5 Battery & EV Charging Stories You May Have Missed

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Electric vehicle (EV) batteries and charging may not be as exciting as robotaxis and other autonomous vehicles, there’s been a variety of fun news about these matters that should help to further raise awareness and get people to switch to EVs.

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1. You can now search on Google for EV charging stations by plug type, whether you need a CHAdeMO fast charger, a CCS fast charger, or something else.

Of course, if you have a Tesla, you just need to use the car’s navigation system, but most EV drivers on the road today don’t have Teslas.

You can also filter by “Open now.”

 

2. XING Mobility wants to put its batteries in marine vehicles

Electric cars are hitting maturity, and there’s a feverish pitch around the nascent electric aircraft industry, but what about the boats? Well, XING Mobility isn’t just keeping this aquatic space in mind, it has developed “advanced electric battery and powertrain products” for the marine vehicle market.

“XING Mobility’s Immersio™ Modular Battery System is a stackable energy solution that acts as a direct engine replacement and can be configured into a huge variety of size, shape and power needs. Uniquely made up of standardized, compact modules, the product is designed to make it as easy as possible for boat and marine vehicle manufacturers to electrify their existing fleets, or to design electric prototypes that can be tested, validated and certified within a short development time. The products are optimized to serve manufacturers who produce fleets in low-to-medium volume with a high-mix of vehicle or marine equipment types, and where configurability of the powertrain within unusual hull or chassis space is critical. In the boating and marine industry, applications of the Immersio™ Modular Battery System can range from high performance boat applications to passenger ferries.”

3. Chinese battery company CATL has quickly risen from it founding in 2011 to become a global battery powerhouse. (No pun initially intended.) The company isn’t just planting down roots in its home country of China. Among other developments, it’s now working on a battery factory in Germany.

4. Germany is launching a central control center for EV charging (tip of the hat to Green Car Congress).

“The focus is on expanding a network for ultra-fast charging in Germany: the first goal is to set up 1,000 new quick-charging locations that have a sufficient number of charging points per location and can be expanded quickly.

“With TOOL, NOW GmbH has already developed a planning tool on behalf of the BMVI with which the Germany-wide charging infrastructure for cars and commercial vehicles can be planned by 2030 and the further need for expansion can be calculated. The TOOL application shows the future need for additional charging points and includes traffic flows, socio-economic data and existing infrastructures.”

5. Northvolt is the latest EV startup to get into energy storage plus EV charging

Oodles of EV charging stations supported by battery storage units will be installed in the 2020s, but this is still a rare sight. So, it’s noteworthy that Swedish battery-producing startup Northvolt is partnering with Mälarenergi on one of these systems in Västerås, Sweden.

“The battery system will provide power output up to 220 kW and a usable energy capacity of 320 kWh.

“The Northvolt battery system is intended to reduce peaks in electricity demand of the charging station by more than 80%, and thereby lessen the impact of EV charging on the local electricity network. The battery system will be commissioned in summer 2020 at the Rocklunda charging station and will be Mälarenergi’s first to be co-located alongside EV charging infrastructure.”

Roaring ’20s, here we come!