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GREENFLEET AWARDS
BATTERY PRODUCTION
Daimler starts construction of new EV battery plant
GreenFleet Awards 2016 shortlist announced The official shortlist for the GreenFleet Awards 2016 has now been confirmed, recognising the best fleet operators, suppliers and manufacturers that are making great progress in minimising the environmental impacts of their vehicles. The Awards returns to Edgbaston Cricket Stadium on 17 November, where the winners of each category will be announced at the glittering ceremony presented by comedian Dominic Holland. A new category for 2016 is ‘Car Club of the Year’, recognising the growing relevance of car clubs across the UK and their role in helping to increase efficiency and reduce road emissions. City Car Club, Co-Wheels, E-Car Club and Zip Car have all been recognised and will be in
with a chance of claiming the Award. ‘Electric Vehicle of the Year’ is likely to be hotly contested, with BMW, Nissan, Mahindra, Kia and Renault all producing innovative electro-mobility solutions to fulfil a broad range of driver needs. The past year has also seen an increased demand for efficient light commercial vehicles (LCVs) and Mitsubishi, Peugeot, Fiat Professional, Nissan and Renault are all in the running to take the title of ‘LCV Manufacturer of the Year’. For a full breakdown of this year’s shortlist head over to page 46. READ MORE events.greenfleet.net/awards
CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE
GeniePoint and Source London partner for more fast chargers in London More rapid chargers will form part of the Source London network thanks to a partnership between companies ChargePoint Services and BluepointLondon. The companies’ respective networks – GeniePoint and Source London – will also offer full inter-operability to their respective members. For commercial EV operators who want to re-charge their vehicles in minutes not hours, the rapid chargers will enable them to recharge in 20-40 minutes to keep their vehicles moving throughout the working day and night. Alex Bamberg, managing director, ChargePoint Services, said. “For the first phase, we aim to have around 30 new Rapid Chargers on line by the summer, helping London improve air quality and reduce emissions with the increased use of both commercial & passenger electric vehicles.” Christophe Arnaud, managing director of BluepointLondon, said: “We are continuously looking at ways to improve
Source London for the benefit of our growing community of members and we are very proud to announce our collaboration with ChargePoint Services. Adding rapid chargers to our network is essential for some of our members but this is also our very first inter-operability agreement, together Source London and GeniePoint reach 13,000 EV users across the country.”
Daimler subsidiary Accumotive has started construction of a new electric vehicle battery plant in Kamenz. The plant will be the second at the site in Kamenz and will be located in immediate proximity of the existing compound, bringing the total production and logistics area to around 80,000 square meters. Daimler has pledged to invest up to €500 million to develop Kamenz into one of the biggest and most modern battery factories in Europe, as part of an overall investment of more than €1 billion in global battery production. The new production facility is scheduled to start operations in the middle of 2018 and Daimler plans for the new plant to be constructed as a ‘CO2-neutral factory’. The manufacturer has said that production facilities will be powered by a cogeneration unit and a photovoltaic system combined with stationary energy storage systems. Solar panels on the roof are expected to cover the surface area of two football fields, which will equal a capacity of two megawatts. The lithium-ion batteries produced at the new facility are expected to be used in all electrified vehicles of Mercedes‑Benz and smart – including plug-in hybrids as well as fully electric vehicles. Additionally, it will also produce batteries for stationary Mercedes-Benz energy storage units as well as 48-volt-systems. Prof. Dr. Thomas Weber, member of the board of management of Daimler AG, group research and Mercedes-Benz Cars development, said: “By 2025, our passenger car product portfolio will contain more than ten fully electric vehicles. At the same time, we are continuously pushing our plug-in-hybrid offensive and the introduction of 48-volt-systems. Highly efficient battery systems are an important aspect of our strategy. They are an integral part of the vehicle architecture and not a ready-made product. The development, production and integration of those complex systems into our vehicles is one of our core competences.” Markus Schäfer, member of the divisional board of Mercedes-Benz Cars, production and supply chain management, added: “We are building a global production compound for lithium-ion batteries. Kamenz will become the competence centre of this compound. With the new battery factory, the flexible and efficient production network of Mercedes-Benz Cars deepens crucial know-how for the production of promising future technologies. This also strengthens our global competitiveness and puts us in a very good position concerning future mobility.”
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Volume 98 | GREENFLEET MAGAZINE
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