Eaton Corporation recently announced its plan to install 45 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations along I- 376, a 85 mile interstate highway through Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. This development was Energy 376 Corridor and the expense will be covered by a $238,467 Pittsburgh Region Clean Cities (PRCC) grant received from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and a private investment of approximately $400,000, for the development of EV infrastructure in the state.

“The Energy 376 Corridor project will create one of the most extensive public EV charging station networks in America and will help set the stage for widespread regional adoption of EVs,” said John Wirtz, business unit manager, Eaton’s Electrical Transportation Infrastructure. “The initiative can also serve as a model of sustainable transportation for other regions across the nation and it would not have been possible without PRCC and strong regional collaboration.”

Energy 376 Corridor, a collaboration of 19 regional public and private entities working to expand electric vehicle infrastructure in the region, is expected to displace an estimated 79,463 gallons of fuel per year and provide annual emissions reductions of 916,046 pounds of greenhouse gases, 1,306 pounds of volatile organic compounds, 10,363 pounds of carbon monoxide, 1,571 pounds of nitrous oxide and 1,026 pounds of particulate matter

”Eaton Corporation should be applauded for creating the vision of an electric vehicle corridor along I-376 and for their leadership in bringing together a broad group of public and private stakeholders to help implement it. This project represents a great step forward for the region in deployment of electric vehicle technology,” said Jan Lauer, president of PRCC.

Clean Cities is the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) flagship alternative transportation deployment initiative, sponsored by the Vehicle Technologies Program. Its mission is to advance the energy, economic, and environmental security of the United States by supporting local actions to reduce petroleum use in transportation.

[Read More From Source: Eaton]

Engineers at Northwestern University in the US have changed the materials in lithium-ion batteries to boost their abilities. One change involves poking millions of minuscule holes in the battery.
Batteries built using the novel technique could be in the shops within five years, estimate the scientists.

A mobile phone battery built using the Northwestern techniques would charge from flat in 15 minutes and last a week before needing a recharge. The density and movement of lithium ions are key to the process. They have found a way to cram more of the ions in and to speed up their movement by altering the materials used to manufacture a battery. The maximum charge has been boosted by replacing sheets of silicon with tiny clusters of the substance to increase the amount of lithium ions a battery can hold on to.
The recharging speed has been accelerated using a chemical oxidation process that helps lithium ions move and find a place to be stored much faster. The downside is that the recharging and power gains fall off sharply after a battery has been charged about 150 times.

[Read More From Source: BBC ]

A team of researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory, discovered a breakthrough anode technology that could enable batteries recharged up to half of their original capacity in less than 30 seconds.
The group led by nanoscientist Tijana Rajh and battery expert Christopher Johnson, discovered that nanotubes composed of titanium dioxide can switch their phase as a battery is cycled, that dramatically improved the battery’s performance.
“We did not expect this to happen when we first started working with the material, but the anode spontaneously adopted the best structure,” Rajh said. “There’s an internal kind of plasticity to the system that allows it to change as the battery gets cycled.”

“This is highly unusual material behavior,” added Jeff Chamberlain, an Argonne chemist who leads the laboratory’s energy storage major initiative. “We’re seeing some nanoscale phase transitions that are very interesting from a scientific standpoint, and it is the deeper understanding of these materials’ behaviors that will unlock mysteries of materials that are used in electrical energy storage systems.”

Tests have also showed that titanium dioxide is a more reliable and safer material alternative to graphite currently used in battery anodes.”Every type of test we’ve conducted on titanium anodes has shown them to be exceptionally safe,” Chamberlain said.

The research was a collaborative venture of two Argonne facilities, the Center for Nanoscale Materials and the Advanced Photon Source.

[Read More From Source: Physorg ]

Taiwan’s electric vehicle (EV) industry is moving from parts manufacturing to marketing Taiwan’s own brands. Taiwan is also working vigorously to develop its own EV technology, placing it among countries like Brazil.
“ICT (information and communication technology) products from Taiwan are very competitive in the world,” said Denise Hung, a specialist from Taiwan’s Automotive Research and Testing Center (ARTC). “We use this advantage to integrate them with the auto industry in order to create our own innovative technology for electric vehicles. This advantage allows Taiwan to join the global electric vehicle market and also take Taiwan’s auto industry to a new generation.”

The Yulon Group is leading the revolution by bringing in their LUXGEN car brand. The first model LUXGEN7 MPV was released in 2009, equipped with a Taiwan made 150kW, 220N-m torque electric motor, similar to the Tesla Roadster.
Another model is the LUXGEN EV+. “The LUXGEN EV+ can be seen as the only option that generates no carbon emissions and delivers eco-friendly clean power when compared with other energy technologies, such as hybrid power,” said Leo Chang, manager of LUXGEN’s Electric Vehicle Department.

Another Taiwanese company, Pihsiang Machinery Manufacturing Co. (PMMC), recently showcased its Venus full-electric mini-car and patented DOSBAS safe battery system at the 2011 Motorcycle Taiwan show in Taipei. The Venus will be sold domestically by the end of 2011, though it has already passed stringent road tests in Europe.

Meanwhile, E-Ton, another Taiwanese manufacturer has developed its EV6A, or “e-go” e-scooter. The 87 kg light weight electric vehicle (LEV) has an electric range of about 50 kilometers, at 45 km/h, and can climb 11.3-degree hills.

Universal Well Industry Co., Ltd is also brought its Uray LEVs to market. The company recently introduced the Pioneer 1.5, an electric motorcycle that has 45 km/h maximum speed and 13-degree hill-climbing capacity.

Other major Taiwan EV manufacturers include Amita (battery modules), Chroma (motor and power control), and Garmin, the world’s largest supplier of telematics.

[Read More From Source: Prnewswire ]

As the adoption of electric vehicles becomes more widespread and automakers roll out new models, GE continues to lead the development of the critical infrastructure technology needed to connect all of those EVs to the grid. Last month, GE and Nissan announced a joint R&D effort to speed the creation of the charging infrastructure necessary for widespread EV adoption. And just recently, GE announced a partnership with Inovateus Solar to build solar-powered electric vehicle-charging carports, marrying two sustainable technologies. And now Spanish airports are getting in on the action: last week GE Energy Industrial Solutions teamed with Spanish energy supplier Endesa to supply and operate the EV-charging infrastructure for airport vehicles at four airports in Spain: in Madrid, Barcelona, Palma and Lanzarote.

Spanish airport operator AENA is just the sort of natural customer for switching to electric fleets: it will incorporate the EVs into the airports’ existing energy management infrastructure and the vehicles will be charged on off-peak overnight electricity tariffs. For now, the EVs are part of a three-year pilot program to assess the feasibility of switching the entire airport fleet to electric. GE will provide 53 of its DuraStation* electric vehicle chargers, which enable faster charging by integrating higher voltages and currents that require specialized equipment. In addition to charging systems like DuraStation and the Yves Behar-designed WattStation, GE Energy provides the full range of electrical systems and smart grid tech needed to build and manage a complete EV Infrastructure.

[Read More From Source: R&D Mag ]

The publication of two International EV charging Standards by the IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) lifts a major hurdle for the EV charging infrastructure, supporting the mass adoption of electric vehicles.

The two IEC International EV Standards reflect a global consensus on the plugs and sockets that are needed to charge EVs. They pull together the huge volume of research and development surrounding EV charging mechanisms from around the world, whilst addressing the diverse electricity infrastructure and regulations in different countries.

With their help it may be possible to avoid the very real risk that incompatible solutions would be developed by separate organizations in different regions, something that would clearly be against the best interests of the worldwide vehicle manufacturing industry. Different national approaches would thwart the mass marketability of EVs, requiring customizations that would lead to higher prices and slower market access.

A clear call for International EV charging Standards

Major car makers predict that up to 10% of cars sold in 2015 will be EVs and Dieter Zetsche, CEO of Mercedes-Benz, declared at a major motor show a few days ago: “Internal combustion engines’ days are numbered…”. With major manufacturers and countries driving this technology forward, related infrastructure development simply can’t wait.

[Read More From Source: SF Gate ]

The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)’s latest development is inspired by nature. They used the physicochemical phenomenon that helps water transport in trees to fill the porous electrodes of lithium-ion batteries more rapidly with liquid electrolyte. The new process increases the throughput of battery production and reduces investment costs.

The electrodes inside modern batteries are as porous with pore sizes in the micrometer range to facilitate a very large surface area for the chemical reactions during charge and discharge. “But the pores have to be filled completely with the electrolyte for optimized operation,” explains Dr. Wilhelm Pfleging from KIT. The liquid electrolyte is the transport medium, in which the charged ions can diffuse between anode and cathode in the battery. “Without electrolyte, there is no charge equalization inside and no electric current flow outside.”

Currently, significant time and expenditure in battery production results from trying to fill the small pores in conventional methods for maximizing battery performance. The liquid is forced to enter the material by expensive and time-consuming vacuum or storage processes at elevated temperatures. “Our new process allows reduction of this time span from several hours down to a few minutes,” confirms Pfleging. To improve the wetting properties of the electrodes, his team modified the electrodes by a mechanico-chemical technology. As a result, the electrolyte spreads very rapidly over the complete material and performance data of batteries based on this principle are much better.

[Read More From Source: KIT ]

Aleese ( Advanced Lithium Electrochemistry Co., Ltd.), a Taiwanese manufacturing company has presented its breakthrough innovation at the 220th Electrochemical Society (ECS) meeting held in Boston, United States. This double-layer nano-carbon coating technology, will allow olivine material to be coated with different carbon compounds with thicknesses less than 5 nm so as to improve the structural integrity of the material and enhance the life cycle of batteries by 2.7 times.

The experiments performed by Aleees’ research and development team showed that application of such a technology can increase the life cycle of batteries, around 2,000 recharges at present, to more than 5,400 recharges but still retain 80% of the battery cell’s capacity. This technology will have tremendous positive influence in electric vehicle commercialization by reducing overall vehicle price.

Aleees, the leading supplier of LFP cathode material internationally and the sole producer of LFP-nano co-crystalline olivine (LFP-NCO), announced today that the decade-long debate over patent rights involving its Li-ion battery material and carbon coating technology is coming to an end.  Aleees, one of only four companies granted global patent authorization, signed an agreement with LiFePO4+C Licensing AG on July 1st, 2011.

[Read More From Source: Business Wire ]