As it did in previous decades, Honda has used another maker’s car to enter a new US segment. Honda is often known as the world’s largest maker of internal combustion engines—more than 14 million of them a year. It sells those engines in a variety of containers, from home generators and lawn mowers to ATVs… Read more…

The dry electrode coating process has the potential to enable the production of better, greener, more cost-effective batteries. It relies on advanced fluoropolymer binders with Teflon™ For a few years now, Charged has been reporting on how dry electrode coating processes have the potential to revolutionize battery production by eliminating the use of hazardous, environmentally… Read more…

Heavy on heritage and light on details, the launch event showed Scout’s concepts for an EV 4×4 that’s every bit the equal of Jeep or Bronco. Scout Motors, the startup electric-truck maker owned by Volkswagen, took the wraps off concepts for its first two 4×4 models outside Nashville on Thursday evening. The Terra truck and… Read more…

Researchers at the US Geological Survey (USGS) say they have located high concentrations of lithium brine in the Smackover Formation in southern Arkansas.  Dating back to the Jurassic period, the Smackover Formation is a relic of an ancient sea that left an extensive, porous and permeable limestone geologic unit that extends under parts of Arkansas,… Read more…

US manufacturing and technology company Honeywell has launched two new technologies to optimize electric vehicle (EV) safety for drivers and manufacturing for gigafactories. Honeywell Process Solutions is partnering with ultrasound-based battery interrogation systems supplier Titan Advanced Energy Solutions to integrate its scanning technology into the Honeywell Battery Manufacturing Excellence Platform (MXP). Titan’s ultrasound scanner enables… Read more…

Daimler Truck North America (DTNA), headquartered in Portland, Oregon, has delivered 20 Freightliner eCascadia Class 8 tractors to the Golden Brands—East Bay and Harbor Distributing—Huntington Beach warehouses of Reyes Beverage Group (RBG), a Chicago-headquartered nationwide distributor of alcoholic beverages.  Nine more of the vehicles are scheduled to be delivered to RBG’s Gate City Beverage San… Read more…

Build your own microgrid in a few days: Q&A with Paired Power CEO Tom McCalmont As fleet operators know (or soon find out), deploying EV charging infrastructure involves much more than buying some chargers and running some conduit. Obtaining adequate power at a site is often a challenge, and it almost always takes a long… Read more…

Japanese automaker Nissan Motor has announced it will take a 25% stake in ChargeScape, a software company that connects electric utilities, automakers and drivers, and that it is deploying two power management systems using second-life batteries from the Nissan LEAF. ChargeScape is a joint venture founded in 2023 by BMW, Ford and Honda, each with… Read more…

German technology company Siemens has integrated its numerical control system, SINUMERIK ONE, into the latest model of Prima Power’s 3D laser cutting machine, Laser Next, for automotive manufacturing. Prima Power, a manufacturer of sheet metal working machinery and 3D laser cutting technology, said it has enhanced its machine’s compatibility and integration capabilities. Incorporating the advanced… Read more…

Lithium-sulfur batteries, which feature high energy density, and don’t need problematic minerals such as nickel, cobalt, manganese and graphite, are widely seen as a possible replacement for today’s lithium-ion batteries. Lyten, which calls itself a “supermaterial applications company,” has long been a pioneer in Li-S technology. Now the company has announced plans to invest more… Read more…

PhoenixEV, a division of California-headquartered commercial EV manufacturer Phoenix Motor, plans to deliver four 35-foot electric transit buses to the University of California San Diego in early 2025. The new buses will bring the university’s fleet to 20% electric as part of its commitment to decarbonization by 2045. “This project will mark the third University… Read more…

Austria-based Miba Battery Systems has introduced its new Terra #11 battery system equipped with 46xx cell technology for off-highway vehicles, construction machinery and utility vehicles. Terra #11 operates at 650 V, and has a capacity of 42.8 kWh. Its dimensions of 1700 x 700 x 140 mm give manufacturers the flexibility to integrate it into… Read more…

Battery technology provider A3 Global’s NuVant Systems subsidiary has introduced its new LVc-40 tool for diagnosing, repairing, balancing and reconditioning hybrid and EV batteries. The LVc-40 features 40 individual channels and includes an integrated computer, enabling it to run NuVant’s Pack-Builder software and leverage AI-driven algorithms to maximize battery performance. The system provides key diagnostic… Read more…

Mercedes-Benz Trucks, a division of Daimler Truck, has received an order for 75 Mercedes-Benz eActros 600 trucks from Netherlands-headquartered logistics service provider Simon Loos, which plans to expand its electric fleet to a total of 135 trucks. Simon Loos was the first company outside Germany to start practical tests of the near-series prototype eActros 600…. Read more…

US-based battery manufacturer Enovix has started shipping EX-1M battery cell samples from its new Agility Line in Malaysia. The start of shipments follows the shipping of initial samples from the company’s Fab1 in California, and the opening of the high-volume Fab2 in Malaysia this summer. The company says it is on track to commence high-volume… Read more…

An old saw often uttered by an electrical engineer (or their hapless techs) when an electronic device releases its magic smoke goes something like this: “The transistor bravely sacrificed itself to protect the fuse.”  This is a succinct way of saying that conventional fuses (and most types of circuit breakers) shouldn’t be counted on to… Read more…

Toyota Motor and Revel, an operator of an EV taxi service and a network of high-speed charging stations, have signed an agreement that will give owners of Toyota and Lexus EVs complimentary access to Revel’s DC fast charging network in New York City.  The agreement runs through October 14, 2027.  Revel, which began life as… Read more…

Canadian battery raw material and technology developer Volt Carbon Technologies has designed a high-entropy electrolyte to improve battery performance at low temperatures, which has demonstrated functionality at temperatures as low as -80° C in testing. Solid UltraBattery, a Volt subsidiary, in collaboration with Volt Board Member, Dr. Aiping Yu, Professor and Director of the Carbon… Read more…

Lithium ceramic battery (LCB) developer ProLogium Technology has introduced a new silicon composite anode battery, which Germany’s FEV Group is using to develop a next-generation battery pack. According to the companies, the new battery system can reduce vehicle weight, increase energy efficiency, and improve charging speed. The system offers energy density of 749 Wh/L, and… Read more…

The state of Delaware has received $14.3 million in federal grants to install medium- and heavy-duty EV charging stations along the portion of Interstate 95 that is within its borders to improve air quality and expand alternative fuel infrastructure. The creation of electric vehicle infrastructure along I-95 is part of an initiative organized by the… Read more…