Skip to main content

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

  • Electric paving becoming a reality
    July 21, 2025
    Electric asphalt paving machines are becoming a reality – Mike Woof writes
  • France’s big 2013 rise in electric & hybrid vehicle sales
    January 16, 2014
    Sales of electric and hybrid vehicles were up significantly in France in 2013 compared to 2012, reports Avere France. Electric utility vehicle sales were up 42% to 5,175 units, electric sales rose 50% year-on-year to 8,779 units, and there was a 60% rise in hybrid car sales to 46,785 units. In the latter segment, Toyota is still the leader with 27,536 vehicles sold thanks to the Yaris, Auris and Prius. In electric cars, the Zoé (Renault) is the leader with market share of around 63%, in front of the Leaf
  • American parking sector to aid growth of electric vehicle charging in workplace
    February 1, 2013
    The American parking industry has teamed up with U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) to back a government initiative to expand electric vehicle charging stations in the workplace. The International Parking Institute (IPI) has been named a founding ambassador in the US DoE’s Workplace Charging Challenge, a new initiative of the EV Everywhere Grand Challenge, announced by Secretary of Energy Steven Chu at the recent Washington Auto Show’s Public Policy Day. The Workplace Charging Challenge will support the expans
  • A new standard is being agreed for electric vehicles
    October 24, 2012
    A new standard being agreed for electrical vehicle recharging will represent a major step forward for this market. A new technical standard has now been approved by SAE International, which will lead to major reductions in charging times for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and electric vehicles