Autolib is an EV car rental system first set up in Paris in 2011. It now has 45,000 active subscribers making between 9,000 and 13,000 car journeys every day. The French tycoon behind the business, Vincent Bollore, now has plans to introduce it to London and also to the US city of Indianapolis. "We'll have Blue Cars
Electrikhana is the showcase event for the Australian EV Association WA branch. It was held last Saturday and featured some great electric cars. Everyone was invited to drive the various EVs on display that included the Nissan Leaf, the Holden (GM) Volt, Mitsubishi iMiEV together with a range of electric go carts, motorbikes and scooters.
Mate Rimac, is a 24 year old native of Croatia with some serious creativity who intends to produce the Rimac Concept One Supercar in 2015. The $1 million supercar uses four separate electric motors - one in each wheel to deliver an astounding 1,088 horsepower. So from zero to 100kms in just under 2.8 seconds
Battery technology is enjoying unprecedented research and development globally. The rush is on to get better energy density so that EVs can travel farther and the market for energy storage systems develops faster. Renault's intention is to dominate the EV market and they are looking to 'upgrade' battery packs for existing owners as newer technology
Navigant Research has predicted in a new report (click for the executive summary) that wireless charging for Electric Vehicles will grow from a few hundred in 2014 to 300,000 plus by 2022. This technology until recently viewed as in R&D mode has begun to hit the markets with manufacturers planning to introduce it in the 2015/2016
Living in Beijing is now at an unbearable stage with pollution levels soaring since 19th February. PM 2.5 (particulate matter) concentrations that are the most damaging to human health hit levels of 432 yesterday - the World Health Organisation levels are a mere 25 for day long exposure. No doubt much of this smog is
The recent announcement by Elon Musk of a 'gigafactory' battery manufacturing facility not only has meant a surge in Tesla stock (now up 634% year-over-year) but also brings the death spiral for electricity utilities that much closer. The death spiral is customer defection from the grid to run their households/businesses on solar panels plus battery storage.
A new report commissioned by the NRMA on Australia's risk exposure to liquid fuels paints a grim picture. Written by retired Air Vice-Marshal John Blackburn it finds Australia at serious risk through it's dependence on foreign based oil. No doubt this report could be a template for many industrialised countries around the world. A single
Local Motors goal is to: "operate an efficient, multinational Microfactory network in order to build game-changing products and deliver a world of vehicle innovations." I think 3d printing an EV would certainly fit that description and that's exactly what they intend to do at the upcoming International Manufacturing Technology Show 2014 in Chicago, Illinois, September 8-13,
Tesla opened a showroom last November in Beijing and it looks like the Model S will roll out sometime in March. With very aggressive pricing Tesla will be taking on the luxury hold of the likes of BMW and Mercedes. Tesla also plans to roll out a supercharger network in similar fashion to what's it