capacity has real implications for production and research testing. Managers can expand their battery test systems to increase their power, but they may not have enough space on the production floor. Already, voltage test requirements are exceeding the voltage limit of some test systems. As voltage and… Read more…

Keysight explores technology advancements to save money and keep the planet green In an effort to make the earth a greener place for the next generation while lowering costs, technology companies are creating innovative eco-friendly products. A comprehensive approach to testing can bring additional savings through a reduction of waste energy. High-power test applications can… Read more…

QuantumScape is developing solid-state lithium-metal battery technology that promises significant performance improvements compared to current lithium-ion cells. Now the company has started customer shipments of Alpha-2 prototype battery cells, a significant milestone on the road to delivery of its first planned commercial product, called QSE-5. QuantumScape’s Alpha-2 prototypes integrate many significant component improvements made over… Read more…

It seems like every day, we read about another company pledging to roll out lots of public charging stations across the country. Automakers, utilities, oil companies, hotel and apartment chains, restaurants and retailers—everybody is (or claims to be) getting into the act. Even your favorite EV pundit abandoned his usual skepticism and gushed that, if… Read more…

Automotive services and technology provider Cox Automotive has been working on assessing EV battery state of health for a decade, and has found that, while most used EV batteries are relatively healthy, the outliers tend to be significantly degraded, highlighting the importance of measuring each individual vehicle. Now Cox is rolling out a system that… Read more…

Discover how to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to inspect batteries with 3D X-ray microscopy (XRM) as well as 2D techniques like electron and light microscopy. Understand how deep-learning based algorithms can be integrated without the need for user expertise in AI technology, even for complex components that are difficult to analyze using traditional measurement methods…. Read more…

Uniform, defect-free electrode coatings are essential for battery performance. That’s why battery manufacturers inspect electrodes during production to insure the uniform quality of the coatings. However, as Thermo Fisher Scientific explains, traditional in-line coating weight measurement gauges use a single spot sensor traversing the electrode sheet to assess coating quality, but several meters of electrode… Read more…

Los Angeles-headquartered Xos, a manufacturer of electric trucks and powertrain components, has partnered with RV maker Winnebago to develop a customized electric chassis for Winnebago’s Specialty Vehicles division. Winnebago Specialty Vehicles’ manufacturing operations are in Forest City, Iowa. It has been producing electric vehicles since 2018 for mobile commercial applications, for customers with accessibility challenges,… Read more…

Q&A with Aqua Metals execs Steve Cotton and David Regan Regardless of the claims made in Facebook memes, Li-ion batteries are eminently recyclable, and current recycling methods cause far less environmental damage than the well-documented depredations of the petroleum industry. However, as sustainability is central to the mission of the EV industry, we need to… Read more…

The electrification of the vehicle powertrain poses major challenges for the interaction of the individual components. In order to optimize both – the acoustics and the performance of electric vehicles, high-voltage and NVH measurement data must be acquired synchronously. In this webinar, we show the problem in the acoustics of EVs and the solutions for… Read more…