CHARGED Electric Vehicles Magazine - Issue 54 March/April 2021 by CHARGED Electric Vehicles Magazine

ELECTRIC VEHICLES MAGAZINE

ISSUE 54 | MARCH/APRIL 2021 | CHARGEDEVS.COM

2022 CHEVROLET

BOLT EUV CHEVY’S LOWEST-PRICED EV GETS A BIG BROTHER

p. 48

A CLOSER LOOK AT AXIAL FLUX MOTORS

NEXT-GENERATION SAFETY CAPACITORS

WILDCAT DOUBLES DOWN ON EV SUPERCELL

BOOSTEV’S ON-DEMAND MOBILE CHARGING NETWORK

p. 22

p. 28

p. 34

p. 74

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THE TECH CONTENTS

22 28 34

Axial flux motors Next-gen safety capacitors Wildcat focuses on Supercell breakthroughs

current events 10 Magna’s new Michigan plant to supply battery pack parts for Hummer EV

28 Charged chatted with Applications Engineers James Brewster and Steve Hopwood to learn more about the company’s new EV product line. Q Charged: What exactly is a safety cap? A Hopwood: The term safety caps is a relatively

standard term for capacitors that meet a set of international safety certification standards. They’re actually rated around 250 V AC and originally intended for applications where you’re going to see mains voltage. They’re mandatory when you’ve got applications that are connected directly to the mains, where a person could be at risk in the case of a failure. That means there are very

Eaton launches e-drive gearing design services 800 V systems specify that the ceramic capacitors in the circuits are expected to survive up to 4,000 V. strict requirements. When you’re dealing with a charging unit, an on-board charger, you are inevitably connecting to the mains to charge the battery. And because of safety caps’ characteristics and ratings, they’re of interest to the battery management sector. If

MAR/APR 2021

11 Redwood Materials inks recycling deal with Nissan’s battery supplier 12 Infineon’s 650 V CoolSiC Hybrid Discrete supports bidirectional charging BorgWarner launches 800-volt electric motor for commercial vehicles

14 BorgWarner to acquire AKASOL Marelli launches SiC power module for motorsport EVs JAIST develops silicon anodes and polymeric coatings

16 Northvolt acquires Cuberg, will commercialize lithium metal battery cells

Battery developer Enevate raises $81 million in Series E funding round

17 ArcelorMittal invests in electrical steel plant for EV motors Dana acquires embedded software developer Pi Innovo

18 Silicon Labs and Wolfspeed partner to deliver power module solution Schaeffler starts mass production of electric motors for hybrids and EVs Volta selects Meritor to supply electric drivetrains

19 Silicon anode nanostructure could increase battery capacity and lifespan 20 Zenlabs says its silicon anode cells are ready for commercialization

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Settlement between LG and SK is good news for US EVs

21 FEV supports automakers with charging compatibility analysis

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THE VEHICLES CONTENTS

48 2020 Bolt EUV

Chevy’s lowest-priced EV gets a big brother

Extreme E promotes sustainable racing

What’s next for US emissions standards?

current events 38 39 40

Ford says all its passenger vehicles in Europe will be electric by 2030 Proterra to deliver over 320 V2G-equipped school buses in Maryland Kia unveils a roadmap for 11 new EVs by 2026 Volvo to go fully electric by 2030, announces new C40 Recharge EV

Electric tanker ship to be powered by a 3.5 MWh battery pack Aptera raises $4 million from Series A investors, including Sandy Munro

43 44

Lucid Motors goes public in long-awaited SPAC deal Virginia to become the next zero-emission vehicle state

Washington proposing to phase out gas cars by 2030

45 47

FedEx to electrify its delivery fleet by 2040 Ford CEO: US government needs to support domestic battery production UK cuts EV grants, excludes Tesla

IDENTIFICATION STATEMENT CHARGED Electric Vehicles Magazine (ISSN: 24742341) March/April 2021, Issue #54 is published bi-monthly by Electric Vehicles Magazine LLC, 2260 5th Ave S, STE 10, Saint Petersburg, FL 33712-1259. Periodicals Postage Paid at Saint Petersburg, FL and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to CHARGED Electric Vehicles Magazine, Electric Vehicles Magazine LLC at 2260 5th Ave S, STE 10, Saint Petersburg, FL 33712-1259.

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THE INFRASTRUCTURE 74

CONTENTS

74 BoostEV is an ondemand mobile EV charging network

SparkCharge’s new platform lets drivers order up a fast charge anytime, anywhere

current events 68

EVgo makes more of its fast charging network available to Tesla drivers Lucid Air buyers get 3 years of free charging from Electrify America

69 70

Oil companies buying up EV charging networks: Shell acquires ubitricity Six major utilities team up to build comprehensive DC fast charging network Tennessee plans statewide DC fast charging network

IPT Group acquires Primove wireless charging technology Efacec expands and upgrades its line of smart chargers

XL Fleet to provide 1,000 charging stations at New York Islanders arena Fast charging Superhub in Brooklyn will be the first of several across NYC

Rivian’s Adventure Network will include 3,500 exclusive DC fast chargers

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Publisher Christian Ruoff Associate Publisher Laurel Zimmer Senior Editor Charles Morris Account Executives Jeremy Ewald

Contributing Writers Jeffrey Jenkins Michael Kent Tom Lombardo Charles Morris John Voelcker

For Letters to the Editor, Article Submissions, & Advertising Inquiries Contact: Info@ChargedEVs.com

Contributing Photographers Nicolas Raymond Christian Ruoff

Technology Editor Jeffrey Jenkins Cover Images Courtesy of GM, Magnax Graphic Designers Deon Rexroat Kelly Quigley Tomislav Vrdoljak

Special Thanks to Kelly Ruoff Sebastien Bourgeois

ETHICS STATEMENT AND COVERAGE POLICY AS THE LEADING EV INDUSTRY PUBLICATION, CHARGED ELECTRIC VEHICLES MAGAZINE OFTEN COVERS, AND ACCEPTS CONTRIBUTIONS FROM, COMPANIES THAT ADVERTISE IN OUR MEDIA PORTFOLIO. HOWEVER, THE CONTENT WE CHOOSE TO PUBLISH PASSES ONLY TWO TESTS: (1) TO THE BEST OF OUR KNOWLEDGE THE INFORMATION IS ACCURATE, AND (2) IT MEETS THE INTERESTS OF OUR READERSHIP. WE DO NOT ACCEPT PAYMENT FOR EDITORIAL CONTENT, AND THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED BY OUR EDITORS AND WRITERS ARE IN NO WAY AFFECTED BY A COMPANY’S PAST, CURRENT, OR POTENTIAL ADVERTISEMENTS. FURTHERMORE, WE OFTEN ACCEPT ARTICLES AUTHORED BY “INDUSTRY INSIDERS,” IN WHICH CASE THE AUTHOR’S CURRENT EMPLOYMENT, OR RELATIONSHIP TO THE EV INDUSTRY, IS CLEARLY CITED. IF YOU DISAGREE WITH ANY OPINION EXPRESSED IN THE CHARGED MEDIA PORTFOLIO AND/OR WISH TO WRITE ABOUT YOUR PARTICULAR VIEW OF THE INDUSTRY, PLEASE CONTACT US AT CONTENT@CHARGEDEVS. COM. REPRINTING IN WHOLE OR PART IS FORBIDDEN EXPECT BY PERMISSION OF CHARGED ELECTRIC VEHICLES MAGAZINE.

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Organizing against misguided EV legislation We’re happy to report that a refreshingly EV-friendly atmosphere now prevails in Washington DC. For years Charged has urged lawmakers to enact comprehensive policies for a US-centric EV industry—it’s our only hope to counteract China's strategic efforts to dominate the auto industry long-term. Thankfully, the Biden administration has signaled that electrification is a priority, and several bills that include a raft of pro-EV policies are making their way through congress, with some bipartisan support. Cities around the US are also taking major steps to support the transition to e-mobility and renewable energy. At the state level, however, we’re seeing far too many bills that are focused on applying the brakes to electrification. In Charged’s home state of Florida, two separate proposals to impose special taxes on EV drivers were narrowly defeated in the legislature’s recent session (at last count, 28 states tax EV ownership). Many state measures pre-empt local control, making it illegal for municipal governments to enact pro-EV or pro-clean energy measures. Many are receiving little or no public scrutiny—we could not find a single regional or national news outlet that reported on the proposed Florida EV taxes. It’s important to note that these misguided state bills are not always a clear party-line issue—lawmakers often cross the aisle in both directions. For example, the Florida EV tax was sponsored by a Republican, but it also had Democratic backers. On the other hand, Republican governors and legislatures in several states have enacted pro-EV measures in the past. Tesla recently made a move to mobilize its legions of owners and fans as a political force, launching a new social platform called Tesla Engage that highlights proposed legislation that affects the company, and inviting supporters to contact their representatives to make their opinions known. As the legacy automakers grow more interested in selling EVs, they’re also beginning to shift their political influence to the side of the electric angels. However, what’s good for automakers may not always be what’s best for auto owners and auto industry workers, so we shouldn’t leave political activism to the car companies. There are several organizations that advocate for the interests of EV drivers, and they need our support—not only cash, but also participation in letter-writing campaigns, etc. National groups that advocate for plug-vehicles include the Electric Drive Transportation Association, Plug In America, the Sierra Club and the Natural Resources Defense Council. Regional groups such as the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, and state and local EV owners’ clubs, also do important work to make sure the voices of EV drivers are heard in the halls of power. Contrary to popular belief, lawmakers do care what their constituents think, and it’s not hard to find ways to contact them and express your views. Speaking of changes in political support for EVs, what’s the state of the struggle over emissions regulations? In this issue, we speak with a former EPA official and a prominent environmental lawyer (page 62), who shed some light on the subject of what’s likely to happen next with federal fuel economy standards and California’s emissions rules.

Christian Ruoff | Publisher

EVs are here. Try to keep up.

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THE TECH

Magna’s new Michigan plant to supply battery pack parts for Hummer EV Magna has broken ground on a new manufacturing facility in St. Clair, Michigan, that will build battery enclosures for the upcoming 2022 GMC Hummer EV. Construction of the 345,000-square-foot facility, named Magna Electric Vehicle Structures, represents an investment of over $70 million. The new plant is expected to bring more than 300 jobs to the city of St. Clair over the next five years. Magna develops battery enclosure assemblies in steel, aluminum and multi-material configurations, including lightweight composites, to meet the individual needs of its customers. “Bringing this new battery enclosure technology to market is another example of Magna’s ability to deliver a full-system solution to automakers supporting their focus on a lower emissions future,” said John Farrell, President of Cosma International, Magna’s body and chassis group. Production at the new plant is expected to begin in early 2022. It will be Magna’s 25th manufacturing facility in Michigan. The team at the Magna Electric Vehicle Structures facility is actively hiring for a variety of jobs, including managers, engineers, operators and more.

Eaton has announced that its Vehicle Group is developing EV gearing solutions, drawing on its experience in producing transmissions and contract-manufactured gear sets for passenger and commercial vehicles. The company’s new technology complements its eMobility power electronics portfolio in the EV powertrain market. “We are partnering with OEM customers to leverage our expertise in simulation, design and manufacturing to optimize the efficiency, NVH [noise, vibration and harshness] and weight of high-precision gearing systems tailored to specific customer needs,” said Director Anthony Cronin. Eaton’s services include total system analyses to create EV gearing solutions that are optimized for efficiency and reliability, with low noise and manufacturing costs. To optimize the gears, bearings and lubrication system, Eaton applies a series of in-house design and manufacturing techniques, including:

Image courtesy of Eaton

Image courtesy of GM

Eaton launches e-drive gearing design services

• Gear root geometry to optimize strength • Micro and macro gear geometry modeling to improve NVH, efficiency and reliability • Thrust load and bearing loss minimization to improve reliability and simplify or downsize bearings • Simulation and selection of lubrication solutions for full-system reliability and efficiency Eaton says its engineers can evaluate existing layouts or develop “clean-sheet” solutions that work within a customer’s packaging constraints, and provide solutions for scaling the EV gearing layout for platforms with multiple torque requirements. Eaton claims to have identified opportunities to improve gearing system efficiency by up to 1 percent, reduce weight by up to 20 percent and decrease size by up to 10 percent. These benefits can be applied to both light-duty and commercial electrified vehicles.

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JB Straubel’s Redwood Materials inks recycling deal with Nissan’s battery supplier Redwood Materials, the battery recycling venture founded by former Tesla CTO JB Straubel, has signed an agreement to recycle scrap and defective battery cells for Envision AESC, which manufactures batteries for the Nissan LEAF in Smyrna, Tennessee. Recycling batteries is not only environmentally sound, but it may soon become an economic necessity, as demand for batteries is increasingly outstripping supply. As CNBC reports, cobalt, lithium, nickel, and other raw materials used in EV batteries have become hot commodities, and prices have soared to 52-week highs. “To make the batteries the world needs in 10 years, the industry will need 1.5 million tons of lithium, 1.5 million tons of graphite, 1 million tons of battery-grade nickel and 500,000 tons of battery-grade manganese,” Sam Jaffe, Managing Director at energy consulting firm Cairn ERA, told CNBC. “The world produces less than a third of each of those [quantities] today. New battery materials sources are highly valued and desperately needed.” Allan Swan, who oversees Panasonic’s part of Tesla’s Nevada Gigafactory, says that the massive plant’s current production capacity of two billion battery cells per year isn’t enough. “Here in the United States, we certainly need four, five, six of these factories to support the automotive industry,” he told CNBC. Celina Mikolajczak, VP of Engineering and Battery Technology at Panasonic Energy North America, says recycling will be a critical source for key minerals. “There’s a lot of energy spent extracting these minerals and it makes absolutely no sense to landfill them,” she said. “We would be really foolish if we didn’t take advantage of the capacity of older cells, to create the next generation.” Redwood recycles all types of lithium-ion batteries, not just EV battery packs. Straubel quipped that “the largest lithium mine is in the junk drawers of America.” “The sheer magnitude of the waste and scrap problem and the magnitude of batteries that need to get recycled is, I think, shocking to most people,” said Straubel, who is now the CEO of Redwood Materials. “We bring the materials back to a very clean and sort of fundamental state so there is no loss in effectiveness. It’s actually indistinguishable whether there is cobalt coming via an old battery or from a mine.”

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Infineon’s 650 V CoolSiC Hybrid Discrete supports bidirectional charging Infineon‘s new 650 V CoolSiC Hybrid Discrete for Automotive contains a 50 A TRENCHSTOP 5 fast-switching IGBT and a CoolSiC Schottky diode. The combination supports bidirectional charging, making it suitable for fast-switching automotive applications such as onboard chargers, power factor correction, and DC-DC or DCAC converters. Infineon says the integrated fast-switching 50 A IGBT enables MOSFET-like turn-off behavior that outperforms pure silicon solutions, achieving 95 to 97 percent system efficiency at a lower cost level, while the CoolSiC Schottky diode supports reduced turn-on and recovery losses. “The CoolSiC Hybrid Discrete allows us to simplify driver design, accelerate product development, lower costs and increase system robustness,” said Xu Jinzhu, R&D Director of VMAX, an onboard charger manufacturer that employs the device. “The integrated silicon carbide diodes without reverse recovery charge further optimize the EMC characteristics of the system. This results in greater performance benefits and a better price/ performance ratio in topologies such as totem-pole PFC and DAB.”

Image courtesy of BorgWarner

Image courtesy of Infineon

THE TECH

BorgWarner launches 800-volt electric motor for commercial vehicles BorgWarner’s latest High Voltage Hairpin (HVH) electric motor, the HVH 320, is designed to power a variety of commercial EVs. Production of the HVH 320, which is equipped with 800-volt capabilities and is available in four variants, is expected to kick off in 2024. Its multifaceted platform will deliver over 400 kW of power at 97% peak efficiency, and will support BorgWarner’s OEM customers’ demand for a common electric drivetrain. BorgWarner President Stefan Demmerle said, “Using our 800-volt rated machine, customers can significantly reduce charging time and achieve a higher power density, enabling an even brighter future for electric trucks.” The company designed four variants of its modular HVH 320 motor platform to meet customer requirements. The motor produces up to 1,270 Nm of torque, and supports a vehicle’s shifting sequence and regenerative braking. The HVH 320 motor is the newest addition to BorgWarner’s portfolio of HVH series motors, which are offered for both light-duty passenger cars and heavy-duty commercial vehicles. These motors feature patented stator winding technology, and are available as fully-housed motors or as rotor/stator assemblies. The motors can be used in a variety of architectural positions throughout a vehicle. BorgWarner also offers inverters that can achieve the same 800-volt level.

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THE TECH

BorgWarner to acquire AKASOL BorgWarner and AKASOL have signed an agreement to position BorgWarner to expand its commercial vehicle electrification capabilities. As part of the agreement, a subsidiary of BorgWarner will pay €120 per share in cash for all outstanding shares of AKASOL. Headquartered in Darmstadt, Germany, AKASOL designs and manufactures customizable battery packs for buses, commercial vehicles, rail vehicles and industrial vehicles, as well as for ships and boats. “AKASOL’s manufacturing footprint and established, in-production customer base are complementary to BorgWarner’s and would accelerate our foothold into the fast-growing commercial vehicle and off-highway battery pack market,” said BorgWarner CEO Frédéric Lissalde.

Marelli launches SiC power module for motorsport EVs Global automotive supplier Marelli has launched a new power module for motorsport EV applications. The module, which was completely developed in the company’s Corbetta, Italy facility, is based on silicon carbide (SiC) technology and uses a new direct cooling solution. The new module, called EDI (Enhanced Direct-cooling Inverter), was developed by Marelli Motorsport with the Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration. Marelli says the module’s structural design reduces the thermal resistance between the SiC components and the liquid coolant, due to a new baseplate-less solution. The company also claims that the technology enables conversion efficiencies of up to 99.5%, a 50% reduction in weight and size, and 50% higher heat dissipation compared to a silicon-based design of the same rating. Marelli says the EDI power module has successfully undergone a series of reliability qualification tests for motorsport mission profiles to assess the robustness of the design when subjected to thermal cycles, switching tests and pressure cycles.

JAIST packs more juice into Li-ion batteries with silicon anodes and polymeric coatings Although silicon anodes could greatly boost the capacity of Li-ion batteries, their performance rapidly degrades with use. Polymeric coatings can help solve this problem, but few studies have explored the underlying mechanisms. In a recent study, scientists from the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST) investigated how a poly(borosiloxane) (PBS) coating stabilizes the capacity of silicon anodes. Polymeric coatings can solve one of the most serious drawbacks plaguing silicon anodes: the formation of an excessively large solid electrolyte interphase (SEI). The spontaneous formation of the SEI between the electrolyte and the anode is essential for the long-term performance of the battery, but silicon tends to expand greatly with use, which causes continuous SEI formation and the depletion of the available electrolyte, hindering performance and causing capacity loss over time. Polymeric coatings can prevent the excessive SEI formation on silicon and form an artificial and stable SEI. Though researchers had already noted the potential of PBS as a coating for silicon anodes, previous studies did not offer clear explanations for the mechanisms at play. The JAIST team compared the short- and long-term performance of silicon anodes with and without polymeric coatings in terms of stability, capacity and interfacial properties. They did this through a series of electrochemical measurements and theoretical calculations, which led them to understand how PBS helps stabilize the capacity of the silicon anode. Compared to bare silicon anodes and anodes coated with poly(vinylidene fluoride) (a commercially used coating in LIBs), the self-healing properties of PBS and its reversible accommodation of lithium ions resulted in enhanced stability. This is partially due to the ability of PBS to fill in any cracks formed in the SEI during operation. The capacity of the PBS-coated silicon anode remained almost the same for over 300 hundred cycles, unlike that of the other two anodes.

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Northvolt acquires Cuberg, will commercialize next-gen lithium metal battery cells Northvolt has announced the acquisition of Cuberg, a battery company delivering lithium metal cells produced on existing lithium-ion manufacturing lines. Cuberg says its cells, which are based on its electrolyte technology for lithium metal anodes, deliver more than 70 percent increased capacity versus comparable lithium-ion cells. Building on this foundation, Northvolt and Cuberg will expand their automotive and industrial product portfolio with the goal of producing cells that exceed 1,000 Wh/L by 2025. Northvolt plans to establish an advanced technology center in Silicon Valley, and is hiring battery industry talent to support these efforts. In addition to accelerating the lithium metal cell development and optimizing the technology for automotive applications, the new center will focus on materials R&D for lithium-ion anode and electrolyte technologies. “Combining Cuberg’s strengths with the capabilities and technology of Northvolt allows us to make significant improvements in both performance and safety while driving down costs for the next-generation battery cells,” said Northvolt CEO Peter Carlsson. “This is critical for accelerating the shift to EVs and responding to the needs of the leading automotive companies within a relevant time frame.”

Battery developer Enevate raises $81 million in Series E funding round Enevate, a pioneer in silicon-dominant Liion battery tech, has secured $81 million in a Series E funding round led by Fidelity Management & Research. Existing investors Mission Ventures and Infinite Potential Technologies also participated. The latest round brings Enevate’s total funding to $191 million. Enevate will use the investment to significantly expand its pre-production line for silicon anode-based batteries, and to hire additional personnel, with an emphasis on scientists and engineers. Enevate’s large portfolio of patents related to silicon Li-ion cell technologies includes innovations in anodes, cathodes, electrolytes, separators, cell design and cell architecture. The company’s business model relies on technology transfer and intellectual property licensing. Enevate works with multiple automotive OEMs and EV battery manufacturers, and strives to enable them to use existing manufacturing infrastructure with minimal additional investment. “This latest funding reflects our investors’ confidence in our progress with our customers, our technology, and our team,” said Enevate CEO Robert A. Rango. “As our fast-charge technology is implemented, we see a day in the not-too-distant future when EV drivers will be able to pull up to drive-thru charging stations that will look much like today’s gas stations, charge up and be back on the road in five minutes.” “We believe Enevate’s technology possesses a combination of advantages that is highly attractive to both the EV and power tool battery markets in both pouch and cylindrical cell formats,” said a representative from Samsung Venture Investment. “The advantages are enabled by Enevate’s unique silicon anode technology.”

Image courtesy of Enevate

Image courtesy of Cuberg

THE TECH

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5/12/21 9:02 PM

Dana acquires embedded software developer Pi Innovo ArcelorMittal invests in electrical steel plant for EV motors ArcelorMittal is investing €13 million in its plant in Saint Chély d’Apcher, France, which specializes in iCARe electrical steels for the automotive sector. The company has been undergoing a series of transformations as a supplier for the electromobility market. Its iCARe range of electrical steels for automotive traction motors is a flagship product range. The production upgrades and new manufacturing capabilities will allow the plant to produce non-grain-oriented iCARe electrical steel grades to meet the requirements of the EV market.

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Powertrain manufacturer Dana has acquired Pi Innovo, a maker of embedded software solutions and electronic control units that support the light vehicle, commercial vehicle and off-highway markets. Dana previously held a non-controlling interest. The acquisition of Pi Innovo enables Dana to increase its in-house electrodynamics capabilities and electrification product portfolio by adding a library of EV application software, vehicle level controllers and auxiliary controllers. “The Pi Innovo team has provided exceptional modular software and controls solutions for OEMs for more than 25 years,” said Dana CEO James Kamsickas. “Integrating Pi Innovo with Dana’s e-Propulsion software capabilities will further enhance our ability to provide value for our customers as they continue to accelerate their EV portfolio development.”

5/12/21 9:02 PM

THE TECH

Silicon Labs has introduced the new Si823Hx Gate Driver Board, an all-in-one isolation solution designed for the recently launched Wolfspeed WolfPACK power module. Wolfspeed power modules are used across numerous power applications, including EV chargers and motor drives. The board features the Si823Hx isolated gate driver and Si88xx digital isolator with an integrated DC-DC converter. “Power electronics engineers face many challenges when designing high-power systems, from space constraints to safety requirements,” said Silicon Labs VP Brian Mirkin. “The Silicon Labs Si823Hx gate driver board is an efficient, high-performance solution designed to simplify the development of systems using power modules.” Silicon Labs’ isolated gate driver technology is leveraged for a variety of power applications, including high-power converters and inverters, motor and traction drives and EV chargers. The Si823Hx gate driver board is designed to drive and protect power modules employing any switching technology, including advanced silicon carbide (SiC)-based modules. The two-channel Si823Hx isolated gate driver includes built-in dead-time control and overlap protection in a small package, enabling it to drive a half-bridge topology. The integrated Si88xx device communicates power module temperature to the controller and generates all the power for the board. A complete suite of design resources, developed in partnership with Wolfspeed, is available for WolfPACK evaluation and development, including a reference design, evaluation test fixture and system test report.

Image courtesy of Schaeffler

Image courtesy of Silicon Labs

Silicon Labs and Wolfspeed partner to deliver power module solution

Schaeffler starts mass production of electric motors for hybrids and EVs

Schaeffler, a manufacturer of electric drivetrain technology, will begin mass production of hybrid modules, hybrid drive units and all-electric axle transmissions. Along with a series of mass production orders for electric motors in the passenger car sector, Schaeffler has recently entered the heavy-duty applications segment for commercial vehicles. The company has announced a mass production order for electric motors featuring “wave winding” technology, which is designed to provide high power density and ease of assembly. Starting in 2024, Schaeffler will deliver an entire drive unit comprising two electric motors and transmission with integrated power electronics. The company says the system power rating of 120 kW offers high performance with low fuel consumption.

Volta selects Meritor to supply electric drivetrains Volta Trucks has selected Meritor to supply drivetrain components for the Volta Zero. This will support the delivery of Volta Zero vehicles for customer trials during 2021, and the start of series production in 2022. The company says its Volta Zero will be the first fully-electric large commercial vehicle in Europe to use an eAxle to drive the rear wheels. Meritor will supply its Blue Horizion 14Xe, containing the electric motor, transmission and rear axle, which is designed to be lighter and more efficient than a conventional electric motor and axle combination.

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Image courtesy of OIST

Silicon anode nanostructure could increase battery capacity and lifespan New research conducted by the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) has identified a specific building block that improves the anode in lithium-ion batteries. The unique properties of the structure, which was built using nanoparticle technology, are explained in the journal Communications Materials. “In graphite anodes, six atoms of carbon are needed to store one lithium ion, so the energy density of these batteries is low,” explained Dr. Marta Haro, first author of the study. “Silicon anodes can store ten times as much charge in a given volume [as] graphite anodes—a whole order of magnitude higher in terms of energy density,” said Dr. Haro. “The problem is, as the lithium ions move into the anode, the volume change is huge, up to around 400%, which causes the electrode to fracture and break.” The large volume change also prevents the stable formation of a protective layer that lies between the electrolyte and the anode. Every time the battery is charged, this layer therefore must continually reform, using up the limited supply of lithium ions and reducing the battery’s lifespan and rechargeability. “Our goal was to try and create a more robust anode capable of resisting these stresses, that can absorb as much lithium as possible and ensure as many charge cycles as possible before deteriorating,” said Dr. Grammatikopoulos, senior author of the paper. “And the approach we took was to build a structure using nanoparticles.” Through microscopy and simulations at the atomic level, the researchers showed that, as the silicon atoms are deposited onto the layer of nanoparticles, they form columns in the shape of inverted cones, growing wider and wider as more silicon atoms are deposited. Eventually, the individual silicon columns touch each other, forming a vaulted structure. When the scientists carried out electrochemical tests, they found that the battery had an increased charge capacity. The protective layer was also more stable, meaning the battery could withstand more charge cycles.

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Image courtesy of Zenlabs

THE TECH

Zenlabs says its silicon anode cells are ready for commercialization after 1,000-cycle testing Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has successfully tested over 1,000 charge-discharge cycles using high-energy silicon anode pouch cells made by Zenlabs Energy. Zenlabs received a $4.8-million, 50% cost-share development contract from the United States Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC) to develop low-cost, fastcharge EV batteries. As a part of the USABC program, Zenlabs delivered its 12 Ah capacity, 315 Wh/kg specific energy pouch cells to several national laboratories for evaluation. The cells tested by INL have completed 1,000 dynamic stress test (DST) cycles following the USABC three-hour charge protocol, and over 900 DST fast charge cycles using a 4C rate or 15-minute charging protocol under 100% depth of discharge (DOD). The high-rate-capable cells can be charged to 80% of their capacity in 10 minutes and to 90% of their capacity in 15 minutes. Zenlabs says its silicon anode cells enable a vehicle with a 300mile range, and a potential battery life of up to 300,000 miles. “Zenlabs has solved the durability challenges associated with high-capacity silicon anodes, and has demonstrated 1,000 charge-discharge cycles, showing the technology is ready for commercialization,” said CTO Dr. Herman Lopez.

Settlement of dispute between South Korean battery makers is good news for US auto industry LG Energy Solution and SK Innovation have settled a long-running trade dispute, clearing the way for SK to proceed with construction of a battery factory in Commerce, Georgia that is slated to supply batteries to Ford and Volkswagen. The International Trade Commission decided in February that SK stole 22 trade secrets from LG Energy, and that SK should be barred from importing, making or selling batteries in the US for 10 years. The decision could have left Ford and VW scrambling for batteries for their upcoming US-built EVs, which would have been bad news for President Biden’s clean-energy agenda. The agreement ended the need for the Biden administration to intervene in the case. Under the settlement, SK will pay LG Energy a total of $1.8 billion and an undisclosed royalty. The two companies agreed to withdraw all pending trade disputes in the US and South Korea, and file no new claims for 10 years. “We have decided to settle and to compete in an amicable way, all for the future of the US and South Korean electric vehicle battery industries,” said SK CEO Jun Kim and LG Energy CEO Jong Hyun Kim. US politicians were pleased with the pronouncement. Senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia said the settlement “has saved the battery plant in Commerce, Georgia, ensuring thousands of jobs, billions in future investment, and that Georgia will be a leader in electric vehicle battery production for years to come.” President Joe Biden called the news “a win for American workers and the American auto industry. We need a strong, diversified and resilient US-based electric vehicle battery supply chain, so we can supply the growing global demand for these vehicles and components, creating good-paying jobs here at home and laying the groundwork for the jobs of tomorrow.”

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FEV’s Mobile Charging Analyzer provides in-depth charging communication and power evaluation as part of vehicle-level benchmark capabilities. The analyzer allows for flexible testing at various locations, and real-time measurement of all signal parameters via Control Pilot and PLC (power line communication), which records the communication between the charging station and the vehicle. Examples of measurement capabilities with the Mobile Charging Analyzer include: • Measurement of AC and DC voltage and current • Recording of the on-board charger (OBC) in the same log file for further analysis • High-resolution waveform analysis via oscilloscope

Image courtesy of FEV

FEV supports automakers with charging compatibility analysis

“The vehicle charging benchmark from FEV can support different levels of detail with the right equipment for every use case,” said Andreas Sehr, FEV’s Director of Electrification. “In-depth fault analysis of electrical and communication signals by FEV charging experts provides the status of vehicle compatibility with different charging stations.” A complete charger compatibility campaign addresses: • Efficient route planning • Test planning for charging events based on standards or FEV templates tailored to customer needs • Support for vehicle instrumentation to supplement charging analyzer measurements • Engineering support for root cause analysis and solution finding in case of compatibility issues FEV’s Mobile Charging Analyzer has broad technical specifications for voltage and control pilot requirements. It acts as the middleman between the vehicle and public charging stations, synchronizing the logging of vehicle CAN messages for comparison, and providing waveform data for analysis of grid and CP waveforms. Supported standards include ISO 15118, IEC 61851, DIN 70121, SAE J1772 for testing in Europe, Oceania and North America. GB/T and CHAdeMO standards for Asia can also be supported.

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THE TECH

A CLOSER LOOK AT

AXIAL FLUX

MOTORS By Jeffrey Jenkins

n Issue 49, we reviewed some of the more promising advancements in materials and construction techniques for EV traction motors, one of which—the axial flux design—will be the focus of this article. Despite being characterized as an advanced construction technique, the axial flux design is actually one of the oldest ways of constructing a motor—it’s just that up until relatively recently it was relegated to niche applications in which the primary requirement was maintaining a low profile, rather than high power, efficiency, etc. What really changed the situation for axial flux motors were advancements in both permanent magnets and composite materials. Consequently, axial flux motors may go from being a niche use and historical curiosity to an important (and, perhaps, dominant) part of the EV traction market. There’s a bewildering number of ways to construct a motor, so a brief review of the nomenclature might be

The axial flux design is actually one of the oldest ways of constructing a motor—it’s just that, up until relatively recently, it was relegated to niche applications in which the primary requirement was maintaining a low profile. helpful. If you already know that the rotor isn’t always the field and the stator isn’t always the armature (and what each of these terms mean, of course) then you could skip

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Magnax’s axial flux motor this paragraph, but don’t blame me if your head starts spinning like a yokeless axial flux outrunner later on. Motors produce torque from the interaction of two magnetic fields: one is stationary (or nearly so—more on this exception in a bit) and is produced by the field, succinctly enough, while the other appears to rotate in space and is produced by the armature. Similarly, the rotor is the part of a motor that rotates while the stator is the part that stays put. Additional terms often used interchangeably with the stator, and not always accurately, are yoke, motor housing and back iron, though the latter more specifically refers to the part of the motor housing that conducts magnetic flux on the back side of the stator—said function is typically performed by the housing (or yoke) in radial flux AC machines. The last bit of mechanical classification is whether the motor is an inrunner, with the rotor in the center, or an outrunner, which flips the motor inside out,

This outrunner design flips the motor inside out, putting the stator in the middle with 2 rotor discs, one at each side. Some call this a yokeless, H type or rotor yoked design. putting the stator in the center and making what would be the motor housing the rotor. The inrunner configuration is far more common with conventional radial motors, but one common application of the outrunner design is in ceiling fans. At any rate, the terms stator or field and rotor or armature were interchangeable when DC motors were the only game in town, because the respective functions and locations within the motor were inextricably linked: the field was in the stator and the armature was in the rotor because the latter needed a commutator and brushes to sequentially energize its coils, thereby producing a rotating magnetic field. What many find maddening is

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THE TECH

RADIAL FLUX

Flux is produced radially along the sides of the rotor ROTOR/STATOR

AXIAL FLUX

Flux is produced axially along the axis of the rotor ROTOR STATOR

STATOR/ROTOR

that this relationship is pretty much always reversed in the AC motor: the stator consists of an array of coils that are sequentially energized by phase-shifting the currents flowing through each of them (via the inverter, in an EV), rather than mechanically switching from one coil to the next with a commutator. The field in an AC motor must be located in the rotor, then, and it can either be directly supplied by permanent magnets (or even an electromagnet fed by brushes and slip rings), or indirectly supplied by the stator coils through transformer action, or induction. The latter approach is the basis of the AC induction motor, or ACIM, and it is also the exception mentioned above to the field always being stationary in space. This is because current can only be induced into the rotor if there is a relative difference in the speed of its rotation with respect to the apparently rotating magnetic field from the stator/ armature. The bigger the difference in speed, or slip, the stronger the current induced into the rotor will be, and the more torque will be available...up until a point, that is, beyond which the motor stalls and the rotor quickly overheats (the rotor in an induction machine is essentially a short circuit on the secondary of a very high step-down ratio transformer).

Note that there is not a topological continuum between the two constructions, they really are fundamentally different ways of making a motor. With the nomenclature out of the way, it’s time to dive right into the axial flux construction itself, and how it differs from the conventional radial flux construction. The figure above compares the two approaches schematically, with the radial flux construction consisting of a smaller cylinder nested within a large one, while the axial flux construction consists of a central disk sandwiched between two others, all of similar diameter. The key difference is that the magnetic flux travels along radial lines in the radial flux machine and...no prizes for guessing correctly...along axial (or azimuthal) lines in the axial flux machine. Note that there is not a topological continuum

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simulation case study

between the two constructions; merely shortening the length of the rotor until it becomes a disk won’t turn a radial flux machine into an axial flux one, so they really are fundamentally different ways of making a motor. And as is usually the case in engineering, one type of motor is not unequivocally superior to another. Despite being totally different ways of constructing a motor, there are axial flux versions of every radial flux machine, though some types are more suitable than others for each design. As mentioned above, the outrunner configuration is relatively rare in the radial flux design, but has some compelling advantages in the axial flux configuration. Conversely, the majority of radial flux machines are the asynchronous induction type, whereas most axial flux machines are the PM synchronous type. The reasons for these lopsided distributions will become apparent as the various ways of constructing an axial flux motor are discussed below. With the inrunner configuration of an axial flux PM synchronous motor, the central disk rotor contains permanent magnets whose poles alternate (i.e. NorthSouth-North-South), while the stator is split into the two discs sandwiching the rotor. The rotor in an inrunner axial flux motor has a tough life, as it must withstand considerable shear force radially as RPM increases (more informally known as centrifugal force), as well as alternating torsional forces axially, which are proportional to torque. Furthermore, any part

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Autonomous vehicles require batteries with lasting power. The stage of the load cycle, potential, local concentration, temperature, and current distribution all affect the aging and degradation of a battery cell. This is important to consider when developing autonomous vehicles (AVs), which rely on a large number of electronic components to function. When designing long-lasting batteries that are powerful enough to keep up with energy demands, engineers can turn to simulation. learn more comsol.blog/autonomous-vehicle-batteries

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5/12/21 9:08 PM

THE TECH

The rotor in an inrunner axial flux motor has a tough life, as it must withstand considerable shear force radially as RPM increases, as well as alternating torsional forces axially, which are proportional to torque. of the rotor disk that might be subjected to the magnetic fields from the stator/armature coils (aside from the field magnets themselves) must be electrically non-conductive (and non-magnetic) to avoid losses from eddy current induction. One potential solution is to make the inner part of the rotor—which isn’t in the pathway of the stator electromagnets—out of, say, aluminum, with wedge-shaped magnets glued along its outside perimeter so that the magnets fit together side by side with little or no gap between them, and, finally, a few wraps of banding to keep the magnets from flying off. Since the maximum torque of a PM machine is proportional to the field strength of its magnets, as well as their resistance to demagnetization (i.e. the energy product), that all but demands that the magnets be of the rare earth type (e.g. neodymium-iron-boron, NdFeB, or samarium-cobalt, SmCo). Unfortunately, rare earth magnets tend to have relatively poor mechanical properties (only ferrite, aka ceramic, magnets are more fragile), and relying on edge-gluing between magnets to resist the torsional forces from torque production is just asking for trouble. Consequently, the inrunner rotor typically consists of a frame to hold the (still wedge-shaped) magnets, and this frame necessarily takes up some of the volume that would otherwise be capable of torque production, so volumetric efficiency suffers. The parts of the rotor frame between each magnet will also be exposed to the alternating fields from the stator coils, so the frame must also be magnetically inert. The combination of needing high strength in the smallest amount of volume possible while also being

non-conductive/non-magnetic means that the rotor frame all but has to be constructed out of composite materials such as glass or carbon fiber and epoxy. Needless to say, the combination of rare earth magnets and a carbon fiber composite frame to hold them does not make for a cheap rotor assembly. Furthermore, the stator for the inrunner design requires distributed, overlapped windings, rather than simple concentrated coils, and “back iron” (or a yoke) to complete the magnetic circuits on each side of the rotor, meaning that the stator isn’t all that cheap to make either. On the plus side, considerable weight/volume is saved in the stator, as a conventional yoke/housing isn’t needed, and some cooling of the stator—which is where most of the losses occur in any AC motor—by natural convection is possible. However, at the power (and density) levels needed in an EV, liquid cooling is pretty much mandatory, so chalk this one up as more of a wash. The outrunner (internal stator) configuration of an axial flux PM synchronous motor splits the PM-field rotor into two halves, while the stator/armature is in the center. This seemingly minor inversion of where the stator/armature and rotor/field are located in the motor has effects both subtle and profound on everything from the manufacturability of the motor to how it performs at high torque vs high RPM. One major advantage over the inrunner configuration is that the stator coils can be of the concentrated winding type, rather than spanning across multiple slots (distributed type), and the magnetic flux flows in a straight line through each stator coil, so grain-oriented steel can be used for that oh-so-sweet +2 points or so of efficiency gain. A difference that could be advantageous or not, depending on the application needs, is that there needs to be a back iron pathway on the side of the magnets facing away from the stator/armature pole faces. This can be accomplished by forming the magnets into shallow “C”

It’s also possible to make an axial flux induction motor (AFIM), in either the inrunner or outrunner configuration, but they are still relatively rare.

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shapes so they can be mounted onto a lightweight aluminum or even composite disk—very pricey—or else by using a steel disk as both mounting surface and back iron so that flat magnets can be used; this option costs a lot less at the expense of a having a lot more rotating mass. In the tossup category, the internal stator in outrunner axial flux machines does not appear to be any more difficult to liquid-cool than the external stator in inrunners (that said, one inrunner axial motor manufacturer, Magnax, argues otherwise), and while rigidly securing the stator to a mounting surface requires a bit more lateral thinking, it’s also not really any more difficult than it is for a conventional inrunner design (though it does generally mean adding a housing—something which will be needed anyway, to shield the spinning rotors). It’s also possible to make an axial flux induction motor (AFIM), in either the inrunner or outrunner configuration, but they are still relatively rare. One reason for this is that torque is proportional to the depth of the cast aluminum (or copper) shorting bars in the squirrel cage, and more depth is easy to come by in the radial flux machine’s relatively large-diameter cylindrical rotor as compared to the thin disk(s) of the axial flux machine. Still, there is always a tremendous incentive to replace expensive permanent magnets with cheap cast aluminum (or even cast copper), so expect a lot more development to occur in the AFIM space in the future.

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THE TECH

KNOWLES DEVELOPS NEXT-GENERATION

SAFETY

CAPACITORS TO MEET THE GROWING DEMAND FOR 800-VOLT EV SYSTEMS By Tom Lombardo

s EV-makers continue to upgrade from 400 V to 800 V systems, parts suppliers have been hustling to keep up with the new specs. Knowles Precision Devices, for example, specializes in high-voltage capacitors—it’s a market leader in multi-layer ceramic capacitors rated from about 200 V up to 12,000 V. Looking back just 10 or 15 years, there wasn’t much of a need for these products in the automotive market. Most vehicle electrical systems were all based on 12 volts, and used capacitors rated for 30 V or 50 V test requirements. But EVs are changing things

quickly, and automotive needs have started moving to higher and higher voltages. Let’s take safety caps for an example. The testing requirements for 800 V systems specify that the ceramic capacitors in the circuits are expected to survive up to 4,000 V. This is having a big impact on the parts supplier market, because many traditional automotive players— who were used to 50 V test requirements—do not have historical expertise in high voltage. So, business has begun to swing over to new entrants in the auto industry. Knowles recently launched a new line of automo-

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Images courtesy of Knowles

tive-grade certified safety capacitors. Charged chatted with Applications Engineers James Brewster and Steve Hopwood to learn more about the company’s new EV product line. Q Charged: What exactly is a safety cap? A Hopwood: The term safety caps is a relatively standard term for capacitors that meet a set of international safety certification standards. They’re actually rated around 250 V AC, and originally intended for applications where you’re going to see mains voltage. They’re mandatory when you’ve got applications that are connected directly to the mains, where a person could be at

800 V systems specify that the ceramic capacitors in the circuits are expected to survive up to 4,000 V. risk in the case of a failure. That means there are very strict requirements. When you’re dealing with a charging unit, an on-board charger, you are inevitably connecting to the mains to charge the battery. And because of safety caps’ characteristics and ratings,

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THE TECH Image courtesy of Knowles

they’re of interest to the battery management sector. If you’re directly on a battery rail, or if you’re in some way associated with a battery, you need to make sure that you don’t end up with failures on the battery lines. There are various international standards that are applicable to safety caps, and automotive engineers are generally looking to the ordinary electrical international standards. For these types of safety-rated capacitors, they’re looking at IEC/EN 60384-14+A1 and UL 60384-14. Q Charged: What makes high-voltage capacitors

fundamentally different than the lower-voltage products?

A Hopwood: There are a few things. The materials you

use at a low voltage may not always be the same materials you need to use at higher voltages. They’ll need to have specific requirements in terms of things like voltage withstand, breakdown voltages, and so on. That’s expressed in terms of volts per micron. So, we’re talking about very thin dielectric layers between the electrodes. But you’ve also got the mechanical design of the part, where you have to understand a different methodology for how you create the electrode layers, how you design them, how you drop voltage across multiple layers, mounting capacities in series within a single unit. Then there are specific designs relating to the interaction between the electrode and the outside layers of the capacitor to prevent flashover and arcing from occurring. It’s just a different way of thinking. If you’re dealing with a 50 V part, typically it will be a very small capacitor. If you’re dealing with something that’s 3,000 or 4,000 V, physically you’ve got to make the part a lot bigger, and you need to start thinking much more about your creepage and clearance distances. Your mechanical design comes into it a lot more. We’re used to dealing with high-rail, high-voltage parts. Traditionally, our markets were aerospace, military, those sorts of applications, where failure isn’t an option. In terms of the R&D we’re doing, we’re constantly looking at new materials, new designs. We’ve got a couple of patents that we apply to our products, which relate to internal structures, construction and the way we actually put the ceramic in there. I can’t go into detail on those, but they’re all aimed at getting higher

Steve Hopwood, Knowles Applications Engineer

Our automotive customers are very interested in reliability...like voltage-withstand tests—can you hit the electronic circuit with two and a half times the voltage rate? voltages, better withstand, more reliability and more capacitance per unit volume. So, one of the things we’re doing a lot of work on is the range—how much capacitance we can get into a part for a given size and voltage rating. All R&D for the automotive line is done out of Norwich in the UK. We’re actually next door to the Lotus factory. The manufacturing is all in Suzhou, China. We’re IATF 12649 certified, and everything we do for automotive is AEC-Q200 certified. Q Charged: Are you seeing a lot of special require-

ments and requests from the automotive industry?

A Hopwood: Yes. Our automotive customers are very

interested in reliability, for example. Like voltage-withstand tests—can you hit the electronic circuit with two and a half times the voltage rate? So, 400 V battery systems, which most of the world is using now, are looking for 2 kV dielectric withstanding voltage (DWV). The move to 800 V battery systems is doubling that. Some manufacturers are going to a 3 kV

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withstand rating, some manufacturers are going to a 4 kV DWV rating. The idea is, if it can safely take 4,000 V for a short duration, it will work at 800 V reliably without any risk of a short circuit. That test puts a huge stress on the components. For instance, if you take a normal 800 V ceramic capacitor, its breakdown is probably going to be somewhere around 1,500 V. So, this is much more stringent. It’s a much higher specification that’s needed. We’re seeing more and more manufacturers that say they’re not going to do any more 400 V battery systems, so it’s big news to us, this move to 800 V. It makes life very demanding on parts. A Brewster: To cover that,

we’ve got a hundred-percent test— the components are fully tested to 4,000 V just to ensure that they’re definitely going to withstand that level. Our new product line SYX is our biggest in what we call our Enhanced Safety Range. There are one to five case sizes, and each case size has two types of dielectric: one for low-loss applications, and one for high-capacitance applications. These are both being externally approved by TÜV and UL, the external certification bodies who independently certify these parts for safety. In addition, this range has got the 4 kV DWV testing that Steve is talking about. It also has humidity robustness grade three, which means it’s suitable to be used in high-humidity environments. And it’s got a supple-

THE TECH mentary 1 kV DC rating on it. These are ratings which kind of put us ahead. We’re, as far as we know, the only company who offers all of these ratings on a single range of parts. It’s also, obviously, AEC-Q200 certified. I would say this is our most automotive-focused range here. It will come out of our IATF-certified factory, so we’ll cover everything that the auto industry needs. In addition to that, we’ve got the SYS, which is the same as the SYX, however it’s a shorter part, which means it doesn’t meet the creepage requirements for full 60384 qualification, so this range of parts is only approved for machinery within the scope of IEC 62368, which is mostly telecommunications equipment. We also have the S3X range, which is our highest-capacitance ceramic capacitor family. That has a lower rating, X2, which means it only needs to withstand 2,500 V impulse, as opposed to 5,000 V. And it has a lower DWV rating of 3,000 V. This means that we can get to a higher capacitance of up to 56 nanofarads, which again, for this high-voltage sort of application is top of the range for us and all other competitors. A Hopwood: The 56 nanofarad is a class X, so that’s

using line-to-line. They’re not usually looking for such a high test voltage there, which is why it’s got a slightly lower rating, and therefore a slightly higher capacitance. 305 Vac is looking at three-phase systems. Again, that’s something that we’re going to be market-leading on. There is no one else at the moment with a ceramic multilayer capacitor doing a 305 V AC rating with safety approval. Q Charged: When you’re working in automotive, are

there other major considerations, like assembly time, manufacturability, etc.? A Hopwood: Yes. A lot of safety-rated capacitors are

through-hole, radial-mount. Those are for circuit boards where leads go through holes and are soldered on the backside of the board. Through-hole is still widely used for high-voltage systems because the boards’ epoxy coating insulates the components. But they’re relatively expensive to put through boards. You need to have different soldering techniques, and you have to align the leads to go through the hole, which isn’t always as easy. Our parts are surface-mount, so they’re very quickly, easily and inexpensively placed on boards.

What they sometimes get wrong are things like creepage clearance distances...some struggle to work with high voltages on circuit boards for the first time. When capacitors went from being through-hole to surface-mount, safety-rated ones lagged behind, because you had to have the coating material on there to make them pass the high-voltage tests. It was only when the world developed the ability to manage the high-voltage requirements in surface-mount packages that they were able to go over to surface-mount, and that was something we were at the forefront of. And that’s the same thing with the board height—a leaded part will traditionally sit up off the board, whereas the surface-mount is much lower down, which adds more challenges. Q Charged: Do you see a lot of companies in the auto industry struggling with high-voltage designs and parts selection, because it’s so new to them? Are there common mistakes you find engineers making? A Hopwood: Most people we see who are choosing high-voltage safety caps generally know what they’re doing. What they sometimes get wrong are things like creepage clearance distances, where they don’t allow for the voltage. We have application notes that assist with board designs. Some struggle to work with high voltages on circuit boards for the first time. There are things you’ve got to do—for instance, making sure you don’t get solder balls trapped underneath the chip when you put it on the board, which can suddenly cause arcover situations. When you’re not used to high-voltage systems, now you don’t know what to think about. Some seem to struggle to get their head around the voltages they’re talking about. And even though they’re asking us for a part that must withstand 4,000 V, we see designs where the conductors aren’t physically far enough apart. So, we help with that. We’re used to discussing the application as well—the layouts, mounting methods, etc.— things beyond what’s on the data sheet.

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WILDCAT RAMPS UP ITS FOCUS ON EV SUPERCELL BREAKTHROUGHS The battery R&D firm Wildcat Discovery Technologies is doubling down on three key research projects By Tom Lombardo

he lithium-ion battery has proven to be an excellent fuel tank for EVs, but there remains much room for improvement. We’re still far from what’s theoretically achievable in terms of Li-ion capacity, safety, cost and charge times. As battery manufacturers continue their quest for improved chemistry and material combinations, they rely on applied researchers like Wildcat Discovery Technologies, a developer of advanced battery materials, to bridge the gap between scientific research and product engineering. The company’s high-throughput screening process allows Wildcat researchers and collaborators to simultaneously experiment on hundreds of chemical compounds under identical conditions in a highly-automated facility. An AI database analyzes the results, providing feedback to drive the next round of experiments. This constant refinement generates predictive models that accelerate the development of new materials. Armed with dozens of patents and sophisticated tools, Wildcat’s team of scientists has spent the past decade partnering with other companies to use its advanced techniques to help them accelerate battery development. At the same time, Wildcat has also been working on some internal projects having to do with next-generation battery materials. Now the company says those research projects have demonstrated enough promising results that it plans to accelerate development and commit considerably more resources to the internal areas of next-generation breakthroughs. Charged spoke with Wildcat’s CEO, Mark Gresser, and Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Dee Strand, about their latest multifaceted efforts to address all three components of a battery: cathode, anode and electrolyte. Wildcat believes its applied research in these areas could unlock an EV Supercell—the “Holy Grail” of batteries.

Charged: How exactly is Wildcat changing its approach to internal battery material research projects? Mark Gresser: For the past few years, we’ve had dedicated teams using our high-throughput tool for internal research, going after some big, meaningful breakthroughs, but we’ve kept that fairly quiet. Now that we’ve made enough progress in the past year or so, we’re going back to the market to raise funding and drive those internal research targets to produce commercially-ready materials. That’s a big change for Wildcat—it means we’re adding quite a few people and new capabilities. We’re ramping up our focus on these big R&D targets that we’ve been pushing along for many years, in order to produce something we affectionately call our EV Supercell. Charged: So the EV Supercell is a combination of research targets? Mark Gresser: Supercell is our internal name for a battery that the EV industry would love. To that end, we’re focused on three targets: cobalt- and nickel-free cathodes, solid electrolytes, and lithium-metal anodes. The cathode target, in particular, is foundational for this plan, but all three will be significantly well-funded, and we’re adding intellectual expertise in all three of these areas.

Better cathodes to reduce costs and increase energy density Charged: Tell us about your work on new cathode materials.

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THE TECH Images courtesy of Wildcat

Mark Gresser: We feel that the industry has stopped or largely ignored the continued push for a better cathode, and while we and many others are working on NMC cathodes for the EV market, there seems to be a gap beyond that. There isn’t another great cathode that is coming to the fore, and having recognized that a few years back, we’ve put a lot of resources into trying to develop a better cathode. We’ve made significant progress, especially in the last year. The industry is hungry for a cobalt-free cathode—it actually offers the potential to give a battery about 25 percent better energy density than the highest nickel-containing batteries being used today. Charged: The challenges with cobalt and the industry’s push to phase it out are well known, but why are you pushing nickel-free cathodes as well? Mark Gresser: It wasn’t necessarily a goal to get rid of nickel, it was just a goal to have it cobalt-free. But as a result, the composition we’ve come up with doesn’t need to contain nickel and actually works better without nickel. Dee Strand: Another goal is to reduce the quantity of the most expensive metals in the cathode. While nickel isn’t [as expensive as] cobalt, nickel isn’t as cheap as some others. Mark Gresser: I’ve heard people refer to nickel as “the next cobalt” because, as everyone else increases the nickel content in batteries, it stands to reason that the cost of nickel is going to increase somewhat. So, to boldly go where no one else is going is sometimes the right path.

Solid electrolytes to improve safety Charged: Could you tell us how your solid electrolyte is different from other approaches? Dee Strand: We’re combining the best properties of ceramics and polymers. Ceramic materials like LLZO (lithium-lanthanum-zirconium-oxygen), garnet or glass-sul-

fide have higher ionic conductivities, but they tend to be brittle, or you have to operate them under high pressure, or they don’t make good interfaces with the electrodes. Polymers, on the other hand, are very easy to process, they make good interfaces and they’re soft and squishy, but they have poor ionic conductivity. So, a composite that uses a polymer to hold a bunch of ceramic particles gives you the best properties of both. Mark Gresser: That research was partially funded by the Department of Energy last year and, going into 2021, we’ve made significant progress.

Lithium-metal anodes to increase energy density Mark Gresser: The third component of the EV Supercell is a lithium-metal anode. We’ve been working on protection strategies for lithium-metal so that it’s usable, not just in a solid-state battery, but also in a liquid battery. We’re working on two projects around this, one is ex situ and the other is in situ. With the ex situ approach, we apply a protective coating to the lithium before assembling the battery. The in situ approach is only relevant to a liquid electrolyte system. Through the formulation of the electrolyte, we provide a liquid formula that suppresses dendrite formation on the lithium-metal anode. Charged: Is dendrite formation the biggest problem with metal anodes? Dee Strand: Dendrite formation is the most advertised problem, but there are other problems. Dendrites form when you strip and plate lithium repeatedly. High-surface-area lithium also forms, which is like a foam that has a lot of bad features. It increases resistance and reacts with electrolytes, so it makes a lot of SEI [solid electrolyte interphase], causing the battery to use up all its electrolyte. Also, as the lithium starts out as a foil and ends up as a foam, the cell dimensions change a lot, so that’s not practical either. We want a layer that prevents dendrites and prevents the formation of high-surface-area lithium. Mark Gresser: If you had a way to resolve these issues, you could use a lithium-metal anode in a liquid system, and that would provide a significant boost in the energy of your battery. This would be, in and of itself, a major

MAR/APR 2021

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THE TECH

breakthrough, and you wouldn’t necessarily need an all-solid electrolyte to get to a point where you can use the lithium-metal anode. It’s helpful to get rid of the liquid electrolyte, but on the flip side, it is possible that a lithium-metal anode could still be utilized, and it is being used in some small applications right now. Charged: So, you could use currently commercialized liquid electrolytes, and not the all-solid electrolytes, which aren’t really commercialized yet? Mark Gresser: Exactly. Currently, you can replace graphite with lithium-metal, and that battery will have a very high energy density, but it would also be very dangerous. If we can come up with something that eliminates the danger while still using a liquid system, we’d have a very special technology.

From next-generation batteries to EV Supercells

for some of these other things, and it still differentiates us all the way through this product roadmap. If someone else solves lithium-metal dendrites and figures out a way to get a lithium-metal anode working without dendrite formation, we can benefit from that with our cathode material, since it’s still better than very high-nickel-containing NMCs. And if we can get the lithium-metal working and combine it with our proprietary cathode material, then that’s even better. And, to get to this final step, this EV Supercell, most people aren’t talking about a new cathode, they’re talking about a lithium-metal anode, primarily, and a solid electrolyte to block dendrite penetration. As a result of that, our cathode material is another differentiator for us. Either way, we’re going to focus on the three technologies and try to reach the finish line. And we think we have a nice probability of success, given our high-throughput capabilities at Wildcat, which we can bring to bear fully, for the first time in our history, on our own targets.

Charged: How do these three research areas compare to the dozens of other material development projects Wildcat has carried out?

Charged: You said you’re going to hire new talent. In terms of ramping up, does that mean you’re going to dedicate a lot more channels to your internal staff or build out your capabilities?

Mark Gresser: Over the years, we’ve worked on many others, but they’re either complementary to these or they’ve been more modest discoveries that are licensable, like electrolyte formulations, for example. When you get the all-solid-state electrolyte working and you have a safe lithium-metal anode, then you start to get into the Supercell area. And what’s interesting is that our high-capacity cathode material, just by itself, would be a fairly big deal for our industry. That cathode material would be in significant demand across not just the auto industry, but several other industries, and it could be used with today’s battery architecture and today’s battery materials. It could be used with either a graphite anode or a low-silicon-content anode, which are widely used today. If silicon gets figured out, it could be used with an all-silicon anode, and you’d still get the benefits of having a better cathode. So, this cathode material is foundational for our whole plan, because if that material comes to fruition— and we feel very good about it now—it’s also an enabler

Mark Gresser: There’s going to be a huge upswell of people needed to conduct the research, so the first thing we’re going to do is devote the majority of our high-throughput capabilities to this effort. That means we’ll be adding some high-throughput capacity, and we’ll be repositioning the use of the high-throughput directly to these internal targets. The second thing is that we’ll be adding some very topic-specific expertise to the Wildcat team. That’s underway already—more expertise and quite a few more people. From a capital investment side, we’re also adding more equipment for scaling these materials. Our high-throughput research tends to take place on a very small scale; as we make discoveries, it’s imperative that we scale them up to commercially-viable levels. So, there’s a lot of equipment that we’re planning to add, such as a bigger pouch cell line. We already have a multi-layer pouch cell line, but we’re going to be getting a bigger one. We’re also adding equipment specific to manufacturing composite solid electrolytes on a larger scale and being able to produce large quantities of cathode material.

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Charged: Which of these three components would you say is closest to commercialization? Mark Gresser: We believe that the cathode material is likely to be commercially ready ahead of the others. That’s good, because it also means that the cathode material doesn’t need anything else to get monetized, it just needs some more development to perform a little better than it’s performing right now. Dee Strand: It also depends on what application you’re talking about for commercializing. The cathode could be ready for some initial applications before the other two, because what limits the cathode performance is cycle life. So, when you develop a new cathode, it might cycle a few hundred times, and then you have to work to make it suitable for automotive targets. The other components—the solid electrolyte and the lithium-metal—are a little more pass-or-fail on whether they’re good enough to commercialize.

Strategic partnerships Gresser also told us that Wildcat is seeking out new strategic partners and collaborators in industries all the way up the supply chain, from cathode makers to cell makers to automotive manufacturers. These could be scale partners or customers looking to purchase Wildcat’s materials to use in their own products.

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THE VEHICLES

A game of one-upmanship seems to be developing between America’s top two legacy automakers, and we’re cheering them on. In January, GM made a weaselly (but still significant) announcement of its “aspiration to eliminate tailpipe emissions from new light-duty vehicles by 2035.” A week later, Ford announced that it would double its planned investments in electrification. Now Ford has upped the ante, at least in the European market, announcing that “by mid2026, 100 percent of Ford’s passenger vehicle range in Europe will be zero-emissions capable, all-electric or plug-in hybrid, and will be completely all-electric by 2030. Similarly, Ford’s entire commercial vehicle range will be zero-emissions capable, all-electric or plug-in hybrid, by 2024, with two-thirds of Ford’s commercial vehicle sales expected to be all-electric or plug-in hybrid by 2030.” Now, in a long and comma-rich sentence like that, there’s plenty of room to waffle and weasel. Our colleague John Voelcker wondered if, when Ford said “electric,” it really meant “electric.” Ford Executive Director John Gardiner soon responded, and verified that “all passenger vehicles in Europe by 2030 will be all-electric as in EV—not PHEV.” As we’ve noted often, announcements of goals with a timeline of more than ten years are basically meaningless, because they don’t require any actual action in the here and now. Ford’s talking about getting rid of gas engines nine years from now, and they used the word “commitment,” not “aspiration.” We like it. On the other hand, Ford isn’t exactly slapping GM’s corporate face with a glove here, because GM doesn’t even sell vehicles in Europe—it sold its Opel and Vauxhall brands and pulled out of the market in 2017. When does Ford plan to decarbonate its US vehicles? By 2034, perhaps? The best thing about Ford’s announcement is that it’s putting some money into its European electrification plans. The company plans to invest $1 billion to modernize its vehicle assembly facility in Cologne, Germany,

Image courtesy of Ford

Ford says all its passenger vehicles in Europe will be electric by 2030, invests $1 billion in Cologne EV plant

which will henceforth be known as the Ford Cologne Electrification Center. Ford also confirmed that “its first European-built, volume all-electric passenger vehicle for European customers” will be produced at the facility starting in 2023. It isn’t clear if this refers to the electric Mustang Mach-E, which just went on sale in Europe, or to a new vehicle. “Our announcement today to transform our Cologne facility, the home of our operations in Germany for 90 years, is one of the most significant Ford has made in over a generation,” said Ford of Europe President Stuart Rowley. “It underlines our commitment to Europe and a modern future with electric vehicles at the heart of our strategy for growth.” “We will offer an exceptional range of electrified vehicles, supported by customer-centric digital services and experiences…starting right now with the launch of the all-electric Mustang Mach-E,” Rowley continued. “In combination with our leading commercial vehicle business, this will form the basis of a sustainably profitable Ford business in Europe.” Ford’s German works council (roughly equivalent to a labor union in the US) appears to be on board with the electrification plans. “The decision to make the production and development site in Cologne the e-mobility center for Ford in Europe is an important signal to the entire workforce,” said Martin Hennig, Chairman of the General Works Council of Ford-Werke. “It offers a longterm perspective for our employees and at the same time encourages them to help shape this electric future.”

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Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) in Maryland has approved a contract with Highland Electric Transportation, a provider of turnkey electric fleet solutions, to convert its school bus fleet to all-electric, starting with 326 school buses over the next four years. This project is said to be the largest single procurement to date of electric school buses in North America. Montgomery County Public Schools operates some 200 schools, and operates a fleet of over 1,400 school buses. Highland and its project partners, including Thomas Built Buses, Proterra, and Annapolis-based American Bus, will electrify all five of MCPS’s bus depots, and will supply the electric school buses along with managed charging services. Highland will purchase buses manufactured in North Carolina by Thomas Built Buses, which will be supplied and serviced by American Bus. Thomas’s electric Saf-T-Liner C2 Jouley school bus is powered by Proterra’s EV platform. The Jouley couples 226 kWh of total energy capacity with a Proterra Powered drivetrain to deliver a range of up to 135 miles. The project was awarded an $817,000 grant from Maryland Energy Association to help offset the purchase cost of the vehicles. “I figured that at some point electric bus prices would fall enough to make it affordable, but this deal makes it affordable now,” said Todd Watkins, Transportation Director for MCPS. “We believe this project is a great example of the power of public-private partnerships as we seek to electrify school bus fleets across the country,” said Duncan McIntyre, CEO of Highland. The project also includes a vehicle-to-grid (V2G) component—the new e-buses will lend their batteries to deliver stored electricity to the local energy markets, interconnected through local utility Pepco. Highland will manage the V2G system, which is expected to reduce the cost of ownership for MCPS. “This is the first step toward meeting President Biden’s pledge to electrify all 500,000 school buses across the nation over the next decade,” said Nat Kreamer, CEO of Advanced Energy Economy. “These school buses do double duty, providing pollution-free transportation for schoolchildren and grid services that benefit all electric customers, while also being available as mobile backup for communities affected by power outages.”

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Image courtesy of Proterra

Proterra to deliver over 320 V2Gequipped school buses to Montgomery County, Maryland

5/12/21 9:22 PM

Image courtesy of Kai

THE VEHICLES

Kia unveils a roadmap for a shift to electrified vehicles, including 11 new EVs by 2026 Kia announced an update to its Plan S mid- to long-term roadmap at the company’s 2021 CEO Investor Day event. The new strategy features a renewed emphasis on the transition from ICE vehicles to electrified models. “Kia is being reborn in 2021 with a new logo, new design, and new corporate name,” said CEO Ho Sung Song. Kia says that by 2030, EVs, PHEVs and hybrids will make up 40 percent of all sales, with an annual sales target of 1.6 million units. As part of this, Kia aims to grow EV sales to 880,000 units in 2030. The company plans to launch its first “dedicated” EV (that is, not a conversion of a gas vehicle) later this year, and to expand its EV lineup to 11 new models by 2026— seven of these will be native EVs built on the company’s Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP) architecture, and four will be conversions of existing ICE models. The first dedicated EV from Kia, codenamed CV, will feature HDA2 (Highway Driving Assist Level 2) technology. Starting in 2023, Kia says its EVs will be equipped with Highway Driving Pilot (HDP), which will enable Level 3 autonomy. Further details and performance specifications for the CV will be revealed next month. Kia stressed the importance of improving the profitability of its EVs. The company predicts that EV production costs will be continuously improved through economies of scale due to higher volume, and reduction of material costs through R&D investment. Kia hopes to achieve profitability on its EVs equal to that of existing ICE models in 2025.

Volvo to go fully electric by 2030, announces new C40 Recharge EV, online sales Volvo became the latest automaker to announce a phaseout of fossil-fuel vehicles, and it did so with a stronger statement than GM, Ford and Jaguar have done. No “aspirations,” no plug-in hybrids, no exceptions for profitable models, and no geographic carve-outs: “Volvo Cars is committed to becoming a leader in the fast-growing premium electric car market and plans to become a fully electric car company by 2030.” Also unlike more cautious automakers, Volvo is setting some interim goals that will require action in the here and now—by 2025, half of its global sales are to be pure EVs, and the other half hybrid models. “I am totally convinced there will be no customers who really want to stay with a petrol engine,” Volvo Chief Executive Håkan Samuelsson told reporters. “We are convinced that an electric car is more attractive for customers. Instead of investing in a shrinking business, we choose to invest in the future—electric and online.” Volvo will also take other steps into the future. Samuelsson says the company’s new EVs will have over-the-air update capability, and will be sold only online. This doesn’t mean Volvo will abandon its 2,400 dealerships (it can’t legally do so, at least in the US). “While Volvo Cars is investing heavily in online sales platforms, it will build stronger customer relationships together with its retail partners,” the company announced. “Online and off-line need to be fully and seamlessly integrated,” added Lex Kerssemakers, Head of Global Commercial Operations. Volvo has also announced the C40 Recharge, the company’s second pure EV, following the XC40 Recharge, and the first to be designed as a native EV. The C40 Recharge is based on the CMA vehicle platform. It has twin electric motors, one on the front and one on the rear axle, a 78 kWh battery pack, and an anticipated range of around 420 km, which is “expected to improve over time via over-the-air software updates.” The C40 Recharge is expected to go into production this fall, and will be built alongside the XC40 Recharge at Volvo’s plant in Ghent, Belgium.

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Electric tanker ship to be powered by a 3.5 MWh battery pack Cargo ships, powered by heavy fuel oil with a high sulfur content, are some of the largest and most polluting vehicles on the planet, so electrifying them could be very cost-effective in terms of reducing air pollution. Last year, a consortium of Japanese companies announced a collaboration to develop an all-electric oil tanker. Now Asahi Tanker has ordered two of the new electric tankers, and plans to put them into operation as soon as March 2022 and March 2023. The first of the electric tanker ships is now under construction, and it will be equipped with a massive 3.5 MWh battery pack. Ironically, the all-electric vessels will be used to carry fuels for other vessels in coastal areas of Japan. “The two tankers will achieve zero emissions of CO2, NOx, SOx, and particulates thanks to their all-electric core energy system, dramatically reducing their environmental impact,” Asahi Tanker announced. “In addition, their reduced noise and vibration will create a more comfortable work environment for the crewmembers and limit noise pollution in the bay and its surroundings.” Corvus Energy will supply the battery pack for the 62-meter ship. “Kawasaki Heavy Industries was awarded the contract for the ship’s propulsion system in September of 2020 and will integrate the 3,480 kWh Orca ESS from Corvus Energy to power the vessel,” said Asahi Tanker. The vessel’s large battery pack may also be made available to provide emergency power in the case of a natural disaster in Tokyo.

Image courtesy of Aptera

Image courtesy of Asahi Tanker

THE VEHICLES

Aptera raises $4 million from Series A investors, including Sandy Munro Aptera Motors has a very different strategy from that of most EV startups. Rather than a luxury sedan or a crowd-pleasing pickup truck, the San Diego-based company is building what it says will be the world’s most efficient vehicle—an EV with a solar panel on the roof, and as much as 1,000 miles of range. Now Aptera has raised $4 million in a new round of Series A funding. Participants included crowdfunders, private investors and one high-profile backer: auto manufacturing expert and internet star Sandy Munro. “I’m betting on a solar future, and I’m betting on Aptera,” said Sandy. “The industry needs more creative engineering like this to progress ahead. I’m happy to be assisting Aptera as they move into production and beyond.” Sandy is famous for his deep technical knowledge of the auto manufacturing process, and his endorsement is likely to be seen as a signal that Aptera’s technology is sound. “His decades of automotive knowledge and genius analysis of other EV players is great validation that we’re on the right path,” said Aptera co-founder Chris Anthony. Aptera says it has booked over 7,000 reservations for its Solar Electric Vehicle, which represents some 250 million dollars’ worth of orders. The company is getting very close to the start of production, and it plans to use its new funding to bring on more employees and fully equip its new facility. Aptera recently moved into a new production design facility in San Diego. At this 60,500-square-foot campus, the company’s team of development engineers is working on “advanced 3D printing, composites, UI/UX development, and battery technologies development.”

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Image courtesy of Lucid Motors

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Lucid Motors goes public in longawaited SPAC deal Lucid Motors has confirmed that it is going public through a merger with Churchill Capital IV (CCIV). The deal, which is expected to close in the second quarter, is said to be the largest to date between a SPAC and an EV startup. The transaction values Lucid at an initial pro-forma equity value of about $24 billion, and a transaction equity value of $11.75 billion. It is expected to leave Lucid with approximately $4.4 billion in cash. Saudi Arabia’s sovereign investment fund will continue to be the largest shareholder. Of the current wave of EV startups, Lucid has been perhaps the most closely-watched, thanks to its high-profile CEO (Peter Rawlinson was the Chief Engineer for Tesla’s Model S) and stable of deep-pocketed backers, which also includes Wall Street dealmaker Michael Klein and funds managed by BlackRock. Reuters called Lucid “one of the strongest of the flock of startups challenging Tesla’s dominance.” Speculation over the deal circulated for several months, driving up Churchill Capital’s share price to lofty heights. Since the deal was announced, however, CCIV, along with other speculative EV stocks, has gone into freefall. Lucid plans to begin production and deliveries of the Lucid Air in North America in the second half of this year. The Air is slated to arrive in Europe in 2022, followed by China in 2023. The Gravity, a performance luxury SUV, is planned for 2023. The company said it would use the new funding to bring those two vehicles to market, and to expand its Arizona factory. The initial phase of the $700-million pant has a capacity of 30,000 vehicles per year, and Lucid plans to expand it in another three phases in the coming years to an eventual capacity of 365,000 units. Lucid also aspires to supply EV technologies to other OEMs, and to offer stationary storage solutions in the residential, commercial and utility markets.

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THE VEHICLES

Washington raises the stakes with California, proposing to phase out gas cars by 2030 Washington may soon become the third US state to fix a date for the end of the Oil Age. In February, the state House Transportation Committee voted 17-12 to advance a bill that would require all light-duty vehicles of model year 2030 and later registered in the state to be electric. The bill is now being considered by the relevant House and Senate committees. The proposed bill (HB 1204/SB 5256 aka Clean Cars 2030) would allow only pure EVs and fuel cell vehicles to be sold, and would apply to light-duty vehicles weighing under 10,000 pounds (emergency vehicles and motorcycles are apparently not included). Several countries around the world have set deadlines for the end of ICE vehicle sales. Here in the US, California got the game going last September with a 2035 target date, and Massachusetts later followed suit. While these were important symbolic moves, EV advocates have noted that a plan with a 15-year timeline is really no plan at all, as the decision-makers who approve it will be out of office long before any steps need be taken to implement it. Washington’s deadline is much more significant—less than nine years in the future (model-year 2030 vehicles would typically go on sale in late 2029). More states will surely soon jump on the electric bandwagon, and hopefully they’ll adopt Washington’s more realistic date, or even raise the stakes by another year or two. Electrek notes that the Evergreen State is an EV-friendly region for several reasons—its electricity prices are the second-cheapest in the country, and its hydro-heavy grid is one of the cleanest. Washington residents can find contact information for their state representatives and senators at https://app.leg. wa.gov/DistrictFinder/.

Image courtesy of Nicolas Raymond

The Virginia Senate has passed a bill that would establish California-style clean car standards in the state. The bill, HB 1965, creates low-emission vehicle (LEV) and zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) programs. It will strengthen regulations on tailpipe emissions, and require automakers to sell a certain number of ZEVs in Virginia. Governor Ralph Northam is expected to sign the bill into law. Once he does, Virginia will join 12 other states and Washington DC in adopting LEV and ZEV rules. Minnesota, New Mexico and Nevada are in the process of implementing clean car programs. “We applaud Virginia for joining the other states that have adopted the full Advanced Clean Car Program,” said Plug In America Executive Director Joel Levin.“The zero-emission-vehicle component of the program will give Virginians access to more electric vehicle models and increase the number of clean vehicles on the roads.” “With this vital act, Virginia joins a growing list of states who are making climate action and public health a priority,” said Simon Horowitz of Environment America. “The Biden administration is now also considering strengthening the federal clean car standards, which would set stronger regulations for tailpipe pollution. However, this doesn’t mean states should hit the brakes on their own clean car rules. We need a multi-faceted approach on all levels of government.” “Last year, Virginia became the seventh state to commit to 100-percent clean energy with the passage of the Virginia Clean Economy Act. The Virginia General Assembly is now doubling down on this achievement,” said Elly Boehmer, Director of Environment Virginia.

Image courtesy of Nicolas Raymond

Virginia to become the next zero-emission-vehicle state

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FedEx has announced a goal to achieve carbon-neutral operations by 2040. The delivery XLPO giant Revolutionary will invest $2 billion in vehicle electrification, sustainable energy and carbon sequestration. By 2040, FedEx says its entire parcel pickup and delivery (PUD) fleet will consist of electric vehicles. The goal will be met through phased programs to replace existing vehicles—by 2025, 50% of FedEx Express global PUD vehicle purchases will be electric, rising to 100% of all purchases by 2030. FedEx also says it will build on its existing FedEx Fuel Sense initiatives, which are designed to reduce fuel consumption in its aircraft, and will continue to invest in alternative fuels to reduce aircraft and vehicle emissions. FedEx’s timid 2040 objective seems likely to be overtaken by technological change. If current trends continue, any delivery fleet that’s still operating ICE vehicles after 2030 will be at a significant competitive disadvantage. That said, the company is already beginning to integrate EVs into its fleet, and the recent announcement is a welcome confirmation that this trend will accelerate. EV advocates noted the jarring contrast between FedEx’s forward-looking move and the USPS’s recent decision to electrify only 10% of its ancient fleet of delivery trucks. A private company, which exists to make a profit, sees the financial wisdom of going 100% electric, but an agency of the federal government, which exists to provide essential services to its citizens, refuses to make the transition, even though the President of the United States has specifically called on it to do so. “FedEx’s announcement to fully electrify its fleet signals our economy is moving toward zero-emission transportation, and ZETA applauds their leadership,” said Joe Britton, Executive Director of the Zero Emission Transportation Association. “This stands in stark contrast to Postmaster DeJoy’s decision to lock the USPS fleet into decades of oil reliance. Americans expect our institutions of government to lead, not cling to older, more polluting technologies. FedEx has made clear that vehicle electrification is the future and has highlighted the strategic disadvantage that DeJoy put the postal service in.”

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Image courtesy of FedEx

FedEx to electrify its delivery fleet by 2040

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UK cuts EV grants, excludes Tesla

Ford CEO: US government needs to support domestic battery production Ford CEO Jim Farley says the US government needs to support domestic battery production and the rollout of public charging infrastructure. “We need to bring large-scale battery production to the US,” Farley said at a recent financial conference, adding that he planned to bring up the issue in upcoming talks with government leaders. The coming wave of EVs will require massive supplies of batteries, and right now the lion’s share of global battery production belongs to Asian firms such as CATL, LG Chem and Panasonic. European governments are moving to break this stranglehold—the European Commission’s recent announcement of €2.9 billion in funding for battery innovation is just one of several initiatives aimed at increasing battery production on the continent. Policy support for increased US battery production and better charging infrastructure for commercial vehicles will help drive demand for EVs, Farley said. He also warned of future battery bottlenecks. “We can’t go through what we’re doing now with chips,” he said, referring to the shortage of imported semiconductors that recently forced most global automakers to pause production.

The UK has been an EV leader—along with California, it’s one of the few global regions that’s been taking a comprehensive approach to electrification rather than piecemeal measures. So auto industry groups and media observers were unpleasantly surprised by the government’s recent decision to cut back its existing grants for EV purchases. The Department for Transport plans to reduce the grant from £3,000 to £2,500, and to lower the price limit for eligibility from £50,000 to £35,000. The change in eligibility is a blow to Tesla, whose Model 3, currently priced around £40,500, has consistently been the country’s best-selling EV. Several upcoming models, including Ford’s Mustang Mach-E, will not be covered either. The government made it clear that it is targeting Tesla and other higher-priced brands. “We’re ending the Tesla subsidy. Taxpayers should not be subsidising people to buy £50,000 cars,” a government spokesperson told The Times. The plug-in car grant was introduced a decade ago. Since 2018, it has periodically been reduced from its original level of £5,000. The government argues that, with battery prices falling and a range of cheaper EVs coming onto the market, reducing the scope of the grant will allow the available funding to go further. “The increasing choice of new vehicles, growing demand from customers, and rapidly rising number of charge points means that while the level of funding remains as high as ever, given soaring demand, we are re-focusing our vehicle grants on the more affordable zero-emission vehicles,” said Transport Minister Rachel Maclean. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said the decision works against the government’s goal of encouraging EV adoption. “This sends the wrong message to the consumer, especially private customers, and to an industry challenged to meet the government’s ambition to be a world leader in the transition to zero-emission mobility,” said SMMT Chief Executive Mike Hawes “Robust incentives—both purchase and usage incentives—that are consistent over time are essential if we are to encourage consumers to adopt new technologies,” Ford of Britain Chairman Graham Hoare said.

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Images courtesy of GM

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2022 CHEVROLET

BOLT EUV CHEVY’S LOWEST-PRICED EV GETS A BIG BROTHER US drivers see the Bolt EUV as a larger, better-equipped version of Chevy’s first modern electric car. But the EUV first went into production last year in China—as a Buick. By John Voelcker f it were a person, you might almost feel sorry for the 2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUV, which was launched in February. It’s a brand-new vehicle, sharing no body panels with its smaller sibling the Bolt EV, so it’s new! Different! Cool! Electric! However, its parent company seems likely to devote at least as much marketing to the GMC Hummer EV coming late this year [and the Cadillac Lyriq that will follow early in 2022] as to the much smaller, much less noticeable and glamorous tall hatchback—regardless of its 250-mile projected range rating. The Hummer got a Super Bowl ad; the Bolt EUV got a Disney video.

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The Bolt EUV is an appealing small electric car at a reasonable starting price of $34,000. That’s substantially lower than the price tag of last year’s Bolt EV.

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Images courtesy of GM

New role: value pricing That said, the Bolt EUV is an appealing small electric car at a reasonable starting price of $34,000. That’s substantially lower than the price tag of last year’s Bolt EV, and the updated smaller Bolt itself is going to drop more than $5,000, to come in at a starting price of $32,000. However, the Launch Edition version of the new Bolt EUV—essentially a top-of-the-line Premier trim with 17-inch wheels, a handful of added badges, and an illuminated charge port—sells for a whopping $43,500. All prices include the mandatory destination fee. The two value-priced Bolts will sit at the bottom of a lineup of Chevrolet electric cars that should be considerably more expansive in two or three years. Chevy already previewed an all-electric compact crossover and a pickup truck, and announced in April that it would build an all-electric Silverado with an estimated 400 miles of rated range at its Factory Zero EV assembly plant in Detroit. Other models will follow—General Motors has promised to sell a dozen or more EVs in North America by 2025. Those future vehicles will all be based on the company’s new Ultium architecture, a highly flexible battery and drivetrain system that allows for a variety of vehicle types and battery arrangements. The Hummer EV will be the fi rst of those, so the two Bolts will be the last to use what GM calls its BEV2 architecture. More cabin space, coming for China Interviews earlier this year with Program Chief Engineer Jesse Ortega and Vehicle Chief Engineer Jeremy Short revealed more of the story behind the Bolt EUV that we’ll start to see on US roads later this summer. The Chevrolet product executives say the EUV was developed by listening intently to early buyers of the Bolt EV, and giving them what they wanted. Almost from the day the smaller Bolt EV started deliveries back in December 2016, owners started asking for more rear-seat room. That Bolt was designed to have a “B-segment exterior” (subcompact) with “C-segment interior space” (compact), Ortega said, so it confused some shoppers, who saw it as too small for four people. The new EUV gains a 3-inch longer wheelbase and another 3.3 inches in added length on top of that. In September 2017, Chevy’s goal of providing more room dovetailed neatly with a news story that caused

The Hummer EV will be the first based on the GM’s new Ultium architecture, so these two Bolts will be the last to use what GM calls its BEV2 architecture. many global automakers to tear up their product plans. That month, Chinese state media announced that the national government would ban the sale of vehicles with internal combustion engines—at some future date that wasn’t specified. GM sells more vehicles in China than it does in North America, so it was clear that its Chinese lineup would need a greater variety of battery-electric vehicles. A BEV2 entry would thus join planned plug-in hybrid and battery-electric models built on adaptations of the underpinnings used for the Volt plug-in hybrid, which itself was canceled late in 2018. The BEV2 vehicle for China had to have a larger rear seat as well, since in China many car owners don’t actually buy cars to drive—they ride in the back and leave the driving to hired chauffeurs, especially in trafficchoked cities. (Which is why that country has so many extended-wheelbase versions of luxury cars: the rear compartment sells the car, not the driver’s seat.)

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THE VEHICLES Images courtesy of GM

Chevrolet Bolt EUV

Buick Velite 7

The Buick Velite 7 shares all its structural “hard points” with the Bolt EUV we see, but none of the exterior sheet metal. Yet the two were developed in parallel, with largely the same passenger volume.

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Two BEV2 variants: Buick Velite 7, Bolt EUV GM’s BEV2 platform and powertrain engineering are headquartered in its technical center in Warren, Michigan. To create the larger BEV2 vehicle, Ortega’s team worked with its Chinese advanced-engineering counterparts in Shanghai, along with SAIC-GM’s design studio and engineering center. Their expertise was crucial to understanding Chinese customer tastes and design preferences, and to creating a vehicle that could pass “very strict type approval and testing” processes there. The resulting Chinese-market vehicle, built in Shanghai with battery packs assembled in a plant next door, was the Buick Velite 7, launched late in the summer of last year. It shares all its structural “hard points” with the Bolt EUV we see, but none of the exterior sheet metal. Yet the two were developed in parallel, with largely the same passenger volume—or “Zones and Limits,” as they’re called by the product team. Essentially, what Chinese Buick buyers and North American Bolt EUV buyers see on the outside is entirely different, but the vehicles are built on the same structure, and use identical powertrains. Throttle feel and suspension tuning differ depending on market preferences, and official ratings for power and range differ based on each country’s testing regimens. It’s worth noting that the Bolt EUV was originally meant to launch in the US last year, shortly after the Velite 7 went on sale. In the spring of 2020, at the height of uncertainty over the course of the Covid pandemic, GM decided to postpone both the Bolt EUV and the mid-cycle refresh of the existing Bolt EV for almost a year. The smaller car got new styling and a completely new interior, but there were no powertrain updates after its 2020 increase in battery size and corresponding EPA range rating, from 238 to 259 miles. Driving impressions From the outside, the Bolt EUV is still clearly an electric Chevrolet Bolt. Its front end is taller and squarer, and it’s longer, but its ground clearance is only 0.2 inches higher than the smaller Bolt EV. It’s pretty clearly that car’s big brother. The seats and dashboards of each car will be new to owners of 2017-2021 Bolt EVs, though familiar. What differs between the two is the rear cabin area. The EUV offers a rear seat that even American-sized occupants of 6 feet or more can occupy. The upright seating posi-

tion and roof height help, though while there’s plenty of headroom, rear-seat occupants’ knees will be a bit higher than if the car had conventional footwells— which it doesn’t, since the 65 kWh lithium-ion battery pack sits under the cabin floor. On the road, the Bolt EUV is peppy, and has less body roll than you’d expect. The optional Super Cruise is accurately described as the only currently-available hands-off adaptive cruise control, as even Tesla’s so-called Autopilot requires you to keep your hands on the steering wheel. We’d happily drive a Bolt EUV as our daily vehicle, presuming we had a home charging station. And, as most drivers of EVs with more than 200 miles of range quickly learn, it’s unnecessary to recharge every night when average daily mileage for US vehicles is about 30 miles.

50 kilowatts: far from fast The one drawback to the Bolt EUV is its so-called fast charging, which remains at the same rates offered way back in December 2016. GM is known for conservative battery management, which thus far has paid off in a negligible rate of battery degradation over time. But its decision to put all its eggs for the future in the Ultium basket, and freeze development on the BEV2 powertrain after 2020, may frustrate Bolt EUV drivers who want to use the car for road trips longer than 200 or so miles. Under optimal conditions, the Bolt’s charge curve runs slightly above 50 kilowatts when the battery’s state of charge is between the single-digit percentages and about 50 percent. Then it starts to taper down, to about half that rate, up to the 80 percent level. The practical effect is that charging from, say, 10 percent to 80 percent takes up to an hour—which may require two consecutive charging sessions at a single fast charging site.

50 kW charging leaves the Bolt EUV uncompetitive for single-vehicle households who occasionally need to cover long distances. Even humble Hyundai Ioniq Electrics and some Nissan Leafs can do 70 to 100 kW.

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Teslas have charged at up to 125 kW for many years, and in some models, that rate now goes as high as 250 kW. Even humble Hyundai Ioniq Electrics and some Nissan Leafs can do 70 to 100 kW. And of course the Porsche Taycan, GM’s future Ultium-powered EVs, and vehicles built on Hyundai-Kia’s new E-GMP platform, all offer the possibility of charging at up to 270 kW, depending on configuration. That leaves the Bolt EUV uncompetitive for singlevehicle households who occasionally need to cover long distances, and it may eliminate the car from consideration by some buyers who otherwise like the idea of long range and interior volume within compact dimensions. Neither Bolt offers all-wheel drive, though crawling all over a bodyshell several years ago suggested that such a feature would have been pretty simple to add. Nonetheless, the new 2022 Chevy Bolt EUV is a slightly larger version of the Bolt EV that 100,000 buyers in North America, South Korea, and other markets know and love. And as a more upmarket Buick, GM and its partner SAIC hope it will hit the growing market for New Energy Ve-

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As GM seems unlikely to produce high volumes of Ultium vehicles until the end of 2022, the Bolt pair will remain the automaker’s only affordable EV offerings. hicles in China just right. Early indications are that it has. GM has roughly doubled production capacity for the Bolt line at its assembly plant in Orion, Michigan. That suggests up to 50,000 Bolts a year could be built. As GM seems unlikely to produce high volumes of Ultium vehicles until the end of 2022, the Bolt pair will remain the automaker’s only affordable EV offerings for a while. The Bolt EUV and EV could well expand the audience for cost-efficient electric transport—even if they don’t get all the marketing pizzaz. They’ll arrive at Chevy dealers in volume this summer.

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EXTREM THE VEHICLES

TACKLES TOUGH TERRAIN, PROMOTES SUSTAINABLE RACING

By Charles Morris ormula E, the FIA-sanctioned electric racing series, has been a powerful ambassador for the EV revolution—and a damn fine sporting event—since its opening season in 2014. Now some of the same team behind Formula E, including Alejandro Agag, Chairman of Formula E and now CEO of Extreme E, have gone off-road and off the chain to bring us a much earthier, more rough-and-tumble racing series. Extreme E features custom electric offroad SUVs tearing through some of the harshest and most vehicle-punishing terrain on the globe. Formula E showed that EVs can be fast. Extreme E aims to show that EVs can be tough. Sustainability is at the heart of Extreme E’s mission. The race sites have been chosen not only for their challenging physical features, but in order to highlight the environmental threats to each of the five unique ecosystems: desert, Arctic, ocean, rain forest and mountain glaciers. The carbon footprint is as small as practical: there are no spectators, and the cars and teams travel on a specially greened-up ship. Extreme E invests in local

environmental projects at each site, and buys carbon offsets to compensate for what emissions it cannot avoid. Equality is also a priority—each of the 9 racing teams consists of one male and one female driver, who take turns at the wheel of a single car. Extreme E’s first race, the Desert X Prix, took place on April 3 and 4, on an 18 km course centered around three canyons in the vast desert surrounding Al-’Ula, Saudi Arabia. Rosberg X Racing duo Johan Kristoffersson and Molly Taylor took the checkered flag.

The all-terrain, all-electric Odyssey 21 Spark Racing Technology, which developed all three generations of the Formula E race car, created a custom electric SUV, the Odyssey 21, for Extreme E. Spark designed the chassis, bodywork, suspension, drivetrain architecture, soft ware and electronics. The battery packs were made by Williams Advanced Engineering, and a few other components such as motors, inverters and braking systems were made by undisclosed companies. Pierre Prunin, Head of Motorsport Operations for

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EME E Spark Racing Technology, told Charged that the Odyssey 21 is “similar in terms of electrical and soft ware technology,” to the Formula E racer, but that all the hardware components, unsurprisingly, are “bigger and stronger.” The Odyssey 21 has a niobium-reinforced steel alloy tubular frame, crash structure and roll cage. The exterior shell is made from sustainable natural flax fibers from a Swiss firm called Bcomp. Each team can customize the bodywork of its car—for example, the Chip Ganassi Racing team created a car that features a unique grille, graphics and bodywork inspired by the GMC Hummer EV— but all the other parts are standardized. There are two motors, each with 200 kW (225 hp) of power. Total torque is 450 Nm. The car goes from 0-62 mph in 4.5 seconds, and can handle gradients of up to 130 percent. Unlike the Formula E racer, the Odyssey has no regenerative braking. “It is not an energy race, and braking isn’t huge due to poor grip in most of the conditions we’ll encounter, hence there’s very little energy to recover compared to Formula E,” Pierre Prunin told Charged. The battery pack, developed and built by Williams Advanced Engineering, is enclosed in a rugged enclosure of carbon fiber composite, which weighs less Images courtesy of Extreme E

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than 400 kg. The pack consists of 3,600 cells, runs at 800 volts, and has a capacity of 54 kWh (40 kWh usable). Considering that the Extreme E races will take place in extreme temperatures, which are known to be hard on EV batteries, we were surprised to learn that the battery packs don’t use any active cooling while running. “This avoids the use of expensive and not environmentally friendly dielectric fluids, and also avoids potential leaks,” Mr. Prunin told us. “We cool down the batteries only while charging or before the race by blowing air into them. The front and rear motors are traditionally cooled with water.” Mr. Prunin told me that Extreme E keeps “one spare car on hand in case of accidents, as well as a common spare pool in addition to the spare parts teams will be carrying.” After seeing a couple of spectacular crashes and breakdowns during the first race, I wonder if this will be sufficient. Extreme E put the cars through a good two years of testing. Spark unveiled the Odyssey 21 for the first time in July 2019 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Following that initial display run, tire provider Continental Tyres put the car and its bespoke rubber through a week-long testing program at the Château de Lastours proving ground in the south of France—a site regularly used by participants in the Dakar and FIA World Rally championships. Finally, the Odyssey 21 proved its mettle on the course at the 2020 Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia.

The green ship St. Helena Transporting the cars and team members to the remote race locations overland or by air would be a complex and carbon-consuming logistical challenge, to say the least, so Extreme E decided to transport everything by ship. The St. Helena, named for its former role as a supply ship serving the remote island of the same name, is fitted with cargo cranes to unload the cars and other equipment, and has 62 cabins and a science lab on board. Extreme E has totally refurbished the 30-year-old vessel in order to lower its emissions as much as possible. Extreme E converted the engines and generators to run on low-sulfur marine diesel, redesigned the propellers to reduce friction, painted the underwater sections with a modern anti-fouling paint, replaced the 4,000 interior lights with high-efficiency LEDs, and upgraded the HVAC systems.

The 2021 season Wadi Rum, Al-’Ula Saudi Arabia

April 3, 4

Lac Rose, Dakar, Senegal

May 29, 30

Kangerlussuaq, Greenland

August 28, 29

Santarem, Para, Brazil

October 23, 24

Tierra del Fuego, Argentina

December 11, 12

Extreme charging by AFC Energy To put it mildly, Extreme E faces a number of challenges that most EV deployments don’t have to deal with. One of the problems is how to provide charging for the cars in remote locations far from the nearest electrical grid, and to do so in a sustainable way. Diesel generators would betray the goals of the electric series (some protestors have accused Formula E of hypocrisy because of the large number of fossil-fuel vehicles required to stage the races). Extreme E decided that the greenest and most practical solution would be an innovative system based on hydrogen fuel cells. Charged spoke with Iain Thomson, Head of Communications and Stakeholder Management at AFC Energy, which developed the system. AFC Energy is named for its Alkaline Fuel Cell technology, which depends on the electrochemical combination of hydrogen and oxygen in a non-combustion process. Alkaline fuel cells offer a wider fuel tolerance than other types of fuel cell—AFC’s cells can use hydrogen generated from cracked ammonia, water electrolysis, industrial hydrogen streams or reformed biogas. Iain Thomson explained that the principal difference between AFC’s alkaline fuel cells the PEM fuel cells used in vehicles is the ability to accept different types of hydrogen as a fuel source. “PEM fuel cells can only accommodate pure hydrogen sources, whereas we can take in ammonia as our feedstock. The fuel cell that we provided to Extreme E, that is actually running off green hydrogen, but in other situations, such as construction, it will run off ammonia. That requires an ammonia cracker with the system to draw the hydrogen and then start the reaction.” AFC’s charging system, which is transported aboard the St. Helena and transferred to land at the

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Images courtesy of Extreme E

Extreme E decided that the greenest and most practical solution for charging the EVs would be an innovative system based on hydrogen fuel cells. Different types of fuel cells Alkaline fuel cells (AFC Energy)

• Zero greenhouse gas emissions • Capable of accepting all grades of hydrogen, as well as ammonia • Stationary applications only, given lower power density vs PEM fuel cells

PEM fuel cells

• Zero greenhouse gas emissions • High energy density • Needs ultra-pure hydrogen to operate (99.999% purity)

Solid oxide fuel cells • • • •

Capable of using natural gas (readily available) Capable of both heat and power generation Operates at lower eﬃciency vs AFCs/PEMs Emits greenhouse gases when natural gas is used as fuel source

site of each race, consists of four main components, each housed in shipping containers. “You’ve got the fuel production—the green hydrogen. Then you’ve got the alkaline fuel cell unit, a battery storage unit, and then the charger itself,” Thomson explains. “In the days leading up to each of the race weekends, hydrogen is going to be generated from a combination of solar arrays powering electrolyzers. That hydrogen is then stored in cylinders, ready for use over the weekend. The fuel cell draws from that green hydrogen to create power, which is then fed into the battery storage unit. And the vehicle charger is linked to that battery storage unit, so when you see one of the Odyssey 21 vehicles charging on an Extreme E race weekend, it’s going to be drawing on power from that battery storage unit.” “This is the first time that motorsport has used this type of technology to charge vehicles,” says Thomson.

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“You have Formula E and then Extreme E, so the technology has been developed for motorsport. We’d like to see this technology being deployed for other sports, to replace diesel generators, because that’s the principle aim of our technology at this stage—to do a like-for-like replacement of diesel technology so people can reduce their carbon emissions.” We asked Thomson how incorporating hydrogen into the system adds value. Why not just use the solar arrays to charge the stationary batteries? His answer: “We were able to make assurances that our entire solution—hydrogen supply, a 40 kW cell, the associated battery energy storage system—could reliably provide the amount of charge each of the teams need for its vehicles over a race weekend, whilst providing the zero-emission, offgrid power that ties with the fundamental premise of the series to highlight key climate change issues.” Naturally, AFC and Extreme E did some pretty intense testing to make sure the system would work in the extreme conditions. Six months of collaborative engineering was followed by a month of intensive testing of the fuel cells, battery management systems and vehicle chargers. “Extreme E were at our Dunsfold headquarters, where they saw the entire system in action charging the vehicles,” says Thomson. “They were able to see it drawing from the charger, and then the use of the vehicle afterwards. So yeah, they had to obviously get their assurances prior to the system going onto the St. Helena. The

Odyssey 21 specs Width

2.3 meters

Weight

1,650 kg

Battery packs

54 kWh (40 kWh usable), 800 volts

Motors

Twin 250 kW (550 bhp)

Acceleration 0-100 km/h

4.5 seconds

Gradient capability

40° (80% slope) to 53° (130% slope), depending on surface

Suspension

Double wishbone with three-way adjustable mono-damper, travel 385 mm

Braking

Six-piston Alcon caliper, iron disk and pads

big thing from Extreme E’s point of view was making sure that it could work in different climatic conditions. You’ve got ridiculous heat in some races and cold in others and you’re going to be working in Tierra del Fuego, at high altitude, so clearly, we have to factor those in as part of the design of the system.” Naturally, plenty of backups and spare parts for the charging system will be on hand. “We’ve tried to make it as simple as possible,” Thomson says. “We have an asset light manufacturing strategy—a lot of our parts are outsourced. The containers themselves, what we call the balance of plant, we get that from a third party—

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Images courtesy of Extreme E

BK Gulf, based in Dubai. They’ve got a huge level of backup parts. Similarly, electrodes within the system were jointly developed with De Nora, a massive Italian manufacturer. So we’ve got things at hand just in case if anything does go awry, but I think the key thing to stress is it’s been well-tested by Extreme E, and at each of the five races, we’ll have at least a couple of members of staff that are going to be making sure the technology works and that everything runs to program.” Two big advantages of AFC’s system are scalability and portability, and the company is playing to those strengths by wooing customers in the mobility, con-

struction and maritime industries. “We are going to be running a pilot program with Acciona, the Spanish construction giant, this summer, which is going to be a 160 kW fuel cell system fueled by ammonia to replace diesel generators on one of their construction sites,” said Thomson. “This is all part of Acciona’s policy to decarbonize its operations.” “We are also going to be supplying a 100-kilowatt system to a German state organization called Forschungszentrum Juelich (Juelich Research Center). That’s for part of a low-carbon micro-grid.” “Third, we signed a collaboration agreement with ABB in December—we’re going to be jointly developing products for the electric vehicle market in each of the 80 countries that ABB is currently working in. That relationship has just started, and the great thing about it is that we’re able to work with them to accelerate deployment of our products using the contacts and the markets they’re already working. So we’ve easily got two further power systems to leave Dunsfold [AFC headquarters] this year.” Extreme E, which will be broadcast around the world, will obviously be a great showcase for AFC’s system. “I hope that the 200 million-plus people that potentially could watch the series, that they see the technology working, and they’ll gradually come to accept the sort of technology that we’re developing,” said Thomson.

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WHAT’S NEXT FOR

US EMISSIONS

STANDARDS? By Charles Morris

missions and fuel economy regulations, at both federal and state levels, have been instrumental in encouraging (or coercing) automakers to produce EVs, and to make their legacy vehicles cleaner. Since President Nixon signed the Clean Air Act in 1963, federal regulations aimed at reducing air pollution have gradually grown stronger. Under President Obama, the EPA set the first federal greenhouse gas standard for cars. Meanwhile, the state of California has steadily tightened its own clean-air rules, including the zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate, which requires automakers to produce a certain number of electric vehicles. The Trump administration attempted to throw this process into reverse, by watering down the federal standards and revoking California’s right to set its own more stringent standards. President Biden has made it clear that he intends to strengthen environmental regulations across the board, and his administration is expected to reinstate the Obama-era emissions standards, and possibly go beyond them. However, this can’t be done with the stroke of a pen. Government rule-making is a long and extremely complex process, and not even seasoned political reporters (much less politicians themselves) are always able to explain how it works. Charged spoke with two experts in the fields of emissions regulation and environmental law, to get an idea of how the process of reinvigorating US emissions and fuel economy standards is likely to proceed, and how the changes will affect the auto industry over the next few years.

Q&A with former EPA exec Margo Oge

Margo Oge served as the Director of the EPA’s Office of Transportation and Air Quality from 1994 to 2012. Beginning in 2009, Oge lead the EPA team that authored the 2010-2025 Light-Duty Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards. In 2016, she published a fine book called Driving the Future, which explains in detail how the EPA achieved a historic agreement with the auto industry to improve fuel economy and reduce emissions. She currently chairs the International Council on Clean Transportation, and also serves on the boards of several environmental organizations. Charged: The body of federal and state air pollution regulations encompasses both emissions and fuel economy standards, and generates an astounding number of acronyms. Can you parse the alphabet soup for us? Margo Oge: Let’s see if we can simplify it, because you are absolutely right—it’s pretty complicated. [I’ll give you] a little bit of the history. The Clean Air Act allows the EPA to address pollutants coming out of the tailpipe of a car. The traditional pollutants [are] nitrogen oxides, volatile organics, and particulates. So, the EPA traditionally has used the Clean Air Act to reduce emissions from the transportation sector. A petition came to EPA in the early 2000s, asking the agency to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cars. California, at the same time, was moving to establish their own greenhouse gas standards. The case went all the way

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to the Supreme Court, and in 2007, the Supreme Court basically said that greenhouse gases are pollutants, and if they endanger public health and the environment, [the EPA can] regulate them. So that was the basis for the EPA, under President Obama in 2009, setting the first federal greenhouse gas standard for cars. EPA then worked with the state of California and NHTSA, which sets fuel economy standards— in the mid-1970s, President Ford established the law that NHTSA is using to improve fuel economy, and the basis was not climate change, but energy security. So, the three agencies came together: NHTSA for fuel economy, EPA for greenhouse gases and [CARB in California], and tried to put together a national program. One of the greenhouse gas pollutants is CO2, and when you improve fuel economy, you also reduce CO2. So that’s the loose relationship between the two, but regulating CO2 doesn’t do anything for the other greenhouse gases that EPA regulates [fluorinated gases, methane and nitrous oxide]. Charged: So, the EPA regulates emissions of pollutants. What about the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards? Margo Oge: NHTSA [the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration] sets those under EPCA [the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, enacted in 1975 in response to the 1973 oil crisis]. That’s where the CAFE standards originate. We used our existing laws to set standards that were complementary. So, for a car company, if you follow EPA standards, you would be meeting NHTSA standards as well. Under President Obama, we set the first set of standards [for model years] 2012 to 2016, and the second set for 2017 to 2025. EPA said, we’re going to do a midterm review that will potentially affect 2021 forward, and when Obama left office, the agency did the midterm review, and

concluded that the standards can be met by the car companies, no changes needed to be made for 2021 to 2025. President Trump came to office and decided, because the car companies asked him to, that the standards cannot be met. “It will cost millions of jobs.” So what they did, instead of [mandating] 5% annual improvement from 2021, they decided to roll back the standards to 1.5% annual improvement, which is what the industry meets, regardless of if there is a standard or not. So in reality, President Trump killed the standards for 2021 to 2025. And the other thing he did was to take regulatory steps to take away the authority from the state of California to set their own more stringent standards. Now President Biden [has done] two things: He said to the agencies, EPA and NHTSA, “By April, you need to restore the California authority.” California legally should be able to do their own standards under the Clean Air Act. They have done it for 50 years. The second action President Biden took is that, by July, EPA and NHTSA should propose a program to restore, fully or partially, [the standards as they were] under Obama. So, the agencies have a number of options. They can adopt the [previously agreed] Obama standards, or they can look at the [2019] deal that California cut with the five car companies [Ford, Honda, BMW, Volkswagen and Volvo], which was a little bit less stringent than the Obama standards. So, the agencies can adopt the California standards, they can adopt the Obama standards, or they can do something in between—the White House is not dictating to the agencies what to do. So, that’s the work that is going on. But, in my view, the most important work will be what happens after 2025, after you fix the impact of the wrong decisions under the Trump administration that have put the country behind Europe. Europe is ahead of even the Obama standards. And look at what’s happening with all the car companies, all the investments that they’re making. You have companies like Volvo and GM saying, “We have an aspirational target—all new sales for vehicles are going to be a hundred percent electric in 2035.” You have the state of California [saying that] all new sales should be electric in 2035. You have 13 states that follow California that will adopt the same program. So, in my view, the work that is going on right now is very important, but the more important work will be beyond 2025. How does President Biden set the future standards that could impact 2030, and maybe beyond that?

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THE VEHICLES Charged: Once the agencies announce their decision about what standards we’re going to have now, will there be legal challenges? Margo Oge: Yeah. The agencies will make proposals, but legally, they cannot have final action. So, they’re going to allow some time for public comments, maybe 60 days, and then the agencies will finalize their action, maybe by the end of the year or the beginning of the following year. And yes, there could be legal actions. The Department of Justice under Biden has put a hold on all the legal challenges that came from 22 states, the NGO community and others challenging Trump’s standards, and the Biden administration has decided that they’re going to defend their own standards. In my view, if President Trump had made it for a second term, they would have lost the legal challenge under both the Clean Air Act and EPCA, because the standards were not set on a legal economic basis. President Trump’s agencies came up with a lot of fictitious and fictional science. If you’re adopting a standard that [calls for] 1.5% annual improvement, when the industry historically has improved fuel economy about 2% annually, well you’re not pushing the envelope, you’re not doing anything. I’m very confident that whatever Biden is going to come up with will be on much stronger legal footing. There could be challenges—a car company can say they’re too strong, but even if President Biden adopts the Obama standards, legally, [automakers] are going to have a very difficult time to challenge those standards. The Clean Air Act is a technology-forcing standard, so basically the technologies are there, and it’s cost-effective, we know that from our analysis under the Obama administration. And I think the data is even stronger now, given all the new technology. I think it will be impossible for the car companies to succeed [in challenging the new standards]. I think the biggest problem that they may have is that the environmental community will say it’s not stringent enough, given what we know today. Charged: When the EPA is setting these standards, I imagine they consult with the automakers and their engineers, in terms of what kind of technologies they need to have to meet the standards. Margo Oge: Absolutely. But also, don’t forget that EPA has hundreds of engineers in our lab. When we did the

We’re seeing it in China, we’re seeing it in Europe. Given the fact that the cost of an electric vehicle and the similar model of a gasoline or diesel will be the same even earlier than 2024, I think we’re going to see the Biden administration be ambitious. greenhouse gas standards for 2025, EPA was working with a number of consulting companies, and we took apart hybrid vehicles. We took apart thousands of pieces and we costed them out. So, EPA has significant engineering expertise in their lab to understand technology. When I was there, we hired engineers from GM, from Ford, from Chrysler, from all kinds of companies. So, they understand the design of cars, but they do have discussions, technical person to technical person, with the car companies. And the same thing with California. [CARB] has hundreds of engineers and they now have a new laboratory, so there is expertise—they don’t develop standards in a vacuum. Charged: Let’s look beyond 2025 or so, to when the real action may get started. What might we see the federal government doing in that timeframe? And when will we find out about that? Margo Oge: I have [had] some discussions—they’re confidential so I’m not going to disclose anything, but I’m very hopeful that the administration is going to be ambitious, because of what President Biden has already indicated. He cares a lot about climate change, but also cares a lot about jobs. He has announced that he’s going to create a million new jobs for the automotive industry. He talks a lot about domestic manufacturing. He talks about 500,000 charging stations. I cannot say [exactly] what they’re going to do, but I’m very optimistic that we’re going to see a transition to electrification because of climate change. We’re seeing it in China, we’re seeing it in Europe. Given the fact that the cost of an electric vehicle and the similar model of a gasoline or diesel will be the same even earlier than 2024, I think we’re going to see the Biden administration be ambitious. But let’s not forget, that’s going to take

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a big transition, so it has to be done very carefully, very thoughtfully. I think that the laws are in place to do standards, but President Biden needs to do new legislation for infrastructure, negotiate budgets to create support for the car companies...there’s a lot of things that need to happen. It’s beyond setting standards—standards have to be set along with economic policies. Charged: Would you agree that the influence of Tesla has been even greater than the government standards? Margo Oge: Yes, yes. And you could quote me on that. I strongly believe that. I drive a Tesla. It is just an amazing car. What this man has done, single-handed...he’s going to go down in the history books. Forget about standards policies, he has forced every major manufacturer to rethink their products.

Q&A with environmental lawyer Maureen F. Gorsen

Maureen F. Gorsen served as Director of the California Department of Toxic Substances Control and as General Counsel of the California Environmental Protection Agency and the California Natural Resources Agency. She currently practices law in Sacramento, concentrating on enforcement defense and regulatory compliance counsel. Charged: We’re all waiting to see what President Biden’s EPA is going to do in terms of updating the federal emissions standards. How do you think they’re likely to roll? Maureen Gorsen: I think they’re going to do more than just roll back the Trump rollback [but] I think the money is on them not trying to upset the applecart until 2026, but to do all of their more aggressive stuff in the post-2026 environment. Charged: So, you think they’re probably just going to restore the Obama-era targets for now? Maureen Gorsen: The engineers of the car companies, it takes them several years to design their cars—I think they like three years lead time. There’s only five years [until 2026], so I don’t know if they’re going to try to push, but

they could push and make it till 2024—I guess it just depends if they want to go beyond. Probably, they’re having meetings with the engineers for the car companies—I’m sure there’s a lot of backroom stuff going on right now, because it’s not a public proposal yet. I’m not in the room where it’s happening, and I don’t know if anyone who’s in the room is at liberty to tell a reporter. But just knowing how these things have happened before, and certainly having witnessed exactly how the deal in California happened, it’s backroom discussions. Charged: Do you think some automakers could gain a competitive advantage if the EPA imposes more stringent standards? Maureen Gorsen: I’m sure that some of them are ready to break away from the pack, and could do more, so there’s an economic advantage to them if [the EPA] pushes to 51 miles per gallon by 2025 instead of 46 by 2026 [for example]. And then, each carmaker has a different portfolio, so Ford, which still has tons of room on its EV tax credits, is in a different position than GM, which is why GM did not sign on to [the 2019 California deal] but then later did. Automakers know what they can engineeringly achieve, whether they can meet 51 miles per gallon or 60 miles per gallon or whatever, so they can direct their government relations people to take different positions. And some of them are at a disadvantage, whatever their portfolio is, what their best-selling cars are versus their least-selling cars are, but it’s math and engineering that they are doing internally to determine what their position is. Then, for the Biden administration, so much of it is about signaling. If they know that the big companies, the ones in Michigan, are not going to object, or we’re splitting them, it will change how they come out with their rules. Charged: Part of what the Trump administration was trying to do was to take away California’s ability to set its own stricter standards. Is that battle over now? California’s stricter standards are no longer in danger? Maureen Gorsen: Absolutely. And they were never really that much in danger. They were stalled a little bit. But that was the only time ever that a waiver had been repealed. Charged: There are other emissions regulations in California, like nitrogen oxides and particulates, correct?

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Maureen Gorsen: Oh, yeah. And there’s fleet rules, too. California has all these fleet rules, and they’re going to just continue to ratchet on that big time. The whole mix of what’s sold in California will continue to ratchet down. There’s nothing the feds can do about California’s fleet rules.

Bottom line is, once California does a stricter standard, that becomes the de facto federal standard.

Charged: Will there be stricter federal rules? Maureen Gorsen: Oh, there will be, because they just nominated Steve Cliff [to lead NHTSA]. He was the intellectual guru at CARB. He’s been there for over a decade. He was Mary Nichols’s right-hand man, he was the intellectual heft that supported everything. Biden just appointed him to head NHTSA. Then you have [Secretary of Transportation] Pete Buttigieg. What the hell is Pete Buttigieg doing as the head of the Department of Transportation and Steve Cliff from the Air Board as head of NHTSA? It’s because the biggest obstacle to really reducing the carbon footprint of cars is safety. It’s always been the biggest obstacle. The number-one way the car companies have slowed down emissions standards in California is by raising federal preemption of safety requirements. If they make cars out of tinfoil, they will absolutely get 100 miles per gallon right now, but you can’t make cars out of tinfoil. You better have some steel. You better have some reinforcements to meet those crash [tests]. That has been probably the biggest hurdle—not the biggest engineering hurdle, but the biggest legal hurdle. That’s huge. The Pete Buttigieg/Steve Cliff combination will really unleash California. Charged: When this struggle about California was going on, we heard this refrain that automakers “don’t want to have to design cars for two different markets.” But as I understand it, that’s never been the case anyway. Automakers don’t produce different models for different states, do they? Maureen Gorsen: No. Bottom line is, once California does a stricter standard, that becomes the de facto federal standard. [However], there are vehicles, I think, sold outside of California, that don’t meet California standards— some of the lawnmowers and motorcycles, you cannot get those in California.

Charged: The Trump crusade to water down those regulations turned out to be a lot harder than they thought it would be. Maureen Gorsen: Well, it’s because we live in a democracy. Governors and presidents try to do as much by executive order as they can, but they cannot change laws and regulations. We have a constitution and separation of powers, and laws and regulations have to be adopted by elected people. This is administrative law 101. The legislative body has to pass a law, and then they have to give the authority to develop rules and regulations to an agency, which then has to follow the rules that the legislature set out for them. Governor Newsom said, “We’re banning fossil fuel cars by 2035,” [but] they’re not banned right then and there. He said that as an executive order, but now the laws and the regulations have to go into effect to make that ban stick. He sets out the goal, and now the legislature and the agencies will set out the rules to enforce that goal. That’s the administrative rule-making process, which gives everybody an opportunity to notice what they’re doing, to comment on it, to have their say. Then the rules have to be in compliance with the laws, so they have to be clear. There are all sorts of reasons why rules can be tossed out by judges: [for example] they’re vague, they’re overbroad, they’re ultra vires [beyond an agency’s legal power or authority]. Then if anyone thinks an agency has exceeded their authority, they go to the judicial branch and say, you didn’t follow the rules. Charged: So, whatever the Biden EPA wants to do with fuel economy standards, this is going to have to go through a long process, and there’ll be judicial challenges. Maureen Gorsen: Could be. If the industry doesn’t

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challenge it, the NGOs may challenge it—it’s never good enough for both sides. It’s very rare that EPA ever does a rule that somebody doesn’t challenge. This is another reason why [EPA] might just roll back and do what existed before, because the less substantive discretion they exercise, the less risk of challenge there is. That’s one reason a lot of people think they’re going to go back to the way it was four years ago, and then worry about how they want it to look post-2026. Charged: It sounds like implementing California’s ICE ban is going to be a long process that unfolds over a few years. Maureen Gorsen: Right. But 2035 is far enough in the future, there’s plenty of time to get all those rules into place. Your typical rule making would be a year or two to get through all the process and also to make a record that will withstand judicial challenge. That’s what the agency’s doing—creating an administrative record, so that when somebody says, “You didn’t go far enough,” or, “You went too far,” the judge is going to review it and say, “No. They looked at all the comments. Their decision’s supported by the evidence.” That’s part of what the agency works on— not just getting it right, but that whatever decision they make is supported with evidence in the record. Charged: Is that what the Trump administration failed to do? Maureen Gorsen: Well, we’ll never know, because Biden halted the litigation. These things don’t ever end at the superior court level. We have three levels—the superior court, the appellate court, and the Supreme Court—both in state and federal law. So when people are this divided on topics, it never ends at one court level. It would go to appellate court and then to the Supreme Court. That’s why I think [the EPA will] just go back to [the previously existing fuel economy standards]. Then they focus on the post-2026 world. Charged: Broadening the picture beyond emissions regulations, what’s the best thing the federal government could do to accelerate EV adoption? Maureen Gorsen: The traditional tools—the fuel econ-

If the industry doesn’t challenge it, the NGOs may challenge it—it’s never good enough for both sides. It’s very rare that EPA ever does a rule that somebody doesn’t challenge. omy and emissions standards—put pressure on the suppliers of the cars, but then you also have to create the demand. For me, I would like to buy an electric car. I would pay more [but] I have no place to charge, and I don’t have time to go find a charging station and spend an hour there in line. I can barely get my car’s oil changed, and I only do that every three to four months. For me, the most important thing is going to be charging stations. Also, here in California, we have this weird utility system where we have three major private utilities [PG&E, SoCal Edison, and SDG&E] but then there’s also a lot of municipal utilities, which are much more affordable. The investor-owned utilities, the rates are so high—if you’re living in PG&E territory, you’re paying some outrageous electricity rates. There’s a serious dichotomy between a municipal utility versus an investor-owned utility. Investor-owned utilities get sued. You’re paying for the wildfires, you’re paying for spills, you’re paying for the Erin Brockovich lawsuit. You’re paying for every mandate that’s imposed on investor-owned utilities that’s not on municipal utilities. The disparity between those two [types of] utilities is huge in California. Charged: So, finding a way to make electricity rates lower and more uniform would help to encourage EV adoption. Is there anything else you would like to tell me about the road ahead? Maureen Gorsen: Basically, we are decarbonizing. It’s not just cars. It’s also buildings. It’s everything. Everything’s being decarbonized. It’s full electrification going forward.

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Image courtesy of Lucid

Image courtesy of EVgo

THE INFRASTRUCTURE

Lucid Air buyers get 3 years of free charging from Electrify EVgo makes more of its fast charging network available to America It’s de rigueur these days for automakers to offer a free Tesla drivers charging package with a new EV as an added sweetener, In December 2019, public fast charging network EVgo, in collaboration with Tesla, began installing the automaker’s proprietary connector at its DC fast charging stations around the country (Tesla drivers can use CHAdeMO or CCS plugs, but they need a bulky and pricey adapter, and a CCS adapter only recently became available in the US). Now EVgo is expanding its offering for Tesla drivers, upgrading hundreds of its stations with integrated Tesla connectors. EVgo has claimed bragging rights as the only EV charging platform that supports all three US fast charging standards without the need for a separate adapter (and that’s powered by 100% renewable electricity to boot). EVgo plans to deploy more than 400 integrated Tesla connectors at existing stations, and an additional 200 at new stations planned for 2021 in such cities as San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Seattle, Denver, Dallas, Austin, Washington DC, Salt Lake City and Miami. EVgo says its integrated Tesla connectors are capable of providing 100 miles worth of charge in 30 minutes. “EV drivers seek efficiency and convenience in how they charge their vehicles, including the ability to shop while they charge,” said Cathy Zoi, CEO of EVgo. “Today’s exciting announcement will make it even easier for Tesla drivers to top up while they grocery shop and run other errands, while driving greater utilization across our growing charging network.”

to allay drivers’ understandable concern about public charging. Now Lucid Motors has announced that “all Lucid Air reservations made by the end of 2021 will get complimentary access to unlimited charging of up to 350 kW at the Electrify America network for three years.” Electrify America is building a comprehensive nationwide network of DC fast charging stations. The network has over 600 charging sites live at last count, in almost every state, and some of the CCS stations can charge at a blazing 350 kW. The Lucid Air boasts an estimated EPA range of up to 517 miles, and it incorporates several advanced charging features. The new EV has a novel 900-volt architecture, and Lucid’s Wunderbox onboard charger is designed to ensure that charging always takes place at the quickest possible rate. Using EA’s fastest machines, Lucid claims that the Air can add up to 300 miles of charge in 20 minutes. Lucid says the Air will support bidirectional charging (at least when paired with the Lucid Connected Home Charging Station), enabling the car to be used as a backup power source. Lucid has obviously spent a lot of time thinking about charging. Even the Air’s charging port is “a thing of beauty, with a cover that slides elegantly out of the way for any CCS connector, and a light that illuminates to indicate charging status.”

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The European oil giants Total, BP and Shell have been buying up assets all along the EV charging value chain. The latest news is that Shell has agreed to buy 100% of the European charging network ubitricity. Founded in Berlin, ubitricity operates in a number of European countries, and claims to be the largest public EV charging network in the UK, with over 2,700 charge points (a 13% market share). The company also operates public charging networks in Germany and France, and has installed over 1,500 private charge points for European fleet customers. ubitricity specializes in integrating charging into existing street infrastructure such as lamp posts and bollards, a solution that could make EV ownership more attractive to city dwellers who don’t have private driveways or assigned parking spaces. “Our integration of EV charge points into existing on-street infrastructure makes EV charging easy and accessible for everyone who needs it, where they need it. Particularly in larger cities where there is limited access to off-street parking, this is the solution many people have been waiting for to allow them to transition to EV ownership,” said ubitricity CEO Lex Hartman. What’s behind the oil giants’ investments in EV charging? The optimist believes Shell et al when they say they are preparing for a transition to a post-petroleum future. Commenting on the ubitricity acquisition, István Kapitány, Executive Vice President of Shell Global Mobility, said, “We want to support the growing number of Shell customers who want to switch to an EV by making it as convenient as possible for them.” Shell has said that it hopes to become a net-zero-emissions business by 2050, and BP and a few other fossil fuel firms have made similar statements. The Financial Times reports that Shell is expected to release a plan to reach its net-zero goal at an upcoming strategy update. The skeptic (or conspiracy theorist?) wonders if the oil majors’ real aim is to gradually strangle the EV charging sector, in an attempt to make EVs less attractive than vehicles powered by hydrogen, which is made from fossil fuels. Shell already operates over 1,000 DC chargers at some 430 retail gas stations. It is also one of the world’s largest providers of hydrogen—it operates dozens of hydrogen fueling stations in Germany, and a few in the UK and California. FT opines that “while top leaders at [Shell] plan to accelerate spending into cleaner businesses, they are also wary of abandoning lucrative legacy hydrocarbon divisions too soon,” and notes that “demand for petrol and diesel is expected [by whom?] to remain robust for decades to come.”

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Image courtesy of Ubitricity

Oil companies buying up EV charging networks: Shell acquires ubitricity

5/12/21 9:41 PM

Image courtesy of TVA

THE INFRASTRUCTURE

Six major utilities team up to build comprehensive DC fast charging network Six of the eastern US’s largest major utilities have announced a plan to develop a seamless network of DC fast charging stations connecting major highway systems from the Atlantic Coast through the Midwest and South, and into the Gulf and Central Plains regions. The newly-formed Electric Highway Coalition is made up of American Electric Power, Dominion Energy, Duke Energy, Entergy, Southern Company and the Tennessee Valley Authority. The utilities are all taking steps to expand EV charging solutions within their service territories. The goal of the effort is to provide drivers with convenient charging options that enable long distance EV travel. Coalition members are considering sites along major highway routes with easy highway access and amenities for travelers. The aim is to get drivers charged and back on the road in approximately 20-30 minutes. The coalition says that other utilities are welcome to join the group and extend the reach of the network. “This is one of many strategic partnerships that TVA is building to increase the number of electric vehicles to well over 200,000 in the Tennessee Valley by 2028,” said TVA CEO Jeff Lyash. “EV adoption will spur jobs and economic investment in the region, keep refueling dollars in the local economy, reduce the region’s largest source of carbon emissions, and save drivers and businesses money.”

Tennessee plans statewide DC fast charging network The Tennessee Valley Authority and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation have partnered to develop a statewide fast charging network. The plan is to add approximately 50 new charging locations, one every 50 miles, along Tennessee’s Interstates and major highways. There are currently about 24 public fast charging locations in the state that support both the CCS and CHAdeMO charging standards. TVA says it will work with local power companies to deploy charging stations close to major highways, with access to amenities that drivers expect. Ryan Stanton, a spokesman for the state of Tennessee, told Electrek that the first chargers should be operational by 2022, and the state hopes to complete the entire project by 2023-2024. The project is expected to cost about $20 million. Approximately $5 million will come from the state’s Volkswagen Diesel Settlement Environmental Mitigation allocation, and the remainder will be funded by TVA, other program partners, and program participant cost shares. TVA, a federally owned corporation, is the country’s largest power provider, serving 10 million customers in 7 states. The company is not exactly considered an environmental leader. The Sierra Club recently listed TVA among many utilities that are “trying to greenwash their climate commitments,” and gave the company an F grade for its climate pledges. According to the Sierra Club, TVA has only committed to retire 17% of its coal plants by 2030, and is planning to add large amounts of new fossil fuel generation. The agency recently confirmed plans to build six new natural gas plants, in direct defiance of President Biden’s call to achieve net zero emissions in the power sector by 2035. However, we’ll take our victories where we can get them—the Sierra Club expressed support for TVA’s EV charging project. “It’s vital for the electric utility sector to invest in EV programs, so TVA’s commitment is an important first step to moving EVs into the fast lane of adoption, especially in a region that’s quickly becoming an important electric vehicle manufacturing hub,” said the Sierra Club’s Jonathan Levenshus.

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The IPT Group, a holding company that owns wireless charging solution manufacturer IPT Technology, has acquired the inductive charging technology portfolio Primove from Bombardier. “By acquiring Primove we’re complementing our existing IP and product portfolio and speeding up our product-to-market plans,” says IPT CEO Richard van den Dool. Both IPT Technology and Primove are conducting various wireless charging pilots, prototypes and proofs of concept. Primove’s Z-Move is a 3.6 kW charging solution for the light-duty car market that includes a metal detection and positioning system. The company plans to complete the development of Z-Move and implement a pilot in Barcelona at the end of 2021. IPT has been developing and installing wireless charging solutions (60-100 kW) for buses since 2004. Its first-generation charging solution was installed in Turin to charge 23 e-buses, and is still in daily operation. IPT’s third-generation Charge Bus technology is in operation in London and Madrid. “Primove has always focused on light-duty cars (power range from 3-22 kW) and heavy-duty applications (200 kW),” said CEO/COO Victor Hoynck van Papendrecht. “IPT’s focus has been on industrial mobility.” “Primove and IPT share a wealth of technology, market experience and installed base,” says Richard van den Dool. “Now that the global energy transition and change-over to battery-driven vehicles are taking off, we need to accelerate our product development. Our focus will move from the research, concept and prototype phase to developing serial products.”

Image courtesy of Efacec

Image courtesy of Primove

IPT Group acquires Primove wireless charging technology

Efacec expands and upgrades its line of smart chargers Efacec Power Solutions recently presented several new products and upgrades to existing lines. Efacec’s Level 2 Public Charger offers power levels from 11 kVA to 22 kVA, the ability to charge two EVs at once, smart charging features, over-the-air software updates, and optional payment terminal integration. The company says it has made the user interface simpler and more intuitive, and has simplified maintenance access. Efacec has also expanded its HV350 range of DC fast chargers. The HV350 G2’s customizable kiosk is designed to provide customers with a wide range of customization possibilities. It provides 350 kW at 500 A in continuous mode, simultaneous charging capability, smart charging features, over-the-air software updates, cybersecurity features, and remote maintenance. It is Plug and Chargeready and ISO 15118-compliant, and the support architecture meets Germany’s Eichrecht calibration law. Efacec’s new QC fast charger platform offers a modular design that allows progressive power upgrades from 60 to 120 kW and voltages up to 920 VDC. It can fast-charge 3 EVs simultaneously and/or alternated, with configurable outputs. In addition to the features of the HV350 range, the QC platform supports dynamic load management. Efacec’s Load Management System (LMS) allows customers to dynamically manage the use of power stations on site using smart meters, and enables integration with CPMS/OCPP and web-based HMI. Efacec’s R&D team has also developed a new digital charger and charging network management tool—EV Core Charging Point Management System, a digital solution designed to allow customers to manage their entire EV fleets. The OCPP-compliant system is highly customizable, and supports the integration of external systems.

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XL Fleet to provide 1,000 charging stations at UBS Arena, new home of the New York Islanders XL Fleet offers a range of electrification solutions, including electrified powertrains, EVSE, power management and fleet services. Now the company has partnered with UBS Arena and the New York Islanders to deploy and operate 1,000 public charging stations at the hockey team’s future home base. UBS Arena will open for the 2021-22 NHL season, and is expected to host some 150 major events annually. The site is strategically located near both LaGuardia and JFK airports. The charging site will be available not only to arena guests, but also to nearby fleets, which will be able to charge during off-peak hours. The new facility features sustainable technology, and has attained LEED V4 standards. XL Fleet plans to deploy and manage a suite of electrification infrastructure at the site, including solar power generation, energy storage and vehicle charging stations, and to equip and deploy fleets of electric vehicles for use by UBS Arena and the Islanders. Sports stadiums could prove to be excellent locations for mega-charging stations. They tend to be located near city centers, convenient to highways, they have plenty of parking and installed electrical capacity, and major sports leagues are keen to make their stadiums showcases for green technology. “This location provides an opportunity to deploy critical EV infrastructure in a very capital-efficient manner that can be replicated across similar facilities throughout the country,” said Tod Hynes, founder and President of XL Fleet. “XL Fleet’s ability to provide a full scope of electrification services will be a huge advantage for our patrons as well as the commercial and municipal fleets in the surrounding communities who could rely on this infrastructure,” said Hank Abate, President of Arena Operations at UBS Arena.

Image courtesy of Revel

THE INFRASTRUCTURE

Fast charging Superhub in Brooklyn will be the first of several across NYC If urban drivers who lack garages or assigned parking spaces are to go electric, some sort of easily accessible public charging infrastructure will need to be developed. One proposed solution is a network of local “superhubs” of DC fast chargers. Electric transportation company Revel is building just such a facility at the historic former Pfizer building in Brooklyn. The site, which the company said would go live this spring, will feature 30 chargers open to the public 24/7. It will be the first of a network of fast charging Superhubs that Revel plans to open across New York City. Revel launched a shared fleet of electric mopeds in 2018, and now operates in New York City, Washington DC, Miami and the California Bay Area. “We couldn’t be more excited to bring fast charging to our home borough of Brooklyn and get to work on the first of many Superhubs to come in 2021,” said Revel CEO and co-founder Frank Reig. Revel chose Tritium’s recently-launched RTM75 model for the first ten chargers at its Brooklyn site. The company plans to install upcoming Tritium fast charger models at the Superhub in the coming months, further increasing charging capacity and speed. “We’re thrilled to be partnering with Revel to install our first RTM75 chargers in the Americas,” said Mike Calise, Tritium’s President of the Americas. “Critical projects like this bring the convenience of DC fast charging to vibrant city neighborhoods, like Brooklyn, the most populous borough in New York City.”

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Rivian’s upcoming R1T pickup and R1S SUV are aimed squarely at the outdoorsy, adventurous set, and the company is building an exclusive charging network to match. The Rivian Adventure Network will be a nationwide network of DC fast chargers that connects cities on popular routes across the US and Canada, and also extends into remote destinations popular with hikers and outdoor sport fans. “Los Angeles to Tahoe. Manhattan to the Adirondacks. San Francisco to Seattle. I-70 to The Rockies. Michigan’s Upper Peninsula via I-75. California’s Hwy 395. The entire Blue Ridge Parkway from Shenandoah National Park down to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. All these routes and more will begin opening this year,” says Rivian. By the end of 2023, Rivian plans to have more than 3,500 fast chargers at over 600 sites, located on highways and main roads, often by cafés and shops. These DC fast chargers will be for Rivian owners only. Details on pricing and associated programs are to be revealed soon. Rivian says its Adventure Network will be powered by 100% renewable energy, and will feature automatic charging with no need for a card or app. “Just pull up and plug in.” Rivian has not said whether it will use the emerging Plug and Charge standard, or if it will implement a proprietary authentication/payment system, as Tesla has done. Charging rates will be “over 200 kW initially and 300 kW+ in the future.” Rivian is also working on a separate network of Waypoint chargers—Level 2 chargers at shopping centers, hotels, campsites, parks and other locations. These will be open to the public, and will offer a charging speed of 11.5 kW. The company plans to install over 10,000 Rivian Waypoints across the US and Canada through 2023. Some of the first locations have been announced—all 42 Colorado State Parks will have two Rivian Waypoints each, and installation will begin in July.

Images courtesy of Rivian

Rivian’s Adventure Network will include 3,500 exclusive DC fast chargers

For home charging, the company will offer the Rivian Wall Charger. Buyers can order the charger and set up installation when ordering their vehicles, and roll the cost into the vehicle financing. The Rivian Wall Charger is a weatherproof Level 2 charger, suitable for indoor or outdoor use. It delivers a charging speed of 11.5 kW, features WiFi connectivity for over-the-air updates, and comes with a 5-year warranty.

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THE INFRASTRUCTURE

is an on-demand mobile EV

charging network,

like UberEats for hungry EVs SparkCharge’s new platform lets drivers order up a fast charge anytime, anywhere By Charles Morris he EV ecosystem is a work in progress, and when it comes to charging infrastructure, there are some key pieces missing from the puzzle. There will surely be a need for some form of portable charging on demand, and this is the niche that SparkCharge is looking to fill with its new app platform, BoostEV. The company’s modular, portable system—called the Roadie—is designed to make DC fast charging mobile. Now, EV drivers can order a charge at the push of a button on a smartphone app the way you might order a rideshare vehicle—anytime, anywhere. SparkCharge co-founder and CEO Joshua Aviv spoke

Images courtesy of SparkCharge

with Charged back in 2019, when the Roadie was in pre-production, and the company was working with prototypes. Now SparkCharge has deployed its system with the first wave of customers. A recent appearance on Shark Tank that ended in a deal with celeb investors Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner brought the company an avalanche of publicity. In February, the company officially launched its new BoostEV platform in select cities—it’s now available in Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York City, Raleigh, Richmond, San Diego, San Francisco and Santa Cruz. Launch partners include Allstate Roadside, Spiffy and others who teamed up with SparkCharge to

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Q&A with co-founder and CEO Joshua Aviv create a quick and convenient charging service that can deliver a portable Roadie charging system to any location the driver desires. “When SparkCharge appeared on Shark Tank, I knew they were on the cusp of something game-changing, and this is it,” said Mark Cuban. “They have created a new, innovative EV charging infrastructure that eliminates the stress of range anxiety for all EV owners.” Charged recently sat down with Joshua for an update

on BoostEV, which he describes as “the app that lets electric vehicle owners charge their EVs anywhere with the click of a button—like UberEats or GrubHub for hungry EVs.” Q Charged: Congratulations on graduating from the

prototype phase into production. Tell us more about your new business model.

A Josh: Now we’re in full production, we’re rocking and

rolling. The factory in Buffalo is shipping out units every day now. That’s basically fully operational. We can ship thousands of units a year now. When it comes to the business model, I think previously people saw us as a roadside use case, and while that’s true, BoostEV is not just roadside—it’s on-demand. It’s charging as a service, or CAAS. Anytime, anywhere,

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THE INFRASTRUCTURE Images courtesy of SparkCharge

push a button, get range delivered. One of the things we realized as we were growing as a company, was that the way that people live, the way the technology grows, a lot of things end up in this convenience standpoint. For example, with Instacart, my grocery store now lives on my phone. With Uber, my chauffer lives on my phone. With Grubhub and DoorDash, my delivery guy lives on my phone. So we started out with this notion that we want the charging station to live on your phone now. We realized that we had this amazing core piece of technology, the hardware, the Roadie, and that if we wanted to really solve the problem of infrastructure, we needed to be able to get it in the hands of as many people as possible, as quickly as possible. We looked at the way that other industries have gone. Almost every industry has gone with this convenience on-demand approach. And we said, “Well, we’re in the perfect position to do that for electric vehicles.” I remember the defining moment—we were talking to an EV owner and he said, “Every time I charge my car at a Supercharger or at another charging station,” it was a planned trip. “You have to plan your day, your journey around going there.” So we said, “How can we bring freedom back to EV ownership?” And the way to do that is to put that power back in the hands of EV owners to where now it’s not a planned experience. It’s not a planned part of your day. It’s “Hey, I’m literally pulling into work. I want an extra 100 miles, 50 miles.” I pull out my phone and I get it done. It’s now becoming as easy and simplistic as ordering food. I want to be able to take my phone out, no matter

Almost every industry has gone with this convenience on-demand approach. And we said, “Well, we’re in the perfect position to do that for electric vehicles.” where I am, and be able to push a button and have someone come charge my car. That’s why we started developing BoostEV, and we already had the technology to go along with it. So, it was a great platform for us to build out, and once we built it, people kind of resonated with it. 90% of our partner companies aren’t roadside service. They’re OEMs, they’re insurance, they’re utilities, they’re mom-and-pop companies. Some of the people that we work with that are covering these cities, previously, they were Uber Eats or Uber drivers, Lyft drivers, and they said, “Well, I can be delivering goods or delivering people, but now with BoostEV, I can start delivering range, delivering electricity to people.” So, we’ve had people join the platform and basically start a business delivering range instead of goods or services.

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Basically, once you have the equipment, you’re on the network. You can start delivering range to anybody in that area.

Q Charged: Can you tell us how the driver network

and pricing system works?

A Josh: Customers on BoostEV would be EV owners, but our partner companies that join BoostEV are businesses. The quickest analogy to think of would be: if you downloaded Grubhub or Uber Eats, you see a bunch of restaurants, you see a bunch of businesses. With us, it’s almost the same thing, except you’re seeing all these businesses that are now servicing EV owners and they’re delivering range. We’ve got providers in about 12 cities right now. The app is live, so people can download the app and then actually start requesting the range on that day. Each business sets their own pricing, and we’ve seen pricing go as little as 10 bucks per charge. Some will set a flat price, and some will do it based on distance. If you’re a hundred miles away from where they’re located, they may be a fee. We don’t take any percentage of the fee and we don’t charge any of the businesses or the EV owners to join the app. It’s just pay-per-usage, no monthly fees or anything. We set it up to be exactly like you were ordering a burrito online. You just pay for what you need. Our goal is to be the fastest-growing EV network in the country. With regular charging stations, or what we like to call legacy infrastructure, you have to get the permits, do the RFP, do the construction, put the pole in the ground, get it set up, order the utility, yada, yada, yada. With us, it’s basically take it out of the box, plug it in.

And we can be in any city that a business wants to operate in. So, right now, if you said, “Well, Josh, how quickly can you expand to the Tampa/St Pete, Florida area?” If Charged wanted to service EV owners in the Tampa Bay area (the location of Charged HQ), I could have your unit tomorrow, and then Tampa Bay is on the map. Now Tampa Bay EV owners can start getting range delivered. The plan is to add new cities monthly, and our goal is to be solidly in about 20 to 25 cities by the end of this year. Anyone can request to start an area. We go through a vetting process—we’re trying to figure out how many EVs are in that area to decide whether you have enough demand, but any business can request to start operating in an area. Q Charged: So for example, say I have a towing

business and I want to sign up, what’s the process like? Do I buy the equipment? Do I lease it from you? How’s that work? A Josh: You can buy, lease, or finance the equipment

from us. Basically, once you have the equipment, you’re on the network. You can start delivering range to anybody in that area. Q Charged: It’s a scalable unit, so how many stackable battery packs do you think a provider will have? A Josh: We have people who go all out—they have

roughly 12 units that they’re deploying on multiple fleets across a city. If you’re a tow-truck company, you’ve probably got at least two or three different trucks driving around. And then we have your mom-and-pops that are out there with maybe five or six units rolling around and servicing EV owners. Q Charged: The last time we talked, the hardware

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THE INFRASTRUCTURE

had a CHAdeMO connector, and you were using the Tesla adapter for Teslas. Is that still what you’re working with? A Josh: Yes, that’s what we’re working with at the

moment. Servicing Teslas, Nissans, a couple of Mitsubishis sprinkled throughout there. Q Charged: What do you think will be the common

use cases?

A BoostEV is not roadside-focused. If you run out of

range, you can definitely have it delivered via BoostEV, but this really is an on-demand charging-as-a-service platform. It’s meant to be able to charge an EV whenever you want it—at home, at the grocery store, outside of Starbucks, when you’re at the mall, sitting on your couch in your living room. “Hey, Alexa, charge my car 50 miles.” Someone comes and shows up in your driveway. We’re really focusing this on convenience charging. Yes, we work with roadside companies, but BoostEV is not a roadside-focused app. For example, you’re at the grocery store and you say, “I’m going to be in here for at least 30 minutes to an hour,” push a button on your phone and when you come out from the grocery store, you’ve got your range. I’m going into a mall, need to charge the car. I’m visiting a friend, they don’t have a charger at their house, push a button, it comes to me. I’m at work, they don’t offer charging, push a button, it’s already there, go out, it’s done. One of the things when companies talk to us is, “Well, the problem with legacy infrastructure is if I install one charging station, I can charge one car. Maybe I can charge two if I have two nozzles.” The moment a second or third car shows up, there’s a wait. Now I’ve got to install more poles. Now I’ve got to take up more space. With BoostEV, every parking spot, every location, is a charging station. We’re going to start

Images courtesy of SparkCharge

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BoostEV is not roadside-focused. If you run out of range, you can definitely have it delivered via BoostEV, but this really is an ondemand charging-as-a-service platform. working with cities, so you could be at Times Square and park your car on the street, scan a QR code on the pay meter, and now that’s a charging station, someone’s coming to charge your car. Literally anywhere you drive your car, anywhere you park your car, that is now a charging station—that’s the power of BoostEV. A network that’s on demand and lives on your phone. There is no need for that legacy infrastructure. You can park your car and charge your car. Q Charged: Give me a quick recap of the hardware.

What’s the typical charging speed, and how much energy storage can you get per stackable unit?

A Josh: Charging speed, you can get one mile every 60

seconds. So we’re DC fast charging at 20 kilowatts. The average provider’s carrying around at least 50-plus miles

of range. So, on average, you can go anywhere from 10 miles all the way up to a hundred if you need it. It’s portable and you can literally fit it in your trunk. Q Charged: Tell me a bit about the Shark Tank

experience. What was that like?

A Josh: We applied in January, filmed it in August, and

we were blessed to be on the season premiere in October—talk about a whirlwind experience. To get two sharks has been extremely gratifying, extremely helpful. Working with Mark Cuban has been absolutely amazing. Working with Lori has been absolutely amazing. I think everybody has an interesting experience going on the show, but ours has been overwhelmingly positive. For us, it was really gratifying because when we went on the show, we told them we want to bring electric vehicles into the millions of houses that Shark Tank reaches. We want to start that conversation. And not only do we want to start that conversation, but we want to have that conversation around tearing down barriers to EV adoption, and I think we did a really good job of that. 3.6 million people tuned in that night, and I think we’ve had another 4 million that have shown up through social media, watching the YouTube reruns, the Instagram shares. Almost every day we get hit up, someone’s like, “I saw you on Shark Tank. I saw you on TV. I saw you on Facebook.” It just never ends. So it’s been a huge positive outpouring that we’re blessed to take part in.

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A hand full of wild cards By Charles Morris very so-called EV expert gets asked this question: What year will be the long-awaited Year of the EV? When will the Tipping Point, the Killer App, the Upturn in the S-curve, arrive? Those who really are experts must deploy a version of the same answer: it depends. Several important milestones have recently been reached: battery costs have breached the magical $100/kWh level, or will soon, and the total cost of ownership of an EV is now generally lower than that of a legacy vehicle; governments and automakers have started setting dates for the end of ICE sales; the US has rejoined the community of nations committed to addressing the climate crisis; commercial fleet operators have finished their years-long EV pilots, and are starting to place substantial orders; and electric versions of the mighty Pickup Truck are in the pipeline. In most markets, however, EVs still make up a small fraction of new car sales, and there’s no technological breakthrough that can change that overnight. Cars and trucks aren’t smartphone apps (yet), and shepherding them from design studios to factories to dealerships to driveways is a years-long process. Even if one could calculate how long it will take for the industry to work its way through all these steps, it would still be foolhardy to forecast a date for the triumph of electrons, because there are too many unpredictable variables in the equation. As much as we might like to place a bet, we’re holding a hand full of wild cards, whose value we can only guess it. Wild card #1: Automakers. I’ve often said that the tipping point for EVs won’t be any tech breakthrough, but rather the moment when automakers stop thinking of EVs as an R&D project, and start thinking of them as a profit center. There are signs that this is beginning to happen at VW, and possibly GM, but automakers are unpredictable, and many of them have reversed their policies on electrification before, like an inept driver who alternately floors the gas pedal and slams on the brakes. Nissan and BMW were EV pioneers, but later lost interest. Toyota started the whole thing with the Prius, then became naysayer #1, and is now hinting that it may join the party after all. GM was likewise for EVs, then against them, and now they’re for them again. The bottom line: if legacy automakers want to start selling EVs, they’ll have to tell their customers to stop buying ICE vehicles, and that they are not (yet) willing to do. There’s a new crop of EV startups, and one or more of these could become players. However, some of the new kids will surely go belly-up, and it’s hard to predict which ones. Wild card #2: Potential bottlenecks. For EVs to start moving off the lots in volume, every link in an incredibly complex supply chain will need to be functioning smoothly. It’s pos-

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sible that, a couple of years from now, consumers will be demanding EVs, but automakers will be unable to supply them fast enough. Battery cells are emerging as a major bottleneck, and dealerships have long been recognized as another. Wild card #3: Related trends in tech and society. Electrification is moving forward alongside several interconnected trends: autonomy, connectivity, new ownership models, and renewable energy adoption. Progress in any of these areas will give a boost to EV demand, and vice versa. The wildest card here is autonomy—once self-driving robotaxis become a reality, owning a gas car will quickly become like owning a horse, as Elon Musk has quipped. But neither he nor any of the other industry eggheads can predict when that’s going to happen. Wild card #4: Governments. Most democratic governments are generally supportive of e-mobility, but their efforts tend to be unfocused and inefficient. Also, like automakers, they’re fickle—here in the US, we had some years of support followed by hostility, and now support again. The good news is that, while government regulation was the main impetus for EV progress in the early days, it’s now technology that’s driving the bus. From now on, governments may be able to apply the brakes, but they won’t be able to stop the train. Wild card #5: Consumers and infrastructure. I’m not worried that consumers will cling to gasoline. If automakers produce EVs in the segments buyers want (pickups and SUVs), explain their advantages and make them cool, car buyers will want them. No, the problem is that for some drivers, an EV still isn’t a practical option. If you’re one of the millions of car owners who doesn’t have the possibility of installing a charger at home (or at work), you won’t be happy with an EV (as my adventures with public charging, detailed in earlier columns, have convinced me). Also, if your use case includes frequent long road trips, you may well be skeptical. I think this is a transitional problem, but for the next few years, it will be a problem, and I haven’t seen a viable solution. It’s also important to note that (to paraphrase William Gibson) the future will not be evenly distributed. It’s already arrived in Norway, but it remains a distant rumor in many parts of the world. We may see the development of a twotiered auto industry, in which automakers sell EVs in affluent regions while dumping their obsolete gas-guzzlers in developing markets. Electrification will also happen at different speeds in different segments. Ironically, entry-level passenger cars may be one of the last segments to electrify—consumers may still be buying ICE cars for some time after all the buses and delivery trucks go electric. With all these wild cards in the deck (and there are others), only a true gambler would make any firm predictions. The only thing I feel confident about is that the next few years will not be boring.

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CHARGED Electric Vehicles Magazine - Issue 54 March/April 2021

Articles inside

Tennessee plans statewide DC fast charging network IPT Group acquires Primove wireless charging technology

EVgo makes more of its fast charging network available to Tesla drivers

Oil companies buying up EV charging networks: Shell acquires ubitricity

Efacec expands and upgrades its line of smart chargers XL Fleet to provide 1,000 charging stations at New York Islanders arena

Six major utilities team up to build comprehensive DC fast charging network