27 June 2019 | Tesla’s Secret Battery Lab, BMW Says Diesel Until 2040 and EV Investment For Detroit USA
Tesla's Secret Battery Lab | Tesla To Expand In Ukraine And Eastern Europe | BMW Says Diesels Will Still Be Around For At Least 20 Years | E-Bike Or E-Scooter? | Car Makers Vs. The Oil And Gas Industry | How The 710 Hp Electric 5 Series Development Car Works | Ge’s 12 Megawatt Haliade-X Offshore Wind Turbine Destined For Testing In The Uk | AKASOL Enters North American Market With New Production Facility
Show #511
Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Thursday 27th June 2019. It’s Martyn Lee here and I go through every EV story to save you time.
Thank you to MYEV.com for helping make this show, they’ve built the first marketplace specifically for Electric Vehicles. It’s a totally free marketplace that simplifies the buying and selling process, and help you learn about EVs along the way too.
Hello to new EXECUTIVE PRODUCER ROBIN TANNER
Welcome to heatwave Europe. Where it's currently too hot to drive fast in Germany.
3 days left to buy you Tesla and get the current Federal Tax Credit: "The federal government provides a tax credit of $7,500 to buyers for the first 200,000 electric vehicles sold by each company. After a manufacturer sells that first tranche, the tax credit drops by half for cars sold over the next six months — then by half again for another six months before disappearing entirely."
TESLA'S SECRET BATTERY LAB
- There have been multiple clues to why Tesla is going their own route on battery cell production, without their long time partner Panasonic. Firstly if you go way back, look at Panasonic making positive noises about their plans with Toyota and Elon saying Panasonic hadn't hit capacity for Tesla. Generally when relationships are rock solid, people don't wash their dirty laundry in public. Then there have been more obvious things - a little while ago I tweeted the current jobs page on Tesla.com which was looking for people with experience in cell production logistics, and most recently it was Elon and JB exchanging badly-disguised giggles on stage when talking their plans. But all this has been widely reported by many websites and podcast like Ryan McCaffrey and Rob Mauerer's Tesla Daily for a while now.
- And today from CNBC: ""Tesla is developing the means to manufacture its own battery cells, according to five current and recent employees, something that the electric vehicle maker has relied on Panasonic to do since the companies signed an extensive partnership deal in 2014. Tesla employees conduct some of their battery cell manufacturing research at a “skunkworks lab” at the company’s Kato Road facility, a few minutes from its car plant in Fremont, California. Employees in Tesla’s battery R&D teams are now focused on designing and prototyping advanced lithium ion battery cells, as well as new equipment and processes that could allow Tesla to produce cells in high volumes, employees and former employees said."
TESLA TO EXPAND IN UKRAINE AND EASTERN EUROPE
- "Ukraine is now being considered as another Eastern European country Tesla Inc. plans to expand into as it seeks to establish itself in more geographical markets." reports IB TImes: "With Tesla entrenched in Western Europe, the only direction left to go to is east. Tesla is finally expanding towards Eastern Europe in response to pleas from the few Tesla owners in this region. It’s already known Tesla will first expand into the Czech Republic."
https://www.ibtimes.com/tesla-expand-ukraine-eastern-europe-says-musk-2803317
BMW SAYS DIESELS WILL STILL BE AROUND FOR AT LEAST 20 YEARS
- Earlier this week I told you about the BMW electric plans, but just to recap: "At this week’s #NEXTGen event held in Munich, BMW unveiled the rather intriguing Vision M Next concept to signal what could turn into a production hybrid sports coupe with 600 horsepower. It would be one of the many electrified models planned by the Bavarians as the company has set a new objective to have 25 electrified cars on sale by 2023, with more than half of these to eschew the combustion engine altogether. A plug-in hybrid model from the BMW M division has already been confirmed, with a fully electric M car slated to arrive after the middle of the next decade." according to Motor1.
https://www.motor1.com/news/356878/bmw-says-diesels-survive-20-years/
E-BIKE OR E-SCOOTER?
- "It has the silhouette of a mountain bike, but instead of pedals it has platforms that can take you up to 45 km / h! A zero-emission proposal that we have tried in preview in the center of Prague" reports InsideEVs Italia: "Technically it has been defined as a "crossover of individual micro-mobility ", but in reality Klement is something different. It is not an e-bike or even an e-scooter or even a hoverboard even if it shares some logic. by tilting the platforms forward it accelerates, while backwards it decelerates and, by the way, the front hydraulic brake system is equipped with ABS . And if you are wondering if the braking power is not excessive, the answer is "absolutely not" given the performances that are achieved. The two lithium batteries, each with 52 cells , have a total capacity of 1.25kWh and ensure an autonomy of 62 km "
CAR MAKERS VS. THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY
- "GM, like a fleet of other car manufacturers, is seeking the extension of a tax break that has for a decade helped sustain the sale of cars that need little to no gasoline to run." reports The Washington Post today: "This has triggered an intense lobbying battle with oil and natural gas companies, which supply the fuel that runs the internal-combustion engines that dominate American roadways. Derrick Morgan, senior vice president of the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, said he has “met with dozens and dozens” of lawmakers to highlight the high cost of the tax break. Proponents of the credit argue that the oil industry has received similarly sized tax breaks."
HOW THE 710 HP ELECTRIC 5 SERIES DEVELOPMENT CAR WORKS
- From David Tracy at Jalopnik who gives us more details on the BMW test BEV "BMW calls it “Lucy.” It’s 710 horsepower, 848 lb-ft, triple-electric-motor, one-off sedan that the automaker says can do 0-62 mph in 2.8 seconds. Lucy’s being used to develop future electric vehicles, and after getting a ride in this modified 5 Series, I can tell you that the thing is an absolute monster. [It's] a G30 BMW 5 Series which had its floor modified to fit a 45 kWh battery, and its internal combustion engine replaced by three electric motors. Up front, though, the power electronics are integrated into a roughly 220-pound (100 kilogram) cast aluminum case that houses a motor and gearbox in what BMW dubs its “fifth-generation drive unit,” also called “HEAT.” Cooling the 200 kW HEAT up front—a drive unit design also found on the upcoming iX3 crossover—is both water and oil, and BMW claims the setup has a maintenance-free target of over 186,000 miles (300,000 kilometers)."
https://jalopnik.com/i-rode-in-bmws-absurd-710-hp-electric-5-series-developm-1835820250
GE’S 12 MEGAWATT HALIADE-X OFFSHORE WIND TURBINE DESTINED FOR TESTING IN THE UK
- "GE Renewable Energy announced this week that its 12 megawatt (MW) Haliade-X offshore wind turbine will head to the United Kingdom as part of an advanced technology testing program at the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult’s site in Blyth." says CleanTechnica: "GE Renewable Energy’s 12 MW Haliade-X behemoth is set to be the largest wind turbine in the world when it begins shipping in 2021, and will measure in at 260 meters in height and boast a 220-meter rotor, capable of generating enough clean electricity for 16,000 households all on its own."
- “We want to bring the most powerful offshore wind turbine to the world’s largest offshore wind market and contribute with our technology to support the UK’s Offshore Wind Sector Deal goal (30 GW by 2030)" - John Lavelle, President & CEO of GE’s Offshore Wind business.
AKASOL ENTERS NORTH AMERICAN MARKET WITH NEW PRODUCTION FACILITY
- With almost 30 years’ experience in battery systems technology, AKASOL develops and manufactures high-performance lithium-ion battery systems for buses, commercial vehicles, trains, industrial vehicles and the marine sector.
- AKASOL has announced plans to open a production facility in the metro Detroit area of Michigan, USA.
- The new facility will generate considerable investment and create over 200 jobs in the next five years. The location of the site will also ensure that AKASOL’s customers comply with Buy America Act regulations, which dictate that they must purchase locally-produced battery systems.
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