Battery Technology

The state of Colorado has announced $17.3 million in new grant awards through the Direct Current Fast Charging (DCFC) Plazas program to install 172 new fast-charging ports at 29 locations across the state.

The grants will be funded from the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Program and the state’s Community Access Enterprise (CAE). The NEVI-supported grant awards aim to fill charging gaps along Colorado’s federally designated alternative fuel corridors, and the Colorado Energy Office (CEO) is awarding CAE funding for projects in communities with a growing demand for EV charging to meet local needs.

Colorado has provided more than $48 million to add 580 new fast charging ports through the first three rounds of this program, expanding its network of over 1,100 ports by 50%. The first of the NEVI-funded fast chargers from previous funding rounds are expected to open in early 2025, and chargers supported by the current round should become available towards the end of the year. The CEO plans to offer two DCFC Plazas funding rounds per year. The next round is expected to open in the spring.

Grant recipients include charging station operators, fuel providers, convenience stores and local governments.

“Thanks to federal, state, local, and private investment, we’re seeing new places to charge electric vehicles showing up all over the state,” said CEO Executive Director Will Toor. “The ongoing state and federal investment through this program will have a huge impact on access to charging in Colorado, ensuring that the hundreds of thousands of Coloradans who are switching to electric cars can easily get where they need to go, while also saving money on fuel and maintenance costs.”

Source: Colorado Energy Office

The EV battery industry is evolving rapidly, pushing the need for advanced materials that are thinner, lighter and safer. Engineers are increasingly turning to mica as a material solution that helps improve vehicle reliability and safety by containing thermal runaway. Pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) tapes, meanwhile, have emerged as a preferred solution for bonding mica materials in a battery pack.

Our new white paper explores common challenges associated with using mica. Referencing laboratory data, this report provides guidance to engineers and others involved in the design and assembly of these materials. It offers insight into how PSA tapes offer many advantages when combined with mica for EV battery packs including, but not limited to:

• Safety: PSA tapes require no special hazardous material handling protocols. 
• Assembly optimization: PSAs provide virtually immediate green strength with cure time measured in microseconds rather than hours or days. Tapes can also hold parts in place while a pack is assembled. 
• Consistency: PSAs offer consistent thickness upon application. Each battery pack coming out of assembly will have the same amount of adhesive as every other pack. 
• Versatility: PSA tapes can be laminated to foams, fibers and films, and die-cut to specification. Adhesives can be engineered with properties that enhance their ease of use (such as easy removability/repositionability), long-term durability and flame resistance

The white paper outlines the properties to consider for Muscovite and Phlogopite mica as well as the effect of adhesive pattern coating, tape constructions, and the peel angle on the materials. This study was developed in conjunction with the Asheville Mica Energy Solutions.

One of the beloved bugaboos bruited by EV boo-birds is that EV batteries will quickly wear out. Now that there are significant numbers of high-mileage EVs on the road, this deceitful dirge has been definitively debunked. Car and Driver (among many other sources) estimates that a typical EV battery should last between 10 and 20 years (the average new car in the US is expected to last 12.5 years). A recent study by scientists at the SLAC-Stanford Battery Center found that most EV batteries are likely to last even longer than researchers had previously forecast. Real-world accounts of long-serving batteries, for example in Tesla taxis, abound.

Scientific studies and individual anecdotes give us two perspectives on battery longevity—a standardized test that measures the health of an individual EV’s battery gives us yet another. German testing organization DEKRA has developed just such a test, and has now completed more than 25,000 state-of-health tests using its patented procedure. Based on the data collected, DEKRA reports (via Electrive) that “the batteries of electric cars are more durable than consumers sometimes fear.”

DEKRA’s rapid battery test, which was introduced in 2022, is currently available for around 130 different vehicle models and is offered in several European countries. The procedure takes 15 minutes, and includes a static test and a short acceleration drive of around 50 to 100 meters.

The real-world results of an individual test are compared to the “parameterization” of the individual vehicle models, which includes data gathered from complex test drives under a wide variety of conditions. “This creates a kind of coordinate structure that our system uses to analyze and evaluate the actual measured values during the test,” explains Christoph Nolte, Executive Vice President of DEKRA. “The bottom line is a statement on the battery condition that no other method on the market can offer as quickly and at the same time as precisely.”

The growing data pool enables the DEKRA experts to make more general statements about battery aging, and they say that “even with higher mileages, the vast majority of traction batteries are still in good condition.” As one example, DEKRA cites a fleet of Jaguar I-Pace electric taxis that went into service in Munich in 2018. DEKRA tested six of the vehicles in 2024, and found that, with mileages between 180,000 and 260,000 kilometers, the state of health of the traction batteries was between 95 and 97 percent.

“On average, we charged the vehicles about one and a half times a day, and not particularly gently, but always fully charged to give the drivers the appropriate level of safety in terms of range,” said Gregor Beiner, Managing Director of the Munich Taxi Centre (MTZ). “The batteries are very, very durable and, especially with the safety buffers that the manufacturers install, they retain their capacity for a very long time.”

Source: Electrive

Daimler Truck brand FUSO, headquartered in Japan, has delivered 22 of its eCanter trucks to Spain-based logistics provider Planway Logística. The vehicles are operating in the fleet of Spain’s postal service provider, Correos.

The 8.55-tonne trucks are produced for the European market at the Mitsubishi Fuso Truck Europe plant in Tramagal, Portugal. They are designed for such applications as urban distribution and postal deliveries. Each features a 4,450 mm wheelbase, a 129 kW electric motor and an L-size battery pack that delivers a range of up to 200 km.

“The all-electric light-duty truck is ideal for inner-city distribution traffic,” said Florian Schulz, Head of Sales, Marketing and Customer Services at FUSO Europe. “The eCanter’s charging flexibility as well as its comparatively high payload and the load volume of 15 euro-pallets makes this transition quite easy.”

Source: Daimler Truck

European logistics firm Contargo has become one of the first customers to take delivery of the new Mercedes eActros 600 electric semi-truck. The company is adding 20 units to its trimodal delivery fleet. Contargo’s battery-electric fleet now numbers 60 trucks, and that number will soon increase to 90.

Contargo’s electric trucks were funded in part by the Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs and Transport as part of a plan to replace some 86 legacy diesel vehicles.

The eActros 600, which officially went into production at the Mercedes’s Wörth plant in Bavaria last month, is equipped with a 600 kWh battery pack, and boasts 300 miles of all-electric range. Daimler had delivered around 50 units as of the end of 2024.

Source: Electrek

Pope Francis has repeatedly urged the people of the world to accept the science of climate change and work to protect the environment. When it comes to his personal ride, this pope practices what he preaches—he recently took delivery of a battery-electric Popemobile from Mercedes-Benz.

The Vatican says it plans to convert all of its vehicles to emission-free models by 2030. Volkswagen recently announced plans to deliver almost 40 battery-electric vehicles starting next year, including the ID.3, ID.4 and ID.5.

The pearly white Popemobile, dubbed the G 580, is a modified version of the German automaker’s G-Class SUV. It features a 116 kWh battery pack and four electric motors—one for each wheel—and is optimized for low-speed travel around the Vatican grounds. A height-adjustable swiveling seat allows the pope to address his audience, and a removable top protects him from the elements.

Mercedes-Benz has been building popemobiles for some 100 years. The company said it worked with the Vatican for around a year to develop the latest model. Ola Källenius, CEO of the Mercedes-Benz Group, reportedly donated the popemobile to the Vatican. It will be used for the 2025 Jubilee processional.

“We are moving towards zero emissions and are launching many electric products. This year we launched the electric G-Class,” said Källenius, adding that the luxury convertible was specifically designed “paying attention to all the Holy Father’s needs.”

“This is a special honor for our company, and I would like to thank His Holiness for his trust,” said Källenius. “With this Popemobile, we are also sending out a clear call for electromobility and decarbonization. Mercedes-Benz not only stands for the special and individual, but also for creating the conditions for a net-carbon-neutral new car fleet in 2039.”

Sources: NPR, TechCrunch, Electrek

Commercial work trucks have historically utilized mechanical Power Take Off units (PTOs) to transfer power from the diesel engine and transmission to operate hydraulic, water, vacuum pumps, pneumatic compressors, etc. An ePTO replaces the traditional mechanical PTO for electrified vehicles. ePTOs are a broad term and represent many implementations and form factors, which can be confusing, but the benefits include reduced engine runtime, lower emissions and fuel and maintenance savings. 

During this webinar, you will learn more about:

• The various types of ePTOs and the rationale when considering which ePTO to specify
• The advantages of using ePTOs in vehicles with and without an ICE engine
• Typical power requirements, safety issues, and integration considerations
• Architecture considerations to maximize efficiency and battery power conservation    

ChargePoint and GM have announced a collaborative effort to install hundreds of ultra-fast charging ports at strategic locations across the US under the GM Energy brand.

The new EV charging stations will feature ChargePoint’s latest innovations. Many will support the new Omni Port system, which allows vehicles with CCS or NACS charging ports to seamlessly charge at any charger, with no need for adapters. Many will support ChargePoint’s Express Plus platform, which is capable of charging speeds up to 500 kW.

ChargePoint and GM also plan to implement an incentive program designed to make it easier for third-party charge point operators (CPOs) to own and operate EV charging infrastructure.

The companies aim to open the new batch of charging stations by the end of 2025.

“Continuing to provide customers with better charging options helps to remove barriers to EV adoption and improve the ownership experience,” said GM Energy VP Wade Sheffer. “Today, GM drivers have access to hundreds of thousands of places to charge, and this collaboration with ChargePoint adds even more reliable, accessible and convenient charging experiences.”

“Our collaboration with GM represents a significant investment in the infrastructure to enable fast and easy charging for all,” said Rick Wilmer, CEO of ChargePoint. “Together, ChargePoint and GM will deliver a seamless fast charging experience via reliable charging hardware managed by our industry-leading software platform.”

Source: ChargePoint

Netherlands-headquartered automaker Stellantis and US battery technology firm Zeta Energy have signed a joint development agreement to develop lithium-sulfur EV batteries that have energy density comparable to that of lithium-ion technology.

The collaboration includes pre-production development and planning for future production. Stellantis aims to use the batteries in its vehicles by 2030.

Lithium-sulfur battery technology has the potential to create a lighter battery pack with the same usable energy as lithium-ion batteries, enabling greater driving range, improved handling and enhanced performance. The technology can potentially improve fast charging speeds by up to 50%. Sulfur, being widely available and cost-effective, reduces production expenses and supply-chain risk. Lithium-sulfur batteries are expected to cost less than half the price per kWh of current lithium-ion batteries.

Zeta’s lithium-sulfur battery design uses waste materials, methane and unrefined sulfur, a byproduct from various industries, and does not require cobalt, graphite, manganese or nickel. The technology is intended to be manufacturable within existing gigafactories and would leverage a short, entirely domestic supply chain in Europe or North America.

“The combination of Zeta Energy’s lithium-sulfur battery technology with Stellantis’s expertise in innovation, global manufacturing and distribution can improve the performance and cost profile of electric vehicles while increasing the supply chain resiliency for batteries and EVs,” said Tom Pilette, CEO of Zeta Energy.

Source: Stellantis