Battery Electric Vehicle News / Enjoying the Transportation Revolution

Martyn1981

Couple of articles on big BEV's that may (or may not) reach the market. Not 100% sure that the massive Triton, with huge weight, huge frontal area, and questionable aerodynamics is going to achieve 3.5 miles/kWh?

Fisker Reveals Its Answer To The Tesla Cybertruck

Fisker has taken the wraps off a ruggedized version of its Ocean electric SUV it calls the Force-E. According to Forbes, the Force-E is “an extreme off-road” package that includes a 300 horsepower all-wheel drive powertrain that offers more torque than the standard Ocean. Other than that, it has been given the full “The Rubicon Trail ain’t got nuthin’ I can’t handle” off-road treatment — a raised heavy duty suspension, big knobbly tires mounted on tough looking wheels, a scuff plate to protect the front suspension, a roof rack with integrated off road lights, and tow hooks sprouting from every corner.

Triton Model H Electric SUV — 1,500 HP, 700 Miles, 26,000 Lb Towing Capacity

The result is the Triton Model H, an absolute beast of a truck with room for 8, a storage capacity of 200 cubic feet, 1,000 horsepower, a towing capacity of 15,400 lb, and a range of 500 miles from a 150 kWh battery. Not enough to pique your interest? Go for the Triton Model H Performance and get a 200 kWh battery, 700 miles of range, a towing capacity of 26,000 lb, and 0 to 60 mph in 2.9 seconds. For a vehicle that tips the scales at 7,700 lb, that is some “Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!” acceleration

Martyn1981

IF, and it is only an if at this stage, air pollution, especially NO2 weakens our immune system's response to diseases such as Covid 19, then perhaps we will see a greater push towards zero emission vehicles, especially for urban use?

Air pollution may be ‘key contributor’ to Covid-19 deaths – study

High levels of air pollution may be “one of the most important contributors” to deaths from Covid-19, according to research.

The analysis shows that of the coronavirus deaths across 66 administrative regions in Italy, Spain, France and Germany, 78% of them occurred in just five regions, and these were the most polluted.

In the UK, NO2 has been at illegal levels in most urban areas for the last decade. A key policy to reduce NO2 levels is the introduction of clean air zones, where charges are imposed to deter the most polluting vehicles from city centres. But the introduction of some CAZs has been postponed because of the coronavirus crisis.

It would have been nice to have included population percentages too for the regions with higher death rates / NO2, since it may reflect higher population density. But regardless, we all know that air quality will be better with BEV's, and many, perhaps all, will benefit from that.

NigeWick

There is some evidence that being overweight is a large contributory factor in the death rate of this virus. Being overweight rolls on to Type 2 Diabetes and other problems such as that weight causing breathing problems.

Big pharma and food companies compliment each other's sales. Eat sugary highly processed foods, get Type 2 Diabetes, buy medication. Eat fresh food freshly cooked, stay a reasonable weight and don't get Diabetes.

EVandPV

NigeWick said:

There is some evidence that being overweight is a large contributory factor in the death rate of this virus. Being overweight rolls on to Type 2 Diabetes and other problems such as that weight causing breathing problems.

Big pharma and food companies compliment each other's sales. Eat sugary highly processed foods, get Type 2 Diabetes, buy medication. Eat fresh food freshly cooked, stay a reasonable weight and don't get Diabetes.

One of the conditions on the NHS list of vulnerable people is having a BMI over a certain level.

I work I a "key role" and we have several people off at the moment self isolating because their BMI is too high.

theboylard

Martyn1981 said:

Couple of articles on big BEV's that may (or may not) reach the market. Not 100% sure that the massive Triton, with huge weight, huge frontal area, and questionable aerodynamics is going to achieve 3.5 miles/kWh?

Triton Model H Electric SUV — 1,500 HP, 700 Miles, 26,000 Lb Towing Capacity

The result is the Triton Model H, an absolute beast of a truck with room for 8, a storage capacity of 200 cubic feet, 1,000 horsepower, a towing capacity of 15,400 lb, and a range of 500 miles from a 150 kWh battery. Not enough to pique your interest? Go for the Triton Model H Performance and get a 200 kWh battery, 700 miles of range, a towing capacity of 26,000 lb, and 0 to 60 mph in 2.9 seconds. For a vehicle that tips the scales at 7,700 lb, that is some “Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!” acceleration

At over 7.5t you'll need a CLass 2 HGV licence to drive that in the UK?!

Martyn1981

theboylard said:

Martyn1981 said:

Couple of articles on big BEV's that may (or may not) reach the market. Not 100% sure that the massive Triton, with huge weight, huge frontal area, and questionable aerodynamics is going to achieve 3.5 miles/kWh?

Triton Model H Electric SUV — 1,500 HP, 700 Miles, 26,000 Lb Towing Capacity

The result is the Triton Model H, an absolute beast of a truck with room for 8, a storage capacity of 200 cubic feet, 1,000 horsepower, a towing capacity of 15,400 lb, and a range of 500 miles from a 150 kWh battery. Not enough to pique your interest? Go for the Triton Model H Performance and get a 200 kWh battery, 700 miles of range, a towing capacity of 26,000 lb, and 0 to 60 mph in 2.9 seconds. For a vehicle that tips the scales at 7,700 lb, that is some “Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!” acceleration

At over 7.5t you'll need a CLass 2 HGV licence to drive that in the UK?!

The vehicle weighs ~3.5tonne, I think you are referring to the quoted towing limits. Not that I plan to nor want to own a 3.5t barge of a vehicle, even if it does get built (doubtful), and meets the performance stats quoted (even more doubtful).

Martyn1981

Phew! That was a close one, there's no way I'd be able to afford one before 2025.

Better Late That Never, Bentley Plans To Join The EV Movement … In 2025

Bentley has dipped its toes into the EV movement by beginning conceptual work on a new “saloon” that will hopefully be its first fully electric vehicle. Bentley hopes to establish global leadership in these areas by revealing its first EV by 2025.

Bentley’s CEO Adrian Hallmark threw hints toward Autocar that their team has already created a solid vehicle by designing a car that is much like an extreme Jaguar I-PACE. It would be a machine that blends a traditional saloon shape with a higher-riding body style that would accommodate the battery pack without moving into the SUV-style design.

Coastalwatch

I hadn't previously come across Faradion so it was something of a surprise that there is a UK based company with an apparent competitve edge to Li ion on the scene!

UK based Faradion to start sodium-ion battery manufacturing in India.

Having won its first order from ICM Australia, the UK-based Faradion is now looking to manufacture its sodium-ion (Na-ion) batteries in India for electric mobility, energy storage and mobile applications. The company, along with its partner in India, aims to set up an initial production capacity of 1 GWh in the country.

Faradion is actively pushing its sodium-ion batteries as a superior alternative to lithium-ion batteries, citing their advantages in performance, safety and price point.

Speaking about India-specific advantages, Quinn said, “A vast majority of the raw materials are available in India for a vertically integrated supply chain. We use zero cobalt, zero lithium, zero graphite and zero copper in our cells, thus reducing the bill of materials (which constitutes 75-80% of the cell cost). This less expensive, safer and more sustainable solution will allow India to have Energy Security (economic security, national security and environmental security).”

“Our cell chemistry provides world-leading cell-specific energy of 150-160 Wh/kg for sodium-ion,” he said, adding the company aims to generate cells with >190 Wh/kg in the second half of 2020.

The Faradion CEO claims they have the most robust patent portfolio in the sector, with 29 patent families in total covering all parts of the cell chemistry, battery/pack architecture, and fade storage and transportation.

https://www.pv-magazine-india.com/2020/04/23/uk-based-faradion-mulling-sodium-ion-battery-manufacturing-in-india/?utm_source=pv+magazine+USA&utm_campaign=909e6c5b4e-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_80e0d17bb8-909e6c5b4e-159341337

Martyn1981

Couple of quickie's. A look at how charging has changed, and is changing as BEV's get bigger batts, and a shocker of a Ford Mustang, with monster performance.

Tesla Model 3 Changing EV Charging Demand — Study

A recent study by Fleetcarma analyzed EV charging behavior today and compared it to 5 years ago. Using data from 3,900 EV drivers, it found that electric cars today with larger battery packs charge less often — there is less need to plug in every day if a car has a range of 200 miles or more — but the average amount of electricity used in each session is double what it was in prior years.

Introducing Ford’s 1400 HP All-Electric Mustang Cobra Jet

Ford dropped a massive media bomb yesterday with the introduction of its most powerful Mustang ever. And what a car! It packs some 1400 HP and more than 1100 lb-ft of TQ — enough to blast the car from a standstill to 170 MPH in just eight seconds with nary a sound. Meet the original, Ford’s first electric Mustang, the Cobra Jet 1400.

Martyn1981

Extract from this week's Carbon Commentary Newsletter (which will be published every two weeks going forward):
 

6, Vehicle charging. This is how electric car charging will develop: banks of chargers at heavily used sites with shopping and restaurants a few metres away, connected to electricity storage. At a site at the intersection of two motorways near Dusseldorf, an organic bakery business is developing a site that combines 114 chargers and an onsite bistro (plus a vertical farm, another of my obsessions). The chargers will be owned by several different providers, including Tesla and Fastned, the fast growing Netherlands supplier of chargers up to 350 kW. Note that few cars can currently accept charging at anything like this rate. In the UK, Oxford announced another phase of its low carbon strategy, promising to install 50 chargers at a public car park on the edge of the city, linked to a large battery site at a grid substation. (Thanks for Raymond Betz).