EDITOR'S CHOICE

Explained: How China Built Electric Vehicle Company BYD, Its Tesla Killer

13 Feb 2024 | Synopsis

"Nobody is laughing at BYD now."

"BYD is building assembly lines in Brazil, Hungary, Thailand and Uzbekistan and preparing to do so in Indonesia and Mexico.

"BYD has shown how Chinese carmakers can tap the country’s dominance of electrical products. No company has benefited as much from China's embrace of battery-electric cars and plug-in gasoline-electric cars.

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Dutch Police Found A Way To Test E-Bike Power On The Side Of The Road

13 Feb 2024 | Synopsis

"The device is similar to a dynamometer typically used to measure the performance of vehicles like cars...the Dutch police have rolled out nearly 250 smaller versions that are appropriately sized for doing tests on bicycles...European e-bikes are limited to a relatively paltry 250W...e-bikes are permitted to reach 25 km/h under pedal assist..the majority of e-bikes that are in excess of local performance limits are fat tire electric bikes."

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They Are Trying To Kill The Electric Car...Again!

11 Feb 2024 | Synopsis

"Anti-EV rhetoric has been on the rise once more...When you step back and look at history you realize that we could have gone electric 25 years ago, but concerted industrial forces killed the trend

"Another weaponized story is that traditional carmakers are pulling away from EVs again...Some who are clearly not very competent at mathematics have also equated a fall in the rate of growth as demand going backwards...The EV market is still expanding."

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IDTechEx Discusses Whether Fuel Cell Vehicles Will Succeed and What It Would Take

11 Feb 2024 | Synopsis

"The sales of hydrogen fuel cell cars have largely stalled from 2021 onwards, but does this mean there is no market for fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) in the future

"Tesla Model 3 could cost around US$0.04/mile to run in comparison to a Toyota Mirai at US$0.21/mile, which is even above a gasoline/petrol car at US$0.15/mile.

"Where FCEVs could be used is where the duty cycle is so demanding that BEVs will struggle to cope..."

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Self-Extinguishing Batteries Could Reduce The Risk Of Deadly And Costly Battery Fires

11 Feb 2024 | Synopsis

"...replaces the most commonly used electrolyte, which is highly combustible – a medium composed of a lithium salt and an organic solvent – with materials found in a commercial fire extinguisher

"By modifying affordable commercial coolants to function as battery electrolytes, we were able to produce a battery that puts out its own fire...electrolyte worked well across a wide temperature range, from about minus 100 to 175 degrees Fahrenheit..."

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Can You Ride An E-Bike In Rough Neighborhoods? Yes.

11 Feb 2024 | Synopsis

"John Hicks rides his Surron fast e-bike around through some of the roughest parts of Compton

"Compton has the same reputation as Mos Eisley Spaceport, and probably worse because it's real and Star Wars is fiction...it seemed to be even more useful riding around the area - curbs, ditches, dodging pedestrians, and avoiding animals...if you're going to ride an expensive bike around, you should trust your instincts."

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In Rural Utah, Concerns Raised Over Efforts To Use Colorado River Water To Extract Lithium

11 Feb 2024 | Synopsis

"The area's groundwater is rich in lithium salts and other minerals from when it was a marine basin millions of years ago...The Green River is a tributary of the Colorado River, the over-tapped powerhouse of the West upon which 40 million people rely.

"...lithium would be separated from saline water using chemicals, which could be faster and less disruptive to the environment... there's enough metal in the brine to initially produce 10,000 tons...of lithium carbonate per year."

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Mythbusting The World Of EVs: Are Electric Cars Susceptible To Catching Fire?

09 Feb 2024 | Synopsis

"...an EV battery fire is bad news. It burns hot and is hard to extinguish. Indeed it can ignite again after several days...burning isn't a battery's sole purpose in life. Whereas a combustion car carries a tankful of stuff whose one job is catching rapidly on fire.

"The Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) reported 23 fires [out of] 611,000 EVs during 2022, or 0.004 per cent in a year, which makes it 20 times less likely to happen than ICE car fires, which burned 3,400 times in 4.4 million cars, or 0.08 per cent."

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UK's Lime Bikes Reports on Top Micromobility Trends In the UK

09 Feb 2024 | Synopsis

"...the ultra low emission (Ulez) zone expanded across all London boroughs, there are mounting disincentives for travelling by car. The outcome has been both clear and significant. The number of daily cycle journeys in London increased to 1.26 million in 2023, up by 6.3 per cent since 2022...data shows 20 per cent of Lime riders in London had never cycled before they started using Lime e-bikes...average UK rider is now 33 years old, and almost a quarter of our riders are over 40."

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Ex-Tesla Exec Leading Ford Skunkworks Project To Develop Low-Cost EV

09 Feb 2024 | Synopsis

"The skunkworks project is working on a third-generation EV...based on [CEO] Farley's comments Tuesday - and a year ago - it's likely that the skunkworks project is focused on cost, smaller EVs and efficiency, including the battery...based in Irvine, California..It includes engineers from Auto Motive Power (AMP)...acquired in November 2023. AMP founder Anil Paryani..is also part of the skunkworks project." [2004 Ford Model U concept pictured]

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