ChargePoint invests in commercial charging for buses, delivery vans, taxis

2014 BMW i3 REx fast-charging at Chargepoint site, June 2016  [photo: Tom Moloughney]After opposing the settlement over diesel emissions cheating that led VW to spend $2 billion building out a nationwide network of fast chargers, and suing one of Electrify America's suppliers for patent infringement, ChargePoint, the last of the original charging-network providers for electric cars, is moving to focus on commercial charging...

Why some cities should kick out cars, but others can’t and won’t

Bollore BlueCars recharging at Paris curb for the Autolib electric-car sharing service, Sep 2016U.S. visitors to European cities, especially capitals like Paris and Rome and Madrid and London, often remark how different they are from those in the U.S. Many of their historic cores, dating back far before automobiles existed, remain intact—and for much of the 20th century, they coexisted uncomfortably with those cars and trucks. Now...

How about electric semis that draw power from overhead wires?

Siemens catenary system to electrify semi trucksWhile battery-powered semi trucks remains years away for many prominent makers, the German tech company Siemens is experimenting with a well-known source of electric power delivery to make a different kind of electric semi. Much like electric trams or streetcars used by public transit agencies for more than 100 years, the method employs a catenary...

Chinese maker BYD plans U.S. expansion into other electric industrial vehicles

BYD Qin EV300It's been several years since Chinese electric-car maker BYD retreated from plans to sell cars in the United States, but now it may be ready to get more serious about the market. BYD has found success in building and selling electric buses for public transportation agencies, but it has not yet launched a vehicle for private consumers. The company...

All Dutch electric trains now running on 100-percent renewable energy

Dutch NS Sprinter electric train by Flickr user kismihok (Used under CC License)While modern electric cars have only been available in large numbers for a few years, electric trains have been commonplace for some time. As with electric cars, the source of the electricity used to power these trains impacts their overall carbon footprint. The cleaner an energy source, the cleaner the vehicles it powers. DON'T MISS: Alstom...

Alstom hydrogen fuel-cell train to be tested in Germany

Alstom Coradia iLint hydrogen fuel-cell trainUnlike other forms of transportation, the railroad industry is already fairly familiar with electric power. Electric trains that use overhead wires or an electrified third rail for power are already commonplace on world railroads. But the infrastructure demands of electric trains are considerable, limiting where it is practical to deploy them...

Toyota to launch fuel-cell buses next year for Olympics

Toyota FC Bus hydrogen fuel-cell busIt appears that Toyota's hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles plans encompass more than just passenger cars. The Japanese automaker plans to begin selling fuel-cell buses in its home country next year, with an eye toward deploying them at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. In a press release announcing the buses, Toyota said the Tokyo Metropolitan Government already...