First Electric Car Charging Stations Open in San Jose
January 6, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
Today the city of San Jose, California and Coulomb Technologies, announced the availability of the first ChargePoint Network public charging infrastructure for electric cars.
You can sign up for options to fit their lifestyle including a limited time offer “Basic Access” subscription plan, which includes free charging through 2009. The way it works is that you subscribe to the ChargePoint Network and receive a ChargePoint Smart Card which then allows you to charge your car at any Smartlet Charging Station. Read more
Is Tesla Slashing Roadster Price to $60,000?
January 4, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
According to the UK’s Times online Tesla is slashing the Roadster price to only $60,000! Here is that point from the original article:
The company is ramping up production of its 125mph Lotus Elise-inspired Roadster while slashing the price to $60,000 (£41,000).
If true, this is a pretty spectacular drop in price and is sure to send shockwaves around the electric car industry.
I think it’s more likely that Elon Musk was referring to the Model S and was mis-quoted.
Smart Electric ForTwo to be Shown at Detroit Auto Show
December 26, 2008 by admin · Leave a Comment
The upcoming North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit, will see smart showing off it’s electric-powered fortwo, which was first announced earlier this year. Smart plans to equip this next-generation smart EV with lithium-ion batteries.
Other vehicles joining the list of debuts at NAIAS are the 2010 Chevrolet Equinox, with new direct injection engines (earlier post); and a new Kia concept. Read more
Switch to Front-Wheel Drive puts Aptera Delivery Date Back
December 25, 2008 by admin · Leave a Comment
Previously, Aptera’s pre-production models used a belt-driven rear wheel, but now Aptera is reportedly saying that all production models will be front-wheel drive. They have given the following reasons for the change of heart:
- Better weight distribution, which, in turn, maximizes stability
- Improved traction during acceleration and in inclement weather wet conditions
- More efficiency at higher speeds
- Increased durability during the life of the vehicle
- Improved noise insulation
- Increased rear cargo space (without sacrificing front legroom)
This is really a rather surprising change of such a fundamental nature at this relatively late stage, and calls into question the team behind what was promising to be a really fundamental change in automotive technology.
EEStor Ultracapacitor Patent will Revolutinize Electric Cars…Portable Electric Power in General
December 22, 2008 by admin · Leave a Comment
Last week EEStor was granted a US patent for their electric-energy storage unit, of which no one outside the company has seen so much as a working prototype. The patent (link here to the PDF) has some incredible information about the technology that has been promised by EEStor, but not clearly spelled out before. These capacitors have some crazy individual unit specs! They are rated for 3500 V, weigh about 5 grams each and have 1 milli Farad. This is absolutely unbelievable in a world where you normally have to make a choice between high capacitance, high voltage, or small size, they seem to have all three.
The power output of the device is roughly 52 kWh, very close to the Tesla power, but at only one third of the weight. If they can bring it to market at the stated weight (130kg) it’ll makes things very interesting. The Tesla’s current battery pack weighs 450kg so you could triple its range, or cut the vehicles weight by 25%.
The claimed charging times are also pretty impressive with 3-6 minutes charge time for 52 kWh - 286 lbs for that compared to 752 for a Li-Ion battery. And the Li-Ion takes 6h to charge. However you would need to be on three phase / 480 volts connection to achieve that sort of charge time.
EEStor notes “the present invention provides a unique lightweight electric-energy storage unit that has the capability to store ultrahigh amounts of energy.”
The core ingredient is an aluminum coated barium titanate powder immersed in a polyethylene terephthalate plastic matrix. The EESU is composed of 31,353 of these components arranged in parallel. It is said to have a total capacitance of 30.693 F and can hold 52.220 kWh of energy. The device is said to have a weight of 281.56 pound including the box and all hardware. Unlike lithium-ion cells, the technology is said not to degrade with cycling and thus has a functionally unlimited lifetime. It is mentioned the device cannot explode when being charge or impacted and is thus safe for vehicles.”
And when they say ultra-high amounts of energy they are not joking, 3500 V battery powered drills could soon be on our hardware store shelves.
Report on Electric Cars is Censored by French Government
December 19, 2008 by admin · Leave a Comment
The French government commissioned a report earlier this year analyzing the best options for building more efficient mass-market cars in the coming decades, but so far is refusing to release the results. The report produced by Jean Syrota, a former French energy industry regulator, warns that the cost of all-electric cars (double the cost according to him) is not economically viable. The report also names limited driving range and performance, and poor battery technology, as major obstacles. Although in my opinion these seem like the sort of obstacles that research and development and economies of scale will solve fairly easily. Read more
Mercedes Will Unveil 3 Electric Concept Cars at Detroit Show
December 13, 2008 by admin · Leave a Comment
Mercedes-Benz plans to unveil three electric concept vehicles at next month’s 2009 Detroit Auto Show. The designs are small and sleek, with a sporty futuristic edge. They will all accelerate from zero to sixty in under 11 seconds. Read more
The Wheel Has Been Reinvented - Electric In-Wheel Motors
December 6, 2008 by admin · 3 Comments
The Michelin tire company is getting very close to releasing its electric wheel concept into commercially available cars. The company has been showing off versions of what they call “Active Wheel” since 2004. The system contains virtually all of the components necessary for a vehicle to propel or stop: an electric motor, suspension coils and springs, and braking components. It localizes the entire suspension, springs, dampers, geometry and all, plus an electric-drive motor and of course the brakes inside the envelope of the wheel, freeing all sorts of space for hauling passengers and luggage. The only thing missing is the source of energy. Read more
$1B Electric Car Network Announced for California
The electric vehicle charging startup, Better Place, has struck a deal with California, including the cities of San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland, to set up a $1 billion charging network for electric cars, with car availability beginning in 2012.
The Better Place network in the Bay Area is a plan to support electric car development throughout the state, unlike its charging network in Israel. The deal in Israel involved a tie-up with Nissan-Renault to make the small cars that work with the stations, which swap out depleted batteries for new ones.
The thousands of Better Place stations to be installed in northern California will be able to charge any type of electric car, allowing charging of cars with either fixed or replaceable batteries.
The announcement took place today at San Francisco’s city hall, and was attended by the mayors of the three cities, as well as governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Better Place’s founder, Shai Agassi.Details were sketchy, with only the amount of capital to be invested and the project’s start date being announced. Permitting will begin in early 2009 and construction in 2010. This does look like California is finally becoming serious about electric cars.
Stackable Rental Car is Carbon-Free
The Smart Cities group at the MIT Media Lab unveiled a prototype of its foldable electric scooter at the EICMA Motorcycle Show, in Milan last week. A prototype for the team’s foldable electric car, called the City Car, is slated to follow next year.
The MIT group sees the vehicles as the linchpin in a strategy that aims to mitigate pollution with electric power, expand limited public space by folding and stacking vehicles like shopping carts, and alleviate congestion by letting people rent and return the vehicles to racks located near transportation hubs, such as train stations, airports, and bus depots. Read more
