Charged Magazine

The German government has announced €50 million ($58 million) in new funding for 31 municipal electric mobility projects under its aptly-named “Clean Air 2017-2020 Emergency Program.”
Under this fourth phase of the program, municipal vehicle fleets (e.g. waste disposal vehicles and buses), as well as taxi and car-sharing companies will receive …read more

The Charge Ready network, launched two years ago as a pilot program by Southern California Edison (SCE), recently installed its 1,000th charging station. Now SCE has filed a plan with the California Public Utilities Commission to invest $760 million to expand the program to 48,000 (!) more charging points.
Most of …read more

Power management company Eaton aims to take advantage of increasing demand for EV technologies with the creation of its new eMobility business, which will focus on intelligent power electronics, power systems, power distribution and circuit protection.
Eaton’s existing line of electrified products includes DC/DC converters, PDUs, hybrid and EV transmissions, and …read more

Tesla has reached an agreement with the Shanghai government to build the company’s much-anticipated Chinese Gigafactory. And none too soon – last week, in response to new US tariffs, China increased the import duty on American-made cars to 40 percent, forcing Tesla to raise prices by as much as $30,000.
“We …read more

Thermal paste is essential for preventing overheating and short circuits during battery operation. Unfortunately, its application is one of the slowest processes in battery pack production, as potting material is highly viscous and abrasive.
Scheugenpflug, a provider of adhesive bonding, dispensing and potting solutions, has developed a new dispensing solution for …read more

BP has agreed to purchase Chargemaster, which builds charging stations and operates a network of over 6,500 public charging points across the UK.
Unlike some oil giants, BP is taking a proactive approach to the coming transition to electric transport. The company estimates that there will be 12 million EVs on …read more

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has awarded $20 million in grants for demonstrations of zero-emission off-road equipment in the freight, agriculture and waterborne mass transit sectors.
The projects are part of California Climate Investments, a statewide program that puts billions of dollars from the state’s Cap-and-Trade program to work reducing …read more

French conglomerate Bolloré launched its Autolib electric car-sharing service in Paris in 2011, and later expanded to other French cities, as well as London, Indianapolis and Los Angeles.
Unfortunately, the Paris operation has died. After a very public dispute, the syndicate that brought together the 103 partner municipalities, including Paris, in …read more

Drivetrain technology supplier Dana (NYSE: DAN) has announced a joint venture with TM4, a subsidiary of Hydro-Québec. TM4 will become Dana’s source for electric motors, power inverters, and control systems, and Dana will become a majority shareholder of TM4 in exchange for $165 million Canadian ($127 million US).
TM4 manufactures EV …read more

Heavy-duty engine specialist Cummins (NYSE: CMI) has announced plans to acquire Silicon Valley-based Efficient Drivetrains, Inc. (EDI), a producer of hybrid and electric powertrain solutions for commercial vehicles that has often been featured in Charged.
Cummins has been investigating the possibilities of electrification for a decade, but has been turning up …read more