A push to increase zero-emission cars has seen eight US states set ambitious targets of 3.3m EVs and plug-in hybrids on the roads by 2025, an exponential increase on today’s numbers, with collaborative infrastructure development near the top of the priority list. The pact, signed by California, New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, Oregon, Connecticut, Rhode Island, […]
Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently traveled to Germany where he talked about accelerating the rollout of the Tesla supercharger electric vehicle charging network around the country. Tesla has already rolled out its supercharger network in some areas of the US and is targeting five-minute recharges for its Model S electric vehicle. The announcement comes as […]
One of the biggest challenges in rolling out a electric vehicle charging system in cities around the world is where to place the chargers and how to wire them into the electric grid. Some interesting wireless electric charging devices are expected to land in New York City in early 2014 from a company called Hevo Power. The coolest part about these wireless charging systems isn’t the fact that they don’t need wires, but rather that they hide in plain sight looking like manhole covers.
Hevo CEO and Founder Jeremy McCool says that the idea to hide his wireless EV charges as manhole covers came to him while walking down the streets of NYC. He said:
I was walking down the street, pondering how wireless charging could be deployed. I was standing at 116th and Broadway, and I was looking down and saw a manhole cover. And thought, that’s the ticket. There are no cords, no hazards. Everything can be underneath the manhole cover.
That realization is where the idea of the company’s wireless charging systems came from. Hevo plans to roll out the charging systems in Washington Square Park in early 2014. The initial wireless chargers will be usable by a pair of Smart ForTwo EVs operated by NYU. The wireless charging technology from Hevo uses resonance charging rather than inductive charging used by other EV charging systems.
Hevo Power says that inductive charging is inefficient, but it’s resonance system uses coils in the vehicle and the charging plate connected with capacitors that resonate a specific frequency. That resonance technology minimizes energy losses, and allows energy to transfer at a faster rate and across a wider gap. The Hevo wireless charging system has three components including the power station that can be bolted to the street or embedded in the pavement. The receiver has to be connected to the EV battery system and a smartphone app is used to help drivers line the vehicle up on the charger to start charging.
Hevo’s current system is classified as a Level 2 charging station providing 220 V and up to 10 kW of energy. The system can produce more than 10 kW of energy depending on the application. Hevo is talking with major companies that operate large vehicle fleets including Pepsi, Walgreens, and City Harvest to potentially use the system for larger fleets of electric vehicles.
[via Wired]
A German company known for making three wheel electric trikes called HP Velotechnik has announced a new battery option for some of its offerings. The new dual-battery option will be available for the company’s entire line of electric tricycles starting next month. The dual batteries means the trike will be able to go twice as […]
While electric vehicles are a great way to reduce our petrol consumption, the simple fact is that they take too long to charge and have a pretty short range before they require charging again. Well hopefully with more chargers being made readily available, more EVs will be adopted in the future and New York City is hoping that provide said convenience through the installation of EV chargers throughout the city. However this won’t be your standard EV charger, but instead will be disguised as manhole coveres that will be able to charge your EV wirelessly.
This technology is provided by Hevo Power, an EV charging company that managed to create a wireless charging system that will be able to deliver juice to EVs. Granted the power being transmitted is less than a regular EV charger, but given that it can be disguised as a manhole cover and can be placed on the ground, it is a bit more efficient and less conspicuous. The system, according to the company’s CEO, Jeremy McCool, is ideal of EV delivery trucks that typically drive at low speeds and don’t need a lot of battery power to get them to their destination. Pretty cool, huh?
NYC To Get Wireless EV Chargers Disguised As Manhole Covers original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Ford and the University of Michigan have announced they have teamed up to create a new kind of battery lab designed specifically to speed up development of batteries for electrified vehicles. The new battery lab is described as world-class facility located at the University of Michigan where Ford will collaborate with battery manufacturers, suppliers, and […]
GM has announced pricing for the 2014 Cadillac ELR, the company’s luxury extended-range hybrid coupe, and despite the similarities to the Volt under the bodywork, the eco-Caddy certainly won’t be cheap. The two-door will have a sticker price of $75,995 including destination charge when it hits forecourts in January 2014, excluding tax and other fees, […]
BMW has finalized pricing for one of the more interesting options on its BMW i3 electric car, the range-extending gas motor that gives the city runabout longer legs. The two-cylinder gas engine – known as the “ReX” – increases the total range of the i3 to around 185 miles, BMW says, and will add $3,950 […]
The electric vehicle space is one that Kia isn’t new to exploring. Here in the US, however, the South Korean auto manufacturer has yet to get its foot in the door. But if all goes according to plan, Kia will soon debut its first EV for the US market in the form of an all-electric model of its Soul line that’s scheduled to launch in 2014. As of now, there are no details about what kind of speeds and mile range we can expect out of this urban passenger ride, but Kia’s quick to point out we’ll be finding out all about that here in the weeks to come. In the meantime, you can take a gander at some leaked images of the purported Soul EV at the Autoblog link below.
Filed under: Transportation
Via: Autoblog
Source: Kia
Palo Alto is an ideal place for electric vehicles when it’s full of wealthy, tech-savvy executives. It only makes sense, then, that the city council has voted in favor of a proposal requiring that new homes include wiring for speedy Level 2 EV chargers. The mandate should add less than $200 to a home’s price, and could represent a bargain for future residents — they’d have to pay four times more for a retrofit, Mayor Greg Scharff says. Established locals may also catch a break, as the council wants to simplify the process of getting an EV charger permit. The moves aren’t very bold — many in the area could buy a Model S with spare change — but they may start a trend that spreads to less affluent regions.
[Image credit: Steve Jurvetson, Flickr]
Filed under: Transportation
Via: VentureBeat
Source: San Jose Mercury News
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