CHARGED Electric Vehicles Magazine - Issue 52 NOV/DEC 2020

ELECTRIC VEHICLES MAGAZINE

ISSUE 52 | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 | CHARGEDEVS.COM

2022 GMC HUMMER EV p. 22

ISOLATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR EV POWER ELECTRONICS

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p. 30

SETTING A NEW STANDARD FOR BATTERY LEAK TESTING

GM’S LAUNCH OF AN ALL-ELECTRIC HUMMER IS A STARTLING MOVE. THE BUTCH NEW EV WILL SERVE AS THE HALO CAR FOR THE COMPANY’S US ELECTRIC-VEHICLE PUSH IN 2021 p. 46

2020 p. 66

EV CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE BEST-IN-TEST

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BACK_COVER_2.ai

01/04/2019

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THE TECH CONTENTS

22 Isolation technologies for EV power electronics

22

30 Battery leak testing INFICON’s new leak testing tech

current events

30

10

LEM introduces DC billing meter for EV chargers HORIBA launches new driving robot to increase test cycle efficiency

11

Indonesia to form EV battery joint venture Saietta secures UK research contract for Axial Flux Traction motor

12

Microchip releases new AEC-Q101-qualified 700 V and 1,200 V SiC SBDs Hexagon’s 100% EV initiative aims to accelerate EV development

13 14

10

EIT InnoEnergy invests in in-wheel-drive maker Elaphe Solder redefined: Indium’s materials provide EV power electronics solutions Amphenol’s new sensor tech detects thermal runaway

15 16

New software provides data on e-bus battery performance KEB introduces apps for its T6 Auxiliary Inverter Motiv debuts fifth-gen medium-duty electric chassis

18

Elkem’s new Chinese workshop dedicated to specialized silicones for EVs New smelting reduction process recovers Co, Ni, Mn and Li from batteries

19 20

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Hyundai unveils new EV platform VW breaks ground on Battery Engineering Lab in Tennessee EconCore joins Audi to develop composite battery casings

21

Fujitsu introduces compact PCB relay for medium-to-heavy automotive loads

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THE VEHICLES CONTENTS

46 2022 Hummer EV

46

The biggest, baddest, butchest EV to hit the market?

current events 36 38

GM teases electric crossovers and pickups, invests more in EVs WRI scores grant to electrify all US school buses Volvo Trucks wins $22-million grant to deploy 70 e-trucks in California

39

38

Volvo to launch a range of electric trucks in Europe in 2021 Munich electrifies an entire bus line with 8 new Ebusco buses

40

Formula E invests in Extreme E electric off-road racing series Blue Bird’s electric school buses now have V2G capability

41 42

Consumer Reports: Popular EVs cost less to own than legacy vehicles ROUSH CleanTech provides Class 6 electric trucks to Penske Mercedes-Benz Bank offers insurance especially designed for EVs

43

Nissan to sell only electrified cars in China by 2025

42

Truck leasing firm orders 150 Tesla Semi electric trucks

44

Outsider joins the establishment: S&P 500 index welcomes Tesla GM no longer backs Trump’s crusade against California emissions rules

45

Almost 80% of European EV sales have been in the six wealthiest countries

IDENTIFICATION STATEMENT CHARGED Electric Vehicles Magazine (ISSN: 24742341) November/December 2020, Issue #52 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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43 12/22/20 4:04 PM

THE INFRASTRUCTURE CONTENTS

66 2020 Best-in-Test

Rating the DC fast charging user experience

66

78 ENERGY STAR update Over 200 Level 1 and 2 EV chargers are now

ENERGY STAR certified, and DC fast chargers will be added to the program soon.

current events

58

58

ABB installs its 1,000th DC fast charger in Norway Electrify America introduces Electrify Commercial

59

PACCAR announces partnership to provide fleet charging solutions Task force to develop Megawatt Charging System for heavy-duty EVs

60

New York to use $11 million in VW settlement funds to expand DC fast charging DERConnect tests integration of renewables and EV batteries into the grid

61

FIMER’s new line of residential and commercial chargers Updated California rules will enable deployment of heavy-duty charging

62

62

IPG’s turbine tech can use hydrogen and biofuels for off-grid EV chargers Electrify America opens its 500th public charging station

63

Proterra unveils high-power charging solutions for large-scale fleets Wireless charging provider WiTricity raises $34 million in venture capital

64

Fiat Chrysler and ENGIE EPS form JV to offer EV charging solutions in Europe EVBox’s next-gen commercial EV charger arrives in North America

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Publisher Christian Ruoff Associate Publisher Laurel Zimmer Senior Editor Charles Morris Account Executives Jeremy Ewald

Contributing Writers Jeffrey Jenkins Michael Kent Tom Lombardo Charles Morris John Voelcker

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

Contributing Photographers Nicolas Raymond Christian Ruoff

Technology Editor Jeffrey Jenkins Cover Images Courtesy of General Motors Graphic Designers Deon Rexroat Kelly Quigley Tomislav Vrdoljak

Special Thanks to Kelly Ruoff Sebastien Bourgeois

ETHICS STATEMENT AND COVERAGE POLICY AS THE LEADING EV INDUSTRY PUBLICATION, CHARGED ELECTRIC VEHICLES MAGAZINE OFTEN COVERS, AND ACCEPTS CONTRIBUTIONS FROM, COMPANIES THAT ADVERTISE IN OUR MEDIA PORTFOLIO. HOWEVER, THE CONTENT WE CHOOSE TO PUBLISH PASSES ONLY TWO TESTS: (1) TO THE BEST OF OUR KNOWLEDGE THE INFORMATION IS ACCURATE, AND (2) IT MEETS THE INTERESTS OF OUR READERSHIP. WE DO NOT ACCEPT PAYMENT FOR EDITORIAL CONTENT, AND THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED BY OUR EDITORS AND WRITERS ARE IN NO WAY AFFECTED BY A COMPANY’S PAST, CURRENT, OR POTENTIAL ADVERTISEMENTS. FURTHERMORE, WE OFTEN ACCEPT ARTICLES AUTHORED BY “INDUSTRY INSIDERS,” IN WHICH CASE THE AUTHOR’S CURRENT EMPLOYMENT, OR RELATIONSHIP TO THE EV INDUSTRY, IS CLEARLY CITED. IF YOU DISAGREE WITH ANY OPINION EXPRESSED IN THE CHARGED MEDIA PORTFOLIO AND/OR WISH TO WRITE ABOUT YOUR PARTICULAR VIEW OF THE INDUSTRY, PLEASE CONTACT US AT CONTENT@CHARGEDEVS. COM. REPRINTING IN WHOLE OR PART IS FORBIDDEN EXPECT BY PERMISSION OF CHARGED ELECTRIC VEHICLES MAGAZINE.

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Where did the time go? The modern EV industry turns 10.

It’s been a decade since the first Nissan LEAFs and Chevy Volts were delivered to US customers in late 2010, and everywhere we turn there are signs of an industry maturing quickly.

The stock market is having a love affair with EV companies, fueled in part by the incredible success of Tesla and its rocketship stock price that shot past the moon on its way to joining the S&P 500, and also by the trendy new financial vehicle known as a SPAC. SPACs seem to have made it much simpler to take a company public than going through the hassle of a traditional IPO. Overall, the frenzy of activity is good news, bringing massive amounts of investment to young EV companies. Inevitably however, financial writers are beginning to ask if we’re heading for a replay of the 1999 dot-com bubble. As Barron’s and others have noted, some of the same warning signs can be seen. Investors are pouring money into startup companies with enormous ambitions and little or nothing in the way of revenue, and new trading apps are encouraging newbie investors to get involved with complex and risky financial instruments. On the other hand, one could argue that gold-rush-like trading activity is inevitable for high-growth markets that are just beginning to take off, like EVs and the early internet.

If you’re reading this, you’ve likely been following the industry closely for the better part of the last 10 years. So, by all means, do your homework, invest in emerging EV stocks, be prepared for some volatility, and focus on the long term. This is the beginning.

The articles we feature in this issue reveal more signs of a maturing market.

The Swiss company INFICON has developed a new system for leak-testing batteries (page 30). It argues that the new test could significantly raise the bar for quality assurance of the cells that go into future EVs. As I’ve said here many times, while current-generation EVs are great, they’re going to get much better as the world’s engineers continue to focus on the industry. If there is one thing the automotive industry is great at, it’s meticulously increasing product quality while driving down costs.

And in case you haven’t heard, GM is building an electric Hummer (page 46). The symbolism speaks for itself.

Finally, Charged recently announced a new partnership with the German firm umlaut to analyze and report on the state of the EV infrastructure user experience. Public charging networks have made great progress, but there is still a long way to go if EVs are to become ubiquitous. We hope that this work will help to clarify where the industry should focus its efforts. The results of the first published study (page 66) showed a competitive marketplace with much work still to do.

Here’s to the next 10 years.

Christian Ruoff | Publisher

EVs are here. Try to keep up.

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12/22/20 4:14 PM

Image courtesy of Horiba

THE TECH

LEM introduces DC billing meter for EV chargers Image courtesy of LEM

LEM, a global specialist in electrical measurement for industrial and automotive applications, has launched its new DC billing meter (DCBM), a compact billing solution for public DC fast chargers. The DCBM has a power measurement range from 25 kW to 600 kW, and is a legally certified meter that provides accurate customer billing.

LEM’s new DCBM is compliant with Germany’s Eichrecht regulation, which requires that consumers are only charged for the DC power that’s supplied to the battery. Additional standards are being established not only at the European level but also at the international level, as well as in the state of California.

LEM says its DCBM was developed to meet market demands for interoperability and data security. It’s designed to be easily retrofitted to existing chargers, and can provide power at up to 600 A/1,000 V. The DCBM offers Ethernet communications, and supports the HTTPS/ REST protocol to allow quick integration and deployment in charging stations.

The DCBM also integrates the signed billing data sets specified by the SAFE OCMF protocol, allowing billing data to be transmitted with a high level of security and providing interoperability for cloud service operators.

Features include: • • • • •

In compliance with VDE-AR-E-2418-3-100 Meter accuracy can be adjusted depending on the charging cable in use LCD shows live measurements, energy, alarms and legal data Ethernet communication allows quick integration and deployment in charging stations Signed billing data sets offer security and interoperability for cloud service operators

HORIBA launches new driving robot to increase test cycle efficiency HORIBA has introduced an automatic driving system for vehicle testing. The company says its ADS EVO robotic driver improves vehicle testing efficiency by reducing the number of repeat tests, laboratory operating costs, overall test time and human errors.

The ADS EVO addresses changing industry needs for testing EVs, and complies with new emissions regulations such as post-Euro 6.

“The test driver workforce has been decreasing, and the requirements for chassis testing have been increasing,” said Global Product Owner Kazuki Furukawa.

“With the ADS EVO, HORIBA customers are able to complete more tests and increase their test cell efficiency.

Our goal at HORIBA is to enable customers to maintain development schedules by delivering products that contribute to running test facilities efficiently.”

The ADS EVO is configured with the ISOFIX fitting— the international standard for attachment of child safety seats—and is self-contained in its own cart for storage.

The robot’s software has a learning function that eliminates the need for adjustments when a vehicle changes.

HORIBA says it tests over long cycles with repeatable results, and complies with the 6 indicators from the SAE J2951 standard.

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Image courtesy of Saietta

Indonesia to form EV battery joint venture A group of state-owned companies in Indonesia will form a joint venture to produce Li-ion batteries. Partners in the new Indonesia Battery Holding joint venture include two mining firms: Mining Industry Indonesia (MIND) and PT Aneka Tambang; as well as state power utility Perusahan Listrik Negara (PLN) and state oil company Pertamina.

Indonesia Battery Holding aims to be involved in the entire battery value chain, including producing battery minerals and chemicals, manufacturing its own cells, and recycling batteries. The company says it will collaborate with Chinese and South Korean partners on projects valued at $12 billion.

Indonesia is the world’s largest producer of nickel ore, a key ingredient in producing the battery-quality nickel sulfate used in cathodes. The country is building up an EV battery industry as part of its national strategy, and aims to make cells by 2023.

Research and consulting firm Roskill believes the formation of this state-owned JV will place Indonesia in a strong position to establish its presence in the market.

The Indonesia Battery venture is also targeting integration throughout the downstream battery supply chain.

However, advanced manufacturing technology, including the synthesis of high-quality battery materials (precursor, cathode, anode, electrolyte) and battery production, is not yet in place in Indonesia, and this is likely to pose a critical challenge to the industry’s development.

Saietta secures UK research contract for Axial Flux Traction motor Oxfordshire tech company Saietta has won a grant through the UK’s Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) to ramp up production of its Axial Flux Traction (AFT) motor. The APC research contract will enable Saietta to increase annual motor production capacity to 150,000, and enable the hiring of 150 to 250 engineers in the first round of recruitment.

Saietta says it will work closely with UK-based specialists Brandauer and AEV on refining the process for core motor component manufacturing and motor assembly, with the aim of delivering a cost-effective, highly-automated production process. Brandauer is an expert in precision stamping and progression tooling, and AEV specializes in manufacturing electrically-insulating resins.

Saietta CEO Wicher Kist said, “By quickly scaling up operations we can fully capitalize on the commercial opportunity that we know exists. Based on the conversations we’ve had, and the projects we’re already involved with, we know that the mass production of our technology will allow us to power a new generation of EVs in markets around the world.”

Brandauer CEO Rowan Crozier added, “Brandauer is already heavily involved in providing specialist busbars and laminates to a number of clients in the electrification field, and this latest project will give us the perfect platform to use our ‘manufacturing with microns’ expertise to make a major difference in supporting the development of greener vehicles.”

NOV/DEC 2020

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Image courtesy of Microchip

Image courtesy of Hexagon

THE TECH

Microchip releases new AECQ101-qualified 700 V and 1,200 V SiC SBDs Microchip Technology is introducing its newly-qualified 700 V and 1,200 V SiC Schottky Barrier Diode (SBD) power devices, providing EV system designers with solutions that meet AEC-Q101 quality standards across a wide range of voltage, current and package options.

Microchip says the SBD family’s avalanche performance allows designers to reduce the need for external protection circuits, reducing system cost and complexity.

“As a long-time supplier to the automotive industry, Microchip’s continued expansion of automotive-capable power solutions is leading the transformation of power systems in vehicle electrification,” said VP Leon Gross.

“Our focus is to provide automotive solutions that help our clients easily transition to SiC while minimizing the risk of quality, supply and support challenges.”

Microchip’s AEC-Q101-qualified SiC SBD devices are supported with SPICE and PLECS simulation models and MPLAB Mindi Analog Simulator. Also available is a PLECS reference design model that uses Microchip’s SBDs (1,200 V, 50 A) as part of the power stage—the Vienna 3-Phase Power Factor Correction (PFC) reference design.

Hexagon’s 100% EV initiative aims to accelerate EV development Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence has launched a new strategic initiative to drive EV innovation.

The 100% EV initiative aims to enable rapid innovation by unifying fragmented development processes, bringing together previously siloed disciplines in order to unlock innovation and enable widespread adoption of EV technologies ahead of regulatory deadlines.

Hexagon says its design, engineering and manufacturing technologies are used by companies such as Volkswagen and Bosch, and affect more than 75% of vehicles produced today.

President of Manufacturing Intelligence Paolo Guglielmini said, “We believe the journey towards a cleaner and more sustainable 100% EV future can, and should, be accelerated through innovation. The automotive industry is rallying to meet the demanding deadlines for the rollout of EVs, but wrestling with the complexity of producing new vehicles that consumers want to buy.”

He added, “EV development is just getting started.

There is a race to build better and more tailored models, and we want to help companies think beyond contemporary practices and win market share. We believe such a rapid pivot can only be addressed through smart manufacturing technologies that support e-mobility development from concept to customer, making the journey toward 100% EV faster and more cost-effective.”

Hexagon’s 100% EV solutions will focus on optimizing the efficiency of electric powertrains, modifying vehicle acoustics to avoid motor noise, and improving manufacturing and quality inspection to produce more efficient batteries and motors.

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EIT InnoEnergy invests in in-wheel-drive maker Elaphe EIT InnoEnergy has announced a €4.2-million investment in Elaphe Propulsion Technologies, a maker of in-wheel-drive technology.

EIT InnoEnergy’s investment will serve as a springboard to secure further growth while giving Elaphe access to EIT’s sustainable energy and mobility innovation networks.

Elaphe says its fully modular platform combines the in-wheel powertrain with software capable of optimizing each in-wheel motor in real time, allowing integration into a wide range of vehicles, cutting down on manufacturing costs, and removing the limitations of traditional centralized powertrains while increasing vehicle functionality and safety features.

Elaphe CEO Gorazd Lampic said, “The partnership with EIT InnoEnergy strengthens Elaphe’s position both in the EU and globally. The investment and support will significantly accelerate commercial activities with automotive OEMs. This in turn will help us further optimize our best-in-class technology platform in accordance with customer requirements for production vehicles.”

Elaphe claims its patented electromagnetic design enables specific torque up to 100 Nm/kg, 200 kW of power per regular car wheel, and superior packaging benefits. OEMs can either integrate their preferred off-the-shelf corner components (such as brakes, rims, bearings, suspensions, etc) or opt for a turnkey solution.

“We believe Elaphe is uniquely positioned to play a leading role in the future of the automotive and transport sectors—a future that is electric and sustainable,” said EIT InnoEnergy’s Jennifer Dungs. “Not only is the timing right and their in-wheel powertrain technology the most advanced in the market and commercially ready—the approach they have taken, developing a highly adaptable platform, will allow them to deliver instantaneous benefit to automotive OEMs, and thus have a far-reaching impact on the mobility sector for decades to come.”

Several vehicle manufacturers are working with Elaphe to apply its inwheel technology to production vehicles, including Lordstown Motors, an Ohio-based electric truck startup that recently purchased GM’s former Lordstown production complex. Lordstown’s Endurance pickup truck has already accrued pre-orders in excess of 40,000 vehicles, and is set to start deliveries in 2021.

Image courtesy of Elaphe

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THE TECH

Solder redefined: Indium’s materials provide EV power electronics solutions Vehicle manufacturers and materials suppliers are facing increasing packaging challenges as EV designs continue to push for higher power densities, while footprints remain static or become smaller. Higher performance levels mean higher junction temperatures, which in turn require higher thermal reliability and novel thermal management alternatives. These factors create unique reliability challenges for EV power modules, which can lead to common field failures, for example: • • •

Harsh environments cause thermal cycling and thermal shock defects.

Mismatched CTE leads to component layers detaching from one another.

Uneven bond line thickness between the substrate and baseplate increases stress concentration and reduces fatigue resistance during cycling.

Indium, a designer and manufacturer of electronic assembly materials, believes uniform planarity can mitigate these common defects. Techniques to achieve an even bond line and prevent substrate tilt include stitching and trimming wire bonds, but these can present integration challenges.

Indium’s InFORMS is designed to deliver precision bond line control and soldering in one shot. InFORMS acts as an embedded non-reflowing material within bulk solder. Its preforms and solder ribbon are reinforced matrix solder composites. Indium claims that inFORMS provides precise, repeatable standoff heights, ensuring more than four times the reliability of solder-only preform solutions as a result of reduced stress concentration, mitigated delamination and increased fatigue resistance that can withstand 3,500 thermal cycles.

Amphenol’s new sensor tech detects thermal runaway Amphenol Advanced Sensors’ new sensor technology platform, Robust Early Detection of Thermal Runaway (REDTR), is designed to detect battery cell faults that result in battery venting.

Stressed Li-ion batteries can undergo failure through a variety of factors. Failure can result in an internal reaction that generates heat and causes chemical decomposition of the cell, which can rapidly accelerate into thermal runaway. When this occurs, the cell vents gases, which Amphenol’s REDTR sensor system can rapidly detect within a battery enclosure.

Amphenol says REDTR responds to venting, regardless of cell size, electrochemistry and battery pack configuration, from a single point within the pack. This sensor technology has an advertised performance life of up to 20 years, and features a compact configuration that can be used as a standalone device or integrated directly into the battery management system architecture. The company says REDTR can identify the initial cell vent within seconds and qualify whether the event is contained or cascading to adjacent cells through monitoring various physical aspects of the cell ejecta plume. Fast detection enables rapid countermeasures.

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Battery analytics software company TWAICE has joined forces with ViriCiti, a telematics provider for electric bus fleets, in order to enable OEMs and fleet operators to optimize the management of their e-bus batteries and increase their residual value.

“We are very excited to offer our customers the new battery health add-on powered by TWAICE’s battery expertise. We were impressed with the in-depth insights into the battery health and remaining useful lifetime, and we think our customers will be too,” commented ViriCiti CEO Freek Dielissen.

The TWAICE predictive analytics software will be available as a battery health add-on module for approximately 3,000 electric buses connected to ViriCiti’s platform. The software is designed to provide insights into e-bus battery performance and capacity in the form of a battery health report.

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Image courtesy of TWAICE

New software provides data on e-bus battery performance

“By combining leading fleet management and state-ofthe-art battery analytics software, we will create superior value for our joint customers,” said TWAICE co-founder Stephan Rohr.

12/22/20 4:19 PM

KEB introduces apps for its T6 Auxiliary Inverter KEB has released an Embedded App Pool for its T6 Auxiliary Inverter. KEB’s embedded applications are pre-programmed function blocks that give OEMs options such as motor torque/speed control and CAN J1939 communications.

“KEB’s T6 Auxiliary Inverter has an embedded controller inside, which makes it easy to implement advanced control functionality, even when managing multiple motor axes,” said KEB Business Development Manager Tony Heiser. “These KEB pre-engineered apps can save hundreds of engineering hours and shorten product development cycles.”

KEB’s app development environment also enables OEMs to develop their own proprietary applications.

This allows them to create apps such as custom functions for motor start-up routines, low-battery operation and special diagnostic and test procedures.

Motiv debuts fifth-gen medium-duty electric chassis Motiv has announced a new generation of its EPIC chassis for medium-duty fleet EVs. The company says its fifth-generation EPIC F-59 and E-450 chassis reduce the total number of components in the electric powertrain by 30 percent, while also improving range, acceleration and top speed.

The fifth-generation EPIC chassis incorporates BMW’s high-performance batteries in a new architecture, and includes the latest release of Motiv’s AdaptEV software. The battery packs come with a 5-year/75,000-mile warranty.

Motiv’s AdaptEV software offers new features such as hill hold driver assist, two-hour DC fast charging, telematics and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) support. Software upgrades are available to fleets via over-the-air updates.

“Our company continues to invest in R&D to bring new technology to market that delivers exceptional results to our fleet customers,” said Motiv CEO Matt O’Leary. “Delivering reliable solutions, and continuously improving on these solutions, not only enables fleets to grow their electrification programs at a quicker rate, but also builds lasting customer relationships.”

Like all Motiv-powered vehicles currently in the field, the new EPIC chassis are Ford eQVM-approved and come with a 3-year/50,000-mile powertrain warranty.

Motiv says its powertrains offer fleets over 99 percent uptime and up to 85 percent operation and maintenance cost savings compared to ICE vehicles.

Image courtesy of Motiv

Image courtesy of KEB

THE TECH

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12/22/20 4:21 PM

Image courtesy of Elkem

THE TECH

Elkem’s new Chinese workshop dedicated to specialized silicones for EVs Elkem has opened a new production workshop in Shanghai, dedicated to the development and manufacturing of specialized silicones for EVs. Elkem tells us that an EV contains an average of four times more silicone than a legacy car. Silicone is a key component in airbags, cables, hoses and tires, and Elkem is a supplier to several EV producers.

The company develops and produces EV silicone solutions such as BLUESIL and CAF, which are designed to provide electrical integrity (durability, insulation, fire resistance) and electronic component protection (sealing, bonding, and potting of parts).

“The cars of the future will be powered by electricity and built and protected with silicone,” said VP Frederic Jacquin. “Our new workshop, Delta 2, is the latest of our investments to illustrate that commitment.”

Elkem says its first production batch has been completed, and meets all quality specifications.

It is also supplying silicon products to EV manufacturers, and the company is positioning itself to supply battery materials to the battery industry and EV market through its Northern Recharge project.

New smelting reduction process recovers Co, Ni, Mn, and Li from Li-ion batteries A team from metals research institute SWERIM in Sweden has reported on a smelting reduction process to recover cobalt, nickel, manganese and lithium simultaneously from spent Li-ion batteries. A paper on their work was published in the Journal of Power Sources.

Results from the laboratory-scale smelting reduction (carried out at 1,550° C in an Ar atmosphere in a vertical furnace) of chemical-grade LiCoO2 with and without the presence of halides (CaF2 and CaCl2) indicated that component Co2O3 in LiCoO2 could be reduced to Co metal. Meanwhile, component Li2O in LiCoO2 could be reduced to lithium metal vapor or converted into volatile lithium halides (LiF and LiCl) and subsequently be recovered in the flue dust.

The researchers say the results from smelting reduction of electrode materials of spent batteries indicate that the electrode materials could be smelted into Co-Ni-Mn alloys, while lithium can be concentrated and recovered in the flue dust as Li2CO3 and LiF. The absence of a slag allows a nearly 100% recovery of Co, Ni, and Mn in the formed alloy and a nearly 100% recovery of lithium in the flue dust.

Principal Investigator Xianfeng Hu summarized the team’s findings: “This paper provides technical information for developing a pyrometallurgical dominant process to recover Co, Ni, Mn, and Li from electrode materials of LIBs. Yet, the scales of the carried-out trials are rather small, and the obtained results are limited to the laboratory findings. Further, no slag-forming materials are added during the smelting reduction process.

This is substantially different from an industrial smelting reduction process, in which a slag phase is present to prevent the oxidation of molten alloy, and for refining purposes. To provide a better reference for the industrial implementation, the proposed smelting process needs to be demonstrated on a pilot scale. The results from a pilot-scale demonstration in an electric arc furnace are presented in a consecutive paper (Part II).”

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Hyundai has unveiled a new dedicated EV platform. Beginning in 2021, the Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP) will underpin a range of new EVs, including Hyundai’s IONIQ 5 and a 2021 Kia EV. The E-GMP’s compact new power electric (PE) system consists of a motor, EV transmission and inverter integrated into a single compact module. Hyundai says its high-speed motor is smaller and lighter than other motors, and provides comparable performance.

A five-link rear suspension system, which is typically used for mid- and large-size vehicle segments, and a new integrated drive axle (IDA), which combines wheel bearings with the driveshaft to transmit power to the wheels, are designed to enhance ride comfort and improve handling stability.

The company says the battery pack—mounted between the front and rear wheel axles—will be the most power-dense system Hyundai has ever created. This is partly thanks to its enhanced cooling performance, the result of a new separate cooling block structure that helps make the pack more compact. With an energy density around 10 percent higher than existing EV batteries, the packs are lighter, and can be mounted lower in the body to liberate more cabin space. All vehicles developed with the E-GMP platform use a standardized single type of battery module, composed of pouch-type standard cells that can be packed in different quantities as required for each vehicle.

Most existing fast-charging infrastructure provides 50 to 150 kWh charging for EVs equipped with a 400 V system; however, the development of 800 V infrastructure, which makes power levels of up to 350 kWh practical, will enable even faster charging.

The E-GMP platform offers 800 V charging capability as standard, and enables 400 V charging without the need for additional components or adapters. Hyundai says its multi-charging system is the world’s first patented technology that operates the motor and inverter to boost 400 V to 800 V for stable charging compatibility.

An EV based on E-GMP is capable of a maximum range of over 500 km with a fully charged battery, according to the Worldwide Harmonized Light-duty vehicle Procedure (WLTP). Moreover, it can fast-charge up to 80 percent in 18 minutes.

The E-GMP’s charging system supports bi-directional charging. Its newly developed Integrated Charging

Images courtesy of Hyundai

Hyundai unveils EV platform

Control Unit (ICCU) enables a new vehicle-to-load (V2L) function, which can draw energy from the vehicle battery without additional components. This enables EVs based on the E-GMP to operate other electric machinery (110 V / 220 V) anywhere. The system can even be used to charge another EV. The E-GMP will underpin Hyundai’s plans to introduce a total of 23 EV models, including 11 dedicated EV models, and sell more than 1 million EVs worldwide by 2025.

“Today our front-wheel-driven Hyundai and Kia EVs are already among the most efficient ones in their segments,” said Albert Biermann, Hyundai’s President and Head of R&D. “With our rear-wheel-driven E-GMP, we are extending our technological leadership into segments where customers demand excellent driving dynamics and outstanding efficiency.”

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THE TECH

VW breaks ground on Battery Engineering Lab in Tennessee Volkswagen has begun construction of a Battery Engineering Lab at its Chattanooga Engineering and Planning Center. The $22-million facility will test and validate EV cells and battery packs for the North American region.

The new lab will join VW’s under-construction EV production expansion and battery pack assembly facility to form the company’s hub for EV production and engineering. Volkswagen will test and optimize Georgia-manufactured battery cells at the new lab. This testing will include batteries for the new ID.4 all-electric SUV, scheduled to begin US production in 2022.

The engineering lab is part of Volkswagen’s effort to localize all aspects of vehicle development and production, which lowers production costs and streamlines development cycles. Currently, battery testing and validation take place in Germany and China. Testing and validating battery components in Chattanooga will allow engineers to more quickly apply lessons learned to local production.

“Testing batteries in the US at this world-class lab helps us get vehicles to market faster, at a lower cost, and better tuned for US customers,” said VP Wolfgang Demmelbauer-Ebner. “It also lets us ensure the safety and reliability of our batteries in conditions US customers encounter every day.”

VW engineers will test battery components and the integration of the battery with the vehicle, while looking for more ways to integrate locally-produced components into the production process. The lab will include pressure and immersion testers, corrosion chambers, five explosion-rated climate chambers, and a custom, two-ton multi-axis shaker table, which is designed to test the integrity of vehicle components in some of the roughest conditions they might face on the road. The facility will also feature regenerative load cyclers that can return energy to the building or grid to maximize energy efficiency.

Belgium-based EconCore has announced a partnership involving AZL, Audi and others to establish the potential of using composites for battery housings. This eight-month collaborative project will assess the technical challenges, opportunities and benefits of developing battery casings for EVs using a variety of materials, including thermoplastics.

The project has been established by the industry network group AZL, which specializes in composite-based lightweight technologies.

Today’s battery housings are almost entirely made from aluminum or steel. The industry group believes there is a potential to use lighter composite materials.

EconCore COO Tomasz Czarnecki said, “After successfully establishing the use of the technology in automotive interiors, we feel there is tremendous potential in using composite materials for battery housings, and EconCore is now actively working with Audi and other industrial partners to explore opportunities, and to learn how the thermoplastic honeycomb technology can be applied in this area.”

The first phase will focus on understanding the potential opportunities and challenges. For EconCore, this means pre-selecting thermoplastic materials, using different composite skin layers and working through various geometrical designs to optimize the honeycomb material with the most desirable characteristics.

Czarnecki added, “There’s no doubt there are some interesting opportunities to reduce weight using composite materials. We believe there are even greater potential benefits from using honeycomb sandwich materials, which have incredible strength [and are] extremely light, compared to aluminum or steel alternatives.”

EconCore already has experience using honeycomb material in vehicle interiors, which can be compression-molded to produce three-dimensional shapes. If the initial phase goes well, the plan is to progress to a prototyping stage.

Image courtesy of EconCore

EconCore joins Audi to develop composite battery casings

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Fujitsu has expanded its automotive relay offering with a new 12 VDC PCB relay featuring a switching capacity of 50 A at 14 VDC. The FBR53-HC offers a higher contact rating than its 40-amp FBR53-HW counterpart, yet occupies the same 12.1 x 15.5 x 13.7 mm footprint, and weighs the same 6 grams.

With a maximum current of 62.5 A and an operating temperature of -40 to +125° C, Fujitsu says the FBR53HC is suited for medium-to-heavy loads, such as electric power steering, radiator fans, fuel pumps, seat heaters, headlamps and motor braking circuits.

The FBR53-HC is a mini-ISO relay replacement that employs a 1 Form U dual contact arrangement normally

Image courtesy of Fujitsu

Fujitsu introduces compact PCB relay for medium-toheavy automotive loads

open for high contact reliability. It features a typical electrical life of 100,000 operations and power consumption of approximately 600 mW. Available immediately, the RoHS-compliant relay is offered in a plastic sealed package and also in a throughhole reflow version.

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THE TECH

While discrete transformers can also be used at the signal level, isolators based on optical, magnetic and capacitive technologies are far more popular, because they tend to be both lower in cost and easier to use.

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ISOLATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR EV

POWER ELECTRONICS

By Jeffrey Jenkins previous article on bidirectional chargers [see our July/August 2020 issue] touched on using transformers to provide isolation at high power levels— in which application they are the only game in town, really—but this time the focus will be on achieving isolation at low power levels, such as the feedback signal in a regulator, data communication buses between devices, gate drivers and the like. While discrete transformers can also be used at the signal level, isolators based on optical, magnetic and capacitive technologies are far more popular, because they tend to be both lower in cost and easier to use (usually, anyway).

A

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THE TECH Of course, the cheapest (though not necessarily the easiest to use) option is not to use an isolator at all, so the first consideration is whether one is even necessary, either for the circuit to operate, for safety, and/ or to minimize electrical noise problems. Any power converter for EV applications (charger, inverter, DC/DC converter, etc) that is either supplied by the mains or a >48 V battery pack will pretty much require strict isolation between its power (high-voltage) and control (low-voltage) circuits. In cases where isolation isn’t required for safety reasons, it still might make the circuit more reliable to use it, such as driving the gates of the switches in a totem-pole or bridge circuit. For example, to turn on a MOSFET or IGBT, its gate needs to be made more positive than its source or emitter, respectively, by about 10 V. The lower switches in a half-bridge all have their sources/emitters referred to “ground” (more correctly, the negative rail), which makes it easy to control them directly, and with little worry that noise from rapid voltage swings (i.e. high dV/dt) will be coupled back through them. The sources/emitters in the upper switches, however, do swing violently with each state change, and their potential with respect to the negative rail is undefined when off, and not even fixed when on, since the voltage across the load will vary as well (due to, say, the back EMF of a traction motor changing with RPM). To drive the upper switches requires either an isolator or a level-translating (aka “high-side”) driver IC. The latter IC essentially lets the driver for the high-side gate follow the potential of the source/emitter of the switch being driven while level-translating the control signal up to that same potential. These high-side driver ICs are enormously popular in, shall we say, cost-sensitive power supply applications, because they are much cheaper than any form of isolator and at least appear to be much easier to use. However, because there is no galvanic isolation, the swings in voltage at each tran-

sition of the source/emitter can be coupled back through them, wreaking havoc elsewhere, or even leading to an invariably fatal failure mode called “latchup,” in which the polarity of the supply terminals is effectively reversed during the high dV/dt event. An isolated gate driver IC also follows the potential on the source/emitter of the switch it is driving, but with only a small amount of parasitic capacitance to couple dV/dt back through it (and no possibility of inadvertently forward-biasing any substrate diodes, leading to latchup), it can tolerate way higher levels of dV/dt, and can be designed to withstand an almost arbitrarily high voltage as well.

Another common application in which isolation might not be needed for functionality, but which safety regulations may demand anyway, is the voltage (or current) feedback path in a power supply, charger, etc. If the control circuit is on the primary side of the converter’s isolation transformer, then some means of isolating the feedback signal will be necessary to maintain galvanic isolation between the primary and secondary. In some cases, the control circuit can be placed on the secondary side, however, in which case it will receive the feedback signal directly, and the burden for maintaining galvanic isolation—if necessary— will shift to the drive signals for the primary-side switches. Whether placing the control circuit on the secondary side is even possible depends entirely on how it will receive power to start working in the first place (a classic chicken-and-egg kind of problem, then). In any event—not to point out the obvious— isolation of an analog signal requires either a linear isolator or encoding/decoding of the signal so that a digital isolator can be used. As we’ll discuss next, pretty much all isolators can handle digital signals (i.e. pulses), but only the optical types have ever been used for conveying analog signals (ignoring, for the moment, isolator ICs that have the encoding/decoding

Any power converter for EV applications (charger, inverter, DC/DC converter, etc) that is either supplied by the mains or a >48 V battery pack will pretty much require strict isolation between its power and control circuits.

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Power, meet precision.

Another common application in which isolation might not be needed for functionality, but which safety regulations may demand anyway, is the voltage (or current) feedback path in a power supply, charger, etc. circuits built into them).

Optical isolators (also known by the unsurprising portmanteau optoisolators) are one of the oldest types (along with transformers) and employ many different approaches. One of the earliest examples literally consisted of an opaque tube with an incandescent lamp at one end and a photoresistive cell (usually based on CdS, or cadmium sulfide) at the other. Bandwidth was in the low single-Hz range, and linearity was terrible too, since neither the lamp nor the photoresistor are all that linear in the first place. The next major iteration replaced the incandescent lamp with an LED, and the CdS cell with a phototransistor (or photodiode), greatly improving bandwidth (a few kHz

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Powerful things should come in small packages. BorgWarner knows this well, which is why we offer a wide range of compact modules and battery packs specifically targeted to BEV applications. Our modular approach prioritizes both flat pack and tower pack designs. Additionally, our main 10 kWh module unit comes in three different voltage configurations, so packs can be built at the energy and voltage ranges you need – up to 720 kWh. Protecting all of this is thermal management at a module level to minimize gradients across each pack to better impact its overall lifespan and keep you moving forward.

12/22/20 4:51 PM

THE TECH

Optical Isolators Cross-section through a standard dual in-line package.

Relative sizes of LED (red) and sensor (green) are exaggerated.

Planar Layout

Silicone Dome Layout

was now possible), and with better, though not exactly spectacular, linearity. Within a couple of years, it was learned that the brightness of LEDs declines over time, even when supplied by a fixed current, so these miracle light sources that were supposed to last for eternity turned out to have a finite lifespan after all. This is not as big a problem as it might seem, however, since in most applications the optoisolator is either operated digitally (that is, on or off ) or else wrapped inside a feedback loop, so that the loss of brightness over time is compensated for automatically (up until the circuit runs out of loop gain or drive current, anyway). I’ve used devices based on this approach (e.g. HCNR200, LOC111, IL300) for monitoring bus voltage, and they work exceptionally well, and as long as the LED isn’t run at too high a current (losing some of the dynamic range) the operational lifespan should be >100,000 hours.

Still, even a 100,000-hour lifespan only amounts to a bit over 11 years if the product is operated 24/7, so designers sought out alternatives that didn’t rely on LEDs. The two most viable types were capacitive and micromagnetic (chip-scale transformers, basically).

Capacitive isolators consist of a pair of capacitors formed by depositing a metal onto either side of a thin insulating layer (usually SiO2—the same as used in CMOS ICs), with one capacitor carrying AC in the forward direction and the other carrying the return current. The insulating layer forms a contiguous barrier which does not rely on an air gap at all (unlike the typical optoisolator), so it can meet stringent safety regulations on creepage and clearance distances within a relatively small package. Since the capacitances involved here are extremely small, signals are usually encoded by either having them modulate the frequency of a much higher-frequency oscillator (i.e. FM) or

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Optical isolators (also known by the unsurprising portmanteau optoisolators) are one of the oldest types (along with transformers) and employ many different approaches. toggling said oscillator on and off (i.e. burst AM); the former could be used for conveying analog signals, while the latter is strictly for digital applications (including gate drivers). The main downside to capacitive isolators is that they tend to have relatively poor immunity to noise coupled across them as a result of high dV/dt—Common Mode Transient Immunity, or CMTI, is the key spec to look for in the datasheet. Devices intended for gate-driver use will have appropriately high levels of CMTI, but caveat emptor if one tries to use a garden-variety digital capacitive isolator as a gate driver.

Isolators based on magnetic coupling consist of tiny spiral coils of metal printed onto either side of an insulator (again, usually SiO2, though polymeric

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12/22/20 4:52 PM

THE TECH

Capacitive Coupling Magnetic Coupling

Since making the insulator thicker doesn’t really affect the magnetic operation, it’s easier to achieve an almost arbitrarily high voltage withstand rating than it is with the capacitive type. materials are used as well). The magnetic field from one coil induces a current in the other, just like a regular transformer, and since making the insulator thicker doesn’t really affect the operation—just slightly lowering the coupling coefficient with increasing distance between the coils—it’s easier to achieve an almost arbitrarily high voltage withstand rating than it is with the capacitive type. These micro-sized transformers can also be used to provide isolated power to

the secondary side circuitry, which is a huge advantage over pretty much every other isolator technology (save using actual gate-drive transformers). Theoretically, magnetic isolators are susceptible to bit-flipping or other erroneous operation from external magnetic fields, but in practice this rarely seems to be an issue, because the coils are so small that they really only respond to very high frequencies. The main downsides to magnetic isolators are that they tend to consume more power for a given data rate than capacitive types (though perhaps not any more than traditional optoisolators) and that they usually cost a lot more than capacitive types because of the more complicated fabrication process (though, again, on par with the cost of equivalent optoisolators).

The last type of isolator to be discussed here is the one mentioned first: a discrete, signal-level transformer. These are constructed much like their higher-power brethren, but with perhaps more emphasis on minimizing the number of turns at the expense of a larger core size (to reduce leakage inductance and stray capacitance). While signal transformers are

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widely used in data isolators—every Ethernet port on the planet has one, for example—they are also quite popular in gate-drive applications because they convey the power needed to slew the gate directly from the driver circuit itself. Another advantage is that additional switches can be driven by merely adding more secondaries. It would seem, then, that a transformer is the simplest way to drive the gates of any high-side switches, but there are a number of gotchas waiting to trap the unwary. One of the most insidious is that leakage inductance—which arises from the less-than-perfect coupling between windings in a transformer—opposes each change in voltage by creating a small spike and by looking like a high impedance. The latter results in the driver circuit being effectively disconnected from the gate until the leakage inductances are reset, which can lead to spu-

rious operation of the switch, and even short bursts of oscillation (the old and colorful term for such is snivet), both of which can cause the switch to fail (or the product to fail EMC compliance testing). Another downside to transformers is that the forward and reverse volt * seconds must be equal to prevent core saturation. This means that a unipolar signal (such as from 5 V logic) must first be converted to bipolar with an average value of 0 V, and the simplest way to do that is with a coupling capacitor. This approach is best suited for cases in which a rather narrow range of duty cycle needs to be accommodated, which means it isn’t a good choice for motor drives, buck converters, and the like. Otherwise, IC isolators using either capacitive or micromagnetic technology have proven to be superior overall, not only to transformers but to their optical predecessors as well.

THE MARKET LEADER IN BATTERY TESTING AND EVSE CERTIFICATIONS Key Standards Include: • UN 38.3 • IEC 62133 • IEC 61851, 62196 • SAE J1772, 2953 • SAE J2464 • CE / E-Mark Approvals • UL 2954, 2202 • UL 1642, 2054, 1973 A Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory in North America and a CB Scheme Certification Body For more information please contact, 1-800-WORLDLAB, icenter@intertek.com or intertek.com/energy-storage

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THE TECH Image courtesy of INFICON

SETTING A NEW STANDARD FOR

BATTERY LEAK TESTING

A LOOK AT INFICON’S NEW LEAK TESTING TECH INFICON says its new technology can detect much smaller battery leaks than previous methods could. The company’s white paper describing the process was published by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), and could lead to a new standard for EV battery testing.

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By Tom Lombardo efective cells can shorten battery life, decrease range, and lead to safety issues. A leaky cell housing, one common failure mode for Li-ion batteries, can allow ambient humidity to come in contact with the electrolyte, triggering an exothermic (heat-releasing) chemical reaction.

Currently, the common practice in the battery manufacturing industry is to test cell packaging prior to final assembly. For example, to look for defects, a manufacturer performs a helium leak test on the cells before the electrolyte is added. Empty cell cases are filled with helium

D

and placed in a vacuum chamber along with a sensor that detects the presence of leaked helium. If the case checks out, it is filled with electrolyte and shipped.

The problem with this method is that, while helium tests can detect many common leaks in the casing, the test is performed before the cell is fully assembled. The cell can only be filled with electrolyte and sealed after the test is complete, so the sealed fill port is not tested for leaks. Furthermore, the helium leak test cannot be used for pouch cells. “There currently are no reliable tests on which to base

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THE TECH Images courtesy of INFICON

“

There currently are no reliable tests on which to base leak-detection standards for a full range of soft-pouch, cylindrical or prismatic battery cells in use throughout the industry. leak-detection standards for a full range of soft-pouch, cylindrical or prismatic battery cells in use throughout the industry,” says Daniel Wetzig, head of leak-detection R&D at INFICON—a specialist in gas analysis technology that designs and produces helium leak testing equipment.

“Today’s pressure and helium testing methods are either too slow or unreliable, and also may allow small but significant lithium-ion leaks to go unnoticed.”

Wetzig and his colleague, Maximillian Reismann, authored a white paper, “Methods for Leak Testing Lithium-Ion Batteries to Assure Quality with Proposed Rejection Limit Standards,” which was accepted and published by the SAE in April 2020. The paper points out the need for automakers to maintain high quality and safety standards, making it in their best interest to assure that EV batteries are safe, reliable and long-lasting. It then describes INFICON’s newly-developed non-destructive

method for testing all types of Li-ion batteries at the end of the assembly line, either before the first charging or just before they leave the factory. Charged spoke with INFICON engineer and leak detection expert Thomas Parker, to learn more about the new state-of-the-art battery testing method.

Q Charged: What exactly happens when a cell leak goes undetected?

A Thomas Parker: If a cell leak happens, there is a

chance that electrolytes could leak out of the cell, which would render the cell useless.

However, if there is a very small leak, the cell will function for a period of time. Over that period of time, the electrolyte might not leak out, but water vapor (humidity) will ingress into the cell to cause that exothermic chemical reaction.

You may remember, several years ago, the auto industry had a big recall of airbag inflators. At first, airbag inflator recalls were limited to places like Florida—high-humidity environments—but then they slowly expanded the recall nationwide. The reason they started with high-humidity environments was because water vapor was creeping into those leaky airbag inflators and reacting with the propellant inside to either spontaneously explode or to over-explode when the airbag deployed during a collision. So, the same

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C

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INFICON’s North American team of automotive leak-detection experts sets up a demonstration program for testing lithium-ion battery cells at KUKA research facilities in Saginaw, Michigan.

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thing that disrupted the airbag inflator market—humidity getting into leaking inflators—can happen in the battery market. Humidity gets into battery cells and can cause very negative consequences.

When water vapor reacts with the electrolyte, such as an acidic reaction that’s exothermic, it causes the cells to swell up and generate gas. That can cause a fire, or thermal runaway, where it spreads to the other cells in the battery pack.

So, for several years now, INFICON has been doing helium leak testing of cells for integrity purposes. However, that helium process is done before they put

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12/22/20 5:56 PM

THE TECH

“

Our new gas analysis device looks for the presence of electrolyte material and gives a simple pass/fail result. the electrolyte in, and we found that our customers wanted some sort of highly-accurate final end-of-line testing solution. So that after they fill the electrolytes and cap off the fill port, they could do a final test to make sure that the cell is absolutely leak-free. That can’t be done with the helium test method, so we developed a new system.

Q Charged: Are there other methods used to do leak

testing other than the helium vacuum test?

A Thomas Parker: Most companies are either doing a visual inspection for things like pouch cells, the helium leak test for rigid cells (prior to electrolyte build), or they’re using an air test method. For the air method, they put the cell into a pressure vessel and they look at the pressure signature over time. If there’s a change, they call it a leak, but there are sensitivity limits with that method.

Q Charged: How does INFICON’s new leak testing

solution work?

A Thomas Parker: It’s pretty simple. Part of the unit is

based on an existing gas analysis leak detector that’s commonly used to leak-test a refrigerator, home air conditioner, or a car’s AC system. That gas analysis device has been around for several years, but to detect electrolyte, we had to condition the cell sample under certain vacuum pressures so we don’t damage the cell.

The operator, or a robot, loads the cell into a chamber, and then the chamber pumps down to a safe vacuum around the cell. Our new gas analysis device looks for the presence of electrolyte material and gives a simple pass/ fail result. It’s a straightforward test, it just took a lot of thought and development to adapt the technology to the battery market, because now we needed to detect the presence of liquid electrolyte instead of gases.

As we detailed in our SAE paper, battery cells already filled with liquid electrolyte must be considered differently. With these cells, the electrolyte wets potential leak channels so that parameters such as viscosity, surface tension and surface contact angle between the liquid and the battery wall also must be taken into consideration.

Since a cell contains liquid electrolyte, the classic leak test using test gas cannot be used. Apart from the risk of the liquid blocking the leak channel, it is difficult or even impossible to add test gas to the battery cell.

Q Charged: INFICON develops leak tests for many different industries and applications, correct?

A Thomas Parker: Yes, INFICON is a publicly-traded

Swiss company, and our specialty is gas analysis technology. We utilize our knowledge for leak testing products in the battery market. But we also use the gas analysis technology for semiconductor chip manufacturing, vacuum science—a lot of different markets where people are interested in gas analysis.

I have a mechanical engineering background and an MBA. I’ve been in this industry for 20 years, 15 of them with INFICON. Q Charged: You say your new method can detect leaks that are a thousand times smaller than previous methods. Can you explain?

A Thomas Parker: Imagine you take a cell and introduce

a fabricated known leak—people do this in industry all the time, they’ll fabricate a known leak via different methods, but this known leak is a calibrated lab-certified orifice that leaks a certain size. Often, people will introduce these

“

As we detailed in our SAE paper, battery cells already filled with liquid electrolyte must be considered differently.

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laboratory-certified known leaks into a part and run it through their process to get a process capability. So, for example, the industry knows how small of a leak you can see with pressure decay test air testing. We took those similar orifices, a thousand times smaller than air tests would be able to see, but our machine was able to see it. It’s really good metrology and repeatability. So, that statement of detecting leaks a thousand times smaller was proven through our engineering test data using known laboratory-certified orifices, or leaks.

Q Charged: Your equipment for testing prismatic and

cylindrical cells is being introduced now, and you’re looking at a different system for pouch cells.

A Thomas Parker: Yes. What we launched first is a

solution for the rigid cells, and we’re wrapping up beta testing of the flexible membrane chamber for pouch cells. In the next month or so, that flexible pouch test will be commercially available as well.

This is great for the industry, because the flexible pouch cells can’t even be helium leak-tested. They rely on a less accurate pressure decay test or, in most instances, a visual test.

They’ll let those pouch cells sit for a couple of days, literally, and if there’s any water ingress, that’s when they see it swell up. So, it’s an operator looking at a cell and saying, “Okay that cell is swelled—scrap it.”

Q Charged: Once your systems are being produced

and used in industry, do you think it’ll be an end-ofline test for every unit, or will this be something that they sample and test in batches?

A Thomas Parker: It depends on the application and the customer’s confidence in their yield. So far, people are looking at 100-percent testing, because they want to see where they are in their process, and they want to see where their process capability is, to then do some benchmarks. If they test 100 percent of the line and feel confident in their process, they could then migrate to a statistical batch test where they sample a percentage of the cells in each lot.

Q Charged: Do you think that, with your new tests

available, the industry could begin to adopt quality-control standards for EV batteries?

“

This is great for the industry, because the flexible pouch cells can’t even be helium leak-tested.

They rely on a less accurate pressure decay test or, in most instances, a visual test.

A Thomas Parker: We hope so. Back in April, at the SAE

World Congress, we submitted and were awarded publication of a white paper that proposed the need for standards of testing and to what level those standards should be.

Right now, in the automotive world, you can pull up SAE J-specs for airbag inflators, fuel tanks, fuel injectors— tried-and-true industry standards. Those are still being developed for the battery market. So that’s something that we’re participating in now, getting that movement out there, having some sort of industry-wide adopted standard for battery leak testing.

Q Charged: How does that process go, exactly? How

do you go from a submitted paper to an industry-wide standard?

A Thomas Parker: Last year we submitted an abstract.

After the abstract is accepted, then you pull together all your engineering data, the test engineering, the test data, and work on the technical paper explaining the need of the industry. That gets reviewed by the SAE peer committee, and then you address any questions or any expansion of ideas, and so it goes back and forth. It’s a year-long process, so when we were awarded this SAE white paper, we thought it was a pretty good accomplishment.

When SAE selects these white papers to publish, it starts the discussion of how we move forward with this, if there’s some J-specification. Usually, the powertrain committee looks at it and says, “This is an important topic, let’s form a subcommittee and start looking at these details.” That usually takes a year within itself for everybody to review it.

Maybe companies do their own test engineering, or maybe pull from their own experience. So, it’s the first step of an SAE committee formation—realizing that this is something that definitely needs to be looked at in detail.

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THE VEHICLES

GM teases electric crossovers and pickups, invests more in EVs

By John Voelcker General Motors CEO Mary Barra spoke at the Barclays 2020 Global Automotive Conference, saying the company is accelerating its electric-vehicle efforts, pulling forward the schedule on many future launches, and expanding the number of EV models it sells globally to 30 by the end of 2025—a larger number than the dozen future EVs shown to journalists in a no-cameras presentation in March.

While they weren’t explicitly mentioned in the presentation, two new all-electric Chevrolet vehicles appeared behind Barra and other GM executives as a backdrop.

They are a full-size pickup truck and a compact crossover utility vehicle, and GM has pulled forward their schedules by 11 months and a whopping 21 months, according to a slide Barra presented. The two new EVs sat silently next to the 2022 GMC Hummer EV that was revealed a few weeks ago, a vehicle whose audaciousness is meant to reset the image of EVs among US buyers.

Barra was joined by Doug Parks, GM’s Executive Vice President of Global Product Development, and Travis Hester, newly appointed as the company’s Chief EV Officer. Their 45-minute presentation underscored the largest US automaker’s burning desire to be seen—and valued—not as a hidebound bastion of Old Detroit, but as an EV pioneer in the company of Tesla, Rivian and other high-valued startups.

GM’s CEO revealed more about the company’s electrification strategy during the latest of what has become a regular cadence of announcements (some meatier than others). Fully 40 percent of the models GM sells by the end of 2025 will be battery-electric, she said, adding that more than two-thirds of the 30 new EV models in the pipeline will be offered in North America—a subtle indication the company’s BEV onslaught isn’t solely intended for China. The new lineup will include electric entries from all four GM brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC. GM will pull forward the launch date for its 2023 Cadillac Lyriq, Barra said, from the end of 2022 to the first quarter of that year. The speed-up reflects the company’s new standard timeline for development of new Ultium vehicles: It will have taken the 2022 GMC Hummer EV just 34 months from program approval in the summer of 2018 to the first production model rolling off the assembly line at the end of next year.

More billions, price parity coming The company is also boosting its investment in EVs and autonomous technology to a total of $27 billion through 2025. That’s an increase from its previously announced commitment of $20 billion. Since the start of the year, GM has said it will build EVs at two plants— Detroit-Hamtramck, lately renamed “Factory Zero,” and Spring Hill, Tennessee—in addition to the Orion plant in Michigan already building the Chevrolet Bolt EV and derivatives. Barra also noted that construction of the battery cell plant in Lordstown, Ohio, a joint venture between GM and LG Chem, is ahead of schedule.

GM says it already has working prototype cells for a second generation of Ultium batteries, using lithium-metal anodes, less costly cathodes, new electrolytes, and more. Once they reach full production, those mid-decade battery packs will cost 60 percent less than today’s Bolt EV battery packs on a per-kilowatt-hour basis. Those advances will raise the maximum range of some vehicles using its Ultium battery technology from 400 miles to as much as 450 miles.

The Ultium architecture, Parks told journalists in a preview briefing, will bring the company’s EVs closer to price parity with gasoline-powered vehicles. GM will offer EVs “at all price points,” which he said means “darn near” a full range of vehicles matching its current lineup, from small hatchbacks below $20,000 to $100,000-plus full-size extended SUVs. “By the middle of the decade,” Park said, “We’ll be in all the high-volume segments”—which in 2020 means full-size pickup trucks, three-row crossovers, and compact crossovers above all—though he admitted GM may not offer EVs “going down into the teens” [in price].

Future electric Chevrolets During its March EV Day presentation, GM showed renderings of an electric full-size Chevy pickup with four doors and an integrated bed that resembled a reconstituted version of the Avalanche sport truck that was sold from 2002 to 2013. This appears to be the vehicle shown behind Hester in the most recent presentation. The shadowy lighting revealed only large wheels, a blunt but blanked-off front without any kind of mock grille, and an Avalanche-like profile.

On the preview call, Parks alluded to a compact cross-

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Battery cells in massive volumes A Chevy compact crossover won’t be the only one, either.

Barra said that by 2023, GM will have unveiled “several key high-volume entries” in multiple segments. One might suggest that these could easily come from multiple GM brands in a range of prices, with Chevy as the value brand and Cadillac at the high end, offering the most advanced technology—cue mention of the Super Cruise hands-off automated driving assist system—and the first to go all-electric.

Throughout the presentation, Barra and Parks stressed that every Ultium vehicle sold globally would use the same Ultium cells. One million EVs in 2025, each using 10 modules of 24 large-format cells apiece, translates to 240 million cells, a number at which GM believes true efficiencies of scale will come into play.

GM’s expertise in supply-chain management has been combined with LG Chem’s, Parks said, bringing new cost reductions to the entire cell material-sourcing and fabrication process.

Images courtesy of GM

over utility roughly the size of today’s Chevrolet Equinox. With a battery under the floor, it may well have more interior room than the Equinox, but Parks confirmed it would be priced in “the rough ballpark” of that vehicle’s range: under $40,000.

Compact crossovers represent the largest-volume US segment, along with pickup trucks, and it’s a segment in which Ford, Hyundai, Kia, Nissan, Volkswagen and others plan affordable EV entries with more than 200 miles of range. While Chevy’s offering clearly won’t be the first EV compact crossover, GM likely intends it to be one of the highest-volume entries—in line with Barra’s stated goal of establishing “leadership until we are #1 in America” in volume production of electric entries as it exceeds 1 million EVs a year globally by 2025.

EV Day in March also included a mockup of a “muscular” mid-size Chevrolet crossover, bringing battery-electric propulsion into the profitable three-row utility segment. At least one other mass automaker plans to introduce such a vehicle, but five-seat compact crossovers sell in higher volumes, and it appears that’s where Chevy is aiming first.

GM R&D Group Manager Mei Cai, PhD, holds a prototype second-generation Ultium battery cell.

It’s likely GM will carefully space out announcements of each of its new battery-electric vehicles for maximum media impact over the next five years. On the other hand, if it has a dozen and a half left to come for North America, that suggests that we’ll be seeing a lot more launches at regular intervals.

Given GM’s 30-year history with electric vehicles, and its various discarded EV strategies over that time, the company justifiably attracts more passionate skeptics than do Ford and FCA—from which EV advocates simply expect less. But $27 billion is rather a lot of investment, so there seems a fair chance that three years hence, the EVs will be coming thick and fast.

How will GM’s array of production EVs stacks up in price, range, features and volume against those from Tesla, the Volkswagen Group and others? It promises to be a fascinating fight to watch.

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Image courtesy of Volvo

THE VEHICLES

WRI scores grant from Bezos Earth Fund, hopes to electrify all US school buses by 2030 The Bezos Earth Fund has awarded a grant of $100 million, to be disbursed over a five-year period, to the World Resources Institute (WRI), a global research organization, for two separate climate initiatives. The first project is to develop a satellite-based monitoring system to improve monitoring of changes in land use and associated carbon emissions. The second is to accelerate the electrification of US school buses.

WRI is one of 16 groups that have received funds totaling $791 million from the Bezos Earth Fund.

School buses are an excellent candidate for electrification, as they drive predictable routes and return to central depots each day. Furthermore, they have significant downtime (many sit idle through much of the summer), making them a great potential resource for V2G applications. The kicker is that school districts, parents and policymakers tend to agree on the desirability of freeing young children from breathing diesel smoke.

There are over 450,000 school buses in the US, and WRI’s goal is to electrify them all by 2030. WRI will partner with local organizations with a history of working on transportation issues.

“We are grateful to the Bezos Earth Fund for this very generous gift to advance two game-changing climate initiatives at a time when they are urgently needed,” said WRI CEO Dr. Andrew Steer. “Building on our expertise and bringing together many partners, we will use these resources to accelerate transformative shifts in monitoring land use and carbon emissions and electrifying vehicles. These initiatives will cut emissions, create a healthier environment, spur economic opportunities, and improve the lives of millions of people in the United States and around the world.”

Volvo Trucks wins $21.7-million grant to deploy 70 Class 8 VNR e-trucks in California Volvo Trucks North America has won $21.7 million in grants to deploy 70 VNR Electric trucks in Southern California for regional freight distribution and drayage. The EPA’s Targeted Air Shed Grant Program will provide $20 million, and the South Coast Air Quality Management District will add $1.7 million for charging infrastructure.

Volvo Trucks will deliver the e-trucks to Southern California fleet operators starting in 2021, following the official launch of the VNR Electric truck model later this year.

Volvo plans to leverage best practices learned from the Volvo LIGHTS (Low Impact Green Heavy Transport Solutions) project, in which the truck-maker collaborated with the South Coast AQMD and 13 other organizations to develop a blueprint for introducing battery-electric trucks and equipment into the market at scale.

Volvo will also gather deployment data to further refine total-cost-of-ownership calculations, including actual vehicle maintenance and fuel cost savings. Learnings from this project will allow Volvo Trucks to fine-tune production at its New River Valley plant in Virginia, enabling seamless integration of the VNR Electric truck into its manufacturing process.

“This grant provides Volvo Trucks with an excellent opportunity to further expedite the success of the ecosystem designed through the Volvo LIGHTS project to support the wide-scale deployment of battery-electric heavy-duty trucks,” said Peter Voorhoeve, President of Volvo Trucks North America.

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tric heavy-duty trucks in Europe, starting in 2021. Sales will begin next year, and volume production will start in 2022.

The company is now running tests of the electric heavy-duty Volvo FH, FM and FMX trucks, which are aimed at regional transport and urban construction applications. These trucks will have a gross combination weight of up to 44 ton, and a range of up to 300 km, depending on battery configuration.

Volvo Trucks started manufacturing the Volvo FL Electric and FE Electric in 2019. These are intended for city distribution and refuse operations. In North America, sales of the Volvo VNR Electric, a regional transport truck, will start in December 2020.

Electric vehicles for “demanding and heavy long-haul operations” will follow “in this decade,” says Volvo. Some of these will be battery-electric, and some will be fuel cell-powered. Volvo Trucks aims to make its entire product range fossil-free by 2040.

Volvo Trucks President Roger Alm explained that the company hopes to enable customers to make a gradual transition to electric trucks. “To reduce the impact of transport on the climate, we need to make a swift transition from fossil fuels to alternatives such as electricity,” he said. “But the conditions for making this shift, and consequently the pace of the transition, vary dramatically across different haulers and markets, depending on many variables such as financial incentives, access to charging infrastructure and type of transport operations.”

Alm expects most transport companies to electrify their fleets in stages. “Our chassis are designed to be independent of the driveline used. Our customers can choose to buy several Volvo trucks of the same model, with the only difference being that some are electric and others are powered by gas or diesel.”

Image courtesy of Ebusco

Image courtesy of Volvo

Volvo to launch a range of electric trucks in Europe in 2021 Volvo Trucks plans to offer a complete range of all-elec-

Munich electrifies an entire bus line with 8 new Ebusco buses With the deployment of 8 new electric buses from Netherlands-based manufacturer Ebusco, the Munich Traffic Association (MVG) has fully electrified the city’s bus line 144, which runs over the Landshutter Allee and through Olympia Park. The new 12-meter Ebusco 2.2 city buses join 4 Ebusco buses that were delivered to Munich earlier this year.

Line 144 is the first in the city to be served entirely by battery-electric buses. A second line, line 100, will also be electrified by the end of the year.

“The Ebusco 2.2 is a fully-fledged alternative to the traditional diesel bus,” said Peter Bijvelds, CEO of Ebusco.

“Our buses can easily run for up to 300 km on a single battery charge. As a result, they only need to charge at night to run their entire service during the day.”

“Our goal is to convert our bus fleet almost completely to electric buses over the next 10 years and to run them on green electricity,” said Ingo Wortmann, CEO of MVG. “Two fully electric lines are a good start to gain experience. A condition for this sustainable transition is that electric buses are just as efficient as the current diesel buses. They need powerful batteries with a long range. On the other hand, the buses should have enough passenger capacity to be able to operate on our busiest routes.”

Another important step in the transition to a fully electric bus fleet is the establishment of charging infrastructure at the MVG depot in East Munich. This was recently supplemented with 10 additional Ebusco chargers, which will allow 15 buses to be charged at the same time.

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THE VEHICLES

Formula E is an all-electric FIA racing championship featuring races in iconic international city centers. Soon, another very different class of electric racing will make its debut: Extreme E is a rough-and-tumble off-road rally that will showcase the abilities of electric SUVs against the backdrop of remote ecosystems. Both organizations share the goal of highlighting the performance of EVs and acceleration the transition to e-mobility.

Now the two racing series have announced plans to join in a sort of dynastic marriage: Formula E has become a minority shareholder in Extreme E, and Formula E CEO Jamie Reigle will take a seat on the Extreme E Board of Directors. Extreme E CEO and Formula E founder Alejandro Agag will retain the role of Formula E Chairman. The two businesses remain independent, but the close collaboration of their leadership will allow a truly strategic partnership.

The first race of the 2020/21 Formula E World Championship will take place in Santiago in January. Extreme E’s first season will kick off in Saudi Arabia in March.

The Extreme E races will be staged in extreme environments around the world which have already been damaged or affected by climate and environmental issues.

To minimize local impact, they will not be open to live spectators, but fans will be invited to follow the action on live TV. A ship called the St. Helena has been transformed into Extreme E’s operations hub. It will be used to transport the championship’s infrastructure, including vehicles, to the nearest port, minimizing Extreme E’s environmental footprint.

Extreme E plans to use hydrogen fuel cell technology to power its race fleet with zero-emission energy. A system provided by AFC Energy uses water and solar power to generate green hydrogen.

Extreme E’s Season 1 calendar consists of five race locations featuring five very different types of terrain: Al Ula, Saudi Arabia (March); Lac Rose, Senegal (May); Kangerlussusaq, Greenland (August); Para, Brazil (October) and Patagonia, Argentina (December).

Since it introduced electric school buses in 2018, the iconic yellow bus manufacturer Blue Bird (NASDAQ: BLBD), has seen a surge in demand. The majority of its e-buses have been sold in California, but they have been deployed all over the US. “With districts able to obtain grants and other financial assistance, [some] locations that we have deployed electric school buses in were the first in their state to have an EV bus in their fleet,” said Blue Bird CEO Phil Horlock.

“As the only manufacturer currently producing every bus type in electric, we can help districts start to introduce and potentially transform their entire fleet over time to zero emissions.”

“As districts continue to see the environmental benefits of low- and zero-emissions solutions, such as electric, it is inevitable for our industry to see this shift,” added Horlock. “In fact, over 50% of what we produce is an alternative to diesel, and we are prepared to meet further growth in demand.”

Electric buses have fewer parts to maintain than diesel buses, so school districts can realize immediate savings on maintenance costs.

Blue Bird’s electric buses are now equipped with vehicle-to-grid (V2G) capability, which allows communities to use them as backup power sources in emergency situations, and offers the possibility to generate revenue by selling electricity back to the local utility while the bus is parked during peak power use times.

“The usual concern with deciding to introduce electric in a new area is the climate—will it work in cold weather?” said Blue Bird Chief Commercial Officer Mark Terry. “We have deployed buses in over 25% of all states in the US, including cold climates such as North Dakota and New York, as well as hot areas such as Texas and Georgia. Charging is a key part of the equation that districts should really look into, and we have an incredible dealership network that helps districts navigate infrastructure setup to ensure effective charging and operation.”

Image courtesy of Blue Bird

Formula E makes strategic investment in Extreme E electric off-road racing series

Blue Bird’s electric school buses now have V2G capability

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Consumer Reports: Popular EV models cost less to own than comparable legacy vehicles Surprise, surprise! An analysis by Consumer Reports has confirmed what EV boosters have been saying for a few years now: opting for a plug-in vehicle will save you thousands of dollars compared to owning a gas-powered vehicle. Savings on fuel and maintenance more than offset the higher purchase prices of EVs and PHEVs over the life of the vehicle.

Consumer Reports compared a selection of the best-selling EVs and PHEVs (including the Nissan LEAF, Chevy Bolt, Toyota Prius Prime and Tesla Models 3 and Y) to its top-rated legacy vehicles, as well as to the best-selling, most efficient, and best-performing gas-powered vehicles on the market. The consumer advocate reported its findings in a detailed white paper and a brief fact sheet.

CR’s analysis found that the lifetime total cost of ownership for the most popular EVs priced under $50,000 is typically $6,000 to $10,000 less than that of the best gas-powered vehicles in the same class. What model offers the biggest savings? Tesla’s Model 3, which can save as much as $15,000 over its lifetime compared to the BMW 330i or Audi A4.

It’s well known that EVs save money on fuel costs and maintenance, and CR’s findings are in line with previous analyses: EV owners can expect to save an average of 60% on their fuel bills; and to pay about half as much for repairs and routine maintenance.

However, CR’s report also contains a couple of tidbits that may be news even to the EV-literate: consumers who finance their purchases may experience lower costs in their first year of ownership, despite the higher upfront cost of an EV; and EVs with at least 200 miles of range are projected to hold their resale value just as well as comparable ICE vehicles.

“There’s been so much progress over the last few years that many mass-market electric vehicles will now save consumers money right off the lot,” says Senior Policy Analyst and report author Chris Harto. “Today’s mainstream electric vehicles have what many consumers are looking for, including enough range for most people to do their daily driving without relying on public charging, while also delivering excellent acceleration and a quiet ride.”

“The auto industry has spent most of its ad money tugging at our emotions and promoting gas-powered vehicle performance, but failed to market EVs, all the money they will save, and the performance they deliver,” says David Friedman, Vice President of Advocacy at CR. “The future of cars can and will be electric if the entire industry starts making and marketing compelling EVs for everyone. And that’s a future consumers are getting a glimpse of today.”

Developing the Future of Safer & More Efficient EV Technology • High capacity electrical contactors and fuses • Precision motor position sensors • Battery runaway detection

www.sensata.com

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ROUSH CleanTech provides Class 6 electric trucks to Penske ROUSH CleanTech, a provider of alternative fuel and electric propulsion technology for fleet vehicles, has inked a deal with Penske Truck Leasing to provide battery-electric vehicles based on the Ford F-650 for deployment across Southern California.

The new EVs, which were built to Penske’s specifications, have a maximum speed of 65 mph and a 100-mile range. The demo units were funded in part by the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

“Penske has been expanding its battery-electric fleet for the past several years,” said Penske Senior VP Paul Rosa. “We are working with our customers to evaluate ROUSH CleanTech-powered BEVs across various real-world applications.”

“Over the past decade, ROUSH CleanTech has put more than 37,000 vehicles on North American roads,” said Todd Mouw, President of ROUSH CleanTech. “We bring that experience and expertise to the battery-electric vehicle market.”

Production is to begin in summer 2021.

Image courtesy of Mercedes-Benz

Image courtesy of ROUSH CleanTech

THE VEHICLES

Mercedes-Benz Bank offers insurance especially designed for EVs Mercedes-Benz Bank, together with insurance partner R+V/KRAVAG, is now offering insurance policies specially adapted to the requirements of commercial EV owners. The full coverage insurance includes cover for inductive charging plates, charging cables and wallboxes, disposal costs for the battery, and replacement value cover for the vehicle and the battery.

The eVan insurance is currently available for the eSprinter and eVito electric vans, and will be available for the automaker’s EQV minivan in the future. It is available to both private and business customers, and can be purchased together with a vehicle, or in combination with a leasing or financing agreement. Customers can purchase the insurance directly from their Mercedes-Benz dealers.

“With the eVan insurance, we are offering our customers a powerful argument to decide on an electric vehicle,” says Benedikt Schell, CEO, Mercedes-Benz Bank. “In this way we are meeting our objective of making customers’ transition to electric mobility easier with tailored products, and pushing the sales of hybrid and electric vehicles from the Daimler Group.”

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Image courtesy of Tesla Image courtesy of Nissan

Truck leasing firm orders 150 Tesla Semi electric trucks Nissan to sell only electrified cars in China by 2025 Nissan has become the latest automaker to announce a regional phase-out of gas-only cars (Honda recently announced it would sell only hybrids and EVs in Europe after 2022). Now Nissan says all models sold in China will be either electric or hybrid by 2025.

The Japanese automaker will introduce 9 electrified (EV or hybrid) models in China by that date. The first of these will be a vehicle equipped with its hybrid e-Power system, to be launched next year. Over the next three years, 4 or 5 more e-Power models will appear, including the Sylphy sedan. Nissan has already announced the launch of the new Ariya EV for next year.

Nissan is expanding production capacity in China— new plants in Changzhou and Wuhan will come online during the next two years, increasing production capacity by 30% to 2 million units.

Nissan’s announcements are seen as a response to Beijing’s newly revised auto industry policy. The latest word is that, by 2035, all new vehicles must be “fuel-efficient”—half of vehicles sold will be zero-emission vehicles and the other half hybrids.

According to Nikkei, it’s expected to take some 10 years for the auto industry to start realizing profits on pure EVs. By promoting hybrids, the Chinese government hopes to be able to reduce emissions while allowing automakers to earn decent profit margins.

Tesla is using the same reservation system for the Tesla Semi as it has used for its previous vehicles. By requiring a cash deposit with each pre-order, the company is able to bring in some cash before it even begins production.

It’s a model that other automakers can only envy (and it does benefit customers, by allowing them to minimize the wait time for their new vehicles).

Tesla has increased the required cash deposit to $20,000 per truck (or the full $200,000 price for a special Founders Series model), so when a customer places a large order, it represents quite a vote of confidence in the product, which gives Tesla a publicity boost in addition to the welcome cash.

Now the company has received what appears to be the largest Tesla Semi order to date. Pride Group Enterprises, a truck leasing firm that operates in about a dozen markets in the US and Canada, has placed a reservation for 150 Semis, with an option to buy a total of 500.

The order is estimated to be worth between $22 million and $100 million, and should add at least $3 million to Tesla’s coffers right away.

Tesla plans to offer two variants of the Semi: a version with 300 miles of range will cost $150,000, and a 500mile version will go for $180,000. Efficiency is expected to be around 2 kWh per mile fully laden, which could translate to as much as $200,000 in savings on fuel and maintenance over each vehicle’s lifetime.

The production date has been pushed back a few times since the Semi’s 2017 unveiling, and recently Tesla has been making vague predictions that production will begin “soon.” Pride Group has said nothing about when it expects deliveries to begin.

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Image courtesy of GM

THE VEHICLES

Outsider joins the establishment: S&P 500 index welcomes Tesla Tesla has made the transition from a brash upstart to a full-fledged pillar of the US economy. The automaker was added to the benchmark S&P 500 index in December.

The California carmaker’s market cap long ago passed the threshold for inclusion in the S&P 500 (the current minimum is $8.2 billion). Candidates for inclusion must also be profitable for four consecutive quarters. Tesla had already satisfied this requirement when the inscrutable S&P Dow Jones Index Committee met in September, but, for unknown reasons, Tesla’s anointment was delayed until December.

Now Tesla, which recently reported its fifth consecutive quarter of profit, as well as a record quarterly delivery figure of 139,300 vehicles, has joined the elite club.

Based on recent stock prices, Tesla will be one of the 10 most valuable companies in the index. In fact, according to research firm Baird (via CNBC), its recent market cap of over $500 billion will make it the largest company ever to be added.

Membership in the prestigious index brings more than just bragging rights. The S&P 500 is designed to be a representation of the overall US stock market. Many investment funds hold a portfolio made up of the S&P 500 stocks, so any stock that is a member enjoys a certain amount of built-in demand. There is currently over $11.2 trillion in assets benchmarked to the S&P 500. Around $4.6 trillion of that total is held in indexed funds, which simply mirror the membership of the index. On the eve of Tesla’s inclusion in the index, its stock price soared to $695, a new record high.

The number of companies in the index is of course fixed at 500, and Tesla’s addition bumped a company called Apartment Investment and Management out of the club. In a stroke of poetic justice, Tesla displaced the oil company Occidental Petroleum from the S&P 100, a subset of the larger S&P 500 index.

GM changes course, no longer backs Trump’s crusade against California emissions rules Elections have consequences. Shortly after the election of Joe Biden, GM announced that it would reverse course, and no longer back the Trump administration’s effort to bar California from setting its own emissions rules.

GM CEO Mary Barra said in a letter to environmental groups that the company is “immediately withdrawing from the preemption litigation and inviting other automakers to join us.” She added that “the ambitious electrification goals of the president-elect, California, and General Motors are aligned, to address climate change by drastically reducing automobile emissions.”

The Trump administration’s watering down of federal emissions regulations, and its attempt to eliminate states’ rights to set their own more stringent standards, divided the auto industry. In 2019, Ford, Honda, Volkswagen and BMW struck a compromise with the California Air Resources Board, while GM, Toyota and Fiat Chrysler sided with Trump.

California and 22 other states and environmental groups challenged the administration in court, setting off a legal battle that might have lasted for years, but has now been rendered moot by the election of Joe Biden.

It is surely no coincidence that, around the same time it dropped support for Trump’s lawsuit, GM announced a greatly accelerated electrification strategy, including plans to launch 30 new EV models by the end of 2025.

Barra said she is “confident that the Biden Administration, California, and the US auto industry, which supports 10.3 million jobs, can collaboratively find the pathway that will deliver an all-electric future.”

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The European Association of Automobile Manufacturers (ACEA) has published an interactive map that illustrates the correlation between the adoption of plug-in vehicles (which the organization, apparently feeling that the industry needs yet more acronyms, refers to as “electrically-chargeable vehicles,” or ECVs) and per-capita GDP. The ACEA reports that plug-in vehicles accounted for 3.0% of all new cars registered in the EU in 2019. The market has grown significantly this year—according to EV Volumes, in the first half of 2020, plug-in sales in Europe grew by 57%, while the overall vehicle market declined by 37%. EV Volumes expects to see monthly market shares of 7-10% for the rest of the year. (The ACEA’s figures include only the 27 EU member states and the UK—they do not include EV sales leader Norway, where plug-in vehicles accounted for 68% of new car sales in H1 2020, or number-two Iceland, which reached 49%.)

Unsurprisingly, the ACEA finds that the market uptake of plug-in vehicles has been directly correlated with each country’s GDP per capita, showing that “affordability is a major barrier to consumers.”

Almost 80% of EU plug-in sales in 2019 were concentrated in six Western European countries, which also had some of the highest GDPs in the economic bloc.

The plug-in shares in the five largest EU and UK auto markets were: • • • • •

Image courtesy of ACEA

Almost 80% of European EV sales have been in the six wealthiest countries

United Kingdom—3.1% (GDP of €37,780) Germany—3.0% (GDP of €41,510) France—2.8% (GDP of €35,960) Spain—1.4% ECVs (GDP of €26,440) Italy—0.9% (GDP of €29,610)

Eleven of the EU member states had a plug-in market share lower than 1%. All of these had a per-capita GDP below €30,000.

The least charged EU country was Estonia, which had a plug-in vehicle market share of only 0.3% (and GDP of €21,160) in 2019. Ironically, back in 2013, Estonia was one of the first countries to encourage EV adoption.

As Charged reported, the Baltic nation installed a DC charging network that was by far the most extensive in Europe at the time, and was rivaled in coverage only by Japan.

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THE VEHICLES

C M G 2022

V E R E M M U H

T S E H C T U B , T S E D D A B , T S E G THE BIG ?

T E K R A M E H EV TO HIT T is a startling r e m m u H ic r t new, all-elec halo car e e h h t t f s o a h e c v n r u e The la rs, and it’ll s o t o M l a r e n e move from G sh in 2021. u p le ic h e v ic lectr for GM’s US e

By John Voelc

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Image courtesy of GM

NOTE: The information in this article was current as of late November 2020. Given the uncertain course of the global COVID-19 pandemic, it is always possible this article will have been superseded by breaking news. For the sake of our readers and their businesses, we hope not.

NOV/DEC 2020

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THE VEHICLES he news that General Motors would relaunch the infamous Hummer name—as an all-electric truck no less—broke a few days before the high-dollar, high-visibility 2020 Super Bowl ad that introduced that vehicle to the world.

After a succession of carefully staged events for media and the public, we now know that the 2022 GMC Hummer EV will include at least two models: a sport utility truck (or SUT), with four doors and a short pickup bed, and a more conventional SUV. The SUT has been out there since January, but while reporters had seen the SUV version during a March EV Day preview (no cameras allowed), it wasn’t shown in public until November.

That month, the SUV version appeared as one of three future EVs serving as backdrops for a presentation by CEO Mary Barra and other executives to reveal some details about future electric Chevrolet crossover and pickup models. The Hummer SUV sat silently behind Doug Parks, GM’s executive vice president of global product development, during his segments.

T

Images courtesy of GM

Everything old is new again The two body styles parallel the pair of H2 versions sold from 2002 to 2009, when Hummer was one of

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The name isn’t its own brand; the 2022 GMC Hummer EV will be sold as a model line within the GMC luxury truck brand.

eight brands offered by GM. The brand died in 2009 as GM declared bankruptcy, restructured with US government backing, and jettisoned not only Hummer but also Pontiac, Saab and Saturn.

For North America, the electric Hummer is the fi rst of a promised 20 or so GM EVs based on the company’s new Ultium battery and powertrain technology.

The name isn’t its own brand; the 2022 GMC Hummer EV will be sold as a model line within the GMC luxury truck brand. Still, it’s a major reboot of a controversial name that retains a following 10 years after its demise.

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THE VEHICLES Images courtesy of GM

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The electric Hummer has an important purpose: to reset the image of electric vehicles in US buyers’ minds once and for all. Before Tesla, they were seen as nerdy golf carts, far from usable as “real cars.” Once Tesla started selling the Model S in 2012, EVs became high-tech accessories, signifying drivers’ cutting-edge status as owners of the latest and coolest automotive technology (something the Nissan LEAF or Chevy Volt struggled to convey).

Now, the Hummer lineup is meant to convey a different image for EVs, one that uses a different set of traditional American values. It’s big, bold, brassy, and in your face—an EV for truck people. (It’s also startlingly fast, and zero-emission, but we’ll get to that.) In short, the GMC Hummer EV is meant to make electric cars badass in the public eye. As the fi rst of GM’s new wave of EVs, it’s nothing if not bold.

It’s a major reboot of a controversial name that retains a following 10 years after its demise.

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THE VEHICLES

Jaw-dropping specs Back in the day, the original Hummer H1 was a military vehicle with a light veneer of consumer comfort.

It was far too large and expensive to sell in any kind of volume. The H2 was built on a consumer truck chassis, appeared equally intimidating, and sold in higher numbers. Ditto the smaller H3, priced to be the sales leader. None of the three lines could be called fast, nor high-performance.

The electric Hummer changes all that, with specs unlike those of any other EV on offer today. GM hasn’t released an official capacity, but the Hummer’s battery pack will likely pack around 200 kWh of energy. That will allow it to deliver a total of 750 kW (1,000 hp) to the three motors powering the wheels.

When you invoke the Watts To Freedom mode (WTF, get it? Get it? Nudge, nudge, wink, wink?), the Hummer’s claimed 0-to-60-mph acceleration time of about 3 seconds is nothing less than eye-opening for a vehicle likely weighing up to 3 tons. And ground clearance of up to 15.9 inches in Extract Mode exceeds that of pretty much any other production vehicle. It’s even designed to accept aftermarket 37-inch tires without modification.

Another publicity push in October with a series of slick videos, aired during NBC’s The Voice, the World Series, and on YouTube, showed just how capable this massive, silent and startling EV could be in off-road uses no production EV had previously attempted.

In short, the GMC Hummer EV is meant to make electric cars badass in the public eye.

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Make informed design decisions with EM simulation.

Images courtesy of GM

Visualization of temperature (left) and magnetic flux density norm (center) in the cross section (right) of an industrial-scale cable.

In cable design, it’s important to account for capacitive, inductive, and thermal effects in the cable parts. For example, different bonding types result in different current buildup and losses. Similarly, phase conductor and armor twist affect current distribution in the cable. Knowing this up front will help you make informed design decisions. This is where electromagnetics simulation comes in.

The COMSOL MultiphysicsÂŽ software is used for simulating designs, devices, and processes in all fields of engineering, manufacturing, and scientific research. See how you can apply it to cable design. comsol.blog/cable-tutorials

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THE VEHICLES Images courtesy of GM

The vehicle’s timeline of roughly 34 months from approval to production is astoundingly fast—and this has become, GM executives say, the new target for all new GM EVs.

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The 34-month project The Hummer wasn’t the fi rst of GM’s new Ultium EVs to get the green light for production. That was the Cadillac Lyriq, a five-seat luxury crossover SUV that will go on sale in China and the US during 2022.

But the Hummer, approved in August 2018, will be the first one to start rolling off the lines at the Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant, late in 2021. The vehicle’s timeline of roughly 34 months from approval to production is astoundingly fast—and this has become, GM executives say, the new target for all new GM EVs. Of which there will be a lot, starting quite soon.

More remarkably, GM says its development team didn’t miss a beat during the COVID-19 epidemic, thanks to its 3D modeling system and software and a team mantra that prioritized solving problems over scheduling meetings.

The electric Hummer won’t come cheap; the starting price for the lowest-spec version announced so far—with fewer features and performance options, and only two motors—is about $80,000, and that one won’t be delivered until 2024. The high-end launch model runs past $110,000. Accordingly, its sales volumes won’t actually be that high. The best year for a full three-model Hummer lineup was 2007, when it sold 72,000 units. That’s just not a lot.

However, less-expensive electric models from other brands will follow—that electric Chevy compact crossover Barra alluded to in November, for instance— and they will have to be competitively priced against competitors from Hyundai, Kia, Nissan, Volkswagen and others.

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THE VEHICLES Images courtesy of GM

Importantly, GM is expected to make money on every one of the new Ultium-based EVs it sells.

Importantly, GM is expected to make money on every one of the new Ultium-based EVs it sells. At least, that’s what GM President Mark Reuss claimed to reporters in March. And most important of all, GM is moving away from sensible, small, practical models as its EV halo cars—think Spark EV, Volt, Bolt EV—to vehicles that will make a lot more people sit up and take notice.

In other words, GM has gotten the old-time religion: You make an impression by launching new technology in your most luxurious, most noticeable, most expensive vehicles—and you make them desirable on their own merits—regardless of the electric part. After all, that’s exactly what Tesla did.

Not everyone will want a gigantic, hulking, stupidly fast, 3-ton military-inspired truck. That’s OK. The Hummer EV will get GM noticed by parts of the buying public that couldn’t care less about small hatchback EVs. If it does that, it can say, “Mission accomplished.”

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The Hummer EV will get GM noticed by parts of the buying public that couldn’t care less about small hatchback EVs.

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Image courtesy of Electrify America

THE INFRASTRUCTURE

ABB installs its 1,000th DC fast charger in Norway Image courtesy of ABB

ABB is one of the world’s major players in the EVSE hardware realm.

Since 2010, the Swissbased multinational has sold more than 17,000 DC fast chargers across 80 countries. The company has the prestigious position of official charging supplier to the FIA Formula E World Championship, which is about to enter its fourth season.

The latest milestone: ABB recently installed its 1,000th fast charger in Norway, the world’s EV capital. Charging station number 1,000, located in the city of Bergen, is a Terra HP model, capable of delivering 200 km of range in as little as 8 minutes.

Norway is well on its way to building a zero-emission transport system: EVs make up 10 per cent of the country’s three million cars, and 50% of new cars sold are now pure EVs. The country’s energy mix is around 98% renewable, largely from hydro power. Many gas stations now offer EV charging, and according to ABB, at busy stations, every third car refueled is an EV. ABB offers a full range of electrification solutions, not only for cars, but for electric and hybrid buses, ships and railways. The company has provided power to 150 of Norway’s electric buses, and is providing charging infrastructure and services to Norwegian grocery wholesaler ASKO for its growing fleet of electric trucks. ABB e-mobility products for the maritime industry include shore-to-ship power solutions at cruise and ferry ports around the country.

“We are very proud of the role we play in supporting the energy revolution in Norway,” said Frank Muehlon, Head of ABB’s global business for E-mobility Infrastructure Solutions. “Norway has pioneered the early adoption of EVs and green public transport networks and we are confident that other European countries will see this as a positive blueprint for sustainable infrastructure.”

Electrify America introduces B2B charging solutions with launch of Electrify Commercial Electrify America already provides DC fast charging to EV drivers across the US. Now the company is branching out into the commercial realm with the launch of Electrify Commercial, a new business unit designed to deliver turnkey EV charging solutions to utilities, fleet owners and businesses seeking to manage their own networks of chargers.

“As Electrify America works to expand the availability of public charging solutions, we have recognized a growing demand for custom charging solutions in the B2B sector,” said Rachel Moses, Director of Commercial Services at Electrify America.

Electrify Commercial will draw on the experience gained from building EA’s vast fast charging network in order to support its customers in the planning, procurement, execution, operation and optimization of charging stations.

The new business unit will help business customers formulate and deploy strategies tailored to their specific EV charging needs. It will offer a wide array of services, including: • • • • • •

Site acquisition Site development that maximizes the use of space Applications from Level 2 AC to 350 kW DC Proactive monitoring and asset management Robust testing of EV charging Intelligent energy management recommendations

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Truck builder PACCAR announces partnership to provide comprehensive fleet charging solutions PACCAR, which manufactures light-, medium- and heavy-duty trucks under the Kenworth, Peterbilt and DAF nameplates, has announced a collaboration with Faith Technologies and Schneider Electric to provide charging infrastructure solutions for Kenworth and Peterbilt customers in North America.

Kenworth and Peterbilt have recently begun taking customer orders for the Kenworth K270E and Peterbilt Model 220EV battery-electric trucks, and additional production models are to be introduced in the coming months. PACCAR’s extensive field-testing program, under which customers are operating more than 60 Kenworth, Peterbilt and DAF test trucks, will provide real-world experience to enhance these future product launches.

The new partnership will offer a suite of solutions to fleet customers. PACCAR Parts will provide charging equipment, PACCAR Financial will provide financing options for infrastructure, and PacLease will bundle the cost of charging systems within full-service lease offerings to customers. The partnership will also help customers navigate the numerous financial incentives available from government agencies.

“Customers will receive the industry-leading operating efficiency and environmental benefits of Peterbilt and Kenworth zero-emission truck models, combined with a comprehensive charging solution utilizing Schneider Electric and Faith Technologies’ products and services,” said PACCAR CTO Kyle Quinn.

“As the world’s leader in energy management, we are proud to partner with Kenworth and Peterbilt in enabling their electric truck deployment and offer our infrastructure leadership and reliable approach to microgrids,” said Schneider Electric North America CEO Annette Clayton.

Task force to develop Megawatt Charging System for heavy-duty EVs In September, an international task force including representatives of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Charging Interface Initiative (CharIN) hosted a meeting of “leading OEMs, utilities, equipment manufacturers and suppliers” to test prototypes for a new charging system for heavy-duty vehicles: the Megawatt Charging System (MCS).

The task force says the test, which focused primarily on the fit and thermal performance of vehicle inlets and megawatt charger connectors, yielded promising results, and that the new system could overhaul the long-haul trucking industry.

For over-the-road trucks, charging speed is critical.

Today’s ICE trucks refuel during mandated driver breaks, and schedules are tight. Industry observers agree that even the 350 kW power level considered today’s state of the art for passenger car charging won’t cut it for trucks.

James Carter, a consultant at Vision Mobility, estimated that a battery-electric semi truck would need 8 to 10 hours to reach a full charge at 350 kW. The ultimate goal of the MCS task force is to develop a system that could charge a truck’s massive battery pack in half an hour.

“MCS enables the electrification of more truck routes and more electrified miles,” Rustam Kocher, a Daimler Trucks executive and the Chairperson of the MCS task force, told Electric Autonomy Canada. “The active participation by a broad coalition of over 100 companies and organizations, with a global spread, will drive us to a robust and broadly adopted commercial vehicle charging standard that will be capable of rapidly charging large battery packs on trucks, buses, boats and planes.”

Stephen Koskoletos, Head of EV Charging Infrastructure Canada at ABB, told Electric Autonomy Canada that MCS is “a good and viable economic model for long-distance road transport,” and noted that a battery-electric truck using MCS would be up to four times more efficient than a hydrogen fuel cell-powered truck.

Daimler Trucks North America and Portland General Electric are currently working on a charging site for medium- and heavy-duty commercial EVs called Electric Island, which will serve as a test bed for MCS and other heavy-duty charging technologies.

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THE INFRASTRUCTURE

New York to use $11 million in VW settlement funds to expand DC fast charging New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has announced a new investment of $11 million to subsidize the deployment of DC fast charging stations. The unimaginatively-named Direct Current Fast Charger program will be administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). Its main goal is to scale up charging infrastructure in areas of the state where access to fast charging stations is limited, including disadvantaged communities.

The new initiative will be financed by New York’s $127.7-million share of the federal Volkswagen Settlement funds, and builds upon Governor Cuomo’s Make Ready announcement in July, which included a suite of clean transportation initiatives.

The Direct Current Fast Charger program will provide up to 80% of the cost to build public fast charging stations. Funding will be made available in specific regions through two initial rounds. Charging station developers will be selected to install at least four DCFC stations per site, at four or more site locations. If funding remains after these two rounds are complete, the program will continue to a third round. The program requires that at least 25 percent of the stations be located within half a mile of a disadvantaged community.

Applicants are encouraged to co-locate Level 2 EV charging stations and distributed energy resources, such as energy storage and solar, with the DCFC chargers.

Although this is not required, proposals with these elements will garner additional points from the review committee. Funding for Level 2 charging stations is available through the Charge NY program, while funding for distributed energy resources is available through NYSERDA’s energy storage and solar programs.

Applications for the first round are being accepted through February 18, 2021.

“New York continues to serve as a national model for reducing greenhouse emissions,” Governor Andrew M. Cuomo said.

DERConnect will enable researchers to test integration of renewable energy and EV batteries into the power grid The National Science Foundation has awarded $39 million to a team of engineers and computer scientists at the University of California San Diego to build a test bed to better understand how to integrate distributed energy sources and EV batteries into the power grid.

“We will be replicating the entire California power grid on one campus,” said Jan Kleissl, a Professor at UC San Diego and the project’s principal investigator.

The creation of the DERConnect test bed addresses a need for large-scale testing capabilities across universities, national labs, industry, utility companies and Independent System Operators to validate future technologies for autonomous energy grids in real-word scenarios.

Most utilities struggle with the fact that renewable and distributed energy sources are not as stable as legacy sources such as natural gas power plants. For example, the output of solar panels and wind turbines depends on the weather. At the other end of the grid, EVs need charging for only a certain amount of time every day.

Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology could enable them to be used to store energy from renewables.

Professor Kleissl points out the difficulty of demonstrating the economics and impact of distributed energy resources. A test bed that incorporates real-world communications challenges is essential to develop new distributed control theories, algorithms and applications.

The envisioned test bed will be based on a microgrid encompassing distributed energy resources, including energy storage, EVs and independent electrical and thermal systems in buildings. It will be monitored and controlled by networking systems that make it accessible to local and remote researchers as a platform.

DERConnect will include more than 2,500 distributed energy resources, or DERs, on the campus’s microgrid, including a fuel cell and solar panels, a dozen classroom and office buildings, and 300 EV charging stations.

Researchers hope to be able to begin testing their equipment in 2022, and to make the test bed available to outside research teams and industry by 2025.

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Image courtesy of FIMER

Updated rules will enable FIMER’s new line of residential deployment of public heavyand commercial chargers duty EV charging stations in FIMER, an established manufacturer of solar inverters, California has entered the EV charging space with the launch of a new portfolio of residential and commercial chargers.

The FIMER FLEXA AC Wallbox is a wall- or stand-mounted charger for residential applications. It comes in three different versions: Stand Alone, Future Net and Inverter Net. Each model has four available power levels (3.7, 7.4, 11 and 22 kW). Each is available with an integrated cord (the typical US configuration) or with a socket (typically used in Europe).

The wallbox is made from 100% recycled plastic. It can easily be disconnected and moved to another location, and can also be used as an emergency charging cable.

For commercial installations, the company offers the FIMER FLEXA AC Station, FIMER FLEXA AC Wallbox and FIMER ELECTRA DC Station.

The FIMER FLEXA AC charging station can charge up to two vehicles at the same time. It is available in two different configurations, the first with two Type 2 AC sockets (also called Mennekes, this is widely used in Europe), the second with one Type 2 socket (up to 22 kW) and one Type 3A socket (aka Scame, this is used in Europe for light vehicles, such as scooters and microcars, and provides up to 3.7 kW of power). Both configurations are available in Stand Alone, Future Net and Inverter Net versions.

The FIMER ELECTRA DC Station, designed for public parking and highway services, can simultaneously charge up to three vehicles. The charger dynamically distributes its maximum power based on the number of vehicles connected. In case of power failure, a UPS power backup facility allows the transaction to be concluded and cables released. Stations can be upgraded after installation, to add power modules and increase charging capacity.

For the past two years, Volvo Trucks has been collaborating with the South Coast Air Quality Management District and 13 other organizations on the Volvo LIGHTS project, which aims to develop a blueprint to introduce battery-electric Class 8 trucks and equipment into the market at scale.

Now the project partners have helped facilitate the modification of California utility rules to allow private entities to sell electricity at publicly accessible charging stations for medium- and heavy-duty EVs. Prior to this modification, California utilities were guided by a California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) decision that exempted light-duty vehicle charging station providers from being regulated as a utility, but did not explicitly exempt medium- and heavy-duty charging station providers. In July, the Volvo LIGHTS partners filed a motion that sought to clarify the CPUC’s position. The CPUC ruled to extend the exemption, and directed California utilities to allow the resale of electricity as a motor fuel for EVs. Under the modified regulation, charging provider Trillium can move forward with its plans to build a publicly accessible fast-charging station for heavy-duty trucks near Anaheim, California. “Building out public access charging along well-traveled corridors will enable fleet operators to pilot battery-powered trucks without having to commit significant upfront resources to construct and install charging infrastructure,” said Trillium’s Kim Okafor.

The electric truck chargers deployed through the Volvo LIGHTS project feature Greenlots’ cloud software, which integrates with the Volvo VNR Electric’s telematics to balance the needs of the vehicle, facility and utility grid.

“Greenlots applauds the CPUC for its decision to exempt public medium- and heavy-duty EV charging stations from unnecessary regulation,” said Greenlots VP Tom Ashley. “This is a needed step as we collectively work to expand the required infrastructure for large-scale medium- and heavy-duty electrification.”

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IPG’s turbine tech can use hydrogen and biofuels for offgrid EV chargers Intelligent Power Generation (IPG) has secured a £1-million contract from Highways England (HE) to demonstrate its turbine technology for EV charging infrastructure. IPG’s Flameless Ceramic Turbine technology is designed to support EV charging in high-use and remote locations by using grid-independent power generation. According to IPG, in many high-use areas and remote locations in the UK, upgrading grid connections to meet future charging demand is not practical or commercially viable.

IPG’s CEO Toby Gill explained: “In those locations that cannot acquire the power they need from the national grid, on-site wind and solar is not always viable, leaving polluting diesel and gas generators as the only option. IPG’s Flameless Ceramic Turbine is essential in those instances. Through high efficiency and breakthrough flameless combustion, our technology provides the benefits of fuel-based power without the harmful pollutants—the elimination of which is a key driver in the government-backed switch to electric vehicles.”

IPG’s Flameless Ceramic Turbine is a 100 kW modular generator. Up to 8 turbines fit in a 20-foot shipping container, forming a deployable power solution for EV charging companies that can be scaled to match demand in any location.

By bringing power plant efficiency to the microscale through high-temperature ceramics, IPG says its turbine delivers 51% fuel efficiency while reducing CO2 emissions by 43% and fuel costs by up to 76%.

Gill explained, “Not only can IPG’s technology deliver low-emission, pollutant-free energy on today’s cleaner fuels. It also enables EV charging service providers to transition to truly net-zero power, as biofuels and hydrogen become available.”

Image courtesy of Electrify America

THE INFRASTRUCTURE

Electrify America opens its 500th public charging station Nationwide fast charging network Electrify America has now opened over 500 public charging locations across the US, including more than 2,200 individual DC fast chargers.

Since activating its first site in May 2018, Electrify America has been opening an average of nearly four stations per week. Each station has between three and ten individual DC fast chargers. Stations are located along major routes and in metro areas, strategically placed near shopping, banking and dining amenities.

“In just over two years, we’ve made great progress in expanding our network while maintaining a deliberate focus on delivering the fastest charging speeds possible—150 kW and 350 kW,” said CEO Giovanni Palazzo.

“We are confident that reduced charging times and increased charger availability will help Electrify America deliver the future-proof charging experience that customers deserve.”

EA is also adding solar-powered canopies at select locations, providing customers with shade and protection from the elements while potentially reducing the electricity draw from local utilities.

The first site to feature a solar-powered canopy is in Baker, California, where the solar panels charge an onsite battery energy storage system. The batteries store power when electricity costs are low and release it during peak times, easing the impact on the grid and minimizing expensive utility demand charges. The company expects to have more than 125 operational storage installations in 2021, 75 of them at California stations.

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Image courtesy of Proterra

Proterra unveils high-power charging solutions for largescale fleets Heavy-duty EV builder Proterra has unveiled a new, high-power charging solution designed to facilitate the electrification of large-scale vehicle fleets. Developed in partnership with power systems design specialist Power Electronics, the new charging system offers transit agencies and fleet operators a customizable vehicle charging solution.

For large fleets of vehicles, which need to charge dozens or hundreds of vehicles in a single fleet yard, the new Proterra Energy systems can be configured with up to 1.5 megawatts to power up to 20 vehicles simultaneously. This fleet-scale charging system can tie directly into higher-voltage utility power lines (up to 35 kV), avoiding the footprint and complication of costly switchgear.

Smaller EV fleets can choose systems with 75-, 150-, 250- and 500-kilowatt power levels.

The new chargers use interoperable, universal charging technology, and are equipped to power any and all types of EVs. They are available in both overhead and plug-in formats. They feature bi-directional power flow, making them smart-grid-ready for vehicle-to-grid applications.

All Proterra systems can incorporate multi-dispensers, which can reduce the overall space, cost, and aggregate power levels needed by a fleet yard. When coupled with the 1.5-megawatt charging system, the multi-dispenser capability enables up to 40 vehicles to charge sequentially, one after the other, at full power.

Leveraging Power Electronics’ technology, the new chargers have the capability to interconnect with stationary storage and solar panels to provide fleet operators with a clean, resilient source of power for their vehicles.

Wireless charging provider WiTricity raises $34 million in venture capital Wireless power transfer specialist WiTricity has closed a $34-million investment round. Stage 1 Ventures led the round, and investors included Air Waves Wireless Electricity and Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas). The infusion of capital will enable WiTricity to continue its wireless power platform development and expand its intellectual property portfolio.

WiTricity is actively engaged with key standards organizations from around the world, including SAE International (which recently published a global standard for wireless charging), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and the China Electricity Council (CEC). WiTricity worked closely with the CEC on the GuoBiao wireless charging standard.

WiTricity has declared over 200 patents as “standards-essential” to systems implementing these standards.

According to WiTricity, there are currently two commercially-available EVs equipped with wireless charging capabilities: the BMW 530e iPerformance and the McLaren Speedtail Hyper-GT. WiTricity has licensed its technology to several Tier 1 suppliers, including Lumen Freedom.

“As automakers increasingly prioritize electrification, the industry seeks to improve the EV ownership experience,” said WiTricity CEO Alex Gruzen. “Our wireless charging shifts the act of charging to the background— just park and it charges. We have been working with the automotive industry for over a decade to make this a reality. The new financing round validates our market position and vision for a future of wirelessly charged mobility. The expanding EV market is now ready, industry standards are set, and we’re excited to bring the wireless charging experience to customers.”

“WiTricity’s wireless charging is essential for realizing next-generation urban infrastructure services that capture the shift to EV/autonomous driving,” said Mitsubishi Executive VP Mitsumasa Icho. “We intend to capitalize on wireless charging, IoT, AI, robots and big data in the smart city by harnessing the ecosystem of our global business and partner network.”

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EVBox’s next-gen commercial EV charger arrives in North America Fiat Chrysler and ENGIE EPS form JV to offer EV charging solutions in Europe Fiat Chrysler Italy and ENGIE EPS, an Italian energy storage and e-mobility specialist, plan to create a joint venture that will offer a suite of products and solutions for EV owners.

The companies’ announcement to the press, while voluminous, includes few details about the proposed products and services. The new JV plans to “focus on innovative and disruptive solutions for the European e-mobility market.”

One proposed service seems to be a fixed-rate charging plan that includes a roaming component. This will “enable customers to charge at home and at any public charging point across Europe with a simple subscription at a fixed monthly rate.”

The two companies have been cooperating for three years, and have already implemented several projects, including the introduction of the FCA easyWallbox, home charger and a vehicle-to-grid (V2G) pilot. “The envisioned joint venture would allow an even higher commitment from both parties to expand the scope of the existing cooperation and further develop innovative products and services to enable and support a smooth shift to electric mobility in Europe,” said FCA CEO Mike Manley.

“Italy left a profound mark on history with its excellence in the automotive industry and in the development of innovative technologies in the energy sector,” said ENGIE EPS CEO Carlalberto Guglielminotti. “This joint venture is the opportunity to consolidate this heritage whilst shaping the road ahead for a greener mobility.”

Charger manufacturer EVBox’s latest Level 2 commercial charging station has received UL certification, and is now available across North America. The new EVBox Iqon is designed for workplaces, parking facilities and public locations such as shopping centers and hotels.

All EVBox chargers feature Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP) interoperability, which enables users to choose the right hardware and software combination for their needs, and to change their EV charging setup at any time without having to replace their hardware. Iqon is integrated with many charging management software providers, and can be configured with any other similarly OCPP-compliant charging network.

Features include:

Image courtesy of EVBox

THE INFRASTRUCTURE

• Durable, sleek design with a stainless-steel housing • LED light guides—colored rings display the status of each charging session • An auto-locking cable management system that uses counterweights to make cables lighter and easier to pull, while ensuring they never drag on the ground • Wheelchair Accessibility—Iqon is ADA-compliant, and keeps all of its access points (charging cables, touch screen) easy to reach from any height • WiFi and 4G/LTE capabilities—cloud connection enables remote station monitoring, rate adjustment, user access control and wireless updates Iqon can be configured in Hub-Satellite clusters of up to 20 ports (10 stations) that act as a single entity, allowing the stations to communicate and ensure the most efficient use of available energy. A dedicated kWh meter enables each Iqon to track energy usage and schedule reductions in output with precision.

EVBox Iqon meets or exceeds the UL testing facility’s rigorous safety and reliability requirements.

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2020 EV CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE

BEST-IN-TEST

RATING THE DC FAST CHARGING

USER EXPERIENCE Brought to you by:

&

I

f EVs are to replace fossil-fuel vehicles, they need to be able to make long highway trips, and that means that DC fast charging needs to be reliable, convenient, affordable and ubiquitous.

However, as Charged and other media have often reported, we’re still in the early days of public EV charging, and the user experience often leaves much to be desired. Not every charging attempt is successful, and important details, like how to begin a charging session, how much it will cost, and whether stations are available or out of order, are often not made clear to users.

How do the various public fast charging networks compare in terms of reliability, convenience, coverage and price? Charged recently partnered with the German firm umlaut to begin to determine the state of the charging network user experience. After performing a

comparative study of network providers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland earlier this year, umlaut adapted its testing methodology to the US market, and together we developed the new 2020 EV Charging Infrastructure Best-in-Test award.

Our first comparative analysis of the largest fast charging networks was conducted this year, and each network was rated using several criteria. Th is study did not include Tesla’s proprietary Supercharger network.

(A separate analysis of Tesla’s user experience will be completed in the coming months.) umlaut’s field team looked at authentication methods, interoperability, prices, transparency, functionality and availability, among other elements. How intuitive and convenient is the charging process? How convenient is parking at the charging location? Is the available charging power suitable for the location?

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THE INFRASTRUCTURE

You could consider this a comparison of the charging industry’s best efforts: a search for the best user experience currently available.

A test of the network’s best efforts: methodology To be clear, this report is a study conducted on top charging sites in one of the most electrified areas in the country, and not a comprehensive overview of the US charging marketplace.

Testing took place in EV hotspot California, in early September 2020. umlaut tested three locations for each of five different charging network operators: Electrify America, EVgo, ChargePoint, EV Connect and Greenlots.

The availability of DC fast charging from multiple networks is only the case in a handful of markets in the US. So, you could consider this a comparison of the charging industry’s best efforts: a search for the best user experience currently available.

For testing, umlaut chose two different EVs in two different classes: the Audi e-tron crossover SUV and BMW’s i3 subcompact city car. Both use the CCS Type 1 charging standard. “What we tried to do is to have two cars that are pretty different from each other,” explained Christian Sussbauer, umlaut’s EV expert, who led the study.

In order to rank the different networks, the team split its analysis into two areas: the physical interaction at the charging station location; and the digital experience on a network’s web site and smartphone app. The company developed a comprehensive set of key performance indicators in order to compare the most important aspects of charging among the different networks.

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Terminology

Observers of the US and European charging scenes may fi nd the different terminology confusing at fi rst. In Europe the term charge point is commonly used to refer to what we in the US call a charging station. In Europe, companies that manage charging sites are called charge point operators (CPOs), whereas the companies that manage payments, apps, reservations, etc, are called mobility service providers (MSPs). In the US, these functions are generally handled by a single company, for which we don’t (yet) have a generally-accepted acronym—we usually just call them charging networks.

The testing team used the following categories and key performance indicators to compare the charging networks:

Web site

Especially for new EV drivers, a company’s web site might be the fi rst point of contact. The following questions are important for users: • Is all relevant information clearly presented?

• Is there a tutorial to demonstrate to new EV drivers how charging works?

• What types of network memberships are available?

• How transparent is the pricing?

• What are the locations of the nearest charging stations?

App operation

The focus in this category is the user interface of a network’s smartphone app. Criteria considered include: • ease of use • intuitive operation • ease of account creation • ease of locating available charging stations

App functionality

The capabilities of smartphone apps were considered as a separate category. The study took a detailed look at the functionalities of the various networks’ apps, in particular real-time data, fi ltering options, language, the visibility of stations belonging to other networks, and information on charging power and time.

Price transparency and payment

Whereas gas stations display their pricing on prominent signage, at EV charging stations it is often not clear what the cost of a charging session will be. The study evaluated the price structure and transparency of each network.

Charging station environment

The physical surroundings of a charging station are important. Signage, weather protection and illumination are key elements of driver convenience. This report also considered the availability of amenities (restrooms, restaurants, shops) at each station.

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THE INFRASTRUCTURE

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Charging station functionality

Th is analysis focused on the user interaction with the charging station itself. Is the user interface intuitive?

Are instructions clear? Is charging power and other information provided before, during and after charging? How easy is it to park so that the charging cable can easily reach the EV’s charging port? One very important indicator: does the charging process start on the fi rst try?

Service and hotlines

From instructions to authentication and payment to technical problems, there are several issues that can disturb a successful charging process. umlaut’s testing team contacted the networks’ support hotlines for help with various simulated scenarios, and scored the results based on the visibility and availability of the hotline number, multi-language options, error access and any charging tips provided.

Payment

For this category, the study considered the payment possibilities available, including credit/debit card readers, authentication and payment via RFID cards, and newer options such as Apple Pay and Google Pay. Networks that indicated the price during the charging process scored additional points.

High-level findings that apply to all the networks Charging locations:

• Overall poor reliability. Success rate of charging was far below 100%.

• Maintenance of charging stations needs improvement (out-of-service signs, cables on the ground, displays not working, etc) • No weather protection from sun and rain/snow • Inadequate lighting • Charging stations sometimes hard to fi nd, signage is poor • Instructions in English only, no option for Spanish • Some charging stations are very noisy

Pricing:

• More price transparency is needed • Estimated total price to charge is missing (to 80% or to 100% charge level)

Smartphone app:

• Locations of other networks are often not shown • No option to reserve a charging station • Not enough information about amenities at charging location (restrooms, shops, restaurants, etc) • Not enough information about out-of-service charging stations

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THE INFRASTRUCTURE

Network ratings Electrify America is the winner of the 2020 EV Charging Infrastructure Best-in-Test award, with an overall score of 691 out of a possible 1,000 points. EVgo ranked second, with 610 points, followed by ChargePoint, EV Connect and Greenlots.

Electrify America scored highest in 5 of the 8

categories (Web site, App operation, App functionality, Charging station environment, Charging station functionality). Th ird-place ChargePoint won top marks in 2 categories (Service and hotlines, Payment). EV Connect prevailed in the Price transparency and payment category.

Electrify America // Overall score: 691 points PROS:

• Web site and app feature clean, transparent design • Charging station operation is intuitive • Many high-powered DC fast charging stations along highways • Illumination makes charging stations easy to find at night

CONS:

• Relatively high prices • Starting problems and interruptions • Charging process takes a long time to start • No RFID card available • No QR code scanning for charging station identification • Short cables make it difficult to reach EV charging ports

Additional insights:

Electrify America’s charging network is spread out throughout the US, and strategically connects key metro areas, making long EV road trips convenient. Its charging stations are well-illuminated, which makes spotting them easier at night, and attracts even non-EV drivers. However, this superior user experience comes at a cost—charging prices are at the higher end of the range.

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EVgo // Overall score: 610 points PROS:

• Interoperability with other networks • Support for all US charging standards (CCS, CHAdeMO, Tesla) • Consistent price structure • App provides easy access to nearest charging station on home screen

CONS:

• Not many high-power stations (most are 50 kW) • Success rate of charging at first attempt is too low • Short cables make it difficult to reach EV charging ports • Plugs (CCS, CHAdeMO) are often misidentified in the app

Additional insights:

EVgo’s stations support both the CCS and CHAdeMO standards, and a growing number also feature Tesla connectors.

However, umlaut’s testing found that charging was often not successful on the first attempt, which is bound to lead to frustration, especially for new EV drivers.

ChargePoint // Overall score: 604 points PROS:

• Interoperability with other networks • Charging is efficient and easy • Filter options for free charging stations • Extensive Level 2 network, growing number of DC fast chargers • App provides charger utilization information (including peak hours)

CONS:

• Identification of the right charging station is challenging • Very small displays, providing little information • Profile creation in app takes too long • Not many high-power stations

Additional insights:

ChargePoint continues to grow its network at a significant rate, and it currently offers the largest number of charging stations of any provider in the US. However, most of these are Level 2 stations. The umlaut team found that many of ChargePoint’s DC fast charging stations were not yet up to the market standard—compared to other networks, they have smaller displays and offer less information for drivers.

EV Connect // Overall score: 566 points PROS:

• Very efficient charging process • Great user experience using the app and charging stations • Good charging station locations • Prices are indicated during charging process

CONS:

• Maintenance of charging stations needs to be improved (including out-of-service indication) • Very little information provided on web site • App has no full zoom-out map function • DC charging stations are mainly in California and the Northeast

Additional insights:

Using the EV Connect network is simple and efficient, which leads to an excellent user experience with clear interaction. However, maintenance needs to be improved, as umlaut found that some stations were out of service, and were not indicated as such in the app.

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THE INFRASTRUCTURE Greenlots // Overall score: 512 points PROS:

• App operation and layout is the best of the networks tested • QR scanning to easily identify charging stations • Comprehensive real time data during charging process (kW, kWh, SOC, time)

CONS:

• Very little information provided on web site • Location of charging stations not always convenient • Price transparency has room for improvement • App has limited filter options for charging stations • Not many high-power stations (most are 50 kW)

Additional insights:

Greenlots’ highly functional app provides an advanced digital interface with various app functionalities to keep users informed. However, the user experience could be improved in terms of convenience and price transparency.

USA Charging Infrastructure 2020 // Score overall Category

Electrify America

EVgo

ChargePoint

EVconnect

Greenlots

App & Website Website

58

48

48

3

6

App Operation

110

105

95

105

109

App Functionality

97

83

98

78

88

Price & Payment

79

89

97

77

72

Subtotal

344

325

338

263

275

Environment

107

70

52

80

36

Charging Station

126

116

113

118

116

Service

62

61

65

47

62

Access & Payment

52

38

36

58

23

Charging Location

Subtotal

347

285

266

303

237

Total Score

691

610

604

566

512

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There is still much room for improvement—no network came close to reaching the maximum score of 1,000 points.

Conclusion and outlook Looking at the fi nal scores, two conclusions are obvious. First, the charging market is quite competitive—in many categories, the scores of the networks tested were very close. Th is was especially true in the authentication and payment category—this process was easy and comfortable for all the networks tested.

The category with the biggest disparity in scores was the network web sites. “For newcomers to the EV space, they may need to be able to go to a company’s web site and educate themselves,” explained umlaut’s Sussbauer. “We asked, from a user perspective, what kind of information can I get on the web site? Two networks—Greenlots and EV Connect—have pretty much nothing on their sites, other than ‘Please download the app.’ It’s a stark contrast to the others that have massive web sites containing a lot of information about both public and residential charging.”

The second main conclusion is that there is still much room for improvement—no network came close to reaching the maximum score of 1,000 points.

There are several reasons for this, beginning with the environment of the charging stations, which do not offer the convenience we are used to when filling up at a gas station. A lack of lighting and shelter often

leaves EV drivers out in the dark and/or rain.

Interoperability among different networks is an area where we’d like to see improvement in the near future.

Being able to use a single smartphone app or RFID card to access all public charging stations (roaming) would certainly improve the user experience. Reliability of charging stations in terms of “charging on the fi rst try” needs to be improved to put smiles on the faces of green drivers.

Future testing

Charged and umlaut plan to continue this partnership to bring you future reports on the state of the charging network user experience. Next year’s work will expand beyond California to include more regions of North America.

Updated key performance indicators will be developed, as well as an “ideal charging process” for EV drivers. In future reports, benchmarks will indicate how much the various networks deviate from that ideal process, including the Tesla Supercharger experience.

Next year’s analysis will also likely include the new Plug and Charge feature, which allows charging without the need for a card or a smartphone app.

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THE INFRASTRUCTURE

Who is umlaut?

Q&A with Hakan Ekmen, Managing Director umlaut US umlaut is a global, full-service, cross-industry, endto-end engineering consultancy company with 4,500 specialized experts and engineers, and operations in 50 locations all over the world. Managing Director Hakan Ekmen explained to Charged that the company regularly releases “technology road maps” in various industries, including energy, telecommunications, automotive and aviation.

When umlaut was founded in 1996, the company started as an engineering consultancy with a focus on automotive—ever since, umlaut has a strong automotive unit that provides consulting services to manufacturers and suppliers worldwide. umlaut has conducted charging network tests in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and is preparing to further extend its footprint in this area.

Q Charged: Why did umlaut decide to start

benchmarking EV charging infrastructure?

A Hakan Ekmen: Motorists are used to getting

from A to B without anxiously looking at the charge-level meter. Thus, for the acceptance of e-mobility, a reliable charging infrastructure with a comprehensive coverage of charging stations is an indispensable requirement. As we are experts in assessing new technologies from the users’ perspective, we feel the users should know what they get when it comes to charging their vehicle. Our benchmark reveals the strong as well as the weak points of each charging operator, and also shows who is taking the lead.

Q Charged: Did the results of this study match

your expectations?

Hakan Ekmen: Overall, the study did match our expectations, and the results are all-in-all pleasing.

However, they show room for improvement. This is also true for the providers which scored best in our assessment. We knew the charging networks are quite different in their business models and roadmaps. Some companies focus on both AC and DC charging, others intend to connect states and cities, and others put charging stations at hotspots like groceries stores or parking lots. We set high standards, knowing that it might take a few years for networks to achieve maximum scores. In our experience, operators see such independent tests as a stimulus to further enhance their infrastructure and optimize their offerings.

Q Charged: What do you see as the biggest future

challenges for the EV industry?

A Hakan Ekmen: In addition to obvious challenges

such as range and the availability of charging stations, numerous additional factors are equally important for future success.

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The smart car will communicate with other cars, and increasingly also with infrastructure such as charging stations. At this point, data security plays a decisive role. All of this will lead to the disappearance of traditional borders between various industries and different applications.

E-mobility is a new field that combines automotive with energy and connectivity solutions. Whether it is 5G, the connected car, or security, with our cross-industry know-how, we keep our eyes on all important factors, as we want to actively shape the future of e-mobility. A new benchmark measuring and assessing Connected Car Services will come out shortly.

Q Charged: In addition to e-mobility, what other

industries does umlaut provide advisory services for?

A Hakan Ekmen: We are very technology-driven and

future-oriented, and provide services to numerous sectors and industries—above all in automotive, energy, aviation and telecommunications, transferring our expertise and knowledge across the industries.

We currently work with all automotive OEMs in the US on various vehicle-related technologies, as well as

with all the telecom operators in areas like 5G. We have more than 15 years of experience in benchmarking. Every year, we assess more than 200 networks in more than 120 countries. Our methodology is respected as the de facto industry standard. Also, we conduct e-mobility benchmarks in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Q Charged: What are the major differences be-

tween the results in the US compared to Europe?

A Hakan Ekmen: One big difference is the type of

locations of DC fast charging infrastructure. In Europe, DC fast charging infrastructure is currently being installed primarily at highway sites. Public restrooms or shops are often already located at such locations. In the US, DC fast charging infrastructure is also increasingly found at urban amenities such as supermarkets. The surroundings of the locations have a major impact on the entire user experience. Another very important difference is the market structure.

In Europe, the customer can use an app from an MSP to use charging stations from different CPOs (roaming).

NOV/DEC 2020

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THE INFRASTRUCTURE

AN ENERGY STAR CHARGER SPECIFICATION

PROGRAM UPDATE Over 200 Level 1 and 2 EV chargers are now ENERGY STAR certified, and DC fast chargers will be added to the program soon.

T

he EPA’s ENERGY STAR label is one of the most widely known consumer symbols in the US. ENERGY STAR-certified products have helped consumers save an estimated $246 billion in energy costs since 1992, when the program began. In 2018, the ENERGY STAR program added EV chargers to the list of products that can earn its certification.

Currently, Level 1 and Level 2 AC chargers are eligible for the ENERGY STAR label, and the ENERGY STAR Program is currently in the process of expanding eligibility to include DC fast chargers. According to the EPA, ENERGY STAR-certified EV chargers use 40% less energy in standby mode, on average, than standard charging stations.

ENERGY STAR-certified EV chargers also offer other, potentially more significant benefits. As EV charging stations proliferate, managed charging is becoming

essential, not only to save money for charging operators, but to minimize the impact of the additional load on the electrical grid. ENERGY STAR has worked with utility and manufacturer representatives to develop criteria to assist in electrical load management and integration with utility control protocols and soft ware. Charging station models that contain this feature will be capable of supporting Demand Response through open communication protocols (Open Charge Point Protocol, SEP 2.0, CTA2045A, and/or OpenADR2.0), enabling features such as load dispatch, price notification and price response for utilities, and other ancillary services.

Another reason for consumers to choose ENERGY STAR models: they must meet electrical safety requirements: namely, they are listed by one or more Nationally Recognized Test Laboratories, which have tested them for safety. Most EV charging manufacturers pay for extensive testing conducted by recognized third-party labora-

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According to the EPA, ENERGY STARcertified EV chargers use 40% less energy in standby mode, on average, than standard charging stations.

tories to ensure that their products are safe. However, a significant number of products available online for sale directly to consumers through major retailers are not safety-tested.

To date, the list of ENERGY STAR-certified EV chargers includes more than 200 unique models from 15 manufacturers. ENERGY STAR estimates that certified EV chargers represented about 20% of all EV chargers shipped in the US in 2019. Interested parties can identify certified models by visiting the online ENERGY STAR Product Finder for EV chargers.

Many incentive schemes offered by state and local organizations and utilities reference the ENERGY STAR program. The California Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Project and NYSERDA’s Charge NY program both require that Level 2 EV chargers be ENERGY STARcertified to be eligible for rebates. Utilities that require ENERGY STAR certification for participation in their

EV charging programs include the Service Company of Oklahoma, Southwestern Electric Power Company, Potomac Edison, and Snohomish County Public Utility District.

The process of adding DC fast chargers to the ENERGY STAR Program is moving forward. A testing method has been developed, and draft performance requirements were distributed this summer for comment from industry stakeholders. The proposed requirements address: equipment scope; energy efficiency during charging; maximum standby power losses; safety requirements; and optional communications standards for demand response-capable products. The end result of this process will be a voluntary standard that manufacturers of DC fast chargers can meet to receive ENERGY STAR certification for their products. Additional drafts of the requirements will be released as needed, and fi nalization is expected by early 2021.

NOV/DEC 2020

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There are many fascinating stories here: • Martin Eberhard’s realization that there were many like himself, who loved fast cars but understood that the Oil Age must end • The freewheeling first days, reminiscent of the early internet era • The incredible ingenuity of the team who built the Roadster • Tesla’s near-death experience and miraculous resurrection • The spiteful split between the company’s larger-than-life leaders • The battles with short sellers, skeptics and hostile media • The media’s ironic about-face when Model S won the industry’s highest honors, and naysayers became cheerleaders overnight.

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ometimes it seems automakers will try any powertrain technology in order to avoid selling battery-electric vehicles (diesels, hydrogen, LNG, biofuels). Do plug-in hybrid vehicles belong in the same category? Most of today’s PHEVs have short electric ranges and large, inefficient gas engines, and there’s reason to believe that many buyers never bother to plug them in, defeating the whole purpose for which they are supposedly designed.

PHEVs are by definition a transitional technology. Is it time for the auto industry to declare the transition over?

GM has done so—it discontinued the Volt (which, ironically, was one of the best PHEVs made, with a 50-mile electric range), and recently announced plans for 30 new pure EVs. In April of 2019, we asked the same question in this space. At the time, the future of PHEVs was beginning to look bleak—policy-makers in China, Holland and Sweden had revised incentives to favor BEVs over PHEVs, and the relative market share of BEVs was rising (as it has continued to do).

However, a couple of experts pointed out several reasons why PHEVs seemed likely to hang on for a few more years: impending diesel bans in European cities; a large number of new and improved PHEV models in the pipeline; and the fact that many drivers, including those abandoning conventional hybrids, simply weren’t ready to go fully electric.

European PHEV sales stalled in 2018 as the continent instituted a new, more accurate emissions testing regimen. EU regulators replaced the wildly overoptimistic New European Drive Cycle (NEDC) with the more conservative Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP), which requires laboratory testing to be backed up by real-world road tests. The upshot of the new rules was that, in order to meet emissions standards, and to continue qualifying for subsidies, the electric ranges of PHEVs had to be higher. This was a positive result for car buyers—in 2019 and 2020, European automakers substantially increased the electric ranges of their PHEVs. However, the latest news bodes ill for plug-in hybrids (and for carmakers’ hopes of recouping the investment that they continue to pour into developing internal combustion engines). Two recent research studies have found that emissions from the latest PHEVs are far greater than carmakers claim—shades of Volkswagen’s Dirty Diesel Debacle!

S

Iss 52 pg 76-82.indd 82

By Charles Morris

Image by pomphotothailand - stock.adobe.com

Are PHEVs headed for the “dustbin of history?”

A September study by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) analyzed the real-world usage and fuel consumption of 100,000 PHEVs in China, Europe and North America. The study found that realworld fuel consumption and CO2 emissions were typically two to four times the measurements given in the vehicles’ approval processes.

In November, Transport & Environment commissioned emissions tests of the BMW X5, Volvo XC60 and Mitsubishi Outlander. The independent testing specialist Emissions Analytics found that the vehicles emitted 28-89% more CO2 than advertised when tested on a fully charged battery in optimal conditions. On an empty battery, the PHEVs emitted 3 to 8 times more than official values. When driven in battery-charging mode (which forces the battery to charge, in order to enable a spell of driving in pure electric mode), they emitted 3 to 12 times more.

In an article explaining why European automakers are so keen on PHEVs these days, John Voelcker called them “compliance cars for the EU”—vehicles that owe their existence to incentives designed to let automakers have it both ways, getting credit for reducing emissions while continuing to sell gas and diesel engines.

Julia Poliscanova, Senior Director for Clean Vehicles at T&E, made more scathing comments. “Plug-in hybrids are fake electric cars, built for lab tests and tax breaks, not real driving,” she wrote. “Governments should stop subsidizing these cars with billions in taxpayers’ money.

The only way plug-ins are going to have a future is if we completely overhaul how we reward them in EU CO2 tests and regulations. Otherwise PHEVs will soon join diesel in the dustbin of history.”

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— High power, small footprint Dynamic power sharing in an all-in-one DC fast charger As the EV market accelerates, the more critical it becomes to invest in safe, reliable charging infrastructure designed for high utilization and round the clock intelligence. From the best-selling family of Terra DC Fast chargers, ABB delivers a new all-in-one solution to meet these needs – up to 180 kW with high voltage capability, power sharing functionality and multiple connector configurations tailored to public or fleet needs. With 135 years of electrification excellence and more than a decade deploying safe, reliable and intelligent EV solutions from the grid to the charger, ABB is your e-mobility partner of choice. abb.com/evcharging

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