Plug-In

The lithium-ion battery cell has emerged as a clear favorite with the plethora of car manufacturers who are announcing their electric ambitions. And as this demand rises, suppliers of battery technology are in a race of their own to provide high-quality, low-cost lithium-ion solutions. Several Asian firms have established dominant footholds in the industry, winning contracts with major auto companies, and they offer a formidable challenge to newer entrants: South Korea’s LG Chem was the supplier chosen by GM to manufacturer batteries ... Discover More

General Motors opened this week what’s being called the largest battery factory in the U.S.  But before we start to analyze the numbers, let's first get them all listed: The new Global Battery Systems Lab is located at the Warren Technical Center campus on the outskirts of Detroit. According to information coming from the company, it cost GM $25 million to construct, takes up 33,000 square feet, and employs over 1,000 engineers. The facility will operate 42 thermal chambers and 160 test channels ... Discover More

Not to be outdone by its competitors, Volvo has announced its own hybrid electric car due in... 2012.  This would put it behind four other auto companies we're tracking that have a release date of 2010, however in return for an extra couple of years of waiting, users will have the ability to drive a plug-in with a diesel engine. The engine will release less than 50 grams/km.  of carbon dioxide emissions (using the NEDC standard).  According to Volvo, this would qualify it ... Discover More

California-based CODA Automotive unveiled a new all-electric sedan that it plans to have ready by the fall of 2010. The little-known company had not issued any prior press releases hinting at an unveiling, and there is not much information about them publically available at the moment. Their website only shows that their management team and Board of Advisors include former finance executives from Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, and several engineers from a variety of industries. Obscure No More It ... Discover More

Questions loom over the fate of the Chevy Volt as General Motors prepares to file for bankruptcy tomorrow, June 1st 2009.    Based on GM's worldwide assets of $91 billion and liabilities of $176 billion, the bankruptcy would be  the third largest in U.S. history, behind Lehman Brothers and Worldcom. There have been several prominent speculations over whether GM will abandon its plug-in program.   Keith Johnson, writing for the Wall Street Journal, has come out saying he believes the Volt will be ... Discover More

The bankrupt Chrysler has submitted a proposal to the Department of Energy to match the $224 million that it and its partners plan on devoting to the development and production of plug-in automobiles.  The funds would fall under the DOE's program designed to promote the United States' electric vehicle infrastructure. Of the $448 million total allotment, Chrysler plans on using up to $83 million to construct an R&D/manufacturing hub in Michigan. The remaining $365 million would be used towards unveiling ... Discover More

One of the thorniest issues facing the mass adoption of electric-only vehicles is the time it takes to charge them – plugging in for a couple hours seems cumbersome for anyone wanting to drive more than just to work and back. There have been several solutions proposed, such as waiting for advances in battery technology, battery-swapping stations, and improving charging standards and infrastructure. A group of engineers in South Korea, however, have proposed and tested an idea ... Discover More

The American Clean Energy and Security Act, also known as H.R. 2354, was opened up for amendments and debate today in Congress.  The legislation is meant to introduce  measures that increase energy efficiency, deploy green technology, and transition the country away from fossil-fuel dependence. The Bill mandates utilities to begin development of plans that support electric vehicle infrastructure and standards for incorporating their integration with a smart power grid.   It also authorizes the Secretary of Energy to provide financial assistance for the ... Discover More

You might call them swapping stations, battery cell replacement stations, charging stations or any combination of the above. The important thing is, we will be talking about them soon: there's a $400 million startup company, and billions of dollars in capital set aside by its partners, who are all banking on it.   Their idea?   The future, as they see it, is one where drivers will be provided with ultra-cheap cars and then billed by the mile/kilometer as they move around. ... Discover More

A group of MIT undergraduate students have found that optimizing the shock absorbers in vehicles recovers "a significant amount of energy" that is typically wasted in normal suspensions of most automobiles.  Their team claims a 10% overall increase in fuel efficiency, coming out on the high-end on heavier vehicles such as trucks, and they hope to win major contracts from the military as well as truck manufacturers. Their new shock absorber, called the GenShock, utilizes a hydrolic system that pushes fluid through a ... Discover More

Called "The Business of Plugging In", the conference will be held from October 19-21 at the MotorCity Hotel and Conference Center.  It will bring together various interest groups to discuss the future of plug-in electric vehicles. "This conference will foster the dialogue among utilities, automakers, regulators, universities and other stakeholders to assess the environmental impacts of PEVs and to assist with the understanding of how widespread adoption of electric vehicles will impact the electric system," said Al Fields of DTE, an energy company. An ... Discover More

- With an electric car plug standard about to be finalized, and charging stations beginning to pop up in the U.S. and Europe, an important question to ask is: How long will it take to fill up a car battery? And like most matters, the answer is, “It depends!” Automobile batteries, whether they are nickel-metal hydride or lithium-ion, can be made up of many cells, with larger cell quantities capable of a larger storage capacity. The tradeoff, however, is that cars with more ... Discover More

As the price of oil spiked to $150/barrel, car shoppers and the media began focusing on fuel efficiency ratings. For gasoline-powered vehicles, the number that is important is the ‘Miles per Gallon’ (or ‘Kilometers per Liter’ outside of the US and UK), the distance one unit of gasoline takes you. The United States EPA has a protocol that it follows to test the MPG ratings of various automobiles, providing a convenient way for making comparisons. However, when considering electric vehicles, the ... Discover More

Honda Motor Co. President, Takeo Fukui, indicated in an interview on April 23rd that the current administration's incentives are causing the company to refocus their strategy.   "We understand the situation, in terms of government and incentives," he said.  "Naturally, we’re going to have to accommodate that too.” Honda had originally sought out to be the leader in manufacturing cars based on hydrogen fuel-cell technology.   They began leasing the FCX Clarity to drivers in California in 2008, the same year they built ... Discover More

EV Innovations, incorporated in Nevada and with an R&D subsidiary in India, recently showed off two pre-production electric vehicles at the New York Auto Show.   Pictured to the left and below, the Wave and the Inizio EVS are aimed at different market segments and have very different performance profiles. The Wave is a 2-seater vehicle that offers an electric range of 170 miles on a single charge.   It travels from 0-60 mph in a lumbering 12 seconds and tops out at ... Discover More

In an interview with Prabhakar Patil, the Chief Executive of Compact Power, the battery maker claims that his company is on track to providing lithium-ion batteries to power GM's upcoming Volt plug-in vehicle. Despite the financial troubles of the U.S. automaker, Patil says that he has not noticed any loss of commitment, claiming that "From GM's side, it's their highest priority program."  Compact Power is a subsidiary of  LG Chem, Ltd., a South Korean battery supplier. This statement, coming from a close supplier with ... Discover More

At the 2009 Auto Show in Shanghai (the heart of China's automobile industry), executives from most of the world's top auto companies appeared to showcase their newest products and keep an eye on the competition.   Especially notable at this year's event was that almost every major manufacturer, as well as several smaller companies, had a pure electric vehicle on display.   The number of electric vehicles by Chinese companies?  Eight.  And perhaps the most notable of those companies is BYD (Build ... Discover More

The United States Council for Automotive Research is set to formulate new standards for the high-voltage wiring and connections in plug-in automobiles.   The alliance, which includes Chrysler LLC, Ford Motor Company and General Motors Corporation,  will be meeting to discuss the details at the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) conference in Detroit  on April 20-23. The new standards will cover specifications for systems running up to 400V, replacing the old standards for wiring capacities of only 20V.   This will allow plug-in ... Discover More

The new concept car by Bright Automotive is set to be unveiled in a few days in Washington D.C.   Eschewing the design practices of traditional auto makers, the hybrid vehicle will be built with lightweight, aerodynamic engineering as its core concept. This means stearing clear of large steel purchases and focusing on reducing the size and weight of its battery back. The plug-in car is said to have a 30 mile all-electric range and will be coupled with a small ... Discover More

At the 2009 Seoul Motor Show (April 2-12), Hyundai released further details of its new hybrid concept.  With a release anticipated towards the end of 2012, this vehicle represents the latest company to catch up with the electric-vehicle movement. The "BLUE-WILL" is expected to have an electric-only driving distance of 40 miles (64 km). It contains a 1.6L direct-injection gasoline engine providing 152 horsepower coupled with a 100 kw electric-motor.   Like the Fisker Karma, the automobile will carry a panoramic roof fitted ... Discover More

Standing for P.ersonal U.rban M.obility and A.ccessibility, a prototype was released Tuesday, April 7th in New York for a public demonstration.  This unlikely off-spring of the two disparate companies is either a visionary solution for the crowded streets of urban areas around the globe (claims made by the earlier Segway owner), or a hail-mary project that the executives of GM hope can attract some positive coverage and help their current dismal situation. General Motors is currently preparing for bankruptcy,  as a ... Discover More

In an excellent preview of what we can expect out of the next generation Toyota Prius, New York Times editor, Jerry Garret, takes the 2010 model out for a spin. Before getting into his personal hands-on experience with the machine, he first mentions the "iconic" status of its predecessor:  asking the almost rhetorical question of, how can something that is a) comfortably bigger, b) faster, c) possessing an upgraded battery pack, and d) more energy efficient than a vehicle that already had so ... Discover More

Toyota has announced that it will be releasing about 100 plug-in hybrids in France in a serious effort to optimize its battery technology and learn more about the infrastructure requirements of a large-scale deployment.   EDF Energy, one of the UK's largest energy companies, will monitor all operational aspects of the charging process, taking into account safety, communication between the plug and the vehicle, vehicle identification as well as energy consumption. EDF, along with its subsidiary, Electricité de Strasbourg, will also be setting ... Discover More

Here is the breakdown for the funding released by the Obama initiative: $2 billion from the stimulus plan pushed through earlier in the year is set aside for electric-vehicle production. Out of that package, $1.5 billion is for battery manufacturing within the U.S. The remaining $500 million is slated for related technologies that compliment these vehicles, such as electric motors. The Department of Energy (DOE) is setting aside a further $400 million for the infrastructure of plug-in automobiles. One of the stated goals of these ... Discover More

Although the company has not committed to a formal timeline, Piaggio Group Americas' CEO has suggested in interviews that this highway-legal scooter is expected to be on the road relatively soon. The new plug-in will be a modified version of the company's Piaggio's MP3 500. According to CEO Paul Timoni, the plug-in scooter will get up to 140 mpg, have an all-electric range of 40 miles per charge , and will be priced between $8000 and $9000.  There is also a  European ... Discover More

With one of the biggest challenges of mass-adoption of plug-in vehicles being the possibility of overloaded power grids, many utilitily companies feel that they already have the solution: Install upgraded transformers in areas where the demand for electric vehicles is the highest, and charge consumers different rates according to peak hours of demand. Pacific Gas & Electric is already implementing a tiered system, charging electric car owners 5 cents per kilowatt hour between midnight and 7 a.m., and 30 cents per kilowatt hour ... Discover More

It's not just the U.S. and multinational automobile CEOs, the advertising executives and car dealerships, the auto magazines and the eager consumers that are anticipating the shift from gas-powered engines to battery-powered electric vehicles, but nationwide, power companies see the upcoming change as a great opportunity, as well as a need for adjustments. The major boon that a surge of plug-ins bring to utilities is as follows:  Their "surplus" power, which is all those electrons that their power sources produce and send through ... Discover More

Based on the Concept cX (pictured above), Mitsubishi has announced it will release a plug-in hybrid called the Concept zC.  A prototype vehicle will be shown at this year's Tokyo Motor Show in October. According to Autocar, the new zC will utilize a hatchback rear-end based on the company's Racing Lancer as well as raised ground clearance, and it will be built on the GS platform that is currently in use in the Lancer and the Outlander. Production for the new vehicle will take ... Discover More

In a press release by Jay Friedland of Plug In America, we learn that the non-profit organization helped organize many thousands of emails to various congressional representatives in support of favorable provisions to be added to the stimulus bill.  They claim to have played a key role in the formulation of an amendment by Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), which extended a 10% tax credit to three-wheeled electric vehicles, electric motorcycles, "Neighborhood" Electric Vehicles, and gas/hybrid cars that have been converted to plug-ins. Along ... Discover More

Green Car Advisor has delved a bit further into the Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, revealing many of the numbers that were designed to jumpstart the product of hybrid and electric vehicles. Conventional hybrid manufactuers will continue to enjoy a $3,400 tax-credit for their first 60,000 hybrids, followed by a %50 drop each of the following 6 months.   Of course, companies like Toyota have already used up all of these tax-credits, while General Motors still has its full reserve available. State ... Discover More

Though not as pricey and not as forceful as the Tesla Roadster (Sport Model: $128,500; 0-60 mph in under 4.0 seconds), the Fisker Karma certainly carries the looks and performance of a new breed of "green" status symbols.   Fisker Automotive describes its vehicle has having "The height of a Porsche 911, length of a Mercedes Benz CLS and the width of a BMW 7 Series." With two electric motors that produce a peak output of 408 horsepower and 959 ft-lb. of ... Discover More

Ford Motor plans to have plug-in electric vehicles in its showrooms by 2012.  Powering these vehicles will be lithium-ion battery cells, manufactured by Johnson Controls-Saft, a U.S.-French joint venture.  Nancy Gioia, Ford's hybrid chief, indicated that enough battery purchases will be made to produce about 5,000 plug-in vehicles a year.  However, there is no indicated what form such a vehicle will take. Apparently, the technology will be showcased in a 2009 Escape SUV.  Referring to prices, Gioia stated that gasoline-electric hybrids sell from ... Discover More

Speaking at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, James Lentz, the president of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., announced that Toyota would release its version of a plug-in hybrid towards the end of 2009, a year ahead of schedule. This would put its release date ahead of the Chevrolet Volt, perhaps giving it a first-entrant advantage over the American counterpart. Toyota plans on releasing only about 500 vehicles for commercial customers at the outset, with 150 of those plug-ins destined for ... Discover More