Category: Battery (Page 1 of 6)

Volkswagen to build gigafactory EV battery plant in southwest Ontario

2023-03-14 / Robert Vinet

VW Brand

Volkswagen‘s subsidiary PowerCo will build its first overseas “gigafactory” for battery cell manufacturing in St. Thomas, Ontario. Production is planned to start in 2027.

The decision to expand the PowerCo cell production into Canada is further proof of the ambitious growth strategy of the Volkswagen Group in North America.

VW last week announced they were had selected South Carolina for the new Scout Motors assembly plant.

Volkswagen plans to develop 25 new battery-powered electric vehicles by the end of the decade. It also intends to increase production at its Chattanooga, Tenn., plant and upgrade its facilities in Puebla and Silao, Mexico, to produce electric vehicles and components at those sites.

“Today’s announcement by Volkswagen is a true testament to our highly skilled workforce and Canada’s strong and growing battery ecosystem,” Francois Phillippe Champagne, Canada’s minister of innovation, said in a statement.

More » VW Media Release / Canadian Press / TechCrunch / Automotive Logistics / Electrek / The Verge / InsideEVs / Investment Monitor / CleanTechnica / The Narwhal / Autoblog

Buyer demand prompts builder to install Level 2 EV chargers in Vancouver residential buildings

2023-02-28 / Robert Vinet

A new multi-unit residential development in East Vancouver is getting 110 Level 2 electric vehicle charging stations after would-be buyers responded overwhelmingly to the choice of the optional upgrade.

The City of Vancouver’s building code, amended in 2018, requires new multi-family residential buildings must be 100 per cent EV-ready. All parking spaces for residents must have an energized outlet capable of providing Level 2 charging or higher.

How much EV range is enough? That depends

2023-02-20 / Robert Vinet

Wonderful article by Arthur Frederick (Fritz) Hasler, PhD, former leader of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization & Analysis Laboratory »

I’ve owned Nissan LEAFs with ranges of 81 miles, 115 miles, and 150 miles. My first Nissan LEAF had a 24 kWh battery. I now own a Tesla Model 3 Long Range with an EPA range rating of 310 miles and a 75 kWh battery. The longest cross-country trip I dared to make with my 2nd and 3rd Nissan LEAFs was 265 miles. Now I routinely make 1500 mile trips with my Model 3 driving 500 miles/day just like I did with my gasmobile.

…

The average mileage driven by US car owners is about 40 miles a day, so some experts think an EV range of 200 miles should be adequate for most drivers. I recently met a man who takes this philosophy to the limit. He purchased a cheap, used, 81-mile-rated LEAF with a degraded battery that now has a range of only 40 miles. His commute to work is 10 miles and he was able to get his employer to put in a charger, so the car works fine for his commute. He has another car that he uses if he wants to make longer trips.

Here’s why EV’s really are better and cleaner than gas-burning cars

2023-02-19 / Robert Vinet

EVs use their energy efficiently (Source » Toronto Star)

Social media is riddled with myths put out by electric vehicles skeptics. One of the biggest is the idea that EVs produce more emissions than gas-burning cars if they’re charged on a carbon-heavy electrical grid.

The Star spoke to academics, researchers, and other experts to put three of these falsehoods to rest.

Myth #1: EVs are worse for the climate than ICE cars if they’re charged with dirty electricity.
Myth #2 EVs are worse for the climate than gas cars because of the environmental impact of their batteries.
Myth #3 You have to drive an EV for many years to compensate for the additional emissions produced by its battery manufacturing.

Read Marco Chown Oved’s article at The Star »

New Jersey will require all new cars and light-duty truck sales to be zero-emission by 2035

2023-02-17 / Robert Vinet

In an address at Rutgers University, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced a series of new and accelerated targets and commitments to combat climate change.

NJ Governor outlined six pillars that will serve as the foundation for a cleaner, greener, and more resilient New Jersey.

Ford Mustang Mach-E to gain a new battery in Europe that will reduce costs

2023-02-16 / Robert Vinet

Autocar UK ::

The Ford Mustang Mach-E electric crossover will gain a new lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery in Europe that, Ford says, will help to make its EVs more “affordable and accessible” to customers.

Planned to be sold alongside the existing Mach-E both in the UK and on the continent, which features a nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) battery set-up, the models equipped with an LFP battery will last longer, benefit from lower costs and charge faster, Ford says.

Elsewhere :: Cars UK / Electric Cars Report /

EVs could cost less than dinosaur-juice powered cars by the end of this year (2023)

2023-02-16 / Robert Vinet

Jack Ewing of The New York Times, makes the case that increased competition, government incentives, and falling prices for lithium and other battery materials are making electric vehicles more affordable, and could soon be on a par with more internal combustion (ICE) cars. Perhaps even by the end of 2023.

The battery-powered version of GM’s Equinox crossover, for example, will start around $30,000 when it arrives this fall, the carmaker has said. That is $3,400 more than the least expensive gasoline-fueled Equinox. But factoring in government incentives, the electric Equinox should be cheaper. Like all electric vehicles, the car will need less maintenance, and the electricity to power it will cost less than the gasoline used by its combustion engine equivalent.

The article also makes the point that the EV will require less maintenance, and “the electricity to power it will cost less than the gasoline used by its combustion engine equivalent.”