Drive Electric and our event partners– Custom Fleet and Autofleet–brought together fleet leaders, industry innovators and change-makers to explore the future of electric fleets and smarter transport.
Together we heard insights from key note speakers Seth Hochhauser and Leonard Tham, on successful international EV fleet implementation and the future benefits of vehicle to grid (V2G) technology.
Watch the replay below to learn from our presenters:
Seth Hochhauser, Chief Revenue Officer at Autofleet–the leading optimisation platform for fleets and mobility operators in Tel Aviv–will join us in-person.
Seth has professional experience across M&A, post-merger integration, operations, and strategy development for organisations ranging from seed-stage startups to Fortune 500 companies.
During his presentation, Optimising EV Fleet Operations, Seth will cover real-world strategies for EV success and provide insights for best practices for cutting costs and boosting performances.
As Director of Innovation, Leonard Tham is responsible for developing Custom Fleet’s future mobility initiatives and is at the forefront of fleet trends and technology. With over 15 years of experience in product development and commercialisation, he has pioneered industry-leading solutions — from connected vehicles to fleet electrification — that help some of Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest fleets operate more efficiently, safely and sustainably.
In his presentation Unpacking the Promise of V2G – An Australian Perspective, Leonard will take a deep dive into how this emerging technology is progressing, what it promises to deliver, and why it matters for fleets.
As the Chinese Automaker launches its European Strategy, we look at Changan’s new Deepal S07 SUV and ask what impact it will have on a post-US tariff market Following a […]
Airbus’ adjustment of its ambitious hydrogen-electric development program is a testament to the scale of the task facing the aviation industry to decarbonize. The news that Airbus is to scale […]
BWI Group Chief Engineer Philippe Germain tells us why it isn’t just battery prices giving China the edge with EVs The average passenger car has grown heavier by more than […]
The third attempt at launching the Flight 10 Starship was lucky for SpaceX aseverything went according to plan. The last and most important objective was to land the upper stage Starship 37 in the Indian Ocean — it was perfect as well.
Elon Musk’s commercial spaceflight company SpaceX shared the stunning footage of the last moments of the Flight 10 Starship performing a landing burn and making a soft water landing.
SpaceX staff at both Starbase, Texas, and the company’s HQ in Hawthorne, California, celebrated this moment by expressing their utmost excitement and satisfaction. Ship 37 was the first Starship V2 prototype to complete its course and achieveits planned objectives.
Interestingly, due to the atmospheric reentry burn, Flight 10 upper stage Starship 37 looked orange. The magma effect caused by extreme heat and friction was evident at the time of the landing as well. The heat shield tiles became orange after bearing extreme reentry temperatures.
This coloration made the landing look even more exciting as Musk promises that excitement is guaranteed with all Starship launches.
Flight 10 Starship upper stage (Ship 37) landing in the Indian Ocean was epic.
Above: Video of the Flight 10 Starship upper stage as it lands in the Indian Ocean.
Starship Flight 10 Objectives
The successful Flight 10 Starship mission has given SpaceX its lost confidence back as the previous two flight tests were a failure as long as the upper stage is concerned.
SiC chips have revolutionized not only the performance of power modules but also the surrounding packaging technologies. Chips are no longer soldered but sintered, die top connections are no longer Aluminum wires but Cu wires on die top systems or Cu clips. So, what is the next level module connection? Sintering with large area silver sinter paste for best performance or soldering with high reliability solder preforms for best cost?
In this webinar, we compare soldering with Innolot preforms to sintering with PE360P, our silver sinter paste designed for printing, and highlight the benefits and drawbacks of each approach.
Clearly, the preforms win on the price, application is simple via pick and place process from a waffle pack and are pre-cut to match the substrate design. The solder melts at 218°C and requires flux or formic acid for the soldering to work properly. No pressure is required. It shows excellent reliability for thermal cycling from -40°C to +125°C, i.e. less than 3% after 2000 cycles compared to over 15% for SAC. However, for thermal shock testing from -50°C to +150°C it shows substantial (> 40%) delamination after 500 cycles.
This is where large-area sintering comes in. It shows only slight (< 3%) delamination after 500 cycles of temperature shock and only in the very corners of the substrate. It is applied by stencil printing but requires 5 minutes of 12 MPa pressure at 230°C for sintering. It is also significantly more expensive due to its 87% silver content, compared to only 3.8% for the IL preforms. However, the higher reliability and higher thermal conductivity (sintered silver is at > 200 W/mK while solder materials are < 65 W/mK), the resulting improved thermal resistance may well make it worth it for high power modules
Join this webinar at our September Virtual Conference on EV Engineering, presented by Heraeus, to learn more about a comparison of module sintering versus soldering.
Broadcast live from September 15 to 18, 2025, the conference content will encompass the entire EV engineering supply chain and ecosystem, including motor and power electronics design and manufacturing, cell development, battery systems, testing, powertrains, thermal management, circuit protection, wire and cable, EMI/EMC and more.
Canadian battery manufacturer HPQ Silicon has started production of the first batch of HPQ ENDURA+ 18650 and 21700 cylindrical battery cells powered by Novacium’s GEN3 silicon-based anode technology, which are scheduled for delivery to HPQ by the end of September 2025.
The HPQ ENDURA+ 18650 (4,000 mAh) and 21700 (6,000 mAh) cells offer increased energy density and a lifespan approaching 1,000 full charge–discharge cycles, which the company says it has validated by independent testing.
This is a key step in the commercialization of HPQ’s batteries, and follows recent developments, including the launch of the HPQ ENDURA+ brand and the signing of strategic agreements to accelerate the commercialization in North America of lithium batteries incorporating GEN3 silicon-based materials.
“We continue to receive inquiries from global potential customers and are engaging in technical discussions with leading industry players,” said Bernard Tourillon, President and CEO of HPQ Silicon. “This confirms the growing interest in our battery technology and HPQ ENDURA+ cells. These interactions have allowed us to refine our specifications to better meet market needs. With production now underway, we anticipate an acceleration of partnership opportunities as soon as we start delivery.”
Canada-based Saltworks Technologies, which supplies systems for industrial wastewater treatment and lithium refining, has deployed two FusionRO plants to international clients.
FusionRO, a form of low-salinity rejection reverse osmosis (LSRRO), achieves a brine concentration of sodium chloride exceeding 220,000 mg/L at 50% lower capital expenditure and operating expenditure than evaporators, according to the company.
One plant was sold to a lithium refiner, and is concentrating lithium before conversion at a lower cost and energy than evaporators. The second plant was shipped to an industrial site to treat and reuse water while producing a minimal liquid discharge (MLD) brine.
FusionRO hybridizes ultra-high-pressure reverse osmosis (UHP-RO) with UHP nanofiltration to concentrate brines 175% higher than conventional seawater RO.
FusionRO requires half the number of high-pressure stages than lower-pressure RO systems, owing to its ultra-high pressure cascading loop design. The system features intelligent membrane monitoring, protection and preservation controls to maintain membrane health, delivering energy and cost savings compared to evaporators on suitable fluids.
Saltworks’ full-scale and pilot solutions are modular, factory-built and fully commissioned before shipping. Its plug-and-play design reduces installation time, cost and complexity in the field compared to conventional stick-built options, the company said.
Switzerland has long seemed a bit of an outlier among the electrifying nations of Europe. I’ve seen EVs on Swiss roads since I first visited the country in the early 1990s, and I’ve seen their numbers grow in my frequent travels in the country, but in recent years, adoption of modern EVs has been modest compared to hotspots such as Norway, the Netherlands and the UK.
Lately, however, the voltage seems to have increased. According to Best-Selling-Cars.com, as of 2024, BEVs in the Alpine country boasted a 19% market share—roughly equivalent to that of the UK, France and Austria, and comfortably ahead of Germany (14%) and Italy (4%).
European brands dominate the product mix, but models from BYD and other Chinese brands are starting to show up.
Switzerland has no domestic OEM auto industry, but it is home to many automotive suppliers. We’ve covered several of these in Charged, including battery manufacturer Leclanché, connector specialist Staubli and cable maker BRUGG, to say nothing of ABB, a Swedish/Swiss concern that’s one of the world’s best-known EVSE suppliers (and whose ad banners celebrating electrification greet visitors to the Zurich airport).
Swiss transport firms and fleet operators have been testing and piloting EV technology for many years. In 2020, Hyundai announced plans to pilot 50 fuel cell heavy-duty trucks with Swiss fleet customers, but the project fell apart when it turned out green hydrogen wasn’t available.
Switzerland has one of the most comprehensive and modern public transit systems in the world. Electric trams and trolleybuses are common, and battery-electric buses are steadily replacing diesels on non-electrified bus lines.
The Swiss would seem to be temperamentally disposed to go electric. They are famously thrifty, but not cheap—they readily open their portemonnaies for high-quality products—and they tend to enthusiastically adopt new technology. It’s also worth mentioning that the Swiss railway system, the world’s second-most dense (after Japan) has been 100% electrified since the mid-20th century (and is now powered by 100% renewable energy,) so the Swiss are well acquainted with modern electric propulsion.
Why, then, is Switzerland not a second Norway? Well, by all accounts the secret of Norway’s electric success is comprehensive and consistent government support, which Swiss EV buyers have never had. The federal government has not provided purchase incentives of the kind that were until recently available in the US. It used to offer an exemption from the 4% auto import tax, but this program ended at the beginning of 2024. Switzerland features a highly devolved form of democracy, and the rationale seems to have been that incentivizing EVs is up to the individual cantons (states). Some of these offer modest tax breaks, as do some cities, electric utilities and other private firms.
The federal government has invested in EV-related research and charging infrastructure to a certain extent, and the Swiss also enjoy substantial subsidies for solar power installations. However, in general, EVs have had to sell themselves to car buyers on their economic and environmental merits alone. Now that EV prices are nearing parity with those of legacy vehicles, and the selection of available models has greatly expanded, will we see adoption rates rise?
When it comes to charging infrastructure, Switzerland seems already to be well-endowed. The number of public charging points continues to grow at a steady rate, and when it comes to the number of public chargers relative to the number of EVs, Helvetia is near the front of the pack, far ahead of the US (and, oddly, Norway). Charging networks include GOFAST, MOVE and Shell’s evpass.
My personal anecdotal evidence seems to bear out the idea that public charging installations have gotten a little ahead of the market. My eagle eye spots a lot of public chargers on my travels, and I seldom see an EV charging, but I often see EVs parked near unoccupied public chargers. Are the Swiss shy of plugging in in public?
I’ve found no data on public charging utilization rates, but I shall indulge in a bit of informed speculation. In a small and densely populated country, short driving distances may moderate the demand for DC fast charging. As for AC chargers, there are plenty to be found in strategic spots like shopping centers and train stations, but Swiss consumers haven’t been conditioned to expect “free” stuff as we Americans have, so charging is usually to be paid for. Opportunity charging is a wonderful thing, but why pay for electrons that you can buy more cheaply at home? On a recent visit to a Swiss grocery store, I saw half a dozen EVs in the parking lot, but none taking advantage of the two Level 2 chargers provided.
Chrysler’s parent company Stellantis is spending billions to push all-electric Jeeps and Dodge Chargers in the U.S. The problem is that customers are not buying them. Dealers are offering steep discounts, but interest remains low. Across the Atlantic, the same company is producing EVs that are thriving. The latest example is the DS Automobiles No4, an all-electric crossover that could easily find fans in the U.S.
The No4 comes from Stellantis’ French luxury brand, DS Automobiles. It is a five-passenger electric crossover designed to compete directly with the Tesla Model Y. Pricing in Europe starts at £36,995, which translates to roughly $38,000 to $47,000 in the U.S. after removing Europe’s VAT. That positions it squarely in one of the most competitive and fastest-growing segments of the market.
Power comes from a 213-horsepower motor paired with a 58.3 kWh battery. On Europe’s WLTP cycle, that combination delivers 280 miles of range. The EPA would likely rate it closer to 240 miles, which is still strong given the relatively small battery size. Charging is quick, too, with 120 kW fast charging that can take the battery from 20 to 80 percent in less than 30 minutes. Built-in vehicle-to-load and vehicle-to-grid technology means the car can also power devices or even send electricity back to the grid.
Inside, the No4 presents itself with a sense of luxury that is rare at this price point. The sculpted interior features a modern dash, advanced infotainment, and Alcantara-like finishes that give it a premium feel. There is generous space for five adults and plenty of cargo room, making it as practical as it is stylish.
The big question is why Stellantis is keeping the No4 in Europe while pushing struggling Jeep and Dodge EVs in the U.S. The company’s American lineup seems misaligned with market demand. Buyers here have shown more interest in affordable, stylish crossovers than in expensive muscle cars or off-road-themed EVs. The No4 could be the kind of vehicle to bring new energy to Stellantis’ U.S. sales.
For now, though, the DS No4 remains a European exclusive, a missed opportunity in a market where many drivers are still searching for an attractive and reasonably priced alternative to Tesla.
