Via, a company that provides digital infrastructure to power public mobility in cities around the world (earlier post), has raised a Series E financing led by EXOR. The financing values the company at $2.25 billion and will enable Via to advance its vision of efficient, accessible, and equitable public mobility.... Read more →

Toyota Motor Corporation and NTT Corporation entered into a memorandum of understanding concerning a business and capital alliance to build a long-term and continuous cooperative relationship that enables the commercialization of smart city businesses via the realization of a smart city platform. Smart city platform. The platform is to consist... Read more →

Momentum Dynamics Corporation, a developer of high-power wireless charging for electric vehicles, and CEVT, an innovation company for Zhejiang Geely Holding Group based in Sweden, have demonstrated high-power wireless charging on a passenger vehicle with autonomous parking. This demonstration highlights autonomous parking combined with high-power autonomous charging in a commercially-available... Read more →

Commercial fast-charging stations subject electric car batteries to high temperatures and high resistance that can cause them to crack, leak, and lose their storage capacity, according to researchers at the University of California, Riverside (UCR) in a new open-access study published in the journal Energy Storage. To remedy this, the... Read more →

US Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue has directed the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to acquire alternative fueled vehicles (AFV) when replacing conventionally fueled vehicles. USDA owns and operates one of the largest civilian fleets in the Federal Government and this move to a fleet that can use E85 or... Read more →

FedEx Corp. started construction on electronic DC (direct current) charging stations in January, and has now announced the next phase of its electric vehicle rollout. Through an agreement with Chanje Energy Inc., the company plans to electrify 42 FedEx stations in California, making it one of the largest deployments of... Read more →

Electrify America is investing $2 million in solar-powered electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in rural California that are not tied to the electrical grid. The investment will expand access to sustainable EV charging to drivers in rural areas, including the Central, Coachella, and Imperial Valleys. Electrify America is sourcing the... Read more →

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) make 150 independent vehicle detections every second and generate up to 80GB of data per driven-hour from sensors such as LiDAR, cameras and RADAR as well as Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) logs. This constant activity means amassing 1.2TB of data in a 16-hour day—the equivalent of... Read more →

ElectReon has successfully wirelessly charged a fully electric 40-ton truck and trailer at a test facility in Sweden. The next step will be to charge the truck through dynamic wireless power transfer on a public road in Gotland, Sweden. The Smartroad Gotland project is the first wireless electric road system... Read more →

Approximately 6 billion gallons of fuel are wasted in the US each year as vehicles wait at stop lights or sit in dense traffic with engines idling, according to US Department of Energy estimates. The least efficient of these vehicles are the large, heavy trucks used for hauling goods—they burn... Read more →

Porsche Leipzig is expanding the charging infrastructure for electric vehicles in central Germany with a new charging park called Porsche Turbo Charging. The total capacity of the facility, which includes six internal quick charging points, is 7 MW. Porsche Leipzig currently has Europe’s most powerful rapid-charging park, which is operated... Read more →

General Motors is making enhancements to Energy Assist, a standard feature available in the myChevrolet mobile app for Bolt EV owners. Energy Assist, first available for customers in 2017, currently enables Bolt EV owners to plan and manage their routes more effectively, locate available charging stations both along their route... Read more →

The E-Mobility Group of Daimler Trucks & Buses is launching a worldwide initiative to establish a charging infrastructure for battery-electric trucks. The initial focus is on charging stations installed at the depots of truck customers. Within the framework of the initiative, the E-Mobility Group is bringing together the main players—e-truck... Read more →

Greenlots, a member of the Shell Group and a provider of electric vehicle (EV) charging and energy management solutions, has installed charging infrastructure for a fleet of electrified commercial trucks as part of its ongoing partnership with Volvo Trucks. The heavy-duty fleet charging stations are the first of four installations... Read more →

Charging network ChargePoint and NATSO, which represents America’s travel plazas and truckstops, are creating a National Highway Charging Collaborative to extend access to EV charging. Over the next decade, the Collaborative will leverage $1 billion in capital to deploy charging at more than 4,000 travel plazas and fuel stops that... Read more →

Pioneering methods to accelerate electric fleet adoption, AMPLY Power will demonstrate and document its Charging-as-a-Service approach for an all-electric school bus fleet in New York City. Logan Bus Company is providing a fleet of five electric school buses for the demonstration, Black and Veatch will be bringing its depth of... Read more →

Trillium has completed construction of the largest hydrogen transit refueling station in North America. The Santa Ana, California hydrogen station, which went live Friday, was jointly developed by Trillium, Air Products, the Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE), Ballard Fuel Systems and New Flyer. Houston-based Trillium is a leading... Read more →

Electrify America will open its 400th electric vehicle charging station this week, setting a rapid pace for installation of DC fast-charging stations. The network’s aggressive timeline has resulted in the addition of more than 1,700 new chargers from coast-to-coast in just 20 months. Electrify America opened its first site in... Read more →

New Zealand energy companies Waitomo Group and Hiringa Energy intend to work in partnership to develop New Zealand’s first nationwide hydrogen refueling stations network. Hiringa Energy’s initial refueling station plan. Taranaki-based Hiringa Energy is the first company in New Zealand dedicated to the supply of green hydrogen (produced via electrolysis),... Read more →

Audi is moving ahead with networked traffic lights in Düsseldorf. After Ingolstadt, the city on the Rhine is the second in Europe in which Audi is introducing its Traffic Light Information service. At the end of January, Audi drivers will see information from around 150 traffic lights in their cockpit,... Read more →

SAE International published its latest standard, SAE J3105: Electric Vehicle Power Transfer System Using Conductive Automated Connection Devices, along with three new tributary documents. The standard covers the general physical, electrical, functional, testing, and performance requirements for a mechanized (hands-free) conductive power transfer system primarily for transit buses using an... Read more →

In the Bergedorf quarter of Hamburg, a container with a total capacity of approximately 500 kWh has been connected to the depot charging network at the Verkehrsbetriebe Hamburg-Holstein (VHH) depot. There, MAN Truck & Bus and VHH want to work together to test how used batteries behave after initial use... Read more →

Audi is working to electrify one in ten parking spaces at its German plants by mid-2022; most of these charging spaces will be accessible to the public. This independent concept is the largest charging infrastructure project carried out by a German employer. The ~€100-million investment provides Audi with a head... Read more →

New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that the New York State Department of Public Service issued a report recommending the establishment of a statewide utility-supported “Make-Ready” Program that would provide incentives to light-duty electric vehicle supply equipment and infrastructure (EVSE&I) for both Level 2 and Direct Current Fast Charger... Read more →

Electrify America is investing $1.3 million in the Energy StorageShares program developed by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD). The investment will help Electrify America reduce its overall energy-related costs and lower the company’s impact on Sacramento’s electrical grid. This first-of-a-kind program will help address peak energy demands, minimize impacts... Read more →

ABB has received an order for a further 324, 350 kW high-power electric vehicle (EV) chargers from IONITY. The chargers are to be rolled out in 24 countries by the end of 2020 as part of the second phase of the IONITY network expansion. Financial details of the order were... Read more →

In a first, University of Sydney researchers have found evidence of how hydrogen causes embrittlement of steels. When hydrogen moves into steel, it makes the metal become brittle, leading to catastrophic failures. This has been one of the major challenges in moving towards a greener, hydrogen-fueled future, where steel tanks... Read more →

UK-based AFC Energy launched its H-Power electric vehicle (EV) charger based on alkaline hydrogen fuel cell technology. The self-contained charging system overcomes issues associated with poor grid coverage to provide rapid electric vehicle (EV) charging anywhere it is needed. In the UK, a recent study commissioned by Scottish Power found... Read more →

Germany’s Federal Minister of Transport and Digital Infrastructure Andreas Scheuer announced the founding of a new national control enter for charging infrastructure. The mission of the National Control Center is to ensure the swift and coordinated establishment of nationwide charging options in Germany. The automotive industry and the energy industry... Read more →

Ubitricity, a company offering alternative, low-cost electric vehicle (EV) charge points that can be integrated into streetlight posts and bollards, chose EDF Energy to be the electricity provider for its UK charging network, ensuring that EV drivers have access to 100 per cent renewable backed electricity through all 1,800 ubitricity... Read more →

ENGIE, a global energy and services company, has selected Plug Power Inc. to provide a custom refueling system for the world’s largest hydrogen-powered mine haul truck (300 metric ton load capacity), which is set to begin operation next year. (Earlier post.) The project has emerged from a global partnership agreement... Read more →

SAE International plans to form an industry-led pre-competitive research project to strengthen electric vehicle (EV) charging system security, leading to a more secure implementation of Plug & Charge for ISO 15118 and CHAdeMO 2.0 protocols. The project will result in the creation a strong two-way authentication method between the EV,... Read more →

In the UK, Western Power Distribution and Ricardo are leading a new project—DC share—that will develop and trial a novel solution to use latent capacity in distribution networks to power charging hubs. DC Share will share capacity across existing AC electricity distribution network substations, enabling increased numbers of high-power electric... Read more →

The newly launched Bidirectional Charging Management (BCM) research project is bringing together companies and institutions from the automotive, energy and scientific sectors to develop technology to interlink vehicles, charging infrastructure and power grids in a way that facilitates the widest possible use of renewable energy and at the same time... Read more →

With the high costs and operational complexities surrounding electric vehicle (EV) deployments within commercial fleets, EV manufacturer BYD announced a preferred partnership with charging infrastructure provider AMPLY Power. The partnership allows fleet operators such as transit agencies, shuttle bus operators, universities, school districts, and municipalities to transition more rapidly to... Read more →

WiTricity, a pioneer in wireless power transfer over distance, has entered into licensing and technology transfer agreements with Green Power, a leading South Korea-based supplier of power electronics and high power wireless charging systems for various applications. The agreements allow Green Power to leverage WiTricity’s innovative technology and reference designs... Read more →

The state of California will make available $450 million in grants to help fund rail and bus investments made by public agencies under the California Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP). Procurement of electric buses, charging systems, and associated electric bus infrastructure are eligible projects under this program, as... Read more →

ExxonMobil said extended its support of the MIT Energy Initiative’s (MITEI) low-carbon energy research and education mission by renewing its status as a founding member for another five years. ExxonMobil first signed on as a member of the initiative in 2014. With its renewed membership, ExxonMobil will expand its participation... Read more →

Ford is offering its all-electric vehicle customers North America’s largest electric vehicle public charging network—the FordPass Charging Network—with more than 12,000 places to charge, including fast charging, and more than 35,000 charge plugs—more than any other automotive manufacturer. Ford is providing two years of complimentary access. The Ford all-electric vehicle... Read more →

According to a new report from Navigant Research, although the business model is in question, analyses indicate public charger deployments are positively affecting PEV adoption. The report analyzes the relationship between public charger deployment and plug-in EV (PEV) demand, providing an overview of upcoming industry innovations and ways industry stakeholders... Read more →

Electric bus manufacturer Proterra has introduced a multi-dispenser charging solution which enables Proterra charging systems to have multiple low-profile charging dispensers paired with a single Power Control System (PCS). With less hardware to purchase and less equipment to install, the multi-dispenser charging solution lowers the cost of infrastructure for customers.... Read more →

The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), Hydrogen Europe and the International Road Transport Union (IRU) are jointly calling on European policy makers to ramp up investments in EU-wide hydrogen refueling infrastructure for fuel cell electric vehicles. Fuel cell vehicles can contribute positively to the overall decarboniZation agenda of the EU.... Read more →

Audi and Deutsche Telekom are entering into a 5G technology partnership together with the city of Ingolstadt. The goal is to use the new 5G technology to make urban mobility safer, more digital and more sustainable. The memorandum of understanding is the basis for the development of a digital transport... Read more →

ChargePoint and San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), which oversees all ground transportation in the city, announced an agreement that paves the way toward deployment of high-powered charging infrastructure to support the agency’s transition to battery-electric buses. ChargePoint’s Express Plus charging architecture will be installed as part of the revitalization... Read more →

NY Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced the availability of $3 million in state funds to help municipalities purchase zero-emission vehicles and install related infrastructure. The rebates and grants are administered by the State Department of Environmental Conservation and supported by the state’s Environmental Protection Fund. This round of funding will... Read more →

Solaris Sverige AB, the Swedish market representative of Poland-based Solaris Bus & Coach company, is participating in the EVolution Road project which is creating an electric road which automatically detects and charges electric vehicles. A Solaris-built trolleybus will be adopted for test drives on a test road. EVolution Road will... Read more →

Lightning Systems, a global developer of zero-emission drivetrains, introduced “Lightning On Tap” charging solutions, a comprehensive offering of AC and DC fast charge charging stations. Lightning Systems’ lineup of new chargers includes both AC and DC fast charge options, ranging from affordable 7.2kW AC chargers to high-end 100kW DC fast... Read more →

Ideanomics Inc. and its strategic Mobile Energy Group (MEG) announced a strategic partnership with the China National Petroleum Corporation Nanjing (CNPC or PetroChina) to begin converting existing fossil fuel gas stations in the city of Nanjing. PetroChina is the world’s third-largest oil company and plays a leading role in energy... Read more →

The California Energy Commission (CEC) approved a $95-million plan for critical clean transportation investments to expedite the adoption of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) and help the state reach its climate, air quality and other goals. The plan also focuses on closing an anticipated gap in charging infrastructure for electric vehicles, and... Read more →

As part of a new £500-million (US$617-million) investment in green technologies, the UK government will set up a £400-million (US$494-million) fund to help develop rapid charging infrastructure points for electric vehicles. The first £70 million is allocated for 3,000 charge points—more than doubling the number across the UK to 5,000.... Read more →