Tesla, Inc.

EV event uniquely reflecting the new realities

We have entered 2012 with an electric vehicle scene that is very different from that which was envisaged not long ago. There are now six key enabling technologies not three and vehicle makers increasingly make some of them, so suppliers increasingly have to compete with their largest potential customers. Precious metals in EV components are being removed remarkably rapidly.

News from EV Japan in Tokyo

EV Japan is proceeding here in Tokyo with about 89 EV Japan stands in a massive set of co-located exhibitions of about 600 stands in all from lighting to home solar and mainly electronic and electric materials, components and systems. There are quite a few electric cars on display including the plug- in Prius, Tesla, Volt and many less known models and concepts. The one below promoted TORAY products.

Palo Alto increases green initiatives

The city of Palo Alto is accelerating its green initiatives in a bid to cement its standing as a highly eco-friendly area according to a Palo Alto Online news report.

FDK, Asahi Kasei join in li-ion capacitor JV

FDK and Asahi Kasei today concluded a basic agreement to establish a joint-venture company for the combined operation of a lithium ion capacitor (LIC) business.

The death of lead acid batteries

In historical terms, the death of the flint tool, cooking by dung and other bygone technologies occurred very rapidly. This was because several factors conspired to bring in the better alternative and this created a multiplier effect. So it is with lead acid batteries. To this huge industry and the magazines that write about it, there is a long term, if unspectacular, future for the lead acid battery in vehicles - the main use.

The death of lead acid batteries

In historical terms, the death of the flint tool, cooking by dung and other bygone technologies occurred very rapidly. This was because several factors conspired to bring in the better alternative and this created a multiplier effect. So it is with lead acid batteries. To this huge industry and the magazines that write about it, there is a long term, if unspectacular, future for the lead acid battery in vehicles - the main use.

New EV technology starting at the heavy end

Electric vehicles larger than cars include many boats, trucks, buses and other industrial and commercial vehicles, manned and unmanned aircraft and military vehicles for the field of combat and supply lines, even tugs for aircraft. Some electric vehicles are the size of a car but pack a much bigger punch.

Latest EV trends and dead ends

Europe's largest electric vehicle show eCarTec, that has just taken place in Munich Germany, was an excellent place to see the latest trends and dead ends in electric vehicles.

Toyota builds across the EV market

Toyota leverages technology across more of the electric vehicle market.

Rare-earth elements discovered on the Pacific seabed

Earlier this month the British journal //Nature Geoscience// published an article revealing the discovery of rare earth mineral deposits by Japanese scientists on the Pacific Ocean seabed. The scientists estimate this discovery //could provide one-fifth of the current annual world consumption// of rare earth elements often used in green technolgies.

Electric vehicles - land, sea, air Europe 2011 awards

The judges noted very innovative and impressive features with real benefits for electric vehicles.

Airliners become electric vehicles

Aircraft are becoming more electric even to the extent of having electric traction just like an electric car. Curiously this is starting at the light and heavy end, with medium sized feeder aircraft adopting electrification later.

Boxster E prototypes

The Boxster E, with one electric motor apiece on front and rear axle, runs on purely electric power with four-wheel drive and is equivalent to a Boxster S in terms of driving dynamics. Together with two other Boxster Es, in which an electric motor drives the rear wheels, the prototype is being used to explore the everyday practicality of all-electric vehicles and how they are used, especially in terms of driving and battery charging. What the researchers are after is an understanding of the requirements facing future products, where to go next with Porsche Intelligent Performance and how to integrate electric vehicles into the infrastructure.

New e-mobility event is better for component suppliers

Those making subsystems, components and materials for electric vehicles gain little from meeting only the high profile electric car companies at e-mobility events. The queue is very long to supply these companies and the pricing is often extremely challenging. By contrast, a look at the big picture of electric vehicles by land, water and air reveals a huge number of often highly profitable niche applications.

Electric vehicles become electronic

About 80% of the value of a military jet aircraft lies in the circuitry, up from almost nothing a century ago. Civil airliners are about 50% electric and electronic, whereas the family car is around 30% so far, all these percentages steadily rising. The point is that an aircraft has far more than the radar, communications and other instruments accessed by the pilot: it is a sea of sensors, fuel controls and servo systems in the engines, wings and elsewhere. Even the family car adds much more than the satnav, phone, proximity sensors and other electronics directly assisting the driver, the MEMS accelerometer controlling the air bags being just one of an increasingly huge number of out-of-sight safety and other measures controlled by circuitry.

BAE Systems exceeds 3500 hybrid bus drive trains

BAE Systems says it has cumulatively delivered more than 3,500 units of its hybrid electric propulsion system called the HybriDrive series, netting it over $350 million and making it one of the most successful suppliers of subsystems in the history of the electric vehicle.

Global benchmarking for e-mobility at last

Best practice in e-mobility first occurs in very different countries and with very different vehicles. The most useful events on the subject therefore need an international speaker lineup.

Amsterdam and car2go go electric

Car2go recently announced it will bring its innovative mobility program to Amsterdam before end of 2011 and decided to run one of the world's first large scale car-sharing fleets of pure electric vehicles there with 300 smart fortwo cars.

Goodbye 100 mile range electric vehicles

150 miles range is the new benchmark for affordable electric vehicles: the 100 miles range of today's pure electric vehicles will quickly become an embarrassment.

Best for batteries: Not too hot, not too cold

With average U.S. gasoline prices approaching $4 a gallon, drivers and automakers are thinking electric. Previously steered in this direction by concerns about pollution and dependence on foreign oil, consumer interest in electric-drive cars continues to surge. But before Americans are able to flip the switch from gasoline to electricity, automakers need batteries for the next generation of electric vehicles that can deliver the range, performance, reliability and safety drivers expect.