Electrify Commercial has announced its partnership with Rocky Mountain Power, a division of PacificCorp, to deploy 20 EV charging hubs in Utah. They will install over 80 charging stations across 15 locations in the Salt Lake City area, along with five hubs in surrounding regions.
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Ford is procuring lithium on a large scale for the batteries for its electric cars. The carmaker now signed agreements with five companies. Depending on the supplier, the first battery-grade materials will be delivered to the carmaker between 2025 and 2026.
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The Israeli company Electreon, which specialises in inductive charging of electric vehicles, wants to enter the Finnish market through a cooperation with the infrastructure service provider Destia. In addition, another test project is to be launched in the US state of Utah in the summer.
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In the USA, the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) and Park City Transit have awarded American bus manufacturer Gillig a $44.2 million contract for 44 battery-electric buses, with an option of 95 additional buses over five years. The contract includes 16 plug-in charging systems and four high-power on-route chargers.
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Electrify America has announced a deal with Love’s Travel Stops, an American chain of service stations, to install ultra-fast charging stations at seven locations in six states across the US.
Read moreE-mobility in Danube region: EU project eGUTS (Electric and Green Urban Transport Systems) has launched and unites 22 partners in the search for standards that foster electric transport across the Danube region. Eight cities will share feasibility studies in the form of pilots that will look at charging infrastructure, electric car sharing, parking policies as well as develop and test the eGUTS app. The EU funds the project with 1.5m euros until June 2019.
oe-journal.at (in German), interreg-danube.eu (project website)
Diesel is not welcome in cities any longer with the latest example being Vienna and Liverpool. The Austrian capital is currently marking areas and districts, where diesel vehicles will be banned once fine particle pollution hits high levels. Meanwhile Liverpool wants to ban diesel entirely from 2022. The city looks to create a “clean air zone” which will result in restrictions on diesel vehicles on all roads and also could involve refusing to offer new licenses to diesel cabs.
kurier.at (Vienna, in German), liverpoolecho.co.uk (Liverpool)
New York to launch EV rebate: The state of New York plans to start its own incentive scheme this April. Electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles will thus be eligible for an up to 2,000 dollar rebate. It took the state some time as the money was already earmarked last year.
electrek.co, nbcnewyork.com, usnews.com
5m dollars for EV charging infrastructure have been made available in the Bay Area. The 2017 funding cycle of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District is calling on businesses, nonprofits, and public agencies to install electric vehicle charging stations through the “Charge! Program” that wants to establish a network for public use.
sfexaminer.com
EV credit cut off: Utah’s House of Representatives has decided against extending the state’s tax credit for electric vehicles in a vote that could have seen an extension until 2022. The measure failed by a very narrow margin of 37-38.
utilitydive.com
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Shop and charge: Supermarket chain Lidl struck a deal with British charging infrastructure provider Pod Point, asking the latter to set up fast-chargers for electric vehicles at some 40 locations in the UK. Customers will be able to charge for free while they shop.
fleetnews.co.uk, businessgreen.com
Electric transport: Park City in the U.S. state of Utah will purchase six all-electric buses from Proterra, as well corresponding charging infrastructure. The state is funding the initiative with 3.9m dollars. The first e-bus will already be commissioned this month, with the other to follow in June.
ksl.com, fox13now.com
Repercussions: Back in June 2015, the U.S. state of Georgia agreed to cut a 5,000 dollar subsidy for the purchase of an EV. The consequences are now becoming more apparent, as EV sales dropped 80 percent since then.
utilitydive.com
Maven fleet get electric addition: GM will offer its electric Chevy Bolt as part of its ride-hailing service Maven in California. Users can catch the EV from February 1st.
wardsauto.com
Going clean: The Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District in Illinois announced that 18 new hybrid buses will go into service there in summer. That would increase the hybrid share of its fleet to 77 percent.
foxillinois.com
Destination Europe: Tesla has officially launched their Destination Charging programme in Europe, starting with 150 new chargers. Locations are listed on their website. Tesla is also accepting applications from other businesses at convenient locations that could receive two chargers free or heavily discounted.
electrek.co, teslamotors.com
Beijing upgrades: To accommodate the requirement that taxi drivers must use alternative energy vehicles by 2020, Beijing will be setting up 435,000 EV chargers. The electric vehicle market in the Chinese capital is expected to reach 600,000 units by 2020, and the city hopes to have “one post per one vehicle” in private the private sector.
autonews.gasgoo.com
Rapid charging: Phoenix Contact is presenting the rapid charging system CCSplus at the Hanover Fair this week. The system includes an integrated cooling system that could achieve up t0 350kW. They hope to reach a charging time of 3-5 minutes for 100 km in the future.
voltumim.de (in German)
Utah Transit Authority: UTA and the University of Utah are using 5.4m dollars from the Low-No grant to purchase five New Flyer electric buses. They will include an electric-powered air compressor, as well as electric conditioning and heating systems. For especially cold conditions, the passenger cabin can be warmed with a small amount of renewable bio-diesel.
greencarcongress.com
Drink up: Ohio’s first hydrogen bus showed consumers that the vehicle’s energy was so clean, they could drink it (and they did). A second bus is on its way, and eight more will be delivered in the next two years. They hope the programme will encourage fuel cell research and production.
insidedevs.com (with video), cleveland.com
New Charging Association: The newly founded ROEV Association in the U.S. is an industry collaboration aimed at pushing public charging infrastructure. The three largest operators CarCharging, ChargePoint and NRG EVgo are already part, as are carmakers Audi, BMW, Honda and Nissan.
autoblog.com, chargedevs.com
i-Road in Japan: Toyota has begun testing its electric two-seater i-Road in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward. The tests are part of the Open Road Project, which launched in July. The short-range, ultra-compact electric car is already used for a carsharing scheme in Grenoble, France.
greencarcongress.com, marketwatch.com
Tesla charges the U.S.: Between September 2014 and September 2015, the EV pioneer reportedly installed 751 new Destination Chargers and 107 new Superchargers in the United States alone. That means the latter grew by 91 percent (from 117 chargers) and the former even by 220% (from 371).
chargedevs.com
Utah wants EVs: The Utah Transit Authority (UTA) wants to apply for a federal grant to purchase six electric buses from Canada-based New Flyer. The two already showcased a 40-foot e-bus in the U.S. state last week. One bus 800,000 to 900,000 dollars.
masstransitmag.com
Germany to give up on 1m-goal? The German Green party recently requested more information about how the government hoped to achieve its long-term goal of 1 million electric cars by 2020. The answer was less than promising as the intention now has been watered down to becoming a “leading provider and a leading market by 2020.” There are currently just about 30,000 electric cars in use in Germany.
dw.de
The New Motion goes India: The Dutch charging infrastructure provider plans to open its first manufacturing facility in India. The yet to be set up facility could potentially export “indianised” New Motion charging stations around the globe. Looks like the Indian EV market could finally be set in motion.
motoroids.com, economictimes.indiatimes.com
Electric bus trial: The Utah Transit Authority is testing a prototype 18-metre electric bus by BYD. The articulated vehicle can take up to 120 passengers for 170 miles on one charge. UTA is however not looking at adding electric buses to its fleet anytime soon.
ksl.com
Study place charging: California State University’s Fullerton’s Office has officially become a partner in the Department of Energy’s Workplace Charging Challenge. Already, 11 EV charging stations can be found on the campus with more to follow in the future.
news.fullerton.edu
Deadlock: Bolloré’s attempt to introduce its EV sharing scheme in Indianapolis continues to be challenging. Currently, 13 million dollars are missing to kickstart BlueIndy but none of the interested (or not) parties like the city or utility provider are willing to come forward.
hybridcars.com
German fast-charging system crosses the pond: Together, VW and BMW want to set up a network of 100 rapid-charging stations, featuring the Combined Charging System (CCS). The stations will be set up along Interstate 95 from Boston to Washington D.C. and routes between San Francisco and Portland, as well as between Los Angeles and San Diego. ChargePoint has signed on as a partner.
nytimes.com, transportevolved.com
NRG eVgo expands across U.S.: The fast-charging network is currently established across ten local U.S. markets and plans on expanding into another 15 in next two years. The charging infrastructure provider is i.e. eyeing major corridors from San Diego to Seattle and from Miami to Boston.
greencarcongress.com
Second life for EV batteries: Bosch has joined BMW and Vattenfall in an energy storage project in Hamburg, using old batteries from BMW ActiveE and i3 models to form a 2 MW energy storage unit (we reported). Now you can read up on all the project’s details in English.
electriccarsreport.com
Stuttgart focuses on intermodal transport: The Association for the Stuttgart Region wants to use future fundings specifically for “intermodal points of transportation” instead of evenly pouring it into all projects part of the “model regions for sustainable transport” initiative. Until the end of the project in 2016, the association still has 3.5 million euros to spend, 4 million have already been used up.
stuttgarter-zeitung.de (in German)
EV initiative in Utah: Business based in the U.S. state such as 3form, Backcountry.com, Black Diamond, Cubiscan, Ken Garff, Lancer Automotive Group, Packsize and Vivint have formed the “Leaders for Clean Air” initiative. They agreed to install EV chargers at their locations and have set themselves the goal of erecting a total of 2,000 Level 2 charging stations in Utah.
ksl.com
The largest e-fleet in Austria: The Austrian postal service is further electrifying its fleet, acquiring another 59 Nissan e-NV200 and 20 Mercedes Benz E-Vito. In total, the company now employs 862 EVs. With the new vans, the Austrian postal service will use EVs for parcel delivery for the first time.
oekonews.at (in German)
Częstochowa goes hybrid: Representatives of the Polish city´s municipal transport company have signed a contract with Poland’s Solbus to receive 40 gas-electric hybrid buses by November 2015. According to a local paper, these are the first gas-electric buses on Polish roads.
eltis.org
China completes fast-charging route: The country has finished installing 50 rapid-chargers between Shanghai and Beijing, each spaced 50 km apart on a 1,260 km stretch. Each station is equipped with four 120 kilowatt chargers that are able to charge eight electric cars at the same time.
wantchinatimes.com, cntv.cn
Budapest begins operating its first Volvo diesel-electric bus and another 27 hybrid buses are said to join the fleet of the Centre for Budapest Transport (BKK) soon. All 28 buses are planned to remain in service until 2023. 25 of these will run on a daily basis.
hungarytoday.hu
Utah pushes for greener cars: The Utah Department of Environmental Quality has awarded a total of 700,000 dollars in grants and low-interest loans, in order to support electric and other alternative drive vehicles. Salt Lake City intends to use a 200,000 dollar grant to install 25 charging stations,
kuer.org, fox13now.com
Cincinnati gets garage with chargers: This is the city’s first public parking garage offering EV drivers the possibility to charge while attending other business. There are a total of six spaces reserved for charging and 62 EVs are registered with the city’s incentive programme.
bizjournals.com, wcpo.com
Download tip: Urban Foresight has published the “EV City Casebook,” which lists the top 50 ideas implemented in 23 countries that “will shape the future of electric mobility.” A total of 150 projects were nominated for the project.
urbanforesight.org
Click tip: U.S. state Utah has brought a new website online to help EV owners stay up to date on new technology concerning their electric cars. The website also features an interactive charging map and facts about the benefits of electric driving.
utahelectricvehicles.org via kuer.org, deseretnews.com
