South Korean battery cell manufacturer Samsung SDI accelerated its schedule to introduce solid-state batteries at scale. Their hopes lay on a pilot line under construction near Seoul.
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Hyundai has announced teaming up with retail giant Lotte Group and KB Asset Management to expand ultra-rapid charging infrastructure in Korea. Their business model includes leasing high power charging stations to private operators to add 5,000 ultra-fast chargers (UFC) by 2025.
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The Hyundai Motor Group is setting up a proprietary network of high power charging stations in South Korea against the backdrop of the upcoming market launch of the group’s first 800-volt electric vehicles, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6.
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Hyundai plans to introduce at least 12 battery-electric models by 2025, according to the updated ‘Strategy 2025’. This includes Hyundai to rely on the new 800-volt platform E-GMP which the carmaker will first use to power the Ioniq 5 next year.
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Hyundai announced plans to develop a total of 17 electric commercial vehicles they want market-ready by 2025, by which time the South Korean manufacturer plans to have expanded its range of commercial vehicles to include seven battery-electric and ten fuel cell models.
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Hyundai and the Swiss company H2 Energy (H2E) have confirmed their commitment to establishing a joint venture called Hyundai Hydrogen Mobility. The JV’s first goal is to open up the European hydrogen mobility ecosystem with fuel cell trucks.
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Renault Samsung is following demand as they plan to produce the electric minicar Twizy currently being built in Valladolid, Spain, in Busan, South Korea starting next year. The background is that 60 percent of the cars are sold in Asia.
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Korea’s three largest battery manufacturers announce the creation of a 100 billion won fund (about €78M). SK Innovation, LG Chem and Samsung SDI thus aim to promote R&D of battery technologies and to support promising start-ups.
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Hyundai Construction Equipment (HCE) and Cummins cooperate in the development of electric construction machines. One prototype of a 3.5-ton electric excavator already exists and uses battery modules from Cummins designed for a full eight-hour shift.
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A new recycling centre for batteries from electric cars will open on Jeju island, Korea. They broke ground for the 14.5 million euro facility at Jeju Technopark. Recycling as well as research and testing operations are set to start in 2020.
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Hyundai has found a user for their old electric car batteries. Finland’s Wärtsilä will reuse batteries from Hyundai EVs in their stationery energy storage facilities and wants to market their solution in 177 countries.
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Korea’s largest battery makers LG Chem and Samsung SDI are losing market shares to competitors from China, SNE Research finds. They pin the loss to increased domestic demand in China from electric buses and trucks. CATL appears to have benefitted the most.
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Korea’s largest steelmaker Posco will build a second cathode production facility in the country next year. It will produce 6,000 tons of cathode a year before they are to expand production capacity to 50,000 tons by 2022.
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Hyundai is looking to not only develop but also make its own battery cells for electric vehicles, Korean media reports. The carmaker had started hiring researchers on battery development and production already earlier this year and plans to set up first lines in its lab. Equipment has been ordered as well.
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The government in Seoul wants all buses and trucks to run with zero emissions by 2030, according to local media reports. Moreover, they want to increase the number of fast-charging stations for electric cars to 10,000 by 2022 and also electrify mail delivery.
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South Korea’s government and leading corporations of the country agreed to start a business with the aim to install a network of hydrogen filling stations. Hyundai as well as the state-owned Korea Gas Corporation are part of the deal set for this November.
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Hyundai has announced the price for its second fuel cell serial production: in Germany the Hyundai Nexo will cost 69,000, and qualifies for the ecological subsidy, which lowers the price by another 4,000 euro.
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Jeju Island is becoming something like a mini Norway, only in Northeast Asia. BYD has a little HQ here since they were asked to deliver 20 electric buses that have just arrived. BYD says it is the largest project of its kind in the region.
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Hyundai has started sales of its Nexo fuel cell electric car in Korea and says it received over 1,000 orders in the first week. With Korea’s high EV subsidies, Hyundai can offer the Nexo for about 25,000 euros in its home market.
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Samsung SDI and Webasto have signed a letter of intent to build high voltage batteries together for the commercial vehicle sector. Samsung is to develop a battery module using its prismatic battery cells for Webasto to integrate.
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The Korean car manufacturer has revealed its new electric SUV in the spotlights of the Geneva Motor Show, which is planned to go into serial production in 2020.
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Kia is to launch the third generation of its Soul EV this year, this time riding on the new Kona/Niro platform and boasting more range than ever. An optional bigger battery pack shall bring the electric Korean as far as 500 kilometres on a charge.
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SsangYong will showcase its e-SIV electric SUV concept at the Geneva salon this March. The e-SIV serves the Koreans to illustrate its future approach towards electric vehicles, connectivity and autonomous driving.
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Kia has announced that the third generation of their compact vehicle model Ceed will also be electrified but only partially so. In the coming year, the company plans to introduce a mild hybrid version of the car before adding a plug to the hybrid eventually.
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Leading EV battery maker Samsung has announced plans to revise its cobalt strategy. Not only will the Koreans reduce the amount of the rare resource by using nickel instead but Samsung is also working on cells that do not require any cobalt. Recycling is another measure.
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Samsung SDI’s presence at NAIAS means they made real advances in battery tech. And so the Koreans display includes solid-state as well a novel material solutions for increased capacity.
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Korean carmaker Kia has released a series of images to tease the world debut of the all-electric Niro EV. The revelation is set for this Tuesday, January, 9. Kia thus completes the Niro series that also includes a hybrid as well as plug-in hybrid variant.
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The Korean alliance announces a serious push of its electric car lineup with 14 new all-electric models to be expected by 2025. That is two cars per year strictly speaking.
Read moreGermany turns to Japan to get its fix on fuel cell vehicles, namely 185 Toyota Mirai, that are co-funded with 3.2m euros through the NIP fund. The first hydrogen cars from the so-called ZeroE project will reportedly be deployed in Hamburg’s new CleverShuttle programme. The destination of the remaining 165 Mirai has yet to be disclosed.
now-gmbh.de
Hamburgs seems savvy when it comes to funding for e-mobility initiatives. A new scheme called Efficiency Hamburg, wants to populate the port town with 500 plug-in vehicles, cars and vans alike. Businesses and the authorities can register with Alphabet to receive funding from a total of 1.5m euros.
alphabet.com
On track to electrification: Scotland’s biggest train stations will soon offer EV charging. The first 4 of a total of 100 charging points have been installed with Uphall, Bathgate, East Kilbride and Johnstone already live. They are free to use but require a ChargePlace Scotland card to activate the device.
pressandjournal.co.uk, eveningtimes.co.uk
BT to electrify fleet: British Telecom has announced plans to exchange most of its cars with electric or hybrid ones but wants to switch gradually all throughout 2030. It’s UK fleet entails about 30,000 vehicles.
businessgreen.com
Korea is almost California: The Korea Expressway Corporation will halve the road toll for electric vehicles and fuel cell cars on expressways across the country by next Monday. The discount is valid until 2020 and an extension depends on the number of eco-friendly cars by then.
kbs.co.kr
GM shuts down Bolt plant: As inventories swell, GM has halted the lines in Michigan, where the Chevy Bolt and Sonic are made. While the carmaker claims the shutdown was temporary and down solely to slow Sonic sales, there is an oversupply of its EV as well. Still the Bolt is only available in some states before a nationwide roll-out in August. At the same time, only a few Ampera-e have been allocated to Europe – too few maybe but it is impossible to simply rebrand the Bolt for Opel due to specific parts suppliers cannot deliver quickly enough.
reuters.com, electrek.co
S-Class facelift: Mercedes unveils its latest luxury flagship that now includes 48-Volt tech and a plug-in hybrid variant with a bigger battery at 13.3 kWh for a range of 50 km. The 7.2 kW on-board charger and a new wallbox promise faster charging but the S-Class PHEV won’t be available at on-sale this fall.
autoexpress.co.uk, daimler.com
DS electric SUV by 2019: PSA fledgling DS prepares to fly solo and revealed a second model to follow the DS7 Crossback PHEV. Next up will be a compact SUV comes 2019 and it will also incorporate an all-electric variant. Two years later anoter SUV is to join the club, this time as a standalone hybrid.
autocar.co.uk
German “Extrawurst”? Beijing might make an exception for German carmakers regarding China’s EV sales quota, WiWo reports after speaking to the German embassy in the Chinese capital. They revealed, there would be “a satisfactory solution” but how that could look like or, what that actually means or, if it will also apply to other countries has not been said. Only recently, OEM associations from the four biggest car nations had turned to Beijing begging for mercy so they could pollute the planet a little longer.
wiwo.de (in German)
Korea grants special treatment to Tesla as Seoul wants to open its subsidies from September to include the Californian EV maker. Its models had been excluded before because Korean regulation limits incentives to electric vehicles that take less than ten hours to charge.
koreajoongangdaily.joins.com, theinvestor.co.kr
Dreaming ever bigger: BYD is about to expand again further with the extension of its production facility in Lancaster, California set for completion next month. The plant will then be able to produce 1,500 electric heavy-duty vehicles, i.e. buses as well as trucks, a year with its 700 employees.
cnbc.com
