IDTechEx

Electric Vehicles - But Not As We Know Them

Today's electric family cars are useless in telling us anything about the future. The design and adoption of electric vehicles is subject to sudden change driven by surprising factors. The unique event "Electric Vehicles - Land Sea Air" in Stuttgart, Germany is alone in looking at the big picture in order to clarify what is really going on.

Heavy VC Funding of EVs

A new analysis by Ernst & Young reveals where US venture capital for green projects is now being directed. In the first quarter of this year, venture capital investment into clean technology companies by US firms has increased by about two-thirds since the economic dip of early 2009.

New French EV sharing scheme

An electric vehicle sharing campaign is being implemented in the French Riviera and Monaco and its service provider has called upon contactless smart card manufacturer ASK of Nice to provide the technology.

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. Indeed, they must cover much more than on-road vehicles and the rather narrow electromobility programs of governments that tend to focus on cars, with some effort on other on-road vehicles and little else.

More on 2nd vs 3rd Generation Range Extenders

There is no doubt that hybrid electric vehicles by land sea and air are transitioning from having small traction batteries and near useless all electric range of about 15 miles to something nearer to market needs. In prospect is all-electric plug-in range as good or better than today's affordable pure electric land, sea and air vehicles at 100 miles or so (162 km) and use of on-board range extenders that give a total plug-in powered plus on-board energy range that even exceeds that of most of today's conventional vehicles.

New military supercapacitor funding

ADA Technologies, Inc. has been awarded a $70,000 contract from the U.S. Army to begin Phase 1 of the development of an electrochemical supercapacitor (ultracapacitor) for use in hybrid military vehicles.

Intense interest in energy harvesting for electric vehicles

Two forthcoming events in Germany reflect the intense interest in energy harvesting for electric vehicles.

A catamaran powered by electricity from renewable sources

The catamaran is propelled by electric energy generated by solar panels, wind turbines, hydrogen batteries and diesel-electric thermal generators.

Radical new light aircraft design

Aki Suokas in Finland has a radical new light aircraft design that weighs less than 70 kilos.

The China car dead end

China cannot widely adopt cars. We all aspire to have a car because they are sociable and offer great freedom of movement. However, as the IDTechEx sums below show, they are the worst form of transport in energy used per passenger travelling distance whether electric or not.

Gorillas like Electric Vehicles

The seven largest companies participating in the event, "Electric Vehicles Land Sea Air" in Stuttgart 28-29 June have a total sales value exceeding $570 billion. Clearly the gorillas of industry are intimately involved in electric vehicles.

New top speed record set for electric motorcycle

The SWIGZ.COM Pro Racing team has set a top speed record for an electric motorcycle of 190.6 mph in the Mojave Mile Shootout.

Electric Vehicles for Military, Security and Police - Land, Water, Air

This article shares some of the research carried out for the new IDTechEx report, "Electric Vehicles, Military, Security, Police 2011-2021".

New GS Yuasa traction battery orders

GS Yuasa Corp has just announced that it has reached a broad agreement to supply lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles now under joint development by PSA Peugeot Citroen and Mitsubishi Motors Corp.

Range extenders for hybrid vehicles -2nd vs. 3rd generation

We are in the decade of the hybrid electric vehicle despite the fact that most off road and underwater vehicles are pure electric.

Ultra fast bus charging

In April 2011, it was announced that Sweden will test the world's first fast rechargeable hybrid bus in Umeå City with a pantograph-based fast charging station, Bůsbaar, developed by Opbrid Transporte Sostenible S.L. It will be a Volvo 7700 diesel converted to hybrid.

Heavy funding of photovoltaics and EVs

A new analysis by Ernst & Young reveals where US venture capital for green projects is now being directed.

GE achieves highest publicly reported efficiency for Thin Film Solar

Plans to Build US Manufacturing Plant Highest-Ever Reported Efficiency of Nearly 13 Percent on a Full-Size CdTe Thin Film Solar Panel More than 100 Megawatts of New Orders for Thin Film Solar Products GE to Build 400-Megawatt Manufacturing Facility, will be Larger than Any Existing US Solar Panel Plant Today Solar Strategy Complemented by Announced Acquisition of Power Conversion Technology Company Converteam GE Completes Acquisition of PrimeStar Solar, Inc.

IDTechEx printed electronics Europe 2011 award winners

The annual printed electronics award winners were announced on April 5th at the IDTechEx Awards

Some impressions from Printed Electronics Europe

Printed Electronics Europe in Düsseldorf grew again, remaining Europe's largest event on the subject.