Texas has wide-open spaces, and a wide-open deregulated electricity market with over 120 players at last count. It also has problems with grid reliability that were brought to light last year, when a cold snap caused widespread outages. Tesla to the rescue—Texas Monthly reports that Tesla Energy Ventures has applied with the Texas Public Utility… Read more »
Author: Charles Morris
Rivian files for IPO at $80 billion valuation
Rivian Automotive has filed for an initial public offering and is seeking a roughly $80 billion valuation, Bloomberg reports. The Irvine, California-based EV startup has submitted its S-1 registration to the Securities and Exchange Commission, and hopes to make its IPO around the Thanksgiving holiday. Among the thundering herd of EV startups, Rivian is widely… Read more »
LG Energy Solution secures access to nickel and cobalt from Australian Mines
LG Energy Solution, one of Tesla’s battery suppliers, has entered into “a binding long form offtake agreement” with Australian Mines Ltd. for nickel and cobalt, which will be supplied in the form of mixed hydroxide precipitate (MPH) from the Sconi Project in North Queensland. Under the agreement, LG will have access to 71,000 tons of… Read more »
Fort Worth offers Rivian $440 million in incentives to build its second EV factory
Rivian, which is nearing production of its eye-catching electric pickup truck, has a factory in Normal, Illinois, and has been actively scouting sites to build a second. Now the city of Fort Worth, Texas, has approved a package of incentives to tempt the EV startup to build its next factory there. The Fort Worth City… Read more »
Marquardt’s new E-Lock charge plug locking system
Charging plug locks secure EV plugs against unexpected unplugging, preventing possible damage to the system and protecting against theft of the charging cable (especially important in Europe, where many public chargers require drivers to use their own cables). German electromechanical manufacturer Marquardt has developed a new locking system designed to make charging safer and more… Read more »
Bollinger announces new skateboard platforms for Class 3, 4 and 5 commercial EVs
Bollinger Motors has taken a different path than most EV startups. Its Class 3 Bollinger B1 SUV, which debuted in 2017, was designed as “a no-nonsense back-to-basics all-electric sport utility truck.” Now the company plans to add Class 4 and 5 electric platforms to its lineup. “We started from day one working on Class 3… Read more »
Volta Trucks conducts real-world trials of prototype Volta Zero
Commercial vehicle manufacturer Volta Trucks has begun engineering evaluation and development testing of the first prototype Volta Zero at automotive engineering consultancy HORIBA MIRA in Nuneaton, UK. Affectionately named Volta Minus One by development engineers, the prototype uses the proposed production-spec chassis frame and drivetrain of the finished vehicle, and will be used to test… Read more »
Rhombus launches serial switching DC fast charger dispenser
Rhombus Energy Solutions’s new RES-D3-CS20 DC fast charger dispenser is now available for immediate ordering. The D3 design allows multiple remote EV charging dispensers to be connected to a single Rhombus power control system (PCS), potentially reducing total EVSE costs for electrified fleets. Most of today’s DC fast charging systems that support remote dispensers have… Read more »
Ford’s Eluminator crate motor is designed to make EV conversions easy
As batteries and other EV components steadily become cheaper and more capable, conversions of legacy gas vehicles, especially beloved classics, are becoming more attractive. Now Ford has announced an electric crate motor designed to make EV conversions easy. Ford teased a couple of renderings of the new Eluminator, which will be unveiled at the SEMA… Read more »
Russian startup develops LNG- and hydrogen-powered off-grid EV charger
Russian based startup L-Charge has developed an off-grid EV charger that can be powered by liquid natural gas (LNG), hydrogen, or a mixture of the two—the ratio can be adjusted depending on regulations and fuel prices. The company is marketing its charger not only as a way to provide charging in locations where grid power… Read more »
