The Country Hills Shopping Plaza in Torrance, California will be the site of the first DC fast charging station to open in the state as part of Electrify America’s plan to install approximately 160 charging stations in California by June 2019. Through its Cycle 1 California ZEV Investment Plan, Electrify... Read more →

Greenlots, a global provider of EV charging software and solutions, will collaborate with Volvo Trucks to deploy charging infrastructure for electric trucks operating out of warehouses in Southern California. This is the first heavy-duty fleet-charging project stemming from a significant public-private partnership with the California Air Resources Board (CARB). CARB... Read more →

The California Energy Commission approved an $8-million grant to Equilon Enterprises—a fully owned subsidiary of Shell Oil—to develop a high-capacity hydrogen fueling station to service and promote the expansion of zero-emission fuel cell electric Class 8 drayage trucks at the Port of Long Beach. The station is to dispense enough... Read more →

Electrify America will collaborate with six organizations in California to help develop and launch community-based programs to support brand-neutral education and awareness of Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV) for disadvantaged and low-income communities. Electrify America is investing $2.7 million in the education and outreach campaign. Electrify America uses definitions for low-income... Read more →

Blink Charging Co., a leading owner, operator and provider of electric vehicle (EV) charging station products and networked EV charging services, and Hubject, a joint venture formed by leading companies in the automotive, energy and technology sectors that includes BMW Group, Daimler, Siemens, and the Volkswagen Group, have formed a... Read more →

Volvo Cars has acquired a stake in mobile EV rapid charging company FreeWire Technologies (earlier post) via the Volvo Cars Tech Fund. BP’s venturing business invested $5 million in FreeWire earlier this year. FreeWire is a San Francisco-based company that has been a pioneer in flexible fast-charging technology for electric... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded Virginia Tech a $3 million grant for research on electric vehicle charging infrastructure cybersecurity as part of a larger $80 million investment by the department on advanced technologies research (earlier post). As the world shifts to a higher production and usage of... Read more →

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have demonstrated a 120-kilowatt wireless charging system for vehicles—providing six times the power of previous ORNL technology and a big step toward charging times that rival the speed and convenience of a gasoline station fill-up. The wireless system transfers... Read more →

WiTricity announced an intellectual property licensing agreement with Anjie Wireless, a China-based automotive Tier 1 supplier. Under the terms of the agreement, Anjie Wireless will license WiTricity’s patented magnetic resonance technology and industry-leading designs to develop and commercialize highly efficient wireless electric vehicle (EV) charging systems for sale to leading... Read more →

Researchers at North Carolina State University have built an electric vehicle fast charger that is at least 10 times smaller than existing systems and wastes 60% less power during the charging process, without sacrificing the charging time. The team is now building a version that is capable of charging vehicles... Read more →

A study led by environmental health scientists at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health examined the release of vapors from gasoline station vent pipes, and found benzene emissions were 10 times higher than estimates used in setback regulations that determine how close schools, playgrounds, and parks can be to... Read more →

Electrify America announced its next $200-million investment in Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) infrastructure as well as education and awareness in California which is outlined in its Cycle 2 California ZEV Investment Plan submitted to the California Air Resources Board (CARB). Cycle 2 is a 30-month investment period, which begins in... Read more →

The A35 Brebemi autostrada in northern Italy will become the latest location for road electrification technology, and Scania trucks fitted with Siemens pantographs and power connections are in line to carry out the initial trials. The trucks receive electricity from a pantograph power collector that is mounted on the frame... Read more →

New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that $5 million is available as part of the first rebate designed specifically for the installation of electric vehicle charging stations at workplaces, office buildings, multi-family apartment buildings, and public locations such as theaters, malls, parks and retail locations. Administered by the New... Read more →

Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) will soon begin using renewable natural gas for the first time at the 25 utility-owned natural gas vehicle fueling stations across its service territory, as well as at six fueling stations in the San Diego area. Last month, the utility received approval from the California... Read more →

New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that New York will utilize the $127.7 million received from the 2016 Volkswagen settlement to significantly increase the number of electric vehicles and other clean vehicles in the state. Covered vehicles include new buses, trucks, locomotives, ferries, tug boats, and cargo handling equipment,... Read more →

Delta, a global provider of power and thermal management solutions, has commenced work on a research program, with 50% cost-share by the US Department of Energy (DOE), to develop a solid-state transformer (SST)-based extreme fast EV charger (XFC) with industry-leading capacity up to 400 kW to provide capable EVs a... Read more →

A rebate project to increase public access to high-powered charging stations for plug-in electric vehicles (EVs) throughout Southern California launched this week in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Up to $29 million is now available through the Southern California Incentive Project (SCIP) to install charging stations in... Read more →

In April 2017, the City of Gainesville, Florida began work on a pilot project with Connected Signals, Inc., a provider of real-time, predictive traffic signal information, as part of the University of Florida Transportation Institute’s I-STREET testbed. I-STREET was created in partnership with Florida Depart of Transportation’s (FDOT) Connected Vehicle... Read more →

Penske Truck Leasing has joined the Charging Interface Initiative (CharIN), a worldwide industry alliance focused on promoting Combined Charging System (CCS) as the global standard for charging electric vehicles (EVs) of all types. Penske will focus its attention on helping to promote electric vehicle charging standards for commercial vehicles in... Read more →

Xtalic Corporation, a provider of nano-scale metal alloys and coatings, has entered the electric vehicle market with products that extend the life of connectors in electric battery chargers by up to 40 times. Xtalic creates its materials through an electrodeposition process that utilizes at least two materials—a primary material and... Read more →

New research from Idaho National Laboratory suggests that electric vehicle drivers could face longer fast charging times when temperatures drop. The reason: cold temperatures impact the electrochemical reactions within the cell, and onboard battery management systems limit the charging rate to avoid damage to the battery. The study, published in... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board has released the 2018 issue of its Annual Evaluation of Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Deployment and Hydrogen Fuel Station Network Development, pursuant to the requirements of AB 8 (2013). This report is the fifth annual publication. The report describes “a significant shift in momentum” in... Read more →

A new report by the progressive policy institute Center for American Progress estimates that the US needs to add 14 million new PEVs and more than 330,000 new public charging outlets by the end of 2025 in order to meet its Paris Agreement targets. The report, which focuses specifically on... Read more →

The Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E) issued a funding opportunity announcement (DE-FOA-0001952) of up to $5 million for research and development of algorithms to modernize the electric grid. If successful, awardees will participate in Challenge 1 of ARPA-E’s Grid Optimization (GO) Competition, set to launch in fall 2018.... Read more →

Volkswagen Group Canada has formed Electrify Canada, a new company that will build an ultra-fast electric vehicle (EV) direct current (DC) charging network across Canada. Volkswagen expects the network to be operational starting in the second quarter of 2019. The mission of Electrify Canada is similar to that of Electrify... Read more →

Spending on electricity distribution systems by major US electric utilities—representing about 70% of total US electric load—has risen 54% over the past two decades, from $31 billion to $51 billion annually, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). This increase has been largely driven by increases in capital investment.... Read more →

INRIX launched a new platform that provides the foundation for cities and road authorities to communicate with operators for safe and effective deployment of highly automated vehicles (HAVs) on public roads. INRIX AV Road Rules provides a platform for cities to digitize, validate and manage the traffic rules and restrictions... Read more →

Momentum Dynamics Corporation has commissioned a 200-kilowatt wireless charging system to support electric transit buses in Chattanooga, TN. The system—its second in the US (earlier post)—is installed inside the Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority (CARTA) Shuttle Park and automatically charges while loading and unloading passengers. The Momentum charging system is... Read more →

Servco Pacific Inc. (Servco) has completed Oahu’s first publicly accessible hydrogen station, located at Servco’s corporate offices in Mapunapuna. Later this month, Servco will begin to lease the Mirai hydrogen fuel cell vehicle (FCV). Our hydrogen station will help show Hawaii residents how FCVs can make a real impact on... Read more →

EVgo, America’s largest public fast-charging network for electric vehicles (EVs), has launched a commercial installation of second-life battery storage at a public DC fast charging station. Following a pilot program at University of California San Diego (UCSD), this second-life battery system has been unveiled at an operational EVgo fast charging... Read more →

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) announced that Tompkins County has installed 11 new electric vehicle charging stations to support its goal of becoming the first Electric Vehicle Model County in New York State. The installations are part of the state’s Electric Vehicle Accelerator initiative, a... Read more →

Andreas Scheuer, German Federal Minister of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, announced the award of around €50 million (US$58 million) in funding for 31 municipal electric mobility projects under the “Clean Air 2017-2020 emergency program”. This means that a total of more than 420 cars, well over 100 buses, around 110... Read more →

Nel ASA has been awarded a contract for delivery of 448 electrolyzers and associated fueling equipment to Nikola Motor Company (Nikola) as part of Nikola’s development of a hydrogen station infrastructure in the US for truck and passenger vehicles. Under the multi-billion NOK (1 NOK = US$0.12) contract, to be... Read more →

BP has entered into an agreement to purchase Chargemaster, the UK’s largest electric vehicle (EV) charging company. Chargemaster operates the UK’s largest public network of EV charging points, with more than 6,500 across the country. It also designs, builds, sells and maintains EV charging units for a wide range of... Read more →

Two years ago, Southern California Edison launched Charge Ready, a pilot program to increase the availability of charging for passenger electric vehicles. After having recently installed Charge Ready’s 1,000th EV charging station, SCE has filed a plan with the California Public Utilities Commission to expand the program to support the... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced increased collaboration with stakeholders to reduce regulatory barriers on the development of hydrogen infrastructure and has issued a new Request for Information (RFI) (DE-FOA-0001948) to foster this united effort with industry. Previous feedback collected during reviews identified the need for updated codes and... Read more →

Electrify America and the City of Sacramento announced new projects that will increase access to zero-emissions vehicles (ZEV) in the Sacramento region, expand ZEV technology use, and prepare the City for future electric vehicle adoption. The projects—which include two new car sharing services, new ZEV bus and shuttle routes and... Read more →

France-based global energy and services group ENGIE has launched a fleet of 50 hydrogen-powered Renault Kangoo Z.E. utility vehicles (earlier post), recently made available for long-term rental through Alphabet, a leader in mobility solutions for companies, and inaugurated the first alternative multi-fuel station in France to fuel them. These vehicles... Read more →

The Government of Canada will purchase Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain Pipeline system and the expansion project (TMEP) for C$4.5 billion (US$3.46 billion); Kinder Morgan has agreed to work with the Government of Canada to seek a third-party buyer for the Trans Mountain Pipeline system and TMEP. The 1,150-km (714-mile) Trans... Read more →

BMW i is introducing a factory-fitted, fully integrated inductive charging facility for the high-voltage battery in a plug-in hybrid vehicle. Production will start in July. The BMW Wireless Charging option can be ordered now as a leasing-option for the BMW 530e iPerformance (fuel consumption in legislative EU test-cycle combined: 2.3... Read more →

The German Federal Ministry for the Environment gave the green light for a subsidized pilot project to conduct research and development on the electrification of long-haul trucks. The electricity supply for the heavy goods vehicles is provided by means of a pantograph from an overhead power line—the eHighway concept (earlier... Read more →

The Alan Turing Institute—the UK’s national institute for data science and artificial intelligence—and the Toyota Mobility Foundation are collaborating on a project to transform the way cities are planned and managed. The objective of this new project, Optimizing flow within mobility systems with AI, part of the Turing’s new AI... Read more →

BP Ventures has invested $20 million in Israel-based ultra-fast charging battery developer StoreDot. (Earlier post.) StoreDot has developed a lithium ion-based battery technology which enables ultra-fast charging for the mobile and industrial markets. Using this technology, StoreDot is also developing a new type of electric-car battery that will aim to... Read more →

France-based energy major Total SA and Clean Energy Fuels Corp. have entered into a broad strategic agreement to drive deployment of new natural gas heavy-duty trucks. Total has agreed to purchase up to 50.8 million shares of Clean Energy’s common stock for $83.4 million, to become Clean Energy’s largest stockholder... Read more →

eMotorWerks, part of the Enel Group’s new advanced energy services division Enel X, has launched the JuiceNet Enterprise solution to simplify the management of large numbers of electric vehicle charging stations across multiple sites. By deploying both smart-charging EV supply equipment (EVSE) and cloud software solutions on a commercial scale,... Read more →

At the American Public Transportation Association’s (APTA) Bus & Paratransit Conference, electric bus manufacturer Proterra has introduced high-power charging options to make a 100% electric bus fleet more easily achievable. North American cities, counties and transit agencies are announcing zero-emission fleet goals. The development of universal technology standards will accelerate... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is awarding $19 million in funding to 12 cost-shared research projects focused on batteries and vehicle electrification technologies to enable extreme fast charging. (DE-FOA-0001808, earlier post.) Selected research projects are focused on developing electric vehicle systems that can recharge rapidly at high power levels,... Read more →

Electrify America will be installing ultra-fast electric vehicle chargers at more than 100 retail, convenience and refueling locations across the US, increasing the convenience for consumers who drive or are considering purchasing an electric vehicle. Each location will offer multiple chargers. Initial partners include major retail companies Target Corporation, Brixmor... Read more →

Equilon Enterprises LLC, doing business as Shell Oil Products US, and Toyota have been provisionally awarded $8 million by the GFO-17-603 to develop the first hydrogen-truck refueling station at the Port of Long Beach. The funding, which is contingent upon the approval of the project at an upcoming CEC meeting,... Read more →