Electric charging and battery strategy

Major developments are in hand with regard to providing charging solutions for electric vehicles. This has been seen as a barrier to the introduction of electric vehicles on a widespread basis but various manufacturers are now developing systems to deal with the issue.Siemens and BMW are working on an easy-to-use fast charging plug for electric cars. This system will allow sufficient charging for a 100km range in less than 30 minutes.
May 9, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
Major developments are in hand with regard to providing charging solutions for electric vehicles. This has been seen as a barrier to the introduction of electric vehicles on a widespread basis but various manufacturers are now developing systems to deal with the issue.

1134 Siemens and 1233 BMW are working on an easy-to-use fast charging plug for electric cars. This system will allow sufficient charging for a 100km range in less than 30 minutes.

Meanwhile 2454 Nissan/2453 Renault have decided, together with major utilities and charging infrastructure suppliers, to develop and install thousands of fast charging stations in Europe by 2012.

Meanwhile other developments for electric vehicles focus on making batteries more affordable as well as efficient. The latest developments include batteries using organic polymer instead of cobalt and battery packs with improved thermal management that takes advantage of copper’s heat conductive characteristics.

Researchers from 3434 Osaka University have developed a new lithium-ion battery using a cathode conductive organic polymer. Using an organic polymer instead of cobalt could have great benefits for the automotive sector, as cobalt is a costly raw material with limited production in just five countries. The polymer consists of molecules derived from an organic open-763 Shell molecule. This technology could prove successful in the automotive sector as it offers high discharge capacity of more than 300Ah/kg compared to existing lithium ion batteries, up to twice the electricity storage and an increased performance cycle.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • OEMs take a walk down to Electric Avenue
    April 27, 2018
    Where the diesel engine was once the simple solution for OEMs wanting a power source, recent emissions regulations have added such cost and complexity to the diesel-fuelled internal combustion engine that there are now other simpler, solutions on the horizon. That’s the message from Julie Furber, executive director of Cummins electrified power business, who believes that electrification will be the new, simple power solution. “As a provider of power sources, Cummins is in a position to give its customers an
    Read More
  • Electric machine options
    April 30, 2024
    One of the notable developments in the construction machine market has been the rapid expansion in the availability of compact electric machines and a wide array of new units is coming to market – Mike Woof reports
    Read More
  • Volvo CE’s electric prototype excavator
    May 17, 2017
    Volvo CE has developed an all-electric mini excavator, which it is now demonstrating in prototype form. The machine is powered by the latest generation Li-Ion battery technology and is said to be highly efficient. Volvo CE points out that the machine is a prototype intended to test the concept and that its configuration will be likely to change during development. The 3.5tonne machine also does without conventional hydraulic circuits, marking it apart from currently available electric excavators. Lars Stenq
    Read More
  • US plans alternative energy sources for transportation
    April 26, 2012
    The US Department of Energy (DOE) has published its first Quadrennial Technology Review, which identifies six key strategies to address current energy challenges. Crucially the review indicates that among the transport strategies, the greatest effort will be devoted to electrification of light-duty vehicles. While in the fiscal year 2011 only 9% of DOE’s research budget went to electric vehicles, this field will be given greater support in the coming years with the view of reducing US oil dependency in the
    Read More

Highlighted Content