Electric vehicles

The service robotics industry has grown quickly in recent years, spurred on by advances in robotics technology and artificial intelligence (AI), and maybe set to help alleviate some of the labor issues across multiple industries.

The UK's first full-sized autonomous bus will take to the roads of Scotland for the first time this week as live testing begins for project CAVForth. Stagecoach, in partnership with Fusion Processing, Alexander Dennis and Transport Scotland, will be carrying out on-road testing of the autonomous bus over the next two weeks in preparation for the launch of the CAVForth pilot service in late summer.

This IDTechEx premium article discusses the rising interest in aluminium-core high voltage cabling for electric vehicles, detailing cable manufacturer offerings, a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages, new advancements and market adoption, and a market outlook versus copper through 2040. The article also discusses how the trend for 800V platforms may impact uptake.

Eve UAM LLC and Thales have teamed up to support the development of Eve's electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft in Brazil. The strategic partnership involves a series of joint studies over a twelve-month period on the technical, economical, and adaptable feasibility of a 100% electrically powered aircraft.

Advancing the company's commitment to vehicle electrification, Toyota will invest $383 million in four of its U.S. manufacturing plants that build the heart of new Toyota and Lexus vehicles. The new investment supports the production of four-cylinder engines, including options for hybrid electric vehicles, at its Alabama, Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee plants.

Parker Hannifin (Parker) recently gave a webinar discussing thermal management for construction equipment with a focus on their coolant hoses, connectors, and electric motors.

This premium article explores ChargedEVs, an online series of presentations relating to the electric vehicle market. This article will cover presentations relating to materials and components for the EV battery pack and electric motors, with a focus on thermal management and system protection.

Charge point manufacturer, SCAME, and EV charging software platform, Monta, have partnered up to increase the amount of public charge points in the UK as well as simplify the installation, management, and use of chargers.

Statevolt will construct a 54GWh Gigafactory in Imperial Valley, southern California with an expected CapEx of $4 billion. To launch the new facility, Statevolt has also signed a Letter of Intent with Controlled Thermal Resources.

The VISION EQXX from Mercedes-Benz has now taken to the roads of Europe and has demonstrated its range and efficiency. Travelling from Sindelfingen across the Swiss Alps and Northern Italy, to its destination of Cassis on the Côte d'Azur, it covered more than 1,000 km in everyday traffic, on a single battery charge.

EPC is a provider of power semiconductors using gallium nitride (GaN) technology. The key areas discussed with IDTechEx were the benefits of their GaN FETs (field-effect transistors) over the typical silicon MOSFETs (metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors) for applications such as LiDAR and for low voltage electric motors.

Glencore and General Motors Co.announced a multi-year sourcing agreement in which Glencore will supply GM with cobalt from its Murrin Murrin operation in Australia. Cobalt is an important metal in the production of EV batteries, and the cobalt processed from Australia will be used in GM's Ultium battery cathodes, which will power electric vehicles such as the Chevrolet Silverado EV, GMC HUMMER EV and Cadillac LYRIQ.

As stated at the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference in November 2021, Mercedes-Benz is committed to a faster transition to electric cars. The company aims to at least halve CO2 emissions per passenger car over the lifecycle by the end of this decade compared to 2020 levels.

Ample, a startup established in 2014 and based out of San Francisco, is developing a modular battery swapping solution. The company is focusing on fleets, has integrated its modular batteries into nine vehicle models across five different automakers, and has five swapping stations across San Francisco. Ample's goal is to offer fully automated battery swaps in around ten minutes at small, self-contained swap stations.

Ultimate Transmissions have developed a new method of thermally managing the stator windings of an electric motor. The technology is relatively simple, but provides the potential for better cooling of the coil windings and the potential to eliminate the oil cooling spray.

Gogoro is a two-wheeler OEM based in Taiwan and was founded in 2011. It makes swap-capable battery packs, e-scooters, drivetrain platforms, and operates a network of battery swapping stations.

Just one week after Emirates Team New Zealand first christened their hydrogen powered foiling catamaran 'Chase Zero', the 10m prototype was up and foiling around the Waitematā harbour in Auckland.

Lockheed Martin demonstrated the expanded endurance capabilities of a specially configured Lockheed Martin Stalker VXE unmanned aerial system through a world record endurance flight on The flight establishes a new record in the Group 2 (5 to <25-kilogram) category with a flight time of 39 hours, 17 minutes and 7 seconds.

Battery swapping is an emerging alternative to fast charging EVs that is taking off mainly in China. The battery swapping industry is seeing large investments and government support in China with a few brave players swimming against an overwhelming tide. While the majority of the business activity is occurring in China by local operators, some key players are demonstrating the viability of this technology in other parts of the world too. This premium article covers some of the key players involved in the battery swapping industry.

Honda Motor Co Ltd today held a press briefing on its initiatives in the automobile electrification business. The motor group plans to spend 5 trillion Yen ($40 billion) on electric vehicles in the coming decade.