Nov 29, 2016 - 08:47 am
BMW i, Berlin, Finland, Dundee City, Sero Electric.
Optimised charging: BMW i introduces the Digital Charging Service designed to enable tariff- and solar-optimized vehicle charging. It shall integrate EVs into the energy market as drivers will be able to work with utilities. Pilot markets are Germany and the Netherlands, where the service will start in spring 2017.
greencarcongress.com, bmwgroup.com
Berlin electric buses are there to stay, says public transport provider BVG. The four pilot buses charge inductively and operation has improved over the year. Plus, they will not stay alone for long as BVG plans to acquire more electric models in a buying community with Hamburg Hochbahn.
tagesspiegel.de (in German)
EV leasing in Finland: OP Financial Group is to launch an electric car leasing service in Finland. Rates start at almost 500 euros per month but clients must sign a two-year contract to be eligible.
yle.fi
Free EV parking: Dundee City Council will offer free parking for electric cars. The scheme will allow EV drivers to use any of the council run facilities, not just those with charging points. Funding comes through the Smarter Choices Smarter Places programme.
eveningtelegraph.co.uk
South American EV: Argentinian Sero Electric is an electric vehicle for up to two people that comes as a sedan and in two van versions. Each car uses a gel acid battery, which lasts for about 70 km. 150 Sero Electric have been build and another 500 – 600 units shall be added in 2017. Orders have been taken from Chile, Brasil and Mexico. Price varies from 12,000 to 15,000 dollars.
telesurtv.net
Nov 28, 2016 - 08:38 am
IKEA, Vienna, Hamburg, ITM Power, Panasonic.
IKEA charges Norway: The furniture company announced that it will equip all of its stores in Norway with fast-chargers, starting with its location in Slependen. IKEA has already launched similar initiatives in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Canada and the U.S.
gas2.org
Vienna plans 1,000 chargers: The installation of the first 500 will start mid-2017 in the 2nd and 16th district of the Austrian capital. Over the following two years, the network will then grow step by step to reach 1,000 units. How much it will cost to plug in is still being discussed. But EVs will not have to pay a parking fee while charging.
wien.orf.at, vienna.at (articles in German)
Last mile innovations: With project SMILE (Smart Last Mile Logistics), Hamburg is looking to become a European model region for sustainable and clean package deliveries. Businesses and the city of Hamburg presented a number of intelligent last mile delivery systems, including the use of electric vehicles. The proposals will now be implemented step by step.
verkehrsrundschau.de, hamburg.de (articles in German)
New kind of pump: ITM Power is installing the UK’s first hydrogen fuelling pump at an existing petrol station. The Shell station is located along the M40 in Beaconsfield and will go into service early 2017.
fleetnews.co.uk
Green fleet: Panasonic says it was able to cut its fleet’s emissions by 37.5 percent in the UK since 2008. The company employs 19 plug-in and ten pure hybrids in the country, which together make up about 20 percent of the fleet. Another three PHEVs have already been ordered.
fleetnews.co.uk
Nov 25, 2016 - 08:41 am
Switzerland, IKEA, New York, Supercharger, Seattle.
Swiss charging alliance: A number of infrastructure providers such as Alpiq, Renault, BKW and others will join forces from 2017. The new platform called MOVE will then include more than 300 chargers and will make up the largest public charging network in Switzerland. EV drivers can pre-pay or get a subscription to use the chare points.
cleantech.ch, pressebox.de
Free energy while furniture shopping: IKEA now has a total of 72 chargers at its nine locations in Switzerland. All can charge with 22 kW and are free to use. Meanwhile, the branches are urged to get at least one electric car the next time they renew or add to their fleet.
blick.ch, ikea.com
Chargers for the Big Apple: The city of New York will kick off a pilot project, installing 25 public EV charging points across the city by March 2018. There will be at least two in each borough. The project is also a move to show President-elect Trump that the city will continue its war on climate change.
qns.com, nyc.gov
Shop and supercharge: Tesla is working with supermarket chain Hy-Vee in order to tighten the Supercharger network in the flyover states in the U.S. Eight chargers along the I-80 in Iowa have already been installed, with more to follow.
insideevs.com, thegazette.com
Hybrids convince: Seattle’s fire department is happy with the results of recent fuel efficiency tests of ambulances retrofitted with hybrid drivetrains form XL Hybrids. So happy, in fact, that they now ordered another 10 hybrid vehicles for their fleet.
greencarcongress.com
Nov 24, 2016 - 09:33 am
UK, Volkswagen, Rolec EV, Plug In America POD Point.
Hundreds of millions for emobility: The UK government announced that it will invest as much as 390m pounds in electric and autonomous mobility. 150m pounds have been earmarked to purchase 550 new electric and fuel cell buses, as well as push electric taxis. Another 1,500 will be made more environmentally friendly. Furthermore, 80m pounds will be reserved for charging infrastructure.
businessgreen.com, uk.reuters.com, gov.uk
VW installs 290 fast-chargers in the U.S.: As part of its redemption following the diesel scandal, Volkswagen is upgrading EV infrastructure along major highways and in cities. A total of 290 will be installed. VW still hopes to get a partner on board.
automobilwoche.de (in German)
Parks go green: Rolec EV and the National Trust, a conservation agency for historic sites and green spaces in the UK, have signed a deal to set up chargers for visitors as well as wallboxes for staff at a number of National Trust locations.
zap-map.com
Federal support: Plug In America and the University of Rhode Island received 500,000 dollars in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, to support the project “Advancing PEV Adoption in New England.” The goal is to push EVs in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, as well as in Vermont.
gas2.org, uri.edu
Charge on the fly: POD Point announced a deal with car park operator Airparks for the installation of two EV chargers at both the airport in Birmingham and Luton. The stations will be free to use, though parking fees apply. Travelers can also use a valet service and request the battery to be full upon their return.
businessgreen.com
Nov 23, 2016 - 09:06 am
Enel, Smart Mobile Energy, chargeIT mobility, Bosch.
Utility kicks off charging offensive: Italian utility Enel wants to set up some 11,000 bi-directional chargers for electric vehicles in the next three years. EV drivers could then not only get energy, but also feed some back into the grid for monetary compensation.
dailymail.co.uk
Good for the grid: As part of the project Smart Mobile Energy, Berlin, Birmingham and Valencia will look at the integration of V2G technology and using EVs as short time energy storage. The goal is to increase energy efficiency, lower CO2 emissions and help build new business models.
autovolt-magazine.com, transportxtra.com
Belectric changes name to chargeIT mobility: The new name is said to help the infrastructure provider to become a leading providers of operating systems for EV chargers. IT solutions are becoming more and more important, the company stressed.
pressebox.de
Bosch presents new charger: The company now offers two new level 2 chargers in the U.S. – the Power Max 2 and Power Max 2Plus. Both are available with 7.2 or 9.6 kW and start at 674 dollars.
chargedevs.com
Nov 22, 2016 - 08:40 am
e-clearing.net, Fastned, Philippines, car2go, Enel, Nissan.
e-clearing.net grows its network: Dutch roaming network eViolin will add its 140,000 charge card holders and 40,000 charging stations to Smartlab’s European roaming-platform “e-clearing.net.” For Smartlab, it will open the door of the Dutch market, giving its customers access to one of the largest e-mobility networks worldwide.
pressebox.de
Fastned with intelligent trip planer: The Dutch charging network provider now offers a trip planer in its app (and on the desktop) that not only shows the quickest way from A to B, but will also add stops for fast-charging at Fastned locations to the calculation. The planer will also take remaining range, car efficiency and traffic into account.
fastnedcharging.com
E-Trike programme scrapped: The Philippines had planned to use 500m dollars to replace some 100,000 old trikes with electric ones. But due to the lack of interest from buyers and high production cost, the undertaking has come to a halt. More than the 1,600 units already built will not be produced.
thestandard.com.ph
car2go leaves San Diego: The carsharer had replaced its electric Smarts with conventional ones in Mai (we reported), hoping to make the offering more attractive to customers. But the change in drivetrain did not spur a change of heart. car2go now announced that it will leave the California city at the end of the year.
autoblog.com, 10news.com
EV plus charger: Enel and Nissan now offer the “E-go All Inclusive” in Italy. For just 299 euros per month for three years, customers will get a 30 kWh Nissan Leaf and homecharger from Enel, including installation. The two even through in a new charging app. At the end of the agreement, customers can decide to return the Leaf or refinance the remaining cost.
newswiretoday.com
Nov 21, 2016 - 08:48 am
UK, VW, Tesla, BYD, Connecticut.
UK subsidies for electric motorbikes: The UK government now supports the purchase of an electric motorbike or scooter with up to 1,500 pounds. At least 2,500 two-wheelers can benefit from the grant, under the condition that they have a range of at least 50 km (30 km for scooters), can go faster than 40 kph and not use any lead acid or silicone lead acid traction batteries.
insideevs.com
VW partners with ridesharing service: In light of VW’s attempt to become a mobility provider coined by electric mobility, the carmaker is partnering with Chinese ridesharing service Didi Chuxing. The partners want to offer mobility solutions and also develop further transport systems for Chinese cities.
chinadaily.com.cn
Converter for Chinese infrastructure: Tesla announced an adaptor, so that its vehicles can also plug in at public chargers in China. It will enable Tesla drivers there to get juice not just at the Supercharger and possibly give them access to federal subsidies for wallboxes.
electrek.co, teslarati.com, bloomberg.com
New deal for BYD: The manufacturer has received an order for 21 of its 7-metre electric buses from the South Korean island of Jeju. It is said to be largest deal ever won by a coach manufacturer in a developed East Asian country and comes just weeks before BYD’s 12-metre e-bus will debut in the country.
indiatimes.com
Connecticut deepens pockets: The U.S. state has earmarked another 2.7m dollars in subsidies for electric vehicles. Residents, businesses and even municipalities can therefore continue to receive grants ranging from 750 to 5,000 dollars when by a battery-electric, plug-in hybrid or fuel cell vehicle.
fox61.com, nhregister.com
Nov 18, 2016 - 09:01 am
Hyundai, Vancouver, South Korea, Tesla, Chargemaster.
Ioniq Electric carsharing and all-inclusive offer: Hyundai and WaiveCar want to kick off an e-carsharing scheme with 150 Hyundai EVs in Los Angeles. Another 250 units in three other cities will join the fleet by the end of 2017. Because of advertising on and inside the vehicle, the first two hours are free. Moreover, Hyundai will offer “Ioniq Unlimited” leasing in California, offering the Ioniq Electric, as well as charging and service for three years a flat fee.
greencarcongress.com, carscoops.com, autoblog.com
Vancouver plans more chargers: The Canadian city has earmarked another 3m Canadian dollars for the installation of more EV charging stations over the next five years. Vancouver wants to become “the world’s greenest city” by 2020 and increase their numbers of EVs from now 1,000 to 30,000 units.
cbc.ca
Cheap EV hire: To push the uptake of electric mobility, South Korea’s environmental ministry has struck deals with several car hiring companies. They will offer long-term rentals of some 6,000 EVs, said to be cheaper than purchasing an electric car, Moreover, the government will offer monetary incentives to buyers of the rental EVs.
yonhapnews.co.kr
Tesla charges Australia: The EV maker has kicked off installation of three new Supercharger sites Down Under. One will be located between Melbourne and Adelaide in the south of the country, while the other two will connect Sydney and Brisbane. Tesla also plans to install another Supercharger along that route, so models with lower range can also go the distance.
gizmodo.com.au
Chargemaster partners with Mercedes: Mercedes PHEV drivers in the UK can now order a homecharger with 3.6 or 7 kW, which will be delivered and installed by the country’s largest EV infrastructure provider. Customers who sign up benefit from six months free access to Chargemaster’s “Polar Network.”
automotiveworld.com
Nov 17, 2016 - 08:51 am
Government Fleet Declaration, Total, Malta, California.
The Government Fleet Declaration, signed by Canada, China, France, Japan, Norway, Sweden, the UK and U.S. at the climate conference in Marrakesh, focuses on pushing electric mobility for official fleets. The declaration does not include a common target, however. The countries have called on other nations to follow their lead.
greencarcongress.com, iea.org (goals; PDF)
Total goes sunny side up: The oil giant wants to equip 5,000 of its locations worldwide with solar panels, 800 will be in France. The official reason is to better the company’s carbon footprint, while electrek speculates Total could set up an EV charging network.
electrek.co, pv-magazine.com
Scrappage fee extended: Transport Malta will keep paying when people trade their old gas-guzzler or diesel for a greener car, allocating another 300,000 dollars to scheme. This could be especially lucrative when combined with a second scheme to fund EVs. Driver qualify for up to 7,000 euros when trading their old car for an electric one, and for to 4,000 euros when “just” purchasing an EV.
maltatoday.com.mt
CA gets more electric transport: The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is funding 15 electric Proterra Catalyst buses, destined for San Joaquin Valley. 11 Proterra depot-chargers, and 4 Proterra fast-chargers will also be set up.
electrek.co, prnewswire.com
Nov 16, 2016 - 09:06 am
Paris, fast-charging network, Iceland Foods, BMW, DRIVETHEARC.
43 e-buses for Paris: The local transportation agency RATP has ordered another 20 Bolloré e-buses and will begin testing pantograph charging technology. RATP has already purchased 23 electric buses, a deal that included the option of purchasing another 70 to 80 units. The agency hopes to electrify 80 percent of its 4,500 strong bus fleet by 2025.
avere-france.org (in French)
EV manufactures plug in: The development of fast-charging infrastructure in Germany seems to not go fast enough for German automakers. BMW, Daimler, VW and others are now talking with motorway restaurant operator Tank+Rast to set up their own fast-charging network by 2018.
bild.de (in German)
Cool delivery: Iceland Foods is testing a retrofitted 5.5-ton electric cooling truck for deliveries in the UK. The project is funded through an OLEV grant and Innovate UK, and also includes a range of industry partners and LowCVP in charge of evaluating the outcome.
transportengineer.org.uk
BMW tests intelligent charging: With its ChargeForward project, the Bavarian carmaker has already been trying intelligent charging to stabilise the grid in San Francisco, working with 100 i3 drivers there (we reported). The results were now published and a second phase has kicked off. Users are now to fill up with more renewable energy and utilities are to profit more as well.
electriccarsreport.com, bmwgroup.com
Charging CA: The construction of the charging corridor DRIVETHEARC in northern California has begun. The 50 fast-charging stations are to go live by March 2017. The project is realised by Nissan, EVgo and Japan’s biggest research organisation NEDO.
automotiveworld.com, prnewswire.com
Nov 15, 2016 - 08:54 am
Vienna, Kangoo Z.E., Toyota, Massachusetts, Kansas City.
Long electric buses for Vienna: The Austrian capital is looking to modernise its public transport fleet and kicked off a second tender. The result will be announced in spring 2017, and will for the first time include 12-metre buses with electric drivetrains. How many was not announced.
wien.gv.at (in German)
Kangoo Z.E. with H2 range-extender: About a year ago, three British companies came together to offer fleet operators a Renault transporter with fuel cell range extender (we reported). Some 32 models have already been sold, also because the REx adds an extra 400 km of range.
gasworld.com
Toyota Mirai international: Europcar UK has added the fuel cell vehicle to its fleets of its newly acquired Brunel chauffeur business, using money from the recently received Office of Low Emission Vehicles grant. Meanwhile, Toyota is looking to offer a few units of the Mirai in United Arab Emirates, now that Air Liquide has been charged with setting up a first H2 fuelling pump in Dubai.
fleetnews.co.uk (Europcar), albawaba.com (UAE)
EV quota for government agencies: The Massachusetts Senate passed a measure requiring a quarter of all new vehicles purchased for [some] government agencies to be electric by 2025. The new bill also lays the foundation for cities to dedicated parking stalls for EVs only.
wickedlocal.com
Kansas eyes EVs: Kansas City International Airport is looking to purchase four electric buses from BYD. A final decision, however, won’t be made until after Thanksgiving, so in the last week of November.
kansascity.com
Nov 14, 2016 - 08:23 am
Paris, London, Ukraine, Montreal, Orange EV.
Fuel cell taxis: The Société du Taxi Electrique Parisien (STEP) has received another batch of fuel cell taxis, taking delivery of 60 Hyundai ix35. The company had put its first five FCVs into service almost one year ago (we reported), and plans to increase its fleet to include several hundred FC vehicles in the next five years.
greencarcongress.com
E-Carsharing in London: The London boroughs of Hammersmith and Fulham have a new e-carsharing scheme in place. Blue City now offers five EVs for hire that can be booked for 30 minutes and left at any charger in any of London’s 20 boroughs signed up to Source London. The fleet will be extended to 25 vehicles in spring.
hammersmithtoday.co.uk
Ukraine borrows cash for e-mobility: The country has asked the European Investment Bank (EIB) for a 200m euro loan in order to invest in and modernise its transport infrastructure in 20 municipalities. The money will also be used to purchase electric buses.
eib.org
Montreal extends charging network: The Canadian city has commissioned 50 new charging points, after adding another 50 to its network in August. The city’s goal in to have a total of 1,000 place to plug-in by 2020.
greencarcongress.com
Heavy-duty e-truck at a discount: Orange EV announced that through the New York State Electric Vehicle Voucher Incentive Fund, it can now offer its T-Series pure electric terminal truck at a 150,000 dollar discount. Vouchers can be requested until the end of the year.
government-fleet.com, wasteadvantagemag.com
Nov 11, 2016 - 09:20 am
Denver, Croove, Enel, Bury Council, Sri Lanka.
Diesel-gate to do good in Denver: Colorado’s capital will acquire 200 plug-in vehicles before the decade’s end as it replaces the city’s ageing fleet. It further hopes to invest part of the 61.3m dollars given to Colorado from the VW settlement fund in adding charging stations. The electric cars may be 80 percent funded by the Charge Ahead Colorado grant programme.
denverpost.com
Mercedes car sharing open to all: Daimler launched a private car sharing app, which will go live in Munich at the beginning of next month. Croove is to be open to all brands and shall unite car owners with those wishing to hire. Mercedes calls it an “Air Bnb on wheels” and has connected the platform to its own payment platform already. Sharing is commercial once more.
forbes.com, daimler.com
Charging Austria and Italy will be Enel that has won a European tender to install 200 electric vehicle charging stations along the motorways. 20 will be erected in the Alpine republic with the rest destined to line the Italian highways. The project is to start within weeks.
finanzen.at (in German)
Clean move: Bury Council added two electric vans to its fleet, which already includes an electric sweeper and tipper for collecting litter. The EVs will be used by the street cleaning and disability services and replace diesel models. The council receives 5,000 GBP per EV from the UK government.
burytimes.co.uk
Carbon tax: Sri Lanka will reduce excise duty and subsidise interest rate on loans to buy electric vehicles with a power of less than 100 kW. The move is designed to replace rickshaws with electric ones, while a carbon tax will be imposed on vehicles other than electric cars and tractors. The initiative is limited to 1,000 units for now.
economynext.com
Nov 10, 2016 - 09:20 am
Vattenfall, Workhorse, Riga, Solaris.
Vattenfall presents inCharge: Vattenfall has launched the charging network inCharge, which it is building in conjunction with partners. All Vattenfall’s existing fast charging stations will be included, as will thousands of charging stations that belong to the partners. According to the power company, the current 2,732 charging points that customers can access in Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands “will soon increase significantly.” A new app allows customers to pay directly at the charging stations.
vattenfall.com, beincharge.se
Electric pickup truck attracts potential customers: Workhorse recently announced its electric pickup work truck W-15 (we reported) and now says that Duke Energy, the city of Portland and the city of Orlando’s municipal fleet have signed non-binding letters of interest to purchase the trucks for their respective uses. Duke Energy said it could purchase as many as 500 trucks.
workhorse.com
Riga orders Solaris buses: Latvian public transport operator Rigas Satiksme has signed a contract with Solaris for the supply of ten low-floor trolleybuses. Each trolleybus will be fitted with a with a hydrogen fuel cell range extender as well as a battery, which allows it to operate without traction energy supply.
gasworld.com
Nov 9, 2016 - 09:09 am
Rotterdam, Morocco, South Korea.
Dutch wireless charging: Three companies in Rotterdam have begun a trial to recharge specially converted electric cars wirelessly. In the future, wireless charging systems could be used at the city´s taxi ranks and bus stops. Rotterdam recently also celebrated the opening of its 2000th EV charging point.
ad.nl (in Dutch) via dutchnews.nl
EV chargers in Morocco: In partnership with Vivo Energy, EV-Box has launched the first charging station for electric vehicles in Morocco. In addition, a total of 20 EV-Box charging points will be presented at the COP22 Climate Change Conference and will later be added to the main roads, laying the ground work for the country’s charging infrastructure.
ev-box.com
Korea to boost number of EV chargers: The South Korean Environment Ministry announced a rapid expansion of the country-wide EV charging infrastructure. The number of currently 9,258 regular and 750 fast charging stations will be increased to 19,579 regular and 1,915 fast chargers by mid-2017.
yonhapnews.co.kr
Nov 8, 2016 - 09:52 am
Supercharger, Chargemaster, Q-Park, Georgia, Cyprus.
The end of free supercharging is near as Tesla announces the start of its ‘credit’ scheme by January 2017. From then on, new buyers will be given 400 kWh of Supercharging credits per year – worth about a 1,000 miles – and will be charged after. For those that already own a Tesla or buy one before the year’s end, Superchargers will remain free of charge.
electrek.co, usatoday.com, tesla.com
UK charge network: Chargemaster and parking operator Q-Park, who reportedly cooperate in London, widen their joint efforts. They plan to build 200 so-called Ultracharger, which are to become part of Chargemaster’s Polar network.
chargemasterplc.com
Charging in Georgia: 100 EV charging stations will be installed in Georgia this year. The first are to go into operation in the capital of Tiflis. That makes it two stations per EV as only 50 EV run in Georgia.
georgiatoday.ge
Charging Cyprus: Three more EV charging stations will be build on Cyprus, in the town of Limassol. The island thus has 15 charge stops in total.
cyprus-mail.com
Emission reduction at airports: 33.7m dollars in grants will be handed out by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Nine airports have been selected, among them the Indianapolis International Airport, which will buy six electric buses. Others will invest in charging infrastructure.
ftnnews.com, einnews.com
Nov 7, 2016 - 09:17 am
OLEV, Evolt, Nissan, Austria, Coop.
EV infrastructure funding: The UK Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) has detailed its new workplace charging grant that is part of the 35m EV initiative. Businesses and public sector bodies receive 300 GBP per charge point and may install up to 20.
fleetnews.co.uk, gov.uk (guidance, pdf)
V2G testing: Evolt has been selected to provide EV charging infrastructure to the UK Electric Nation project. It will deliver charging station to half of the 500 to 700 participants. The units will be subsidised by OLEV and Western Power Distribution, which is funding the project.
smarthighways.net
V2G operational: Nissan has installed vehicle-to-grid technology at its British R&D unit, the Nissan Technical Center Europe (NTCE). Eight stations are now available to NTCE staff and have been developed together with Enel.
electriccarsreport.com, nissaninsider.co.uk
The largest e-NV200 fleet in Europe is operated by the Austrian mail service Post RAL. They count 360 of Nisan’s electric vans. After serving in urban centres since 2015, the new batch will now be on duty in rural areas.
oekonews.at (in German)
H2 cooperative: Swiss retailer Coop a hydrogen filling station in Hunzenschwil, Canton Aargau. At the same time it added an H2 truck and trailer to its logistic fleet as well as twelve FCV. More H2 stations are planned for other regions in Switzerland.
coop.ch
Nov 4, 2016 - 08:33 am
Charging corridors, New Jersey, New Zealand, Barcelona, Kazakhstan.
Charging corridors across USA: The White House will establish 48 EV charging corridors along nearly 25,000 miles of highways in 35 U.S. states. 28 states, utilities and carmakers, like GM, BMW or Nissan, as well as infrastructure providers are to add more stations. Additionally, 24 states and local government vowed to acquire more electric cars for their fleets and to also add more EV charging stops.
reuters.com
In New Jersey, utilities and other enterprises are lobbying to put more EVs on the road. Their ChargEVC coalition promotes various policies. If successful, the campaign may become a model for other states.
nrdc.org
Electric Highway: New Zealand’s utilities Mercury and Contact want to double the number of EV charging stations available to Kiwis. Together with PlugShare, they set out for the so-called Electric Highway. Existing charge spots shall be made visible to drivers via PlugShare’s app.
newshub.co.nz
Sea air improvement: Barcelona’s harbour shall become less polluted. The port seeks to replace its fleet with electric vehicles until complete electrification by 2020. The 25 actions outlined in the plan include the installation of respective charging stations as well.
ajot.com
Kazakhstan electrifies: 100 EV charging stations shall soon stand in the Central Asian country; 40 in Astana, 40 in Almaty and another 20 along motorways. The federal initiative also includes assembly of an electric car in Kazakhstan, which is priced at about 15,000 dollars.
kazakh-tv.kz, youtube.com (Video)
Nov 3, 2016 - 09:26 am
BAIC BJEV, Milan, Wrightbus, San Fernando Valley, Camden Yards.
Battery swap in Beijing: BAIC BJEV has installed ten battery swapping stations for electric cabs in the Chinese capital. Their number shall grow to 50 within this year with 200 planned by the end of 2017. They would serve a fleet of 50,000 electric taxis that shall shuttle audience and athletes that are expected for the 2022 Winter Olympics.
prnewswire.com
Shop & Go Sharing: Charge and share an electric car at a Carrefour outlet in Milan. The “Shop’n Go‘ carsharing and charging station has been installed in cooperation with Share’NGo, an elecric carsharing provider from Italy. Seven more such stations shall follow at Carrefour markets before the year’s end.
eprretailnews.com
Bulk bus order: Scottish Lothian Buses has ordered a total of 316 electric, hybrid and diesel buses from Wrightbus otherwise known as Routemaster bus for London Transport. It has not been disclosed how many buses of each variant will be delivered over four years.
bbc.co.uk, eurotransportmagazine.com
Electric bus line: Five electric buses will serve on the Orange Line in San Fernando Valley, California and charge overhead. A 4.3m federal grant has helped financing the initiative along with another 5.8m match from the LA County Metropolitan Transit Authority. By 2020, the entire line shall be electrified.
dailynews.com
Nine EV charging stations have been erected at Camden Yards stadium in Baltimore, Maryland. Baseball fans can thus charge their electric cars on Level 2 or Level 3 and pay by the month or by trip.
baltimoresun.com
Nov 2, 2016 - 08:25 am
Morocco, Charge Amps, Flint, Envision Solar.
PEV tax package: Morocco decided to remove customs duties for hybrid and electric vehicles from 2017 as a first step in longer process. A 10 perecnt VAT tax or the introduction of a bonus-malus system are being discussed as well. Morocco will host the COP22 talks in December.
moroccoworldnews.com
Design cable: Charge Amps officially launched RAY, the temperature-sensing charge cable. It has been designed J. Nordwall from Koenigsegg. The first Ray cables are being sent out in Norway now.
mynewsdesk.com
German-Spanish cooperation: Spanish Valladolid and the “Metropolregion” in Lower Saxony are to strengthen their joint e-mobility efforts supported by the EU. Electric buses and delivery vans will run in Valladolid for example. The partners will share a booth at the Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona from Nov, 15 – 17.
metropolregion.de (in German)
H2 bus prototype testing: The Flint Mass Transportation Authority in Flint, Michigan, started a one year test with a Proterra prototype running on hydrogen. The trial is to show how the bus works in a cold environment in particular as it has only been run in warmer climates.
greencarcongress.com
Solar expansion and financing: Envision Solar relocated to a more spacious HQ in San Diego. At the same time, the firm announced new financing and leasing models for its solar charging stations.
marketwired.com (HQ), wallstreet-online.de (financing)
Nov 1, 2016 - 08:37 am
Tokyo, CoMO Connect, Porterville, Sonoma County, Tirol.
2020 Olympics powered by H2: Toyota and Honda plan to have at least 6,000 fuel cell vehicles on Japan’s roads by 2020. Tokyo is reportedly ready to spend 45.2bn yen on FCV subsidies of which 1m is reserved for Tokyo residents and 35 hydrogen charging stations. By 2025 , their number shall grow to 80 refuelling stops with the addition of 100,000 hydrogen vehicles and 100 fuel cell buses.
forbes.com
Electric bus pleases: CoMO Connect from Columbia, Missouri, ordered another five electric buses with charging stations from BYD in a lease-to-own agreement over the next 12 years. The lease is valued at about 3.6m dollars. The new buses will join an existing fleet of four.
columbiamissourian.com
Funding for electric buses is to go Porterville, as the Californian town receives 9.5m dollar through the Air Resources Board. The money is earmarked for nine electric buses by GreenPower and charging infrastructure. Deliveries will to start in autumn next year.
recorderonline.com
County charging: 240,000 dollars will be reserved for fostering electric and hybrid vehicles in Sonoma County, California, via an incentive scheme. Meanwhile, six EV charging stations are to be installed for staff and students on the campus of Sonoma State University.
sonomastatestar.com
Rent a fuel cell car: Austrian Tirol offers fuel cell vehicles for hire for testing reasons. One day with a hydrogen car costs 40 euros including insurance. There is one hydrogen charging station in Western Austria.
tirol.gv.at (in German)
Oct 31, 2016 - 09:35 am
Tritium, Adelaide, Bangalore, BYD-ADL, Cape Town.
Tritium expands to U.S.: The Australian charging infrastructure provider is looking to expand across the United States, starting with California. Next year, Tritium will set up a first U.S. headquarter in Torrance, complete with a research and a production facility.
greencarcongress.com
Plugging in Down Under: The Australian city of Adelaide wants to increase the number of EV charging stations from now four to 40 by next year, and make these available for free. Meanwhile, businesses, residents, schools and community groups still qualify for subsidies for installing solar panels, energy storage and EV chargers (we reported).
energymatters.com.au, abc.net.au
150 e-buses for Bangalore: The Indian megacity decided to purchase 150 electric buses, making it the country’s first metropole to order electrically powered buses on such a large scale.
cardekho.com
New order for BYD and ADL: The BYD-ADL (Alexander Dennis Limited) has received its first order in the UK. Bus operator Arriva North West Merseyside wants to purchase twelve Enviro200 EV electric buses and eight charging stations.
automotiveworld.com
Electric buses for Cape Town: As part of a pilot project, the South African city is adding ten electric buses to its MyCITI service from June 2017. The buses will be delivered by BYD, who won the recent tender. The Chinese manufacturer will assemble the buses locally and provide the necessary charging infrastructure.
itweb.co.za, enca.com
Oct 28, 2016 - 08:19 am
Energica, 30 kW wireless Charger, innogy, Quebec, Chicago.
Fast-charging motorbikes: Energica will invest 1m euros to set up fast-charging infrastructure for its electric motorbikes. The initiative is to start in 2017 and concentrates on motorways in Italy and California. In the Netherlands, Energia will work with Fastned that offers 4 years of free charging.
insideevs.com
30 kW wirelessly: Researchers from TH Deggendorf launched the first inductive EV charging system with a traffic permit. It charges at up to 30 kW – faster than any other – and is currently being tested at two locations, one in a parking garage, the other outdoors.
sueddeutsche.de, pnp.de, antenne.de, th-deg.de (all articles in German)
Pit stop charging: 82 fuel stations will be upgraded with EV fast-charging stations by innogy SE. Already, they installed 50 such juicy multi-standard spots at motorway service stations by Tank & Rast. The latter plans to equip 400 of its locations with fast-charging stations.
emobilserver.de (in German)
Quebec makes ZEV mandatory: The Canadian province adopted a ZEV mandate that requires carmakers to sell EVs for credits in order to compensate for their ICE sales or to buy the credits from others. This is why Tesla had a say in the legislation and made considerable lobbying efforts.
electrek.co
Commercial e-shuttle service: Ten electric buses by Proterra shuttle commuters in Chicago. The fleet was leased by real estate firm JLL and will serve between train stations and iconic buildings managed by JLL. The service is in part funded by Drive Clean Chicago and replaces diesel buses.
greencarcongress.com, cleantechnica.com
Oct 27, 2016 - 08:49 am
BMW and Bosch, Tesla, Liverpool, Costa Rica
2nd life goes live: BMW and Bosch officially inaugurated their energy storage solution in Hamburg. It consists of used electric car batteries. To reach 2.8 MWh/ 2 MW, Bosch and BMW utilised 2,600 battery modules from over 100 cars. The project serves to show long-term prospects of such installations and also provides a buffer for Hamburg’s harbour with Vattenfall on board.
insideevs.com
How Tesla may swap its batteries has been revealed by patent application drawings. They show a system that lifts a Tesla to get to its underbelly. The swap has not been widespread so far but might find new life in fleet applications for which Tesla only recently poached an expert from Audi.
electrek.co
Electric buses in Liverpool: Twelve electric buses are to go into service in Liverpool. They are the same as used in London, the BYD ADL Enviro200 single deckers. Arriva North West funds 2.3m GBP of the investment with over 1.6m GBP secured from the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV).
thenorthwestbusblog.co.uk
Costa Rica to tackle transport: The country’s government is looking into an electric car bill that is to to lift taxes on electric car imports for five years and up to 100,000 units. As it excludes hybrids, Toyota has already asked for its models to be included. A final decision may has to go a long way.
ticotimes.net
Oct 26, 2016 - 07:53 am
UK, ADEME, Colorado, Greenspot, Tesla.
Modern Transport Bill: British Department for Transport has started a consultation for its Modern Transport Bill. This includes electric transport and suggests the introduction of standards, smart charging as well as the installation of charging stations in park garages and at large service stations. To foster e-mobility is one declared aim of the legislation.
energylivenews.com, newcivilengineer.com, gov.uk
French infrastructure scheme ADEME will run until March 2016. It primarily looks to finance EV charging infrastructure in yet uncoverd areas and with long-term parking. The programme further aims at municipalities and recognised energy unions and finances up to 50% of cost with a cap at 3,000 euros.
avere-france.org (in French)
EV charging in Boulder County: The town of Lafayette opened another public charging station, the fourth in the city. All four stations have been funded through the Charge Ahead Colorado grant programme that bore 80 percent of cost with the remaining 20% coming from the County.
dailycamera.com
Charging Jersey City: Greenspot, an infrastructure provider, has introduced ten EV charging stations that serve its EV sharing in Jersey City, New Jersey. The latter is done in partnership with GM’s Maven so expect to see some Bolt charging there soon.
prweb.com
Kiwis get Tesla storage: Vector, an utility in New Zealand, opened a grid-scale Tesla Powerpack installation. The Californians delivered 24 Powerpacks for a 1MW/ 2.3MWh system, which is located in a suburb of Auckland. The utiliy deems it the biggest installation in the Asia/Pacific region.
electrek.co
Oct 25, 2016 - 08:09 am
Renault, Portugal, Panasonic, Supercharger, Green Commuters.
Renault pro combo: The French carmaker will offer CCS Combo charging with 22 kW AC and 100 kW DC on all its models in Europe. This leaves Nissan, Mitsubishi and Kia as sole CHAdeMO supporters on the continent. Despite the partnership, Renault’s EV programme director Eric Feunteun made clear that “the Combo 2 standard, which was imposed in Europe, will be our standard.”
insideevs.com, automobile-propre.com (in French)
60m state aid: Portugal’s plan to fund green buses with 60m euros has found approval with the EU commission. The country plans to replace old buses with low emission models, incl. hybrid, electric, CNG, and H2, and to supply respective infrastructure. The EU cohesion fund will bear 85 percent of cost.
europa.eu
Merger aftermath: Tesla and Panasonic will work ever closer together should Tesla merge with SolarCity. If approved, the battery partnership would include residential storage batteries for which it would make photovoltaic cells and modules in Buffalo, New York.
asia.nikkei.com, forbes.com, tesla.com
Supercharger pit stop: The state of New York saw Superchargers going up at gas stations. Tesla works with QuickChek in Kingston and the cooperation might be expanded to further locations in the area.
electrek.co, greencarreports.com
EV share funding: Green Commuter receives a 250,000 dollar state tax credit in California to advance its EV sharing with Model X. Also the Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority (CARTA) in Tennessee granted the firm 750,000 dollars as it reportedly set up 20 Nissan Leaf to hire.
financial.de (California), chargedevs.com (Tennessee)
Oct 24, 2016 - 07:56 am
London, UK, Poland, Denmark, Nissan, Greater Louisville.
Fast-charging London: ChargePoint and BluePoint London from Bolloré plan to introduce fast-chargers for the British capital’s Source network. Until summer 2017, 30 rapid chargers are to go up. Both firms also declared interoperability of GeniePoint and Source London charge spots.
itsinternational.com
Electric trucks for UK: The British government will make 4m pound available for electric vehicles over 3.5 tonnes. Companies are to receive grants of up to 20,000 GBP to switch large trucks to electric equivalents. The move comes amid Nissan’s fears over Brexit with regard to its Sunderland operation.
sunderlandecho.com, somersetcountygazette.co.uk
Polish e-mobility initiative: Poland’s utilities PGE, Energa, Enea and Tauron entered a Joint Venture to foster electric transport. Each firm holds 25% and the project aims at 1m electric cars on Polish roads in 2025. The university as well as the National Centre for Nuclear Research take part as well.
energetyka.wnp.pl (in Polish)
Denmark and Nissan go V2G: The Danes are working with the Japanese to introduce vehicle-to-grid technology. Denmark’s utility, Frederiksberg Forsyning, installed ten V2G charging units at 10 kW each from Enel. There, ten Nissan e-NV200 will be plugged via ChaDeMo for bi-directional power transfer. The project is the world’s first commercial V2G hub, according to the firms, as all parts are available.
insideevs.com
E-bus fleet: 15 electric buses place Greater Louisville’s fleet among the largest electric bus squadrons in the States. The last six units by Proterra have just been acquired by the Transit Authority of River City (TARC). The electric buses come with a bike rack and replace 16 year old models.
insideevs.com
Oct 21, 2016 - 08:07 am
Poland, Utrecht, Tesla, Venson + EO Charging, Ballard, Kandi.
EV only zones in Poland? Poland’s Ministry of Energy is looking into introducing ‘low-emissions zones’ in cities, a Polish newspaper reports. This may be a push for coal as much as for green transport as the country relies on carbon sources for its energy needs, while the ruling party PiS pushes back more sustainable alternatives.
cleantechnica.com, parlamentarny.pl (in Polish)
Ten electric buses have been acquired by the Dutch town of Utrecht, where they replace ten older diesel vehicles. The 12 metre models will serve an entire line by spring next year and have been bought in a joint effort by the Utrecht public transport bus provider, Qbuzz, the municipality, and the province.
eltis.org
Supercharging Ireland: Tesla is to expand to the republic with a new store, likely in Dublin, as well as EV charging stations by 2017. Ireland is the last Western European country missing on the Tesla map and was due to be connected already this year.
electrek.co
Clean fleet cooperation: Leasing company Venson Automotive Solutions partnered with charging infrastructure provider EO Charging, to help fleet providers switch to electric. They set up the ‘CleanFleet‘ service, which uses GPS data to see if a more electric and/or hybrid fleet is feasible.
businesscar.co.uk, fleetnews.co.uk
Ballard bus update: Ballard Power Systems is to deliver technology for 300 fuel cell buses in the Chinese cities of Foshan and Yunfu reportedly. The latter has now taken delivery of ten such hydrogen buses, while Foshan received the first twelve earlier this month.
renewable-energy-industry.com
Kandi is to sell 50,000 EV over 5 years through Shanxi Coal, a strategic cooperation agreement sets out. Kandi says the agreement is to stabilise the firm’s EV business in times of varying subsidy policies.
streetinsider.com
Oct 20, 2016 - 08:23 am
Hyundai, Solaris, Mahindra, XL Hybrid, OCPP.
Hyundai to charge Belgium: 85 EV charging station are planned at Hyundai dealerships in Belgium and Luxembourg. The car maker will cooperate with utility provider Eneco as the Ioniq launch draws near. The first charger stands in Bruges.
lesoir.be (in French)
Homerun for Solaris: Polish bus maker Solaris has received an order from Poland over 42 electric buses. 22 Urbino of different sizes will go to Jaworzno and another 20 are destined for Krakow. Deliveries are set for 2017.
omnibusrevue.de (in German)
Homerun for Mahindra: 50 eSupro cargo vans by Mahindra have been ordered by Indian Brring Logistics. The last-mile delivery service has received the first ten electric vans in New Delhi already. They can travel up to 112 miles on a charge.
autocarpro.in
XL Hybrid retrofitted five vans for Prince George’s County, Maryland. Also, Montgomery County saw 15 vehicles being hybridised with the firm’s XL3 Hybrid system.
Prince Gorge County, fleetowner.com
International interoperability: ‘EV Charging Equipment Data Exchange Technical Committee’ is to introduce version 2 of the OCPP to establish the de-facto standard for EV-to-network communications officially and globally. Already ABB, Allego, EV-Box, EVgo, Mennekes, Schneider Electric, Siemens and The New Motion among others are on board. OCPP 2.0 is to be published this month.
prweb.com, openchargealliance.org
Oct 19, 2016 - 08:32 am
Ultra-E, Power Authority, California, Renault, EnBW, LAPD.
Ultra-fast charging at 350 kW: An ultra-fast EV charging network is to go up in Europe through the ‘Ultra-E’ EU pilot project. 25 stations with CCS connection delivering up to 350 kW will stretch along the TEN-T corridors that run through Germany, Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands from 2018. Current electric cars will charge at 50 kW. Audi, BMW, Renault, Hubject, Allego and Smatrics are on board.
electrek.co
EV charge network for NYC: The New York Power Authority has made 300 locations available for the installation of EV charging stations by local governments. Technology will be provided at low cost by the state authority via ChargeNY. The scheme targets 3,000 stations by 2018 and has realised 50% so far.
news10.com, governor.ny.gov
California to adapt EV incentives: The golden state increases incentives for PHEV by 500 dollars for those on lower income. At the same time, from Nov,1, California raises the high income cap so those in excess of it will be not eligible for funding anymore with the exception of FCV.
businesswire.com
Renault roaming: Renault’s ZE pass is valid in France, too. Here, EV drivers can use the app and RFID chip to plug in at 1,600 EV charging stations of the roaming initiative Gireve.
avere-france.org
Cross-company payment: 700 charge points of EnBW in German now allow for direct payments via Hubject’s intercharge direct system. No contract or prepaid card is required.
hubject.com
LAPD eyes Tesla: The Los Angeles Police Department drives BMW i3 reportedly, yet the Model S is still on trial in full police gear. The law enforcement’s biggest worry so far is price, hence why it opted for BMW initially, but the LADP intends to acquire 100 more electric cars within this year.
autoblog.com, autoguide.com, nbclosangeles.com (with video)
