Tesla Gives Up Patents to Spur Innovation
Elon Musk does not want patents to halt growth of an important environmental technology.
Tesla Gives Up Patents to Spur Innovation
Elon Musk does not want patents to halt growth of an important environmental technology.
BMW and Tesla executives meet to discuss electric cars
Executives from German carmaker BMW and U.S.-based Tesla Motors Inc met this week in a move which could lead to the creation of charging stations usable for different types of electric cars. Both carmakers are seeking ways to raise the popularity of battery-powered vehicles.
"Both companies are strongly committed to the success of electro-mobility and discussed how to further strengthen the development of electro-mobility on an international level," a BMW spokesman said in a statement on Friday.
BMW said the meeting had taken place on Wednesday but declined to comment in detail about the nature of the talks, or about which BMW executives had met with Tesla.
In a conference call on Thursday, Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk said there had been talks with BMW about how to promote the use of electric vehicles and how to make better use of Tesla's network of charging stations.
Carmakers including General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, BMW, Daimler, Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche have committed to adopting a common SAE combo standard for fast-charging connectors.
Fast-charging stations allow electric vehicle owners to recharge batteries up to 80 percent in less than 20 minutes.
Today, the Chevrolet Spark and the BMW i3 for example can use the same battery recharging stations.
Tesla has, however, developed its own network of high-speed charging stations including along key autobahn routes in Germany in an effort to make electric cars viable for long-distance commuting.
Tesla's charger system can be fitted with an adapter that allows its cars, including the Tesla Model S, to be recharged on both the SAE chargers and its own system.
SHARING PATENTS
Tesla also said on Thursday that it would allow others to make use of its intellectual property in the hope of speeding up development of electric cars by all manufacturers.
Musk said this included all of Tesla's patents, including several hundred current ones and several thousand in the future.
German premium auto makers have been keen to collaborate with Tesla.
In January, Daimler Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche said the German maker of Mercedes-Benz cars was open to deepening its partnership with the U.S. firm.
Daimler holds a 4.3 percent stake in Tesla, which is already supplying it with electric motors and batteries for its Smart Fortwo electric vehicle (EV) and the new Mercedes-Benz B-Class EV.
Toyota Hybrid Takes Record Breaking Pole at Le Mans
Toyota Racing's Kazuki Nakajima set a new Le Mans qualifying lap record to put the #7 TS040 Hybrid in pole position for the 82nd running of the famous 24-hour endurance race this weekend.
It was the first pole position ever for a Japanese driver and lowered last year's pole position time by more than half a second.
Nakajima, who shares the #7 car with Alex Wurz and Stéphane Sarrazin, scorched around the 13.629km track in 3 mins 21.789 secs to record Toyota's second pole position at Le Mans.
The feat highlighted the performance and efficiency of the 736kW Toyota Hybrid System - Racing which set the fastest qualifying time despite a 25 per cent reduction in fuel consumption compared with last year's car.
The #8 car of Anthony Davidson, Nicolas Lapierre and Sébastien Buemi will start Saturday's race from third on the grid.
As well as starting from first place on the grid, the TS040 Hybrid enters this year's race with two wins from the opening two FIA World Endurance Championship races.
This is the fourth pole position for Sarrazin who achieved the honour in 2007-09 and who has been runner-up three times, including last year. He praised the team for its work in setting up the #7 car and Nakajima for a "brilliant lap".
"It is promising for the race because we feel so confident in the car," he said. "We can push on every corner, every lap. Like that everything is positive. The race will be very long, we know that we have to be very calm and not attack it like a short sprint."
The 24-hour race begins at 11 p.m. tomorrow AEST.
Nissan Zeod RC hits 300 km/h on Mulsanne Straight [VIDEO]
Nissan's ZEOD RC has recorded the highest ever speed by an electric vehicle at Le Mans with Japanese ace Satoshi Motoyama reaching 300km/h on the Mulsanne Straight in qualifying for the Le Mans 24 Hours.
Motoyama reached the speed on his electric run, achieving one the key goals of the unique prototype which features a dual electric/internal combustion engine powertrain featuring a pair of 110kW electric motors along with a remarkable 40 kg, 400 horsepower 1.5 liter three-cylinder turbo engine.
The ZEOD (zero emissions on demand) permits the driver to switch back and forth between the two power sources.
Motoyama achieved the target on his first run in the car after he missed out on driving on Wednesday night to a gearbox issue in the first session and a series of session-stopping red flags during the night.
"I drove ZEOD at Le Mans for the first time and instantly we were able to reach our target to run at more than 300km/h with electric power only," Motoyama said.
"I was so surprised with the speed and power of electricity and it felt great. In yesterday’s session we had some trouble with the gearbox in the first session then we had a heap of red flag periods and I didn’t get the chance to get into the car.
"But the guys on the team did a great job to fix the car and I and I was able to get started tonight right at the green flag tonight.
“Our first target of the top speed of 300 km/h with electric power is done and I think that was a really good first step."
Motoyama along with GT Academy winners Lucas Ordóñez and Wolfgang Reip all drove multiple stints aboard the ZEOD tonight - each recording their mandatory five night laps.
The Nissan ZEOD RC competes at Le Mans this week in "Garage 56" - an additional entry for vehicles showcasing new and innovative technology.
500hp Plug-In Hybrid BMW Supra / Z7 due 2019
Following reports in November about Toyota testing a BMW i8 at their Mt. Fuji proving grounds as a pre-lude to a joint venture sports car, a report now claims BMW and Toyota are already developing a second sports car which, like the i8, is a mid-engine model that will battle the Porsche 911.
According to Car Magazine, the model is codenamed "Silk Road 2" and will spawn a BMW Z7 and Supra. The cars will reportedly be developed by BMW in Munich and is expected to be launched in late 2018 or early 2019.
While development is reportedly at an early stage, the magazine says the car will be a plug-in hybrid featuring a twin-turbo 3.0-liter six cylinder engine, a 150 bhp (111 kW) electric motor, a small battery pack between the seats (again like an i8) and a seven-speed dual clutch transmission. This setup will reportedly enable them to have a combined output of 400-500 bhp (298-372 kW).
If everything pans out, the cars will weigh less than 1650 kg (3637 lbs) and cost approximately €90,000 ($122,010 / £72,720).
Source: Car Magazine
Copper Wires Could Become NanoTech Batteries
Researchers at Florida University have turned copper wires into batteries for much simpler power storage.
The breakthrough could mean smaller consumer electronics, or could be embedded in to hybrid and electric cars or even clothing to help recharge gadgets like phones.
Nanotechnology scientist Jayan Thomas was reported in the media as saying "he believes he has discovered a way to store energy in a thin sheath around an ordinary lightweight copper electrical wire so that wires sending energy can also store it. "We can just convert those wires into batteries so there is no need of a separate battery," Thomas told Reuters. "It has applications everywhere."
The discovery has created a lot excitement in both the mainstream and scientific media. It's both the cover story in the latest Advanced Materials Journal and an article in the current edition of science magazine Nature.
One of the co-authors of the study, Thomas's Ph.D. student Zenan Yu, told Reuters the process is relatively simple.
"First", he said, "he heated the copper wire to create what he described as fuzzy "nano-whiskers," which are naturally insulated by copper oxide, vastly expanding the wire's surface area that can store energy."
"A second plastic-covered layer of nano-whiskers creates a second electrode, similar to the positive and negative sides of a standard battery," Thomas told Reuters.
"The technique could be used to lighten airplanes and spacecraft, to store excess energy from solar panels, and to further miniaturize small electronics," he said.
"The technique could also replace high energy-density supercapacitors, sometimes mistaken by hybrid car owners as a second battery, which provide the quick shot of energy that cars and heavy machinery need to start."
"You open your trunk and you see a lot of space is taken by your batteries. If you can just use some of the cables along the length of your car, you don't need any of that space for batteries," Thomas said.
He plans further research to apply the same technique to fibers woven into clothing along with a flexible solar cell, creating a wearable battery pack.
Wheelies: The Average Age Edition
IHS Automotive reports that the average age of autos in the United States is still 11.4 years; Bill Hoglund, a former G.M. executive, dies at 79. Volkswagen delivers first XL1
First vehicle goes to Berlin
Dr. Christian Malorny (left) took over his Volkswagen XL1 by Thomas Zahn, Director of Sales and Marketing Germany Volkswagen Passenger Cars Dr. Christian Malorny (left) took over his Volkswagen XL1 by Thomas Zahn, Director of Sales and Marketing Germany Volkswagen Passenger Cars
Volkswagen has delivered yesterday at the Transparent Factory in Dresden the first XL1 to a customer. Together with his family accepted Dr. Christian Malorny from Berlin's innovative diesel plug-in hybrid.
The first XL1 was delivered in the exterior color Oryxweiß pearl effect with titan black and pearl gray interior. "The XL1 has inspired me from the beginning and I am very pleased to now be driving my own. With its visionary design and high-tech appearance, Volkswagen has dared something new and innovative, "Malorny told Presented was the spectacular two-seater by Thomas Zahn, Director of Sales and Marketing Germany, Volkswagen Passenger Cars." The XL1 is the most efficient production car in the world and the Technology Lighthouse of the Volkswagen brand. He embodies the now technically feasible in a unique shape. "
With an average fuel consumption of 0.9 l / 100 km, the XL1 is the most economical series-production car in the world. Thanks to its plug-in hybrid system, the two-seater can be driven purely electrically, and thus free of local emissions over a distance of up to 50 kilometers. From design layout to follow the XL1 as automotive protagonist of the pure sports car theory: minimum weight of CFRP monocoque and outer skin (795 kg), perfect aerodynamics (Cd 0.189) and extremely low center of gravity (1.153 mm height). Therefore, the efficient Volkswagen range 6.2 kW / 8.4 hp to slide at a constant speed of 100 km / h above the plane. In electric mode, the Volkswagen content with less than 0.1 kWh for more than a kilometer route.
1 XL1: Fuel consumption in l/100 km: 0.9 (combined); Electricity consumption in kWh per 100 km: 7.2 (combined) CO2 emissions in g / km: 21 (combined), Efficiency: A +
Nissan’s New Electric Car Gets 120 Miles a Charge
The e-NV200 is a zero-emission commercial van.