In order to shorten development time, Porsche Engineering is testing electric drives in real-life as well as in a virtual environment. According to Porsche, these test methods are specifically adapted to the requirements of high-voltage technology.
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Berlin-based electric scooter sharer Emmy has acquired the German business of competitor Felyx. Emmy says this will make it the largest sharing provider for e-scooters in the German market.
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In Europe, the energy group TotalEnergies and the hydrogen gas manufacturer Air Liquide have decided to set up a joint venture to build hydrogen refuelling stations for heavy-duty vehicles in France, Benelux and Germany. The corresponding joint venture is to be established before the end of 2023.
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Chinese electric car manufacturer Nio has started deliveries of its EL7 SUV model in Europe. The first cars went to customers in the Netherlands. Deliveries of the EL7 in Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway will follow soon.
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The US semiconductor manufacturer Wolfspeed has confirmed previously leaked plans to build a plant for SiC semiconductors in Saarland with local supplier ZF. The highly automated 200 mm wafer plant will be the company’s first “fab facility” in Europe and is expected to be the most modern of its kind.
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In Germany, a project coordinated by Fraunhofer ISC called RecyLIB aims to develop a battery manufacturing process designed to allow the use of recycled material. This allows the active functional material to be recovered after the battery’s end-of-life for direct reuse in the remanufacturing of electrodes.
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In Germany, H2FLY, a company developing hydrogen fuel cell systems for aircraft, has announced the construction of a facility called the Center of Excellence for Hydrogen in Aviation. The facility is to be located at Stuttgart Airport and is scheduled to open in late 2024.
Read moreIn Germany, the Master Plan for Charging Infrastructure II has been approved by the cabinet. With 68 measures, the Ministry of Transport wants to accelerate the expansion of the charging network and, this time, aims to incentivise private enterprise.
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Climate activists recently put up 400 fake advertising posters for BMW and Toyota in Germany, Belgium, France and the UK, calling for a ban on advertising for fossil-fuelled vehicles, especially SUVs. The European Commission is also aiming to tackle greenwashing.
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In Germany and Austria, the parking operator Contipark and the energy company E.ON want to install more than 4,000 new charging points in car parks and underground garages between 2023 and 2025. The project will involve AC wall boxes with an output of up to 22 kW.
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Ford is negotiating with BYD about a potential sale of its vehicle plant in Saarlouis, Germany. A Ford delegation will soon travel to China to negotiate. However, the talks are still at an early stage.
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In Germany, Vattenfall and the NH Hotel Group are collaborating to set up charging stations for electric vehicles across the country. The hotel group is planning to install publicly accessible fast-charging infrastructure with 180 kW charging columns and AC chargers at 50 of its hotel locations.
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GP Joule plans to procure 100 Nikola Tre trucks powered by hydrogen fuel cells. This is provided for in a letter of intent signed by both companies. The first vehicles could go to GP Joule in 2024 – provided the German government approves the corresponding funding.
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The US company Wolfspeed wants to build the world’s largest plant for semiconductors made of silicon carbide (SiC) in Saarland for use in electric vehicles, among other things. Auto supplier ZF will also take a minority stake in the factory.
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Volkswagen’s energy business Elli and German grid operator Mitnetz Strom started a pilot in the summer of 2022 to optimise charging processes in line with the grid. They aimed to achieve efficient and environmentally-friendly interaction between distributors and VW electric vehicles. Here’s the result.
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BMW is to set up a prototype line for solid-state battery cells at its Cell Manufacturing Competence Centre in Parsdorf near Munich, based on designs from partner Solid Power.
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Aral pulse has opened a charging corridor for electric trucks along 600 kilometres of the Rhine-Alpine Corridor. The busy logistics route currently connects two major metropolitan regions with six charge hubs. However, the corridor is not yet complete.
Read moreThe Nissan Leaf was once among the e-mobility pioneers but fell behind in recent times. The long-announced Ariya was supposed to help Nissan catch up again and target the growing majority of EV adopters. Yet, the new platform and concept do not deliver throughout, as our driving test shows.
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The revived car brand Vanwall, a former English Formula 1 racing team, has presented an electric compact model to be built in Germany. The Vanderwell is said to stand out with its sporty look and will be delivered from the third quarter of 2023.
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The Dutch electric bus manufacturer Ebusco has a new customer in Germany: Ebusco won a tender from KVS GmbH Saarlouis and will be commissioned by the public transport company to supply 20 electric buses.
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BMW is planning to build a large assembly plant for high-voltage batteries in Bavaria. The carmaker confirmed the plan in essence, but has not yet signed all the contracts. If all goes as planned, the excavators should start rolling in 2024.
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Increasingly higher currents during fast charging pose new challenges for both the power electronics and the contact system. As part of the joint project ‘HV-MELA-BAT’ funded by the German government, Fraunhofer researchers now want to find a remedy.
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Automotive group Stellantis and lithium producer Vulcan Energy are exploring the use of geothermal energy to decarbonise the Stellantis car plant in Rüsselsheim, Germany, where the DS 4 and Opel Astra are built.
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Rock Tech Lithium has received approval for an early start from the responsible State Office for the Environment for the construction of its lithium converter in Guben, Brandenburg, and is planning the first major work on-site in the next few weeks.
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Audi is creating 72 additional charging points for electric vehicles at its Neckarsulm site through the use of so-called cubes, which use used lithium-ion batteries from dismantled Audi test vehicles to store electricity.
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Renault’s Dacia brand is giving its only electric model, the Spring, a more powerful drive combined with a new equipment line. The Spring Extreme Electric 65, which Dacia is presenting at the Brussels Motor Show now underway, gets a new electric motor with 48 kW of power.
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Mercedes-Benz has delivered all 45 electric buses on order with the public transit company VLP in the northeast of Germany. Verkehrsgesellschaft Ludwigslust-Parchim (VLP) has now taken delivery of the last 15 vehicles of a significant order placed in 2019.
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Tevex Logistics, the logistics subsidiary of the German butcher Tönnies Group, wants to use the battery-electric eActros LongHaul long-distance truck for food deliveries in the future. To this end, the company has now signed a letter of intent with Mercedes-Benz Trucks for the order of 50 units.
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Mercedes-Benz Energy and the Indian company Lohum have agreed to a multi-year supply contract for used electric vehicle batteries. Mercedes-Benz Energy and Lohum have agreed to a minimum purchase of 50 MWh per year in the form of several second-life module variants.
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The German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) has reported that the mark of one million pure electric cars in Germany has been crossed. According to the report, the mark was passed in the new record month of December 2022.
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