Hang around the energy storage crowd long enough, and you’ll hear chatter about ultracapacitors. Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk has said he believes capacitors will even “supercede” batteries. What is it that makes ultracapacitors such a promising technology? And where do they fall short? Read More »
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Josie Garthwaite
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The death of a battery: We’ve all seen it happen. In phones, laptops, cameras and now electric cars, the process is painful and — if you’re lucky — slow. But why does this happen? Read More »
Turns out cell phones and electric cars have more in common than you might think and technology developed for phones could help pave the way for more powerful electric cars. Read More »
The road hasn’t been easy for Next Autoworks (formerly V-Vehicle), which is backed by Google Ventures, T. Boone Pickens, and Kleiner Perkins. But the way forward has grown even rockier as legislators consider a proposal to shuffle around funds set aside for Next Autoworks’ project. Read More »
Three-year-old startup GTherm has a new approach to tapping the Earth’s heat for power generation at sites where conventional geothermal technologies fall short. The company says it can do it for less cost, and through a safer method, than competing systems. Read More »
Aquion Energy has one overriding goal: to change the way the world uses energy. The idea is to build modular, sodium- and water-based energy storage devices that can provide a slew of services for a cleaner power grid at relatively low cost. Read More »
One of the most basic requirements for adoption of electric vehicles is having a place to plug in. According to Ford, which released its list of top 25 cities for EVs, paving the way for an influx of EVs means going far beyond charge point installations. Read More »
More Must Reads
Freescale Semiconductor and Fuji Electric Systems are forming a new partnership focused on hybrid and electric vehicle tech. The two companies announced plans to collaborate on a type of power semiconductor for electronic powertrains, as well as other products for green cars down the road. Read More »
Global investments in renewable energy have risen dramatically over the last decade, but governments need to step up support for clean energy innovation. That’s one of the findings in a report out this morning from the International Energy Agency. Read More »
For electric motorcycle maker Zero Motorcycles, springtime is shaping up to be a season of change. The company announced today that CEO Gene Banman is retiring. This comes just about a month after co-founder Neal Saiki stepped down from his role as chief technology officer. Read More »
A new report on the crash of a UPS jet carrying rechargeable lithium batteries outlines the hazards of transporting these devices. It’s the latest fuel for concern about the safety of lithium ion batteries, which store energy not only for gadgets but also plug-in vehicles. Read More »
What would lead a company to walk away from negotiations for a coveted federal loan guarantee, as solar company Suniva did recently? It has to do with the terms of the government deals, the time it takes to obtain one, and the recovery of private markets. Read More »
Donald Sadoway, a professor of materials chemistry at MIT, aims to deliver a “lifesaver” for renewable energy in the form of a stable, low-cost, large-scale battery. Here are 15 questions with Sadoway on the future of liquid metal batteries. Read More »
Is it a good time to be an electric truck maker? The answer depends on who you ask. For Smith Electric Vehicles, it’s a resounding yes. But for Modec, which just entered administration (ie bankruptcy proceedings), not so much. Read More »
LiquidPiston, a company that got its start as a father-son team in a business plan competition at MIT, aims to build a smaller, quieter and more fuel-efficient internal combustion engine than the ones currently being used in cars. Read More »
If you own a car but don’t use it much, growing numbers of startups are itching to help you rent it out. One of the latest ventures is Getaround, which aims to set itself apart with a recipe involving Facebook, smart phones, and green cars. Read More »
A new study out from IBM offers some insights into consumer attitudes toward EVs, disparities between consumers and auto industry executives on the relative importance of things like government incentives and oil prices, and about how much consumers are willing to pay for charging equipment. Read More »
It’s that time again, when automakers haul their wares out to Detroit for the North American International Auto Show. The event, which kicks off on Monday, will include an array of concepts for more efficient and less polluting cars, including hybrids, plug-in hybrids and all-electric vehicles. … Read More »
Smith Electric Vehicles U.S. will step into 2011 with a much larger footprint — ownership of Smith Electric Vehicles UK. The result could be a big IPO potential for Tanfield, parent company of Smith. Read More »
Over the course of 2010, a rich ecosystem of services, startups and innovations began to take shape around the idea of sharing cars and bikes. Here’s seven steps taken this year toward shared transportation: Read More »
Do not pass go, do not collect $24 million: That’s the card played by auto supplier Tenneco, which withdrew from a Department of Energy loan program in March 2010, less than six months after securing a coveted conditional loan commitment from the agency. Read More »
While Uncle Sam has tapped a select few companies as winners for its green car loan program, it has left a much longer list of loan applicants disappointed or stuck in limbo. Here’s the state of the ATVM awards at the end of 2010: Read More »
A new $3 million NIST award could offer a significant boost for Austin, Tex.-based ActaCell, whose backers include Google.org, DFJ Mercury and Applied Ventures. The startup aims to scale up production of its novel nanocomposite material for lithium battery anodes by a factor of 1,000. Read More »
RelayRides, which aims to help people rent out their personal vehicles, launched today and said it raised its first round of investment from Google Ventures and August Capital. It’s part of a trend in which companies are using the web to help people share “stuff.” Read More »
Just about one year into his role heading up the DOE’s loan program office, former VC Jonathan Silver tells us he believes the agency has come a long way from it’s first few years of neglect and delays. Read More »
Ford and partner Azure Dynamics announced this morning that they have started production and deliveries of the Transit Connect Electric work van — the first of five electric vehicles from Ford — to customers in North America and the U.K. Read More »
Oil baron turned natural gas vehicle advocate T. Boone Pickens, and the company he founded Clean Energy Fuels, were crucial figures in terms of VPG scoring the DOE’s latest conditional loan commitment of $50 million just last week. Read More »
Wave power startup Columbia Power Technologies is now gearing up for the final small-scale test of its generator ahead of a full-scale demonstration project planned for 2012 in Puget Sound. Read More »
New York City aims to join the city bike sharing wave and has issued a request for proposal for the new system. Here are 10 factors that could help teams gain an edge over the competition, including connectivity and the ability to harvest data. Read More »
Much about Honda’s plans for an electric version of its compact Fit car remain shrouded in secrecy. But one thing is set: Honda will work with Google, among other partners, to evolve that concept into a vehicle that’s ready for production. Read More »
Executives from startup ETV Motors tell us, in an exclusive interview, how they’re shifting gears and divesting from the turbine business to focus on high-voltage, energy-dense battery cells for aviation, electric bikes and eventually plug-in cars. Read More »
The amount of live video watched online grew more than 600 percent over the past year. At GigaOM’s NewTeeVee Live conference, executives from livestream providers UStream, LiveStream and Justin.tv, plus the head of YouTube’s new livestream product, gave their take on what’s driving that growth. Read More »
What’s next for BitTorrent, a company that initially tried to establish a peer-to-peer-based download store for mainstream Hollywood, then aimed to help publishers distribute bits more effectively? Co-founder and chief scientist Bram Cohen explained at NewTeeVee Live that the company is focusing its efforts on livestreaming. Read More »
Most people just want to watch TV. They want it to be simple, and it should “just work.” Speaking today at GigaOM’s NewTeeVee Live conference, Peter Merholz, the president of user experience design firm Adaptive Path, explained, “People want the same media experience they’ve always had.” Read More »
Making online video content is one thing. Making money from it is quite another, and Blip.tv can be credited with coming about as close as anyone to helping content producers monetize their videos. CEO Mike Hudack told NewTeeVee Live attendees today how his company helps producers. Read More »
One of China’s largest automakers has tapped A123 Systems to supply lithium-ion batteries for an electric car slated to roll out in 2012. The deal was a silver lining to the disappointing earnings it reported yesterday for the three months ending September 30. Read More »
When it comes to predicting the future of electric car maker Tesla Motors’ business as a supplier of powertrain technology for major automakers, it’s like the old Magic 8-Ball said: Reply hazy, try again. Read More »
Tesla and Panasonic cozied up this week, with the Japanese electronics giant investing $30 million in the upstart electric vehicle maker and agreeing to jointly develop battery modules. The move deepens one of a growing number of alliances being formed among car companies and battery makers. Read More »
Tesla Motors has just picked up a $30 million investment from Japanese electronics giant Panasonic. The two companies announced on Wednesday that Panasonic — a preferred battery cell supplier for Tesla’s electric vehicles — has bought a $30 million stake in the Palo Alto, Calif. car … Read More »
Mission Motors’ plans to manufacture a limited run of its Mission One high-performance electric motorcycle are being put on hold while the company works to build a powertrain supply business and raise additional funds. Read More »
Will noise from ocean installations influence migratory marine animals? How should ocean power proposals be evaluated? A round of grants totaling over $4.2 million announced on Tuesday will support a crop of research projects seeking answers to these questions and more over the next three years. Read More »
Greenpeace has been a thorn in the side of the consumer electronics industry with its Guide to Greener Electronics for years. The latest edition shows shuffling in the ranks of top companies as they launch new products and sail past deadlines for eliminating hazardous substances. Read More »
GM’s plug-in hybrid Chevy Volt has cost more than $1 billion to develop and can run on electricity alone for 40 miles or more. Yet California regulators have rated its emissions on par with conventional gas cars like the Toyota Tundra. What gives? Read More »
The Obama administration has just unveiled a proposal to require some of the biggest vehicles on the road — including school buses, fire engines, big rigs, large pickup trucks and vans — to slash fuel consumption and emissions by 10-20 percent between 2014 and 2018. Read More »
Electric cars will soon be zipping around the streets of Northern Ireland, plugging in at charging stations installed with help from the United Kingdom. That’s the vision, at least, of a new partnership between the Renault-Nissan Alliance and the government of Northern Ireland. Read More »
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