Electric vehicles

The new IDTechEx Research report, "High Power Energy Harvesting 2015-2025" (www.IDTechEx.com/high) appraises the many new ways in which the vehicle will internally harvest energy that is currently wasted as tyre and brake heat etc. so it needs much less externally supplied energy to get along. That alone will get us to a range of up to 1000 miles. In this article, let us look at how the increasingly infrequent charging can be done automatically without involving the driver and how it can grab externally-supplied electricity created from free ambient energy.

HPEH is the clean part of the off-grid renewable energy (OGRE) market which includes burning biomass. High power energy harvesting is production of 10W-100kW+ off-grid electricity where it is needed using ambient energy - light, heat, movement etc. for vehicles and static places.

Hyundai-Kia America Technical Center, Inc. and Mojo Mobility, Inc have been awarded a funding grant from the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Vehicle Technologies program to research and develop a system capable of fast charging an electric vehicle wirelessly.

IDTechEx will be back in Tokyo, Japan for their highly regarded series of Business Insight Forums.

Many land, water and airborne electric vehicles harvest all the energy they need. They never plug in. It is the way of the future.

Imagine a fleet of driverless taxis roaming your city, ready to pick you up and take you to your destination at a moment's notice. While this may seem fantastical, it may be only a matter of time before it becomes reality.

On July 13, BorgWarner paid a premium of 44% to buy Remy International.

Following the record breaking oceanic flight of 5 days and 5 nights in a solar powered airplane, Solar Impulse will undergo maintenance repairs on the batteries due to damages brought about by over heating.

A fleet of autonomous "SmartCarts"—high-tech, 3D-printed, low-speed electric vehicles—could one day zip around the University of Michigan's North Campus, taking students, professors and staff to class, labs and offices while also serving as one of the first test beds for on-demand autonomous transit.

48V systems are close to adoption in some new cars across the world partly to cope with the greater amount of electricity being stored and distributed. They are also becoming attractive for some of the more basic electric vehicles.

IDTechEx is the only market analyst tracking the development of 45 electric vehicle categories and not just electric cars.

Saft, the world's leading designer and manufacturer of advanced technology batteries for industry, has won a contract to supply state-of-the-art Li-ion battery systems to Imtech Marine, a leading maritime technology supplier.

BMW Group and Nanyang Technological University have launched a new electromobility research programme, involving the all-electric BMW i3 and plug-in hybrid sports car BMW i8 that runs on electricity and petrol.

Dubai's government plan for the impulse of electric vehicles began in March and plans to install 84 charging stations in malls, airports, residential communities and hotels.

The world's largest green hydrogen plant was opened in Mainz, Germany last week, a result of a joint collaboration between Stadtwerke Mainz, The Linde Group, Siemens and RheinMain University.

Clean and quiet transport across Munich: the 100% electric trucks from the BMW Group and the SCHERM group are in service.

Endeavoring to reach Hawaii from Japan to encourage the use of clean technologies, the solar powered aircraft of Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg achieved the longest exploration leg of the Solar Impulse's Round-The-World mission.

We are sometimes asked how we choose the topics in which we specialise. There are several answers but certainly we choose topics that overlap and address the major technological and societal megatrends of this century. Four particularly come to mind.

IDTechEx was guest of Qualcomm at the Hilton Hotel Park Lane London 26 June and at the Formula E pure electric car racing in Battersea Park London the day after. This article focuses on the presentation by Steve Pazol VP & GM Wireless Charging.

For the first time, an electric car is the overall winner at an internationally recognised motorsport event, the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in Colorado, USA.