16 June 2018 | Are Panasonic Ready To Triple Production Of Batteries, Tesla Model 3 Races On Bonneville and Sacramento Becomes ‘Green City’
Tesla Model 3 Shows Off Its Speed In Exhilarating Salt Flats Run | All-Electric, 680-Horsepower Volkswagen I.D. R Test At Pikes Peak | 13,000 People Expected To Attend Renewable Energy Fair In Custer | UPS Places Order For 950 Workhorse Electric Delivery Trucks | Power Utilities To Earn $11 Billion In Revenue With EV Demand | Mini Boss: Going Electric Is A Real Challenge | Could Panasonic Triple Production Of EV Batteries | Electrify America Invests $44 Million To Make Sacramento A 'Green City'
Hello and welcome to the Friday 15th June edition of EV News Daily. It’s Martyn Lee here with the news you need to know about electric cars and the move towards sustainable transport.
TESLA MODEL 3 SHOWS OFF ITS SPEED IN EXHILARATING SALT FLATS RUN
- Tesla Model 3 on Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. One of the most awesome experiences had in my Trinity! #Tesla @Tesla @elonmusk #Model3 @Model3Owners
- Michael Striker (@Michael7Striker)
- "Model 3’s batteries were not even fully charged when he conducted his high-speed run, and the vehicle was entirely stock with 18″ Aero Wheels" according to Teslarati: "According to Striker, however, he opted to pull back on the throttle when he reached 90 mph. The Model 3 Performance, according to Elon Musk, would be 15% faster than the BMW M3 on the track, with a 0-60 mph time of 3.5 seconds and a top speed of 155 mph. Tesla expects to start manufacturing the Model 3 Performance starting this July."
ALL-ELECTRIC, 680-HORSEPOWER VOLKSWAGEN I.D. R TEST AT PIKES PEAK
- In the wee hours of the morning, The Drive was present for Volkswagen's onsite test of its electric Pikes Peak prototype race car. Romain Dumas is a three-time pikes peak winner and will be driving. The Drive reports: "Despite starting phase two of the day's testing on the upper half of the mountain without a full charge, Dumas maintained momentum through his first run on the upper half of the course, grappling with regenerative braking systems all the way."
13,000 PEOPLE EXPECTED TO ATTEND RENEWABLE ENERGY FAIR IN CUSTER
- About 13,000 people are expected to attend the Midwest Renewable Energy Fair in Custer this weekend.
- MREA executive director Nick Hylla: ""This is probably one of the most exciting things that's happened during my tenure here … the incredible growth in electric transportation and options that are out there. We'll have probably every variety of electric vehicle here on display, probably more than 100 vehicles."
UPS PLACES ORDER FOR 950 WORKHORSE ELECTRIC DELIVERY TRUCKS
- com reports: "Shipping giant UPS said it will buy 950 electric delivery trucks from Workhorse Group in what looks to be a key order for the electric vehicle startup."
- "This tops an earlier UPS order for 50 of the trucks that was part of a test program. Workhorse describes the vehicles as Class 5 N-Gen electric vans. UPS and Workhorse collaborated on the design of the zero-emissions vehicle." says Trucks.
- "With 60-kilowatt-hour battery packs the N-Gen vans can travel up to 100 miles before they need to be recharged. The cost will be about $6 to travel 100 miles, which is significantly lower than the expense of fuel to run gas or diesel-powered trucks. The all-electric delivery vehicles will cost about the same as conventional trucks but will have a lower operational cost over their expected life because they will be less expensive to maintain, Hughes said. UPS would save about $170,000 a van compared with a similar diesel delivery truck if it kept the Workhorse vehicles for 20 years, their expected lifespan"
POWER UTILITIES TO EARN $11 BILLION IN REVENUE WITH EV DEMAND
- Occasionally newspapers or those talking down EVs will put a story out there saying we'll face meltdown the moment someone plugs in their car and tries to make a coffee.
- Not only are most grid operators saying it's not an issue, a new report says they have a vested interest in making it work, as power shifts from oil forecourts to the power companies.
- The report also recommended that in order to meet the rising demand of charging stations, governments have to quickly facilitate standardisation of charging infrastructure and incentivise R&D for advanced charging technologies.
MINI BOSS: GOING ELECTRIC IS A REAL CHALLENGE
- The boss of Mini says it's one of the hardest brands to switch to EV power because of it's small size. Peter Schwarzenbauer said: “Electrifying Mini is quite a challenge, chiefly because of the small footprint of the cars. “But if you look at the role of electrification in the urban environment and the desire to be local emissions-free, there is no other brand with the credentials of Mini. It should be a natural fit, and that is the direction we’re moving towards for the future. The success of the plug-in hybrid Countryman shows what can be achieved, and the full electric Mini that is coming will show another step.”
- Autocar report: "The BMW Group is known to be working on solid-state batteries in partnership with Toyota, with a sale date mooted to be around 2025. Both smaller and more powerful than today’s batteries, they could potentially pave the way for a range of fully electric Minis."
COULD PANASONIC TRIPLE PRODUCTION OF EV BATTERIES
- Whilst some car makers who are catching up are having to get their batteries from wherever they can, Tesla get all their packs from Panasonic and that's not changing for a while yet.
- Tesla's target is to produce 5,000 Model 3s a week by the end of June. Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk recently told analysts on the company's first-quarter results call: "We think we can get the cobalt to almost nothing."
- Tesla batteries use the NCA or lithium, nickel, cobalt and aluminium formula, while other car manufacturers have chosen to go with lithium, nickel, cobalt and manganese (NCM) compounds" according to Channel News Asia: "Worries about cobalt shortages have prompted many to seek to alter the composition of the cathode part of the NCM battery to eight parts nickel, one part cobalt and one part manganese"
ELECTRIFY AMERICA INVESTS $44 MILLION TO MAKE SACRAMENTO A 'GREEN CITY'
- As part of the settlement for #dieselgate, VW had to set up Electrify America, to build out a charging infrastructure and increase the adoption of EVs.
- And now we've just heard details of how investment in Sacramento, California, will bring a series of initiatives to the City.
- $44million will be spent on a 'Green City' plan. The first part of the plan is two new car sharing schemes and of course the vehicles will all be Zero Emission. By March 2019 you will be able to use Gig, an EV sharing scheme where you don't have to return the car to where you hired it from, but rather any designated parking space inside a 13-square mile area where they operate. You will be billed according to time or use or the distance travelled.
- CNET explains: "The other car sharing service is called Envoy, and it's a round-trip car-sharing service (more like ZipCar) where users book, then pick up and return the car to the same spot. Envoy will feature a fleet of 142 vehicles spread in pairs across 71 locations, and each vehicle will have a dedicated Level 2 EV charger."
- Electrify America will also be investing in 12 new electric buses to run from the University Of California. But what about EV charging for you and I?
- "There are plans to build out the region's electric vehicle charging infrastructure by adding 10 quick chargers capable of charging at 50-, 150- and 350-kilowatt. These charging stations will be open to the public, and part of the funding used to build them will also go to the charging infrastructure for both of the upcoming car-share programs and the electric bus service" according to CNET.
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