At the Beijing Auto Show this week, Volkswagen is showing off its concept E-Bugster. But as our Green Overdrive watchers know, this isn’t the first electric Bug to hit the roads. Read More »
Cleantech
Solar power and electric cars are an ideal match. Both are tied to the grid, and disruptive technologies, which are in an early market stage and which are trying to reduce costs. Partnerships just make sense. Read More »
One of the big hurdles in engineering electric cars is to figure out how to effectively monitor and control the battery systems. For Coda, that means buying EnergyCS to beef up its battery management system development and expand into the grid energy storage market. Read More »
Fisker Automotive, which finally began delivering its first plug-in electric hybrid car this summer, has begun promoting its second model in earnest as well. The company announced Thursday that its next car, dubbed “Project Nina,” will come with engines and other parts by BMW. Read More »
We’ve heard of bullish forecasts for electric cars, but we also have seen reports about the coming of an oversupply of lithium-ion batteries. Managing the supply and demand can be tough for any industry, but it might be extra difficult for the new, electric car market. Read More »
Will electric vehicles provide a big market for lithium-ion batteries? A report by IHS on Monday says yes and predicts that carmakers will take over laptop manufacturers as the biggest customers of lithium-ion batteries by 2015. Read More »
Is Oregon the next promised land for clean technology? The Beaver State has, in recent years, has been trying to position itself as a major player with regards to support for green energy, electric vehicle development and more. Read More »
How do you encourage consumers to switch to electric cars? Here’s two not-so-obvious ways, according to an Accenture survey released on Wednesday: offer free parking and get more utilities to build charging networks. Read More »
The blockbuster IPO by Tesla Motors revved up the public profile of electric cars over the past year. But Fallbrook Technologies, which makes transmission systems for bikes and EVs, pulled its $50 million IPO plan because of “unfavorable market conditions.” Read More »
The federal government, which is one of the biggest boosters of electric cars, announced two initiatives on Tuesday: a Google Map project featuring charging stations nationwide, and $5 million in funding for cities to come up with plans to popularize electric cars. Read More »
The U.S. Department of Energy issued a report Tuesday that outlines how President Obama will achieve his goal of seeing 1 million electric cars on the road by 2015. The answer: combine the stimulus funding, with fuel economy standards, and more incentives. Read More »
Cutting electric vehicle charging time from hours to minutes is a holy grail of the car charging industry. But plenty of bumps lie ahead for the dream of a gas station equivalent for the EV market. Read More »
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