Panasonic says solid-state batteries are still 10 years off

VW Battery PacksWhile scientists and automakers around the world are racing to develop solid-state batteries for electric cars, Panasonic says don't hold your breath. In an interview, Panasonic North American chief executive officer Tom Gebhardt told Business Insider that the hotly-anticipated battery breakthrough won't make it to production electric cars for...

VW is planning to build 50 million electric vehicles

Herbert DiessVolkswagen already had ambitious goals to ramp up electric-vehicle production to a rate of up to three million EVs annually by 2025, and potentially hit 10 million vehicles around 2027 if all goes right. But its plans look even more bullish on electric, considering the number of vehicles it's now supposedly signed up to build over a longer stretch...

Battery entrepreneur releases new invention to reduce cobalt

Tour of Tesla battery gigafactory for invited owners, Reno, Nevada, July 2016As other battery scientists are working to develop the solid-state lithium batteries of tomorrow, technology entrepreneur Kenan Sahin is working to make the batteries of today more affordable. Sahin announced at a conference in Berlin this week that his company TIAX has invented a new battery compound that he calls GEMX that reduced the need for...

Commentary: Want faster electric-car charging? Pony up!

Volkswagen MEB platform architectureThe future may be coming for electric cars, but it's not yet clear what it will look like. When modern electric cars first launched between 2011 and 2014, many shared similar specs: about 80 miles of range, overnight charging, a five-passenger hatchback body, and a price starting around $28,000 before tax credits. Some models offered bigger...