• News aggregator on electric cars and electric vehicles (cars, motorcycles, boats, planes).

Volkswagen unveils its most powerful wagon yet – the ID.7 GTX Tourer

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ArenaEV
Volkswagen’s ID.7 Tourer is not even being delivered yet, and it already got an exciting update. The Volkswagen ID.7 GTX Tourer is a beastly electric wagon coming to replace the legendary Golf R wagon as the most potent long-roof model in the German manufacturer’s lineup. The ID.7 GTX Tourer features dual-motor, all-wheel-drive setup pumping out an impressive 335 combined horsepower.… Read more…

Potting & encapsulation

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Peter Donaldson examines the finer points of potting and encapsulation
Many electrical and electronic components last longer, perform better and stand up to the stresses and strains of hard use with fewer complaints if they are potted or encapsulated in a polymer. While the two terms are often used interchangeably, they don’t quite mean the same thing.
Potting is a process by which a form or ‘pot’ containing the parts to be protected is filled with a polymer resin and becomes part of the finished component. Read more…

Bipolar batteries

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When Toyota unveiled plans for its next generation of EV technology in June 2023, the company made it clear that bipolar batteries would play a central role. The company is already using bipolar architecture in the nickel-metal hydride batteries in its Crown and Aqua hybrids, and it is extending the technology to BEVs with lithium-ion batteries. Its product plans include ‘popular’ and ‘performance’ versions of liquid-electrolyte bipolar batteries, writes Peter Donaldson. Read more…

BMW is building EVs and legacy gas-burners on the same production lines—and it seems to be working

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Legacy automakers, keen to make an “orderly transition” to EVs, have embraced all kinds of half-measures, from PHEVs to awkward ICE-to-EV conversions to pick-your-powertrain production lines. Conventional wisdom among EV advocates is that this is a mistake—industry leader Tesla and other startups have generally taken a clean-sheet approach to designing both their cars and the… Read more…

Polymer considerations for EV

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Lightweight with higher temperature resistance, thermoplastics are ideal for e-mobility powertrains, Nick Flaherty reports
The push to make e-mobility designs lighter to boost range is driving significant innovation in materials. Thermoplastics are being redesigned to provide various combinations of temperature and flowability for manufacturing and plating capabilities. Read more…

Inverters

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Modern inverters are including more intelligent features to work with other vehicle systems, reports Peter Donaldson
Inverters do the conceptually straightforward job of converting an electric current from DC into AC form. As such, they create an essential link between the energy storage system and the motor.
Modern inverters use solid-state semiconductor switches, connected to form combinations of half-bridges and activated by smaller switching circuits known as gate drivers, which in turn are under the control of processors that implement control logic embodied in hardware, software or both. Read more…