EDITOR'S CHOICE

California Hits Ambitious Goal for Electric Cars TwoYears Early

23 Apr 2023 | Synopsis

New data out Friday show that motorists in California have bought 1.5 million electric vehicles since 2011 - 40% of all electric vehicle sales in the United States - surpassing a goal set by former Gov. Jerry Brown two years early...by March 31, the total had already reached 1,523,966...The auto industry, which has 115 models of electric vehicles for sale in California now, up from 46 in 2019, did not oppose the new rules..."

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Groundbreaking Solar Reactor Efficiently Generates Oxygen, Hydrogen and Usable Heat

23 Apr 2023 | Synopsis

"The hydrogen production rate achieved in this work represents a significant step towards the commercial realization of this technology. With an output power of over 2 kilowatts, the team has cracked the 1-kilowatt ceiling for their pilot reactor...The EPFL campus system has an output level of about half a kilogram of solar hydrogen per day. This amount could power around 1.5 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles..."

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Surging Electric Vehicle Demand Causing States to Pump the Brakes on EV Incentives

21 Apr 2023 | Synopsis

"...The overwhelming demand is causing some states to temporarily pause EV incentives designed to promote adoption...The overwhelming demand is causing some states to temporarily pause EV incentives designed to promote adoption...total US auto sales fell 8% year-over-year (YoY) from 2021, but EV sales climbed 65%, passing 800,000 in volume for the first time...New Jersey has become the latest state to temporarily suspend its rebate program..."

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Raw Materials, Or Sacred Beings? Lithium Extraction Puts Two Worldviews Into Tension

21 Apr 2023 | Synopsis

"In Uyuni...where one of the two new lithium plants will be constructed, Indigenous communities acknowledge the presence of these sacred beings...it is the mother’s milk of their Apu, a female volcano named Tunupa.

"The modern economy turns nature into a source of raw materials: morally and spiritually inert matter that is there to be extracted and mobilized worldwide...If societies really want a greener future, technological shifts such as EVs will be just part of the answer..."

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Electric Vehicle Charging Gets EU Competition Spotlight

21 Apr 2023 | Synopsis

"A study on the electric vehicle charging market in the EU and the U.K...didn't uncover any evidence of "major competitive concerns" so far...

"The study does warn that there's a tendency for a public sector entity or one, or a few, private players to be a clear leader in recharging points. But it stressed the sector is still in its early stages and that more take-up of electric cars might prompt the rollout of more charging points and more competition."

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Chile Lithium Move Latest in Global Resource Nationalism Trend

21 Apr 2023 | Synopsis

"President Gabriel Boric...announcement is the latest in a trend as countries look to assert greater control over key resources amid intensifying competition...Chile is the world's second largest producer of lithium, a key component in batteries used in electric vehicles. Home to the world's largest lithium reserves, Chile said it will over time transfer control of its vast lithium operations from industry giants SQM and Albemarle to a separate state-owned company."

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Tesla's co-Founder Just Made A Game-Changing Announcement About the Future of EV Batteries

21 Apr 2023 | Synopsis

"The problem facing lithium recycling in the past was not that it couldn't be done...the infrastructure was not yet in place for it to be economically viable for profit-driven companies

"Redwood Materials has been collecting old EV battery packs from automakers such as Volvo, Ford, and Audi. In total, it collected 1,268 battery packs and recovered the lithium, cobalt, nickel, and copper contained within at a whopping rate of above 95%

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What the U.S. Needs To Do To Be the Leaders in EVs And the Batteries That Power Them

20 Apr 2023 | Synopsis

"There's a race for dominance in electric vehicles and the batteries that power them. China leads right now, but other countries - including the U.S. - are trying hard to catch up.

"China is the OPEC of batteries...Beijing has long been strategic about acquiring the critical minerals needed to make them...the U.S. has several large lithium deposits, including in Wyoming and Utah. But the permitting process to open new mines could take up to a decade."

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Tesla's Biggest Chinese Rival Drops a Bombshell

20 Apr 2023 | Synopsis

"What is most striking about the [BYD] Seagull is neither its features nor its design but its price. This vehicle will be priced from 78,000 yuan ($11,326). This is more than half less than the base price of the Nissan Leaf

"The Seagull is based on the BYD e-Platform 3.0 and houses a 55 or 75 kW (75 or 102 hp) electric motor...powered by a lithium iron phosphate BYD Blade battery with capacities of 30 and 38 kWh...two range versions: 305 to 405 kilometers (190 to 252 miles) on a single charge."

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The Political Fight Over EVs In the USA Is Already Over

20 Apr 2023 | Synopsis

"There's no turning back the clock now."

"Fox News pundits and Republican officials have made no secret of their hostility to electric vehicles...Why are older, more conservative Americans wedded to gas-powered cars? Maybe they like the smell of petrol because it reminds them of a time when driving cars with the gas mileage of a main battle tank was uncontroversial.

"...majorities of Millennials and Zoomers support phasing vehicles altogether."

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