Using a system that costs little over $7,000, researchers at the venerable University of Oxford have developed a modified Leaf that can drive itself — as long as it recognizes its surroundings. Read more »
The fourth quarter in cleantech saw attention paid to two prominent, publicly traded companies: EV maker Tesla and newly minted public listing SolarCity. It remains a transitional period for the sector as investment declines, with a shift toward those companies able to scale with little additional capital. Read more »
Overall, between 2012 and 2017, more than 900,000 light-duty PEVs will be sold in the United States. But there remain hefty inhibitors to mainstream plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) use, including limited vehicle driving range and large battery packs, not to mention steep prices. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
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 »
This quarter the EV market struggled to find its footing. Meanwhile, the smart-grid sector solidified and low-power technology proved itself important in the data center. Read more to learn what these news pieces and others mean for the larger space over the next few months. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Offerings in the EV space will explode this year, with everything from a long-awaited plug-in Prius to the first all-electric SUV from Tesla. More important, they will usher in the era of the connected car and an entirely new relationship between a driver and his vehicle. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
As we look toward the next year, the cleantech sector faces many challenges, which we examine in detail in this 2012 outlook. Renewable energy generators encounter an increasingly difficult subsidy environment, and key cleantech innovations like electric vehicles face an uphill climb in terms of connecting ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
It was a tough week for electric cars, with Chevy Volt’s sales falling short and Aptera’s filing for bankruptcy. The barriers to EV adoption are widely known but center around a few major issues, including range anxiety, charging time and initial cost. Range anxiety and unease ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Connectivity changes everything. That’s the credo driving just about every corner of our day-to-day lives. As human beings, we are now connected to one another through not just our social networks but also our cars, the books we read, the albums we download and even our own health and wellness habits (to name just a few areas). With that in mind, GigaOM Pro has singled out certain areas in the technology industry where we see this shift to constant connectivity taking place most drastically. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
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 »
Cleantech, meet mobile. The intersection between these two industries has grown over the past twelve months as companies increasingly look to use smartphones as a platform to enable their services. This trend will accelerate in the future as more and more companies realize that mobile phones ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
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 »
Recent developments in the vehicle industry suggest that 2011 could be the year of the car as a major platform for apps. From BMW’s support for Apple’s iPod Out feature to the emergence of Nokia’s Terminal Mode, a system that integrates mobile applications and the car, automakers and app developers are jumping on board the in-vehicle app movement. This report examines that landscape, its major players and their offerings, and how the market is shifting from device to car and, eventually, to the cloud. Increased broadband speeds, electronic vehicles and social apps such as those powered by Twitter will play major roles on this journey. Additional companies mentioned in this report include Ford, BMW, Geely, Nissan and Google. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
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 »
The world’s greentech industry is likely meeting the end of 2010 with a mix of relief and trepidation. Clouds are on the horizon for global investment in renewable energy, and VCs fret about realizing returns on their existing investments. Meanwhile, China boasts the world’s largest population ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
NRG Energy has taken big stakes in solar and wind power generation, has a lot of green power retailing clout and is planning the first-ever for profit car charging network in the United States. What are the strengths and drawbacks of this end-to-end green power moneymaking ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
I was going to title this post, “How Not to Launch an Electric Car,” but I thought that might be too harsh. Still, the launch of the two-seater LiFe electric car by the startup Wheego at the L.A. Auto Show last week was pretty unusual. 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 »
Nissan formally began production of its electric LEAF in Japan, a milestone in the trek to see a global automaker cranking out tens of thousands of electric vehicles. Now a long list of companies are racing to get their own EV factories up and running. Read more »
When it came time for Nissan to set specifications for the infotainment system in its electric LEAF sedan, the automaker wanted two things: more info, less “tainment.” Turns out Microsoft’s Windows Embedded Auto fit the bill. Might a Hohm-LEAF connection be in their future? Read more »
AT&T has been quietly linking up the next-generation of energy technologies as part of its growing machine-to-machine division. That’s including providing a network connection for a novel energy storage tech based on ice from startup Ice Energy. Read more »
For electric vehicles to become truly mainstream, utilities and auto makers need to partner on a variety of details. Here’s 5 reasons why car companies and utilities should be besties. Read more »
Google has acquired the Israeli video tour start-up Quiksee, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. Rumors of the sale first started this weekend, but were confirmed today by a post on the Quiksee site, making this Google’s 28th acquisition since last August. Read more »
The new Nissan LEAF ad has all the requirements that tug at the heart strings: cute animals, hugs, warm fuzzy feelings and an electric car. Read more »
YouTube is following up on the next phase of its ambitious Life In A Day project, making video submissions from around the globe available through a new gallery page that captures many different views of what life was like for users on July 24, 2010. Read more »
For some, the silence of an electric vehicle is really cool, and for others, who worry about getting slammed in a cross walk by a silent, oncoming EV, it’s a safety problem. There’s a growing list of startups developing vehicle noise technology to address these concerns. Read more »
During our test drive of Nissan’s electric LEAF this week Nissan’s Mark Perry, told us that the car giant is working with AT&T to provide a connection for digital services for the car, like battery charge monitoring and finding the nearest charging station. Read more »
Hot on the heels of General Motors unveiling an 8-year, 100,000-mile warranty for its upcoming Chevy Volt, Nissan announced today that it will offer the same warranty for the battery in its all-electric LEAF sedan. Read more »
GM announced today that the plug-in Chevy Volt will have a base price of $41,000, before federal and state incentives, and an aggressive lease offer that’s competitive with Nissan’s upcoming electric LEAF. Here’s the scoop on what the ordering process will entail. Read more »
At high noon on Tuesday, General Motors plans to detail just what it will take for consumers to land an extended-range electric Chevy Volt in their garage or driveway, releasing new info on pricing and the ordering process. Read more »
Want to win people over to greener cars? Then skip the greenwash and tell them about the benefits straight up. That’s the message in a new set of guidelines for automakers marketing environmental claims to consumers in the UK. Read more »
How long should you expect a plug-in car battery — the most expensive part of the vehicle — to last before dwindling storage capacity or other problems leave you longing for a replacement? This question opens a hornet’s nest of vehicle emission regulations. Read more »
