Battery Electric Vehicle News / Enjoying the Transportation Revolution

Martyn1981

Sounds like a good plan to reduce the running costs of a zero carbon vehicle v's ICE competition.

Ministers Greenlight 50% Toll Discount for Emissions-Free Trucks

Hauliers driving emissions-free trucks will get at least half off road tolls in the EU under a new tolling system given the go-ahead by transport ministers this week. Fossil fuel trucks will be charged based on their CO2 emissions, with more efficient heavy-goods vehicles paying less. Green group Transport & Environment said that, if agreed by the EU parliament, the new Eurovignette law will speed up the transition to zero-emissions freight and help alleviate air pollution in cities.

Transport ministers said zero-emission trucks, which are electrified or run on hydrogen, would get at least a 50% discount on charges by April 2023¹. Countries can even give discounts of up to 100% for zero-emissions lorries, as is already the case in Germany, until the end of 2025. After 2025, countries can offer discounts of between 50% and 75%, as is already the case in Austria.

JKenH

How do you charge electric cars when you can't park outside?

Interesting article on the issue of installing charging points in the car parks of blocks of flats. 

https://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/news/18939323.charge-electric-cars-cant-park-outside/

JKenH

JKenH said:

How do you charge electric cars when you can't park outside?

Interesting article on the issue of installing charging points in the car parks of blocks of flats. 

https://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/news/18939323.charge-electric-cars-cant-park-outside/

Coincidentally, this Insideevs article highlights the same problem but demonstrates there may be a solution with the right type of communal charging points, if a third party can supply the charger.
Edit: The American example quoted differs from the situation in the earlier article in that this apartment block is tenanted rather than occupied by leaseholders as in the UK article.

EV Charging Isn't Getting Easier At Many Multi-Family Properties

https://insideevs.com/news/459921/electric-car-charging-struggle-apartment-condo/

Martyn1981

Carbon Commentary newsletter extracts:

8, Electric trucks. Another large fleet owner committed to a bulk purchase of large electric trucks. The French refrigerated truck rental company Petit Forestier, which has almost 60,000 vehicles, said it would acquire 1,000 16 tonne vehicles from Volta, the Swedish/UK manufacturer. Aimed at urban deliveries, the Volta Zero has a range of about 150km.This is the largest order Volta has received and prototypes will be delivered in 2021.
 
9, Solar-powered electric car. The first electric car that may never need charging will go into production next year. The highly aerodynamic three wheeled Aptera from California claims to be able to drive fifteen kilometres on a single kilowatt hour of charge, about three times as good as a typical EV. In a sunny location, the car will pick up over 4 kWh of electricity a day, enough to drive much further than the average daily commute. It is small, far from cheap and looks a little strange, but the first production models were all pre-ordered on the day of release.

Coastalwatch

Coming late to the game Toyota, along with backing from the Japanese government, now appears to be taking EV's seriously with the unveiling of this planned for prototype.

Maybe just another announcement of "world beating" battery development in an attempt to keep their customers on board or possibly something more substantial.

If successful it would certainly speed up development of battery powered flight too!

Toyota's game-changing solid-state battery en route for 2021 debut

TOKYO -- A trip of 500 km on one charge. A recharge from zero to full in 10 minutes. All with minimal safety concerns. The solid-state battery being introduced by Toyota promises to be a game changer not just for electric vehicles but for an entire industry.

The technology is a potential cure-all for the drawbacks facing electric vehicles that run on conventional lithium-ion batteries, including the relatively short distance traveled on a single charge as well as charging times. Toyota plans to be the first company to sell an electric vehicle equipped with a solid-state battery in the early 2020s. The world's largest automaker will unveil a prototype next year.

Electric vehicles are anticipated to become commonplace amid the global shift away from carbon. The Japanese government has been encouraging the domestic development of solid-state batteries, under the outlook that most of the technology relating to automotive performance will depend on China if the status quo holds.

The government is putting together a fund of about 2 trillion yen ($19.2 billion) that will support decarbonization technology. Policymakers will consider using those funds to provide subsidies of hundreds of billions of yen that will fund the development of the new batteries.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Technology/Toyota-s-game-changing-solid-state-battery-en-route-for-2021-debut/

EVandPV

Do Ford have a Tesla killer lined up ??

Ford wants some Tesla buzz as all-electric Mach-E Mustang hits showrooms

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/15/ford-wants-some-tesla-buzz-as-electric-mach-e-mustang-hits-showrooms-.html

ABrass

EVandPV said:

Do Ford have a Tesla killer lined up ??

Ford wants some Tesla buzz as all-electric Mach-E Mustang hits showrooms

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/15/ford-wants-some-tesla-buzz-as-electric-mach-e-mustang-hits-showrooms-.html

At 50,000 units in the first year of production? No.

That's something like a fifth of the current production of model Ys, and probably around a tenth of the end of 2021s production.

The Mach E seems to be a good value EV in the US (at least while the discount lasts) and a decent EV in all other respects. But it isn't trying to kill the Model Y and definitely can't do it in the foreseeable future.

NigeWick

Coastalwatch said:

Coming late to the game Toyota, along with backing from the Japanese government, now appears to be taking EV's seriously with the unveiling of this planned for prototype.

Maybe just another announcement of "world beating" battery development in an attempt to keep their customers on board or possibly something more substantial.

If successful it would certainly speed up development of battery powered flight too!

Toyota's game-changing solid-state battery en route for 2021 debut

TOKYO -- A trip of 500 km on one charge. A recharge from zero to full in 10 minutes. All with minimal safety concerns. The solid-state battery being introduced by Toyota promises to be a game changer not just for electric vehicles but for an entire industry.

The technology is a potential cure-all for the drawbacks facing electric vehicles that run on conventional lithium-ion batteries, including the relatively short distance traveled on a single charge as well as charging times. Toyota plans to be the first company to sell an electric vehicle equipped with a solid-state battery in the early 2020s. The world's largest automaker will unveil a prototype next year.

Electric vehicles are anticipated to become commonplace amid the global shift away from carbon. The Japanese government has been encouraging the domestic development of solid-state batteries, under the outlook that most of the technology relating to automotive performance will depend on China if the status quo holds.

The government is putting together a fund of about 2 trillion yen ($19.2 billion) that will support decarbonization technology. Policymakers will consider using those funds to provide subsidies of hundreds of billions of yen that will fund the development of the new batteries.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Technology/Toyota-s-game-changing-solid-state-battery-en-route-for-2021-debut/

Too late to the game I suspect. If they're only talking about solid state batteries now, I doubt they'll be in a vehicle before 2025 and by then it may be too late for Toyota to catch up with Tesla's lead at the rate they're building factories.

JKenH

Chairman and co-founder of Britishvolt quits after tax fraud conviction emerges just days after £2.6bn battery gigafactory plans revealed

Britishvolt’s Nikola moment?

https://cardealermagazine.co.uk/publish/chairman-and-co-founder-of-britishvolt-quits-after-tax-fraud-conviction-emerges/210972

Coastalwatch

V2G in the US gets a step closer and when linked to fleets of buses brings the reality of grid reliability into a sharper focus given battery capacities on such vehicles.

The tide is turning around the world it seems. Let's hope it's in time!

Nuvve Corporation Activates Bidirectional Flow of Energy from Electric School Buses to Con Edison's Grid in New York

SAN DIEGO, Dec. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Nuvve Corporation, a San Diego-based, green energy technology company and a leader in vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology, has begun using the batteries on five electric school buses (e-buses) to provide power to Con Edison's grid, marking the first time in New York State history that electricity has flowed from buses into a utility's grid.

The project began in 2018 as a partnership among Lion, Nuvve, White Plains School District, National Express and First Priority Group with 5 electric school buses. The charging and discharging takes place at a depot in North White Plains. When plugged in, Nuvve's V2G platform determines the optimal time to charge according to when rates are lowest. On nights and weekends, when the buses are parked and not in use, the system reverses the flow of power – 10 kilowatts from each bus - into the grid.

The goal of the project is to explore the technological and economic potential of using e-buses on a wider scale to improve air quality and grid reliability. There are approximately 1,000 school buses operating in Westchester and 8,000 in New York City that could make a significant difference to the environment if converted to electric with V2G capability.

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nuvve-corporation-activates-bidirectional-flow-of-energy-from-electric-school-buses-to-con-edisons-grid-in-new-york-301190054.html