Category: Electric Vehicles

BY TYLER DURDEN

The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) has begun the first phase of a project to transform a segment of the state’s highway into wireless charging pavement for electric vehicles, according to local news WRTV. 

INDOT partnered with Advancing Sustainability through Power Infrastructure for Road Electrification (ASPIRE) Initiative, in a three-phase project that will use magnetizable concrete, developed by a German startup Magment GmbH, to allow seamless wireless charging of electric vehicles while in motion. 

“We’re quite eager to see this first of its kind project unfold in Indiana,” David Christensen, the ASPIRE Innovation Director, said. “This partnership that includes Magment, INDOT, Purdue University, and the larger ASPIRE consortium has great promise to really move the needle on technology development, which will, in turn, enable more positive impacts from deeper electric vehicle adoption.”

The project will be conducted in three phases. The first and second will be pavement testing at Purdue University’s West Lafayette campus. The third phase will be INDOT installing a quarter-mile-long wireless charging pavement on a stretch of highway in the state. 

Continue reading… “Indiana To Build Wireless In-Motion Charging For Electric Vehicles On Highway”

By Felicity Bradstock 

The electric vehicle (EV) boom is now expected to come five years earlier than originally anticipated, in 2033, according to new research.

Based on new Ernst & Young AI analysis for supply and demand, experts are suggesting that EV sales will surpass those of traditional vehicles by 2033, with Europe reaching this point in 2028, China by 2033, and the U.S. by 2036. The research suggests that non-EV sales could plummet to as low as 1 percent of total vehicle sales by 2045. 

While Europe will be the first to achieve record EV sales, due to increasing vehicle demand China will likely lead the way through to 2050. 

Pressure from governments across Europe and in China for companies to meet green policy expectations means increasing fees for car manufacturers buying and selling gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles. The goal of net-zero has spread around the globe, meaning many automakers are making the switch earlier than anticipated.  

Continue reading… “The EV Boom Is Coming Much Earlier Than Expected”

The latest information from the US government shows battery electric cars cost less to maintain than conventional cars, hybrids, and plug-in hybrids. 

By Steve Hanley

We have heard it over and over again — electric vehicles cost less to own. The reasons are fairly obvious. A vehicle with an internal combustion engine and transmission has about 10,000 parts whirling around in order to make it go. A battery electric car has less than 10. Fewer parts means fewer things that require servicing which in turn means paying less money to technicians to keep our transportation devices running.

While we understand intuitively that electric vehicles should be less expensive to maintain, now there’s proof. The US government operates the largest vehicle fleet in the world, so it stands to reason it should know a thing or two about how much it costs to keep them all running.

Continue reading… “It’s Official: US Government Says Electric Vehicles Cost 40% Less To Maintain”

Michelle Lewis 

The Yara Birkeland, the world’s first net-zero, battery-powered autonomous container ship, was delivered to Norwegian fertilizer company Yara Norge AS in November 2020. It’s currently in the Norwegian port of Horten, where it’s undergoing further preparations for autonomous operation and a late 2021 launch.

Continue reading… “Meet the world’s first electric autonomous container ship”

By Nicole Lee

Back in 2019, Canoo had a bold plan to sell a subscription-only EV. Now, however, it appears that plan has been shelved, at least temporarily. The company announced today that the futuristic-looking van, officially called the “Lifestyle Vehicle,” will have a starting price of $34,750. The price can be as high as $49,950 before incentives or optional equipment. Starting today, you can reserve one of your own for a $100 deposit. The Lifestyle Vehicle will arrive in 2022.

On top of that, the company also announced that its MPDV (which starts at $33,000) and pickup truck can be reserved for a $100 deposit as well. Deliveries for those vehicles, however, are slated for 2023.

Continue reading… “Canoo’s first consumer ‘lifestyle vehicle’ will cost almost $35,000”

By Lawrence Hodge

One of the barriers to EVs right now is the hassle of charging. In fact, one fifth of all EV buyers go back to gas vehicles, mainly because of charging issues.But charging infrastructure and technology keep getting better. 

According to Business Insider, researchers at Cornell University, led by Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Khurram Afridi, have developed technology that would allow vehicles to be charged on the road while in motion. It would essentially turn U.S. roadways into wireless chargers. 

Afrindi says he has been working on the tech for the last seven years. Here’s how it would work, according to Afrindi via Insider: 

Continue reading… “Researchers Have Developed A Way To Wirelessly Charge Vehicles On The Road”

By U.S. Department of Energy

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Federal Fleet Project Leader Cabell Hodge has a lot to think about these days. With the Biden administration announcing a push to electrify the entire federal fleet, NREL’s work supporting energy-savvy fleet management is more critical and timely than ever. The president’s ambitious new goal requires a considered plan: Which fleets and vehicles should go electric first — and when, and how — among the more-than-614,000-vehicle domestic fleet of federal cars, vans, and trucks, including 225,000 Postal Service vehicles, across the United States?

Continue reading… “How To Electrify Entire US Federal Vehicle Fleet”

By Fred Lambert 

Volkswagen has confirmed that it will switch all of its MEB-based electric vehicles to support bidirectional charging starting next year.

It could give a big boost to vehicle-to-grid technologies.

Continue reading… “VW will switch to mass-producing electric vehicles with bidirectional charging next year”

Micah Toll 

Who said Segways aren’t cool? Not the dude riding a hybrid hydrogen and electric-powered Segway Apex H2 motorcycle, that’s for sure.

Or at least that’s probably what he’d say if this concept motorcycle ever makes it to production.

The Segway Apex H2 appears to be a follow-up to the previously seen Segway Apex, an electric motorcycle first unveiled by the company in late 2019.

Continue reading… “Segway unveils futuristic Apex H2 hybrid hydrogen electric motorcycle”

• GMC on Saturday unveiled its first electric SUV — the 2024 Hummer EV SUV. 
• The “Edition 1” Hummer EV SUV will hit streets in early 2023 and cost roughly $106,000. 
• By 2024, GMC plans to sell an $80,000 version with a 250-mile range and more than 600 horsepower. 

General Motors has teased for months that its upcoming electric pickup truck, the GMC Hummer EV, would gain an SUV stablemate at some point down the line. Now it’s finally here. 

GMC offered the first real glimpse of the 2024 Hummer EV SUV on Saturday in a commercial that aired during the NCAA Final Four. The so-called “supertruck” is available to reserve now, and the first models will hit streets in early 2023, GMC said. 

Like its pickup sibling that debuted in October, the Hummer EV SUV comes packed with features targeted at off-roading. Saturday’s LeBron James-narrated spot highlighted capabilities like “extract mode,” which lifts the vehicle by several inches at the push of a button, and “crab walk,” which turns all four wheels so the SUV can drive diagonally. 

Continue reading… “GMC just unveiled its $100,000 Hummer EV SUV with 830-horsepower that will hit streets in 2023”

Polaris and Optimus Ride are jointly-developing a production autonomous shuttle. 

Will work as a campus shuttle

By Gary Gastelu 

Polaris is getting into the autonomous car business … slowly.

The company is jointly developing a self-drivingshuttle with Optimus Ride, which currently operates pilot loops in Brooklyn, Washington D.C. and several other locations using prototypes built on the Polaris Gem e6 platform.

The vehicles operate on fixed, geofenced loops among pedestrians and traffic at speeds up to 25 mph using an array of cameras and lidar to monitor their surroundings.

They currently have safety backup drivers onboard in case anything goes wrong, but Optimus Ride CEO Sean Harrington said they expect them to be fully autonomous and overseen by a central monitoring system with remote control capability by the time the production vehicles enter service in 2023.

Continue reading… “Autonomous Polaris GEM neighborhood electric vehicle launching in 2023”

BY ADELE PETERS

Rethinking the form factor of urban e-commerce.

In crowded cities, electric cargo bikes have some obvious advantages over typical delivery vans. They’re small enough to squeeze through traffic jams, so deliveries are faster. When they stop for deliveries, they’re less likely to block lanes and add to congestion. And they don’t add to pollution.

Most cargo bikes (technically, trikes) tested by shipping companies look fairly similar, with a rider in front and a box or two filled with deliveries in the back. But over the last couple of months, engineers at Polestar, the Volvo-owned electric car brand, have been experimenting with an even simpler vehicle for urban deliveries. Instead of a bike, it looks like a giant scooter. It’s made from lightweight aluminum and it can fit in a bike lane, but it can hold as much as 600 pounds.

Continue reading… “This electric ‘urban sled’ is a model for a future of emission-free deliveries”