Report: Small VW EV, battery plant considered for North America

2021 Volkswagen ID.4Volkswagen has approved an EV slotting below the ID.4 for the North American market, and it's considering a battery plant in Ontario, according to German business daily Handelsblatt. The report notes five recent entries in the Canadian province's Registry of Lobbyists for VW, including one that mentions CEO Oliver Blume, who last year said that...

Study: Smaller EV batteries would lessen lithium-mining mess

CATL Evogo battery swappingReducing the size of EV batteries and generally lowering levels of car ownership and use could have a significant environmental impact by cutting messy lithium mining, according to a new study commissioned by the Climate and Community Project, a climate policy think tank. The study, using UC Davis research (and first spotted by Green Car...

Tesla’s Nevada Gigafactory expansion: Batteries for 1.5M EVs annually

Artist's impression of upgraded Tesla plant near Reno, NevadaTesla has confirmed a $3.6 billion expansion of its Nevada battery "Gigafactory" that the company claims will supply over one million EVs annually. The investment will add 3,000 new jobs and two new factories at the Sparks, Nevada, site, Tesla said in what reads as a press release—with a few more details confirmed as part of Tesla's...

Chinese startup might soon make EVs with cell-to-chassis tech

CATL cell to pack battery tech sketchA Chinese startup plans to ditch battery packs entirely and integrate cells directly with an EV's chassis. With this goal in mind, Neta Auto on Wednesday announced a cooperative agreement with battery supplier CATL to use the latter's cell-to-chassis tech, branded as Integrated Intelligent Chassis (CIIC). In a press release, Neta said it would be...

DOE: In 2022 money, EV battery costs have kept falling

Mercedes-Benz Alabama battery factoryMany analyses have shown that EV battery costs stopped decreasing in 2022, putting off affordability goals. But the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently issued a reality check. Based on 2022-constant dollars, battery costs actually continued falling last year at the pack level, because of accelerated inflation, according to DOE estimates. The...

BMW aims to build solid-state EV batteries under license

2023 BMW i7 xDrive60BMW has licensed solid-state battery cell designs and manufacturing processes from Colorado-based Solid Power, taking the partnership between the two companies up a notch. The automaker, which began partnering with Solid Power in 2017, will install copies of the firm's solid-state cell pilot production lines at its facilities in Germany, and Solid...