People are afraid that if they drive an electric vehicle, they’ll run out of juice somewhere. So to convince more people to buy electric cars and dominate the charging station locator market, Xatori and Recargo are merging. The combined charge finder developers will go by the name Recargo to promote their station map and trip planner app PlugShare. Xatori and its co-founders Forrest North… → Read More
A Japanese company called Humanix [JP], in cooperation with Hiroshima University, has developed a small electric car that “wears” airbags on the body. I am not really sure if the result can be called pretty, but Humanix is claiming that (perhaps rightfully) their ”iSAVE-SC1” is the “safest electric vehicle in the world”.
The three-wheeled car offers enough room for three people and comes with… → Read More
When we showed you the so-called TEEWave AR1 last week, reactions were mixed, with some readers calling the latest electric car from Japan “pretty”, while others said it’s plain “ugly”. But now news site DigInfo TV has gone and shot a video of the vehicle, which not only shows the car in more detail but also provides more insight on its development and features.
To recap, the two-seat sports… → Read More
Auto maker General Motors and LG Group will be working together to design and engineer electric vehicles thanks to a new partnership that expands on LG’s earlier work for GM in lithium-ion batteries. Previously, LG delivered batteries for the Chevrolet Volt, the Opel Ampera, and later for a demo fleet of Chevrolet Cruze electric vehicles.
According to the companies, their goal is to reduce… → Read More
One key element for the success of electric vehicles going forward is charging technology, but we’re getting there. Kyoto-based Nichicon has now developed what they say are the world’s smallest and chargers for these vehicles, the NQC-A202 and the NQC-A302. → Read More
Ford Motor Company is teaming up with San Jose-based solar panel maker SunPower to offer a rooftop solar system option which will be sold alongside the upcoming Ford Focus EV. The “Drive Green for Life” program, as it’s being called, involves mounting solar panels on a customer’s home.
These panels wouldn’t be used just to charge the Focus itself, however. They actually help offset the cost… → Read More
There is probably no one left doubting that electric vehicles will be a huge market in the future, and now it seems that Sony is agreeing, too. The company yesterday announced it will start making lithium-ion batteries specifically for electric cars and hybrids “from the middle of this decade”. → Read More
At its worldwide headquarters in Mountain View, Calif. today Google installed 71 electric vehicle charging stations made by Coulomb Technologies. They will be used to power up employee-owned hybrid and electric vehicles (EVs) as well as the company’s GFleet vehicles.
GFleet is Google’s car sharing program for employees. So far, it includes Chevrolet Volts and Nissan LEAFs. → Read More
Another app to help electric vehicle (EV) drivers find a place to power up? Yep. This one, Recargo, was made by the founder of Dictionary.com, Brian Kariger, and launched stealthily in July last 2010. So far, the app has attracted hundreds of users, Kariger told TechCrunch. The company added new features and is pushing for wider adoption today, with a version 1.5 release.
New features on Recargo… → Read More
The chief executive officers of two very different clean tech startups, Brammo and EcoMotors, discussed the relative merits and limitations of clean vehicle technology, at TechCrunch Disrupt in New York on Wednesday. Oregon-based Brammo designs and manufactures all-electric motorcycles and the battery technology and software that powers them, while Michigan-based EcoMotors designs and makes more… → Read More
How many apps does it take to recharge a vehicle? Apparently, one is not enough. Several companies offering mobile apps to drivers — to help them find a place to charge up or refuel in an environmentally sustainable way — made product and milestone announcements around Earth Day. Here’s the run down.
ECOtality (NASDAQ: ECTY) — a San Francisco company that’s building electric vehicle (EV)… → Read More
A New York-based clean tech startup, Ioxus, raised a $21 million investment from Energy Technology Ventures (a GE-NRG Energy-ConocoPhillips joint fund), Northwater Capital, Aster Capital and their previous backers Braemar Energy Ventures, the companies announced today.
Ioxus makes lithium-ion hybrid capacitors, and ultracapacitors, which are (often alongside other battery technology) used to… → Read More
For the electric vehicle market, it looks like small is the new big, especially when it comes to batteries. According to a new study by Lux Research, the market forecast for energy storage devices for electronic vehicles is bright. Lux sees the sector’s overall growth rising from $13 billion in 2011 to $30 billion by 2016 — a compound annual growth rate of 18 percent.
And what will cause this… → Read More
A newly released app for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, called PlugShare aims to alleviate so-called “range anxiety” for electric vehicle drivers by giving them a map of an area’s available, paid charging stations and homes or lots that will allow them to plug in and recharge for free.
Xatori co-founder and chief executive Forrest North —who previously worked as an engineer at Tesla Motors… → Read More
A Santa Cruz-based electric motorcycle manufacturer, Zero Motorcycles, raised another $2.4 million in private equity, according to a new SEC filing.
Earlier this month, California’s Scotts Valley Police Department started using the company’s Zero DS bikes in urban patrols. According to a company press statement, its Zero DS has a range of up to 50 miles (80 km) and is highway legal, safe for… → Read More
Today, the Santa Monica, Calif.-based maker of electric vehicles and batteries, CODA Holdings, appointed auto industry veteran Phil Murtaugh as chief executive officer.
On a conference call, CODA’s interim CEO Steven “Mac” Heller described Murtaugh as someone who believes “the automotive industry can innovate rapidly and be more responsible as a global citizen,” and is deeply experienced in… → Read More
The chairman of Build Your Dreams (BYD) one of the world’s largest clean tech and electric vehicle manufacturers, Chuanfu Wang, won China’s Canton Provincial Award for Individual Contribution the company announced today.
The Canton Government awarded the CPAIC, a.k.a. “China’s Peace Prize,” to Wang for leading a business that has consistently developed and commercialized solar power, battery… → Read More
CODA Holdings (or CODA Automotive) the Santa Monica, Calif. company that plans to sell all-electric sedans in the U.S. this year, raised another $76 million according to a company statement today. The company’s total equity funding, with this round, reached about $200 million. CODA’s new backers include Harbinger Capital Partners and Riverstone Holdings, who were joined by earlier investors AERIS… → Read More
Smith Electric Vehicles U.S. (SEV) and the Tanfield Group announced today that the American maker of all-electric trucks will purchase its United Kingdom-based parent company, Smith Electric Vehicles U.K. for $15 million in January.
The company began its U.S. operations in Kansas City, Mo. in 2009. Led by chief executive Bryan Hansel, SEV is buying all of the assets and operating business of… → Read More
Hertz Rent A Car is set to offer electric vehicles at an hourly rate starting December 15th in New York City, with expansion of the service to San Francisco, Washington D.C., London, up to 50 college campuses in North America, and markets in Texas and China by the end of 2011.
For what it calls the ConnectByHertz “car sharing” service in Manhattan, the company aims to make 20 electric vehicles… → Read More
In April this year, a group of graduate school students at Kyoto University announced the launch of a venture called Green Lord Motors [JP]. As the name suggests, it’s a car company, and yesterday, it took the wraps off its first offering [JP, PDF]: a replica of the popular Tommykaira ZZ as an electric vehicle. → Read More
Duke Energy and ITOCHU Corp. announced a partnership today through which they will evaluate and test new uses for old electric vehicle (EV) batteries. Once they are too spent for life on-the-road, EV batteries could store power and deliver a charge elsewhere, the companies reason.
EV batteries falling below 80 percent of their original capacity when fully charged will be candidates for… → Read More
NRG Energy— a wholesale generator and publicly traded company— announced plans to build a network of 150 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in Houston starting in February 2011, then to expand this network throughout Texas and the United States.
According to the most recent, annual Green Cities Index, 78% of Houston commuters drive alone, and the city ranked 38th, meaning it is one of… → Read More
The 102-year-old car company General Motors (GM) is set to go public on Thursday after a government-forced bankruptcy and bailout in November 2008. The bailout cost taxpayers about $50 billion. Analysts estimate the stock price would need to hit $53 dollars before the government can recoup its investment. GM plans to sell about half-a-billion shares for $33 each in its IPO. The company stands to… → Read More
Today, General Electric (GE) offered details about its committment to encourage the widespread adoption of all-electric vehicles. The company plans to walk the walk with a purchase of 25,000 electric vehicles by 2015, including an order for 12,000 Chevy Volt vehicles in 2011 from General Motors (GM), a GE business partner.
Within the next three years, GE expects to generate up to $500 million in… → Read More
Here comes another spoof on the Mac vs. PC ad campaign, this one promoting electric vehicles over combustion engines. Plug In America, an advocacy organization that wants to reduce the United States’ dependence on petroleum, created the electric vehicle hype spots and calls them public service announcements.
The first of the seven PSAs include talent from the film Who Killed The Electric Car. One… → Read More
Given all the apparent excitement surrounding electric vehicles and the billions invested by automakers, financial firms and government incentives, you would assume there was a groundswell of consumer support for hybrid and battery electric cars underlying this momentum.
Unfortunately, according to a J.D. Power and Associates report released this morning, we may be on the electric car bandwagon… → Read More
Do you remember the ULV (“Ultra Lightweight Vehicle”), the one-person electric vehicle developed at Waseda Environmental Institute, a business started at Japan’s Waseda University? We showed you the cute mini car back in June, and now it’s officially going on sale. → Read More
One of the big conflicts in battery tech right now is how to keep the things at the right temperature. Nissan and Mitsubishi are going with air cooling, while Tesla, Chevy, and as of today Ford are all opting for liquid temperature regulation. Since few electrics are really on the road, it seems there isn’t sufficient data to go with one over the other. → Read More
Saab, not exactly the first company I think of when I think of cutting edge electric vehicles, is determined not to be left behind by the electric renaissance that’s starting… any time now, just wait for it. They’re rolling out a test fleet of EVs based on the upcoming 9-3 model, but wouldn’t give a date for actual production. Chances are it’ll be quite a while. → Read More
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