Rincon Power launches new 750-volt, 20-amp relay series


Rincon Power has announced a new addition to its line of sealed contactors, relays and switches. The new RER02 Series ultra-compact relay offers the ability to isolate high-voltage systems in a robust package. The RER02 Series can carry 20 amps of continuous current for applications up to 750 VDC. It can also handle 80 A… Read more »

UK Research and Innovation competition offers £1.5 million for battery firms ready to scale up to commercialization


If you’ve got a UK company that’s working on innovative battery tech, check in with the funding body UK Research and Innovation, which has launched a new £1.5-million competition to support UK small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) working in the battery sector. The competition will give SMEs the opportunity to work with the UK Battery… Read more »

Canada allows DC fast chargers to bill by energy usage instead of charging time


Public chargers can be set up to bill customers according the time they spend plugged in (by the minute), or according to the actual amount of energy dispensed (by the kWh). The latter method is fairer and more consistent, as there are many factors that can affect how much energy is delivered in a given… Read more »

Recurrent Reports offer battery and range info for 65,000 used EVs


Buying any used car is a bit like buying the proverbial pig in a poke, and for an EV, there are additional questions to ponder: What’s the state of the battery, and how much range can I expect? These are the questions that Recurrent Reports aim to help car shoppers answer when buying a used… Read more »

Norway has another electrifying year in 2022—10 top-selling cars were all EVs


Norway is the undisputed global capital of e-mobility. Private cars, taxis, buses, ferries, airport ground equipment—they’re all plugging in. The trend of steady electrification continued last year. The market share of plug-in vehicles rose from 65 percent in 2021 to 80 percent in 2022. This represents an important step towards reaching the country’s goal climate goal… Read more »

Has CATL launched a lithium price war? (Let’s hope so!)


A few days ago, share prices of lithium miners including Albemarle, SQM, Livent, Piedmont Lithium and Lithium Americas ,plunged, losing as much as 9% on a day when the S&P 500 dropped only a fraction of a point. There had been no major moves on the commodities market, and investors not privy to inside information… Read more »

Electra Vehicles raises $21 million for its battery pack optimization software


Boston-based Electra Vehicles produces cloud-based and onboard software designed to optimize the performance of EV battery systems. The company recently raised $21 million in an oversubscribed investment round led by Italian VC firm United Ventures. Other investors include Stellantis Ventures and BlackBerry Limited. Electra says its software solutions improve battery pack range, lifetime and safety… Read more »

DOE and DOT award $7 million for electric truck charging, hydrogen projects


The DOE has awarded $7.4 million to seven projects to develop medium- and heavy-duty EV charging and hydrogen infrastructure plans across 23 states. The seven projects receiving the money span the country, and address the drayage, regional haul and long-haul sectors. “A clean transportation sector requires vast investments across the entire industry, including to decarbonize… Read more »

Electric school buses from Thomas Built Buses and Proterra log one million miles of operation


Thomas Built Buses and Proterra (NASDAQ: PTRA) unveiled their Saf-T-Liner C2 Jouley electric school bus back in 2018 , and there are now more than 300 units on the road. Now the companies have announced that the Jouleys have driven more than one million miles for school districts across North America. This may be just… Read more »

The Three Pillars of a fleet electrification project—don’t forget about charge management


Obviously, any fleet electrification project is going to include vehicles and charging hardware. However, don’t forget another critical part of the equation: a charge management system. For many—or probably, most—fleet operators, power consumption is a major constraint. Charging stations that serve large fleets and/or heavy-duty vehicles suck up vast amounts of power. Using charge management… Read more »