American Textile Maintenance, the parent company of Republic Master Chefs and Medico Professional Linen Service, has committed to purchasing 12 CircularEV Class 5 electric trucks from Evolectric, beginning with an initial delivery of 5 units. The purchase is American Textile’s first electric fleet deployment. It follows an eight-day pilot at the company’s South-Central Los Angeles… Read more…

Taiwan Semiconductor, a global supplier of discrete power electronics devices, LED drivers, analog ICs and ESD protection, has introduced two new series of high-voltage rectifiers manufactured to AEC-Q101 standards and offered in automotive- and commercial-grade versions. The fast-recovery HS1Q Series has a 1,200 V, 1 A rating and the 1,600 V standard-recovery SxY Series comes… Read more…

US-based E-Van, the composite body division of Embassy Specialty Vehicles, has introduced its new insulated liner for use in a range of electric vehicle applications. The insulated liner delivers thermal resistance in a slim design, making it well-suited to EVs from delivery vans and work trucks to RVs and buses. Using a rigid vacuum insulation… Read more…

Singaporean lithium-ion battery cell and pack manufacturer Durapower is looking for potential joint venture partners to set up a manufacturing facility in the US, as part of its global expansion plans. In addition to manufacturing, Durapower develops battery technology research, owns and has established international collaborations to support the development of scalable and sustainable batteries…. Read more…

Chinese multinational construction machinery manufacturing company LiuGong has introduced five new electric vehicles. The EVs include the 870HE wheel loader, 924FE and 9018FE excavators, DR50CE rigid mining truck and the 4280DE motor grader, which the company termed “the world’s first 24-tonne electric grader.” The company’s vision is to lead in sustainable solutions by “challenging the status… Read more…

The US auto industry is in serious trouble, and while the current federal administration is setting the tone, most of the damage is self-inflicted. GM, which has been saying for the last few years that it was sort of interested in possibly trying to explore the possibility of aspiring to phase out legacy gas vehicles… Read more…

Hatch Product Development & Contract Manufacturing has licensed advanced EV charging technology from the US Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory. The platform enables constant digital communication between EVs, charging stations and the power grid using protocols including ISO 15118 and SWCAN (SAE J2411). This supports bidirectional charging, multi-device charger control and remote diagnostics. Hatch… Read more…

Electric motor, power electronics and energy storage supplier Turntide Technologies has introduced its Gen 5 nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) modular battery. The battery delivers high energy density in a low-profile form factor, for flexible, space-saving installation in electric and hybrid vehicle applications in the construction, industrial, AGV, agriculture and military sectors. The battery comes in… Read more…

Canadian automated testing firm Averna has developed a procedure for automating battery inspection for one of its customers using Germany-based MVTec’s HALCON machine vision software. The procedure is designed to identify a variety of external product faults and precisely pinpoint their location before the batteries leave the factory. The inspection takes place before the labeling… Read more…

Consulting services provider Willdan has been selected for a $17.7-million contract to provide engineering and construction oversight services for Paramount Unified School District (USD). The project includes 2.2 MW of solar arrays and 44 Level 2 electric vehicle charging stations across 11 sites within the district. “This project builds on Willdan’s 50-year working relationship with… Read more…

Intelligent power management company Eaton will partner with EV charging provider ChargePoint to integrate EV charging infrastructure solutions, co-developing new technologies to advance bidirectional power flow and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) capabilities. Eaton and ChargePoint will deliver chargers, electrical infrastructure and engineering services as turnkey offerings. The companies aim to “streamline the purchase, design and deployment of… Read more…

Germany-based Vibracoustic, which specializes in providing systems to reduce automotive noise, vibration and harshness (NVH), has engineered components to enhance the driving comfort and experience of a premium electric pickup truck. The company has developed air springs as well as integrated jounce bumpers and top-mount isolator elements to limit discomfort in the cabin when driving… Read more…

Zenobe’s stationary storage business complements its turnkey EV offering for fleets. Here at Charged, we’ve covered a lot of companies that provide fleet electrification services. However, we’re far from done writing about them (and readers, I hope you aren’t tired of reading about them), because each one seems to have its own unique set of… Read more…

Germany-based dSPACE, a provider of automotive simulation and validation systems, is expanding its SCALEXIO real-time platform for hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) applications by adding the new SCALEXIO FSX product line. SCALEXIO HIL systems are designed to validate real-time applications in the automotive, aerospace and industrial sectors. SCALEXIO FSX completes the SCALEXIO product family and enables improved electrical… Read more…

Leap, a platform for building and scaling virtual power plants (VPPs), and ChargeScape, a joint venture of Ford, Honda, BMW and Nissan that provides managed charging to EV owners, have announced a new partnership to accelerate EV participation in grid services programs. Together, the companies aim to build “the nation’s largest EV virtual power plant.”… Read more…

German firms PHYTEC, PIONIX, Frickly Systems, CuroCon and Alp have officially established the EVCS-Cube Consortium for their development kit to foster close cooperation in advancing EV charging technology. PHYTEC and PIONIX unveiled the EVCS-Cube back in January, a complete development kit for DC and AC charging systems that enables the evaluation of components and direct… Read more…

US EV charge point operator Zero 60 has opened its fourth renewable-energy-powered EV charging station, with four charging spaces, in Lake Placid, New York. Zero 60 was founded by engineering, construction, manufacturing and clean energy company Faith Technologies. It operates two other sites in New York State and one in California. Plans call for the… Read more…

Scientists at the US Department of Energy‘s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have recently discovered that the sublimation of lithium oxide, when mixed with nickel-rich cathode precursors, creates a single-crystal structure that could be used in longer-lasting batteries. In a new finding published in Nature Energy, the PNNL-led team showed that vapor from lithium oxide… Read more…

Chinese automotive firm Kandi Technologies and battery manufacturer CBAK Energy Technology have formed a strategic partnership to establish two lithium battery production facilities in the US, at locations under evaluation. The first facility, focused on battery pack assembly, is slated for near-term development. The second facility, for battery cell manufacturing, will be a longer-term initiative… Read more…

Infineon Technologies, a producer of semiconductors for power systems and IoT applications, will supply Rivian’s R2 platform with power modules for traction inverters. The R2 platform will use silicon carbide (SiC) and silicon (Si) modules from Infineon’s HybridPACK Drive G2 family. Infineon expects to start delivering the components in 2026. HybridPACK Drive is Infineon’s power… Read more…