EDITOR'S CHOICE

Volkswagen & Skoda Are Moving Forward With Plans For Less Expensive Electric Cars

17 Mar 2024 | Synopsis

"Volkswagen Group is charting its own course toward less expensive electric cars....work on the ID.1...is progressing and the car is expected to debut in 2027 at a starting price of €20,000...can only be achieved if the vehicle is manufactured in substantial quantities.

"...Skoda Epiq [pictured], a small SUV that will be based on the Volkswagen ID.2. The design study for the car is 4.10 meters long and will likely be on sale in 2025..."

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City of Ottawa Transpo's Electric Buses Performing As Well As Diesel Buses After 2 Years: Report

17 Mar 2024 | Synopsis

"City of Ottawa's Transit Commission says that OC Transpo's electric buses are performing as well as the existing diesel fleet...The report notes that the four buses put into service in February 2022 are nearing 500,000 kilometres of total service on the roads and have been performing successfully on revenue service routes longer than 10 hours and driving distances exceeding 200 kilometres on a regular basis."

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Biden's Climate Agenda Is Actually Popular

15 Mar 2024 | Synopsis

"In an exclusive Heatmap poll of 1,000 Americans conducted by Benenson Strategy Group late last year, most respondents backed the core ideas behind Biden’s climate policies.

"Nearly 90% of Americans, for instance, support encouraging domestic manufacturing. They also support using tax incentives to make homes more energy efficient (85%)...

"The rub is that public support descends to more Earthly levels once you start asking about concrete costs..."

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Aerospace Experts Design Liquid Hydrogen-Powered Jet That Can Travel Halfway Around World With No Layover: 'A Pivotal Moment'

15 Mar 2024 | Synopsis

"...the project would be twice the size of a huge Boeing 737 and powered by extremely cold liquid hydrogen, which will be stored onboard in tanks at minus-418 degrees Fahrenheit. The plane will seat 279 passengers...the massive plane would have an operational range of 5,250 nautical miles...This would provide more than enough range for the flight of roughly 11 hours and 4,664 miles...Aviation accounts for 2.5% of all carbon pollution..."

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Metallica Will Go On Tour Using Electric And Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Big Rigs

15 Mar 2024 | Synopsis

The trucks hauling Metallica's gear across Europe are a mix of battery-electric and hydrogen fuel-cell models...Iveco will be supplying Metallica with EV models of its S-Way trucks, known as the S-eWay...The S-eWay trucks have a range of up to 500 kilometers, or 311 miles, while the S-Way LNG trucks can go up to 1,600 kilometers, or 994 miles.

"The theme song for the full MY24 range is 'It's Electric' performed by Metallica."

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Thomas Built Buses Celebrates Milestone with 1,000th Electric School Bus Delivery to Georgia School System

15 Mar 2024 | Synopsis

"The company recently announced the delivery of its milestone electric school bus, the Saf-T-Liner C2 Jouley, to the Meriwether County School System in Georgia

"The Saf-T-Liner C2 Jouley is equipped with a standard battery capacity of 244 kWh and boasts 295 peak horsepower...ability to charge in just two to three hours using a DC fast charger and a range of up to 150 miles on a single charge..capable of accommodating up to 81 passengers..."

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ChargeX Aim To Fix Public EV Charging Starting With Error Reporting

15 Mar 2024 | Synopsis

"Charge X Consortium, launched by the federal government...to tackle EV charger reliability...recently released a report recommending 26 common charger error codes, aimed at faster reporting and resolution of charger malfunctions...notes that automakers, manufacturers of charging hardware, and charging networks currently use different messages to report similar errors. This creates added confusion and complication

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Microsoft Collaborates With Researchers To Make Breakthrough In EV Battery Technology: "The Holy Grail"

13 Mar 2024 | Synopsis

Microsoft and the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory "...announced that they may have discovered a new material that could potentially reduce lithium usage by up to 70%.

"[R]esearchers used AI tools to narrow down 32 million potential inorganic materials to 18 promising candidates. From those, they created a battery prototype with a new substance - ​​a solid-state electrolyte currently known only as N2116."

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Buying A New Car Could Cost You $7,600 A Year On Top Of The Sticker Price, Nearly Double A Decade Ago

13 Mar 2024 | Synopsis

"A new car driven 15,000 miles a year will have additional costs of $7,612 annually, on average, not including depreciation, according to AAA...

"Business Insider looked at the 2024 models for the best-selling vehicles in the US, including the Ford F-150, the Toyota Rav4, and the Tesla Model Y.

"Edmunds assumes the car is driven 15,000 miles annually and the car is financed for 60 months after a 10% down payment."

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On Track To Deliver The World's Most Cost-Effective And Eco-Friendly Public Transport System

13 Mar 2024 | Synopsis

"The BioTrams can accommodate up to 210 passengers, 54 seated and 156 standing, travelling at speeds of at least 70km/h (50 mph) between stops...Operating a hybrid drivetrain powered by two very small gensets (0.9 litre, or less than the engine in a family saloon car) and battery pack (or flywheel) provides a 1,000km range and the vehicle does not require any overhead catenary and associated infrastructure or expensive grid connections."

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Wirelessly Charging Up The Commute

13 Mar 2024 | Synopsis

"...Oak Ridge National Laboratory demonstrated that a light-duty passenger electric vehicle can be wirelessly charged at 100-kW with 96% efficiency using polyphase electromagnetic coupling coils with rotating magnetic fields.

"ORNL’s Omer Onar [explained the [technology reaches power densities 8-10 times higher than conventional coil technology and can increase battery charge state by 50% in under 20 minutes."

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Only One Automaker Nails IIHS Safety Test for Automated Driving Assistance - No, It's Not Tesla Or Ford

13 Mar 2024 | Synopsis

"The only driving automation system to receive an acceptable rating from the safety research arm of the insurance industry was the Teammate system on the Lexus LS hybrid sedan

"Others rated poorly include systems on Ford Mustang Mach-E, Genesis G90, Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan, Tesla Model 3, and Volvo S90. Both autopilot and full self-driving systems on a Tesla Model 3 were rated poor by the study."

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