Rivian Automotive is on a roll—the company’s electric pickup and SUV are earning rave reviews, other automakers are “knocking on the door” to license Rivian’s technology, and now the company is opening up sales for the Rivian Commercial Vehicle, the platform on which Amazon based its custom electric delivery van (EDV). Amazon’s exclusivity period ended… Read more…

comemso, a provider of high-precision test and measurement solutions for electromobility, has announced the integration of Megawatt Charging System (MCS) capabilities into its EVSE and EV test platform. The MCS-ready test platform is designed to meet the demands of 1,500 V and up to 1,000 A for high-performance EV charging. The system already supports CCS,… Read more…

A research team at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Switzerland has developed a new sustainable process and cathode surface coating that can be used to improve the electrochemical performance of lithium-ion batteries. Initial tests of high-voltage batteries using this method indicate it could be used to make lithium-ion batteries for EVs more efficient. At… Read more…

SWA Lithium, a jointly owned US subsidiary of Standard Lithium and Norwegian energy firm Equinor, has closed a $225 million grant from the US Department of Energy’s Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains for construction of Phase 1 of the South West Arkansas (SWA) lithium project. The commercial-scale Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) facility, located… Read more…

Presto, an all-in-one EV charging platform, has raised $15 million in seed funding from Union Square Ventures and other investors. The company was founded in 2023 by former Uber executives J.J. Raynor and Ashwin Dias. Its platform is used by electric fleets including Uber, Avis, Hertz and Zipcar. Presto will use the new funds to… Read more…

EV charging provider Aral pulse (which is owned by oil giant BP) has awarded a five-year contract to Siemens Smart Infrastructure to deploy its Electrification X platform, which will enable Aral pulse to centrally operate, optimize and secure its charging stations. The installation of 350 additional digital substations at Aral’s service stations in Germany is… Read more…

US power and sensing technology specialist onsemi has completed its acquisition of the silicon carbide junction field-effect transistor (SiC JFET) technology business from US-based Qorvo for $115 million. The addition of SiC JFET technology will complement onsemi’s EliteSiC power portfolio. In EVs, SiC JFETs help improve efficiency and safety by replacing multiple components with a… Read more…

JeMyn, an affiliate of Swiss firm Widmer Rail Services, has ordered two Vectron locomotives with battery power modules from Siemens Mobility—the first order for this new version of the Vectron. The battery module enables the Vectron to operate for short distances without an overhead power line, enabling the loco to cover the last mile of… Read more…

Ziegler Energy Solutions, a manufacturer of EV charging and microgrid equipment, has announced that it has become a Kempower Certified Partner. “This certification and partnership enables ZES to deliver advanced electric vehicle fast-charging solutions tailored to meet the needs of commercial fleet services and charging infrastructure projects,” the company said, adding that the partnership will… Read more…

Lyteflo, a new electric vehicle (EV) merchandising company, has received $3 million in seed funding. Lyteflo’s platform integrates into auto dealership web sites to help them move their EV inventory faster and appraise EV batteries with precision. It provides data-backed sales tools to answer customers’ most prominent questions. Lyteflo’s EV Revenue Platform provides a suite… Read more…

Wireless EV charging specialist InductEV will deploy its high-power inductive chargers in partnership with port terminal operator International Transportation Service, (ITS) at the Port of Long Beach. ITS recently secured a $3.3-million grant from the California Energy Commission for project, titled Hands-free Charging for Battery Electric Cargo Handling Equipment, that will demonstrate charging technology solutions… Read more…

Slovenian light aircraft manufacturer Pipistrel has announced that its Nuuva V300 electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft went aloft in its first successful test flight last week. The flight took place on January 31 in Ajdovščina, Slovenia, a town in the Vipava Valley where the company’s headquarters is located. “This milestone marks an advancement… Read more…

Los Angeles is a hub of freight activity—and (not coincidentally) the home of the worst ozone pollution in the nation. Electrifying trucks in La-la Land will deliver an outsize benefit in emissions reduction. The city needs many more chargers suitable for medium- and heavy-duty EVs, and managed charging, which maximizes the number of trucks that… Read more…

The ChargeX consortium has identified a new mechanism to automatically restart EV charging sessions that fail to initiate. Researchers participating in the ChargeX Consortium from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Idaho National Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory, along with industry contributors, have identified the “seamless retry” mechanism to alleviate a common EV driver frustration… Read more…

Canadian lithium development company E3 Lithium is participating in the ISO TC 333 lithium mirror committee through the Standards Council of Canada (SCC). ISO TC 333 is an international technical committee focused on developing standardized methods for the determination of lithium product quality. One of the issues that challenges the sales of lithium products is… Read more…

Netherlands-based marine energy storage supplier EST-Floattech is providing its Octopus Series High Energy battery system to power the Dutch shipbuilder Damen’s Multi Cat (MuC) 1908 work boat’s fully electric propulsion and equipment. The Octopus battery system is designed for large-scale applications and heavy-duty operations that use systems up to 10 MWh. The Multi Cat’s battery… Read more…

California-headquartered DC Grid, a supplier of off-grid DC power systems, and Colorado-headquartered Liberty Energy, a provider of offshore oilfield services, have a memorandum of understanding to deliver integrated modular site-specific power systems tailored for such applications as commercial fleet EV hubs and data centers. According to the companies, the inherent efficiency of the DC ecosystem… Read more…

The city of Oslo, which was ranked number one in terms of quality of life and peace and quiet among European large cities in the European Cities of the Future 2012 report, is driving out some of its remaining sources of loud noise. One of any city’s greatest sources of loud noise is construction, which… Read more…

Researchers at George Washington University (GWU), in collaboration with other institutions, have developed a method to directly extract and purify lithium from geothermal brines for use in EV batteries. Their study, “Electro-driven direct lithium extraction from geothermal brines to generate battery-grade lithium hydroxide,’’ was published in Nature Communications. The process avoids harsh chemicals and uses… Read more…

Mullen Automotive has completed a major purchase of battery line equipment from troubled Nikola for its Fullerton, California, battery operations. The Fullerton facility is dedicated to producing next-generation, American-made battery packs, modules and solid-state polymers. In September 2023, Mullen purchased battery production assets from Nikola subsidiary Romeo Power, including equipment, inventory and intellectual property for… Read more…