Shanghai electrified: The Chinese metropolis plans to erect 1,800 charging stations by the end of the year and has another 2,400 in the pipeline for late 2015. The uptake of EVs in the city with 23 million inhabitants has doubled (from 581 in 2013) in the first half of 2014. ecns.cn
Sri Lanka is to build 40 charging spots next to supermarkets by August. More are to follow. The chargers will serve the Mahindra E20, which is now offered in Sri Lanka (we reported). The country hopes to quickly increase the number of EVs from currently 100. lbt.lk
Proterra launches 2nd generation: The company just sealed its first sale of its updated electric bus to its long-standing customer Foothill Transit in California. To acquire new sales, Proterra has went on an U.S. tour, promoting its offering to transportation officials. greencarcongress.com (sale in California), timesunion.com, albany.twcnews.com (tour stop in Albany)
Switching pays: The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is to give 7.7 million dollars to individuals, businesses, governmental organisations and schools willing to exchange their old diesel vehicles with new alternative fuel and hybrid vehicles. Grants may cover up to 80% of the purchase cost. starlocalmedia.com
Helsinki takes car sharing a step further and might make car ownership redundant by 2025. Its new concept for “Mobility on Demand” is taking into account all forms of transport and integrates them in a single payment system. However, this is very much future talk while their ‘Kutsuplus’ minibus can already be ordered via smartphone and personally scheduled. theguardian.com
Luxembourg plans carsharing: The scheme is set to start in the capital by 2015 and will receive 1.5 million euros by the City of Luxembourg in the first ten years of its existence. For the start, only 15 (“low emission,” not fully electric) cars will be deployed by the newly founded Carsharing SA, which the city owns by 97% while partners Cambio and ACL get a 1% share each. wort.lu
Renault goes Uruguay: The French company has just delivered 30 Kangoo Z.E. to the state-owned utility provider UTE. They will be used in the capital Montevideo and elsewhere in the country, which already gets 84% of its energy from renewable sources. greencarcongress.com, evfleetworld.co.uk
Rungis to be electrified: SEMMARIS, that manages Rungis International Market in Paris, added seven Renault Zoes to its fleet. The partnership with the French carmaker is aimed at the 1,200 market sellers and their 25,000 customers. Together with the City of Paris, several charging stations are set to be erected at the market. electriccarsreport.com
Austrian H2 pumps: Linde has started a small-series production of hydrogen fuelling stations which feature their energy-efficient ionic compressor IC90. The facility in Vienna will make 50 units per year. 28 of these H2 stations have already been sold to the Iwatani Corporation with the first put in service in Japan. greencarcongress.com
Cologne to get e-bus: Cologne’s public transport (KVB) acquired eight electric buses by VDL Bus & Coach. The 18-metre bendy buses are set to be delivered in the second half of 2015. The government of North Rhine-Westphalia will help finance the six million-euro project. KVB is one of the first companies in Germany to employ battery-electric articulated buses. newstix.de (in German)
Gujarat to get electric bus: The government of the Indian state plans to electrify public transport service between the state capital Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad. State-owned Gujarat Power Corporation Limited (GPCL) is now looking for private investors to be able to purchase between 15 and 40 electric mini buses as well as charging infrastructure. indiancarsbikes.in
The first Canadian Supercharger stands in Squamish, BC and has just been opened. Tesla identified “Priority Routes” in Western and Eastern Canada, connecting major cities like Toronto and Montreal or Vancouver and Whistler, and hopes to begin construction in Toronto this month already. teslamotorsclub.com, teslamotors.com
Electric car specialists: More than half (60%) of Mitsubishi dealers in the UK have signed up to become a ‘company car specialists’ targeting business customers. The scheme’s importance has been increased by the arrival of the Outlander PHEV and training includes sessions on tax benefits. fleetnews.co.uk
Electric lorry on trial: Fuso, Daimler’s subsidiary in Japan, is also responsible for the Canter E-Cell, which is built at Tramagal plant in Portugal. Now, eight evaluation vehicles were given to Portuguese customers to test the lorries under real-life conditions. puregreencars.com, electriccarsreport.com
Nissan’s No Charge to Charge Programme has ChargePoint back in the game, reports ChargedEvs. That is because the EZ-Charge card will also grant access to charge points not included in Nissan’s two-years free-charging scheme – with a charge for a charge. chargedevs.com
The hybrid ferries from Scandlines could soon be followed by fully-electric ones. After the carrier had been granted 2.3 million euros from the European Union for their conversion of two ferries to hybrid drivetrains. Scandlines’ CEO Søren Poulsgaard Jensen is considering the electrification of one vessel of its Helsingør-Helsingborg route. fehmarn24.de, 02elf.net (both in German)
Tesla supports Tesla museum: The latter refers to the pioneering researcher of alternating currents, Nikola Tesla. His workplace will be turned into a museum with funds from an Oatmeal online campaign. In another cartoon, the company then asked Elon Musk to get involved. Mission accomplished – Tesla (the carmaker) will pay one million dollars and donate a Supercharger to the museum. theoatmeal.com via greencarreports.com
VW is preparing for the USA: Volkswagen is cooperating with Bosch and ChargePoint in the American market. Bosch Automotive Service Solutions will take over installation and supply of home chargers for e-Golf drivers who will also get access to ChargePoint’s network and app. puregreencars.com, electriccarsreport.com
New energy home opens up: After receiving great interest in its Californian ‘Honda Smart Home,’ the carmaker is taking the project open source. On the project’s homepage, various building plans can now be downloaded (in PDF and CAD format) free of charge. earthtechling.com, forbes.com, hondasmarthome.com
EVs enter fleets in UK and Italy: Oldham Council is taking seven Nissan Leafs into service across the borough. They will be shared with Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service and Greater Manchester Police. Meanwhile, Turin-based carsharing provider IoGuido is bringing six Fiat 500e home to Italy. fleetnews.co.uk (UK), insideevs.com (Italy)
Renault’s Zoe finished 2,500 kilometres through the UK without any mayor problems. The ‘Charging around the UK’ tour, organised by Pod Point and sponsored by the French manufacturer, went to 15 British towns in 17 days in June. Starting in London, the Zoe travelled as far north as Scotland while using 72 charging stations. thegreencarwebsite.co.uk
Boris Cars à la French: In the run-up to the introduction of the BlueCar electric car sharing in London next year as ‘Source London,’ the Guardian’s Paris correspondent Jon Henley took a closer look at Bolloré’s offering. Apart from his own, reassuring experience (“That’s my car”) he also takes into account history and other user experiences. Promising! theguardian.com
Centralised EV order: Ten San Francisco Bay Area local governments have jointly ordered 90 electric cars to be used in their fleet. This deployment is facilitated by the Bay Area Climate Collaborative (BACC) and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC). The latter funded the purchase with 2.8 million dollars. greencarcongress.com, newsday.com
Regular, premium or hydrogen? A study by Sandia National Laboratories took a look at existing gas stations in California to see which could safely store and dispense hydrogen. From 70 examined stations, the researchers found 14 could already become H2 stations, while 17 could be converted rather easily. sciencedaily.com, green.autoblog.com
Hybrid ferry fleet Together, Corvus Energy and Scandlines operate what they say is the biggest hybrid ferry fleet worldwide. The ‘Prinsesse Benedikte’ was the first and is now being joined by three more vessels serving between Puttgarden (Germany) and Rødby (Denmark). electricvehiclesresearch.com, energy-daily.com
Veefil to be sold worldwide: The funky Veefil Fast Charger by Australian Tritium has been certified as UL compliant for the U.S. and Canada. As it is already compliance certified in Europe and Australia, the DC charging stations can now be offered globally and will be produced by the Chinese Surpass Sun Electric. chargedevs.com
Fastned to go public: The start up Fastned plans to erect 200 fast chargers by ABB along dutch motorways (we reported). To achieve their goal within the next three years and raise enough capital, Fastned currently prepares for its stock market launch. sprout.nl (in Dutch)
Iceland to be charged up: In Iceland, similar plans are being hetched by Even. The company is tired of waiting for the government and plans to erect 200 fast charging stations on the Nordic isle. Iceland intends to have a 10-percent EV share by 2020. icelandreview.com
Renault EVs in Argentina: The French manufacturer is offering test rides with two Kangoo Z.E. and two Twizys. Renault hopes to be able to sell its first EVs in Argentina by the end of this year, even though the Twizy has yet to be categorised. Charging points shall be erected by the local utility provider Edesur. buenosairesherald.com
Eco tourist transport on Seychelles: Seychellois company Ecars plans to introduce electric cars by GEM to the Seychelles’ third most populated island, La Digue. The vehicles are already a success on Praslin and tourism enterprises have shown vivid interest in the EVs with a range of up to 50 kilometres. seychellesnewsagency.com
French quickies: Auxerre is home to France’s first Tesla Supercharger and the station will not be lonely for long. Tesla plans to erect up to 25 more Superchargers across the Grande Nation until the end of this year. Meanwhile, Tesla’s Supercharger homepage lists 32 locations in Europe including latest openings in Denmark and Sweden. tesla-mag.com (in French), teslamotors.com (list of superchargers)
Borderless charging: Smatrics and The New Motion announced their international cooperation. From now on, users of both systems will be able to charge their EV at about 1,000 charge points throughout Austria, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. Until September, Smatric customers can use the charging stations free of charge. smatrics.com, thenewmotion.de (both in German), smatrics.com (list of stations)
Bhutan means EV business: The country is on course to become the kingdom of EVs as the latest plans far exceed the goal of 2,000 electric cars in its streets. Instead, prime minister Tshering Tobgay is thinking of making Bhutan an EV-only land and has already been to Japan to talk to Nissan and Mitsubishi about his ambitious plan. green.autoblog.com
Mitsubishi in Mongolia: The Japanese manufacturer has just donated two electric cars to the administration of Ulaanbaatar to bring a cooperation for importing electric cars to Mongolia on the way. The authorities will try the cars first before eventually signing an import agreement with Mitsubishi. mongolnews.mn
EVs for Summerside: The Canadian city of Summerside purchased three electric vehicles for its electric department. The two Nissan Leafs and one Ford Focus Electric will also be made available in a car-share programme open to the public when the EVs are not used by the department. journalpioneer.com
Call for charging solutions: In the country’s first “Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) competition,” the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) is calling for ideas for charging solutions for multi-story as well as underground car parks. The winner will receive 200,000 euros (271,700 dollars) to develop a prototype. businessandleadership.com, siliconrepublic.com
50 charging points and growing: UK city of Sunderland is investing 500 million pounds (857m dollars) in getting people to switch from petrol to electricity. Money will flow into research, as well as into the extension of the city’s charging network – already one of the best in the country. The goal is to become a national hub for the low carbon economy. sunderlandecho.com
Scotland gets three new public charging stations: The new locations are funded by the Scottish Government through Transport Scotland. While the charge point in Dumfries most likely is a DC quick charger, the sites in Annan and Castle Douglas seem to offer AC charging only. gallowaygazette.co.uk
EmiD kick-off: The showcase project “Electric mobility in Dresden” (EmiD) is headed by Fraunhofer Institute IVI and is supported by the city of Dresden, the Technical University of Dresden and local government bodies. Together, they have purchased and will test an electric fleet consisting of 16 electric vehicles to find out what is keeping people from using electric cars. saena.de, elektromobilitaet-verbindet.de (both in German)
Putting hybrid buses to the test: Eight Volvo plug-in hybrid buses will enter service in Stockholm, Sweden, this autumn. The buses’ battery packs can be quick charged in just six minutes. The trial is part of the EU project ZeEUS (Zero Emission Urban Bus System), which is conducted in a total of six EU countries. volvobuses.com
New charging points in Denmark: E.ON wants to install 13 new charging stations along the national motorway, which will support “all off the brands of electric cars commonly found in Denmark.” The stations should be operational by the end of 2014, with twelve of the stations located between Copenhagen and Aarhus and one near the Farø Bridges. cphpost.dk
Two new charging points on ‘Electric Highway’: Ecotricty added stations at Peterborough and Baldock Extra Services in England. According to EVfleetworld, the company has now installed 161 DC charging stations along its ‘Electric Highway’ from London to the South of Scotland. The plan is to have a charging point at every motorway service station by the end of the year. evfleetworld.co.uk
Hamburg electrifies public bus lines: Starting this December, the German city will use only buses with an electric drivetrain to service its bus route 109 from the city centre to Alsterdorf. Moreover, Hamburg says that all new buses bought after 2020, will be emission-free. newstix.de (in German)
CHAdeMO in Europe: A total of 1,181 quick charging stations supporting the CHAdeMO standard have been installed throughout Europe. With 261 chargers, the UK currently has the most installations. Looking at the per-capita numbers, Norway once again proves to be the EV friendliest place. transportevolved.com
Perfect for the island: Mahindra is directly eyeing the latter as the perfect market for its E20. The EV will be shipped to Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Bermuda and the Seychelles in the coming weeks. Next stop is Europe in 2015, where the E20 will first be made available in the UK and Norway. hindustantimes.com
Electric mobility in Berlin, take two: The German capital’s “Eco-Mobility Festival,” planned for 2015 had to be cancelled, due to too much opposition from residents and politicians (we reported). The plan was that, for a whole month, only electric cars were to be allowed in parts of city. Now politicians hope to give it another go – this time without forbidding the use of petrol cars and in closer cooperation with local residents. morgenpost.de, tagesspiegel.de (both in German)
New ‘CarCharging’ station in Illinois: The company has partnered with Roundy’s Supermarket, a leading grocer in the Midwest, installing a Blink Level II EV charging station in Frankfort, Illinois (U.S.). Drivers can pay by using their Blink InCard, as well as directly by credit card. prnewswire.com, wsj.com
Is it time for a new Volt? At least that is what the U.S. sales figures for June could stand for. While the Nissan Leaf with 2,347 units is in its sixteenth straight month of record sales, Chevy only sold 1,777 Volts, which is 34% down from the 2,698 sales in June 2013. Still, last month was the strongest of this year for the Volt so far. greencarreports.com, green.autoblog.com
ZAP finds bulk buyer in China: The California-based EV manufacturer has signed a strategic partnership, as well as a purchase agreement with China’s Xinri Electric Vehicle Company. The latter wants to sell 1,000 of ZAP’s URBEE via its distribution network in China – per month! hybridcars.com,online.wsj.com
Japan to charge its capital: Starting in December, companies Mitsui Fudosan and NEC Corporation will install 125 charging points at the Tokyo Midtown, which is one of the most recognised high-rises in the Japanese capital. It is home to numerous apartments, offices, as well as shops and even hotels. greencarcongress.com, japancorp.net
Venson Automotive to electrify South Yorkshire: The company is helping some 80 businesses in that part of the UK to switch from gas to green, encouraging employees to lease electric vehicles for their commute to and from work. The scheme is supported by Sheffield City Council and could be adopted by others is successful. fleetnews.co.uk, fleetworld.co.uk
Japanese carsharing to debut in France: 70 Toyota i-ROAD and COMS ultra-compact EV as well as 30 charging stations will go into service in Grenoble in Southern France this October. For this three-year trial, Toyota has formed a partnership with the City and the Metropolitan Area of Grenoble, as well as EDF, whose subsidiary Sodetrel will operate the charging points. greencarcongress.com (with video), electriccarsreport.com, hybridcars.com
Nissan almost triples fast-charging points: The carmaker reports that it has 633 functioning CHAdeMO charging stations in the U.S., 180 of those at dealerships. January of last year, Nissan counted only 160 DC quick chargers. That means, the company is right on target, having promised to triple its number of or add 500 charging points by mid-2014. In comparison, Tesla just installed its worldwide 101st Supercharger. greencarreports.com, transportevolved.com
First female for the Formula E: The Amlin-Aguri team has chosen Katherine Legge as one of their drivers in the electric racing series. The 33-year-old former Champ Car racer is the first of the team’s two drivers to be announced. fiaformulae.com
Llewellyn gets behind the wheel of Nissan’s e-NV200 and traveled to Barcelona, just to do exactly that. Robert Llewellyn was impressed with Nissan’s second fully-electric vehicle and the fact that it will serve as a taxi in the Spanish city as of sometime this year. And electric taxis are “exactly the thing every city needs” he concludes. thegreencarwebsite.co.uk
Californian funding: The California Air Resources Board (CARB) just approved a 222-million dollar electric mobility funding plan for 2014 and 2015. 116 million dollars are reserved for EV incentives. The scheme will now support fuel-cell vehicles with up to 5,000 dollars each. greencarcongress.com, arb.ca.gov
All on one card: In the German region of Hanover, Volkswagen started testing its own mobility card with 50 participants. The card allows EV drivers to reserve and pay selected charging stations and parking lots. Furthermore, VW’s carsharing ‘Quicar’ as well as public transport services are said to be integrated. The card works in combination with an app that allows EV drivers to prolong parking time via their smartphone. car-it.com (in German)
Five-Tesla-stores bill: Pennsylvania’s senate unanimously voted for a bill that will allow Tesla to operate up to five stores in the state. Tesla said it is pleased with the compromise as it “serves the interests of Pennsylvania’s consumers” while cutting “potentially protracted conflict” short. green.autoblog.com
Brazil Post to test electric vans: The postal service of the football nation just took delivery of two Renault Kangoo Z.E. In a trial, one van will serve in Brasilia while the other will deliver parcels electrically in the metropolitan region of Curitiba. The four-month trial could be prolonged up to one year. postandparcel.info
Domestic charging recharged: The UK government is restarting its programme for the installation of home chargers. The current scheme, which sees owners claiming up to 75% of costs for a domestic charger, runs out in June. A new initiative with grants of up to 1,000 pounds per charger is set to start in September, will make use of another 9 million pounds (15.3m dollars) government funding. businessgreen.com, transportevolved.com
E-Bike rental systems reviewed: Alissa Walker takes a closer look at Madrid’s new BiciMAD electric bike sharing to get a global perspective on e-bike sharing and its advantages. Going from Copenhagen to the U.S., she also takes into account scooter sharing, yet wonders why not more cities have gotten into electric cycling yet. gizmodo.com
Hear, hear: Following the latest governmental survey on the readiness of Brits to buy an electric car (we reported), Jaguar asked its buyer base what they think of EVs on the WeLoveAnyCar website. 12% of 3,896 participants said they would buy an electric Jaguar, while 26% would seriously consider it. prweb.com, blog.weloveanycar.com
Canada the next big EV country? At least it could be, as the country’s numerous incentives from companies, government and dealerships could total more than 12,000 Canadian dollars (11,200 USD) for battery-electric cars. However, Canadians still have to jump on the EV wagon for them to become a success. theglobeandmail.com via green.autoblog.com
Progressive Beijing: In a new plan, put up to promote the efforts towards “green energy” vehicles in China’s capital, new residential communities will be required to install EV charge points at at least 18% of their parking units. Furthermore, the scheme would require the city to install 1,000 DC fast chargers mainly at public locations by the end of this year. chargedevs.com
Danish hydrogen effort: H2 Logic and Air Liquide formed the Copenhagen Hydrogen Network joint venture. The plan is to erect four H2 charging stations in Vejle, Aalborg and Copenhagen by the end of this year. In 2015, five more are to follow, to the extend of most Danes having a hydrogen station within a 15-kilometre reach. greencarcongress.com, h2logic.com
EV chargers for lease: POD Point from London partners with Tower Leasing to offer businesses a charging point to lease for three years and under 50 pounds per month. The company reckons that two charges a day would suffice to cover energy and rental costs. businessgreen.com
Lease a Mini-E: The University of Delaware is offering a few BMW Mini-E EVs for lease as part of the ‘Grid on Wheels’ programme. This ongoing vehicle-to-grid (V2G) demo project will make the EVs available for lease at a price of 3,600 dollars a year, for two years. chargedevs.com
Electricity Mini Bar: Juice Bar’s EV charging stations, which usually praise themselves for their branding opportunities, are now offered in a small version. The so-called Mini Bar combines both a level 2 and level 1 charger. Financing is available and starts from 99 dollars a month. chargedevs.com
Car2go to expand in Minnesota: Daimler’s carsharing service signed an 18-month agreement with the city of St. Paul to deploy 185 of its car2go Smarts. Each vehicle will earn the city 975 dollars a year while metered parking is free for the rental cars. startribune.com, autorentalnews.com
Bus bulk order: Fushun City in the Chinese province Liaoning has ordered 600 diesel-hybrid buses from Zhengzhou Yutong Bus Company. The hybrid technology comes from Guangxi Yuchai Machinery Company Limited (GYMCL). Fushun serves as a pilot city for new-energy buses in China. greencarcongress.com
Green generosity: California has expanded its green sticker programme from 40,000 to 55,000 badges. This means more partially electric vehicles will get the opportunity to use the HOV lanes, among them BMW i3 drivers with range extender. evfleetworld.co.uk, transportevolved.com
Rent a pedelec: Madrid has launched a rental service for electric bicycles. 1,600 e-bikes can now be rented 24 hours, Euronews reports. The Spanish capital is following the lead of Zaragoza where the system has been running with 1,300 pedelecs for six years already. euronews.com (with video)
SAP electrifies: The software giant is running its E-Fleet programme designed to electrify 20% of its fleet by 2020. Electric car No. 10 has just been introduced with 50 more to follow until the end of this year. At the same time, SAP inaugurated its 50th charging station at its headquarter in Walldorf, Germany. online.wsj.com
Hubject goes Switzerland as it has just signed up another partner to apply its expertise to its intercharge network. Swisscom Managed Mobility will help to promote interconnectivity and the use of electric vehicle charging stations in Switzerland. telecompaper.com
Inductive charging: Together with the Mr. Electric Franchise Group, Evatran has started to roll out its wireless charging system Plugless L2 in the U.S. and Canada. The system is available for the Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt and is said to be opened up to other models in the future. electriccarsreport.com, puregreencars.com
Hubject to grow again: Dutch infrastructure provider Allego is the latest to come on board the international joint venture and eRoaming platform. Allego’s chargers are said to be integrated into the intercharge network already this year. hubject.de
Tesla tackles Stockholm and Texas: According to Tesla’s twitter account, the carmaker has opened its first store in Stockholm, Sweden. The country also just got its first Model S taxi. The Californian also opened its third location in Texas. As they are not allowed to sell cars directly to customers there, it is more of an EV showroom. twitter.com, teslaclubsweden.se (store opening in Swedish), green.autoblog.com (Texas 1), transportevolved.com (Texas 2)
E-bike incentives in the UK? Outgoing chairman of the British Electric Bicycle Association (BEBA), Mark Loveridge, has been lobbying to include electric bicycles into the UK government’s grant scheme that offers up to 5,000 pounds for EV buyers. While the position is being considered, a final decision will only be made in August. bikebiz.com
Blink charger upgrade: After Tesla made its patents public, the Car Charging Group announced that it will integrate Tesla charging technology into its 119 Blink quick chargers in the USA. Before, Model S drivers needed an adapter to use Blink’s CHAdeMO chargers. green.autoblog.com, electriccarsreport.com
E-bus investment: Electric bus manufacturer Proterra received 30 million dollars from GM Ventures, Kleiner Perkins and Tao Invest to further develop its vehicles. Furthermore, the company expects to generate another ten million dollars funding within the coming weeks. automotive-business-review.com, electriccarsreport.com
Five millions for infrastructure: The Californian Energy Commission is funding the installation of 475 EV chargers in the Sunshine State with five million dollars. The funding is spread over 15 grants which come from the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program (ARFVTP). greencarcongress.com, energy.ca.gov, earthtechling.com
British-American knowledge transfer: With British ‘Intelligent Energy’ the U.S. hydrogen initiative ‘H2USA’ will gain another supporter. Intelligent Energy will join the consortium to transfer knowledge and experience, which the developer of fuel cell systems won from hydrogen programs in Germany, the UK, and France. greencarcongress.com, marketwatch.com
Big backup for Berlin start-up: The German chapter of French utility provider EDF has acquired a minority in ubitricity during the latest funding round. EDF probably hopes to acquire in-depth information on the company’s mobile metering and payment system. All other shareholders remain on board as well. vc-startups.com (in German)
Nissan strong in the UK: In Great Britain, a total of 2,057 all-electric vehicles were sold last year and the Japanese company claims that 73% of those were Nissans. Good news, considering the fact that Nissan is building its Leaf for the European market at its facility in British Sunderland. just-auto.com
EV data logger: MyCarma is looking for 25,000 dollars to back up the development of its latest app. The myEV platform is designed to track energy consumption and state-of-charge of almost any electric car and naturally comes with excessive sharing functionalities too. So far, about 10,000 dollars have been collected with 17 more days to go. youtube.com (video), indiegogo.com (campaign) via cleantechnica.com
E-Bike training to be developed: The European Twowheel Innovation Network (TWIN) project has got the go ahead from Dutch-led Transfer of Innovation project (TOI). TWIN aims at developing European training on electric bicycles for dealers and their mechanics. electricvehiclesresearch.com
Flash charging: Imagine a robotic arm reaching out from a bus’ roof for 15 seconds of ultra fast charging and then moving on with up to 133 passengers. That becomes reality with Geneva’s TOSA project. EPFL scientists developed a mathematical model to minimise infrastructure and costs of the TOSA e-bus system even further, to be able to integrate it into the Swiss city’s public transport system by 2017. phys.org, youtube.com (video)
CARB dashboard online: The California Air Resources Board (CARB) published the results of a survey looking at who buys plug-in vehicles and why. For example, 70% of all 83,000 Californian EV buyers have taken advantage of the state’s Clean Vehicle Rebate Project (CVRP). energycenter.org (dashboard), chargedevs.com
H2 centre in South Tyrol: Bolzano opened Italy’s first hydrogen centre at a location, where H2 is being produced from renewable sources. From July, the centre will be home to a rental station for ten Hyundai FCVs as part of the HyFive project. alvolante.it (in Italian)
Outsourced EV rebates: Massachusetts turned to the Californian non-profit ‘Center for Sustainable Energy’ to manage its new ZEV incentive programme, worth two million dollars. The ‘Massachusetts Offers Rebates for Electric Vehicles’ (MOR-EV) scheme will provide up to 2,500 dollars for the purchase or lease of electric cars. insideevs.com, sfgate.com
Charging rises fast: ChargePoint billed five million charging sessions last month. Even more impressive is how fast the EV adoption rate is growing. It took the company four years to reach its first million, whereas it went from four to five million in only three months. transportevolved.com
Swedish EV island: The ‘Elbislandet Gotland’ project aims to introduce 20 rental electric cars on the Swedish island of Gotland this summer. The fleet will consist of Nissan Leafs, Renault Twizys and VW E-Ups. The initiative is driven by Vattenfall, the Swedish Energy Agency and Solkompaniet. corporate.vattenfall.com
Mapping German H2 stations: The German Clean Energy Partnership (CEP) published a map showing the locations of 35 planned hydrogen fuelling stations in Germany. These will complement the existing 15 H2 stations in the country. Germany aims to have 400 hydrogen sites by 2023. hzwei.info (in German)
Free electric bike trial: In Newcastle and Gateshead, a new rental e-bike scheme is proving extremely popular. The project is part of the ‘Go Smarter’ campaign by the ‘Tyne and Wear Integrated Transport Authority’ and aims to get employees of participating companies to switch their car for a pedelec. thegreencarwebsite.co.uk, gosmarter.co.uk
Blackpool tests electric cab: Premier Cars has got the council licensing a Nissan Leaf as a taxi for a two-weeks trial. If the electric car proves suitable as a cab, the taxi company will look into buying up to six cars soon with more to follow in the future. blackpoolgazette.co.uk
EVs for Scotland’s car clubs: Transport Scotland is giving one million pounds (1.7m dollars) to the Carplus charity. The money will be spend on purchasing about 40 EVs for Scottish car clubs and is supported by the ‘Developing Car Clubs in Scotland’ (DCCS) programme. thegreencarwebsite.co.uk
Subsidy lottery: To foster its goal of becoming an all zero emission vehicle island by 2030, the South Korean Jeju Island is holding draws for EV purchase subsidies. The latest lotterie saw 226 residents selected out of 1,654 hopeful applicants. insideevs.com
Tesla taxi for a day: Together, Uber and Tesla will be promoting electric cars in Shanghai this Wednesday for a day. When booking a cab with the taxi app, a few lucky costumers will be picked up in a Model S and offered a 15-minute test drive. To top it off, the journey will be free as well. cnet.com
Hertz joins Zem2All: The rental car company has announced its cooperation with Spanish utility provider Endesa in Spain’s demonstration project Zem2All (Zero Emissions Mobility To All). Hertz will rent out the Nissan Leaf from its stations in Malaga and the city’s airport. The Zem2All initiative has rolled out 160 charge points and electric vehicles in Malaga with another 40 being in the pipeline. autorentalnews.com, puregreencars.com
Electric carsharing for Vienna: Porsche Holding Salzburg announced its plan to roll-out electric carsharing in the Austrian capital. Within the coming weeks, the company will make several VW E-UPs available to students taking part in the ‘Campus Carsharing’ project. By 2015, Europe’s biggest car dealer wants to extend the rental service to all Viennese. krone.at (in German)
Discount during off-peak hours: Minnesota is the first state in the U.S. to make it compulsory for investor-owned utilities to offer customers discounted rates when charging their EV outside peak hours (4pm – 8pm). The energy companies have time until next year to adjust their tariffs. transportevolved.com, green.autoblog.com
E-Bike region Stuttgart: Five counties around the south-German city of Stuttgart have now put together a 400-kilometres track specifically designed for pedelecs. Along the signposted and rather hilly e-bike path, rental stations, workshops and charging stations can be found. The region is hoping to accommodate and attract for the ever-growing segment of electric bicycle travellers. e-bike-region-stuttgart.de (website in German)
E-taxis for London: The cab company eConnect Cars wants to move its customers using electricity only and has ordered 21 Nissan Leaf. Seven have already been handed over, the other 14 will arrive before the end of the year. electriccarsreport.com, thegreencarwebsite.co.uk
Big business for Leviton: The U.S. provider of charging technology has been chosen as the only supplier for a programme headed by the Department of General Services (DGS). Leviton will provide charging stations to local governmental authorities throughout California. greencarcongress.com, automotive-business-review.com
Still no home chargers in the UK: New electric car buyers in the UK are still waiting for home charging points, after the Domestic Chargepoint Grant was put on hold, due to suspected abuse of the subsidiary. But without a green light from the Office of Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV), suppliers will not be able to deliver and install any new chargers. thegreencarwebsite.co.uk
Putting BYD e-buses to the test: Canada’s Edmonton Transit System (ETS) is testing two new electric buses provided by BYD. Known as ETS Stealth buses, they will run on different routes and are free of charge for passengers. The Secretariat of Traffic and Transport in Brazil is also testing a BYD electric bus, a move that could save the transport authority up to 26,423 dollars in fuel per year. automotive-business-review.com (Canada), automotive-business-review.com (Brazil)
Small is smart: Texan start-up Hydrogen-XT is rethinking hydrogen fuelling infrastructure and wants to offer small, inexpensive fuelling outlets that produce hydrogen from natural gas. The offering is complemented by an app that locates stations according to a customer’s need. Hydrogen-XT’s patent is pending. greencarcongress.com, hydrogenxt.com
EV conversion cooperation: Californian ZAP has entered a strategic partnership with Lishen. The Chinese will supply financing and batteries for the electrification of several thousand vehicles. Apparently, ZAP is in negotiation with a fleet operator willing to convert its entire fleet to EVs. greencarcongress.com
Charge and fly: Albany International Airport has opened six charging stations at their long-term parking lot. The charge points are part of New York’s ‘Charge NY’ initiative and will be free to use in the first two years. online.wsj.com, bizjournals.com
Cheap charging station: ClipperCreek presents a Level 2, 240V EV charging station for 395 dollars. The LCS-20 is now available for immediate delivery and the first Level 2 electric vehicle charging station to stay below the 400-dollar-mark. greencarcongress.com
New York charged: EV Connect has won a contract by the New York Power Authority (NYPA) to install more than 100 charging stations at 37 locations across the state. The contract is worth 1.5 million dollars and is part of New York’s strategy to erect 3,000 charging stations. evconnect.com via chargedevs.com
New fuel cell buses: The SunLine Transit Agency of Thousand Palms, California, received two new fuel cell buses, now evolving the American Fuel Cell Bus (AFCB) configuration from 2011. The buses are powered with a drive from BAE Systems and fuel cell from Ballard. greencarcongress.com, ballard.com
The Ultimate Driving Experience: BMW will kick off a tour through the States to present the i3 among other vehicles by mid-June. It is set to start in Boston and will run for 74 days. Test drives are also available for teens at the BMW teen driving school – a programme to create awareness about the consequences of texting and driving. hybridcars.com
Electric shuttle service: Via Motors is providing an electric shuttle service at a conference in Las Vegas with their electric van. The ‘eREV Shuttle’ will be charged from strategically located ClipperCreek stations and can thus operate basically 24 hours. hybridcars.com
Scottish investment: The Scottish government has made three million pounds (5m dollars) of funding available for electric transport. Two millions will be used for the provision of charging infrastructure. The remaining money will go to Scottish auto clubs for the acquisition of up to 30 electric vehicles. fleetworld.co.uk
Smarter charging: BMW has introduced an app in the States that enables drivers to charge their electric vehicles at times when energy is the cheapest. The ‘Smart Charging App’ will first be supplied to the Electronauts but will be made available to all i3 and i8 drivers by 2015. The app is said to save users up to 400 dollars a year on their energy bills. greencarreports.com, green.autoblog.com
Electric BMW prove popular: The German car maker has sold more than 3,000 of its i3 in Europe, most of them in Germany, Norway and Great Britain. About 80% of the i3 customers are new to BMW while some have not even owned a car before. The BMW i8 however, finds his followers among firm BMW fans. europe.autonews.com
Tesla arrives in the UK: Last saturday, the first right-hand drive Model S were presented to the first customers in central London. The keys were handed over by Elon Musk personally, this time wearing suit and tie. UK prices for the Model S start at at 50,280 pounds (84,500 USD). transportevolved.com
Surf, plug and pay: PlugSurfing has launched its new app of the same name. According to the start-up, in Germany RWE, EnBW, and Belectric are among the infrastructure providers that enabled PlugSurfing’s service which let users find a charger and pay via smartphone or RFID chip in a keyring. Press info via email, plugsurfing.com
Automated e-bike rental: In the German city of Rostock, user can now rent a pedelec from a box. After registering online, a card is all you need. The project called ‘Elektromobilität in Rostock (Elros)’ is headed by the city’s tram provider (Rostocker Straßenbahngesellschaft RSAG) which supplied four automatic rental stations. In total, eight electric bicycles are ready to rent and half-hourly rates start at 1.05 euros. The system cost were 2.3 million euros (3.13m dollars) of which 1.8m were paid by the EU. prignitzer.de, das-ist-rostock.de (both in German)
Tesla-bill approved: In New Jersey, legislation has made a u-turn as Bill A3216 passed Senate. It now allows “certain zero emission vehicle manufacturers to directly sell motor vehicles to consumers and requires them to operate service facilities.” In short: Tesla stores are coming to the Garden State. cleantechnica.com
Making EVs a state matter? Apparently, the Chinese government wants take subsidy policies for cars with alternative drivetrains in its own hand, putting an end to specialty rules created at the local level. The announcement was made by the country’s Ministry for Industry and Technology (MIT), after sitting down with industry leaders to discuss how to spur market growth in the sector. autonews.gasgoo.com
Rolling it up: The Telefonix ‘L1 PowerPost electric vehicle charging station’ is the first commercial charger featuring the company’s patented retractable cord reel technology. Two of these are currently installed at the Denver Airport and in Chicago. Telefonix had exhibited its technology at the International Parking Institute (IPI) Conference and Expo over the past days. itbusinessnet.com
Alternative drives climb UK market ladder: As of the end of May, they hold a 1.8 market share, compared to 1.1 percent in May of last year. The biggest change could be seen in the sales of hybrid vehicles combining diesel and electric motors. Sales here rose 309.1% compared to the same month last year. smmt.co.uk
Australian-Chinese connection: Together, Australia’s Tritium and China’s SSE presented their Veefil Electric Vehicle Fast Charger at the InterSolar in Germany. The cost-efficient charger is easy to install and can give an EV an extra 50 miles (80.47 km) of range in just 10 minutes, says the company. presseportal.de
Charge Ahead California Initiative: With this programme, the U.S. state is gearing up for one million zero-emission vehicles on Californian streets by the end of the decade. It secures funding for governmental rebates and incentives for EVs, making the technology available to middle- and lower income residents. green.autoblog.com
Daimler truck approved: The Freightliner M2 106 hybrid has been approved for the New York Truck-Voucher Incentive Program, which is meant to reduce half of the incremental costs of technology for trucks and buses. The truck combines a diesel engine with a Eaton electric drive, lowering its fuel consumption and brake wear. autorentalnews.com
Quick Charger in Manhattan: The publicly accessible 25 kW DC quick charger was installed by Fuji Electric Corp. of America and can recharge an EV in about one hour. It is the first ChargePoint quick charger in the city. At the same time, EV connect announced that it received funding to deploy and manage more than 100 charging stations throughout the Big Apple. greencarcongress.com
Range is not a problem: Pod Points ‘Charging Around the UK’ is a 2,000 mile trip across the country in a Renault Zoe, leading through 15 towns and cities in 17 days. The goal is to showcase Britain’s charging infrastructure, as well as the capabilities of a modern electric vehicle. thegreencarwebsite.co.uk
Green energy incentive: German Model S drivers can pocket 250 euros (340 dollars) per year, if they power their Tesla as well as home with renewable energy. This is not a governmental incentive, but one the Californian carmaker will foot itself. Moreover, Tesla announced its cooperation with German SolarWorld, giving Tesla-owners discounts on solar carports. focus.de (incentive, in German), pv-magazine.de (SolarWorld, in German)
Electric shuttle service: Via Motors is providing an electric shuttle service at a conference in Las Vegas with their electric van. The ‘eREV Shuttle’ will be charged from strategically located ClipperCreek stations and can thus operate basically 24 hours.