Electric Vehicles – Page 14

Electric Automobile, Electric Vehicles, Green Friendly, Science & Technology News, Transportation

Smile, the new Microlino and Microletta electrics are here

March 22, 2020

Microlino 2.0 electric microcar and Microletta e-trike for Europe

What you’re looking at is the Microlino 2.0 electric microcar and Microletta electric trike from Switzerland’s Micro Mobility Systems.

The Microlino is a complete redesign of the original concept revealed in 2015, and demonstrated today for the first time in public. Unfortunately, the event had to happen over a live stream due to the cancellation of the Geneva Auto Show. Today is also the first time we’re seeing the three-wheeled Microletta electric motorbike that goes 80km/h (almost 50 mph) but doesn’t require a motorcycle license.

The four-wheeled Microlino is a new version of the microcars that once skittered along post-WWII streets in Europe until the 1960s. This electric two-seater bears more than a passing resemblance to the Italian-designed Iso Isetta “bubble car” manufactured by BMW and others. Yes, Steve Urkel had one.

Continue reading… “Smile, the new Microlino and Microletta electrics are here”

Batteries, Electric Automobile, Electric Vehicles, Energy, Science & Technology News

UK to get its first electric car forecourt THIS YEAR with 24 superchargers at a specially-designed charging site in Essex

March 17, 2020

First of a network of 100 electric forecourts to open this summer near Braintree

It will have 24 350kW superchargers that can boost EV batteries in half an hour.

The site will have a two-storey building with shops, meeting rooms and lounge.

The entire location is part of a £1bn nationwide scheme and uses 100% renewable energy, the company behind it – Gridserve – says.

The first of a £1billion nationwide network of more than 100 electric forecourts is to open this summer near Braintree in Essex.

It claims to be the first custom-built electric charging station in the UK.

Continue reading… “UK to get its first electric car forecourt THIS YEAR with 24 superchargers at a specially-designed charging site in Essex”

Batteries, Electric Vehicles, Elon Musk, Science & Technology News

Elon Musk’s million-mile battery dreams are about to come true

March 12, 2020

Researchers have developed a new battery for electric vehicles that can last 1 million miles.

Researchers have been working on increasing the power and life cycle of the batteries we use in electric vehicles while maintaining safety standards for years. A battery reaching its end of life, with diminishing returns, would be a long term nightmare for both customers and companies.

A team in Penn State’s Battery and Energy Storage Technology (BEST) Center claims to have developed a powerful battery that can last for 1 million miles. Elon Musk promised last year that Tesla cars would at some point have batteries that last a million miles, and it seems this battery can do just that.

As Tesla learned years ago, a lithium-ion battery that has a high energy density can catch fire or even explode in certain circumstances. That’s obviously something any electric vehicle manufacturer wants to avoid, but we also want our electric vehicles to have batteries that are powerful and long-lasting. Researchers at Penn State appeared to have created a battery that’s stable, powerful and has a very long life using a counterintuitive approach.

Continue reading… “Elon Musk’s million-mile battery dreams are about to come true”

Electric Vehicles, Energy, Green Friendly, Science & Technology News, Transportation

Silent Yachts debuts a new triple-deck version of its dead-quiet solar-powered catamaran

March 10, 2020

Silent 80 Tri Deck Silent Yachts

It’s been touted as the builder’s “most spacious model to date.”

After making a major splash in the marine world earlier this year, Silent Yachts is doubling down—or tripling, perhaps—on its groundbreaking solar-powered catamaran. The Austrian-based builder has just unveiled a brand-new tri-deck version of its flagship Silent 80 series.

Touted as the marque’s “most spacious model to date,” the triple-decker boasts an epic panoramic air-conditioned saloon on the flybridge—a feature which sets it apart from its predecessor. The layout can be arranged with either a sweeping skylounge on the top deck or an expansive 295-square-foot fly deck—whatever the owner desires.

“We thought we can make another step forward with the new model,” Silent Yachts founder and chief executive Michael Köhler said. “The additional sky lounge is a very convenient space and helps stretch out the period of using the boat. The extra space on top extends social areas onboard, while offering new opportunities in terms of layout.”

Continue reading… “Silent Yachts debuts a new triple-deck version of its dead-quiet solar-powered catamaran”

Automobiles, Driverless vehicles, Electric Vehicles, Green Friendly, Science & Technology News, Transportation

The Gruzovikus self-driving freight tractor is almost too beautiful for words

March 9, 2020

Art Lebedev Studio’s Gruzovikus concept truck: fully electric, fully autonomous, extremely beautiful

You don’t normally think of freight tractors in terms of visual appeal: they are enormous machines meant to haul stuff all across the world, so whether they’re pretty or not is of no consequence.

But that doesn’t mean that they can’t be pretty, though. When it comes to good looks, this concept from Art Lebedev Studio takes the crown: there is simply no prettier truck cab out there, real or only in concept stage. This is no coincidence, either: the design team specifically set out to show the world that you can have both brawn and beauty in a single truck cab. And brains, to boot.

Meet Gruzovikus (which literally means truck in Russian), the electric, self-driving truck cab that hauls merchandise from point A to point B, and looking fabulous while doing it. It’s the result of 43 days’ of work for the team at Art Lebedev Studio, and it remains the most startling and impressive concept to this day, a few good months after it was made public.

Clearly, the future of transport is electric and autonomous. This truck has them both, with a good dose of good looks to go. It’s incredibly slim, to the point where it forms an L shape when viewed from the side. It has no windows or doors, because it doesn’t need any. All it has is a giant computer screen that houses the computer, the sensors and the cameras, and everything else needed to make long-distance travels safe.

Continue reading… “The Gruzovikus self-driving freight tractor is almost too beautiful for words”

Automobiles, Electric Vehicles, Record Breaker, Science & Technology News

Citroën launches $6,000 electric car that a 14-year-old can drive

March 10, 2020

Citroën is launching the Ami, a new ~$6,000 mini electric car that can cost just $20 per month and it can be legally driven by a 14-year-old can in France.

We call it an electric car because it looks like a small city car, like a smart, but Citroën is calling Ami a “light quadricycle.”

It’s accessible to people from 14 years old in France, though the French automaker says that only 16-year-olds on average are going to be allowed to drive in most European countries. Another advantage (or risk depending on how you look at it) is that in some places, you won’t even need a driver’s license to get behind the wheel of an Ami.

Continue reading… “Citroën launches $6,000 electric car that a 14-year-old can drive”

Automobiles, Electric Automobile, Electric Vehicles, Science & Technology News

Make way for the Eco-Beast

February 7, 2020

Electric Hummers and Cybertrucks are just the beginning when it comes to sustainable trucks and S.U.V.s.

What would it take to unite this divided country?

At this point, we seem to be down to one option: electric pickup trucks.

Our future was teased in a 30-second General Motors ad featuring Lebron James during the Super Bowl. Announcing a “quiet revolution,” the company offered a glimpse of one of the most counterintuitive passenger vehicles in memory: an electric pickup truck under the revived (and, in some quarters, reviled) nameplate Hummer. The company will unveil the GMC Hummer EV in May.

Continue reading… “Make way for the Eco-Beast”

Automation, Driverless vehicles, Electric Vehicles, Science & Technology News, Transportation

Cruise Origin people mover has no controls, completely autonomous

February 4, 2020

Cruise Origin offers a self driving mini bus for cities

It seems these days that there is no shortage of startups promising new vehicles with electric motors and self-driving systems, and now the joint operation between GM and Honda, Cruise, has unveiled its driverless people mover sans any human controls.

The Cruise Origin, billed as a bus, was unveiled at the San Francisco event “Move Beyond the Car.” The underpinnings and drive system will be built by GM.

Continue reading… “Cruise Origin people mover has no controls, completely autonomous”

Automation, Driverless vehicles, Electric Vehicles, Science & Technology News

Kubota unveils radical autonomous electric tractor in Japan

February 1, 2020

The X tractor is being presented in commemoration of Kubota’s 130th year in business

According to agricultural machinery manufacturer Kubota, there are now fewer farmers in Japan, trying to manage increasingly large amounts of land. With that problem in mind, the company recently unveiled a concept for helping those farmers out – a driverless tractor.

Known as the X tractor (a play on “cross tractor”), the vehicle was designed as part of Kubota’s Agrirobo automated technology program. It made its public debut earlier this month, at an exhibition in the city of Kyoto.

Although not much in the way of technical details have been provided, the vehicle is apparently completely electrically-powered, via a combination of lithium-ion battery packs and solar panels.

Continue reading… “Kubota unveils radical autonomous electric tractor in Japan”

Automobiles, Camping, Electric Vehicles, Science & Technology News, Solar Power

This customized RV with solar-panel body does not need fuel, electricity to run; ever

January 20, 2020

Named as the Iveco Daily Electric, the RV that can take you anywhere – completely for free.

Cleaner vehicles with minimum emissions make up for a new segment that is currently the most hotly contested around the world. This is not only because of the emission norms of major countries that have compelled manufacturers to do so, but also due to the industry’s trajectory that has encouraged them to be the early bird. A rat race for electrification.

On one hand, there are manufacturers who are spending huge chunks of their revenue in creating eco-friendly offerings and on the other hand, you have Dethleffs’ completely solar RV. You heard right, completely solar. While major auto giants around the world are scrambling for a piece of the pie that is electrification, Dethleffs harnessed solar energy to create an offering that is completely independent of any fuel.

Named as the Iveco Daily Electric, the RV that can take you anywhere – completely for free. The extensive use of solar panels on the RV’s body can produce up to 3,000 watts of energy without a charging point in sight.

Continue reading… “This customized RV with solar-panel body does not need fuel, electricity to run; ever”

CES 2020, Electric Vehicles, Science & Technology News, Transportation

Segway unveils S-Pod personal transport for scooter skeptics

January 7, 2020

For those of us who aren’t adventurous enough to ride scooters, Segway has come up with something new: the personal transportation pod.

The well-known self-balancing personal transport brand (owned by Chinese company Segway-Ninebot since 2015) has unveiled the Segway S-Pod, a smart transporting pod for enclosed campuses such as airports, theme parks, and malls.

Segway said it is a safe, self-balancing vehicle that is operated by an intuitive assistive navigation panel. It spins and rotates by the center smoothly for directional changes. Segway-Ninebot will show off the S-Pod and other transportation products at CES 2020, the big tech trade show in Las Vegas next week.

Continue reading… “Segway unveils S-Pod personal transport for scooter skeptics”

Aviation, Electric Vehicles, Record Breaker, Science & Technology News

Rolls-Royce ACCEL all-electric plane prepares to set a world record

December 27, 2019

Rolls-Royce wants to create the ‘fastest electric plane ever,’ a goal that falls under its Accelerating the Electrification of Flight (ACCEL) initiative. The project is part of Rolls-Royce’s mission to advance aviation with the electrification of flight, opening the door for green air travel. The company is backed by government funding in this effort.

Assuming everything goes according to plan, ACCEL will usher in the fastest all-electric airplane in the world. The company announced last week that it has taken ‘an important step’ in this project by officially unveiling the electric model at the Gloucestershire Airport.

The company explains that its team is starting work on the ACCEL plane’s electrical propulsion system, specifically on integrating this system ahead of the record-breaking flight currently planned for next spring. Rolls-Royce expects the electric plane to reach or exceed 300 MPH.

Continue reading… “Rolls-Royce ACCEL all-electric plane prepares to set a world record”