Powered semi-trailers, which carry batteries and electric motors to take some of the load of the tractor, are emerging as a cost-effective way to extend the range of an electric semi (or improve the fuel efficiency of a legacy tractor). Now a three-way partnership is testing a related concept—using electricity to power the refrigeration unit… Read more…

Yes, charging large numbers of electric trucks requires lots of power—as the anti-EV community often reminds us, an electrified truck depot might use as much power as a sports stadium. (And? As Charged’s home city of St Petersburg continues its decade-long fight over the building of a new stadium, I have yet to hear any… Read more…

South Korea-based LG Energy Solution has introduced its new system-on-chip (SoC)-based battery management system (BMS) diagnostic software, which is available on the Snapdragon Digital Chassis from Qualcomm Technologies. The two companies have signed a joint promotion agreement to accelerate the commercialization of SoC-based BMS diagnostic solutions. LG’s software aims to enhance safety, degradation diagnostic functions… Read more…

South Korean battery and trading company SK On has recently published its latest research on all-solid-state batteries (ASSBs). SK On’s study with Dr. Jin Ho Kim’s group at the Korea Institute of Ceramic Engineering and Technology focuses on the use of ultrafast photonic sintering technology (traditionally used to manufacture printed circuit board) in the manufacturing… Read more…

US mining company Piedmont Lithium and Australian lithium exploration and development company Sayona Mining have announced an all-stock merger. The ownership will be split approximately 50-50. Sayona will be the ultimate parent entity. The merger is intended to create a leading North American hard rock lithium producer, MergeCo, with geographically advantaged spodumene resources of global… Read more…

GreenPower Motor, a manufacturer of electric medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, has appointed Wolfington Body as its exclusive school bus dealer in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware and as a dealer for its Class 4 commercial line of EV trucks and vans in those states. As part of the agreement, Wolfington has purchased a Type A… Read more…

Norwegian battery materials company Vianode has been selected as a strategic supplier of high-performance anode graphite solutions to General Motors (GM). The agreement covers the development of large-scale manufacturing capacity and supply of synthetic anode graphite towards 2033. Under the supply agreement, Ultium Cells—GM’s battery cell manufacturing joint venture with LG Energy Solution—will use the… Read more…

Concord Pacific Development has unveiled what it calls the world’s largest EV charging parkade in Burnaby, British Columbia, which provides capacity to charge nearly 2,000 vehicles simultaneously. “Parkade” is a Canadianism for a multi-story parking garage. The unveiling came on the heels of the opening of the company’s Central London EV parkade at Marylebone Square…. Read more…

Germany-based Phoenix Contact E-Mobility has created a new US-based company to support on-vehicle programs for North American automotive companies building EVs. “The US market is of high importance in our global strategy fostering three regions: the US, Europe and China. The roll-out of appropriate high-performance charging infrastructure will boost the acceptance of e-mobility on a… Read more…

The Lucid Motors Gravity Grand Touring EV will be powered by lithium-ion battery cells from Panasonic Energy. The Gravity’s battery pack will deliver an EPA-estimated range of up to 450 miles, according to the companies. The Gravity is an SUV with up to 120 cubic feet of total usable cargo space. It offers 828 horsepower… Read more…

One EV, a thousand applications Q&A with CEO Gary Dannar Different buyers need (or want) different vehicles—that’s why most consumer automakers offer a range of a dozen or so models, from practical family cars to sleek sports cars to hulking pickup trucks. But in the commercial vehicle sphere, this wouldn’t be good enough—different markets demand… Read more…

The joint venture between Rivian and Volkswagen could someday supply EV tech to other automakers. Developing the software that is a critical component of modern autos has proven to be a struggle for legacy automakers, including VW, but comes more naturally to an internet-era startup such as Rivian. Volkswagen plans to invest $5.8 billion in… Read more…

MP Materials produces specialty materials that are vital inputs for the EV and renewable energy industries (see our feature article from March 2024). The company is expanding its manufacturing operations downstream to provide a full supply chain solution from raw materials to magnetic products. Now MP Materials says it has reached a pivotal milestone in… Read more…

Honeywell has released a new electrolyte detector specifically designed for sealed portable lithium-ion battery packs. The new Battery Safety Electrolyte Detector (BES LITE) is designed for non-automotive applications that require a cost-effective, low-profile, small-footprint battery safety sensor, including battery energy storage systems, unmanned aerial vehicles, electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers, and portable battery applications. Fires in… Read more…

Bellevue Towers, a residential condominium community in Bellevue, Washington, has completed the infrastructure to enable the installation of 312 additional EV chargers, addressing a significant demand from its residents. The property has a significant waitlist of residents who wish to install individual chargers. “EV [charging] is quickly becoming a high-demand amenity,” says Ed Anderson, President… Read more…

Sponsored by Schuler. After acquiring the Italian Sovema Group, Schuler is gradually establishing itself as a system supplier in the field of battery production. The first successful large-scale projects show that the strategy is working. Schuler passed an important milestone as a supplier for gigafactories with the construction of a formation line for a large… Read more…

Germany-based PHYTEC, which produces embedded components for industrial electronics, and EV software charging firm PIONIX have introduced the EVCS-Cube, a development kit for EV charging systems. EVCS-Cube combines PHYTEC’s phyVERSO-EVCS charger controller and PIONIX’s BaseCamp operating system, which is based on the open-source firmware stack EVerest. The ready-to-use development kit is designed for EV charging… Read more…

Microchip Technology, a US-based provider of embedded control and processing products has announced sample availability of its new PCI100x family of Switchtec PCIe Gen 4.0 switches. The PCI1005 is a packet switch that expands a single host PCIe port to as many as six endpoints. The PCI1003 device enables multi-host connectivity through Non-Transparent Bridging (NTB),… Read more…

Yamaichi Electronics, a manufacturer of test and burn-in sockets, connectors and test contacts, has released the newest version of its Y-Lock Pullforce connector system to meet the requirements of battery applications. The flexible flat cable (FFC) or the flexible printed circuit board (FPC) is inserted into the connector using the pre-assembled stiffener. The Y-Lock V4… Read more…

John F. Kennedy International Airport, the busiest airport for international traffic in North America, always seems to be reinventing itself. It opened in 1948 as New York International Airport, although it was typically referred to then as Idlewild. The airport was intended as the world’s largest and most efficient, with “no confusion and no congestion.”… Read more…