CHARGED Electric Vehicles Magazine - Issue 60 April/June 2022

F-150

ELECTRIC VEHICLES MAGAZINE

ISSUE 60 | APR–JUN 2022 | CHARGEDEVS.COM

Lightning

p. 52

FORD’S MOST VALUED MODEL IS NOW ELECTRIC BRUSHED AC MOTORS IN EVS p. 22

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COMBINING TWO CHEMISTRIES IN ONE PACK p. 28

THE RAW MATERIALS CRUNCH p. 36

THE PROMISE OF WIRELESS CHARGING p. 72

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THE TECH CONTENTS

22 Brushed AC motors

22

28 Dual-chemistry battery packs 36 The raw materials crunch

28

current events 12

Proterra’s ProDrive to use Eaton’s 4-speed medium-duty EV transmission Intertek expands service offerings at North American EV testing lab

13 14

12

Marelli launches a wireless BMS for EVs Arteco to release new coolant for EVs Northern Graphite acquires graphite mines in Canada and Namibia

15 16

Marposs’s new leak-testing machine for sealed batteries GM will use NI’s SystemLink software in battery engineering process Modine launches new thermal management system for commercial EVs

17

Heraeus’s new copper ribbon for battery laser bonding Delta-Q ships its four-millionth charger, wins grant for on-board chargers

18 20

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Nano One buys North American LFP cell production facility Eaton launches new battery disconnect unit for EVs Over 300 battery gigafactories in the global pipeline

21

VW to replace existing electric platforms with new Scalable Systems Platform

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THE VEHICLES CONTENTS

52 F-150 Lightning

52

Ford’s most valued model is now electric

current events 42

Xcel Energy to pilot electric bucket trucks Orange EV unveils third generation of its electric yard trucks

43 44

Thousands petition Toyota to cease anti-EV lobbying efforts Buick to become an all-electric brand by end of decade

42

Volvo Trucks to deploy 80 electric sewer cleaner trucks in Europe

45 46

CEO Mary Barra: GM is playing a long EV game, and intends to win Rev Fire Group unveils electric fire truck Food distributor Sysco to buy up to 800 Freightliner electric Class 8 trucks

47 48

J.D. Power survey: Consumers’ interest in EVs is growing EPA announces $500 million in funding for electric school buses Volta Trucks details upcoming US launch of its Class 7 electric truck

49

Solo’s new SD1 is a 500-mile electric truck designed for autonomous driving

46

Volkswagen Group launches Scout brand to build electric pickups and SUVs

50

Hyundai discontinues Ioniq hybrid and PHEV States, NGOs, UAW all sue USPS over plans to buy gas delivery trucks

51

GM cuts prices for 2023 Bolt EV and EUV, boosts ad spending

IDENTIFICATION STATEMENT CHARGED Electric Vehicles Magazine (ISSN: 24742341) April-June 2022, Issue #60 is published quarterly 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 72 CONTENTS

72 The promise of wireless charging Smaller batteries, longer battery life, fewer charging stations

64

current events 64

CharIN officially launches Megawatt Charging System for commercial EVs Easelink tests automated taxi stand charging in Austria

65 66

Schneider Electric acquires EV Connect EV-makers ask US government to fund heavy-duty charging infrastructure EOS Linx to expand EV charging network at Texas gas stations

67 68

68

New solar project will power 100% of Electrify America’s network Blink Charging acquires SemaConnect SparkCharge raises $23 million to scale its on-demand EV charging service

69 70

White House proposes standards for national charging network Schneider’s end-to-end solution integrates with building energy management The Stack Charge plans California charging hub with retail and restaurants

71

Holman invests in EV management software provider AmpUp ABB E-mobility opens its largest DC fast charger production facility in Italy

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Publisher Christian Ruoff Associate Publisher Laurel Zimmer Senior Editor Charles Morris

Contributing Writers Matt Cousineau Jeffrey Jenkins Charles Morris Christian Ruoff Tom Spendlove John Voelcker

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

Account Executives Jeremy Ewald Cover Image Courtesy of Ford Technology Editor Jeffrey Jenkins Graphic Designers 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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Publisher’s Note Are there political headwinds ahead for the US EV industry?

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Here at Charged, we believe that EVs are much better products—in many different ways—than ICE vehicles. Sooner or later, everyone will come to this conclusion, and promoting the acceleration of electrification shouldn’t be politically divisive. In reality however, left-leaning governments around the world generally tend to be more supportive of EVs than right-leaning ones.

I say “generally” because support for EVs doesn’t always divide along partisan lines, especially at the US state level. Several red states are investing in public charging infrastructure and implementing other pro-EV measures. Industry leaders are also politically diverse. By and large, I think that most execs’ decisions are driven by their company’s stock price much more than any political agenda.

They tend to say politically neutral things in public and then quietly do whatever is in their company’s short-term best interest.

The obvious exception is Tesla CEO Elon Musk who, oddly, is escalating his public feud with President Biden and other Dems—going as far as now endorsing individual Republicans. I often wonder if he would be so brazen if demand for new Teslas wasn’t so far ahead of supply. Business leaders with ample supply, trying to sell as much product as possible, tend to keep their political opinions to themselves. “Republicans buy sneakers too,” as Michael Jordon famously said.

The big question is, how will big shifts in political power affect the EV industry? The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law authorized $7.5 billion of investment in EV charging infrastructure, and the Biden Administration is currently developing a plan to distribute that money. But Republicans are widely expected to gain a majority in the US House and/or Senate in November. Will they try to reverse or water down the administration’s infrastructure programs? As we reported in February, the administration seems to have a sense of urgency, and the complex process of getting the money flowing has been proceeding faster than is usual for programs of this sort.

The Supreme Court recently ruled to roll back the authority of the EPA to enforce environmental regulations. By the time you read this, federal emissions and fuel economy standards, which have been major factors in encouraging (some say coercing) automakers to produce EVs, could be in danger.

US politics is in flux, and automakers are caught in the middle. The auto industry is a highly regulated one in all major markets, and always has been.

Some politicians might argue for no regulation at all, but in the real world what companies want is consistent regulation. Their product cycles are long, and the last thing they want is to have to constantly redesign their vehicles to maintain a level playing field with their competitors.

Could further shifts in the political wind derail the EV revolution? My take is, probably not—even if they wanted to, politicos won’t be able to prolong the ICE Age much longer. Corporate acceptance of EVs in the past few years has changed significantly, and I think the biggest driver, by far, has been the stock market.

Again, most execs’ decisions are driven by their stock prices, and the new conventional wisdom is that the stock market will reward companies who appear to be the real EV leaders. This is why we’re seeing the majority of auto companies scramble to figure out how to build and sell as many great EVs as possible. Even with the current economic volatility, I think that this new stock market attitude towards the EV industry is overwhelmingly more motivating to corporations than any political posturing or environment-related goals.

Christian Ruoff | Publisher EVs are here. Try to keep up.

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Image courtesy of Proterra

THE TECH

Proterra’s ProDrive to use Eaton’s 4-speed medium-duty EV transmission Proterra plans to use an EV transmission made by power management company Eaton’s eMobility business.

Eaton’s 4-speed medium-duty transmission will be installed in ProDrive—a Proterra drivetrain used in its ZX5 electric transit buses. The company says the transmission has “electric gearshift actuation that enables manufacturers to use smaller, more efficient motors.”

“Our 4-speed transmission provides uncompromised launch-ability on grade and has shift points to keep the electric motor operating in its most efficient region while drivability and vehicle safety is taken into account,” said Julie Marshaus, Eaton’s Manager of New Product Introductions, ePowertrain.

The transmission is composed of a lightweight countershaft gearbox offering a torque capacity up to 1,200 Nm (885 lb-ft). Eaton says its helical gears “ensure smooth, low-noise operation and a shifting strategy designed to extend range and battery life.”

According to Eaton, “Road tests have shown a 20% to 30% efficiency improvement in energy consumption under normal driving conditions compared with a direct-drive transmission, and a 10% to 15% improvement compared with a current 2-speed solution.”

Intertek expands service offerings at North American EV testing lab Intertek, a Total Quality Assurance provider to industrial firms, has expanded the services on offer at its lab in Plymouth, Michigan in order to “meet the auto industry’s increasing demand for safe and reliable testing for evolving EV and EVSE technologies.”

The company says its Plymouth facility offers “some of the most extensive EV battery and EVSE testing capabilities in North America to assist automotive OEM and tier suppliers.”

The facility’s footprint has been doubled, to 200,000 square feet.

Testing capabilities and equipment include: • A 55,000 pound-force shaker for use with large EV component testing • Battery cycler capability to 1, 200 V/600 kW • A new EVSE emulator for IEC 61851-24 certifications • Multiple reach-in and walk-in environmental chambers • Specific areas for salt, dust, and BSR testing “Advances in electrification technologies in the automotive industry and the accelerated global adoption of EVs have led to an increase in both industry vehicle development and consumer demand,” said Gavin Campbell, President, Intertek Transportation Technologies. “As an early adopter of and pioneer in EV testing, Intertek’s continued investment in the Plymouth location to bring in additional state-of-the-art equipment and innovate our offerings underscores our commitment to deliver best-in-class testing and certification services to our automotive customers as their needs evolve.”

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Image courtesy of Marelli

Marelli launches a wireless BMS for EVs Global automotive supplier Marelli has introduced a wireless battery management system for EVs that will be available beginning in the second quarter of 2022.

The Wireless Battery Management System (wBMS) offers wireless communication between the batteries and the control unit. The company says, “Compared to previous wired distributed solutions, the new wBMS reduces the wiring harness by 90% and simplifies the battery cell construction and installation.”

The wBMS is available with software that estimates the states of charge, health and power for each battery cell.

“Marelli designed both the wBMS and the Wired BMS with identical base architectures, supported by two different ways of communication and interfaces,” said Head

of Power Electronics Technology at Marelli’s Vehicle Electrification Division Dr. Razvan Panati. “In that way our technology can be applied across multiple vehicle platforms with minimal change. This flexibility of the solution guarantees significant reduction in engineering costs and allows Marelli to make this high-end technology affordable for the mass market.”

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THE TECH

Image courtesy of Arteco

Northern Graphite acquires graphite mines in Canada and Namibia

Arteco to release new coolant for EVs Arteco, an automotive and industrial coolant and heat transfer fluid company, has launched a new coolant for EVs, which is designed for indirect cooling.

Freecor EV Milli 10 is composed of inhibitors and stabilizers that give it a low electrical conductivity of less than 100 µS/cm. It is based on Organic Additive Technology (OAT) and includes corrosion, boiling and frost protection.

It also compensates for brazing flux in aluminum parts with CAB brazing flux by increasing the compatibility between the coolant and aluminum parts produced through CAB. The company says it is “the first coolant of its kind to compensate for aluminum CAB brazing flux.”

“A number of battery-electric vehicles require reduced electrical conductivity to enhance the safety of the driver,” said General Manager of Arteco Alexandre Moireau.

“This is where our new BEV coolant Freecor EV Milli 10 plays an important role.”

Graphite mining and processing company Northern Graphite has completed the acquisition of two graphite mines.

Northern Graphite acquired the Lac des lles (LDI) mine in Quebec from a subsidiary of Imerys. The mine has been operating for over 20 years, and the company says it will produce up to 15,000 tons per year of graphite concentrate during the next two to three years.

Northern also purchased the Okanjande graphite deposit and the Okorusu processing plant, both in Namibia, from a subsidiary of Imerys and its joint venture partner. The company says it “intends to evaluate building a new processing plant adjacent to the Okanjande deposit based on its large measured and indicated hard rock resources in order to produce 100,000 to 150,000 tons per year of graphite concentrate to meet rapidly growing EV and battery demand.”

The company plans to invest about $14 million in a new tailings facility at the Okanjande site and modifications to the Okorusu processing plant designed to improve throughput, recovery and flake size distribution.

Formerly a fluorspar mine, the Okoruso plant has been retrofitted to process graphite. Northern expects it to resume production in 2023 at a rate of about 30,000 tons per year.

“Northern will be one of very few significant western graphite producers, and looks forward to executing the second part of its business strategy, which is to rapidly expand production and develop the capacity to produce anode material for use in EVs/batteries in both North America and Europe,” said Northern Graphite CEO Gregory Bowes.

The company also plans to begin production at its Bissett Creek, Ontario site at a rate of 25,000 to 40,000 tons per year, and says it will expand production to a rate of 80,000 to 100,000 tons per year. According to Northern, “An independent study estimates that Bissett Creek will have the highest margin of any existing or proposed graphite deposit due to it having the highest quality concentrates, a very favorable location and simple metallurgy.”

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Marposs, a measurement, inspection and test technology company, has announced a new patent-pending machine for leak-testing batteries that can detect solvents used in the production of lithium-ion cells, including DMC, DEC, EMC and PP. In contrast to leak-testing systems that use helium as a tracer gas and don’t test the final seal, the Marposs machine relies on electrolyte tracing to perform the leak test after sealing. The machine is available in versions designed for cylindrical, button, prismatic and pouch cells.

The pouch cell version needs tooling to prevent swelling when the vacuum is performed.

The new machine features automatic contamination detection and cleaning cycles, safety verification to pre-

Image courtesy of Marposs

Marposs’s new leak-testing machine for sealed batteries

vent cross-contamination, a system for sorting the good batteries from leaking batteries, and a one-second-percell cycle time for button cell batteries.

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THE TECH

GM will use NI’s SystemLink software in battery engineering process Image courtesy of GM

GM is planning to use software from battery testing specialist NI to reach its Vision Zero goals: zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion.

At the opening keynote of the NI Connect 2022 conference in Austin, GM Director of Battery Cell Engineering Steve Tarnowsky talked about how the company is planning to reach the goals, the importance of batteries for its plans, its Ultium EV platform, and how it is working together with NI. GM plans to have about $35 billion invested in EVs and AVs by 2025, and has big plans to scale up EV production.

Testing and manufacturing batteries produces enormous amounts of data. To manage this mountain, GM will use a long-term solution based on NI’s SystemLink software platform, which Tarnowsky said helps to reduce risk, perform engineering work more efficiently and reduce the time needed to reach valuable insights. “We’re working with NI on a long-term sustainable solution that allows us to connect all the battery test data to quickly develop the insights that we need,” said Tarnowsky. “The solution must be secure, must be scalable, and it needs to be open.”

Tarnowsky added that NI’s SystemLink will provide data security through secure storage and controlling access, scalability through the maximization of automation and openness through some open-source software.

The system is built with 80% commercial off-the-shelf technology, allowing GM’s engineers to use open-source systems, different databases and programming languages for the customization needed to analyze data quickly.

Modine launches new thermal management system for commercial EVs Thermal management system and component firm Modine Manufacturing has launched a new thermal management system product line designed for commercial EVs. The line includes the EVantage Battery Thermal Management System (BTMS) and the EVantage Electronics Cooling Package (ECP). The BTMS has a multi-stage cooling and heating system that the company says “optimizes the temperature range for an entire bank of batteries with a single unit while minimizing power draw.”

The ECP has a multi-zone cooling design for maintaining the fluid temperatures of the traction motor and power electronics circuits. The company says “EVantage ECPs are designed to specification, with small to large fan arrays that operate only when required to minimize power draw.”

Both the BTMS and ECP include Modine’s proprietary heat exchanger technology, control through CAN bus communication, and a pre-programmed controller for automated operation. Both are available as standard systems or tailored to customer needs.

“By addressing our customers’ ever-evolving heat load and environmental requirements, the EVantage solutions deliver the best possible performance for batteries and power electronics while ensuring safer commercial EVs through intelligent management of thermals during charging and vehicle operation,” said Modine VP and General Manager of Advanced Thermal Systems Gina Bonini.

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Image courtesy of Heraeus

Heraeus Electronics has introduced a new copper ribbon designed for high-current power devices and battery packages.

The company says much of the equipment for ultrasonic wedge and wedge wire bonding can be adjusted to work with ribbons.

PowerCu Soft Laser Ribbons are intended for the laser bonding of wire onto battery terminals and DCB substrates as well as the laser bonding of wire onto copper terminals in power electronics modules. The PowerCu Soft Laser Ribbons permit module operation temperatures above 250 degrees Celsius.

According to the company, the rough surface on one side of the PowerCu Soft Laser Ribbons provides a more reliable coupling of the laser beam to the copper surface than standard copper bonding ribbons.

Delta-Q ships its four-millionth charger, wins grant for onboard chargers EV and industrial battery charger company Delta-Q Technologies says it has shipped four million chargers. “With each charger representing the potential to save one metric ton of emissions, this significant milestone equates to four million metric tons of carbon emissions saved since the company’s founding,” says the firm.

In April, Delta-Q received a $300,000 grant from the CleanBC Go Electric Advanced Research and Commercialization (ARC) program. CleanBC is a climate action plan led by the government of British Columbia.

Delta-Q plans to use the grant to develop a product line of high-power and high-voltage on-board chargers for commercial and industrial EVs.

Image courtesy of Delta-Q

Heraeus’s new copper ribbon for battery laser bonding

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Image courtesy of JMBM

THE TECH

Nano One buys North American LFP cell production facility Battery cathode materials specialist Nano One has announced the acquisition of Johnson Matthey Battery Materials (JMBM), a Canadian company that operates one of the few LFP cathode production facilities in North America.

Nano One will acquire all of the outstanding shares of JMBM for a total of $10.25 million Canadian ($8 million US). The deal includes the company’s LFP battery production capacity in Candiac, Quebec.

Automakers are showing a growing interest in LFP battery cells, as they tend to be cheaper than those using NMC and other chemistries, and use no controversial cobalt. Most of the cells using LFP are currently produced in China, so an LFP facility in North America could be a strategic asset.

JMBM has been providing lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode material to “the lithium-ion battery sector for both automotive and non-automotive applications for a select group of customers.” Its facility currently has a fairly small capacity of 2,400 tons per year, but the production lines only occupy about 10% of the 400,000 square-foot property.

Electrek’s Fred Lambert called the acquisition “good news, since Nano One has deeper pockets and has been developing new production processes for a variety of battery chemistries, including LFP cells.” Hopefully Nano One can help to build a more substantial LFP supply chain in North America.

“The rapidly expanding need for responsibly produced cathode materials in North America presents an opportunity for Nano One to deploy its technology and become a leader,” said Nano One CEO Dan Blondal. “Experienced employees are at the core of this deal and will help fast-track Nano One’s learning curve. The facility is in Greater Montreal and strategically located in proximity to employees, international airports and major port facilities. It is a critical link in the mines-to-mobility initiative. This complements Nano One’s technology innovation center and team in Burnaby, British Columbia, and is a perfect base for the advancement, expansion and acceleration of our commercialization strategy.”

“We have worked with Nano One on a number of projects over the last year, and having seen their innovations, we believe they have the potential to develop the Candiac site in the best way possible,” said Liam Condon, Chief Executive of Johnson Matthey.

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Image courtesy of Eaton

THE TECH

Over 300 battery gigafactories in the global pipeline Eaton launches new battery disconnect unit for EVs Eaton has introduced a new battery disconnect unit (BDU) for EVs that acts as an on/off switch to the battery for different EV operating modes such as charging and driving.

The BDU can be linked to Eaton’s Breaktor circuit protection technology, which provides current switching and resettable bidirectional short-circuit protection.

The company says, “Eaton’s Breaktor circuit protection technology enables up to 350 kW DC fast charging when used to protect and switch the DC fast-charge circuit, allowing EVs to charge in 15 minutes or less.”

“Our Breaktor circuit protection technology’s self-triggering design, diagnostic electronics and mirror contact help achieve BDU functional safety goals,” said Global Product Strategy Manager for Eaton’s eMobility business Kevin Calzada. “With its integrated coil driver, economizer, and the sensing/triggering circuit, Breaktor circuit protection technology also reduces battery management system cost and complexity.”

According to Eaton, “Current EVs rely on one of three traditional BDU configurations: fuse and contactor; pyro fuse and contactor; or fuse, pyro fuse and contactor all used together in a single BDU.” The company says a BDU linked with Breaktor tech reduces the need for up to 15 components, including pyro and thermal fuses as well as contactors.

“Our BDU combined with our Breaktor circuit protection technology provides everything needed, in a compact and efficient package, to protect the vehicle and occupants,” said Calzada.

As EV demand steadily grows, automakers and their suppliers are wisely hustling to increase battery production capacity—preferably close to their auto plants and markets. Benchmark Mineral Intelligence reports that there are currently over 300 battery gigafactories in the construction or planning stages around the world.

This represents some 6,388 GWh worth of battery capacity, a 68% increase compared to the figure a year ago.

Western companies are racing to catch up with China—North America has added 11 gigafactories to its pipeline since this time last year, and Europe has added 8.

Joint ventures between automakers and battery suppliers have been major drivers to this growth—14 of the 23 North American gigafactories in the current pipeline are wholly or jointly owned by automakers.

GM is investing over $7 billion in four Michigan manufacturing sites, much of it aimed at increasing battery cell capacity. Ford is laying out $11.4 billion to build three battery plants in Tennessee and Kentucky, and is working on another battery plant with JV partners in Turkey. Stellantis has partnered with LG to build a cell factory in Ontario.

China remains the dragon of the industry—some 75% of all facilities tracked in Benchmark’s Gigafactory Assessment are in China. By 2030, the country is expected to have 226 battery plants in operation, representing some 4,500 GWh of annual production, or 70% of global capacity.

“Within the last year, with a push to achieve net zero goals and major OEMs and automakers looking to accelerate the electrification of their businesses, announcements for new gigafactories have picked up pace, with Benchmark adding over 100 new cell plants to its assessment since April 2021,” says Benchmark analyst Hanisha Tirumalasetty.

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Image courtesy of VW

VW to replace MEB and PPE electric platforms with new Scalable Systems Platform Volkswagen plans to introduce a new EV, the ID.4 sedan, which is expected to go into production in 2026, and will be built on a new platform.

VW’s new Scalable Systems Platform (SSP) is a skateboard-style architecture that Volkswagen Group Chairman Herbert Diess says will replace the existing Modularen Elektrik Baukasten (MEB) structure as well as both the J1 and Premium Platform Electric (PPE) platforms developed by Audi and Porsche.

Other VW brands, including Lamborghini, SEAT, Škoda and International Scout, will also use the new platform.

“The next generation of our hardware platforms will allow us to reduce complexity over time, as we will consolidate our existing platform to one architecture for the entire e-product portfolio, from entry-level to top-of-the-range, from 85 to 850 kW,” Diess said.

The MEB platform used by VW’s existing ID. models uses a 400 V architecture, but the SSP will be able to support systems at up to 800 V. This will enable the new ID.4 sedan to offer a much higher charging capacity than the ID.4 crossover’s current 135 kW. Volkswagen is also instituting a new product development process aimed at bringing new EVs to market much faster. “We’re reducing development time by 25%,” says Thomas Ulbrich, Volkswagen’s head of R&D. “Future projects will be completed in 40 months from the point at which the basic software architecture is in place, instead of the 54 months we have today.”

At the center of Volkswagen’s new development process, which will be used on all upcoming ID. models, is a new upgradeable software architecture called VW.OS. “The car is increasingly becoming an electrically-driven software product. Its development process must also evolve, software first rather than hardware first,” says Ulbrich.

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THE TECH Image courtesy of BMW Group

A CLOSER LOOK AT

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Everything old is new again: BMW's 5th-generation eDrive features a wound-field synchronous AC motor

By Jeffrey Jenkins

rushed DC (and AC/DC universal) motors are much maligned for a number of reasons, but one of the chief—if, perhaps, somewhat exaggerated—complaints is that the graphite brushes, and the segmented copper commutator they ride on, wear out over time, all the while producing an incredibly fine—and potentially dangerous—conductive carbon and copper dust in the process. So, BMW’s choice of a brushed motor for its 5th-generation eDrive technology (which debuted in vehicles like the 2022 BMW iX M6) would seem to be a step back in technological progress—and in some ways it is. But this is a brushed AC motor, more formally known as a wound-rotor (or field) synchronous AC motor, and here the brushes and slip rings (not a commutator— more on that below) have a much easier life than in their brushed DC counterparts. This has a tremendous impact on the expected service life of the motor, but it also allows for far more control of the motor’s speed and torque in all four quadrants of operation (i.e. motoring and regenerating in both forward and reverse). In fact, the wound-field synchronous AC motor is a direct analog of the separately-excited DC motor, and they behave very similarly from both the perspective of the load and the top-level control scheme, despite their starkly different physical constructions.

The wound-rotor synchronous motor (WRSM) uses a radial array of electromagnet coils in the rotor for its field, rather than the permanent magnets that are either placed on the surface of, or embedded into, the rotor of the permanent magnet synchronous motor (surface and

B

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THE TECH BMW’s highly-integrated 5th-generation eDrive

Image courtesy of BMW Group

interior PMSM types, respectively). The PMSM is by far the most popular type of traction motor currently used in EVs, so a review of its characteristics will be helpful to better understand why an OEM like BMW might choose to go with the WRSM instead.

Both styles of PMSM—interior and surface—invariably use rare earth magnets for the rotor field, because they maximize two qualities that are important in this application: a high field strength (typically in the range of 0.9 to 1.2 Teslas), and a high coercive force, or resistance to demagnetization. Since torque is proportional to the magnetic field strength produced by the motor’s field, stronger magnets are preferred (most of the time, anyway), and since the field/rotor magnets in a motor are subjected to opposing fields from the armature/stator, resistance to demagnetization is absolutely critical.

As good as rare earth magnets are, however, they are not perfect by any means, and one of the chief downsides to them is they are expensive (the word “rare” sort of gives it away). Another major shortcoming of rare earth magnets is the fact that their resistance to demagnetization starts dropping at a painfully low temperature—as little as 80° C for the neodymium type, in fact—which can unduly restrict the amount of continuous power that a given motor can deliver.

Operationally, a PM field is both a blessing and a curse (but mainly the latter). On the plus side, having the full field strength available at all times makes it easier for the PMSM to deliver a predictable maximum torque starting at 0 RPM, especially compared to an induction motor. On the minus side, back EMF—or the voltage generated by the motor which opposes its supply—is proportional to field strength and RPM, so the top speed is severely limited in a PMSM without either employing field weakening or a ridiculously high battery voltage. Unfortunately, field weakening in a PMSM requires actively suppressing

Given that the WRSM uses electromagnets for its field instead of permanent magnets, it’s clear that the two big downsides to the PMSM will be rendered moot. But there is a price to be paid. the field from the PMs, which risks demagnetizing them (especially at elevated temperatures). Furthermore, a catastrophic failure mode called uncontrolled generation can occur if the field weakening abruptly ceases while the motor is still spinning at a high RPM (from, say, the inverter faulting off, or a loss of rotor position feedback, etc.). Should this occur, the BEMF will suddenly shoot up to a much higher value, which would greatly exceed the battery voltage, if it weren’t for the fact that the battery will clamp that voltage hard. So, instead, a huge amount of current will flow from the PMSM back to the battery through the anti-parallel diodes across each bridge switch in the inverter, destroying them. Failure modes aside, the interior PMSM can usually tolerate more field weakening than the surface type because burying the PMs in the rotor partially shields them from demagnetization, and also allows for higher rotational speeds without having to

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worry about the magnets suddenly ungluing themselves to punch a hole through the stator. That said, the rotor in the IPMSM is far more expensive to manufacture—those magnets don’t bury themselves, after all.

The other motor most commonly used in EVs (though less so these days) is the AC induction type, or ACIM. In some respects it is more like the WRSM than is the PMSM, in that the field can be controlled (albeit indirectly), and there is no risk of uncontrolled generation. That said, the cynic in me suspects that the real reason the ACIM is (or was) so popular is because it is one of the cheapest types to manufacture, as it’s not terribly well-suited to traction applications. This is because it requires very computationally-intensive control schemes to deliver high peak torque at 0 to low RPMs, and even then, it is difficult to get a peak torque of more than about 3x the nominal rating, regardless of what sort of black magic the inverter algorithm might employ. Also, the amount of torque depends on poorly controlled and/or difficult-to-estimate parameters such as rotor bar resistance and inductance.

Nevertheless, the ACIM is one of the most physically robust motor constructions that can tolerate a lot of environmental (or operational) abuse, which is definitely a point in its favor for automotive use, even if it isn’t as power-dense as the PMSM, or as good at producing gobs of torque at a dead stop, like the series DC motor.

Given that the WRSM uses electromagnets for its field instead of

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THE TECH Image courtesy of BMW Group

PMs, it’s clear that the two big downsides to the PMSM mentioned above will be rendered moot right off the bat. The price paid is that those field electromagnets need to be supplied with power, a task which falls upon a pair of brushes and slip rings (though, of course, on the inverter itself, ultimately). While slip rings and commutators are both examples of a freely-rotating electrical connection, and both use carbon brushes in the motor housing to deliver power to the rotor, the similarities end there. A commutator is so named because it energizes each coil in the armature (of a DC machine) in succession as the shaft rotates. This is a hard life for both brushes and commutator for several reasons: (1) the armature is where the vast majority of the power in a motor is handled, so the brushes and commutator have to deal with high currents; (2) the inductance of each armature coil stores energy (proportional to 0.5LI2) which causes an arc every time its pair of commutator segments are disconnected from the brushes; (3) the commutator segments have to be insulated from each other and the resulting gaps and insulating material can subject the brushes to impact loads if the commutator is not resurfaced periodically; (4) to handle high currents the commutator segments need to be made out of copper, but copper is a relatively soft metal, so it wears poorly. The slip rings in a WRSM, however, are supplying the relatively low power field with DC, so none of the above four issues apply. In fact, the humble automotive alternator is a type of WRSM and when one fails, it is almost always the electronic components (rectifier bridge or field regulator module) that are at fault, not the slip ring assembly.

If the field in a WRSM is supplied with a constant current, then it will behave exactly like a PMSM (minus the risk of catastrophic demagnetization, of course). This is a rather unsophisticated control scheme, though, and the usual approach is to vary the field current with the torque demand below synchronous speed, then reduce its maximum value proportionally with RPM above synchronous speed (i.e. the field-weakened region of operation). A rather under-appreciated benefit of matching the field excitation to the torque demand is that the WRSM will present as a unity power factor load to the inverter. This eliminates the reactive current that would otherwise slosh back and forth between the inductance of the motor windings and the DC link capacitance, doing no useful work in the process, but still heating

BMW’s eDrive stator

The WRSM doesn’t use rare earth magnets, so it can survive higher temperatures, and is immune to demagnetization. Its torque and speed are more controllable, it can’t turn into an uncontrolled generator, and it can be operated at unity power factor.

A rather compelling list of pluses. up the bridge switches and anti-parallel diodes. In contrast, the ACIM always presents a lagging (inductive) PF, leading to high switching losses in the bridge switches if IGBTs are used (due to their slow turn-off ), whereas the PMSM usually presents a leading (capacitive) PF (however, see below) leading to high switching losses if MOSFETs are used (due to energy stored in the drain-source capacitance). Since MOSFETs have all but supplanted IGBTs in EV inverters, the usually-leading PF of the PMSM is a slight disadvantage over the WRSM, then.

Another potential advantage of the WRSM over the PMSM is that electromagnets can achieve a higher field flux intensity than even the strongest rare earth PMs (depending mainly on the saturation limit of the particular grade of

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electrical steel used to construct the rotor and stator) which could actually reduce the size of the motor for a given power output. For example, pure iron can withstand about 2.3 T before saturating, while the typical grades of silicon steel used in transformers and motors can take 2 T, both of which comfortably exceeds the 1.4 T or so that the strongest Nd magnets can produce, much less the 1.2 T max for Nd magnets with a high enough maximum operating temperature rating to be usable in a motor. However, the AC losses of pure iron make it a poor choice for the stator, and while the rotor does not experience such losses, it does need to be reasonably strong to hold itself together, both from the torsional forces of torque production as well as centripetal force at high RPMs, and pure iron has too low a tensile strength. Also note that the space required by the copper windings for the electromagnets could partially or even completely nullify the advantage of the 40 to 90% or so higher saturation limit.

In conclusion, the WRSM doesn’t use expensive and environmentally-unfriendly rare earth magnets, so it can survive higher temperatures, and is immune to demagnetization. Compared to its PMSM counterpart, its torque and speed are more controllable, it can’t turn into an uncontrolled generator (as long as the field supply turns off in the event of an inverter fault), and it can be operated at unity power factor. That’s a rather compelling list of pluses, so perhaps we’ll be seeing more of them in EVs in the future.

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pilot 2022 FINALIST

7/5/22 2:02 PM

THE TECH

By Christian Ruoff

ONE’S HYBRID BATTERY PACK COMBINES THE BEST ASPECTS OF TWO CHEMISTRIES

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here is a wide range of characteristics that describe the performance of any given battery chemistry: energy density, specific energy, specific power, discharge efficiency, self-discharge rate, cycle life, calendar life, and—not the least important— cost.

Some types of Li-ion chemistries are really good in a few characteristics but fall short in other areas. This is particularly true of the next-gen chemistries you read headlines about. In fact, most of these new breakthrough cells are still “under development” because, while they may show excellent results in one area (like energy density, for example) researchers are still searching for ways to improve other characteristics (like specific power) to make them viable for EVs or other applications. We’ve been reading about “ultra-high-energy batteries” and “new batteries that can be charged in 5 minutes” for a decade, but those articles typically leave out the chemistry’s other characteristics, which may fall short of the requirements of EVs. A new startup, Our Next Energy (ONE), is working to combine the best aspects of two different chemistries into one battery pack to greatly increase range. The company calls this dual-chemistry hybrid pack Gemini, and recently told Charged that it is enabled by utilizing cutting-edge cell technologies and a proprietary high-power-density DCDC converter.

Founded by Mujeeb Ijaz in July of 2020, the Michigan-based company recently closed a $65-million funding round led by BMW i Ventures. In January, ONE retrofitted a Tesla Model S with an experimental 203.7 kWh battery with an energy density of 416 Wh/l, and drove it 752 miles on a single charge, as a proof of concept.

In June, ONE released more details of the advanced chemistries it’s testing, and announced that it will work with BMW to incorporate a Gemini dual-chemistry pack into a prototype BMW iX electric SUV, which is expected to achieve up to 600 miles of range. The company says the vehicle will be on the road by the

T

Q&A with Our Next Energy CTO Dr Steven Kaye

Since the range-extender cells are only used occasionally and don’t need to supply high power, they have radically reduced requirements compared with conventional automotive cells. end of 2022. The prototype pack will use ONE’s Gemini architecture to enable a dual-cell architecture with (1) traction cells that handle routine everyday trips and the full power demand of the vehicle, and (2) range-extender cells that provide energy for long trips, towing and other occasional usage.

Since the range-extender cells are only used occasionally and don’t need to supply high power, they have radically reduced requirements compared with conventional automotive cells (low power, cycle life, ambient temperature), allowing ONE to focus on maximizing energy density and minimizing cost.

ONE’s early packs will consist of lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) cells, along with cells using an experimental high-energy-density chemistry based on a proprietary material rich in manganese with a bare copper current collector known as an “anode-free” design. ONE says its LFP cells will provide 99% of the pack’s everyday usage, while the high-energy lithium-manganese cells will handle the extreme conditions that make up the last 1%—reducing the edge-case stress on the LFP cells to allow them to operate within their ideal range of conditions.

ONE says that this particular dual-chemistry configuration will reduce lithium use by 20%, reduce graphite use by 60%, and minimize the use of nickel and cobalt.

To learn more about ONE’s technology and future plans, Charged recently chatted with CTO Dr. Steven Kaye.

Q Charged: What’s the main advantage to the end user

of combining two battery chemistries in one pack?

A Steven Kaye: The key advantage is that you will have a

vastly longer range. This is designed for the passenger vehicle market to make it feasible to offer about twice the range [of current EVs]. So, someone could use an EV as their sole vehicle, even if they wanted to go on vacation or

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THE TECH tow something on a long weekend with friends or family.

That is one drawback that is preventing some types of buyers from going electric. The goal of Gemini technology is to enable occasional long trips without having to worry too much about mapping out where the charging stations are.

What we’re seeing in terms of technical advantage is, when we’re working with OEMs, looking at their existing packs and then swapping out for the Gemini technology, we can get about a 75 to 100% improvement in range, in the same envelope. This is possible with a hybrid pack, basically splitting up the cells—some to provide power and others to provide energy and life—and enabled by a very high-power-density DC-DC converter that we’ve developed.

Q Charged: How many different battery chemistries

have you evaluated to combine into one Gemini pack?

What makes two different cells a good match?

A Steven Kaye: Right now we’re working with a graphite/ lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) chemistry that is specially designed to have a little bit higher power because it’s a smaller percentage of the overall pack. So, it’s an LFP specifically tuned for the power demand, essentially designed to meet the demands of average daily driving.

For the second chemistry, we have explored a few different options, all very high-energy. The leading candidate has to be a very high-energy cell design, like silicon, lithium metal or lithium-manganese for example. This second chemistry will be designed to maximize energy density and allow us to trade off on all the other requirements. You can think of the second group of cells as a range extender, providing more energy occasionally when needed.

Q Charged: So, you are looking at next-gen battery

chemistries that others wouldn’t typically consider to be ready for production?

A Steven Kaye: That’s correct. We’re looking at battery

technologies that will work for us, but don’t yet work for anybody else. Essentially, our approach here is to try and take technologies that might be five or ten years away from production and pull them forward and use them today. So, we will need to work with materials and cell vendors to scale the technologies that they’ve got. That’s part of our roadmap.

We’re looking at battery technologies that will work for us, but don’t yet work for for anybody else...that might be five or ten years away from production, and pull them forward and use them today.

Because we can reduce all the other requirements and just focus on very high energy, we can use cells that are only achieving about 200 cycles in the lab, for example.

In our dual-chemistry battery pack application, the second group of cells will have no high- or low-temperature requirements, power demand will be really low, and that lets us push the energy density characteristics pretty high.

Q Charged: Can you give us more details about the

proprietary manganese-rich material that you’ll be using with the BMW prototype?

A Steven Kaye: We have three generations of anode-free technology, ranging from a version that minimizes use of nickel and cobalt to a version that’s nickel- and cobalt-free. The BMW iX demo will use generation one, [which] contains nickel and cobalt. In 2023, we expect to maximize manganese, reduce nickel and eliminate cobalt.

Q Charged: How does an “anode-free” cell work?

A Steven Kaye: An anode-free cell is a lithium metal

cell [in which] the lithium anode is created inside the cell during the formation process. A cell is built using a

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standard cathode material and a bare metal foil for the anode.

When the cell is first charged, lithium is extracted from the cathode and plates onto the metal foil, forming the lithium metal anode.

ONE has developed a unique liquid electrolyte that improves the efficiency of the lithium plating process, improving the cell cycle life and reducing the swelling, gassing, and dendrite formation of typical lithium metal anodes.

Q Charged: What are the

general advantages and shortfalls of that type of anode-free cell? What led you to choose this chemistry instead of others?

A Steven Kaye: ONE’s an-

ode-free cell advantages include high energy density (thin lithium metal anode), low cost (no anode present during cell assembly, low-cost liquid electrolyte), and abundant raw materials (mostly manganese, zero cobalt).

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THE TECH The challenge is that anode-free cells still have low cycle life. [However], this is mitigated by ONE’s Gemini architecture, which uses the anode-free cell as a range-extender, requiring only about 200 cycles. [Also, typical anode-free cells experience] cell swelling and gassing over life. This is mitigated by ONE’s anode-free electrolyte and other innovations in the pack architecture.

Q Charged: Your custom DC-DC converter design is a

main focus of development. Can you tell us what is special about it?

A Steven Kaye: We’re actively working on all the components of this [system], the main two being the DC-DC converter and the high-energy cells. There are also a lot of other components, as you can imagine— there hasn’t been a commercial dual-chemistry architecture before. There are a lot of architectural innovations we’re working on that allow us to further increase the energy density, handle the power and heat, things like that. Now we are working with BMW towards a full demo pack in a vehicle, basically the next evolution of the Tesla range demo we did in January. So, that’s our next big milestone. From there, hopefully, we’ll start working towards some production programs with excited OEMs. For the DC-DC converter, there’s been a huge amount of innovation in power electronics and components in the last five years or so. Building off of that, we’ve been able to design something with much higher power density than any automotive DC-DC, at least that I’ve seen, and great efficiency.

Essentially, getting the power density up high enough while still maintaining good efficiency that allows you to use these dual-chemistry architectures without the DC-DC converter taking up so much volume that it eats away all your advantage. This uses electronics we’ve designed ourselves and we’re having built specifically for Gemini.

The key thing here is, for passenger vehicles, 99% of daily trips are under 150 miles, but a large share of people’s purchasing decisions are driven by the need for these occasional long-duration trips or towing—think high-energy-demand use cases. So, by using the DC-DC converter, and the second high-energy chemistry behind that, we can really reduce the requirements on those range-extender high-energy cells. It lets us [eliminate] high- and low-temperature requirements, doesn’t need high power, and doesn’t need long life. That lets us use a lot of these

ONE’s Gemini DC-DC can shuttle energy between the two cell types as well as from each cell directly to the high-voltage bus. bleeding-edge technologies, with much higher energy density. Our target is roughly double the range of existing passenger EVs, and we think [an energy density of] about 450 Wh/l will be achievable.

Q Charged: Your custom DC-DC design is used to

shuttle energy between the two types of cells in the pack, correct? When needed the high energy pack will transfer power to the main pack, which drives the traction system, is that right?

A Steven Kaye: ONE’s Gemini DC-DC can shuttle energy

between the two cell types as well as from each cell directly to the high-voltage bus. The high-energy, range-extender pack can also provide power directly to the high-voltage bus, with the main pack providing peak power when needed. The full details of the DC-DC operation are not something we’re ready to disclose publicly, as it enables many of the unique features of the Gemini architecture.

Q Charged: Will the dual-chemistry packs need a

special onboard charging system?

A Steven Kaye: No. There’s a single charge connector

into the pack, totally standard, looks like what everyone uses today. And then our battery management system handles the distribution of power between the range extender cells and the main traction cells.

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Q Charged: Would it make sense to use this sort of dual-chemistry pack to create low- to mid-range EVs, with a range of, say, 200-400 miles, or does the cost/benefit math only work for super-highrange 500-800-mile EVs? A Steven Kaye: Four hundred

miles is pretty reasonable. We did the big demo with the Tesla, where we traveled 752 miles, just pushing the envelope as far as we could and getting people excited. I expect that you will have some premium cars with ultra-long range, but others where you don’t go near it. You’ll design it for what the customer needs for different vehicle segments.

I mean, even gas cars, most of them cap out at like 400 miles.

Some people want vehicles with a really long range. Others really need that towing capacity. I can imagine for pickup trucks and things like that, what you’re really worried about is, what happens when the thing’s really loaded? So, you want to be able to have the range to handle those scenarios.

Q Charged: Instead of doubling

the range, could you halve the pack size? Say you built a 300- to 400-mile pack, would it be half the envelope of the conventional single-chemistry technology?

A Steven Kaye: I think what

you’re getting at is the design trade-offs. If you fix the power, then you fix the size of the traction battery. And then the larger the vehicle is, the larger our energy density advantage is. So, you can’t just straight scale it down and

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THE TECH expect the energy density to be the same. It does get worse, but our modeling indicates we can still stay around 400 Wh/l at a normal sedan size. If you start talking about vehicles that don’t have the power demands that a lot of premium vehicles have, then you can further downsize that traction battery and gain back some of the advantages of a dual chemistry.

All that said, it’s hard to give single numbers as an answer to that question, but for very small vehicles, this probably isn’t the best technology. But once you’re into normal family sedans, it still nets out a pretty large advantage. And then as you move to larger vehicles, like an SUV or a truck, the advantage gets quite large.

Q Charged: So, basically you think it will work well for all the very popular models that Americans buy?

A Steven Kaye: Yes, exactly.

Q Charged: You have a diverse history in the battery

industry. Can you tell us what led you to ONE?

A Steven Kaye: My background is in chemistry and

material science. Did my undergrad at MIT and then PhD at Berkeley, pretty much all in energy technologies—solar, hydrogen storage for fuel cell vehicles.

Then out of school, I joined a startup, Wildcat Discovery Technologies, that does unique high-throughput synthesis and testing of new materials, 10 times faster than conventional labs. A couple months after I got there, they decided they wanted to start a new project in batteries. That sounded exciting to me, so I kind of raised my hand and took that on. I essentially started the battery program there. Within a couple of years, I was promoted to Chief Scientific Officer, leading both the chemistry and engineering groups. That battery project grew into what was effectively the whole business of the company, which was pretty fun. While I was at Wildcat I met Mujeeb Ijaz, who was the founder of ONE. He was at A123 at the time. We worked together on some projects, and I really liked working with him.

After Wildcat, I went and started my own company, Mosaic Materials, which was involved in gas separations. We spun a technology out of UC Berkeley, and that company actually just got sold to Baker Hughes.

At some point, Mujeeb got recruited by Apple to start a new battery organization there, and reached out to me. I joined him to lead the materials team in his organization

For very small vehicles, this probably isn’t the best technology. But once you’re into normal family sedans, it still nets out a pretty large advantage. And then as you move to larger vehicles, like an SUV or a truck, the advantage gets quite large. there. We worked together for five years at Apple.

He then left to join ONE. I left a couple of months after that, to work on a COVID diagnostic project, because this was in the middle of the pandemic. Then just about three or four months ago, he recruited me to come and join ONE and start up the new R&D organization at the company.

Q Charged: I imagine ONE is actively hiring and building up your teams, like most of the EV industry?

A Steven Kaye: Yes. When I joined, we announced that

we’re putting together this Bay Area R&D facility. That’s where most of the work on the Gemini program is happening, as well as future technology development.

We’ve started building out the team here and we’re hiring a ton of people this year.

We’re looking for people for pack design, mechanical design, electronics, software, cell and materials and manufacturing R&D backgrounds. Engineers, scientists, essentially all levels.

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Ph.+1-310-881-3890 Iss 60.indd 35

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By Charles Morris

THE RAW MATERIALS CRUNCH

HOW BAD, HOW LONG, HOW TO SOLVE IT?

E

very new technology must overcome a series of temporary constraints on its way to widespread adoption. Since modern EVs appeared a decade ago, they’ve motored past many of these bottlenecks, (or hurdles, or roadblocks—pick your preferred metaphor). Range has increased, access to charging infrastructure has expanded, and major automakers have (finally) begun to actively market their EVs and to prepare for a new era of mass production.

However, the road to the brave new electric future is not yet clear. Newly charged automakers are finding themselves to be production-constrained, as EV trendsetter Tesla has been for some years. They simply can’t ramp up production quickly enough, and this is not only because of the time and investment it takes to build new factories and repurpose production lines—the companies are also dealing with frustrating shortages of batteries and other components.

Current trends indicate that the industry will be able to work its way through the battery supply chain issues within a couple of years. At last count, there were over 300 battery gigafactories under construction or planned around the world. OEMs and startups are also working diligently to develop a circular battery supply chain that prioritizes recycling and sustainability.

However, when we look past the battery roadblock that automakers are now working to remove, we see another one a little further down the highway—this one comprised of raw materials. Charged recently spoke with

several industry participants about the issue, and the prevailing sentiment is that the raw-material roadblock will require much more time to clear.

As Dr. Qichao Hu, founder and CEO of Massachusetts-based battery maker SES, recently told us, “It takes about 2 years to build a new battery gigafactory, but it takes at least 8 years (sometimes more than 10 years) to build a new lithium mine.”

The problem is not availability of the minerals, but the time required to scale up production. “Most of the large producing lithium mines around the world already have their offtakes committed to 2026, and the other junior mines have yet to go through exploration, feasibility, permits, and are many years away from production,” says Dr. Hu. Other critical materials also face shortages. Commodities analysts are sounding warnings about graphite, a critical mineral for battery anodes, as well as nickel, cobalt and a long list of specialty materials.

Farewell to falling prices

We EVangelists have gotten used to smugly pointing to the steadily declining costs of batteries (and renewable energy). Will the raw materials shortage put the brakes on that trend?

Absolutely, says George Miller, a Senior Price Analyst at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. “The disconnect between demand for critical raw materials and the current supply-side issues means that cell prices on a dollar per

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THE TECH

“Cell prices on a dollar per kilowatt-

hour basis are set to rise this year— the first year in the trend of the modern lithium-ion battery that we will see cell prices reverse, and that’s solely—well, primarily, let’s say—due to raw material prices increasing.

”

kilowatt-hour basis are set to rise this year—the first year in the trend of the modern lithium-ion battery that we will see cell prices reverse, and that’s solely—well, primarily, let’s say—due to raw material prices increasing.”

“Inevitably we will see a slowing down in the rate of decline of battery prices as elevated raw materials prices put the brakes on, temporarily at least,” says Ben Kilbey, Director of Communications and Media at battery manufacturer Britishvolt. “That said, with increased adoption of batteries, alongside improvements in technologies, the [long-term] trend is likely to still be towards lower battery costs and increased affordability, as economies of scale take hold.”

What’s the scarcest of them all?

Our experts all said that lithium is the material that’s experiencing the worst supply crunch, and the market seems to agree. According to a recent report from S&P Global Commodity Insights, the price of cobalt is up around 85%, and nickel about 55%, over the past year, but lithium has really gone through the roof—prices for the light white stuff have surged over 700% since the beginning of 2021.

“In the short term, lithium and graphite are definitely the most at risk of entering shortage,” says Benchmark’s George Miller. “But in the longer term, we see shortages arising for cobalt and nickel products as well. It’s across the whole spectrum of materials involved in the lithium-ion battery supply chain.”

John DeMaio, CEO of graphite supplier Graphex, told Charged that a shortage of graphite looms a little further down the road. “While the cost of the type of graphite used predominantly in EV battery anode materials is

20% higher than it was one year ago, these rising prices are not volatile enough to indicate commodity production shortfalls,” he said. “Currently, graphite supply is adequately serving the demands of consumers and automakers. However, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence is forecasting significant graphite shortfalls from 2025.”

“To close the gap, the supply chain needs to be upsized, diversified and localized,” Mr. DeMaio continues. “To transform graphite from its natural state into EV batteries requires a 3-step process: mining and concentration; shaping and purification; and coating. This path from raw ore to battery anode can involve great distances, geopolitical and logistical risks, and significant time. A key step in accelerating this process is for OEMs and battery makers to engage directly with suppliers down the supply chain all the way to the source.”

Shortages of copper and nickel also threaten, but it’s hard to say exactly how wide the deficits will be, because it depends partly on what battery chemistries automakers favor in the years ahead. “The data is tough because a lot of it is reliant on battery chemistry,” James Litinsky, the CEO of MP Materials, said at the recent All-In Summit in Miami. However, he added, “We probably need on the order of 40 to 50 copper and nickel projects over the next couple decades—call it roughly two billion dollars of CapEx—to satisfy the demand for electrification.”

Another area of concern: rare earth metals, which are needed not for batteries but for the magnets used in motors. “Regardless of battery chemistry, magnets need rare earths,” said James Litinsky. “There’s a huge deficit that is looming.”

Litinsky’s company, MP Materials, focuses on rare earths, and he sees the coming shortfall as a major investment opportunity. MP Materials recently bought a rare earth mine in Mountain Pass, California. No other investors seemed to be interested—many players

“We probably need on the order of 40 to 50 copper and nickel projects over the next couple decades—call it roughly two billion dollars of CapEx—to satisfy the demand for electrification.

”

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THE TECH seemed to believe that the competition from China was too fierce—and MP bought it for a bargain price on the courthouse steps.

In some cases, it’s not just the quantity of supply, but the quality of the suppliers, that’s the problem—some supply chains currently originate in countries with poor environmental and/or human rights records, and many stretch across the globe. In some cases, a material is produced in one region, processed in another, and sent on to a third, generating emissions along the way.

“Primary supply sources are concentrated in the Democratic Republic of Congo for cobalt, Southeast Asia and Russia for nickel, and Australia/Chile/China for lithium,” says Litinsky. “In order to support sustainable electrification, the industry will need to secure secondary sources of supply for these materials, domestically. We believe that recycled battery-grade material can help address the risk of these raw material shortages.”

“We see 20 to 25% per annum

growth rates on the demand side of the industry, which is very difficult for an industry like mining, which has long lead times and quite high risk in bringing a project through to production.

”

Supply and demand

Of course, the problem is not short supply as such, but rather a mismatch between supply and demand. Brisk sales of EVs are causing the demand for raw materials to grow rapidly, but supply can’t be quickly ramped up. In a sense, the EV industry is a victim of its own success.

“We see 20 to 25% per annum growth rates on the demand side of the industry, which is very difficult for an industry like mining, which has long lead times and quite high risk in bringing a project through to production,” says Benchmark’s George Miller.

Contrary to what the anti-EV crowd would have us believe, the shortages have very little to do with the scarcity of the materials, but with the lack of mining and refining capacity. “All of these critical minerals are geologically abundant, and there are plenty of discovered resources around the world, in fact, enough to supply the industry,” says Miller. “It’s really the lack of investment in the supply side of the industry and the development of those mines running behind schedule that is the problem.”

“Although there is an abundance of lithium in the ground, underinvestment during lower pricing periods has meant we are now experiencing significant bottlenecks in raw material feedstock,” agrees Ben Kilbey of Britishvolt. “It takes on average 5-7 years for a greenfield site to be identified and reach commercial production.

Processing of the raw material will also be a potential bottleneck.”

Are there some short-term workarounds that battery manufacturers or automakers can implement to keep cranking out the batteries? No, says George Miller. “In the longer term, battery cell manufacturers can look to research and develop varied cell chemistries that try to avoid some of the rising raw material prices. [However] I would call lithium and graphite really irreplaceable elements in lithium-ion batteries, and these are the two that are extremely at risk of shortage in the short term. So, no, there’s not really a workaround there apart from scaling investment into the industry, but even then, I think it’s more of a mid- to long-term solution to the issue.”

When it comes to how long it will take to build the supply chain the industry needs, Mr. Miller is more optimistic than some. “Probably three to five years would be the timeline that it takes to develop a new mine from greenfield through to production. And we’ve seen a lot more investment into these mines at the moment. What I would say is that lots of these mines are delayed when they come through to production, and have cost overruns and such. So really it needs to be investment across the full spectrum of critical materials, not just lithium and graphite in shortage at the moment, but also cobalt and nickel, which are not as close to shortage, but if we don’t prepare for future demand-side growth rates, then the same issues could arise.”

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Rare earth elements, which are important components of electric motors, as well as high-purity manganese and synthetic graphite, can be added to the long list of materials that need to be developed. “The problem is that they’re scaling from what I would call the specialty chemical markets to commodities,” says Miller. “That’s because they’re tailored for the end user, and also because the specifications for these battery-grade chemicals are very, very tight. There’s not an industry standard, like iron ore and copper, that the industry can work to, but rather specifications specific to the end user.”

Time for action

So, enough whining—let’s talk about solutions. What should automakers and battery manufacturers be doing right now?

Nickel and cobalt are high on the list of scarce materials, and this is one reason that Tesla and other automakers are expanding their use of alternative battery chemistries such as LFP. The catch is that LFP cells use more lithium, and their price advantage over NMC/NCA cells has by all accounts been shrinking.

“There is no question that the price of lithium has been rising, which affects the cost of all lithium-ion batteries,” says Tim Poor, President of Advanced Cell Engineering, a Florida-based company that specializes in LFP

and LM:FP chemistries. “The cost of battery cells using NMC/NCA chemistries is also being driven higher by substantially large increases in nickel and cobalt prices.

LFP cells do not use these expensive metals. They use iron and phosphate, which are plentiful and have much more stable and lower prices.”

In the long term however, the industry needs much more production and processing capacity for a long list of critical materials, and both automakers and battery suppliers (as well as—dare we say it?—governments) need to become much more proactive. Our experts see encouraging signs—companies are investing more in the upstream reaches of the lithium-ion value chain, which will be absolutely essential to bringing on new supply.

“It would be interesting to see cell manufacturers and automakers take larger equity stakes in mining projects, and also chemical refining and component manufacturing projects,” says George Miller.

Investing in mines alone won’t solve the problems— downstream players need to learn more about what goes on upstream. Could we also see a shortage of people with the needed expertise?

“I think there is a strain on the labor market in the battery industry at the moment, but information and knowledge is definitely beginning to flow towards the downstream of the industry,” says Miller, “so there’s definitely more understanding of raw material shortages over the past couple of years.”

Some automakers are “absolutely” moving in the right direction, says Miller. “We’ve seen Chinese automakers be really ahead of the pack here, along with Tesla. I would say Tesla, BYD, Great Wall Motors as well. New companies have been forward-thinking in the way they’ve approached their lithium-ion battery supply chains in partnering with cell manufacturers and even miners to secure the necessary raw materials. Volkswagen as well is definitely beginning to secure quite a lot of its supply. I think those would be the biggest four: Tesla, Volkswagen, BYD and Great Wall.”

“Britishvolt is creating thoughtful and strategic partnerships directly with the raw materials supply chain,” says Ben Kilbey. “Directly sourcing raw materials ensures our high ESG standards are met, at the same time improving supply chain security. We have already achieved this for cobalt with a partnership with Glencore, and [we’re exploring it] with VKTR in Indonesia for nickel.

Development of a localized processing ecosystem will

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THE TECH be critical, and BV has taken positive steps in closing the loop, reducing our long-term dependence on virgin materials. We also have a recycling JV with Glencore, Britishloop, that will create a UK battery recycling infrastructure.”

Recycling to the rescue

Kunal Phalpher, Chief Strategy Officer of Li-Cycle, stressed the need for localized sources for battery-grade materials. His company is building a hub-and-spoke network of recycling facilities in order to produce recycled material in the regions in which there is demand. “In order to meet the accelerating demand for battery materials, we are confident that recycled material will be key in supporting the ability of EV manufacturers to achieve their production goals,” he told Charged. “It is important to create localized supply chains for key battery materials (lithium, nickel, cobalt) in order to help produce a reliable consistent supply not subject to global supply chain issues.”

“There is no one mine that contains all the metals contained within a battery—recycling can be a very efficient method of sourcing these critical materials,” said Kunal Phalpher. “Also, there is no limit to the number of times the material contained within a battery can be recycled.

We call it ‘urban mining’—re-using recovered materials to make new batteries in a truly circular and sustainable manner.” This echoes a famous comment by Redwood Materials CEO JB Straubel, who said that the next big lithium mine could be found in the junk drawers of America.

Li-Cycle is collaborating with Ultium Cells (a joint venture of GM and LG Energy Solution) to recycle the manufacturing scrap that will be produced at its battery plant being built in Ohio. The company will also be working with LG Energy Solution to recycle its battery manufacturing scrap and to supply it with recycled battery-grade nickel. “This creates a truly circular, closedloop ecosystem within the EV battery supply chain,” says Kunal Phalpher.

How much of the demand for raw materials can be filled by recycling? “We believe that over the next 20 years the amount of lithium-ion battery material that is recycled will grow from roughly 5% to 75% of all of the material available,” says Phalpher. “By 2030, we expect that there will be over 4 million tons of lithium-ion battery material available, globally, for recycling per year.

“There should be a grand bargain.

The environmentalists should say, ‘I accept that we need this stuff, I accept that we don’t want it to be made only in Russia and China,’ and they should loosen up on some of the permitting stuff...

”

Recycling will be able to return a substantial amount of the material back into the supply chain. Recycling can certainly help ease supply chain bottlenecks in the short to medium term as the industry continues to grow. Li-Cycle currently has the capacity to recycle to up 20,000 tons of material per year. We anticipate having 65,000 tons of global recycling processing capacity in 2023.”

Greening the supply chain

Building a better supply chain will enable automakers not only to sell more EVs, but also to make them cleaner.

Mines and processing plants have environmental footprints, and nobody wants them in their back yard—but this doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to locate them all in the Global South and East. Bringing more mines and processing plants to North America and Europe would be a double win. Shipping materials back and forth around the world generates a substantial part of the carbon footprint of batteries, so shorter, simpler supply lines would lower emissions. More domestic production could also make it more likely that extraction and processing facilities would follow environmental best practices.

“I assure you that nickel mining in Russia is not as environmentally friendly as it is in Canada,” said James Litinsky at the Miami conference.“There should be a grand bargain. The environmentalists should say, ‘I accept that we need this stuff, I accept that we don’t want it to be made only in Russia and China,’ and they should loosen up on some of the permitting stuff, and [the drillbaby-drill crowd] need to accept that we need to have really tough [environmental] standards.”

Britishvolt’s Ben Kilbey also stresses the importance of localizing production and processing of raw materials.

“At present there is a significant overdependence on Asia,

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particularly for processing of raw materials. Increased localization will play a pivotal role in the success of the green transition. Although commodity resources may still be further afield, the development of flexible processing/refining hubs that can handle different materials will greatly relieve the pressure on the supply chain and lower the embedded carbon.”

Kilbey’s company is in the process of building a network of cell factories around the world—each one located close to auto production and to abundant sources of renewable energy.

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The future’s still green

While all the experts we’ve heard from predict challenges and turmoil in the short term, none are pushing any doomand-gloom scenarios (we’ll leave those to the “better stick with fossil fuels” brigade). As automakers face high prices for the materials they need, they’re taking the necessary steps to increase supplies and, along the way, to shorten and clean up supply chains. After all, that’s how the invisible hand of capitalism is supposed to work.

“As we say, this is an energy transition, not a switch, and building out resilient, domestic, supply chains is a journey,” says Britishvolt’s Ben Kilbey.

“Investment styles are cyclical, just like industries. The cure for high prices is high prices,” says James Litinsky.

“We will solve this problem.”

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Xcel Energy to pilot electric bucket trucks Xcel Energy, an electric utility that serves millions of customers in 8 Western and Midwestern states, plans to add all-electric bucket trucks to its vehicle fleet. Xcel Energy crews will use the zero-emission trucks to maintain the grid and respond to outages.

The truck, which is built by Terex Utilities and Navistar, features two electric power systems: one for the vehicle drivetrain and one for the lift mechanism. It has a 135-mile range and the ability to operate the bucket for a full work day on a single charge.

Xcel will roll out the first truck in the Twin Cities in late June, and the second will be delivered to its Denver fleet at the end of 2022. Xcel crews will use these trucks in real working conditions during a 6- to 12-month pilot.

Their feedback will help the company prepare for its EV transition.

Xcel aims to electrify all its light-duty vehicles and 30% of its medium and heavy-duty fleet by 2030. The company currently has 1,000 aerial bucket trucks in its fleet.

“We’re proud to be the first energy company in the United States to add all-electric bucket trucks to our fleet,” said Bob Frenzel, CEO of Xcel Energy. “By adding these clean-energy vehicles to our fleet, Xcel Energy is demonstrating its commitment to becoming a net-zero energy provider for all our customers’ energy needs, while also helping shape the electrification of the truck industry, which complements our overall vision to provide 100% carbon-free electricity by 2050.”

Image courtesy of Orange EV

Image courtesy of Xcel

THE VEHICLES

Orange EV unveils third generation of its electric yard trucks Orange EV isn’t exactly a household name, but the truck manufacturer deployed its first electric yard truck in 2015, and now has some 400 trucks in operation in the US. Now Orange has announced a new generation of its T-Series electric yard trucks (aka terminal tractors or yard goats).

The 2022 e-TRIEVER features subsystems designed to integrate with autonomous control systems, along with digital cab architecture, improved sensing, remote diagnostic capabilities, and an optional IntelliBoom package that captures fifth-wheel load weight, boom lift cycles, and kingpin presence and retention data.

The 4×2 e-TRIEVER has a GCWR of 81,000 pounds, a top speed of up to 25 mph, a brushless AC induction motor, and a battery capacity of 100 or 180 kWh. It can charge at a rate of up to 70 kW, and can run up to 24 hours on a single charge.

Orange says custom builds can be delivered in 90-120 days.

“Trusted by more than 120 fleets across the United States and Canada, Orange EV electric trucks are proven to deliver 98-99% average uptime and a lower total cost of ownership, with many customers experiencing a 3to 4-year payback on a 10-year expected life,” says the company.

“Orange EV’s vision is to excel on all fronts: the lowest cost of ownership, highest uptime, best service, highest quality, longest life, and most beneficial for drivers,” said Kurt Neutgens, Orange EV President and CTO.

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Thousands petition Toyota to cease antiEV lobbying efforts It’s an open secret that, even as automakers announce ambitious plans for new EV models, and air EV ads featuring smiling grandparents, the companies actively fight against the kind of government regulations that are forcing them to produce EVs in the first place.

Corporate watchdog SumOfUs recently delivered a petition to Toyota signed by more than 110,000 members, including 10,000 Toyota drivers, demanding that the carmaker stop “lobbying to prevent electric vehicle mandates and clean air laws.”

According to a recent report from InfluenceMap, all the major automakers save Tesla engage in lobbying against climate policies (directly, through trade groups, or both), and most have set production goals for EVs that are far short of what would be required to meet the emissions reduction targets that most scientists say are necessary to avoid catastrophic climate change.

“Toyota is working harder than any other auto company to prevent this progress and slow down the shift to electric mobility, and plans for only 14% of its total production to be EV by the end of the decade,” SumOfUs tells us.

“According to this [InfluenceMap] report, Toyota is therefore planning to miss its Paris Agreement commitments.”

The EU recently adopted new zero-emissions guidelines for 2035, and Toyota has lobbied hard to water down the proposed regulations.

“SumOfUs members—many of whom are Toyota customers—are demanding that Toyota immediately stop lobbying against climate regulations and go green,” said SumOfUs campaigner Eoin Dubsky as he delivered the petition at Toyota’s European headquarters. “Our members are horrified that Toyota—once a leader in environmental technology—has fallen so far behind, and is even holding up the rest of us.”

More than 500 of the Toyota customers who signed the petition included personal messages for Toyota.

“Dear Toyota, nine years ago I bought myself a Prius…What an amazing piece of technology,” wrote one signer. “Since then, you’ve produced a raft of other hybrids, but no full EVs. This is a huge disappointment to me because I trust the quality of your cars and would love to be able to purchase a Toyota EV.” “I have owned several Toyotas in my life, but I guarantee you I will never buy another one if you don’t do your duty to the planet and meet the EU 2035 zero-emissions guidelines,” wrote another.

Another signer noted the importance of researching a company’s policies before making a purchase decision: “I recently got a Toyota hybrid but I wouldn’t have made this decision if I’d known about Toyota lobbying EU lawmakers for more time/in favor of fossil fuels. I thought you were a green company! I should have done more homework.”

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Buick to become an all-electric brand by end of decade Buick says it will fully electrify its lineup in North America, and will bring its first electric vehicle to market for North America in 2024.

Buick’s future EV products will carry the Electra name.

The company released a wealth of information about its new brand identity and new badging (new typography, an updated color palette and a new marketing approach!) but is offering few details about the new EVs it plans to produce.

“The Buick brand is committed to an all-electric future by the end of this decade,” said Duncan Aldred, Global Vice President, Buick and GMC. “Buick’s new logo, use of the Electra naming series and a new design look for our future products will transform the brand.”

The new look is demonstrated by the Wildcat EV concept car, which Buick calls “an expressive vision of the brand’s new design direction.” Buick has used the Wildcat name for concept vehicles throughout its history. The first Wildcat, introduced in 1953, was “a show vehicle that previewed next-generation Buick design.”

“From every angle, the vehicle looks like it’s ready to pounce,” said Bob Boniface, Director, Global Buick Design. “It’s the result of careful attention to the proportions and sculptural beauty derived from the intersection of forms, not lines.”

The company offered copious details about the exterior and interior design of the 2+2 coupe, but it looks like we’ll have to wait for any information about its features and performance. Buick did mention “a sweeping touchscreen” and another screen on the console. Buick also said that new vehicles sold in the US will include three years of OnStar and Connected Services Premium Plan, and that services such as remote key fob, WiFi data and OnStar safety services will be included as standard equipment.

It also revealed that the Wildcat EV concept is a platform for “futuristic” features such as artificial intelligence, biometrics and aromatherapy. “When Zen Mode is activated, it will dim the cabin lights, disperse calming aromatherapy scents and activate massaging seats.”

Image courtesy of Volvo

THE VEHICLES

Clean trucks to clean cities: Volvo Trucks to deploy 80 electric sewer cleaner trucks in Europe Several cities in Europe, and a couple in China, have implemented zero-emission zones, and this is expected to generate demand for electric service trucks.

Bucher Municipal, a global supplier of municipal vehicles such as street sweepers, winter maintenance equipment and refuse vehicles, has joined forces with Volvo Trucks to develop an all-electric sewer cleaner built on the Volvo FL Electric truck.

By the end of 2023, Bucher expects to deliver up to 80 electric sewer cleaner trucks to cities in Europe.

“We have optimized the technology from our successful city sewer solution to meet the special requirements for working in urban zones, where regulations regarding CO2 and diesel emissions have been tightened,” says Per Lovring, CEO of Bucher Municipal Denmark. “Electrification of vehicles like ours can be demanding, but Volvo Trucks has proven that they can successfully provide highly reliable and well-documented battery solutions for heavy-duty vehicles.”

“With this agreement with Bucher Municipal, we are taking a very important step towards electrifying one of the most complicated and demanding tasks in our urban environments, and we expect the collaboration to bring new insights that contribute to our goal of electrifying all types of applications,” said Volvo Trucks President Roger Alm.

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charged̲one̲third̲almost̲final.pdf 1 2022/04/21 16:54:46

EV Fuse you can always rely on

CEO Mary Barra: GM is playing a long EV game, and intends to win GM hasn’t been getting much respect in the EV press lately. Industry bad boy Tesla continues to dominate the market, racking up global sales of more than 310,000 units in the first quarter of this year. Ford’s still a startup as far as EVs are concerned, but its F-150 Lightning has been getting a lot of buzz, and the company claims it has 200,000 reservations.

Meanwhile, poor little GM didn’t even manage to sell 500 EVs in the US in the first quarter. Battery problems forced it to suspend production of the Bolt, and its electric Silverado pickup remains months in the future.

However, in an interview with the New York Times, CEO Mary T. Barra, the daughter of a GM die maker who became the first woman to head a major automaker in 2014, sounded confident that, once her company hits its stride, it will be able to beat its competitors on affordability, and win over mainstream car buyers. As EV sales grow, GM expects to leverage cost advantages and to challenge Tesla before the end of the decade.

“That’s the long game we are playing,” Ms. Barra told the Times. “And I’m here to win.”

At the heart of GM’s strategy is its Ultium battery pack, which features a modular design that allows it to be used in any GM vehicle, from a cute compact to a ponderous pickup. GM has estimated that the Ultium design will cut battery pack costs by 30 percent.

The company is working on no less than seven battery plants. The first, a joint venture with LG in Lordstown, Ohio, is supposed to start producing Ultium packs later this year. All seven are to be online by 2025, and GM hopes to be producing a million EVs per year in North America by 2026.

Barra noted that most EVs being sold in the US are luxury models, and tend to be bought by people who own at least two vehicles. (For that matter, so are GM’s current offerings, the Cadillac Lyriq luxury SUV and the embarrassing GMC Hummer.)

“If you want EVs to get to 100 percent or even 50 percent of the market, there have to be affordable EVs,” says Barra. “You’ve got to provide entry models in that space.”

Sam Abuelsamid, an analyst at Guidehouse Insights, told the Times that GM’s strategy should “in theory” deliver cost advantages, but questioned how significant, and how long-lasting, GM’s edge would prove to be. Ford is working on its own modular battery design and battery plants, although it appears to lag GM in those departments. Of course, Tesla has been assembling its own packs for years, and has achieved significant economies of scale.

Ms. Barra told the Times she’s confident that GM is on the right path, and she understands the need for speed. “Do I wish the electric Silverado launch was coming sooner?” she mused. “Sure. I drive the organization crazy because I’m constantly challenging [them] on how can we go faster. Every time I go to design and see a vehicle they’re working on, I’m like, ‘How fast can we get that out?’”

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Image courtesy of Rev Fire Group

Image courtesy of Daimler

THE VEHICLES

Food distributor Sysco to buy up to 800 Freightliner Rev Fire Group unveils electric eCascadia electric Class 8 fire truck trucks REV Fire Group, which includes several manufacturers of fire-fighting apparatus, displayed a North American-style fully electric fire truck called Vector at the recent Fire Department Instructors Conference in Indianapolis.

The new electric fire truck, which was developed with technology partner Emergency One Group, sports a 316 kWh battery pack, and enables firefighters to both drive and pump on electric power only. Designed with the same components used in diesel-driven fire apparatus, Vector’s electric motor takes the place of the diesel engine, driving the pump or the rear axle in normal split-shaft operation. The battery placement gives it a low center of gravity, which delivers better cornering and more predictable handling.

“We developed the ultimate fully electric fire truck without sacrificing the critical elements that firefighters value in the North American style, responding to our customer demand for cleaner technology, reduced noise pollution and lower carbon footprint,” said Kent Tyler, President of REV Fire Group.

When it comes to commercial vehicle electrification, fleet operators have spent the last decade piddling around with pilots of a few vehicles. Thank goodness, it appears that those days are over—we’re seeing more and more announcements of serious orders.

The latest of these comes from food service distribution giant Sysco, which has signed a letter of intent to purchase up to 800 battery-electric Freightliner eCascadia Class 8 tractors from Daimler Truck North America by 2026. The first eCascadia is expected to arrive at Sysco’s Riverside, California site later this year.

Sysco distributes food products to restaurants and other food service facilities—it currently operates 343 distribution facilities worldwide and serves more than 650,000 customer locations. The 800 e-trucks on order represent only a small fraction of its fleet. Sysco says it plans to electrify 35 percent of its US fleet by 2030.

Daimler Truck and its US Freightliner brand recently announced the official start of series production of the eCascadia after “well over one million miles of testing in daily customer operations.”

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J.D. Power survey: Consumers’ interest in EVs is growing, but they need more information A new survey by consumer research specialist J.D. Power finds that US auto shoppers are more likely than ever to consider buying a pure EV, mostly thanks to the growing selection of models. New offerings from trusted brands are turning EV skeptics into possible EV purchasers.

The J.D. Power 2022 U.S. Electric Vehicle Consideration Study, which surveyed 10,030 consumers in early 2022, found that the percentage of respondents who say they are “very likely” to consider an EV for their next purchase or lease has risen to 24 percent—an increase of 4 percentage points from a year ago.

“The addition of new EV models has moved the needle on consumer consideration,” said Stewart Stropp, Senior Director of Automotive Retail at J.D. Power. “In fact, several new models from perennial mass-market brands are at the top of that consideration list. Even so, more remains to be done in terms of transitioning from early to mass adoption. Though the study findings show a shift in favor of EVs, about 76 percent of new-vehicle shoppers say they are not ‘very likely’ to consider buying one. Automakers must continue their efforts to persuade more shoppers to give these vehicles a try.”

Unsurprisingly, homeowners are more likely than renters to consider going electric. Some 27 percent of homeowners said they are “very likely to consider” an EV, compared to 17 percent of renters. This probably has to do with the convenience of home charging—34 percent of those who said they’re unlikely to consider an EV said they lack access to charging at home or work.

Another key finding: firsthand experience with EVs plays an important role in purchase consideration. Of respondents who had no personal experience at all with EVs, only 11 percent said they are “very likely” to consider going electric. That percentage more than doubles, to 24 percent, among vehicle shoppers who have simply ridden in an EV, and rises to 34 percent among those who have driven one.

As EV boosters have been saying for years, accurate product information is critical. Some 30 percent of EV “rejecters” cited a lack of information as a reason for their lack of interest. The message for automakers and their dealers seems clear.

There’s a rare nugget of good news for the legacy brands: owners of numerous mass-market brands expressed more interest in EVs than they did in last year’s survey. “Tesla remains a dominant player, but new-vehicle shoppers are proving quite willing to consider EVs from legacy brands,” said Mr. Stropp.

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EPA announces $500 million in funding for electric school buses The EPA has announced $500 million in new funding for school districts and other eligible bus operators to begin replacing the nation’s fleet of school buses with American-made zero-emission buses. This 500 big ones represents the first round of funding from the $5-billion investment authorized by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Portions of the rebates can also be used to install charging infrastructure for the new buses. The rebate program will select awardees through a lottery system.

The EPA will accept funding applications until August 19, 2022. Questions may be directed to CleanSchoolBus@epa.gov.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law allows the EPA to prioritize buses serving high-need local education agencies, Tribal Schools and rural areas—at least 40% of the benefits of certain government investments are to be directed to underserved communities. The EPA plans to focus education and outreach efforts to underserved communities, including those that may have never applied for a federal grant or rebate.

The agency will also launch a grant competition later this year. Further Clean School Bus competitions will be run every year for the next five years.

“This historic investment under President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will forever transform school bus fleets across the United States,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “These funding opportunities to replace older, heavily-polluting buses will result in healthier air for many of the 25 million American children who rely on school buses, many of whom live in overburdened and underserved communities.”

“Right now, most school buses are powered by dirty diesel engines that exacerbate climate change and emit dangerous air pollution,” said House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. “With these funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we are paving the way for cleaner air and healthier communities. These investments will also help spur the development and deployment of American-made clean technology, creating more good-paying jobs right here at home.”

Image courtesy of Volta Trucks

THE VEHICLES

Volta Trucks details upcoming US launch of its Class 7 electric truck Volta Trucks plans to introduce its electric commercial vehicles into North America, beginning in 2023 with a Volta Zero Class 7 truck (equivalent to the company’s existing European 16-ton truck) with a dry or refrigerated cargo box.

The Volta Zero is a purpose-built electric medium-duty truck specifically designed for urban logistics. It uses a compact eAxle, comprising the electric motor, transmission, and axle all in one unit, supplied by Michigan-based Meritor, and high-voltage batteries located within the chassis rails from California-based Proterra.

The Class 7 Volta Zero will offer a modular battery configuration to deliver a range of 95-125 miles—more than enough for downtown distribution routes. The vehicle supports DC fast charging at 250 kW and Level 2 charging at 19 kW. Volta Trucks plans to introduce a pilot fleet of 100 Class 7 trucks in mid-2023, to be evaluated by US customers ahead of a rollout of production vehicles in 2024.

By the time of the North American launch, the company expects to have built over 1,500 Class 7 trucks for European customers.

The first Class 7 vehicles delivered to the US will be built at Volta’s existing contract manufacturing facility in Steyr, Austria, and the Class 5 and 6 vehicles for North America are expected to be built in the US. “With more than 6,000 vehicle pre-orders in hand, from some of Europe’s largest fleet operators, it is time to expand our geographic horizons and look towards the significant market opportunity in North America,” said Volta founder Carl-Magnus Norden. “I believe our full-electric truck will be perfectly suited to the US customer’s needs, and we look forward to engaging customers to gain feedback on our product and services.”

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Fremont, California-based Solo Advanced Vehicle Technologies has revealed the design and specifications of a new purpose-built electric Class 8 truck that’s designed specifically for autonomous driving.

The SD1 includes “full, aerospace-level system redundancy and the lowest drag coefficient of any Class 8 truck on the road, enabled by a complete redesign that removes the human onboard.”

Solo claims the electric SD1 will deliver a range of 500+ miles. Features include: multi-speed tandem e-axles with integrated electric motors that deliver 600 kW total power; active aerodynamics; low-rolling-resistance tires; and exterior lighting that can communicate to pedestrians and other road users.

The truck’s sensor arrangement is designed to allow integration of any autonomous driver system, and features a proprietary software control interface. Solo says she’s trailer-agnostic, is built to integrate with all standard loading docks, and can haul an equivalent weight to legacy Class 8 trucks.

“The demands on leaders across freight, logistics, retail, and other categories can only be met in a sustainable way by the convergence of two tech-enabled opportunities: battery-electric transportation at long-haul range, and autonomy,” said founder and CEO Graham Doorley.

“Autonomous systems today won’t work on existing or retrofit platforms at scale. At Solo AVT we’re solving both of these challenges as we develop the SD1 to achieve over 500 miles of range with an autonomous truck from day one.”

The Volkswagen Group plans to launch an electric pickup and “rugged SUV” in the US market. What’s more, the company will establish a separate, independent company to produce the new EVs. “The vehicles will be designed, engineered, and manufactured in the US for American customers,” says VW. Volkswagen will resurrect the Scout nameplate, which was used by International Harvester for a Jeepesque offroad vehicle in the 1960s and 1970s. The first prototypes are to be unveiled next year, and production is scheduled to start in 2026.

The idea seems to be to produce an electric truck aimed at off-road enthusiasts, like the Rivian R1T. Volkswagen has released concept drawings of a pickup and SUV that look similar to Rivian’s offerings. VW North America COO Johan de Nysschen has that he’d like to see something similar to the Rivian, but “at a $40,000 price point instead of $70,000.”

The Scout brand will be spun off into its own company with up to $1 billion in initial investment from VW, and could eventually be listed a separate public company, according to the Wall Street Journal.

“The company we will establish this year will be a separate unit and brand within the Volkswagen Group to be managed independently,” said Volkswagen CFO Arno Antlitz. “This aligns with the new Group steering model—small units that act agilely and have access to our tech platforms to leverage synergies.”

“The electrified Scout brand will be built upon a new technical platform concept which brings new pickup and RUV credibility beyond the existing Volkswagen Group portfolio,” says VW. “Electrification provides a historic opportunity to enter the highly attractive pickup and R-SUV segment, underscoring our ambition to become a relevant player in the US market,” said Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess.

APR- JUN 2022

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Image courtesy of Volkswagen Group

Image courtesy of Solo Advanced Vehicle Tech

Solo’s new SD1 is a 500-mile electric truck designed for autonomous driving

Volkswagen Group launches Scout brand to build electric pickup and SUV for US market

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Image courtesy of Hyundai

THE VEHICLES

Hyundai discontinues Ioniq hybrid and PHEV Hyundai’s Ioniq hatchback exemplified an earlier generation of electrified vehicles. It was offered in three different powertrain variants: hybrid, plug-in hybrid and pure EV. Now, the more forward-looking automakers, of which Hyundai is one, are realizing that a “clean-sheet” dedicated EV platform is best. Hyundai dropped the Ioniq Electric in the US after the 2021 model year, and the company has now confirmed that the hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions will be discontinued.

The Ioniq name now refers to the company’s EV subbrand, and the Korean automaker plans to launch 11 new EV models by 2030. The recently-released Ioniq 5 was the first of these, and the Ioniq 6 sedan and Ioniq 7 SUV are in the pipeline.

Hyundai made efficiency a priority across the Ioniq lineup. The Ioniq Blue hybrid was one of the most fuel-efficient models available in the US market for model year 2022, with an EPA-rated 59 MPG combined. The Ioniq Electric was a standout for efficiency, too—the 2020 model delivered 133 MPGe, and was one of the cheapest and most efficient EVs available.

The Ioniq 5 and Kona Electric are slightly less efficient than the discontinued electric hatchback, but both offer more range. Although the Ioniq Plug-In Hybrid hatch and Sonata Plug-In Hybrid sedan are history, the Tucson and Santa Fe crossovers now have plug-in variants.

States, NGOs, UAW all sue USPS over plans to buy gas delivery trucks In the latest installment of “As the Postal Service Turns,” 16 US states, 4 environmental groups and the United Auto Workers union have filed lawsuits seeking to block the US Postal Service’s plan to buy mostly gas-powered next-generation delivery vehicles, arguing that the agency failed to comply with environmental regulations.

Reuters reports that three separate lawsuits have been filed in federal courts in San Francisco and New York City. One of the defendants named is Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a Trump supporter who has thumbed his nose at President Biden’s call for the federal vehicle fleet to be electrified.

Plaintiffs in the suits include the states of New York and California, the District of Columbia, New York City, and the environmental groups CleanAirNow, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Sierra Club. The suits accuse USPS of using a flawed and unlawful environmental analysis and signing contracts to procure the gas-powered trucks before completing an environmental review.

USPS “is doubling down on outdated technologies that are bad for our environment and bad for our communities,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta.

The UAW also believes it’s a bad deal for American workers—the union has called out vehicle manufacturer Oshkosh for its plan to build the gas-powered vehicles using non-union workers in South Carolina, rather than at a UAW-represented facility in Oshkosh ‘s home state of Wisconsin.

In response, USPS said it has “conducted a robust and thorough review and fully complied with all of our obligations under” environmental law.

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GM cuts prices for 2023 Bolt EV and EUV, boosts ad spending GM resumed Bolt production in April following a major battery recall last August. Now the company says it will cut prices on the Bolt EV and EUV by up to 18%, and plans to build a record number of units this year.

The 2023 Chevy Bolt EV will start at $26,595, including destination charges, down from $32,495.

The Bolt EUV starts at $28,195, down from $35,695. Production of the 2023 models is slated to begin at the GM Lake Orion plant in Michigan in late July.

The Bolt EV and EUV were each given a major refresh for the 2022 models, and GM says there will be only minor updates for 2023.

The 2022 model benefited from a $5,500 price cut compared to the 2021 model. The latest reduction is a rare bit of good news for car buyers, as the average price of a new vehicle in the US vicinity has soared to around $45,000.

More welcome news: Chevrolet says the Bolt EUV will have the second-highest ad spend this year, behind only Silverado electric pickup.

“This change reflects our ongoing desire to make sure Bolt EV/EUV are competitive in the marketplace,” GM said. “Affordability has always been a priority for these vehicles.”

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F-150 THE VEHICLES

LIGHTNING

Image courtesy of Ford

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FORD’S MOST VALUED MODEL IS NOW ELECTRIC

By John Voelcker

Ford knows trucks, and demand for its F-150 Lightning shows truck buyers may not be as afraid of EVs as many think.

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THE VEHICLES he 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning pickup truck may be the first real mass-market electric vehicle sold in the US. Used by individual owners and businesses alike, pickups are a massive part of the auto market—20 percent in 2021, totaling nearly 3 million units, according to Motor Intelligence. At the top of the heap is the Ford F-Series, the best-selling US vehicle line for more than 40 years.

We drove several F-150 Lightnings, in various trims, with and without payloads or trailers, out of San Antonio and through the winding roads of Texas hill country during the first week of May. Ford rolled out a full team of managers and executives who’d created its first electric pickup, but the truck itself was the focus for dozens of reporters, analysts and reviewers.

The F-150 Lightning is good. Good enough, perhaps, to convince non-coastal US drivers that electric vehicles are real, and that they’re neither nerdy hatchbacks nor luxury cars from Silicon Valley startups run by erratic CEOs.

T

Image: John Voelcker

Image courtesy of Ford

The F-150 Lightning is an EV mass-market buyers will likely find reassuring, familiar, and mostly predictable.

Image: John Voelcker

Image: John Voelcker

Sure, they’re hardly the most efficient EVs on the market.

But the F-150 Lightning is an EV mass-market buyers will likely find reassuring, familiar, and mostly predictable.

That can only be a good thing for EVs overall.

Better on the road Getting into an F-150 Lightning is no different than getting into any other F-150. Step on the sill or climb onto the running board (if there is one), grab the pillarmounted handle, and swing into the seat.

Once you’re perched in the command position, you’ll see a long hood, large and useful door mirrors, a view through the vertical rear window (unless your bed load rises to block it), and one of two touchscreens in the center of the dash. Lower-line Lightnings use the 12-inch horizontal display from high-end gasoline F-150s. Top trims upgrade to a portrait-style 15.5-inch screen like Image courtesy of Ford

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THE VEHICLES

the one in the Mustang Mach-E—but with additional truck-specific info and options. Adjust the steering wheel (manual or power, depending on trim) and those mirrors, and you’re off.

The first thing current F-150 drivers may notice is the ride: This is the smoothest and best-riding version of the F-150 nameplate, ever. That’s due to two things: the independent rear suspension and a perfect 50-50 weight distribution when unloaded. With the battery pack below the cabin and bed, the Lightning has a much lower center of gravity than any F-150 powered by an engine.

That and four-wheel independent suspension make it far easier to toss around curves.

That weight distribution, however, offers pros and cons. On the plus side, you can confidently power a Lightning through a curve faster than its gas counterpart—though we also felt some uncomposed behavior and what chassis engineers call “head toss” on uneven pavement.

On the minus side, adding 1,500 pounds of plywood in the bed or 5,000 to 9,000 pounds of trailer on the hitch makes the front wheels light. With both a full bed and a trailer, we were able to spin the front tires on hard acceleration—on, say, uphill freeway on-ramps. (Allwheel drive is standard on all versions of the Lightning today.) Flooring the pedal even produced some squirming as the rear wheels powered forward while the fronts fought for traction. The nose-heavy weight distribution of an ICE-powered F-150 goes some way to alleviate this.

What no other truck can do To be fair, Ford has to accommodate a vastly greater set of use cases for an F-150 than it does for, say, the Mach-E. And the Ford’s conventional metal springs and shocks have to handle all the different loads and weight distributions thrown at them. No version of the Lightning offers air suspension, unlike the GMC Hummer EV and the Rivian R1T. A big part of the Lightning’s appeal has turned out to be a use case that has nothing to do with on-road performance. It’s the ability to use its battery to power your house during an electricity outage—if you get the big battery and high-end spec, and have a house with wiring that accommodates it.

We surmise that Ford was startled at the degree to which this idea propelled the truck’s popularity. Certainly

This is the smoothest and best-riding version of the F-150 nameplate, ever.

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Images courtesy of Ford

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THE VEHICLES

Images courtesy of Ford

Image: John Voelcker

the week-long Texas power outage of February 2021 can’t have hurt, in a pickup-crazy state. But it’s not a new idea for EVs—Japan used the relatively tiny 16 kWh battery packs in hundreds of Mitsubishi i-MiEV minicars to power mobile medical units in the wake of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami that destroyed the Fukushima nuclear plant.

There are asterisks, of course: Powering your house requires the larger-battery version of the Lightning, along with the PowerStation Pro home charging station, which delivers up to 19.2 kilowatts (a $1,310 option for lower trims). Ford has partnered with Sunrun for installation of a $3,895 home integration system that includes a 9.6 kW DC-to-AC converter and an automatic transfer switch for the home’s electrical panel. Still, it’s a use for EVs that gasoline trucks can’t duplicate, one that justifiably seized public attention.

A big part of the Lightning’s appeal has nothing to do with on-road performance. It’s the ability to use its battery to power your house during an electricity outage.

At its presentation before the drives, Ford showed another facet of the F-150 Lightning’s power-out capabilities. With an available adapter, a Lightning was able to recharge the battery of a Mach-E using that car’s portable charging cord. EV-to-EV charging, while hardly fast, offers the roadside-rescue equivalent of that 5-gallon can of gasoline.

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September 13-15, 2022

For more information, please visit

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THE VEHICLES

Images courtesy of Ford

Team Edison surveyed truck owners, and found many were open to the idea of an electric F-150—though skeptical. The message was clear: It had to do everything the gasoline F-150 did…and it couldn’t be “weird.”

Company core: trucks Ford knows trucks, which in North America are its core strength—to the point that it no longer sells any passenger cars other than the Mustang sports coupe.

Everything else is an SUV or truck of some sort, including its excellent new Maverick compact pickup.

But a battery-electric truck was still a big evolution.

As Tesla gathered steam from 2012, Ford spent the decade grudgingly producing minimal numbers of the uncompetitive Focus Electric, purely a compliance car that sold less than 10,000 units in eight years.

The origin story of the F-150 Lightning wasn’t something the EV world saw coming in the mid-2010s.

The decision to electrify the company’s core product and crown jewel came out of the Team Edison group assembled by CEO Jim Hackett after his predecessor, Mark Fields, was summarily fi red in May 2017 after three years. Among the reasons for his departure: zero meaningful progress on EVs. The group concluded that Ford had to change course,

and do so fast, radically and effectively. The result was the Mustang Mach-E, which audaciously used Mustang design cues and performance traits in an all-electric four-door crossover that was originally developed as another compliance car. Then came perhaps the most obvious market segment: urban and suburban delivery vans—the fi rst Ford e-Transits were delivered earlier this year.

But building an all-electric version of its core product, the company’s golden goose, took the EV program into the heart of the company. Team Edison surveyed truck owners, and found many were open to the idea of an electric F-150—though skeptical. The message was clear: It had to do everything the gasoline F-150 did…and it couldn’t be “weird.” It had to be, in other words, an F-150.

Keeping it an F-150 So how do you make an F-150 powered by electric motors and a battery, if the chassis and powertrain must change radically? The answer was to keep the look, the

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Take Total Charge of Your eMobility Future

familiar user interface, and the current utility of a gasoline F-150—but add capabilities the non-electric F-150 can’t possibly provide.

The frame rails that surround battery packs of 98 or 131 (usable) kWh differ greatly from those of a gasoline F-150, as do the twin electric motors powering the front and rear wheels.

The Lightning is the fi rst-ever F-150 with independent rear suspension, and eliminating the engine and transmission allowed Ford’s designers to create a front trunk. While the company insists on calling it a Mega Power Frunk, it nonetheless offers 400 liters (14.1

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THE VEHICLES

cubic feet) of capacity and 400 pounds of load rating— enough for the luggage of four journalists en route to a drive event.

What didn’t change was the cab structure and pickup-bed interior. The sheet metal is smoother and more aerodynamic, but the Lightning is obviously an F-150. The interior, too, will be familiar to any F-150 driver—as will the bed, which retains all mounting points, tiedowns, tailgate, and other features, so owners can transfer specialized “upfit” gear from one F-150 to another.

That last point is especially important, because Ford is heavily focused on the fleet usage aspect of an electric pickup. Considering its two other EVs to date, the Mustang Mach-E is sold almost entirely for personal use, whereas the e-Transit buyer is very likely a commercial or fleet user. The F-150 Lightning bridges both those uses, with the Pro trim for fleet users and the XLT and Platinum trims for retail buyers.

Ford is already finding that its electric pickup is bringing first-timers into EVs, and new customers to the company. Four of five reservation-holders for the F-150 Lightning are new to EVs, execs said, and three of four have not previously owned a Ford.

Talk about trailering A main challenge for the F-150 Lightning—and EVs in general—will be towing. Ford says its data shows that 75 percent of all F-150 owners use their trucks to tow, and that 85 percent of them tow 10,000 pounds or less. Indeed, the drive event included trailers of 5,000 to 9,000 pounds hooked to Lightning hitches.

Ford’s Intelligent Range algorithm and various trailer-towing features ask the Lightning driver to “qualify” a trailer by towing it for a few miles so the truck can calculate its effect on battery range. Its Intelligent Scales and Smart Hitch functions help owners position loads correctly over the trailer wheels for proper tongue weight.

Towing the lightest of those test trailers over 16 miles that included twisty country roads and a short segment of Interstate, we observed energy efficiency of 1.3 to 1.4 miles/kWh. And our truck with a 5,000-pound trailer showed a recorded 1.3 miles/kWh over 1,300 miles.

That’s roughly 60 percent of the 2.1 to 2.3 miles/kWh we saw in unloaded Lightnings—and matches results

We don’t expect towing to be a major part of the Lightning’s duty cycle for some time, pending larger batteries and better onroad charging infrastructure. achieved in tests of trailer towing with a Tesla Model X, which cut range by up to half.

The range impact of towing is the same for an electric as a combustion-engine truck, said Dapo Adewusi, the Lightning’s Vehicle Engineering Manager. But even the top-trim Lightning, which is EPA-rated at 320 miles, is likely to return more like 250 miles at steady highway speeds. That could fall to 130 to 150 miles if towing, compared to some F-Series versions that may go twice the distance even while towing thanks to their massive diesel tanks.

There’s also the challenge of on-road charging while towing. Drivers may need to recharge every 90 minutes to two hours, but virtually no DC fast charging sites today offer pull-through layouts for trailer towing.

That is starting to change—Electrify America’s latest designs include pull-throughs. Still, we don’t expect towing to be a major part of the Lightning’s duty cycle for some time, pending larger batteries and better onroad charging infrastructure.

Truck Bros approve?

Our fi nal impression of the F-150 Lightning is far from statistically valid, but we think it’s indicative. Heading back on one of the many four- to six-lane highways that lead into San Antonio, a lifted F-250—with wheels protruding easily a foot beyond the wheel wells— roared up behind us and drew level.

The young guy behind the wheel slowed to pace our truck, and gave us a big smile and an enthusiastic thumbs-up when we looked over. We almost changed lanes in shock. If Truck Bros like the Lightning (at least this one), it’s not hard to imagine a bright future for the electric F-150.

Ford provided airfare, lodging, and meals to enable Charged to bring you this first-person drive report.

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THE INFRASTRUCTURE

provider Easelink are working together on a pilot project called eTaxi Austria, which will test automated charging options installed at taxi stands.

On the grounds of the Simmering power plant, the companies created a mockup of an actual taxi stand, with three Easelink Matrix Charging Pads set flush into the pavement.

The project is using the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and the VW ID.4, each equipped with an integrated connector.

When a vehicle parks above one of the charging pads, the connector lowers to establish a physical connection, and charging begins automatically. The charging pads are connected to a load management system designed by Wien Energie, which maintains the required charging power.

“The demonstration site will provide insights into automated charging and various load management scenarios that are specific to eTaxi applications,” says Easelink.

The project will continue until mid-2024, and the next phase will involve over 60 vehicles at a total of 10 sites in Vienna and Graz.

“With the Matrix Charging Pads embedded flush in the ground, there is a solution for uncomplicated and practical charging at the location. Instead of an extra trip to a charging station, the time at the taxi stand can be used for charging,” said Leopold Kautzner of the Vienna Chamber of Commerce.

Images courtesy of Easelink

Four years ago, the Charging Interface Initiative (CharIN), a global consortium with 280 members, including vehicle OEMs and EVSE manufacturers, established the Task Force for Heavy Duty Charging for Commercial Vehicles to develop a new standard for charging commercial EVs. Now CharIN has officially introduced the Megawatt Charging System (MCS), and demonstrated it using an Alpitronic charger and a Scania 100% electric truck.

More than 300 visitors attended the unveiling at the recent EVS35 trade show in Oslo. CharIN members will present their respective MCS-based products in the coming year.

MCS is based on globally aligned requirements and a technical specification for a worldwide standard. It includes the benefits and features of the Combined Charging System (CCS) based on ISO/IEC 15118. It’s expected to enable fast and efficient charging not only for trucks, but also for marine vessels, aeronautics and mining. Final publication of the standard is expected in 2024.

A consortium of industry partners has already started a pilot in Germany, the HoLa project, to test Megawatt Charging for long-haul trucking in real-world conditions.

Image courtesy of Roberto di Gento

CharIN officially launches Megawatt Charging System for Easelink tests automated taxi stand charging in Austria commercial EVs Electric utility Wien Energie and Austrian charging

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Schneider Electric acquires EV Connect Charging solution provider EV Connect has been acquired by energy management and automation specialist Schneider Electric. Along with the current management team, CEO and founder Jordan Ramer will continue to lead EV Connect’s operations as a distinct subsidiary.

EV Connect was established in 2010, and currently serves customers across 41 US states.

“At Schneider Electric, we believe that electric and digital are the recipe for a more sustainable and more resilient world,” said Nadege Petit, Chief Innovation Officer at Schneider Electric.

“EV Connect has a very similar vision.”

“Schneider Electric not only supports our strategic goals, but fully embraces the value of electricity as a transportation fuel managed by a robust and feature-rich networked EV charging platform,” said Jordan Ramer, CEO and founder of EV Connect. “With Schneider we are positioned to strengthen our presence in the EV market.”

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Tesla, other EV-makers ask US government to fund heavy-duty EV charging infrastructure Tesla, along with several other automakers and environmental groups, has formally asked the Biden administration to invest in charging infrastructure for electric buses, trucks and other medium- and heavy-duty vehicles.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) signed by President Biden last November includes $7.5 billion in funding for EV charging. In an open letter to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, the automakers and other groups asked the administration to allocate 10 percent of this money to infrastructure for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles.

“While heavy-duty vehicles make up only ten percent of all vehicles on roads in the United States, they contribute 45 percent of the transportation sector’s nitrogen oxide pollution, 57 percent of its fine particulate matter pollution, and 28 percent of its global warming emissions,” reads the letter in part. “The pollution from these vehicles disproportionately impacts low-income and underserved communities. Fortunately, electrifying medium- and heavy-duty vehicles is already economical in many cases…Access to charging, on the other hand, remains a significant barrier to adoption.

“Most public EV charging infrastructure has been designed and built with passenger vehicles in mind. The size and location of spaces reflect an interest in servicing the driving public, not larger commercial vehicles.

If America’s MHDV fleet is to go electric, the charging infrastructure built under the BIL will need to take its unique needs into account.

“As the Biden administration drafts guidelines, standards and requirements for EV infrastructure paid for by the BIL, we ask that they encourage states to develop charging infrastructure designed to service MHDVs. More specifically, we ask that at least ten percent of the funding included in the BIL’s Section 11401 Grants for Fueling and Infrastructure Program be spent on charging infrastructure designed to service MHDV— both along designated alternative fueling corridors and within communities.”

Image courtesy of EOS Linx

THE INFRASTRUCTURE

EOS Linx to expand EV charging network at Texas gas stations EOS Linx, a provider of solar-supported EV chargers with digital advertising displays, has partnered with the Lone Star Business Association Cooperative (LSBAC) to expand its EV charging network at petro-convenience stores across Texas.

LSBAC is a network of retail sites located in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and across North Central Texas.

EOS Linx is currently working with LSBAC to determine the most suitable locations for installing its EOS Charge Stations. EOS Charge Stations are already installed in the cities of Mount Vernon and Canton, and more locations will be added “in the coming months.”

Under the agreement, EOS will install up to 100 EV chargers at LSBAC member stores. Each charging station features a 75-inch digital display designed to maximize brand exposure and engagement by reaching consumers when they are making purchasing decisions.

“Our universal EOS Charge Stations include multiple EV charging sockets and robust data analytics tools that provide stores what they need to succeed,” says EOS Linx’s CEO Blake Snider.

“EOS Charge Stations provide many benefits in one unique solution. We’re talking about marketing and media combined with EV charging stations that will drive incremental traffic and revenue for stores, and that’s a winning combination for our members,” says LSBAC Vice President Ziad Baddour.

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New solar project will power 100% of Electrify America’s charging network— and then some Electrify America has entered into a 15-year virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) with Terra-Gen, a provider of utility-scale renewable energy projects, to build a solar photovoltaic generation project in San Bernardino County, California.

The new installation, dubbed Electrify America Solar Glow, is targeted to be operational by mid-2023, and is expected to generate 75 MW at peak solar capacity. This translates to an estimated annual production of 225,000 MWh—more than enough to power Electrify America’s entire charging network with 100% renewable energy.

Electrify America’s charging network is already backed by 100% renewable energy through the purchase of environmental certificates from existing renewable generation. EA will purchase and retire all bundled environmental certificates associated with the new solar project over a 15-year period.

The project may also be expanded at the option of Terra-Gen to include a co-located battery energy storage system to further increase the delivery of renewable energy to the grid during times of peak electricity consumption.

The new energy storage system will be in addition to EA’s ongoing push to deploy over 30 MW of behind-the-meter energy storage systems at charging stations across the US. “Electrify America’s business model and purpose have always been at the forefront of efforts to reduce emissions through enabling electric mobility,” said Giovanni Palazzo, CEO of Electrify America. “Our commitment to customers and to a sustainable future go hand-in-hand, which is why we are investing in renewable energy generation to commit to a net zero carbon footprint associated with the energy delivered to our customers.”

Electrify America has also entered into an interim VPPA to support Terra-Gen’s existing Solar Energy Generating Systems (SEGS) IX solar thermal plant (which has been in operation since 1990) until the adjacent new solar photovoltaic facility in San Bernardino County is fully operational.

“Electrify America is proud to support SEGS, which was instrumental to fostering renewable energy generation in the 20th century and parallels Electrify America’s mission to advance electric vehicle adoption today,” said Jigar Shah, EA’s Head of Energy Services. “In aggregate, these 100% renewable energy commitments address Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions for all energy delivered to our customers.”

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Charging network operator Blink Charging has agreed to acquire EVSE manufacturer SemaConnect for $200 million. The deal will add an additional 13,000 chargers, 1,800 site host locations, and more than 150,000 registered members to Blink’s existing footprint.

Blink says the acquisition will enable it to offer “complete vertical integration, from R&D and manufacturing to charger ownership and operation.”

Blink will benefit from SemaConnect’s in-house R&D, hardware design, and manufacturing capabilities. SemaConnect’s manufacturing facility in Maryland will allow Blink to comply with the Buy American requirements of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which is expected to make up to $7.5 billion available to fund public charging.

SemaConnect provides both Level 2 and DC fast chargers, as well as a charging-as-a-service program that provides a full package of charging solutions. Customers include CBRE, JLL, Hines, Greystar, Cisco Systems and Standard Parking.

Blink will incorporate SemaConnect’s chargers into a single network developed by a joint engineering team.

The addition of the SemaConnect hardware will accelerate Blink’s expansion across multiple markets, including California, which now requires credit card functionality.

“SemaConnect is an established and well-known EV charging company with a proven track record of success, strong relationships with its site host partners in both the public and private sectors, and best-in-class technical capabilities,” said Michael D. Farkas, founder and CEO of Blink Charging. “SemaConnect has a robust hardware product line-up which complements Blink’s extensive software product offerings including our multi-language and multi-currency network, allowing Blink to have an EV charging station for any location across more than 20 countries.”

Image courtesy of SparkCharge

Blink Charging acquires SemaConnect

Image courtesy of SemaConnect

THE INFRASTRUCTURE

SparkCharge raises $23 million to scale its on-demand EV charging service Mobile charging specialist SparkCharge has raised $23 million in a Series A funding round co-led by Tale Venture Partners and Pendulum. SparkCharge will use the new funding to scale Currently, the company’s on-demand mobile charging app, which allows users to schedule a charge to be delivered to their EVs. SparkCharge says the Currently service has delivered over 100,000 miles of range to EV owners, and is on track to deliver millions of miles of charge this year.

Since the start of 2022, SparkCharge has secured partnerships with global brands including Kia, Hertz and Uber. SparkCharge’s Currently app has been launched in 4 cities, and the company plans to expand it to over 20 additional markets.

“The investments will also allow our team to serve markets where no one else can to meet the needs of EV owners and fleets across the country, in major cities and suburbs,” said Josh Aviv, CEO and founder of SparkCharge.

“SparkCharge is thriving by offering a unique concierge service, while everyone else is pushing the same old, same old self-serves,” said investor Mark Cuban.

“Currently makes charging convenient and accessible to a booming industry—reinvesting in them was an easy decision.”

SparkCharge plans to reveal several new products and major updates at its annual SparkDay event this August.

“The products we reveal on SparkDay are going to allow for a fundamental shift in the way people perceive EV charging,” said Joshua Aviv. “We are going to disrupt the traditional way EV charging is done at its core and open the world’s eyes to a seamless, connected way of EV charging, effectively removing the EV owner from the EV charging equation.”

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White House proposes standards for national charging network The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) authorized $7.5 billion of investment in EV charging infrastructure, which the Biden Administration says will be used to build a national network of 500,000 public chargers. Over the last year, the government has been developing a plan (complete with the usual alphabet soup of working groups and programs) to distribute that money.

Now the Department of Transportation, together with the Department of Energy, has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that details the proposed minimum standards for chargers that will be financed under the BIL. Companies seeking federal funding to deploy charging stations will have to meet the standards, and states will use them to develop their EV deployment plans under the $5-billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program.

“These minimum standards will help ensure our national EV charging network is user-friendly, reliable, and accessible to all Americans, and interoperable between different charging companies, with similar payment systems, pricing information, charging speeds, and more,” wrote the DOT in a press release. “No matter what kind of EV a user drives, what state they charge in, or what charging company they plug into, the minimum standards will ensure a unified network of chargers.”

“If we’re going to build out infrastructure like we haven’t done since the Eisenhower era, we have to do it right,” said Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.

Some of the proposed regulations are designed to ensure that rural areas and smaller communities would have the same access to charging stations as urban areas. Charging stations must be positioned along Interstates every 50 miles, and be located no more than a mile from a major highway. Each charging station would be required to provide a minimum of four individual DC fast chargers.

Charging stations built with federal dollars will be barred from requiring paid memberships, and networks will have to offer mobile apps to provide real-time information about pricing and availability.

“EV drivers should be able to count on finding a place to recharge easily wherever they go,” said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Other proposed requirements aim to create a seamless national network that will communicate and operate on the same software platforms from one state to another; address traffic control devices and on-premise signage; require data to be submitted to help create a public EV charging database; and require network connectivity to enable remote monitoring, diagnostics and updates.

The administration says its internal modeling indicates that the $7.5 billion allocated by the infrastructure law should be sufficient to meet the goal of building 500,000 charging stations across the country by 2030.

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Image courtesy of Schneider Electric

Image courtesy of The Stack Charge

THE INFRASTRUCTURE

Schneider’s new end-toend EV solution integrates charging with building energy management Energy management and automation specialist Schneider Electric has launched a new EV charging solution designed to make buildings smarter and more sustainable while adding EV charging infrastructure.

EcoStruxure for eMobility is an end-to-end connected solution that’s designed to help manage a building’s power usage to ensure efficiency and reliability. It includes three main elements: • EVlink Pro AC, a connected charger • EcoStruxure EV Charging Expert, an on-site load management system that dynamically distributes available power in the building to charge EVs, avoiding peak hours and integrating renewable energy • EcoStruxure EV Advisor, a cloud-based operations software package that will be launched “later in the year” “As EVs take hold of the car market, buildings will take on a larger share of the burden,” said Mike Doucleff, Head of Schneider’s eMobility Business. “When EVs become the dominant mode of transportation, people won’t be stopping to charge—they’ll charge where they stop. We will charge at home and also at destinations like offices, shops, restaurants, parking garages, schools, hospitals, movie theaters, etc.”

The Stack Charge plans California charging hub with retail and restaurants Real estate developer LL Development has acquired a 1.29-acre land parcel in Baker, California, on which it plans to build a public charging hub called The Stack Charge. The Baker site is located off I-15, a primary thoroughfare between Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

The Stack Charge will feature “elevated retail offerings and quick-service restaurants…outdoor lounge areas, 24/7 restroom facilities, WiFi, and more.”

The site will include 40 DC fast charging stations. The company hasn’t said who the operator(s) will be, but it did say that 8 will be “universal charging stations.” A rendering on the web site indicates that the remaining 32 may be Tesla Superchargers.

Construction on the Baker site will begin in Q4 2022, and is expected to be completed in Q2 2023. The Stack Charge hopes to build 10 charging hubs in Southern California over the next year, at locations in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Orange and San Diego Counties.

“There is a lack of fast charging infrastructure despite the growth of EV sales,” said Stack Charge co-founder Lester Ciudad Real. “We are looking to acquire sites that have strong retail real estate fundamentals and benefit from high transit traffic, as we anticipate demand to skyrocket as EVs continue to dominate the market.”

“Existing EV charging sites offer a poor user experience due to the lack of amenities, slow charge times, and inconvenient locations,” added co-founder Lawrence Fung. “We are aiming to redefine electric car charging by turning stations into modern hubs with experience-driven amenities.”

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Image courtesy of ABB

Holman invests in EV management software provider AmpUp Image courtesy of AmpUp

The venture capital division of global automotive services firm Holman has made an investment in AmpUp, a provider of EV management software.

New Jersey-based Holman delivers a range of automotive services, including fleet management and leasing, vehicle fabrication and upfitting, component manufacturing, and insurance.

AmpUp’s technology is designed to allow fleet operators to monitor and manage their EV charging infrastructure to simplify charging schedules and optimize energy consumption.

The companies plan to leverage Holman’s fleet management services and AmpUp’s technology platform to aggregate charging information with vehicle operating data, “reducing the risk of data fragmentation and mitigating fraud, while also eliminating potential blind spots as fleet operators navigate the transition to EVs.” “As a growing number of organizations embrace EVs and the associated infrastructure becomes increasingly robust, enhanced visibility to charging data will be vital to effectively managing EV chargers and optimizing charging strategies at scale,” said Holman Director of Sustainability Emily Graham. “As we continue to explore potential electrification opportunities with our customers, aligning with technology leaders such as AmpUp allows us to integrate at-home and public charging information with the full range of vehicle operating data we already capture, further streamlining the transition to EVs for fleet operators and delivering the insight necessary to make fully-informed strategic decisions.”

ABB E-mobility opens its largest DC fast charger production facility in Italy ABB E-mobility has opened the company’s largest DC fast charger production site to date. The 16,000-square-meter E-mobility Centre of Excellence in Valdarno, Tuscany has an annual production capacity of more than 10,000 DC chargers. The company has invested some $30 million at the new site, where it will produce the full range of ABB DC charging solutions.

ABB says the new plant will be capable of producing one DC fast charger every 20 minutes, thanks to its 7 production lines. There are also 15 testing facilities, which are able to simulate over 400 charging sessions per day. The facility will include a 3,200-square-meter space for development and prototyping, as well as integrated automation solutions to connect the shop floor with the warehouse.

The Valdarno facility aims to achieve gold-level LEED certification as an eco-friendly building. ABB says rainwater is collected for irrigation use, 100 percent of production waste is recycled, and all the energy used comes from renewable sources, including a photovoltaic system delivering 720 MWh of electricity per year. The site’s electrical distribution is optimized by ABB Ability Energy and Asset Manager, a platform that monitors and manages over 9,000 devices throughout the facility, including thermal regulation, lighting and air handling.

“The opening of our new Valdarno facility demonstrates ABB E-mobility’s commitment to building a zero-emission future,” said Frank Mühlon, CEO of ABB E-mobility. “In addition to increased production capacity, the investment made in Valdarno helps to expand our innovative R&D activity, ensuring we can continue to cement our reputation as the world leader in electric vehicle charging solutions.”

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THE INFRASTRUCTURE

THE PROMISE OF

WIRELESS CHARGING SMALLER BATTERIES,

LONGER BATTERY LIFE,

FEWER CHARGING STATIONS Q&A with Momentum Dynamics ireless charging is nothing new—Charged has covered wireless EV charging since at least 2011—but it may be that its true value is only coming into focus now, as more and more commercial and transit fleets are electrifying.

There are many reasons (safety, reliability, liability) that a fleet operator might not want their drivers getting out of the vehicles to plug and unplug charging cables. And if one thinks a little deeper, it turns out that wireless, done properly, could be truly transforma-

W

tive, particularly for a public transit fleet. What if going wireless enabled you to prolong the life of your batteries, to achieve the same range with a smaller battery pack, and to charge the same number of vehicles with fewer charging stations?

These are the benefits Momentum Dynamics claims to offer, and Charged sat down with Bob Kacergis, Momentum’s Chief Commercial Officer, and John Holland, the company’s Commercial Director for Europe and the Middle East, to hear the details.

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By Charles Morris Q Charged: Can you give us a brief company history?

A Bob Kacergis: Momentum Dynamics was founded in 2009 by Andy Daga, who is the current CEO. I’ve been an advisor to the company since 2010, and I joined as a full-time member of the team about two and a half years ago.

We started from day one focusing on high-power wireless charging, and we developed a modular approach. We have a common module that can serve any vehicle from any OEM in any geography. Our charger on the ground can charge any of our customers’ vehicles. I could drive a Class 8 truck over a light-duty charger, and it will activate one pad of that truck and still charge. I can drive a passenger vehicle over a 300-kilowatt commercial charger, and if that passenger vehicle has one pad, it’ll activate that one pad.

Q Charged: So, the same charging station will work

for all vehicles?

A John Holland: Yes. We’re completely modular and interoperable, so we have the same system deployed across all vehicle types and all fleets. We could take an Oslo taxi and charge it in a bus terminal in Wenatchee, Washington or vice versa. Underneath, EV electrical architectures share a lot in common, and our integrations are actually very straightforward, whether it’s an

aftermarket accessory as a kit or, as we’re doing with Volvo Cars, an OEM-installed solution.

Q Charged: What’s involved with installing the vehicle-side system?

A John Holland: We fasten the receiver plate under-

neath the car. We connect high-power communication lines into the DC charging system of the car. The battery management system remains in control of our pad. Then we tap into the normal cooling system loop of the vehicle. We also have foreign object detection cameras to make sure we have no metallic objects falling into the magnetic field. And it’s as simple as that.

Q Charged: It could be installed in any existing EV? A John Holland: I’ll generalize with a lazy “Yes,”

however we need to study the particular application.

We need a suitable ground clearance, so the package space where we install is important. We are installed on the Volvo XC40 and the Jaguar I-PACE in public, so that shows the ground clearance is not an issue.

Momentum is working through many new vehicle integration projects today, including buses, trucks, commercial and passenger vehicles, plus some exciting special applications.

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THE INFRASTRUCTURE Q Charged: How does the transfer efficiency com-

pare to a wired system?

A Bob Kacergis: The transfer is a little bit better than

a plug-based system. A lot of people don’t understand how that can be, but if you think about the topology of a charger, there’s the power electronics that are connected to the grid—that’s where the cabinet is—then there’s a cable going from there to where the vehicle is, and then there’s vehicle coupling. At the cabinet end, we have an advantage over plug-in charging because one of the key power transfer stages in the power electronics is an isolation transformer, an air-gap transformer, which is protecting the vehicle from the grid and vice-versa. If there’s a lightning strike, for example, there’s a physical separation. We don’t need that component because the air gap between the vehicle and the ground charger serves as our isolation transformer.

We have more efficient power electronics. Transfer out to the pad, the vehicle site: parity. The vehicle coupling, we do have some losses in the pads, both on the ground and the vehicle, but it is not as big as the gain we get for missing that component in the power electronics cabinet. The air gap itself operates at 99.99% efficiency between the pads.

People say, “Oh, you’re wireless. You must be radiating EMF.” In fact, we are not, we are recycling that magnetic field and containing it within the pads, because it is a resonant, highly coupled and shaped magnetic field. If we were acting like an antenna and radiating out, we would have high EMF emissions, and we would have to warn people about magnetic safety around our equipment. That’s why we believe we have an advantage over other [companies]. We have lower EMF emissions than the people who are trying to do low-power wireless. They can’t figure out how we do what we do.

We have a cable transmission efficiency advantage because of our modular architecture. In running a cable, there are heat losses due to resistance through copper. We’re modular, so if we have a 300 kW charger, we’re actually running four sets of cable from our charger to the power electronics. We are not increasing the amperage of our system when we go to higher power, we’re simply putting another low-power charger next to it. The resistance loss in a cable is the current

What we do is charge vehicles frequently and by doing so, we maintain a 45 to 75% state of charge (SoC), so the battery sees a much gentler approach. squared times the resistance of the wire, so as our power levels go up, for example if we do a 4x increase in power, we’re just putting four of the same charger.

Whereas running a single cable, going to four times the power, I would have to increase my amperage four times, so it’s 16 times less efficient for a single-cable system to do that same run.

I’ve yet to see a single plug-in charger company talk about their grid-to-battery efficiency. Everyone assumes it must be 100% efficient, but the reality is that these systems are anywhere from 88 to 94% efficient.

We’re somewhere in the 90 to 92% range. We’ve measured it up to 94%, but if you do it at any given day, you’re not going to fi nd that, because it depends on [several things]. Are you running it at full power?

Is the battery in the right state of charge for actually accepting full power? Because it’s all non-linear, right?

The battery doesn’t demand full power the whole time, so you’re rarely running your charger at full power.

And efficiency numbers that people claim are running it at full power under ideal conditions.

Q Charged: You say using wireless charging can

extend battery life. How does that work?

A John Holland: Lithium-ion batteries degrade with

use. Overnight or deep-cycle discharge damages batteries, and high C rates degrade batteries because of the temperature created. What we do is charge vehicles frequently and by doing so, we maintain a 45 to 75% state of charge (SoC), so the battery sees a much gentler approach. The evidence, based on our research and some academic research, is that it can lead to 4.5 times more life expectancy for a battery versus a deep-cycle charging approach.

All commercial EVs should have a long, productive

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life, however if in a high-utilization application and duty cycle the batteries degrade with a non-viable state of health and range, then there is a major issue. If batteries are not surviving the life of the vehicle, I personally fi nd that an obscene position to be in as we drive forward with our environmentally-focused revolution.

Bob Kacergis: Partial State of Charge (PSOC) management significantly prolongs the life of battery packs, because the full charge cycling [charging all the way to 100%] is causing physical damage to the individual cells. We have on our advisory board a battery expert who advises the battery manufacturers, and he described it to me as calcification of your veins in an irreversible way. That’s what happens when you fully charge your lithium-ion batteries.

Some of our more advanced customers understand this—our oldest operator will typically try to maintain their batteries between 35 and 85% state of charge. We enable them to stay [in that range] all day long, because every cycle of that bus, they’re sitting on a charger at a transfer station for five minutes, seven minutes, and they basically have perpetual-range vehicles.

Q Charged: What are some other benefits of your

system?

A Bob Kacergis: You have a longer-range vehicle, so

you eliminate downtime losses. It’s fully automatic, so you don’t have to leave your vehicle to charge, you don’t have tripping hazards. There’s ease of operations, ease of maintenance benefits. The other benefit, which we are not realizing yet, but we’re getting people asking about, is: “Hey, if I can maintain my batteries in that 50 to 80% range all the time, can I get rid of some battery off the bus?” If you have a lighter vehicle, it has more capacity, more energy efficiency, because you’re not driving dead weight mass around.

John Holland: By removing 2.2 metric tons [in battery

weight] from a bus, we saved a fleet operator $24 million in energy costs. The energy requirement of propelling 1,000 kilograms of vehicle for 100 kilometers is typically 10 kilowatt-hours, higher in high-gradient landscapes. So if you remove 2,200 kg of weight, you remove 22 kWh for every 100 km driven, which over the life of a fleet of 28 buses will save you $24 million in energy costs just because you’ve got a lighter vehicle.

That’s at today’s energy prices. The savings from lightweight vehicles are absolutely staggering.

Bob Kacergis: If you look at the bus market, the strategy of these [OEMs] is what I call the big bus strategy.

They keep saying, “Let’s put on more battery, because our guys need more range.” And the more they do that, the vehicles are actually not road-legal—they’re violating the axle weight limits. They’re physically damaging the vehicles because they’re so heavy. They’re reducing passenger capacity, reducing energy efficiency, and they still can’t make range in wintertime, because commercial vehicles can lose between 40 and 60% of their range in cold-weather operations.

Vehicle manufacturers do not share that when they’re selling vehicles, so [fleet operators] are buying vehicles and as soon as winter comes around, they’re

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THE INFRASTRUCTURE Here’s our charging user manual: You drive to the charger and put the vehicle in Park. getting [only] 60 miles out of a vehicle. A lot of the advice of the engineering fi rms, knowing this coldweather impact, is to fi nd easier routes fi rst and wait for bigger-battery buses [to serve the longer routes].

Or they’re saying you have to buy [up to] two electric buses to replace every diesel bus because of this battery behavior impact. Economically irrational.

What we say is, we’ll replace them on a one-to-one ratio and charge them more intelligently. We give them a sip of energy here and a sip of energy there as they’re doing their work. Same thing in logistics yards with vehicles that are doing multiple back-and-forth routes from a port to a logistics center. If you look at commercial vehicles, a lot of their time during the course of the day is dwell time. You just have to figure out where that is and how to plan for it. So, we take an operational approach with our customers, going to watch their vehicles at work and fi nding opportunities to grab a little bit of electricity in the normal course of operations. If you do that, you can keep your vehicle at work all day long, so you’re increasing the revenue availability of your vehicle.

Whether you’re carrying goods or bodies, if your vehicle’s sitting attached to its plug, it’s not making money. We’re doing the same thing around the world.

In our Gothenburg and Oslo taxi projects, the chargers are at the taxi stands. They’re sitting over the charger while they’re waiting for fares. They’re grabbing incremental electricity while they’re sitting there, and we know they’re coming back, because their dispatch model is from a taxi stand. And the idea is that they are in revenue service all the time. If you do the math from the vehicle owner’s perspective, we’re giving them 20 to 30% more revenue opportunity.

And when they’re at a stop, they’re charging the entire time. They don’t have to get out, register, plug in and unplug. In two minutes we give them two minutes of charging time, minus four seconds, because authentication, identification and the initiation of charging

are all totally automatic. One of the things that John posted this week was funny. He said, “Here’s our charging user manual: You drive to the charger, and put the vehicle in Park.”

Q Charged: That sounds like what a Tesla super-

charger or the new Plug and Charge system does, but this is your proprietary system that does all this, right?

A Bob Kacergis: Yeah. These are high-power char-

gers, and it is automatic like the Tesla process. We’re communicating between the vehicle and the charger, asking the network, “Is this an authorized user?” If yes, we start charging based on the vehicle’s request. The pad is actually communicating over a wireless nearfield communications network.

Q Charged: We saw the case study video of the

system you installed for Link Transit in Washington in 2018. Have you upgraded your system since then?

A Bob Kacergis: I would call them a beta user of our

gen-one system. That was a four-pad system with a total power level of 200 kW. That was actually embedded in the pavement, so not easy to replace—it wasn’t as modular as our current system. With our current system it’s very easy for us to swap pads in and out and upgrade. We’ve had a couple of our fi rst-generation users that are upgrading.

Another gen-one customer is CARTA down in Chattanooga. They’re converting to new technology. As we evolve our capability, we will either make sure it’s backward-compatible or in some cases we’ll actually swap out the components on the vehicle and/or the ground. It’s designed to be easily maintainable, swappable.

Another nice thing about our multi-pad modular design: if there is an issue on the ground or on the vehicle side, the rest of those systems will keep operating, because they are independent systems end-to-end, all the way through to the power electronics. We had an example of this with one of our customers—in the wintertime, one of their pads failed, but the other three kept going. The soft ware will just rebalance and provide what the vehicle needs.

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Q Charged: Are there some other customers you can

tell us about?

A Bob Kacergis: Our biggest one is IndyGo in

Indianapolis. They have 31 wireless electric buses, and another 28 on order. Right now, their fi rst charger is installed and they’re a couple months into driver training on that. We’re planning with them on their next two chargers. And they [have issued RFPs] for an additional 40 to 50 buses.

The entire island of Martha’s Vineyard is going electric bus with wireless. We have two chargers at the airport and three of them on a residential street. Someone recently looked at a photograph of this project and said, “Where’s the charger?” And we’re like, “Yeah, that’s the point.” You don’t see it. It’s in the pavement at a bus stop in the middle of a residential neighborhood.

We’re working with about 15 transit agencies in the US right now, at various stages of planning and buildout. Grant Transit, which is in Moses Lake, Washington. We did a ribbon cutting for Kitsap Transit, which is right across from Seattle. We have a big network in Northern California, which is still in design work— that’s an organization called the Solana Transportation Authority. It is a network of 300 kW chargers, which is being built for the benefit of multiple transit agencies in that region.

John Holland: You know about our Oslo taxi projects, and our Volvo taxi project in Gothenburg, Sweden.

I’m looking to extend our taxi projects to cities across the UK, Europe and the Middle East. We also have a grocery delivery van with Waitrose in London. We have an exciting project to charge a fi re truck in the fi re station, and a project to charge ambulances at the [emergency room] drop-off point at a hospital. It’s an exciting time. There’s suddenly a huge amount of interest in wireless charging. In every application I work to remove battery material.

Q Charged: Tell me about your Kansas City Interna-

tional Airport project.

A Bob Kacergis: They’re building a new terminal

that’s going to open in 2023. There’s two of our 300 kW four-pad chargers at the curbside outside of baggage claim. They have a fleet of 28 parking lot shuttles that are cycling full-time. We’re doing the energy modeling with them and we believe their entire fleet will be able to stay charged with these two chargers, because it’s a relatively short route and they don’t have to charge every time they come

APR- JUN 2022

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THE INFRASTRUCTURE We have no moving parts, which is like nirvana for an engineer...Our maintenance schedule is minuscule. Lowest total cost of ownership of any charging system. Period. around. The bus manufacturer, BYD, is in the process of outfitting the buses right now.

Q Charged: When a transit agency is thinking about electrifying, I imagine they typically make a list of bus OEMs and request a proposal from each one.

How do you insert yourself into that process?

A Bob Kacergis: That question applies in every

market we’re working in—we have to work with both the OEMs and the fleets. In the bus example, we are a factory-installed charging option for Gillig, BYD and Green Power buses, and we’re at some stage of integration discussion with probably every other bus manufacturer that distributes in the US. We’re always in discussions with customers to demand this capability from the OEMs. I know that works, because I’m working with transit operations that are building wireless charging networks that have yet to specify whose bus they’re buying, and they are demanding from the OEMs, “Figure out how to get this [system] on your bus.”

I have a backlog of about 70 vehicles that are waiting for integrations. Ones that you can mention [include] Mack Trucks and Orange EV. They are the leading manufacturer of logistics yard trucks, and they’re designing us into their future model vehicle. We’ve got one of the big German auto OEMs we’ve been integrated with, but we can’t announce it yet.

Q Charged: You’re also targeting truck fleets?

A John Holland: All types of vehicles—passenger

cars, delivery vans, Class 1 to Class 8 trucks. We’re charging construction vehicles, mining and agricultural vehicles. Also, marine applications to charge

electric boats, because of course we’re waterproof.

Because we’re completely waterproof and we’ll charge through all weather conditions, a lot of people are choosing us simply because we are a safer option.

We have no cable, no plugs and no bare terminals.

We’ve got chauffeur vehicle applications who are using us because in the 15 minutes it takes to valet the vehicle, they can charge the car while washing it in a pool of water without any electrification risk.

Q Charged: I suppose maintenance is also less than

with a wired system?

A John Holland: We have no moving parts, which is like nirvana for an engineer. Imagine the maintenance requirements on moving robotic arms, pantographs, catenary systems or cable-drop systems. For us, we just have to check the coolant level. Our maintenance schedule is minuscule. Lowest total cost of ownership of any charging system. Period.

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All types of vehicles— passenger cars, delivery vans, Class 1 to Class 8 trucks.

We’re charging construction vehicles, mining and agricultural vehicles. Also, marine applications to charge electric boats, because of course we’re waterproof.

Q Charged: I suppose your system interfaces with

soft ware systems such as energy management and fleet management packages.

A John Holland: Yes, nearly all of our clients need some backend information management system, which we port into by various means. All are looking for some form of energy management and back-office analytics, which is easy for us.

Q Charged: How does your price compare to a

conventional wired DC charging solution?

A John Holland: Oh, we are so much cheaper. We are

Q Charged: How does your system relate to existing

standards like CCS or the new megawatt charging system?

A John Holland: First, any vehicle that charges with

our system would retain any cable-based chargers, so they would still be available on the vehicle, although we envisage a time when the plug could be removed.

Second, we communicate from vehicle to charge pad separately through our communication system, and then on the back end, that information is made available to any partners, charge point operators or billing agencies that need that information. We’re OCPP 1.6 [compliant].

the lowest total cost of ownership. Whilst our equipment [prices] might be marginally higher—and only marginally—per ground charger, we are comparable to a super-fast charger for each of our charge pads. But then of course, you have to look at total lifetime cost.

We pay for our equipment in buses by removing battery capacity. We pay for the equipment with taxi fleets by giving them uptime availability. The absence of any moving parts means we pay for the equipment because of the significantly reduced maintenance, damage risk and cable theft risk. So, whether it’s productivity or energy savings, every application I have worked with, we are the lowest total cost of ownership of any system.

But on top of cost, if I can take 2.2 metric tons of battery out of a vehicle, then I’ve made a significant environmental impact.

APR- JUN 2022

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Uptime, downtime, time to fix it again L ike most EV drivers, I do my charging at home, and my ClipperCreek charger has shown probably the highest uptime of any piece of electronic hardware I’ve ever owned. Not once has it failed to charge my LEAF, and of the 20 or so different new EVs and PHEVs I’ve tested over the last five years, only one model has refused to play ball. My EV-driving friends report similar levels of reliability from EVSE made by other reputable manufacturers.

When it comes to public charging, I’ve had quite a different user experience. I never actually need to use public chargers, but as I drive around town, I often attempt to do so, as part of my journalistic duty, and my unscientific, anecdotal finding is that public Level 2 chargers here in the Tampa Bay area are out of service at least a third of the time—an uptime ratio that would be considered scandalous in other contexts (imagine the howling if gas pumps only worked two out of three times one tried to guzzle).

It’s not just me. Researchers from the University of California Berkeley recently visited 181 public charging sites in the Bay Area, and found that over a quarter of the chargers they tested were down for the count. “This level of functionality appears to conflict with the 95 to 98% uptime reported” by station operators, said the researchers with classic understatement.

Is this simply the tragedy of the commons? Many of these stations are free, and sadly, consumers tend to disrespect and abuse things they don’t pay for. But in all my failed attempts to charge, I’ve never seen any evidence of physical damage. People aren’t running over the cables or smashing the screens—in fact, I’ve always found that the screen works fine, displaying a cryptic error message such as “ground fault,” “offline,” or simply “out of service.”

Are the problems with the hardware? The software? The networks? Do operators even know? We reached out to several of the leading network operators and hardware providers for some answers, or at least some educated opinions.

Raj Jhaveri, VP of Technology at EV Connect, offered a couple of reasons a particular charger might go down. “One is poor site assessment and installation where the charger is being installed, and the second is a poor station configuration, outdated firmware, or an uncertified firmware update.”

Connectivity can also be an issue. “The chargers are connected via a cellular SIM card or WiFi,” said Jhaveri. “If the signal is poor due to an inadequate site assessment, that will cause connectivity issues. Configurations and firmware are [also] essential. Very similar to a WiFi router, if incorrectly configured, you’ll have slow or no [connectivity]. Stations behave the same way.”

“Drivers may experience system outages if an EV charger is installed without ample and consistent power,” said Jeff Hutchins, Chief Strategy Officer at EOS Linx. “To ensure there is enough power...each location’s unique needs should be reviewed and vetted with the installation partner as well as the utility provider. Just relying on the existing power infrastructure at the location host building can introduce dozens

Iss 60.indd 82

By Charles Morris

of potential issues that can cause service interruptions.”

Does the fact that a station has to charge many different EV models cause it to break? Jhaveri says this is rare, but “it does occur. Station manufacturers and vehicle OEMs should always work together to test charging compatibility and speed. Ultimately, the industry needs more collaboration amongst all parties and to share data as much as possible.”

In some cases, the problem may be simple: cheap hardware. Bob Kacergis of Momentum Dynamics (see our feature article in this issue) told me, “Plug-in chargers are commoditized. There’s a race to the bottom [to use] the cheapest possible components, which...fail quickly.”

Of course, this is a sensitive subject—no one really wants to talk about problems with their products or services. A couple of my sources, executives from two of the largest charger manufacturers, asked that we use their information “on background.”

One EVSE exec told me that a fault could be produced for a variety of reasons: “a driver pushing the emergency stop button, supply voltage being turned off, a component failure due to external elements, like a line surge.” WiFi or cell connections can also be points of failure, especially in areas with weak coverage. This chap’s company recommends running an ethernet cable to each charger to hardwire internet access.

Several of the folks I spoke to stressed the value of connectivity. “We believe all chargers should be connected to the cloud to enable remote monitoring, diagnosis and repair,” said major manufacturer A. “We can diagnose nearly 90% of all charging issues remotely, and can fix nearly 75% of issues without deploying on-site technical support, thus significantly reducing downtime.”

Big-time player B agreed: “We see approximately 95% of service requests diagnosed remotely and 75% resolved without requiring on-site intervention.”

When you consider that a typical public charger may be touched by half a dozen companies—manufacturer, site owner, installer, utility, network operator, payment processor—maybe it’s not so surprising that the darn things don’t work. “Some EV charging companies simply sell hardware to property owners and leave maintenance in their hands,” Blink Charging President Brendan Jones told me. “As a result, you often have site hosts who aren’t well prepared on how to fix chargers or incentivized to do so.”

“EV chargers are not ‘set it and forget it’ infrastructure,” said an exec from a major manufacturer. “They integrate hardware, software and cloud services—all of which must work in unison. The most successful networks have owners and operators working hand in hand with manufacturers.”

If there’s any silver bullet for this werewolf, it’s cooperation. “We conduct extensive and frequent interoperability tests with auto manufacturers and charging networks,” said another of my manufacturing mavens. “We also conduct rigorous testing with charging networks to ensure the networks’ software will be compatible with our hardware.”

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