research
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Automakers seem to be in agreement that the ‘skateboard’ location for heavy battery packs—low and wide beneath the passenger floor—is the ideal layout for electric vehicles. Decades from now that might not be the case. Researchers in Sweden have examined the possibility of using the vehicle shell as a battery casing itself—with the carbon-fiber body shell as an electrode. DON’T MISS: Carbon fiber from plants close to carbon-neutral? “If all these functions were part of a car or aircraft body, this could reduce the weight by up to 50 percent,”...
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What you need to know about electric-car namesake Nikola Tesla
This month marks the 75th year since the death of famed inventor and and electrical innovator Nikola Tesla, a man whose life is as interesting as his technical achievements. Tesla, a Serbian who was born in what's now Croatia, brought the world numerous innovations in electricity that, to this day...
Mark Stevenson -
Most-accurate climate-change models suggest worst effects on global weather
The denial of accepted climate science by the Trump Administration has now put the U.S. at odds with essentially every other nation in the world. Meanwhile, the news on the effects of higher concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is, if anything, getting worse. A recent analysis of...
John Voelcker -
BMW partners with Solid Power to develop solid-state cells for electric cars
While lithium-ion cells have powered all but a handful of plug-in electric cars since 2008, carmakers have looked further down the road toward solid-state battery cells with an eye toward launching them sometime during the 2020s. On Monday, BMW Group and Solid Power announced that the two companies...
John Voelcker -
Better alkaline batteries, made rechargeable, to power electric cars?
Alkaline batteries have been a staple energy source for decades, but their potential has been capped by their chemical properties. Notably, alkaline batteries cannot be recharged, which means their application is often limited to single uses in small devices such as flashlights and remote controls...
Sean Szymkowski -
Startup Amber's self-driving cars to hit Dutch streets in 2018?
While Uber, Tesla, and Google are fighting over who will be first to deploy self-driving cars on a large scale, the Dutch underdogs at mobility startup Amber are planning a surprise move to overtake them all. If all goes according to plan, Amber’s self-driving cars will hit the streets of...
VentureBeat's GreenBeat -
The report that Toyota is planning an electric car with a solid-state battery for 2022 has led some fans and advocates to suggest huge new leaps in electric cars are imminent. The 2011 Nissan Leaf had an EPA-rated range of 75 miles combined; the comparable figure for a 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV is 238 miles. That's remarkable progress, and clearly lithium-ion battery costs have come down faster over those seven years than anticipated a decade ago. CHECK OUT: Mentioning Moore's Law For Electric Cars: Sign Of Ignorance (Sep 2013) But don't be fooled into believing electric cars will improve...
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Scotland fuels car with biobutanol derived from whiskey production
Electric cars may receive most of the attention within the realm of alternative propulsion methods, but liquid hydrocarbon fuels will be with us for many decades to come. The challenge then becomes how to reduce the carbon footprint of extracting, transporting, refining, and burning those fuels to...
Sean Szymkowski -
Israeli firm StoreDot claims battery with 5-minute charging time
It's one of the Holy Grails for battery researchers and electric-car advocates alike: a battery that could recharge in the same amount of time as it takes to stop for gasoline. Some of that can be provided by charging at higher rates, as Porsche's proposed 800-volt system for 15-minute fast...
John Voelcker -
Honda researches high-power electric-car charging, at highway speeds
Even with recent efforts to expand it, electric-car charging infrastructure is nowhere near rivaling the ubiquity of gas stations. But what if electric cars didn't need to stop to charge? That's essentially what a new Honda research project aims to investigate. DON'T MISS: Honda Clarity EV electric...
Stephen Edelstein -
Battery legend Goodenough not done yet: new solid-state chemistry introduced
Lithium-ion battery-cell chemistry is currently dominant in electric cars, not to mention consumer electronics and other fields. But what seems to be an army of researchers thinks it can be improved. That includes one of the people who helped create lithium-ion batteries in the first place. CHECK...
Stephen Edelstein -
Supercapacitor energy density could soar using contact-lens polymer
U.K. researchers believe the polymer used in soft contact lenses could boost supercapacitor energy density.
Stephen Edelstein -
Researchers at Vanderbilt University say they've made a battery using scrap steel and brass.
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Fuel from emissions? Catalyst converts carbon dioxide to ethanol
At least in North America, ethanol is a contentious fuel. A decade ago, it was seen as a homegrown and carbon-neutral way to use less gasoline—and federal legislation mandated that increasing volumes be blended into U.S. fuel supplies. Much debate followed over using "food for fuel," its...
John Voelcker -
Nissan takes a different approach to fuel cells: ethanol
When the world at large thinks of fuel-cell vehicles—to the extent it does, at least today—they are associated with hydrogen as the fuel to power them. But a fuel cell, more broadly speaking, is any device that produces electricity from a variety of input fuels or energy carriers. This...
John Voelcker -
Electric rear axle project uses 48-volt system to electrify small cars
Several companies combine to develop technology to add electric motors to the rear axles of small city cars.
Stephen Edelstein -
Experimental nanowire-based battery cell recharges 100,000 times or more
University of California, Irvine, researchers believe a nanowire-based battery cell could last much longer than current cells.
Stephen Edelstein -
Sugarcane, modified to produce oil, promises better biodiesel
University of Illinois researchers claim a modified sugarcane plant can produce large amounts of biodiesel.
Stephen Edelstein -
The Federal government's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy said last week that it has made huge strides toward creating a next generation of batteries for energy storage. The agency is tasked with kickstarting energy-related projects in the private sector; its director suggested that the new technologies could be on the market soon. ARPA-E director Ellen Williams said the agency has funded several high-risk battery projects that utilize newer technology than Tesla's Powerwall batteries, which store energy gleaned from solar panels. DON'T MISS: California Takes The Lead In Using...
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Plug-In Electric-Car Sales Will Bounce Back After 2015 Decline: Report
Electric-car sales will rebound this year, new analysis says.
Stephen Edelstein -
Self-Heating Lithium-Ion Battery Could Cut Winter Range Woes
Penn State researchers say they've created a self-heating lithium-ion battery cell.
Stephen Edelstein -
Experimental Electric Wing: Lower-Carbon Airplane Research
NASA is testing a propulsion concept that uses wing-mounted electric motors.
Stephen Edelstein -
What Comes After Lithium-Ion Batteries To Power Electric Cars, And When?
Lithium-ion batteries may eventually be supplanted by other technologies.
Stephen Edelstein -
Hydrogen For Military Use: Chevy Colorado Fuel-Cell Truck
General Motors and the U.S. Army are building a hydrogen-powered Chevrolet Colorado prototype.
Stephen Edelstein