Category: Electric Car News

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FIA Approves Formula E Championship Calendar

Formula E Holdings, promoters of the new FIA Formula E Championship, today confirmed its 2014/2015 calendar featuring 10 city-centre events spanning four continents.

The calendar was submitted to the FIA during its World Motor Sport Council in Paris, France, and will run from September 2014 to June 2015. Beijing will remain as the host venue for the world's first ever fully-electric race commencing on 13th September 2014 – one week earlier than previously planned.

After the opening round in Beijing, the 10 teams and 20 drivers will remain in Asia for Round 2 with Putrajaya, the federal administrative centre of Malaysia on 18th October 2014. Round 3 will now see the championship head to Rio de Janeiro, the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro and the second largest city of Brazil. Rio replaces Hong Kong which will instead be considered as a candidate city for the following Formula E seasons.

From here, the series continues in South America with Round 4 in Punta del Este, Uruguay, on 13th December 2014 before starting the New Year in Buenos Aires, Argentina, for Round 5 on 10th January. The championship then heads to North America for Rounds 6 and 7 with Los Angeles on 14th February 2015 and Miami now brought forward to 14th March 2015.

The season then moves to Europe for the final three rounds beginning with Monte Carlo, Monaco, on 9th May 2015 followed by the German capital of Berlin on 30th May 2015 where the former airport of Tempelhof has already been revealed as the circuit location. The inaugural season then reaches its climax in London, United Kingdom, on 27th June 2015.

Alejandro Agag, CEO of Formula E Holdings, said: "It's a great feeling to be able to confirm our calendar for the inaugural Formula E season and we're very thankful to all the cities, and candidate cities, for showing their commitment to sustainable mobility. The level of interest we have received from cities all over the globe has been overwhelming and choosing the final 10 has been a challenging and meticulous process. We're confident our final 10 cities will provide an array of fantastic backdrops to showcase electric cars in their favoured urban environments, as well as allow us to put on a great spectacle for the fans."

All Formula E events will feature a free practice session, qualifying session, one-hour race and live music concert taking place in a single day (Saturday) in order to minimise disruption to the city and its surrounding areas. Precise circuit layouts for each venue will be revealed at a later stage but all will use city-centre locations. Tickets for the first rounds will go on sale in 2014.

Formula E is a new FIA championship featuring Formula cars powered exclusively by electric energy –representing a vision for the future and serving as a framework for research and development around the electric vehicle. For the first season only, all 10 teams - each with two drivers - will compete using the new Spark-Renault SRT_01E car which completed its successful test debut last month.

2014/2015 FIA Formula E Championship – Calendar

Round 1 Beijing, China 13th September 2014
Round 2 Putrajaya, Malaysia 18th October 2014
Round 3 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 15th November 2014
Round 4 Punta del Este, Uruguay 13th December 2014
Round 5 Buenos Aires, Argentina 10th January 2015
Round 6 Los Angeles, USA 14th February 2015
Round 7 Miami, USA 14th March 2015
Round 8 Monte Carlo, Monaco 9th May 2015
Round 9 Berlin, Germany 30th May 2015
Round 10 London, UK 27th June 2015

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Toyota signs wireless charging deal with WiTricity

WiTricity, an industry pioneer in resonant wireless power transfer over distance, today announced an intellectual property license agreement with the world’s top-selling carmaker, Toyota Motor Corporation.

Having made an equity investment in WiTricity in 2011 to accelerate the development of automotive wireless charging systems and acceptance by carmakers, Toyota has cooperated technically with the company for the past several years. Under this intellectual property license agreement, Toyota will offer wireless charging power capture devices on their future rechargeable hybrid electric and battery electric vehicles. Compatible wireless charging sources will be manufactured by third party charging system suppliers, under license from WiTricity.

WiTricity’s technology delivers electric power safely over distance and eliminates the need for the charging cable that is required for EVs and PHVs that are currently on the market. Toyota has identified this technology as a key differentiator in the marketplace because of its seamless operation and the convenience factor it offers the vehicle owners.

“WiTricity’s mission is to make wireless charging available as widely as possible, and this announcement is a significant step toward accomplishing that mission,” said WiTricity CEO Eric Giler. “We envision a world in which wireless charging accelerates the adoption of clean, green electrified vehicles. To have Toyota, the world’s leading carmaker, licensing our intellectual property, underscores the importance of the technology.”

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Japan’s Sekisui Chemical develop Silicon based 600 km range battery

Sekisui Chemical has developed a material that can triple the capacity of lithium ion batteries, allowing electric vehicles to travel about 600km on a single charge -- roughly as far as gasoline-powered cars can go without refilling.

The new material stores electricity using silicon instead of conventional carbon-based materials. The company's silicon alloy overcomes the durability issue that had kept silicon from being used.

Sekisui Chemical also developed a new material for the electrolyte, which conducts electricity within the batteries. This eliminates the need for equipment to inject liquid electrolyte into batteries, stepping up battery production by 10-fold from the current three or so per hour.

The company believes that the new material can bring battery production costs down to just above 30,000 yen ($290) per kilowatt-hour, a decrease of more than 60 percent from around 100,000 yen ($976) today, according to a report in Nikkei.

Lithium-ion batteries are a type of non-aqueous electrolyte rechargeable battery where the lithium-ion inside the electrolytes supplies the electrical conductivity. Standard models have lithium metal oxides at the positive electrode and a carbon material such as graphite at the negative electrode, and usually use electrolytic solution.

Using electrolytic solution is a barrier to ensuring the safety of the lithium-ion battery, and many research institutes are seeking to solidify the electrolytic solution, but from the perspective of performance and productivity, electrolytic solution remains the standard substance.

Sekisui Chemical, through its determined focus on using gel for electrolytes, has recently utilized new organic polymer electrolyte materials as gel-type electrolytes with high ion conductivity (approx. ten times other Sekisui Chemical products) to gain the prospect of realizing high-speed continuous production for battery cells (approx. ten times compared to other Sekisui Chemical products) and enhanced safety by using a continuous coating process rather than a vacuum infusion process. In addition, it has developed high-capacity silicon negative-electrode materials to make optimum use of this performance, realizing a high-capacity battery cell (900Wh/L).

The development of high-capacity film-type lithium-ion batteries giving practical performance while being flexible, slim, long and covering a large area has massively improved freedom in designing the shape of the final products, leading to anticipation for their use in automobiles, houses, electrical appliances and so on while gaining unprecedented lightness, space-saving (a third the size of previous products) and enhancing design through being able to be installed in any shape of form

Sekisui Chemical plans to begin sample shipments to domestic and overseas battery manufacturers as early as next summer, with mass production to kick off in 2015. It is targeting annual sales of 20 billion yen by fully entering the business of automotive battery materials.

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Virgin to enter team in Formula E

Virgin is to enter a team for the first FIA Formula E Championship, which gets out of the grids next year.

The all-new championship will take place on purpose-built street circuits in ten city centres around the world. The Virgin Racing Formula E Team, is headed by Team Principal Alex Tai and has the backing of Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson. Both have been involved in a number of pioneering technology projects in aviation, space and more recently racing.

The Formula E Championship is intending to showcase electric car technology and speed up development and innovation amongst manufacturers. Against this backdrop, Virgin will bring fun, energy and excitement to create a concept that is compelling for both fans and commercial partners, and will create a winning team.

Richard Branson said: “The launch of the Formula E Championship is exciting news for racing fans but also for those that believe in developing the great electric cars of the future. The need to create fast, dependable and durable race cars will help to accelerate the sector and showcase electric cars to a large global audience. With races around many famous city centres, I am expecting a lot of spectators, plenty of fun and some sparks flying as the competition hots up.”

Alex Tai – Team Principal of Virgin Racing Formula E Team, said: “I’m absolutely sold on the concept of Formula E and believe that it is a great fit for the Virgin brand. The accessible nature of the series with its races being right in the heart of our great cities, should create a wonderful atmosphere. The drive to develop new technology appeals to Virgin, which has always been a pioneering organisation. I’ve been fortunate to have been involved in a number of such activities over years, from the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer to Virgin Galactic activities that push technological and human boundaries and capture people’s imagination.

Alejandro Agag – CEO Formula E Holdings, said: “It gives me great pleasure to welcome Richard Branson and the Virgin Team to Formula E and for them to have chosen the FIA’s new zero emission series to make their return to top-flight motor sport. Having a global brand like Virgin, renowned for their technological innovation and sporting passion, as one of our ten teams is a fantastic addition to the championship and shows their commitment to sustainable mobility. Today’s announcement now means we just have one team left to announce before the grid for the inaugural 2014/2015 Formula E season is complete.”

FORMULA E ENTRANTS SO FAR

  • Drayson Racing
  • China Racing
  • Andretti Autosport
  • Dragon Racing
  • e.dams
  • Super Aguri
  • Audi Sport Abt
  • Mahindra Racing
  • Virgin Racing
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    Zoox Reveal Autonomous Bi-directional Electric Vehicle Concept

    Meet The Boz; it's not really a car - it's what might come after the car - a vehicle design based entirely around autonomous driving.

    Inside the Boz, the experience would be like sitting in a train. Drivers become passengers, or "commanders." Without needing to focus on traffic and road signs, they would be able to use the commute to do some work or watch a video or have a snooze!

    Just as the internal combustion engine enabled the car to replace the carriage, Zoox believe autonomous technology will replace the car, and in doing so create a new class of mobility known as 'Level 4'.

    Level 4 is a term taken from a policy statement the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released on May 30, 2013. This document outlines a spectrum of mobility systems from the fully manual Level 0, through to Level 4 which is fully autonomous.

    From a design perspective, the first element you may notice is what's absent: the front and rear windshield. This is not to say L4s can't have them — certainly those designed for tourism would — but this vehicle makes the statement that you now have an option.

    Firstly, it gains thermal, aerodynamic and acoustic efficiencies. The thermal load lost through the windshield is significant, requiring energy intensive climate control systems, as well as a number of ancillary systems to keep the glass clear. These inefficiencies are removed.

    The entry profile of the vehicle is aerodynamic as a near teardrop, unattainable in a car due to the requirement for driver vision. The low profile roofline and absence of glass further lends itself to superior acoustic insulation. The side windows are thin, but double glazed, which enhances these properties.

    Because the requirement for the passenger to be situationally aware of their exterior environment is removed, external sound and light can be shielded to enhance a sense of serenity and safety. This is a superior environment for interacting with voice-activated systems, watching video or conversing.

    You can be in the middle of a bustling city, but when the door seals, you are in your own world.

    The next point of observation may be that there is no hood. This is because there is no internal combustion engine — behind each wheel sits an electric in-wheel motor. The body language has been changed to reflect this setup, moving each wheel to its outer corner with minimal overhangs to maximize vehicle stability and interior volume.

    Finally, the L4 is symmetrical in its X and Y axes — there is no differentiation between back or front. In fact, each quadrant of the vehicle is mirrored and identical.

    Source: Zoox

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    Mitsubishi Drop 2014 i-MiEV Price to $12,995 in California

    Mitsubishi Motors North America have announced the 2014 Mitsubishi i-MiEV electric-powered production vehicle not only receives an expanded standard equipment package but also sees a considerable price reduction of $6,130 over the previous 2012 model year vehicle.

    The 2014 model year Mitsubishi i-MiEV ES model including CHAdeMO DC quick charge port, battery warming system and heated side view mirrors now starts at only $22,995 – an astonishing $6,130 price reduction from the previous generation. After factoring in the Federal tax credit of $7,500, the net MSRP of the 2014 Mitsubishi i-MiEV drops down to only $15,495.

    With a net MSRP of only $15,495 after factoring in the available EV federal tax credit of $7,500 and, for example, with the California state EV financial incentive of up to $2,500 (other generous financial incentives are available through numerous states and municipalities), residents in California can obtain the technologically-advanced 2014 Mitsubishi i-MiEV for as low as $12,995.

    To date, more than 30,000 Mitsubishi i-MiEV and i-MiEV-based production vehicles have been sold around the globe. In such diverse markets as the U.S., Europe and Asia, the i-MiEV has proven to be a safe, convenient and utterly reliable eco-friendly form of personal transportation in any market in which it is sold.

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    Norweigian Electric Car Sales hit 12% market share in November

    Electric car sales in Norway have set yet another record. According to OGV battery electric vehicles sales increased sharply with 1434 new EVs being sold in November giving them an 11.9% market share amongst passenger car sales. This is a 357% increase on the same month last year when EVs accounted for only 2.6% of the market.

    After topped the list of new car registrations in Norway in September, the top selling electric car for November is the Tesla Model S with 527 sold, accounting for 4.4% market share on it's own and second over-all of all cars sold behind the VW Golf.

    After leading the market for the first time last month, the second most popular EV is the Nissan Leaf with 512 sold and 4.2% market share.

    In fact EVs are so in demand in Norway another 249 used EVs were imported in November bring the total to 1683 electric cars.

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    BMW-Toyota making big steps in EV Battery technology

    BMW’s head of marketing, Ian Robertson, has said the partnership between BMW and Toyota has already heralded “big steps” in battery technology,

    “We’ve been genuinely impressed by the speed and quality of the learnings,” said Robertson. “The teams are working very well together. We are making some big steps, especially in battery performance and efficiency. We are now looking at how we can use the learnings together, because there’s no question they will make electric cars far more attractive.”

    The two firms announced they would jointly research a lithium-air battery back in January. A lithium-air battery has its anode filled with lithium, and cathode with air. Theoretically, the battery can store more than 5,000 watt-hours per kilogram. (A123 M1 cells are around 120 wh/kg).

    Ian Robertson was quoted as saying during the launch of the BMW i3 he expect the i3 to be powered by a 320 km (200 mile) range Lithium-Air Battery by 2017.

    Source: Autocar

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    On Holiday in Hawaii with the Nissan Leaf

    During a recent holiday in Waikiki, a beach front neighbourhood of Honolulu in Hawaii, EV News took the opportunity to rent a Nissan Leaf for the day. Having scanned the available cars on the Enterprise Rent-A-Car web-site and noticing they had Nissan Leaf available and for approx the same price as others in the same bracket I couldn't resist test driving one.

    We picked up our Silver 2013 Leaf with 544 miles on the odometer with a full charge and only a vague idea where we were going. Earlier in the week we'd hired a 3rd generation Toyota Prius to lap the Island of Oahu a couple of times. (I've driven a Holden Volt and a Mitsubishi iMiEV, but not a Prius so I had to tick that box)

    Having just hopped out of a Prius the controls in the Leaf were immediately familiar. It wouldn't be a wild guess to say the mouse-shaped gear selector in both could be from the same supplier. The start procedure in both is almost identical too, put the wireless key in the centre console, foot on the brake pedal, push button to start, select 'D' on the 'mouse', foot parking brake off, push the throttle and start moving forward - silently.

    Aside from the steering wheel being on the wrong side of the car and having to drive down the wrong side of the road, (we're RHD here in Australia) we were still a bit navigationally challenged after only a few days in Hawaii. For a start, we hadn't been able to source an old fashioned paper road map of the place and being cheap skates (read: having a strong aversion to being ripped off) neither my better half nor myself had set-up International roaming on our iPhones so consequently they only worked when-ever WiFi was avaliable. Infrequent checking of Google maps required a quick visit to the nearest McDonalds to use their free WiFi.

    Of course, the Leaf has GPS as standard built into the dash but a) you can't type in an address unless stationary (which frustrates the passenger no end) b) the address look-up isn't as good as Google and more often than not failed to return a result so it becomes a two device routine to actually find the route to any particular land mark.

    I soon discovered range anxiety is real, at least within the first hour of being in a unfamiliar car. Like any typical Hawaiian day it was 30c so having driven out of the hire car lot and straight onto an expressway with the air conditioning on (i.e. maxium possible energy consumption)... the range indicator started to fall rapidly. Obviously if you owned a Leaf you would soon grow accustomed to it's range capabilities, but in unfamiliar terrain and in an unfamiliar electric vehicle, straight off the bat, it's all an unknown.

    When we got the keys the range indicator said 84 miles (134 km). We hit a few outlet stores, hill climbed the 1,186 feet (361 meters) elevation to the Nu'uanu Pali Lookout, depleting indicated range to less than 20 miles - which we regenerated back up to 37 miles (60 km) by the time we returned to our hotel by late afternoon.

    Fortunately Hawaii has plenty of accessible public changing stations, which most of the time are very popular. (see above) Even though the parking itself isn't free, the charging is and as luck would have it, there was a charging station within 5 mins walk of our hotel. It was not being used when we arrived with our Leaf (although it had been ICE'd by a minivan – who promptly moved and starting asking questions about the Leaf) and after a quick 3 hours plugged in we set off for dinner with the dash showing 100 miles (160 km) of range.

    When confined to level ground, city driving, as opposed to expressways and hill climbs, the Leaf consumes amazing little energy. What you use during heavy acceleration is mostly regenerated while pulling up at the next set of traffic lights. The leaf has the same blended brake set-up as the Prius and Volt so any use of the brake pedal kicks in more regeneration as opposed to dissipating energy through the friction brakes.

    In fact, having driven 2 full laps of Ohau in a Prius, I now understand why Prius owners are often quoted as saying brake wear is minimal even after 200,000 km as like the Volt, the Prius uses full regen braking most of the time. Incidentally, on a recent trip to Darwin to cover the World Solar Challenge it was interesting to note 80% of the taxis in Darwin are Prius – frugal on both fuel consumption and brakes - sounds like a perfect combination for a taxi.

    From a drivers perspective, due to the “pedal feel simulator” in most hybrids and electrics, it's hard to tell the difference between regn and friction braking based on pedal feedback alone. The tell-tale is watching the dash displays and how they ramp up to full any time the brake pedal is pressed while the vehicle is at speed.

    For urban driving the Nissan Leaf is a great choice. It's surprisingly big for a 'small' car, costs virtually nothing to run, takes only a few hours to get back to fully charged on a 240v outlet and as we have seen with DC fast chargers it can easily cover 500 miles (800 km) in a day.