Here is a look at the news around electric vehicles, EV and related technologies in the world. Much of the news in the U.S. was around the fact that Detroit got sent back home with half less than they asked which means they were allowed to continue operations for a month and pray their restructuring plan can have some effect. And there also was…
Chris Paine Gets His Tesla. The famous, or infamous director of “Who Killed The Electric Car?” finally got his Tesla, according to Edmunds. And his comments: “I’d rather have this Tesla than any Ferrari, Lamborghini, Lotus or Porsche,” Note he didn’t mention Maserati or Alfa Romeo.
Electric Roads. In department of the clever ministry, the British Environmental Transport Association is working on a road surface technology that generates electricity as traffic drives over it, according to Canadian Driver. How? The road contains tiny piezoelectric crystals that produce electricity when squeezed. Elementary, my dear Watson!
Chicago Feels The Heat. No, not that kind of heat but geo-thermal. According to MarketWatch, Indie Energy Systems Company and Local 150 of the International Union of Operating Engineers went into a labor agreement for the construction of local geothermal energy fields for heating and cooling Chicago-area buildings.
Electric Drive Transportation Association Conference. The conference saw very motivated local car makers hailing the bright future for EVs. They believe more gas price spikes will happen in the future, diminishing oil resources, the need to cut carbon dioxide and hope the incoming president, Barack Obama, who as a senator co-sponsored a plan to give tax credits for electric vehicles and now calls for 1 million plug-in, hybrid, made-in-America cars that get up to 150 miles per gallon, according to the Seatle Times.
Ultracapacitators Put To Work On Subways. Ultracapacitators hold great performance for the future of any EVs. We were struck by the logical coupling of ultracaps (ultracapacitators) and lithium in AFS Trinity‘s SUV which under-stressed the lithium pack enough to rate it good enough for 180,000 miles or so. But another industry that has had decades of experience with ultracapacitators is the train. According to Seeking Alpha, Greentech Media reports on how Maxwell Technologies are using ultracapacitors as brakes on South Korean subways and finds it outperform batteries in capturing and discharging electricity. As a side notes, the trains around the Swiss Alps use a lot of electricity going up but going down shunt that regenerative energy back to sub-stations.
Voila for today. Stay tuned for more.