CHARGED Electric Vehicles Magazine - Issue 38 JUL/AUG 2018

ELECTRIC VEHICLES MAGAZINE

ISSUE 38 | JULY/AUGUST 2018 | CHARGEDEVS.COM

2019 JAGUAR

I-PACE A CLOSER LOOK AT DC-DC CONVERTERS 24

HERAEUS PROVES THE VALUE OF NEW MATERIALS 30

FREEWIRE’S MOBILE CHARGING STATIONS 74

The iconic brand launches its first EV 44

ELECTRIFY AMERICA BEGINS BUILDING A NATIONWIDE CHARGING NETWORK 64

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THE TECH CONTENTS

24 A closer look at DC-DC converters

24

30 Adding engineering services Heraeus helps companies learn to use cutting-edge materials to improve EV electronics

current events

30

12

Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Panasonic partner to develop solid-state batteries

14

Webasto to acquire AeroVironment’s Efficient Energy Systems TE announces new compact plug-in contactor for high-voltage applications

15 16

21

Dana and TM4 join forces to offer a range of powertrain technologies

Chinese and Chilean lithium giants make $4-billion stock purchase deal Infineon introduces new CoolSic Schottky diodes for on-board chargers VW aims to produce solid-state batteries by 2025

17 Wolfspeed Technology introduces third-gen 1,200 V SiC MOSFET 18 China developing battery tracking system to manage recycling

Volkswagen developing quantum computing for molecular battery simulation

19 Geely to incorporate Maxwell ultracapacitors in 2020 vehicles 20 TDK’s durable DC link capacitors extend capacitance and voltage ranges

ZF’s Axle Hybrid concept electrifies its AMT to improve shifting performance

21

New solid polymer electrolyte doubles proton flow rate Scheugenpflug’s high-speed thermal paste dispenser

22 Eaton expands electrification market share with new eMobility business

22

Cummins acquires powertrain provider Efficient Drivetrains

23 New thermoelectric superlattice doubles waste heat-to-electricity rate

THE VEHICLES CONTENTS

44 Jaguar I-PACE

An apex brand pounces on the electric crossover scene

82 Auto shop of the future

44

Tampa Hybrids offers a glimpse into the future of local service shops

current events 34 Ryder orders additional 500 Chanje electric vans

Estonian startup Nobe turns heads with its retro-styled three-wheeler EV

35 Porsche takes a 10% stake in Croatian EV startup Rimac 36 Faraday Future raises $2 billion in first-round funding

35

London to add 68 electric double-decker buses to its fleet

37 Nine-state coalition releases updated ZEV action plan 38 UPS buys 950 electric delivery vans from Workhorse

CARB approves $423-million VW plan for ZEV trucks and buses

39 Fiat Chrysler announces plans for 10 new EVs 40 Texas reinstates EV rebates

BYTON raises $500 million in Series B funding

42

41 JetSuite to buy up to 100 Zunum Aero hybrid planes 42 Renault will invest over a billion euros to produce EVs in France

Electric autonomous container vessel to go into service in Norway

43 CARB awards $20 million to zero-emission off-road vehicle demos IDENTIFICATION STATEMENT CHARGED Electric Vehicles Magazine (ISSN: 24742341) July/August 2018, Issue #38 is published bi-monthly by Electric Vehicles Magazine LLC, 2260 5th Ave S, STE 10, Saint Petersburg, FL 33712-1259. Periodicals Postage Paid at Saint Petersburg, FL and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to CHARGED Electric Vehicles Magazine, Electric Vehicles Magazine LLC at 2260 5th Ave S, STE 10, Saint Petersburg, FL 33712-1259.

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64 Electrify America begins massive rollout

The two-billion-dollar, 10-year investment in EV infrastructure represents the largest of its kind so far

64

74 Mobile charging stations

FreeWire deploys battery systems to increase EV scalability

74 56 BP to acquire UK charging network Chargemaster

IONITY network chooses ABB fast chargers

57 BMW introduces wireless charging option 58 WattZilla chargers earn Energy Star certification

Duke Energy to invest $25 million in EVSE, battery storage and e-buses

59 NJ utility proposes to invest $300 million in EV infrastructure

CPUC approves $738 million in EV charging projects for California utilities

60 New York State announces $250-million initiative to expand EV charging

Heliox fast chargers power New Zealand’s first 10 double-decker e-buses

61

57

Pivot Power to build 2 GW network of batteries and charging stations PG&E selects EVBox as hardware for workplace and MUD network

62 Fastned opens its first DC fast charging station in Germany

Charging interoperability pioneer Hubject expands to US

63 Southern California Edison proposes to install 48,000 more charging points

New Dutch study recommends optimal EVSE rollout strategy

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Infrastructure boom We’ve been hearing for years about how charging infrastructure needs to be built out before EVs will take off. Well, that build-out is now shifting into high gear, led in no small part by Tesla.

The California carmaker’s mission to overcome all objections to EVs (both real and imagined) has included a truly impressive Supercharger program. There are now over 10,000 high-power Supercharger units installed worldwide. With Model 3s flying out of the factory, Supercharger expansion hasn’t slowed. At the end of June, Tesla had a record week, opening over 20 new Supercharger locations - several of them with over 12 stalls - for a total of more than new 250 Superchargers in 7 days, according to Supercharge.info.

Tesla’s successful charging strategy has not been lost on the rest of the EV world. In the US, Electrify America will deploy 484 DC fast charging sites and over 500 Level 2 sites by next June, the first of four planned cycles of investment totaling two billion dollars (read all about it on page 64).

In Europe, BMW, Daimler, Ford and the VW Group have formed a joint venture called IONITY, which says it will have 400 fast charging stations in service in 24 European countries by 2020 “to begin with.”

Many of the Electrify America and IONITY units will be “ultra-fast” chargers, capable of delivering 350 kW of power - a wise move to future-proof the installations with several times more power than today’s EVs can handle. Around 2020, automakers will start launching a new wave of third-generation EVs with high-power charging options, and the infrastructure to support them will be there.

Meanwhile, California, New York and New Jersey have just committed to massive new infrastructure investments, and major utilities are starting to take the next steps from pilot projects to full-scale build-out.

Pacific Gas and Electric’s plan for 7,500 new Level 2 charging stations has now been approved by regulators, Southern California Edison recently submitted a plan to expand its charging program with 48,000 additional charging points, and Duke Energy Carolinas will be installing 275 Level 2 stations and 60 highway fast chargers (read about these new projects in this issue’s The Infrastructure section).

It’s all reminiscent of the build-out of internet infrastructure that took place in the late 1990s, when telecom firms made massive investments in fiber-optic cable, enabling modern broadband applications such as telephony, music and video.

I’ve sat through countless industry conference sessions in the past decade on the topic of “EVs’ chicken and egg problem.” Hopefully those theoretical discussions are finally coming to an end. The egg is laid and incubating, and it’s time to move on to making great EVs.

Christian Ruoff | Publisher

EVs are here. Try to keep up.

www.hesse-mechatronics.com

Why do the largest utilities in Canada choose FLO? Recognized for our innovative competitive strategy by Frost & Sullivan, the FLO Family of Companies has been a leader in EV charging for nearly 10 years. Our custom solutions enable utilities to future-proof their assets and become pioneers in this quickly growing industry.

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Publisher Christian Ruoff Associate Publisher Laurel Zimmer Senior Editor Charles Morris

Contributing Writers Paul Beck Jeffrey Jenkins Michael Kent Charles Morris Markkus Rovito Christian Ruoff

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

Associate Editor Markkus Rovito Account Executive Jeremy Ewald

Contributing Photographers Michael Coghlan Charles Morris Nicolas Raymond

Technology Editor Jeffrey Jenkins Graphic Designers Chris Cox Oktane Media

Cover Images Courtesy of Jaguar ABB 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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THE TECH

Dana and TM4 join forces to offer a range of powertrain technologies

Image courtesy of TM4

Drivetrain technology supplier Dana (NYSE: DAN) has announced a joint venture with TM4, a subsidiary of Hydro-Québec. TM4 will become Dana’s source for electric motors, power inverters, and control systems, and Dana will become a majority shareholder of TM4 in exchange for $165 million Canadian ($127 million US).

TM4 manufactures EV motors, power inverters, and control systems, complementing Dana’s electric gearboxes and thermal-management technologies for batteries, motors, and inverters. TM4 operates a manufacturing facility in Boucherville, Québec. Its management team and 130 employees will remain in place.

This transaction is expected to strengthen Dana’s position in China, where TM4 and Prestolite Electric Beijing have a joint venture that offers electric mobility solutions throughout China and the ASEAN region.

“This joint venture brings together a world leader in mechanical power conveyance and thermal-management technology with an experienced manufacturer of electric motors and inverters to offer a broad range of hybrid and electric vehicle solutions for our customers across all three of our end markets,” said Dana CEO Jim Kamsickas.

12

Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Panasonic partner to develop solid-state batteries Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) has launched a public-private project to develop solid-state battery technology. Some 23 companies, including Panasonic, Toyota, Nissan and Honda, are involved.

The group has set 2022 as the target date to develop core solid-state technologies, and ultimately aims to lower battery pack cost to $90 per kWh by around 2030, as well as reducing charging time to 10 minutes.

Japan took an early lead in the solid-state race – NEDO previously worked with materials makers on solid-state battery research. “A majority of patent applications on all-solid batteries are from Japanese companies,” said NEDO Project Manager Kei Hosoi.

When it comes to the current Li-ion battery market however, Japan is falling behind. Long-time leader Panasonic is expected to see its global market share drop to 16% this year, down from 44% in 2014, according to Tokyo consultancy Techno Systems Research.

The new king of batteries is China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), which has announced supply agreements with BMW, Daimler, Honda, Nissan/ Renault, SAAB successor NEVS and EV startup Byton.

“As a battery maker, we cannot afford to let overseas rivals beat us in all-solid batteries,” said Panasonic executive Eiji Fujii.

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THE TECH

TE Connectivity announces new compact plug-in contactor for high-voltage applications

Image courtesy of AeroVironment

Automotive supplier Webasto is set to acquire AeroVironment’s Efficient Energy Systems (EES) branch, pending several more heaps of paperwork. The $35-million acquisition includes EES’s charging and docking technologies, further diversifying Webasto’s portfolio. Webasto originally specialized in heating, cooling and sunroof design for automotive applications, but it has been steadily working to expand into the EV energy solution market. As for the human aspect of this acquisition, Webasto will retain all of EES’s previous employees.

“This strategic acquisition accelerates the global development of our charging business,” says Management Chairman Holger Engelmann. “Combining EES’s fundamental know-how in electric vehicle technology with our position as a global systems partner to almost all OEMs emphasizes the long-term strategic development of the Webasto Group.”

14

Image courtesy of TE

Webasto to acquire AeroVironment’s Efficient Energy Systems for $35 million

TE Connectivity has announced its new EVC 80 for hybrid and electric vehicles.

The EVC 80’s crucial feature is its relatively low maximum amperage of 80 A, which allows it to be used as either a main or auxiliary contactor. Its compact design also features improved heat dissipation, and allows it to be used in higher-efficiency batterydisconnect unit (BDU) setups.

The EVC 80 has a voltage rating of up to 450 V, and measures 50 by 40 by 37 mm. The small size and the non-polarity-sensitive design are quite intentional: TE intends the contactor to be used in tight mounting spaces and difficult installation scenarios. Its outer core is shielded to lessen interference with other devices.

Key features: • Hermetically sealed with nitrogen • 450 VDC rating • Continuous current up to 80 A at -40° to 85° C • 50 g shock rated in several orientations (energized) • Dielectric withstand voltage of 2,920 VDC per 1 mA of leakage current • Insulation resistance greater than 1 GΩ at 500 V “As hybrid and electric vehicles continue to gain momentum, we see a growing demand in the market for a lower-amperage, compact conductor,” says TE Automotive Product Manager Terrance Blackmon. “This is our first plug-in contactor, and it boasts the lowest amperage of any of our product offerings, previously held by our EVC 135 contactor.”

Chinese and Chilean lithium giants make $4-billion stock purchase deal

China-based Tianqi Lithium has purchased a substantial number of shares in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (SQM), which claims to be the world’s largest lithium producer, in a deal worth approximately $4.07 billion.

Chinese companies have been on a lithium buying spree recently, as prices of the “white gold” steadily climb. Tianqi and SQM are two of the biggest global players.

Tianqi produces a diverse range of lithium products including lithium hydroxide, lithium carbonate, lithium chloride, lithium metal and mineral concentrates. The company has operations in China, Australia and Chile.

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Image courtesy of VW

THE TECH

Infineon introduces new CoolSic Schottky diodes for on-board charger applications Image courtesy of Infineon

Infineon Technologies’ new CoolSiC diodes are designed for ruggedness and efficiency, to meet the high standards required of hybrid and electric vehicles.

Infineon says these diodes are the most durable on the market, due to their high corrosion and humidity resistance. The company will release CoolSiC Diodes in the 650 V class in September.

An improvement on Infineon’s fifth-generation Schottky diodes, the CoolSiC diodes have better figures of merit, and therefore lower power losses. This is due to their 110 µm wafers, which improve overall efficiency.

The diodes also improve the efficiency of on-board charger by one percent compared to other Silicon Rapid diodes, and their 3-pin TO247 package is designed to be easily integrated into any on-board charger.

“The SiC technology is now mature enough to be deployed at broad scale in automotive systems,” says Infineon Automotive High Power VP Stephan Zizala.

“The launch of the automotive CoolSiC Schottky diode family is a milestone in the deployment of Infineon’s SiC product portfolio for on-board chargers, DC-DC converters and inverter systems.”

16

VW aims to produce solid-state batteries by 2025 The Volkswagen Group has invested approximately $100 million in California battery developer QuantumScape, following six years of collaboration with the firm. VW also announced that it aims to have a production facility for solid-state batteries by 2025.

VW estimates that solid-state battery technology could more than double capacity compared with its current batteries, for example boosting the range of the e-Golf from its current 186 miles (NEDC) to 466 miles. VW claims to have already successfully tested solid-state battery technology produced with QuantumScape at EV scale.

QuantumScape CEO Jagdeep Singh said, “Volkswagen leads the industry in its commitment to electrification of its fleet. We think the higher range, faster charge times and inherent safety of QuantumScape’s solid-state technology will be a key enabler for the next generation of electrified powertrains.”

The VW Group’s Head of Research, Axel Heinrich, said, “The solid-state battery will mark a turning point for e-mobility. By increasing our stake in QuantumScape and forming the joint venture we strengthen and deepen our strategic cooperation with an innovative partner and secure access to the promising QuantumScape battery technology for Volkswagen.”

The race to get into solid-state is, shall we say, solidifying. Last year, BMW announced its investment in solid-state specialist Solid Power, and also aims to have solid-state-powered EVs on the road by 2025. Dyson, Fisker, Panasonic, Toyota, Nissan and Honda also have plans to produce solid-state batteries.

Only one year after it introduced 1,200 V SiC MOSFETs, Cree’s Wolfspeed Technologies has announced a third generation. Wolfspeed claims that its MOSFET, which is specially designed for EV powertrain applications, has the highest figure of merit on the market today, with low drain-source on resistance (RDS) performance and the industry’s lowest switching losses. Samples are currently available to select customers, and the MOSFET will be released for full distribution later this year.

“There is a growing global demand for more electric vehicles on the road, with nearly all vehicle manufacturers announcing new electric platforms across their fleets,” says Cree CEO Gregg Lowe. “Cree

Image courtesy of Wolfspeed

Wolfspeed Technology introduces third-gen 1,200 V SiC MOSFET

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THE TECH

China developing battery tracking system to manage recycling As China evolves into a world leader in battery and EV production, the country’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has announced plans to develop a system to track the fabrication, sale and recycling of EV batteries.

The new “traceability management platform” will cover the entire lifecycle of batteries from production to recycling, clarifying who is responsible for handling and recycling spent batteries and establishing a formal monitoring system. Battery-makers and EV producers will be required to participate in the scheme, and must provide online recycling services to customers as well as detailed information about recycling practices. The system will also cover imported EVs. In the first quarter of 2018, the 102 Chinese EVmakers produced approximately 150,000 vehicles, a production increase of 157 percent from last year’s first quarter. On the other side of the production life cycle, spent battery waste is expected to reach 170,000 tons this year.

18

Volkswagen developing quantum computing for battery simulation at molecular level Volkswagen has successfully simulated several molecules commonly found in batteries using quantum computing.

The simulations currently include simple chemicals such as lithium-hydrogen and carbon chains, but will eventually include more complex compounds. The end goal is a simulation of an entire battery without the use of a physical model. Volkswagen will share its work at the upcoming CEBIT technology show.

Volkswagen hopes that its “tailor-made batteries” will be easily configurable across several parameters, such as maximum weight and power density, or cell assembly.

This would greatly hasten battery development and allow for highly-customized designs.

“We are working hard to develop the potential of quantum computers for Volkswagen,” says Volkswagen Principal Scientist Florian Neukart. “The simulation of electrochemical materials is an important project in this context. We are convinced that commercially available quantum computers will open up previously unimaginable opportunities. We intend to acquire the specialist knowledge we need for this purpose now.”

Image courtesy of Maxwell Technologies

Geely to incorporate Maxwell ultracapacitors in 2020 vehicles Ultracapacitor specialist Maxwell Technologies (Nasdaq: MXWL) has formed a technology partnership with Zhejiang Geely, the Chinese parent company of Volvo to integrate ultracaps and power conversion electronics into Geely’s global vehicle lineup.

Geely will include Maxwell’s ultracapacitor-based peak power subsystem in five mild hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles for the North American and European markets, which are slated to go into production in late 2019.

The automotive industry originally adopted ultracapacitors for start-stop applications, and is now using them to deliver peak power to functions such as electric active-roll control, power steering, electroturbocharging and energy recuperation in hybrid vehicles.

“As we prepared to bring our new features into the mainstream of our next-generation vehicles, it became

evident that ultracapacitors would be essential to address the increasing electrification challenges, and that Maxwell’s deep automotive experience and technical know-how qualified them as the only choice,” said Geely CTO Qingfeng. “The Maxwell ultracapacitor subsystem has proven to economically handle the challenging peak power demands in a way that batteries alone cannot.”

“Today’s announcement validates that ultracapacitors are ideally suited to solve many of the challenges faced by the automotive industry as it readies for electrification,” said Maxwell CEO Dr. Franz Fink.

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THE TECH

Image courtesy of TDK

ZF’s Axle Hybrid concept electrifies its AMT to improve shifting performance

TDK creates durable DC link capacitors, extends capacitance and voltage ranges TDK has improved its DC link EPSCOS film capacitors, which can now handle a variety of worst-case-scenario environmental conditions.

Its name may be a mouthful, but the B3277*H series can operate at temperatures as high as 105° C with voltage ranges of 450 to 1,100 VDC and capacitance values of 1.5 to 120 µF. These capacitors are designed for use with DC link circuits of PV converters, frequency converters and industrial power supplies.

TDK performed temperature, humidity, and bias (THB) tests at 60° C and 95% relative humidity for 1,000 hours at the rated voltage.

The capacitors are offered with lead spacings of 27.5 mm, 37.5 mm, and an exclusively 4-pin 52.5 mm version.

When used with the rated voltages, they have a projected service life of 50,000 hours at 85° C.

20

German automotive supplier ZF has unveiled a new Axle Hybrid concept which uses an electrified Automated Manual Transmission (eAMT). This system combines ZF’s traditional electric axle drive system (eVD) with its automated manual transmission (AMT). The eAMT eliminates tractive force interruption and features AWD capabilities.

“With eAMT, ZF has developed a fully-fledged plugin hybrid drive for front-transverse vehicles,” says ZF’s electric drive expert Norman Schmidt-Winkel. “This increases flexibility for vehicle manufacturers. They can use existing platforms to implement conventional drives or plug-in hybrids. In some vehicle classes, automatic transmissions are out of the question for reasons of weight, space or cost. In this scenario, the automation of manual transmissions is a great way to significantly increase comfort and efficiency for drivers, as they don’t need to actuate the clutch or change gears.”

ZF says its eAMT’s shift comfort and performance are almost on par with more costly torque converter or dual-clutch transmissions. Normal AMTs experience a tractive force interruption when they disengage in order to engage a new gear. ZF’s new eAMT uses an electric motor on the rear axle to bridge this break with a perfectly timed insertion of torque. “The driver is absolutely unaware of the complex system sequences and control processes running in the background,” says Schmidt-Winkel. “When accelerating, only the benefits of completely jerk-free, powerful acceleration can be felt. Previously, these benefits would only be available in much more expensive hybrid vehicles with more complex transmissions.”

Engineers from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Florida have recently made a breakthrough in the development of solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs).

Current liquid electrolytes require thick, heavy housings in order to prevent leaks and fires from punctures, increasing their bulk and weight. SPEs solve many of these problems, but until recently, they were not well understood. After an in-depth study, the university researchers have created polymers that they say are thinner, lighter, and safer than alternatives. The new materials also allow faster recharging, due to a new design that increases proton flow across the polymer.

A traditional battery has an electrolyte which allows protons to be transferred between the anode and cathode. To prevent electrons from bypassing their circuit, a barrier is used between terminals. When used with water, an SPE can function as an electrolyte-barrier combination, as it is permeable to protons but not electrons.

One popular SPE, Nafion, is a fluorinated polymer with several branches of sulfonic acid groups. These acid groups attract water and allow protons to move across the polymer. Unfortunately, the molecular structure of the polymer is highly irregular, which means the protons must make an arduous trek between terminals. The new study has created a way to create regular, layered channels which double their proton flow rate. “It’s like superhighways versus the country roads of Provence,” says study leader Karen Winey. A battery created with the new material is thinner and safer than most liquid systems. Also, the increased proton transfer rate means charging will be much faster than with other SPEs. “Precision synthesis has been one of the grand challenges in polymer science, and this remarkable work demonstrates how it can open doors to novel materials of great promise,” says Linda Sapochak, Director of the National Science Foundation’s Division of Materials Research.

Image courtesy of Scheugenpflug

New solid polymer electrolyte doubles proton flow rate

Scheugenpflug’s high-speed thermal paste dispenser offers faster battery pack production Thermal paste is essential for preventing overheating and short circuits during battery operation. Unfortunately, its application is one of the slowest processes in battery pack production, as potting material is highly viscous and abrasive.

Scheugenpflug, a provider of adhesive bonding, dispensing and potting solutions, has developed a new dispensing solution for thermal potting material that is designed to solve this problem.

The new dispensing solution can apply potting material at rates of up to 80 ml per second with delivery pressures of 65 bar for highly viscous materials. These speeds are made possible by a combination of Scheugenpflug’s Dos HP dispenser and its PailFeed200 Abrasive material feeding unit.

The system can apply conducting media with viscosities of up to 1,000,000 mPa∙s, and has a maximum volume per shot of 310 ml. A 480 cm3 per stroke integrated double-piston pump makes continuous material feed possible. Scheugenpflug claims the system will offer a longer lifespan as well as cheaper, faster and simpler maintenance.

JUL/AUG 2018

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THE TECH

Eaton expands electrification market share with new eMobility business Power management company Eaton aims to take advantage of increasing demand for EV technologies with the creation of its new eMobility business, which will focus on intelligent power electronics, power systems, power distribution and circuit protection.

Eaton’s existing line of electrified products includes DC-DC converters, PDUs, hybrid and EV transmissions, and high-voltage fuses. The company predicts its current electrified portfolio will account for approximately $300 million in revenue in 2018, and forecasts revenues of $2 to $4 billion by 2030 as the eMobility division adds new products and customers.

“Our understanding of the unique needs of vehicle customers, along with our experience in transmissions and power electronics in the hybrid space, gives us a distinct advantage versus other suppliers,” said eMobility President Jeff Lowinger. “Customers using Eaton hybrid systems have collectively accumulated an estimated 2 billion miles of clean, reliable service.”

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Heavy-duty engine specialist Cummins (NYSE: CMI) has announced plans to acquire Silicon Valley-based Efficient Drivetrains, Inc. (EDI), a producer of hybrid and electric powertrain solutions for commercial vehicles that has often been featured in Charged.

Cummins has been investigating the possibilities of electrification for a decade, but has been turning up the voltage over the past few months, with the acquisitions of Johnson Matthey Battery Systems and former electric motorcycle maker Brammo.

EDI’s portfolio of hybrid drivetrain systems, the EDI PowerDrive series, has logged over six million miles in fleet settings in the US and China. Cummins says EDI’s hybrid system is the most versatile on the market today, able to switch in real time among fully electric, series and parallel modes.

“As power needs and technologies continue to evolve, Cummins remains committed to innovations that will deliver the right power solutions for the right applications at the right time to help our customers succeed,” said Cummins CEO Tom Linebarger.

“Vehicle OEMs and fleets evaluating new electric and hybrid technologies prefer to work with well-established companies that have the depth and resources to provide the support that’s needed to scale into high-volume mass production,” said Joerg Ferchau, EDI’s CEO.

Image courtesy of EDI

Illustration courtesy of Eaton

Cummins acquires powertrain provider Efficient Drivetrains

New thermoelectric superlattice doubles rate at which waste heat is converted to electricity Researchers from Hokkaido University and colleagues in Japan and Taiwan have improved the ability to transform waste heat into usable electricity by narrowing the space through which spread electrons move, according to a new study published in Nature Communications.

Currently, more than 60 percent of the energy produced by fossil fuels is lost as waste heat. The waste heat can be converted into electricity using thermoelectric materials, which convert heat into electricity when there is a temperature difference, a phenomenon known as the Seebeck effect.

Scientists have been investigating ways to confine electrons to a narrow space in order to improve conversion rates. In 2007, researchers built an artificial superlattice composed of conducting ultrathin layers sandwiched by thick insulating layers. They predicted that performance could be improved if electrons with longer de Brog-

lie wavelength were confined to a narrow conducting layer, but this had not yet been proven experimentally.

The research team, led by Hiromichi Ohta of Hokkaido University, designed a superlattice in which electrons are spread at 30 percent wider intervals compared to previous experiments. This resulted in much higher voltage and doubled the thermoelectric conversion rate achieved by previous methods. “This is a significant step forward towards reducing the amount of heat wasted by power plants, factories, automobiles, computers, and even human bodies,� says Hiromichi Ohta.

A CLOSER LOOK AT DC-DC CONVERTERS

By Jeffrey Jenkins

A

s far as we know, all EVs in production by major automakers use a conventional lead-acid battery for the 12 V system (surprising, but true - more on why in a bit) and this battery needs charging, just as it does in an ICE vehicle. While you could hang an alternator off the traction motor to keep the 12 V battery topped up and supply the average power demanded by the 12 V system, a more efficient (if not necessarily more costeffective) solution is a transformer-isolated DC-DC converter between the traction and 12 V batteries.

24

Although the 12 V battery in an EV no longer has to contend with cranking an engine - delivering short but massive bursts of current is a purpose for which lead-acid truly excels - the lead-acid chemistry is nonetheless still a good choice for three main reasons: it’s highly tolerant of abuse, commonly available (read: cost-effective), and, most importantly for vehicles, it can operate over a much wider temperature range than any other choice of chemistry (-25° to 55° C). In contrast, the lithium-ion traction battery requires stringent protection against overcharging

THE TECH

Although the 12 V battery in an EV no longer has to contend with cranking an engine, the lead-acid chemistry is still a good choice for a few reasons. or discharging, and is much more limited in the temperature range it can be used (typically 5° to 45° C).

Furthermore, while there are Li-ion 12 V automotive batteries commercially available, they are still specialty items intended for racing or other weightsensitive/cost-insensitive applications; i.e., you can’t pick one up at your local auto parts retailer.

Similarly, the conventional “clawpole” wound-rotor synchronous AC generator - aka alternator - is a rugged and highly economical choice for keeping the 12 V battery charged and supplying the average power demanded by the 12 V loads in ICE vehicles. Its major downside is poor efficiency (50-60%), but expending any cost or effort to shave a few hundred Watts of loss from the alternator hardly seems worth the effort when the ICE that drives it dumps a few 10s to 100s of kilowatts of waste heat from its radiator (that is to say, the alternator’s losses amount to the proverbial “rounding error” in the

Interestingly, the 2017 Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid went lead-acid-less In 2017, Hyundai launched its new Ioniq platform with three distinct drivetrain options - hybrid, plug-in hybrid and all-electric.

While the PHEV and EV versions both included lead-acid batteries to power the 12 V systems, the hybrid drivetrain used Li-ion cells – marking the first time we’ve seen a production vehicle of any type that doesn’t use lead-acid to power the low-voltage circuits.

Hyundai calls it the consolidated 12 V battery. The low-voltage Li-ion pack sits directly adjacent to the high-voltage traction battery, although the two are electrically isolated. The vehicle also has a 12 V Battery Reset button to the left of the steering wheel that the designers describe as a self-jump start function. When the car is turned off, the high-voltage battery is disconnected, and it’s possible to fully discharge the 12 V battery - by leaving the headlamps on, for example. The self-jump start button will use a tiny amount of energy to open a relay and allow the traction battery to recharge the 12 V system so the car can start again.

After interviewing Hyundai execs at the Ioniq launch event, it appeared to Charged that the interesting engineering decision was driven by the company directive to be the best in efficiency for a gasoline hybrid. For that particular drivetrain, the math worked out such that shedding those extra pounds of lead proved to make the most sense. Hyundai said that by using Li-ion cells for the 12 V loads, it could eliminate a 50 Ah AGM battery, remove 26 pounds from the vehicle, and improve cargo capacity by 2.4%.

The Ioniq EV uses a 12 V lead-acid battery (pictures above), while the Ioniq Hybrid uses a Li-ion 12 V system.

JUL/AUG 2018

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THE TECH

Lead-acid batteries tend to last longest when the depth of discharge is moderate (no more than 50%) and a so-called “3-stage” charge cycle is used. overall drivetrain losses of an ICE). The same is not true in an EV, however, as the energy efficiency of its electrical drivetrain (battery, inverter, and motor) can reach 85%, so a few hundred Watts of extra loss would add significantly to the total.

Given that EVs still use a lead-acid battery for the 12 V system, and that a DC-DC converter is the preferred means of keeping that battery charged, the next step is to define a functional specification for the latter.

This tends to be the point at which many EV and Tier 1 OEMs sever any ties with practicality: a DC-DC converter costs a lot more than an alternator on a dollar-per-Watt basis, yet many of them are far more powerful and complicated than necessary (in stark contrast to the humble alternator, which is an excellent example of “value engineering”). For example, many DC-DC converters designed for EVs are bidirectional; that is, energy can also be transferred from the 12 V battery to the traction battery, not just the other way around. There is no practical scenario in which this makes sense, as the 12 V battery is typically sized to store around 300-600 Watt-hours of energy, and must supply many parasitic/standby loads when the EV is off, whereas the traction battery typically stores several 10s of kW-hrs, and the only parasitic loads when the EV is off (and not charging, of course) are from the battery management system and, if necessary, the temperature control system. Furthermore, all Li-ion chemistries exhibit much less self-discharge than leadacid, so if any battery is going to die if the EV is left off the charger for too long it is the 12 V one.

Another specification which often lives up to the old saw, “nothing succeeds like excess,” is the output power rating. There are commercially available DC-DC converters from Tier 1 OEMs rated for 2.2 kW, or ~160 A at 13.8 V. The 2016 Model S DC-DC converter is

26

rated for 2.5 kW (~180 A at 13.8 V), and even the 2016 Nissan Leaf gets a 135 A converter. Compare that to the 160 A alternator for a 2016 Cadillac Escalade with every power option imaginable (and a replacement is available from many auto-parts retailers for just $170 + core charge)! One would hope that all EV OEMs actually measure the peak and average current demand on the 12 V system of each of their models to size the DC-DC converter, but it is still difficult to believe this demand would exceed that of an ICE vehicle; after all, many of the more power-hungry accessories (power steering, air-conditioning, etc.) can be powered directly from an EV’s traction battery.

The last specification that is important is the charging methodology, or algorithm. Lead-acid batteries tend to last longest when the depth of discharge is moderate (no more than 50%) and a socalled “3-stage” charge cycle is used: the bulk phase runs at a constant current to bring the battery up to 80% State of Charge; the absorption phase holds the voltage constant while current tapers to bring the battery up to near 100% SoC; the float phase reduces the voltage somewhat from the absorption phase just to counteract self-discharge. There should also be a slight temperature dependence to the absorption and float voltages of approximately -5 mV/° C / cell (which works out to -30 mV/° C for a 12 V battery).

There are many topologies that can be employed in an EV’s DC-DC converter, but only a few are truly practical, and the configuration/complexity of the secondary side, in particular, depends greatly on the current rating and, of course, on whether the converter needs to operate bidirectionally. Generally speaking, at this power level and input voltage range (200-600 VDC) the classic 4-switch full (or “H”) bridge is a safe

There are many topologies that can be employed in an EV’s DC-DC converter, but only a few are truly practical, and the configuration/complexity of the secondary side depends greatly on the current rating.

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THE TECH choice for the primary side circuit, whether a Boost mode phase-shift or duty-cycle V VCHV CLV L modulation scheme is Buck mode used. If there is an input filter capacitor before S1 S2 S5 S6 the switches, then the bridge is voltage-sourced.

This configuration is less CHV RLV CLV tolerant of any ripple RHV current that might 1:n be generated by the S3 S4 S7 S8 main traction inverter, something which can be a significant problem in EVs. There also must not be any overlap in the on Figure 1: Bidirectional Full-Bridge Converter time of each bridge leg (that is, there needs to be some “dead time� each half cycle). The current-fed version replaces the shunt As might be inferred from the above explanation input capacitor with a series choke, so the switches are of the different timing requirements for the switches fed by a high-impedance current source. This makes in voltage-fed vs current-fed bridges, this rather the bridge highly tolerant of output shorts and any complicates the control of the converter, and all but ripple current on the DC bus - both highly desirable requires that it be implemented either in software attributes in this application - but the on times of each (with a microcontroller or DSP), with some rather leg of the current-fed bridge must overlap, otherwise kludgy custom hardware (e.g., logic gates), or with the switches will be destroyed (if you interrupt the a relatively expensive Field-Programmable Gate flow of current through a choke it will create whatever Array (FPGA). Another complication is that the voltage is necessary - i.e., arc - in order to maintain transfer function of the two converters - how output said flow). Unfortunately, this seemingly minor detail voltage relates to switch duty cycle, basically - is very means that none of the most popular switching power different in voltage-fed (buck) mode and currentsupply control ICs can be used, because they enforce a fed (boost) mode. The relationship of output voltage minimum amount of dead time between the opposing to switch duty cycle, while input voltage and load switches; they are geared towards voltage-source topologies, in other words. Consequently, current-fed converters tend to require much more design effort to Everything is a massive get working and to debug, so despite their advantages, headache when bidirectional they are less often chosen.

As for the secondary side, if the converter needs operation is required, to operate bidirectionally, then a full bridge of and a severe reduction in active switches, rather than passive diodes, will be required. This reversal of the energy flow also inverts reliability is unavoidable, the operation of the converter - that is to say, if the so there had better be an converter is a voltage-fed bridge in the forward direction, it will be a current-fed bridge in the reverse extremely good reason for direction, because the output choke of the voltage-fed going that route. bridge becomes the input choke of the current-fed bridge (see Figure 1).

28

current are constant, is a linear and intrinsically stable function for the buck converter. In contrast, output voltage rises at an increasingly rapid rate with duty cycle in a boost converter (approaching infinity as duty cycle tends towards 100%), and it is also intrinsically unstable due to the presence of the infamous (to engineers, anyway) Right Half Plane Zero, in which any increase in duty cycle when in continuous conduction mode initially causes a decrease in output voltage, because current is only delivered to the output when the switch is off in boost-derived converters. In fact, pretty much everything is a massive headache when bidirectional operation is required, and a severe reduction in reliability is unavoidable as well, so there had better be an extremely good reason for going that route.

Synchronous rectification is one application for controlled switches on the secondary side of the DC-DC converter that is worth the headache. In a synchronous rectifier, MOSFETs, specifically, replace the passive diodes in the usual bridge rectifier because they can conduct current in either direction and act like a very low value resistance when turned on. In the simplest synchronous rectification scheme, the SR

DC-DC converters for OEM EVs have a long way to go before they approach the economy/value of their electromechanical counterparts (or even their mains-supplied counterparts).

MOSFETs are switched on and off when passive diodes would naturally switch, which might seem pointless at first, but the advantage is that the voltage drop across a properly selected MOSFET will be much lower than even that of a Schottky barrier diode. For example, a typical Schottky diode rated for 30 V will have a voltage drop of around 0.6 V at rated forward current, while a typical 30 V MOSFET with appropriate current rating will exhibit a resistance of around 1 mΊ when turned on, resulting in a drop of just 0.05 V at 50 A (a practical upper limit for current through each boardmounted semiconductor device). Since there are two switches in series in a full-bridge, a rectifier comprised of Schottky diodes will drop 1.2 V, for an immediate 10-point hit to efficiency on a 12 V output (and will require getting rid of 60 W of waste heat at 50 A).

In contrast, a bridge rectifier comprised of 1 mΊ MOSFETs will drop 0.1 V at 50 A, subtracting just 1 point from efficiency, and generating a mere 5 W of waste heat.

As of now, all DC-DC converters for OEM EVs have a long way to go before they approach the economy/value of their electromechanical counterparts (or even their mains-supplied counterparts). They are too powerful, too complicated and not nearly as reliable as alternators. That said, it took many years before all the kinks were worked out of alternators, too; the early units had plenty of problems with their field control regulators and rectifiers, in particular. In the meantime, the best way to encourage more progress in EV technology is to keep buying and driving them.

JUL/AUG 2018

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HERAEUS HELPS COMPANIES LEARN TO USE CUTTING-EDGE MATERIALS TO IMPROVE EV ELECTRONICS In addition to sophisticated new material solutions, Heraeus offers engineering services to customers to help bring next-generation products to market faster and increase the overall module reliability.

By Paul Beck

W

hen it comes to making the most efficient EVs possible, materials matter. Nobody knows that better than Heraeus, a Germanbased technology group that has a stake in global industries including health, environment, electronics, mobility and industrial applications.

One area of focus for Heraeus is developing new materials and technologies for insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) modules. In the course of this effort, Heraeus has started to offer engineering services to a range of customers in the EV supply chain, right up to the top.

“We are working with the whole supply chain up to the OEMs,” Peter Dietrich, Head of Engineering Services for Materials Solutions at Heraeus, told Charged.

“And we, as the material experts, are at the beginning of the supply chain.”

Heraeus’s advantage, Mr. Dietrich explains, is ex-

30

actly that: the company’s deep experience with material science. He admits that while OEMs and suppliers are often comfortable with simulation and design, none are as well-versed as Heraeus in their knowledge of materials.

“We can offer simulation and design services,” Dietrich says. “In simulation, we do not believe that we are on the same level as our customers. They’ve been doing simulations of their model for several decades.

But material science-based knowledge can benefit with our experience and give FEM [Finite Element Model] simulation a small advantage in how the material behaves.”

Heraeus’s engineering services With respect to the IGBT modules used in electric and hybrid vehicles, one of the main services Heraeus offers is to help customers transition from soldering

THE TECH Photo courtesy of Heraeus

Heraeus’s new material system combines premium metal ceramic substrate with flux-free solder pads that have already been preapplied, which simplifies the die soldering process dramatically, as solder paste printing and flux residue cleaning are not required.

to sintering techniques. These are techniques used to join electronic components, such as a die (or chip), to a substrate.

In soldering, solder material is heated to become liquid, and then cools to join components together.

This can be achieved by hand, using a soldering iron, or with a larger piece of equipment known as a reflow oven. Sintering, in contrast, is a diffusion process that uses heat or mechanical pressure to join the die to a power substrate, with no liquification required. According to Mr. Dietrich, using sintering techniques instead of soldering can result in much higher reliability of IGBT modules.

“Sintering is a diffusion process, and it’s very stiff,” he said. “And we can achieve much higher cycle capability with sintering than with a material compound like a solder. With solder you have fatigue cracking, crack propagation. And sinter is much, much more reliable.” With these features, the sintering technology enables customers to solve new challenges in the power electronics market.

However, despite the advantages of sintering, many companies Heraeus works with have trouble justify-

We spent a lot of money, more than 1 million euros, to have the latest equipment. This cannot be spent by customers just for testing. ing a switch. One reason is cost: customers will ask for samples of sinter material to run trials, but won’t spend a lavish amount of money on the proper equipment, settling for the minimum toggle press and heat plate.

At the end of the trial, even though the customers are happy with the material strength, the improvement is too modest to proceed with sintering.

This is where Heraeus steps in, offering customers the use of its state-of-the-art equipment so that customers can see the true advantages of the sintering process.

“We have a PINK SIN200+ and a Boschman Sinterstar in our laboratory in the clean room, which at the moment is the latest state-of-the-art equipment,” Dietrich said. “We spent a lot of money, more than 1

JUL/AUG 2018

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THE TECH

million euros, to have the latest equipment. This cannot be spent by customers just for testing. And then we can use this equipment and our know-how to proceed in a professional way with good results and provide prototypes to our customers.” Another reason why customers are reluctant to introduce sintering technology is the missing experience. With more than 10 years of experience in sintering, Heraeus is the leading manufacturer for sinter paste, and supports its customers to introduce the sinter technology for future products. By offering a Sinter Seminar in October 2018, Heraeus helped customers to become familiar with the advantages of sintering.

In addition to offering the use of its professional equipment, Heraeus helps its customers develop familiarity with materials and processes. In doing so, Dietrich explains, Heraeus is also able to determine where it can offer the most innovative solutions.

“We can do all tests in-house besides the mechanical tests, and we are offering training and coaching to our customers to familiarize them with our materials. For us, this is a strategic element to position Heraeus Electronics as a solution provider. We want to have closer partnerships with our customers and also to feed back to our own R&D and product management. By going out of the comfort zone and seeing what the customers need, we can create new solutions. If we feel the same pain as our customers, we believe we can make ourselves more innovative for the right solutions.”

Heraeus’s material products One of Heraeus’s differentiators, according to Dietrich, is the number of power electronic products it can offer. “Normally our competitors have only one or two, and we have four, five, or six of these products available,” he said. “Our products are used for the assembly and packaging of electronic modules. Our substrates are the materials where you put the die on: die attach materials, soldering or sintering, and the die top connection, which is a bonding wire. And in the case of copper wires and aluminum wires, we also have a metallization technique which is called a Die Top System.”

Heraeus offers bonding wires in the form of aluminum, copper, or hybrid, which consists of a copper core and aluminum cladding. As Mr. Dietrich explains, copper wire requires a copper surface, and most of the die surface isn’t made of copper. “If the die has no copper on top we also offer a die top system, which

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Substrate layout courtesy of Fraunhofer IISB

The new Heraeus Die Top System enables the use of copper wire in combination with sinter technology by using a thin copper layer in between chip and copper wire to protect the die during the wire bonding process.

We made tests and could achieve up to 55 times more cyclic capability at one specific temperature point in comparison to the standard aluminum and soldering techniques. is a copper sheet pre-applied with sinter paste. And then you can sinter this copper sheet on the top of a die, when the die has nickel gold on top, which is very common. And then you can bond with copper. And the combination of sintering die top system and copper wires enlarges your ability a lot. We made one single test and could achieve 55 times more cyclic capability at one specific temperature point in comparison to the standard aluminum and soldering techniques.”

Heraeus also provides products and services for LED modules, which Mr. Dietrich says have comparable requirements to power electronics. Though the LED market is bigger, power electronic suppliers tend to place a higher value on quality material. “We are providing added services here to help our customers,” said Dietrich. “We are doing prototyping, design, and assembly.

We are also doing the qualification and testing, as well as the process optimization. We are very, very strong in material analysis and material simulation.”

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Ryder orders additional 500 Chanje electric vans Fleet management specialist Ryder System (NYSE: R) has reserved 500 new Chanje Energy medium-duty electric panel vans, which will be delivered as lease agreements are finalized. This is in addition to the 125 trucks Ryder ordered last year.

Ryder is the exclusive sales channel and service partner for Chanje, and is offering truck leasing and preventive maintenance solutions as part of its ChoiceLease and SelectCare fleet maintenance portfolio. Ryder has equipped maintenance facilities in California, Chicago and New York to meet the service and charging requirements for commercial EVs. California-based Chanje introduced its first vehicle in 2017, and is targeting the “last mile industry.” The Chanje all-electric large delivery van was designed from the ground up as an electric truck platform. It boasts a 100mile range, 580 cubic feet of cargo space, and a capacity of 6,000 pounds.

“Ryder continues to see broadening interest in EVs from businesses of various sizes and industries, and especially from those companies in the parcel, final mile, or beverage delivery space,” said Dennis Cooke, President, Global Fleet Management Solutions for Ryder. “There’s also interest from customers who have daily return-to-base routes of 40 to 100 miles and in markets with incentives available for electric vehicles.

We’re proud to expand our relationship with Chanje and expect additional business announcements based on our sales pipeline.”

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Image courtesy of Nobe

Image courtesy of Chanje

THE VEHICLES

Estonian startup Nobe turns heads with its retro-styled three-wheeler EV This “neo-retro” three-wheeler from Estonian startup Nobe may or may not end up being produced, but its striking design is getting a lot of positive attention. Motor 1 calls it “cute, adorable, and nostalgic,” and compares it to classic Morgan three-wheelers.

The Nobe 100 is a tiny city car that can turn on a dime and squeeze into tight parking spaces. It’s semi-convertible, with a removable hard top, and features analog gauges, chrome switches and door handles, wood accents, and other design elements that hark back to the 1930s. It has an all-wheel-drive powertrain, a range of 137 miles and a top speed of 68 mph.

Nobe’s environmental mission goes beyond the car’s electric drive and small size – the company says the Nobe 100 is made from 100% reusable or recyclable parts, and features upgradable technology to maximize its lifespan.

Want to buy one? Contribute to Nobe’s crowd-funding campaign, which aims to raise one million euros ($1.18 million) to finance the new EV’s production.

Porsche has invested in the Croatian EV startup Rimac Automobili, taking a minority stake of ten percent. As part of its electrification efforts, Porsche is seeking a development partnership with the young company.

Rimac was literally born in a garage in 2009, and showed its Concept_One electric supercar at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2011. The company presented a new vehicle, the C Two, at this year’s Geneva Motor Show in March. The two-seater produces 2,000 hp, and claims a top speed of 412 km per hour. It has a range of 650 km (on the NEDC cycle), and features a 250 kW fast charging system.

Zagreb-based Rimac, which has about 400 employees, also manufactures EV powertrain and battery systems for other automakers, and produces e-bikes under its subsidiary Greyp Bikes.

“By developing the purely electric two-seater super sports cars, like the Concept_One or C Two, as well as core vehicle systems, Rimac has impressively demon-

Image courtesy of Rimac

Porsche takes a 10% stake in Croatian EV startup Rimac

strated its credentials in the field of electromobility,” says Porsche Board Member Lutz Meschke. “We feel that Rimac’s ideas and approaches are extremely promising, which is why we hope to enter into close collaboration with the company in the form of a development partnership.”

“This partnership is an important step for Rimac on our way to become a component and system supplier of choice for the industry in electrification, connectivity and the exciting field of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems,” says Rimac CEO Mate Rimac.

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Faraday Future raises $2 billion in first-round funding, secures US government approval Faraday Future (FF) has raised $2 billion in first-round equity funding following approval by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).

FF is headquartered in Los Angeles, and has a manufacturing facility in Hanford, California, but a substantial amount of its funding comes from Chinese investors, so it needed CFIUS approval in order to proceed with its plans to enter the US automotive market.

FF will use the committed funds to finalize the development and delivery of its first production vehicle, FF 91, to both US and Chinese markets. FF 91 is a full-size luxury crossover EV that Faraday says will offer 0-60 mph acceleration of 2.39 seconds and an EPA-certified range of 378 miles. The new EV has already undergone nearly two years of road tests in the US. FF has big plans for autonomous driving. FF 91 is equipped with over 30 smart sensors, as well as a motion-enabled 3D lidar system. The company says it will offer features such as valet parking, facial recognition and seamless entry.

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Image courtesy of Optare

Image courtesy of Faraday Future

THE VEHICLES

London to add 68 electric double-decker buses to its fleet London Mayor Sadiq Khan has announced that 68 new electric double-deck buses will join the capital’s fleet.

Two routes operated by Metroline from Barnet to central London will be exclusively served by e-buses. Leedsbased Optare will supply 31 double-deckers, which will go into service next summer on Route 134, running from North Finchley bus station to Tottenham Court Road.

Optare developed its Metrodecker EV “from the wheels up,” with input from its customers, vendors and partners. Thanks to a proprietary “integral space” frame design, the e-bus weighs in at only a few hundred kilos more than the diesel equivalent, and has a plated GVW of 18,000 kg. The London Metrodecker EVs each have a capacity of 90 passengers, and a range of over 150 miles.

“We’re committed to reducing emissions from London’s buses, and making routes 43 and 134 exclusively electric is an important step to a zero-emission fleet,” said Claire Mann, TfL’s Director of Bus Operations. “This landmark order [will create] the largest pure electric double-deck bus fleet in Europe.”

“Optare has the largest park of electric buses in the UK, and a decade of experience working with operators across the country,” said Optare Commercial Director Robert Drewery. “This order follows extensive in-service trials of the Metrodecker EV with a number of operators in London and other cities around the country over the last 12 months. The next-generation Metrodecker EV destined for London is currently in testing before entering service trials later this year.”

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Nine-state coalition releases updated ZEV action plan The Multi-State ZEV Task Force, which coordinates the ZEV regulations of nine Northeast and West Coast states, has released a new ZEV Action Plan for 2018-2021. The current “ZEV states” are California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and recent entrant New Jersey.

The new Action Plan, which builds on the lessons learned from the earlier 2014 ZEV Action Plan, presents 80 recommendations for states, automakers, dealers, utilities and EV industry firms to accelerate adoption of what it calls zero-emission vehicles (as the authors of the report use the term, it includes PHEVs and fuel cell vehicles).

In 2017, the “travel” provision in the participating states’ ZEV regulations, which allowed automakers to use ZEV credits from California to meet their obligations in other states, expired. Automakers must now actually deliver ZEVs in a particular state in order to earn ZEV credits in that state.

Under the 2014 Action Plan, Task Force states have enacted incentive programs for the purchase of electrified vehicles and infrastructure; launched a brand-neutral consumer education campaign; and established work groups to foster collaboration with dealerships, utilities and automakers.

Recommendations in the updated Action Plan continue and expand on these efforts, focusing on five areas: • Raising consumer awareness • Building out charging infrastructure • Improving consumer purchase and non-financial incentives • Expanding public and private EV fleet adoption • Supporting dealership efforts to increase electrified vehicle sales

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THE VEHICLES

Image courtesy of UPS

CARB approves plan to invest $423 million from VW mitigation fund in zeroemission trucks, buses

UPS buys 950 electric delivery vans from Workhorse Fleet operators are beginning to make the transition from pilot EV programs to serious orders, and UPS is leading the way. Big Brown has just ordered 950 N-GEN electric delivery vans from Cincinnati-based Workhorse.

In February, UPS announced plans to deploy a test fleet of 50 N-GEN trucks, so the latest purchase brings its N-GEN fleet to an even thousand.

Workhorse and UPS have been working closely together over the last four years to develop the new Class 5 trucks. The companies say they are comparable in acquisition cost to legacy trucks with no subsidies, and improve fuel efficiency by nearly 400%.

Workhorse’s N-GEN electric van has a range of 100 miles, and an optional gas range extender engine can add another 75 miles. It’s geared toward urban deliveries, but the company has plans to develop additional configurations for telecom/municipal applications and larger 700-cubic-foot and 1,000-cubic-foot versions, for production in late 2018. Workhorse hopes to put 2,000 electric vans on the road by the end of the year.

The Workhorse fleet is only one of several electrification initiatives at UPS. The brown behemoth recently deployed 35 custom-built electric delivery trucks in London. In New York, it’s working to convert up to 1,500 delivery trucks to electric drive. It has also ordered 125 Tesla Semis and several of Daimler’s new FUSO eCanters.

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The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has approved a plan to invest $423 million that the state will receive from the National VW Environmental Trust. The mitigation plan will invest primarily in zero-emission replacements for heavy-duty trucks, buses and equipment. There is also money to reduce emissions at freight facilities and marine projects, and for light-duty vehicle charging.

Senate Bill 92, passed last year, requires that a minimum of 35% of the mitigation investment benefit disadvantaged communities. CARB’s plan allocates about 50% of the available funds to those communities.

The plan provides: • $130 million to replace eligible Class 4-8 buses with new, commercially available zero-emission technologies. CARB proposes an incentive of up to $400,000 for a battery-electric school bus; up to $180,000 for a battery-electric transit bus; up to $400,000 for a new fuel cell transit bus; and up to $160,000 for a new battery-electric shuttle bus, each including supporting infrastructure.

• $90 million to replace Class 8 freight trucks and port drayage trucks with new zero-emission technologies.

At least four additional manufacturers are expected to introduce zero-emission Class 8 commercial trucks in the next one to three years. CARB proposes a maximum incentive of up to $200,000 per truck, including infrastructure.

• $70 million to replace airport ground support equipment, forklifts, and port cargo handling equipment with zero-emission technologies.

• $60 million to replace Class 7 and 8 freight trucks, including waste haulers, dump trucks, and concrete mixers, or their engines (1992 to 2012 model years); freight switcher locomotives or their engines (pre-Tier 1); and ferry, tugboat, and towboat engines (pre-Tier 3) with the cleanest commercially available internal combustion or hybrid technologies.

Fiat Chrysler (FCA) plans to introduce the new models under its Jeep, Maserati, and Fiat brands within the next 4 years.

Currently, Fiat’s only plug-ins are the e500, a compliance car that CEO Sergio Marchionne has asked customers not to buy, and the Pacifica Hybrid, a PHEV that’s available in limited quantities (aspiring autonomy player Waymo is buying up much of the current production).

Now Marchionne says the company will invest 9 billion euros in electrification over the next 4 years, introducing several new hybrids and PHEVs across all its brands, including 10 new EVs. Here’s the catch: most of these new models are destined for China. FCA’s new EVs are supposed to start appearing around 2020. As always, there’s no way to know

Image courtesy of FCA

Fiat Chrysler announces plans for 10 new EVs

if the company will produce them in volume, or if it will turn out just enough to satisfy Chinese regulators.

THE VEHICLES

Texas reinstates EV rebates The big land of big cowboys driving big trucks has actually been fairly supportive of EVs. The state previously offered $2,500 rebates for EVs under a year-long program that ended in 2015 (a total of 1,896 rebates were awarded, out of 2,000 available).

Now the Lone Star State has established a new incentive program under which buyers of EVs, PHEVs and fuel cell vehicles will be eligible for a rebate of $2,500.

The offer applies to purchases made between September 1, 2017 and May 31, 2019, or whenever the $7.3-million budget runs out.

CNG vehicles are eligible for $5,000 rebates, but few of those are expected to be claimed, as the program bizarrely excludes fleet vehicles. The fuel cell incentive is (fortunately) also a theoretical exercise, as no fuel cell vehicles are currently available in Texas.

According to The Drive, Texas was among the first states to allow utilities to operate charging stations for profit, and the state currently has around 997 public charging stations.

“Texas now joins 45 other states in incentivizing alternative fuel vehicles or infrastructure to support them, which accelerates the adoption of clean vehicles and demonstrates the contributions alternative fuels are making to improve air quality, lower operating costs and enhance energy security,” said Russ Keene, President of advocacy group Plug-in Texas.

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EV startup BYTON has concluded a Series B fundraising round, attracting a total of $500 million, which it will invest in mass production, R&D and product development.

“The success of this funding round highlights how diversified strategic investors will further expand BYTON’s circle of friends and broaden our development opportunities,” said BYTON President and co-founder Dr. Daniel Kirchert. “BYTON is establishing a new benchmark for auto startups with four essential must-haves: namely Technology, Product, Capital and Factory.”

BYTON recently unveiled its Premium Sedan Concept in Shanghai, featuring integrated and retractable lidar sensors. The company has partnered with tech firm Aurora to develop a Level 4 autonomous driving program.

As if all that weren’t enough news for one week, BYTON has also announced the official opening of its global headquarters in Nanjing, China.

BYTON already has an R&D center in Silicon Valley and a design center in Munich. Construction of the company’s manufacturing base in Nanjing is proceeding steadily. The first batch of prototype vehicles is scheduled to roll out in April 2019, pilot production is slated for the first half of 2019, and the first vehicles are to reach the market in the fourth quarter.

“As a world leader in smart mobility, we aim to build BYTON into a global premium brand with ‘China Root, Global Reach’ as the core of our development strategy,” said Dr. Carsten Breitfeld, CEO and co-founder.

“By combining our expertise in R&D and traditional car-making with innovative internet technologies, we aspire to pioneer a smart mobility revolution.”

Image courtesy of BYTON

Image courtesy of Nicolas Raymond

BYTON raises $500 million in Series B funding, opens global headquarters in Nanjing

Private aviation company JetSuite has announced plans to add up to 100 Zunum Aero electrified aircraft to its fleet.

Washington-based Zunum Aero, profiled in the July/ August 2017 issue of Charged, is developing a “hybrid-to-electric” plane with a capacity of 12 passengers, a maximum cruise speed of 340 mph and a take-off distance of 2,200 feet.

The aircraft is optimized for distances of up to 1,000 miles, making it a perfect fit for the short-haul private travel offered by JetSuite.

Zunum says it is on track for flight testing in 2019, and plans to have its plane available for delivery in 2022.

“JetSuite, with its tradition of shifting paradigms in aviation, is an ideal partner for us in this launch collaboration,” said Zunum Aero CEO Ashish Kumar. “We

Image courtesy of Zunum Aero

JetSuite to buy up to 100 Zunum Aero hybrid planes

have a shared vision for fundamentally transforming and improving the way that people live and travel.”

“We appreciate the boldness required to change the status quo, and we see it in spades at Zunum,” said Alex Wilcox, founder and CEO of JetSuite. “We share Zunum’s vision for hybrid-to-electric aviation.”

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Photos courtesy of Kongsberg Maritime

THE VEHICLES

Photo courtesy of CLEVER

Electric autonomous container vessel to go into service in Norway

Renault will invest over a billion euros to develop and produce EVs in France Groupe Renault plans to invest more than €1 billion ($1.2 billion) in the development and production of plug-in vehicles in France.

The company will: introduce a new Alliance electric platform in Douai to create a second EV production site; double production capacity for its ZOE EV, and launch a new ZOE at Flins; triple electric motor production capacities at Cleon; introduce a new electric motor in 2021; and invest in Maubeuge for the production of a next-generation Kangoo Z.E. electric utility vehicle.

Renault saw its EV sales in Europe grow 38% in 2017, and says it has a 23.8% share of the European EV market.

The group’s latest strategic plan calls for it to introduce 8 electric models and 12 electrified models by 2022.

“The acceleration of our investments in France for electric vehicles will increase the competitiveness and attractiveness of our French industrial sites,” said Renault/ Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn. “Within the framework of its Drive the Future strategic plan and with the Alliance, Groupe Renault is giving itself the means to maintain its leadership in the electric vehicle market and to continue to develop new sustainable mobility solutions for all.”

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In 2017, fertilizer producer Yara announced a partnership with Kongsberg Maritime to build a fully autonomous, battery-electric container ship. Now Yara has made an agreement with cargo handling firm Kalmar, which will deliver equipment, software and services for a fully autonomous container handling solution at Yara’s Porsgrunn facility in Norway.

All operations related to the Yara Birkeland container vessel will be fully autonomous, with zero emissions.

Delivery of the equipment is scheduled to be completed during the second quarter of 2020.

The Yara Birkeland will transport fertilizer from Yara’s Porsgrunn plant via inland waterways to the deep-sea ports of Larvik and Brevik, a journey of 31 nautical miles. Kalmar will provide an autonomous loading and unloading solution, as well as transportation between the fertilizer production facilities and the quay. The Kalmar solution consists of one Automated Rail Mounted Gantry Crane, three FastCharge AutoStrads, a FastCharge charging station and related automation and safety systems.

“With this agreement, Yara Birkeland is not just the world’s first electric and autonomous container vessel; it is the world’s first fully digitalized and electric supply chain, with all operations, including loading, unloading and sailing conducted in a fully autonomous manner with zero emissions,” said Tove Andersen, EVP Production, Yara.

“Furthermore, the Kalmar FastCharge AutoStrads will drive along the public roads in the Porsgrunn industrial park, which is also used by normal road traffic. We are working closely with local authorities to ensure the safety of passengers and vehicles at all times,” said Tero Kokko, Senior VP, Automation and Projects, Kalmar.

CARB awards $20 million to zero-emission off-road vehicle demonstrations The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has awarded $20 million in grants for demonstrations of zero-emission off-road equipment in the freight, agriculture and waterborne mass transit sectors.

The projects are part of California Climate Investments, a statewide program that puts billions of dollars from the state’s Cap-and-Trade program to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, particularly in disadvantaged communities.

“These grants allow California to demonstrate promising cutting-edge technologies on the cusp of commercialization,” CARB Executive Officer Richard Corey said.

Projects funded in this round include: • Fuel cell-powered top loader with wireless inductive charging at the Port of Los Angeles • Three battery-electric top handlers and two zero-emission yard trucks (fuel cell and battery-electric) at the Port of Long Beach • Two battery-electric high lift-capacity forklifts at the Port of Stockton • Battery-electric switcher locomotive at the Port of Los Angeles • Fuel cell passenger ferry in the Bay Area • Four battery-electric tractors and one battery-electric Class 6 truck that will act as a mobile recharger in the San Joaquin Valley All projects will have met required milestones by March 2020.

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Photo courtesy of Jaguar

JUL/AUG 2018

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THE VEHICLES

Photos courtesy of Jaguar

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The I-Pace offers an iconic brand name, an attractive and distinct design, and no questions about the ability to produce at scale.

B

elieve it or not, we may have a BEV SUV turf war on our hands. Many of the major automakers have announced plans to produce all-electric crossovers, including Mercedes, Volvo, Hyundai, Kia and Volkswagen - not to mention the onslaught startups like SF Motors, Faraday Future, Byton and Rivian. The all-electric Audi e-tron SUV is expected to start European deliveries as early as this fall.

However, the only challenger to the Tesla Model X on its way to the North American market is the 2019 Jaguar I-PACE BEV crossover SUV, which is to begin shipping as early as September.

At a base price of $69,500 (up to $85,900 fully loaded), the I-PACE offers an iconic brand name, an attractive and distinct design, and no questions about the company’s ability to produce at scale. Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) uses the contract Magna Steyr plant in Austria to produce the I-PACE, as well as its ICE counterpart, the E-PACE, and the company has promised to invest $1.5 billion to build out its North American infrastructure of dealerships, charging facilities, and customer services over the next five years.

JLR’s introduction of crossovers and SUVs to its product line two years ago spiked its global and US sales, and now the I-PACE could test the resiliency of BEV luxury SUVs in the market, as JLR continues to expand its horizons. The company has partnered with Waymo to add the I-PACE to its driverless fleet.

The first Waymo self-driving I-PACE will begin tests later this year, and Waymo plans to purchase 20,000 I-PACEs by 2020.

Customer pre-orders for the I-PACE began in March.

It has a shorter range (240 miles) than the Model X and uses the CCS charging system, rather than a dedicated network of Supercharger stations, but one wonders if the cachet of the Jaguar name combined with a lower price will help the I-PACE continue to spread the EV flame across crossover-happy America.

As I discovered first-hand in June, the I-PACE is an incredibly satisfying car in terms of visual appeal, driving performance, comfort and technological amenities. The two-decade Jaguar veteran Ian Callum oversaw the I-PACE’s design over a span of more than four years, bringing together design and engineering teams who sought to tie together Jaguar’s historic legacy, modern advancements and EV-specific innovations throughout the vehicle’s mechanical and electrical engineering, exterior design and in-car tech.

A balance of power

Even though the I-PACE is a pure EV, the exterior and internal design and engineering teams wanted to maintain the “core Jaguar DNA attributes” of its look and feel, said Simon Patel, Powertrain Senior Program Manager for the I-PACE. From a performance angle,

JUL/AUG 2018

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THE VEHICLES Photos courtesy of Jaguar

that meant balanced and precise handling and immediate response to driver inputs.

Achieving that in a large, longrange EV presented some challenges, such as getting the center of mass as low as possible for optimum vehicle dynamics. Because the 90 kWh lithium-ion battery makes up 30% of the total vehicle mass, it’s situated in the base of the chassis, which was also the best place for it from a safety/crash perspective. The body structure of the car is 94% aluminum, with just a bit of steel in key areas that needed extra strength.

Integrating the battery into the body also helped Jaguar achieve a high torsional stiffness of 36 kiloNewtons per degree, making it “the stiffest Jaguar we have ever made,” according to Patel.

Another challenge related to NVH (noise, vibration and harshness). “Without the noise of the ICE and transmission, the I-PACE’s overall sound levels are 6-8 dB less than our next quietest cabin,” Patel said. “Road noise and other noises can be heard and felt that the engine would otherwise mask.”

The I-PACE team developed a unique optimized

The body structure of the car is 94% aluminum, with just a bit of steel in key areas that needed extra strength.

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NVH package that includes a double-isolated EDU (electric drive unit) mounting system on both the front and rear axles. That system also complements the car’s very low center of gravity and 50/50 weight distribution between the front and rear axles, which the team wanted for its performance dynamics.

“The key was to balance battery capacity vs overall vehicle height vs drag co-efficient,” Patel said. “We think we got the correct recipe.”

The I-PACE has two permanent magnetic motors designed in-house by Jaguar’s electric machine experts - integrated into the front and rear axles. A torque vectoring system uses the foundation brakes to give the I-PACE side-to-side torque vectoring, and its front and

Photos courtesy of Jaguar

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The I-PACE has two permanent magnetic motors - designed in-house

by Jaguar’s electric machine experts and integrated into both the front and rear axles.

rear Intelligent Driveline Dynamic system delivers that torque smoothly, with precise control over the speed and pull to each of the four wheels.

Another important strategy was to manage the heat generated from the motors, powertrain and battery. The I-PACE has three automated cooling systems integrated to boost the car’s performance and range.

The cabin and battery operate on a similar cooling circuit, because people and batteries tend to like the same temperature of around 20 degrees Celsius. The motors and power electronics use a separate system that maintains a higher temperature range optimal for those components. On colder days, heat from the motor and battery heat up the cabin to save electrical energy, which Patel said can improve the range up to 35%.

In its strongest regenerative braking mode, the IPACE’s motors deliver up to 0.4 g of deceleration. But when the driver is less concerned with energy conservation, the performance-oriented Dynamic mode increases the responsiveness of the front pedal, sharpens the steering for more precise turning, and applies greater levels of control and feedback to the suspension.

The function of form

For allegiance to Jaguar’s legacy, and for the drag co-efficient part of the balance equation Patel spoke Photos courtesy of Jaguar

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THE VEHICLES of, the I-PACE exterior design team concentrated on both aerodynamic function and aesthetic form.

Simon Tovey, JLR’s Exterior Creative Design Manager, explained that the I-PACE’s look was inspired by the Jaguar C-X75 hybrid-electric concept supercar, which he worked on developing from 2010 to 2012. The C-X75 itself largely took inspiration from the Jaguar XJ13 prototype race car from 1966.

“We always have something we can look back on and reinterpret,” Tovey said. “We just looked to the past, but then came up with new ideas. The new ideas on this were purely functional.” The C-X75 design contributed to what Tovey called the “muscular, shapely haunches” of the I-PACE, as well as to its sense of movement that the general Jaguar aesthetic has portrayed.

However, as an electric car with two motors sitting between the wheels, the I-PACE didn’t need the long hood - or bonnet, as the Brits prefer - that many Jaguar models have. That allowed the front seats to move forward, which in turn allowed the rear occupants to have more space, and also gave the I-PACE the appearance of an exotic mid-engine sports car, Tovey said.

Photos courtesy of Jaguar

THE VEHICLES

While many electric cars don’t have a grill in front, the I-PACE does. Its grill makes it recognizable as a Jaguar but also serves a dual function. There is a radiator under the hood, so air passing through the grill helps cool the radiator for the batteries and other electric components, and also plays a part in the larger emphasis on aerodynamics.

Air moves through and over the grill, through and over the hood, up over the roof, and stays attached before moving through the rear spoiler, which Tovey said is actually more like a wing. There is also a side intake where air goes through into a wheel arch and is released down through the sheer side of the car. Finally, rather than the tapered rear section seen on many Jags, the I-PACE has a high, square, boxy back end, because, as Tovey explained, for aerodynamics you want a hard, sharp edge in the rear, so that air flows off all in one area, reducing turbulence.

All this emphasis on aerodynamics helps get the I-PACE’s drag coefficient as low as 0.29. “Aerodynamic efficiency in electric car terms equates to mileage almost one-to-one,” Tovey said.

At the same time, while the I-PACE’s height is rather low for a crossover SUV, whether you have the glass roof or metal roof, it is a thin top, allowing for more space. Tovey’s proud of the fact that the I-PACE offers comparable cabin space to the Jaguar 2018 XJ luxury sedan in a footprint comparable to that of the 2018 Porsche Macan ICE compact SUV.

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Photos courtesy of Jaguar

Well-connected car

Today’s EVs are still cars first, but computers second.

The I-PACE features JLR’s updated Touch Pro Duo system with twin HD dashboard touchscreens, and all the navigation, connected home and remote-control features you find in luxury vehicles, along with a 4G Wi-Fi hotspot for up to eight devices and some EVspecific advantages.

A dedicated EV screen shows nearby charging stations, and can route the GPS to the nearest one. There is artificial intelligence (AI) built into the I-PACE computer, and over time its machine learning will pick up the patterns of a driver’s style, to better determine the available range and offer power usage estimates for each waypoint on the current navigation map.

AI-assisted Smart Settings are brand new to the I-PACE. They connect to the Bluetooth-enabled key fobs, so for every driver of the car, the system will learn the preferred seat settings, zoned climate control settings, favorite radio stations, etc, and pre-condition

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THE VEHICLES

In the app, you can check the I-PACE’s range, set a time window for charging, find out if there’s enough power to complete predetermined trips and more. the I-PACE for that driver as the key fob approaches.

Selma Bambur, JLR Connected Car Future Technology Strategist, said it takes about two weeks for the I-PACE AI to learn a driver’s settings, driving style, etc.

You can also check the I-PACE’s range, set a time window for charging, find out if there’s enough power to complete pre-determined trips and more, either from a smartphone app or by talking to an Amazon Echo (Alexa) device when you’re away from the vehicle.

Conversely, from inside the I-PACE, you can control your smart home devices such as the Philips Hue LED lights and Nest or Wink home control gadgets.

The I-PACE’s technological bells and whistles extend to new safety and driver-assist features as well. The updated Autonomous Emergency Braking System alerts the driver through the driver-side display to pedestrians, cyclists and other hazards, and attempts to nudge the car out of the way if the driver fails to take action.

With the front-facing and other cameras around the I-PACE, the computer stitches together a 360-degree bird’s-eye view on the 10-inch dash display to help with tricky parking and other maneuvering.

Bambur noted that the connected car initiatives take their direction from customer requests and behavior trends, which mean a great deal when serving the dual niches of EVs and luxury SUVs. So the decisions to add six USB ports and three 12 V sockets to the I-PACE, as well as choosing the 35 InControl apps for the dashboard touchscreen, which vary by region, must all balance customer desires with the constraints and concerns of the overall engineering teams.

“The dynamics between the different teams are actually quite fun,” she said. “We like to challenge each other to get the best out of the system and push each other to deliver something special. We all come in with our initial visions and try to get as close to them as possible, while always putting what customers want first.”

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Photos courtesy of Jaguar

The specs Drivetrain

Four-wheel drive with front and rear motors

Motor

Permanent magnet synchronous motor

Power

394 hp (front EDU: 197/rear EDU: 197)

Torque

512 lb-ft (front EDU: 256/rear EDU: 256)

Battery capacity

90 kWh

Range

240 miles (manufacturer estimate)

Acceleration 0-60 mph

4.5 seconds

Top speed

124 mph

Charging

Level 2: 7 kW (12.9 hours to full charge) DC: 50 kW (85 minutes to 80%) DC: 100 kW (40 minutes to 80%)

Length/width/height

184.3/84.2/61.3 inches (mirrors out)

Turning circle

39.3 feet

Curb weight

4,784 lbs

Base price

$69,500

From dirt to the track and back South Portugal’s beautiful coastal Algarve region normally dries out and warms up in June, making it a tourist’s dream that can more than double in population during the height of summer. This June, however, rain and cool temperatures kept the vacationers at bay, depriving the local economy but keeping the traffic delightfully sparse for the Jaguar Land Rover media event your correspondent attended to drive the new I-PACE. Whether pushing the I-PACE’s ample torque during scenic valley straightaways or riding its strong regenerative breaking through Pacific Coast Highway-like stretches of abundant curves, I found that this new electric contender handled wonderfully. It offered sharp response and excellent ergonomics. The system’s accuracy at predicting the car’s power consumption before arriving at each pre-programmed waypoint within the GPS impressed me as well.

A surprise detour veered us into an off-road section, where I got to drive through a stream and traverse dirt roads along lightly wooded hilltop ridges. During a particularly steep uphill and downhill portion, we sampled an automated mode in which the computer took over, determining the appropriate acceleration and braking.

The climactic event ensued when we rolled into the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, also known as Porti-

mao Circuit, a professional track and Formula One testing ground. This is where the full majesty of the I-PACE would shine through. Unlike some of the grizzled automotive veterans in my group, I had never driven on a race track.

And to my chagrin, it showed.

A preliminary test run on the simulator did little to prepare me for the real test on the 3-mile, 15-turn course.

I did my level best to accelerate fully to the proper time and place to brake and turn, or just to turn while the regen kicked in. The poor pro racer in the passenger seat egged me on - “Keep it going. Keep it going. Full Power. Full power!” - while hiding what I’m sure was exasperation as I had to move aside to let other I-PACEs pass me. And even as I improved my time steadily with each lap, touching the top speed of 200 km/h during the straightaway, the G-forces pulling me to each side as I took turns faster than I ever had in my life were an unnerving yet exhilarating experience.

Despite what my brain and heart rate were telling me, there was no chance that I would have flipped the expertly engineered I-PACE at the speeds I reached. Yet I left with a new appreciation for racing, and a slightly mischievous desire to take the I-PACE beyond the limits of legality when we returned to civilian streets.

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Photo courtesy of ABB

THE INFRASTRUCTURE

Photo courtesy of BP

IONITY network chooses ABB fast chargers

BP to acquire UK charging network Chargemaster BP has agreed to purchase Chargemaster, which builds charging stations and operates a network of over 6,500 public charging points across the UK. Unlike some oil giants, BP is taking a proactive approach to the coming transition to electric transport.

The company estimates that there will be 12 million EVs on UK roads by 2040, and says “the development of convenient and innovative EV charging technologies and networks is a key part of BP’s strategy to advance the energy transition.”

A key priority for BP Chargemaster will be the rollout of ultra-fast charging infrastructure, including 150 kW chargers. BP Chargemaster chargers are to be installed at BP locations over the next 12 months.

“At BP we believe that fast and convenient charging is critical to support the successful adoption of electric vehicles,” said Tufan Erginbilgic, Chief Executive, BP Downstream. “Combining BP’s and Chargemaster’s complementary expertise, experience and assets is an important step towards offering fast and ultra-fast charging at BP sites across the UK and to BP becoming the leading provider of energy to low-carbon vehicles.”

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IONITY, a joint venture of BMW, Daimler, Ford and the Volkswagen Group, has a mission to build a charging network along major routes across Europe. Swiss electronics giant ABB has announced that it has been selected as one of IONITY’s main technology partner and supplier.

IONITY recently opened a pilot station in Switzerland, on the A2 motorway near Lucerne. The station features six of ABB’s Terra High Power chargers, each capable of power levels up to 350 kW. No current EVs are capable of charging at that rate - most charge at 50 kW. However, in yet another parallel with the early days of the internet, infrastructure providers are trying to future-proof their products, anticipating that the higher power (bandwidth) will be needed in the next few years.

ABB says the chargers at this Swiss IONITY station are the first with liquid-cooled cables to be installed in Europe.

Electrek reports that there are already a couple of IONITY stations online in Germany, and notes that the chargers at the new Swiss station look quite different from the German ones. It would appear that IONITY is dividing its hardware orders among different suppliers, as VW’s Electrify America is doing.

IONITY promises “a significant initial roll-out” of fast charging stations by the end of 2018, and plans to have approximately 400 stations across 24 European countries in service by 2020.

Michael Hajesch, Managing Director at IONITY, said he is “glad to have a strong and international technology partner with ABB to drive e-mobility to the next level across Europe.”

Photos courtesy of BMW

BMW introduces wireless charging option BMW has introduced a factory-fitted, integrated inductive charging feature for its 530e iPerformance PHEV. The system can be ordered now as a leasing option in Germany, and will subsequently be rolled out in the UK, the US, Japan and China.

The BMW Wireless Charging system consists of a GroundPad, which can be installed in a garage or outdoors, and a CarPad fixed to the underside of the vehicle.

The energy transfer is conducted over a distance of around 8 cm. The system has a charging power of 3.2 kW and an efficiency rate of around 85 percent.

The GroundPad can be installed outdoors, and can be used regardless of weather conditions. It automatically switches off if any foreign matter is detected.

The system helps the driver to maneuver into the correct parking position using a Wi-Fi connection between the charging station and vehicle. An overhead view of the car and its surroundings appears in the vehicle’s Control Display with colored lines to guide the driver. An icon shows when the correct parking position for inductive charging has been reached. This can deviate from the optimum position by up to 7 cm longitudinally and up to 14 cm laterally.

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Photo courtesy of WattZilla

THE INFRASTRUCTURE

WattZilla chargers earn Energy Star certification EVSE manufacturer WattZilla has received Energy Star certification for its WattZilla Uno, WattZilla Duo, QuadZilla, Wall Wattz and WaltZilla home and commercial charging stations - a distinction that only a handful of the hundreds of charger models on the market have earned.

Energy Star-certified chargers reduce energy waste in the modes of operation when the unit is not actively charging a vehicle. The Idaho National Laboratory has estimated that a typical charging station spends over 85% of its time in one of these modes, and that Energy Star-certified chargers use 40% less energy in standby mode than non-certified chargers.

All Energy Star models must also meet electrical safety requirements; something that consumers unfortunately cannot always assume is the case, especially for lower-priced models.

To earn the Energy Star label, EVSE performance must be independently certified based on testing in an EPA-recognized laboratory.

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Duke Energy to invest $25 million in EVSE, battery storage and e-buses After several months of negotiations, Duke Energy Carolinas has reached a settlement agreement on the utility’s Power/Forward Grid Modernization Plan. The agreement calls for a $25-million investment in EV infrastructure that the Sierra Club calls “unprecedented in the Southeast.”

Duke will provide rebates of $750 to about 1,500 residential customers ($4 million total) to install Level 2 charging stations, and will install, own and operate 275 Level 2 charging stations at multi-dwelling buildings ($4 million), as well as 60 DC fast charging stations ($7.7 million) along highway corridors. Ten to fifteen percent of the stations will be installed in low-income communities.

Duke will provide a $75,000 incentive for 45 electric transit buses and associated charging infrastructure ($3.4 million total), giving priority to communities with lower air quality.

Duke will also deploy 200 MW of battery storage projects by 2023 and an additional 100 MW by 2026. The storage will be used to level out periods of peak demand, which the Sierra Club hopes will remove justifications for raising customers’ rates to pay for new fracked gas plants.

“Investments in clean energy technologies will not only protect our environment, but will save money for families and businesses over the long term,” said the Sierra Club’s Dave Rogers. “We’ll use this settlement as a springboard to keep pushing Duke for even more investments in smart, clean, renewable technologies that benefit communities, as well as their bottom line.”

“This commitment to electrifying our cars and buses means cleaner air across North Carolina, and puts us a step closer to fully protecting the most vulnerable among us from the pollution caused by gas and diesel powered vehicles,” Rogers continued. “And with every new unit of energy storage brought online, we poke more holes into the fallacy that clean energy isn’t reliable and resilient.

Making the transition to 100 percent clean energy is not only possible, but inevitable.”

Image courtesy of Nicolas Raymond

New Jersey utility proposes to invest $300 million in EV infrastructure, $100 million in energy storage New Jersey’s Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG), the state’s largest utility, has revealed plans to invest $300 million in smart EV infrastructure, along with $100 million in utility-scale energy storage projects and $2.5 billion in energy efficiency measures. The company will file the plan with the state Board of Public Utilities later this year.

The New Jersey proposal follows announcements of massive new investments in EVSE in New York and California. According to the National Resources Defense Council, the Garden State’s plan is by far the largest transportation electrification program proposed to date outside of California.

According to NJ Spotlight, the state currently has about 227 public charging stations, and about 15,000 EVs on the road, out of over 6 million registered vehicles.

“This ambitious program is all about continuing the positive momentum that the people of PSEG have built over the last 115 years,” said PSEG CEO Ralph Izzo. “It is the most significant investment program in PSEG’s history, marking a strong commitment to modernization of our infrastructure and a clean energy future. This will help meet growing consumer desire to use less energy, to ensure the energy they use is cleaner, and to lower bills.”

CPUC approves $738 million in EV charging projects for California utilities The US is soon going to be seriously wired for electric driving, at least on the coasts. The California Public Utility Commission (CPUC) has approved a portfolio of EV charging projects worth a cool $738 million for Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) and Southern California Edison (SCE), perhaps the largest public investment in utility EV charging infrastructure to date.

These state-sponsored projects highlight the growing role that electric utilities are playing in rolling out public charging networks. Most observers seem to agree that (unlike some past public charging initiatives), the California and New York programs are well-designed, bringing private industry into the picture and considering the needs of all the major stakeholders.

Large sums of money are being invested in public charging. The CPUC deal “is the largest omnibus package of investor-owned utility investments to be approved,” said Chris Nelder of the Rocky Mountain Institute. And none too soon, say some. Research from the Edison Electric Institute and the Institute for Electric Innovation predicts that the US will need up to 5.5 million chargers by 2025 to meet growing demand.

“Building EV charging infrastructure should be an urgent priority in all states and major municipalities,” wrote Nelder and colleagues in a recent RMI report.

“Getting it right will require unprecedented cooperation by many stakeholder groups. The time to act is now.”

Of course, not everyone is on board with the transition to electric transportation. The CPUC’s project is no more than a “$500 million money grab,” according to the California Independent Oil Marketers Association.

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THE INFRASTRUCTURE

New York is getting serious about going electric. The New York Power Authority (NYPA) has launched a new $250-million initiative called Evolve NY that will seek to create private sector partnerships to accelerate EV adoption throughout the state.

Evolve NY is part of the Governor’s Charge NY 2.0 initiative, which has a goal of installing at least 10,000 charging stations by the end of 2021.

In the initial phase of funding, $40 million will be allocated to three programs through the end of 2019: • Interstate Fast Chargers. Up to 200 DC fast chargers will be installed along key interstate corridors - with a target interval of every 30 miles - and in select urban areas.

• Airport Fast Chargers. DC fast chargers will be installed at or near JFK and LaGuardia airports to serve EV drivers within a 200-mile radius of New York City. This will add to the existing Level 2 chargers at airport parking garages.

• EV Model Community. The community will have a utility-managed charging platform to ensure affordability, reliability, and grid efficiency, and will test and scale new EV infrastructure and service business models.

New York State has already provided incentives for employers to encourage employees to drive electric, and offered rebates for municipalities to purchase plug-in vehicles for municipal fleet use and to install charging infrastructure. The state’s PSC is also considering timeof-use electric rates for EV drivers.

“The Power Authority’s mission is to be a first mover,” said NYPA Board of Trustees Chairman John R. Koelmel. “By building a vast electric car charging network and supporting infrastructure, we are laying the groundwork for a bright future - where electric vehicle driving is the norm.”

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Photo courtesy of Heliox

New York State announces $250-million initiative to expand EV infrastructure Heliox fast chargers power New Zealand’s first 10 electric double-decker buses Netherlands-based Heliox will supply fast charging for 10 electric double-decker buses that are to go into service in Wellington, New Zealand in July. The new e-buses, operated by local transit agency Tranzit, will be joined by another 10 in 2020 and another 12 in 2021.

Heliox’s charging network includes a CCS plug-in system for depot charging and a roof-mounted pantograph system for en route charging. The system uses opensource OCPP back-office communication, combining data from the infrastructure and the bus fleet.

Heliox will provide eight chargers to the project: five DC 2×30 kW Twin Chargers; two OC 450 kW ultra-fast chargers; and one DC 25 kW Mobile Charger with a plug-in option for ultimate flexibility in the workshop.

Heliox’s fast charging infrastructure will initially cover 9 bus routes across the Wellington region. The 82-seat double-deckers will be fully charged overnight at the depot using the Heliox Fast DC 2×30 kW twin chargers, and will top up their batteries during the day using the OC 450 kW opportunity chargers.

Heliox’s OC 450 kW charger can recharge a battery in 2-5 minutes. According to the company, these chargers are compatible with all brands and models of electric buses that use opportunity charging.

“Heliox’s experience and proven robust charging infrastructure was a key factor in our decision-making process,” said Keven Snelgrove, Transport and Operations Director for Tranzit Group. “The charging stations are very discreet and will be placed strategically on our routes for greater range around Wellington.”

Pivot Power has unveiled plans to build a 2 GW network of grid-scale batteries and fast charging stations across the UK. The company plans to invest some £1.6 billion to develop 45 sites around the country, installing grid-scale 50 MW batteries at electrical substations.

The battery network will store enough electricity to supply 235,000 average homes for a day, and will have the ability to release or absorb two thirds the power of the planned Hinkley C nuclear power plant in response to grid balancing requirements.

Sites have been chosen near towns and major roads where they can also power EV charging stations. According to Pivot Power, each site will be able to power up to 100 150 kW chargers, and will also support 350 kW chargers when they are available in the UK. “This innovative solution will help accelerate EV adoption by providing a network of rapid charging stations across the country,” said Graeme Cooper, National Grid Project Director for Electric Vehicles. “It will also give the system operator more choice and flexibility for managing the demands in the day-to-day running of the network.”

Pivot Power aims to have operational batteries at 10 sites within 18 months.

“We want to future-proof the UK’s energy system and accelerate the electric vehicle revolution, helping the UK to clean up its air and meet climate targets,” said Pivot Power CEO Matt Allen. “We are keen to hear from anyone who shares our vision and wants to go electric, particularly partners with large fleets such as local authorities, supermarkets and logistics companies.”

Photo courtesy of EVBox

Pivot Power to build 2 GW network of batteries and charging stations

PG&E selects EVBox as hardware provider for workplace and MUD charging network Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) has selected EVBox as the first supplier for the utility’s EV Charge Network program.

The EV Charge Network is a program aimed at workplaces and multi-unit dwellings in northern and central California. Through the program, PG&E will pay for and build the infrastructure for customers from the electric grid to the charger.

Customers have two options: they can be an EV Charge Owner or an EV Charge Sponsor.

For EV Charge Owner projects, customers will own, install and maintain the charging station and receive a rebate for part of the cost.

For EV Charge Sponsor projects, PG&E will own, install and maintain the charging station, and customers will pay a participation fee.

“This confirms our position as a true global leader, with an established network of over 55,000 chargers and a strong long term vision on how to accelerate the rEVolution,” said EVBox CEO Kristof Vereenooghe. “Because of this and our extensive experience with large public charging projects - for example 2,000+ public charging stations on the streets of Amsterdam - our financial strength and Open Charge Point Protocol experience, we are in a perfect position to support PG&E in moving forward with its clean transportation efforts.”

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Fastned opens its first DC fast charging station in Germany European fast charging network operator Fastned has opened its first station in Germany. The new station is located along the A3 highway at Limburg an der Lahn, and features several 350 kW DC chargers.

The roof of the station is equipped with solar panels.

According to Fastned, all the energy delivered by its network comes from renewable sources.

Fastned currently has 73 stations operational in the Netherlands, and is preparing to roll out its network to other countries, including the UK and Belgium. It plans to open 18 stations in Germany before the end of the year. The company’s ambition is to build a European network of 1,000 fast charging stations, including several hundred in Germany.

“After the successful German Energiewende [energy transition] now comes the German Autowende,” said Fastned co-founder Bart Lubbers. “In the next few years, German car manufacturers such as Porsche, Audi, Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes will introduce fully electric models that can charge at high power. This is a great challenge and opportunity for the automotive industry and charging companies like Fastned.”

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Photo courtesy of Hubject

Photo courtesy of Fastned

THE INFRASTRUCTURE

Charging interoperability pioneer Hubject expands to US Europe-based Hubject has officially launched its US operations from a new HQ in Santa Monica, California. Hubject was founded in 2012 to enable seamless charging for customers through an open B-to-B platform, and is now in use on four continents and in 26 countries.

The company’s Intercharge platform allows charging operators and service providers to implement interoperability among one another, with one central contract and one API interface.

For consumers, Hubject’s eRoaming platform allows EV drivers to find, access and pay for charging stations from various networks with one account, one card, one app and one bill. Hubject currently facilitates interconnection among 300 charging networks, automakers and utility partners, allowing seamless access to over 70,000 charge ports.

“After the success we’ve had with our 300 partners in Europe and Japan, launching in the United States was the next logical step as EV sales continue to rise,” said Paul Glenney, North American CEO of Hubject. “We’re eager to help accelerate the global transition to e-mobility with our innovative software that provides a neutral system for EV charging companies to work together and provide seamless charging for drivers.”

The Charge Ready network, launched two years ago as a pilot program by Southern California Edison (SCE), recently installed its 1,000th charging station. Now SCE has filed a plan with the California Public Utilities Commission to invest $760 million to expand the program to 48,000 more charging points.

Most of the charging stations added during Charge Ready’s pilot phase were installed at workplaces, schools and universities, hospitals, destination centers and fleet yards. In the second phase, SCE plans to increase the number of chargers at apartment and condominium complexes as well.

Under the program, SCE installs and maintains the EVSE and provides rebates to reduce costs, while participants typically own, operate and maintain the charging stations.

“By allowing hundreds of our employees the opportunity to conveniently plug in daily at work, our headquarters has become the blueprint for zero-emissions corporate commuting throughout the nation,” said Mike O’Brien, VP of Planning for Hyundai, which installed 74 Charge Ready chargers at its Fountain Valley location.

“On top of being able to provide our students, teachers and staff the opportunity to charge their EVs, having the charging stations also exposes EVs to more individuals in our community, including many who might not have had that exposure before,” said Shawn Cun, Energy Manager of El Monte Union High School District, where SCE has installed 44 charging stations.

“Achieving California’s ambitious goals for reducing air pollution and harmful greenhouse gas emissions will require 7 million electric cars on California highways by 2030,” said Caroline Choi, SCE Senior VP for Regulatory Affairs. “Taking Charge Ready to the next level will allow SCE to develop the charging infrastructure needed to support a big portion of those cars.”

Photo courtesy of Michael Coghlan

Southern California Edison proposes to install 48,000 more charging points

New Dutch study recommends optimal EVSE rollout strategy

As the worldwide fleet of EVs expands, it’s becoming clear that governments around the world need to make significant investments in public charging infrastructure.

However, there are few examples to follow in developing an effective rollout strategy.

A new study, published in the journal Energy Policy, aims to guide policy makers in the deployment of future charging infrastructure. The study analyzes the use of 1,700 public charging points in the Netherlands over the first 4 years of EV adoption, representing more than 1.3 million charging sessions.

The Netherlands is second only to Norway in per-capita EV adoption, and its public charging infrastructure may serve as a good example for other regions. The country currently has around 132,000 EVs and 15,000 public charging points. In the Netherlands, as elsewhere, two rollout strategies have been used: demand-driven and strategic rollout. In demand-driven rollout, the installation of a charging point is based upon a request by an EV owner for a charging point near their home or office. In strategic rollout, the local government places charging points near strategic locations such as shopping areas and tourist attractions.

The study found that strategic charging points are used more during the daytime, by more unique users and with shorter connection times, whereas demand-driven chargers are used more by residential users, with longer connection times and higher charging volumes.

The research shows that a demand-driven approach is effective in the early adoption phase, whereas strategic rollout becomes more important as user numbers grow.

“Sufficient infrastructure will promote EV sales, but oversupply of infrastructure can be expensive and negatively impact scarce parking space,” says report co-author Professor Robert van den Hoed. “It is therefore crucial to understand what the appropriate level of investment is at any given time.”

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ELECTRIFY AMERICA BEGINS BUILDING A NATIONWIDE NETWORK OF METRO, HIGHWAY, WORKPLACE AND COMMUNITY CHARGERS The two-billion-dollar 10-year investment represents the largest of its kind so far.

By Charles Morris

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THE INFRASTRUCTURE

I

Photos courtesy of Electrify America

n the chaos that is human affairs, bad intentions sometimes eventually lead to good results.

As atonement for Volkswagen’s criminal actions in what we like to call the Dirty Diesel Debacle, government regulators have forced the automaker to invest substantial resources in promoting vehicle electrification. As one of these acts of contrition, VW agreed to a consent decree that established Electrify America, a corporation with a mission to increase EV adoption and a budget of two billion dollars to be invested over ten years in charging infrastructure and a brand-neutral consumer awareness campaign.

The two big ones will be invested in four cycles of $500 million each. The idea is to future-proof the project by spending the money over time, learning from each cycle before deciding how to proceed with the next, and taking advantage of the inevitable advances in charging technology. In the first cycle of investment, Electrify America is building 484 DC charging sites in 17 metro areas and along highways, and deploying more than 2,800 Level 2 chargers at 500 workplace and multi-unit dwelling (MUD) locations.

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Photos courtesy of Electrify America

EA has already begun installing stations. Six or seven should be up and running by the time you read this, and the rest of the first phase is scheduled to be completed or under construction by June 2019.

To understand what a big deal this is for EV adoption, let’s look back at a previous turning point in tech history. In the late 1990s, internet developers envisioned applications such as audio, video and telephony, but existing bandwidth was inadequate. Over the course of a few years, telecoms rolled out fiber-optic backbones around the world, and developers quickly took advantage of the new infrastructure, creating the modern broadband internet (for better or for worse).

Today, it’s plain that existing fast charging infrastructure will be inadequate for the new generation of longrange EVs that’s in the pipeline. Electrify America’s network, combined with a wave of other fast charging networks now being built in various state-level projects (to say nothing of Tesla’s frenzied expansion of its Supercharger network), will create a nationwide web of chargers that will make topping up an EV almost as fast as fueling a fossil-burner, making long road trips practical and eliminating one of the main objections cited by would-be EV buyers.

Charged recently chatted with Brendan Jones, Electrify America’s first official employee and now

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the company’s COO in charge of business development and operations. From what he told us, it appears that Electrify America is going about things the right way, moving quickly but methodically, with plenty of input from interested parties, and learning from the mistakes that were made in previous waves of public charging deployment (for example, poor site selection, insufficient attention to ongoing maintenance, and unnecessary complications for users).

It’s no wonder the company has a sound buildout plan, considering the all-star EV charging team it is assembling. There are few in the US with as much practical EV experience as Brendan Jones, who has been at the forefront of the industry from the early days.

Before joining EA, he was Nissan’s Director of EV Sales beginning with the launch of the first LEAF. In those days, Nissan was heavily involved with deploying the first fast chargers in key US markets. After learning first-hand that infrastructure and EV sales go hand-inhand, Jones joined charging network operator EVgo, before being hand-picked to lead Electrify America’s ambitious rollout.

Driving EV adoption by speeding up charging

Jones has a clear view of Electrify America’s mission: “Our job is to increase EV adoption. It’s about 1% mar-

THE INFRASTRUCTURE

The consent decree is about increasing ZEV adoption.

The methodology is EV infrastructure. ket share, and we believe that we can move that number with high-speed charging, and facilitate sales of the new vehicles that the OEMs are bringing to market.

The consent decree is about increasing ZEV adoption.

The methodology is EV infrastructure.”

“We’ve seen the success of Tesla with high-speed charging,” Jones continues. “And if we all agree that, at least in part, the Supercharger network has driven the sales of Tesla - and I think there’s a lot of evidence of that - then this high-speed charging network that we’re putting in should have an equal effect on the other OEMs who are coming out with cars that charge at rates in excess of 50 kW. We want to get to a point where we have an experience close to what an ICE driver does today in public-based fueling. And I believe these stations give us the path to get there.”

As a new generation of EVs begins to appear on the roads, ranges are getting longer, and this means

charging levels need to get higher. Several OEMs are developing DC fast charging technologies that operate at 150 kW or above. Porsche has demonstrated a new system that can deliver up to 800 V and 350 kW. “When you see that from 2018 forward, the majority of the cars that are coming out have over 200 miles of range, from a whole plethora of manufacturers, it certainly is a strong indicator that higher range and faster charging is the way the industry is pushing,” says Jones. “We’re going to make sure that we supply the requisite amount of infrastructure to enable range confidence.”

Jones told us that EA has already charged the first 150 kW production vehicle, although he can’t yet reveal the brand. “The manufacturer was kind enough to provide a vehicle and test it on one of our public chargers, and it hit 150 kW, no problem.”

The key to the highway

Electrify America’s DC fast charging and Level 2 charging programs are separate, and the company is approaching each in a different way. “For the DC sites, we are the owner and operator of the chargers,” Jones

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THE INFRASTRUCTURE Photo courtesy of Electrify America

Each highway site will have between four and ten chargers, two of them offering 350 kilowatts of power, and the rest 150 kW. explains. “We are installing 300 highway sites and 184 metro sites. The metro sites are spread through 17 metro areas. For the selection of metro areas, we went through a lengthy process of analyzing EV ownership, potential future EV ownership, demographics, education, and also state and federal incentives, to see where we will have the most EV growth within the next year, and decide which locations to target.”

“The highway sites will connect all the US metros with two cross-country routes - one in the middle of the country and one more southern - and then the connections along the east and west coasts,” Jones continues. “The highway sites are always targeted to be close to highway access. We’re trying to find exits that you can reach from both sides of the highway, so we don’t have to deploy two stations at the same location. We’re always looking for amenities for our customers, so if they are there for 15 minutes or up to an hour, they have something to do, food, shopping, a restroom and all of that.”

Each highway site will have between four and ten chargers, two of them offering 350 kilowatts of power, and the rest offering 150 kW. All of the chargers will support CCS Combo, and one of the 150 kW chargers will be a dual station that also supports CHAdeMO. The CHAdeMO side will deliver 50 kW, and the CCS side either 150 or 350 kW. Each charger will provide dedicated power without power sharing, so the maximum load of a fully built-out site could theoretically be as much as 1,900 kW (8 times 150 plus 2 times 350).

Electrify America says each site will draw “between one and two megawatts of power.”

Of course, pushing more wattage through a cable means more heat (or a thicker cable that would be impractical for users), so liquid-cooled cables are de

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All of the chargers will support CCS Combo, and one of the 150 kW chargers will be a dual station that also supports CHAdeMO. rigueur for the new generation of high-power chargers.

Jones told us that all of EA’s 150 and 350 kW chargers feature liquid-cooled cables.

Big box buddies

Many highway stations will be located adjacent to convenience stores and/or shopping centers. Several retail chains including Casey’s General Stores and Sheetz, and mall operators including Simon Properties and Brixmor, will be participating. At the time of our interview, Jones told us EA was “about 70 to 80 percent done with site acquisition.”

Big box behemoths Walmart and Target are both

partners. “We have a team which is securing all of these sites and for that it’s easier to have a partnership with Walmart and Target because they have great sites with the right amenities, usually at the right locations either metro or on the highway,” said Jones. “They are great partners for us, because we don’t have to individually find sites.

They open up their sites and we see what matches our plan.”

EA’s agreements with its site partners are “different sizes and shapes depending on the positioning of the companies, but they all guarantee that they’ll have parking available at the charger for EV drivers,” said Jones. “All allow charging on a 24-hour basis. We have a list of criteria that we work through.” EA is looking for locations that will be clean, safe and convenient for its customers: “Well-lit parking lots around major thoroughfares or right off the highway, great

These retailers fit a lot of those criteria, and we’re putting a lot of sites in at their locations as a result. sight lines, and conveniences such as stores, restaurants and bathrooms. These retailers fit a lot of those criteria, and we’re putting a lot of sites in at their locations as a result.”

Electrify America will be installing separate utility services for the power-hungry charging sites. This brings up the issue of where to locate the chargers in a gargantuan big-box parking lot in order to control installation costs. “You have to balance between specific needs of the customer,” says Jones. “You want the walking distance to the store not to be cumbersome, but you also want to make sure that you control cost by not trenching too much. A lot of the site cost is in bringing in the transformer and then attaching the transformer to where the power source is. So you have to work together to do the site planning in conjunction with the retailer. California has some specific requirements in terms of ADA

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THE INFRASTRUCTURE - you have to make sure you have a path of travel from the charger, so we have to make sure that’s accounted for as well in the California installations.”

Charging for charging

Unlike the Level 2 program, which allows site hosts to set their own pricing policies, the DC Fast Charging Network currently offers consumers a regional rack rate available through a credit card purchase.

An Electrify America app that people can use all over the country is expected to be available in Q3 of 2018. By Q4, EA plans to launch more pricing models in addition to the plain vanilla pricing that’s in place now. “Those will be subscription services and then customized programs for OEMs or other groups that want something different than rack-rate credit card,” says Jones.

EA plans to support all the different authentication models that are out there. “You will have RFID cards if somebody really, really wants them,” says Jones. “We’re hoping to get away from them, but if they’re needed, all chargers that EA installs will be able to have one. All the different iterations of mobile apps will be available as well.”

There’s also a new authentication model in development, which might just prove to be the wave of the future. “All the chargers that we’re installing today will be capable of the ISO15118 standard, under which the charger identifies with the vehicle and there’s no need for credentials [such as an RFID card, a credit card or a mobile app]. The handshake is taken care of between the vehicle and the car, and they self-identify and the charge takes place. There are several cars that’ll come out in the next 3 to 4 years with that capability.”

EA aims to make pricing as transparent as possible - each station will have a large screen with real-time updated pricing and an estimated cost over time. Greenlots is providing a purpose-built back-end platform that will manage all of the chargers, including maintenance and customer relations. It will also provide back-end capabilities for apps and web sites as those are supported.

Vendors and installation partners

Electrify America has announced four equipment vendors: Swiss electronics giant ABB, Portugal’s Efacec, South Korea’s Signet EV and California-based BTC Power. EA tried to minimize technical differences among the different equipment vendors. All the stations are around eight feet tall, and all will have com-

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All the chargers that we’re installing today will be capable of the ISO15118 standard, under which the charger identifies with the vehicle and there’s no need for credentials. mon design elements. All will be branded with Electrify America’s logo and its white and green livery. The user interface is provided by a 15- or 16-inch screen, on which site owners can display some branding elements.

“We haven’t determined whether we’re going to allow branding on the chargers themselves yet,” says Jones.

“We’re open to that discussion with retailers. What we don’t want is for the chargers to look like a NASCAR vehicle, which wouldn’t be aesthetically pleasing.”

“When we started this a little over a year ago, [we decided to] provide 350 kW DC charging stations,” Jones

We’re also splitting up the volume because they are all constrained in how many of these pieces they can build in a short period of time - we are buying more than 2,000 of these chargers. we’ve made progress in some states,” said Jones. “I would say the results are promising. Tesla’s been forced in many circumstances to use private signs, but has gotten some public signs as well, so we’re working on the same parameters that they follow.”

EA will be using 2 installation partners for all the DC fast charger sites: Kansas City-based Black & Veatch will handle site design and construction in 24 states from the Pacific Northwest to the Southeast, as well as in California; the SAI Group, based in Salem, New Hampshire, will handle the job in 16 states in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, South-central and Southwest regions of the country. “They’re the design and build companies,” says Jones. “They manage design, permitting and final site plans, then they manage the subcontractors for installation.” told us. “We worked with the vendors on providing a similar station experience for all of our sites, because we didn’t have the time to build our own stations. We went through a lengthy RFP process with all of the current DC charging suppliers, then we selected who we believed could have a product, reach certification, and fulfill our requirements within the year.”

“All the vendors achieved their certification - we have all of the production samples in, and we have a lab where we are testing them. So it seems that we made the right decision going with the four vendors.

We’re also splitting up the volume because they are all constrained in how many of these pieces they can build in a short period of time - we are buying more than 2,000 of these chargers,” said Jones.

EA is working on plans for signage at highway exits to direct users to the charging stations. “The government affairs team is working with state DOTs, and

Workplace and MUD charging

One important lesson that’s been learned over the past few years is that different forms of charging are appropriate for different situations: DC fast charging along highways and in city centers; and Level 2 at workplaces and multi-unit dwelling (MUD) locations such as apartment buildings. Electrify America has chosen to keep these two charging programs separate.

Under the Level 2 program, site hosts will own the chargers, but EA pays for the equipment and installation, and will be responsible for charger maintenance for 10 years or “until the consent decree is over.” Site hosts must cover electricity costs on their own, but they are free to set their pricing however they like, whether they choose to offer free charging or wish to try to recover electricity costs.

“For the Level 2 program, we’ve partnered with EV Connect, Greenlots and SemaConnect,” says Jones.

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THE INFRASTRUCTURE

“They are executing the Level 2 program on our behalf.

We’ve divided them up throughout the country and they’re charged with installing both workplaces and multifamily dwellings. It’s a turnkey project, as opposed to owning and operating the chargers. However, it’s not a grant program because we have to maintain the chargers for the period of the consent decree.”

“Those 3 companies are the operators, but they might subcontract out the installation,” Jones explains. “For example, Greenlots has its own group of contractors that installs its chargers that they’ve used throughout their existence, and they’ll use those for this program as well.”

Keeping the power flowing

Another important thing that network operators are beginning to understand is that ongoing maintenance is a big deal. Electrify America has wisely chosen to oversee maintenance for all of its stations, although it has contracted with a (so far undisclosed) company to perform the actual maintenance. Once the network is operational, it will be monitored through EA’s network operations center, overseen by Director of Service Operations Rob Healey (formerly of BMW).

“We have awarded a national service contract - that announcement is forthcoming,” Jones says. “But we have to maintain the chargers for the life of the consent decree, and we also believe in a couple of fundamental things. I’ve been in this space a while, so preventive maintenance will occur at a minimum of 4 times a year on every charger. Although we’re installing 4 different manufacturers, we have a blended warranty model where we fix the charger first, and then we negotiate separately with the manufacturer on warranty. The charger is always fixed first.”

“We have high aspirations on uptime on an individual charger basis,” says Jones. “We know that some of the most negative comments that have happened in the past have been about chargers that are broken and stranded drivers as a result. So our mission is to not have that happen with drivers that engage with Electrify America stations.”

Charging into the future

The EV revolution is a fast-moving one, and there’s a lot about consumer behavior that will have to be learned as the network takes shape. That’s why EA will

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We have a blended warranty model where we fix the charger first, and then we negotiate separately with the manufacturer on warranty. The charger is always fixed first. proceed in four phases, using the lessons learned at each step to allocate resources more efficiently in the next. “Realistically I think we’ll get more data out of phase 1 when we’re already well into phase 2 because of the gap in time it took to get phase 1 started,” says Jones. “But certainly as we move into phase 3 we’ll have a lot of robust data, and we’ll look at utilization time on the chargers, when and where they’re being utilized, what state of charge did the vehicles come in at, what’s the optimum spacing we have to have for charging on the highways, what type of density in the city, what charging rates.”

“It’s much harder today to install a DC fast charger in the inner city than it is on the highway,” Jones points out. “On the highway, you have an abundance of land. You just need to make a deal. So we have to arrive at models that allow us to still have redundancy, meaning that 2 drivers, or 3 or 4, can pull up at once and charge, and that if you do have a unit down, you can still deliver charging. In the inner city model, we’re going to learn all that.”

“We know that we have an increasing population that’s moving [into city centers], so we need to find out, as the population, especially the millennials, migrate more out of single-family homes into urban dwellings, what type of public charging do they need? And hopefully this model gives us some great insights, not necessarily for the next 5 years but certainly for the next 10 years.”

Electrify America is in the process of putting together its plan for the second cycle, and has an open web site to accommodate proposals. Prospective site owners and technology providers are encouraged to submit their ideas - “whatever might be helpful for the second cycle in order to increase ZEV adoption.”

The greening of Sacramento Sacramento has been selected as the site of a special “green cities initiative,” which encompasses not only charging infrastructure, but also electric buses and two separate car sharing programs. EA will invest $44 million in these projects within its first cycle of investment. When it’s all done, California’s capital will be one of the most charged cities in the world.

Electrify America will launch two ZEV car share infrastructure projects that complement each other with different service areas.

GIG Car Share offers “free floating” service, allowing users to pick up and drop off vehicles at any public parking spot within a 13-square-mile home zone. GIG will launch with 260 vehicles, each with a roof-mounted bike rack, in Q1 2019.

“Electric America is providing the charging infrastructure throughout the city, while GIG will be responsible for monitoring the state of charge of each vehicle, and marshaling those cars to chargers when needed,” Brendan Jones explains. “We’ll be responsible for the public-facing chargers - any of the public-facing DC fast charging in Sacramento that a car share driver may use, the public may use as well.”

Envoy is a community-based car share service based at apartment buildings. The Envoy fleet will feature 142 vehicles in pairs across 71 locations, each with a dedicated Level 2 charger. Envoy is designed to provide transportation for drivers

Photos courtesy of GIG Car Share

running errands or participating in the gig economy, and will begin offering service by the end of summer 2018. 70-75 percent of the areas served by both car sharing services are in low-income or disadvantaged communities.

Electrify America will invest between $11 and $14 million in a zero-emission bus service and an on-demand micro-shuttle service, installing DC fast charging stations to power each service. EA will also provide funding for an on-demand micro-transit shuttle service that will be operated by Sacramento Regional Transit. SacRT plans to launch the new service in July, and expects it to provide about 26,000 rides in its first year.

Electrify America will enhance bus service between UC Davis and Sacramento with 12 new electric buses that will run from the main campus to the UC Davis Health campus in Sacramento. The improved service is expected to add more than 400,000 bus rides in the first year of operation.

“The majority of charging on the bus side is going to be private behind the fence to be able to take advantage of downtime on the buses to get them fully charged,” EA Communications Manager Mike Moran told Charged. “The city of Sacramento as a whole will get mostly 150 kW charging and above there’ll be a few 50 kW chargers here and there where space is not as abundant, but the majority of the investment will be 150 and above.”

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Photos courtesy of FreeWire Technologies

MOBILE CHARGING STATIONS:

FREEWIRE DEPLOYS BATTERY SYSTEMS TO INCREASE THE SCALABILITY OF EV INFRASTRUCTURE

By Paul

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Beck

THE INFRASTRUCTURE If you’re trying to do scalable EV charging, you want to somehow mitigate infrastructure.

olling out the charging stations necessary to enable wide-scale adoption of EVs is a challenging task. Though valiant efforts are being made, there are still a lot of problematic applications that could benefit from innovative solutions. One young company, FreeWire Technologies, believes it has an answer to help with scalability: batteries on wheels.

R

Business school and the problem with infrastructure “If you’re trying to do scalable EV charging, you want to somehow mitigate infrastructure,” explains Arcady Sosinov, CEO of FreeWire. Born just outside Chernobyl, mere weeks after the infamous 1986 power plant explosion, Sosinov has an understandable fascination with energy. This fascination led him on the path to starting FreeWire in 2014.

The seeds of the company can be traced back to the University of California, Berkeley, where Sosinov was doing a part-time MBA. He was fortunate to encounter a professor named Steve Blank, an entrepreneur who specializes in startups (Blank has written four well-known books on the topic, including The Four Steps to the Epiphany and The Startup Owner’s Manual).

Blank’s course at UC Berkeley, called the Lean Launchpad, prompted Sosinov to begin researching the problems with EV charging.

“It was a ten-week course on customer discovery,” recalls Sosinov. “And so I formed this company FreeWire around a singular idea, which was to make EV charging more scalable. So we were just going out and trying to figure out pain points around scalable EV charging. And over the ten weeks, I talked to anyone and everyone who was

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doing charging in the Bay area. We met 120 people in this industry over ten weeks, and I figured it out. People were having trouble involving infrastructure. The grid edge was not able to support EVs as they scale.”

Sosinov realized that building the necessary infrastructure was always going to be a bottleneck. His idea for a solution turned out to be surprisingly simple: instead of EVs going to a charger, why not have the charger come to the EVs? “On the very last day of that class we unveiled this rudimentary minimum viable product that we built,” Sosinov said. “It was a battery system on wheels that was remote controlled and could charge a car. And that day we charged Steve Blank’s Tesla. It was the first time we had ever charged a Tesla, and it worked. And - long story short - he became our first angel investor, and the company developed since then.”

FreeWire develops and tech companies line up Once he was finished with the Lean Launchpad course, Sosinov decided to pursue his company full-time.

Based on FreeWire’s success since then, it seems clear he made the right call.

“Over the last four years it’s evolved pretty dramatically,” Sosinov said. “We’re not a few people out of a garage anymore in business school, we’re now about 32 people in an engineering and manufacturing technology space in the Bay area.”

What do these 32 people do today? Here’s how Sosinov describes his company: “We are a system

Photos courtesy of FreeWire Technologies

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For this service model to work, FreeWire recommends at least 30 vehicles should require charging every day. Its biggest customer charges 60 vehicles per day. manufacturer designing products and services to make electrification easier. We take cells, we combine them with power electronics, with control systems, with a communication platform, all safety equipment, and pack that into a nice form factor. It’s a neat, all-in-one, really space-efficient solution that eliminates the challenges of traditional infrastructure.”

FreeWire it produces the mobile battery pack system, and also operates service models with its hardware.

In 2015, FreeWire conducted a pilot program of what is today one of its most successful applications. The company launched a three-month test with LinkedIn, providing EV charging to employees at the company’s Mountain View campus. Three months later, LinkedIn became FreeWire’s first commercial contract.

Here’s how it works: FreeWire dispatches several of its mobile battery packs to a campus, along with a service attendant. When employees drive into the parking lot, they simply open FreeWire’s mobile app and request a charge. When they leave at the end of the day, they find their batteries full. It really is that easy.

The advantages of this approach are numerous.

The employees are happy that they can reliably get a charge. The facility manager is happy not to deal with complaints about charging spaces. And the company is happy to spend less money on on-demand electricity charges, as FreeWire eliminates the peaks of energy consumption that can happen around 9:00 AM and 1:00 PM when everyone plugs in at the same time.

Today, FreeWire offers this same service to many of the largest tech companies in the Bay area. Often, these companies offer charging as a perk to their employees. Some charge the drivers for the service, though it’s generally subsidized. For this service model to work, FreeWire recommends at least 30 vehicles should require charging every day. Its biggest customer charges 60 vehicles per day.

THE INFRASTRUCTURE Photos courtesy of FreeWire Technologies

When employees drive into the parking lot, they simply open FreeWire’s mobile app and request a charge. When they leave at the end of the day, they find their batteries full.

Utilities, entertainment and construction Providing charging services to tech companies in the Bay area is only part of FreeWire’s business. About half of its revenue comes from partnering with utilities. BP, Hawaiian Electric, Southern California Edison, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Vector and others have seen the value of FreeWire’s solution.

As an example, Sosinov described the solutions FreeWire is deploying with BP in London.

“We’re deploying our Mobi Chargers at select BP gas stations (‘forecourts’ in the UK),” Sosinov said. “Fossil fuel giants are recognizing customer needs and looking ahead to the electric future of mobility by opening up to new EV charging solutions.”

Why would BP want to use mobile charging solutions on its forecourts, rather than building permanent infrastructure?

“The whole value proposition to a company like BP is that we can eliminate the construction, the permitting, the trenching, the service upgrades and all the other civil works that happen to enable EV charging,” Sosinov explained. “Civil works on a gas station are actually significantly harder and more expensive than in most other places. So if you want to turn a gas station into an EV charging facility, you’re going to need to

either put money into construction and civil works or buy technology solutions to try and mitigate that.”

FreeWire had no trouble identifying other markets that could benefit from a mobile power solution, and quickly zeroed in on diesel generators - a “ubiquitously hated product” in Sosinov’s words.

“Customers don’t like diesel generators,” he said.

“They don’t like the fumes, they don’t like the noise, and there are regulations coming down making it even harder to permit diesel generators. So it became kind of a natural fit for us.”

FreeWire struck a deal with Stanley Black & Decker, a large tool company, to deploy its mobile power systems in the industrial equipment rentals space.

FreeWire’s mobile battery packs are used as alternatives to diesel generators in the entertainment and construction industries.

Outside of these industries, FreeWire has contributed its mobile power solutions to a variety of good causes.

“We’ve also done some other really heartfelt and interesting things,” Sosinov said. “We worked with the Red Cross to power blood banks. We have worked with Off the Grid, which is a food truck market here in San Francisco, to power its food trucks. So there

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THE INFRASTRUCTURE Photos courtesy of BP

The whole value proposition to a company like BP is that we can eliminate the construction and the permitting and the trenching and the service upgrades all over the civil works that happen to enable EV charging.

are a lot of really interesting and impactful use cases, although the biggest market of course is still rental of these systems for industries like construction and entertainment.”

Finally, FreeWire has started collaborating with automotive OEMs, though Sosinov is reticent about giving details. “I would get my hand slapped if I talked about that,” he jokes. “But we are working with one of the major OEMs on a pretty significant pilot around on-demand EV charging. That’s pretty much all I can say.”

The future of FreeWire Today, FreeWire’s mobile EV chargers operate at 50 kW, which is fairly standard in the EV space. One huge advantage of FreeWire’s solutions, according to Sosinov, is that they can easily scale to higher charging speeds.

“What we’re inherently doing is slow charging from the grid, putting in a full battery pack, and then there’s a DC-DC bridge from our battery pack to the car’s battery pack,” Sosinov said. “And that DC-DC can scale to

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high power rates pretty easily. So once cars support it, you’ll see much higher charging rates from us.”

Like its power packs, FreeWire is also ready to go the next level. While its biggest market is in California, the company has already started to expand. It has a customer each in Tokyo and New Zealand, and will be deploying in London with BP this quarter.

“The way I see the business model is 50/50 going forward,” Sosinov said. “There will be large organizations that want to buy [battery packs] and manage their fleets. And we have created a version of our software platform that allows customers to manage a fleet as long as they own that fleet. But there will be about half of our customers in which we manage the fleet for them. And we own that capacity, and we can do what we need to with it, which allows us to do some really interesting things in the future in terms of utility-facing business models. Ultimately, we want to keep solving infrastructure hurdles and deliver energy whenever, wherever it’s needed for reliable electrification beyond the electrical grid.”

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2018

NORTH AMERICA

September 11-13, 2018 | Novi, MI , USA

Suburban Collection Showplace

DON’T MISS THE

INDUSTRY’S LEADING GLOBAL HYBRID ELECTRIC VEHICLE MANUFACTURING EVENT

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Electric & Hybrid Vehicle Technology Expo is a forum for electric, hybrid and plugin hybrid technology that connects engineers and executives from across the H/EV manufacturing industry. Stay informed on the latest solutions for electric and hybrid vehicles with a vast display of technologies including: cable and connectors, components, magnetics, testing, simulation/ software, manufacturing equipment and more!

Use promo code Charged for free expo registration

EVtechExpo.com/charged

Photos courtesy of Charles Morris

A glimpse into the

AUTO SHOP OF THE FUTURE

at Tampa Hybrids

By Charles Morris

haven’t been around long enough, or in great enough numbers, for any large-scale market in replacement batteries to develop. However, Toyota’s Prius hybrid went on sale in the US in 2000, and has sold well over two million units. There’s a lively market for replacement batteries, with both OEM and aftermarket options available.

For a glimpse of what the auto repair shop of the future will look like, stop in at Tampa Hybrids on Florida’s west coast. Instead of carburetors and crankshafts, the shop floor is cluttered with battery packs and modules.

Despite the name, Tampa Hybrids sells and repairs all kinds of electrified vehicles. At the time of my last visit, there were half a dozen LEAFs, an i3, a Ford Fusion Energi and even a Brammo electric motorcycle on the lot. However, the Prius is the bread and butter vehicle.

All electrified vehicles in the US carry a governmentmandated 8-year/100,000-mile warranty. According to Tampa Hybrids owner Todd Thompson, a Prius battery should last considerably longer than that - typically 12 to 15 years. When it comes to battery life, calendar age is more important than mileage - batteries with 200,000 miles are not uncommon.

Factors that can shorten battery life in any electrified vehicle include hot climates and long periods of disuse two situations that are common in Florida. Unfortunate cars belonging to “snowbirds” (seasonal residents) may sit idle, baking in the sun through the hottest months of the year, and this will quickly ruin a battery. A carport, or even tinted windows or a sunshade, is a good investment.

Toyota’s optional solar sunroof ventilates the vehicle when it sits idle, cooling the interior and prolonging battery life.

When a Prius battery fails, there are three options: a new battery from Toyota ($2,400 installed at Tampa Hybrids, a bit more at a Toyota dealer), a reconditioned battery from an aftermarket installer such as Greentec Auto (somewhere around $1,500) or a used battery salvaged from a wrecked or upgraded vehicle (from $800 up, depending on age).

Todd discourages option #2, and illustrates with a colorful analogy: “If your 80-year-old grandmother gets an artificial hip, the new hip may work fine, but everything else is still 80 years old, and that’s what you have with a reconditioned battery. All you’ve done is replace the few defective cells with equally old cells, maybe 10-15 years old, and hopefully balanced them.” Sooner or later the other cells will fail too. “Nothing against the companies that in-

EVs

stall reconditioned batteries, but it’s the product - you can’t make old new again.”

Todd often replaces older batteries with newer, salvaged ones. For those with mechanical skills, it’s feasible to buy a used battery from a junkyard and install it yourself. “There are 28 modules in each pack, and each module has 6 cells,” Todd explains. “Take the modules out and move them to your battery pack, and clean up or replace the busbars.”

Most Prii use a nickel-metal hydride battery. However, all plug-in versions, and the optional Eco version (available from the 2016 model year) use a lithium-ion battery, which Todd believes holds up better to hot weather or periods of idleness. That’s why he often recommends a Prius Plug-In as a used vehicle. Also, like most plug-in vehicles, the PPI was offered only with the higher trim levels, so you can get a better package of options than you typically would on a pre-owned vehicle.

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