ABB E-mobility has opened the company’s largest DC fast charger production site to date. The 16,000-square-meter E-mobility Centre of Excellence in Valdarno, Tuscany has an annual production capacity of more than 10,000 DC chargers. The company has invested some $30 million at the new site, where it will produce the full range of ABB DC charging solutions. ABB says the new plant will be capable of producing one DC fast charger every 20 minutes, thanks to its 7 production lines. There are also 15 testing facilities, which are able to simulate over 400 charging sessions per day. The facility will...

Sponsored by TTI Electric Vehicle Architecture Design The pace of acceleration in the electric vehicle market has taken consumers and manufacturers alike by surprise. That is largely due to innovative companies and pioneers who have worked relentlessly to mitigate many if not all of the current consumer concerns evolving electric vehicles. These concerns represent some significant engineering challenges, such as extending driving range, increasing vehicle performance, reliable acceleration and decreasing charging time. These challenges all represent higher energy demands and thermal challenges that require innovative solution without negatively impacting safety, reliability and affordability.  A key design element to ensure the...

Power and sensor technology company onsemi (formerly ON Semiconductor) has announced that NIO selected its VE-Trac Direct SiC power modules for its next-generation EVs. The SiC VE-Trac Direct is a 900 V power module with integrated single-side direct cooling that incorporates onsemi’s second-generation SiC MOSFET technology. onsemi says “An integrated pin fin baseplate enables direct liquid cooling and easy assembly, which allows maximum power output and more efficient thermal dissipation.” “From all the solutions we considered, the VE-Trac Direct SiC traction power modules offered the best efficiency during testing, allowing us to extend our NEDC range by 4% compared to...

One of the provisions of Austria’s Energy and Climate Plan calls for all taxis to be emission-free by 2025, and this is driving innovation. Authorities in the cities of Vienna and Graz have found that the best option is to provide charging infrastructure directly at taxi stands. This allows every minute between trips to be used for charging the vehicle. Electric utility Wien Energie and Austrian charging provider Easelink are working together on a pilot project called eTaxi Austria, which will test automated charging options installed at taxi stands. On the grounds of the Simmering power plant, the companies created...

Japanese motor company Nidec has announced plans to build an EV component plant in the Chinese city of Pinghu. Construction is scheduled to begin in October of 2022. The EV-dedicated plant will have 109,600 square meters (1,180,000 square feet) of production area floor space for producing and assembling gears, inverters and the company’s E-Axle traction motor system. Production is to begin in October of 2023, and the company says the plant will have an annual production capacity of 1 million E-Axles by fiscal year 2024. Aiming at a 10 trillion-yen (about $74 billion) sales goal for 2030, Nidec says it...

Eaton has introduced a new battery disconnect unit (BDU) for EVs that acts as an on/off switch to the battery for different EV operating modes such as charging and driving. The BDU can be linked to Eaton’s Breaktor circuit protection technology, which provides current switching and resettable bidirectional short-circuit protection. The company says, “Eaton’s Breaktor circuit protection technology enables up to 350 kW DC fast charging when used to protect and switch the DC fast-charge circuit, allowing EVs to charge in 15 minutes or less.” “Our Breaktor circuit protection technology’s self-triggering design, diagnostic electronics and mirror contact help achieve BDU...

Lithium supplier Livent has announced an agreement to boost its ownership of a lithium hydroxide development project called Nemaska Lithium to 50%. Livent says it expects the site in Quebec, Canada to begin production in 2025. “We believe that Nemaska, as a large and low-cost integrated lithium hydroxide project, will be an important part of the supply of sustainable critical battery materials,” said Livent CEO Paul Graves. “Nemaska is strategically located to serve growing lithium demand in North America and Europe.”  Livent has performed an optimization study of Nemaska aimed at improving the value chain from the mine to battery-grade...

Tata Power is about to start a nationwide plan of setting up Electric vehicle charging stations from North to south beginning from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and from East to West, from Guwahati to Dwarka and Bikaner over the next 3-5 years downline. The move is the part of the transformation program, Tata Power 2.0, which focuses on customer-centricity, sustainability, and digital to become the utility of the future said CEO Praveer Sinha. Tata Power 2.0 Future plans: As we can see Tata power has already tied up with OEMs like Tata motors under home charging solutions are provided to each...

Buyers of the 2023 GV60 electric SUV will receive 3 years of 30-minute complimentary charging sessions on the Electrify America public charging network. GV60 drivers will be able to locate and access charging stations via the Electrify America mobile app. Electrify America’s network includes some 800 charging stations, comprised of about 3,500 individual chargers. It offers charging speeds ranging from 150 kW to 350 kW. “We are continuing to transform the ultra-fast charging experience for EV drivers through our collaborations with leading automakers,” said EA CEO Giovanni Palazzo. “As we take steps into our fully-electrified future, Genesis is pleased to...

The KATEK Group, a European electronics company, has introduced a new white-label wallbox charging station. The ghostONE is a 22 kW Level 2 charger that companies can customize with their own brand identities. “With ghostONE, KATEK’s subsidiary eSystems is targeting the European market for wallboxes in the residential and semi-public sectors, which, according to recent market studies, will reach an installation base of 65 million boxes y 2035,” said Jochen Paukert, Managing Director of eSystems, the KATEK brand that developed the ghostONE. The ghostONE is a networked smart charger that features remote management and connectivity via Ethernet, WiFi and LTE,...