Green Options

The biggest limitation on electric cars, as we know, are the batteries. They take hours to charge, and cannot travel nearly as far as gas-powered engines. So while California may be the center of the “green movement,” traveling the almost 400 miles between Los Angeles and San Francisco is impossible on electric power. Until now.

SolarCity has announced an EV charging corridor spanning the 382 miles between LA and San Fran featuring four stations, with a fifth station opening in October.

Holland has announced plans to install five electric car charging bays, the first of their kind ever seen in the country.

To move to set up five Electromotive Elektrobays follows a government drive to improve air quality. The stations will be located at strategic points across the country, including Schipol International Airport and central Rotterdam. Another will be based at Amsterdam’s Centraal Station railway hub, where it will power-up the city’s spanking new fleet of all-electric Tuc Tuc taxi vehicles.

It seems we just can’t move these days for news of Nissan’s EV strategy. Well, today’s no exception, with news of Nissan’s plan to develop wireless charging technology to make charging electric cars easier and faster.

The system, based on the principle of inductive charging, employs the same electromagnetic field technology used to charge an electric toothbrush.

Nissan has already adapted the system for use in its Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) electric car, which can charge wirelessly in a suitable parking bay, but the latest report suggests that the major Japanese outfit has more expansive plans for its system. The Guardian reports that Nissan hopes to lay a series of plates into the surface of designated electric vehicle lanes on highways, enabling drivers to charge as they travel.

New insight into the potential market demand for pure electric cars is forcing Mitsubishi’s President, Osamu Masuko, to accelerate the production timeline for the company’s all electric iMiEV. The company is now targeting 50% more sales by 2011 than originally expected.

The EV wars have begun.

[UPDATE: See latest post from Mayor Gavin Newsom, Mayor Sam Adams, and CEO Richard Lowenthal.] Just a few weeks ago San Francisco’s visionary Mayor, Gavin Newsom, wrote a post for us describing his plan to make the Bay Area the electric car capital of the world by aggressively developing the charging infrastructure to support full-scale EV deployment. At the time he proclaimed:

“Electric vehicles have the possibility to transform our economy, revive our car industry, and improve our environment. To make sure electric vehicles succeed this time around we need to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in battery technology and [charging] infrastructure.”

Well, San Francisco, you have a challenger.

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed battery cells capable of charging in under a minute, an astonishing 100 times faster than a regular rechargable battery.

The breakthrough could revolutionize electric car battery technology and pave the way for ultra-fast charging electric vehicles in as little as two years.

The discovery came when MIT researchers Byoungwoo Kang and Gerbrand Ceder found out how to get a common lithium compound to release and take up lithium ions in a matter of seconds. According to Ceder, the compound, known as lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4), has a crystal structure that creates “perfectly sized tunnels for lithium to move through,” allowing the team to reach “ridiculously fast charging rates.”

Nissan have announced plans to roll out a ‘fast charge’ electric car network in Arizona, capable of topping up batteries in as little as 10-15 minutes.

The Japanese company has teamed up with EV charge-tech firm ECOtality and the Pima association of government’s, (representing the Tucson, Arizona region), to establish a pilot-scale network in readiness for the launch of Nissan electric cars in the US next year.

It seems like new plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV) are being announced every day. If Coulomb Technologies has its way, you’ll be powering your next PHEV with the help of “Smartlet Charging Stations”— curbside plug-in charging machines that activate with “ChargePoint Smart Cards”.

Before it brings its much ballyhooed Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid to American streets, General Motors Corp. is laying out a “roadmap” for getting metro areas ready for the arrival of plug-in vehicles.

At the Washington Auto Show, the troubled automaker said it will collaborate with San Francisco and Washington D.C. to ensure that the proper policies and infrastructure are in place for the time when plug-ins such as the Volt start hitting the streets.

GM says it will work with everyone from governments to utilities to permitting and codes officials to prep for the launch. Among the challenges that need to be tackled, GM says, are consumer incentives, charging infrastructure and the codes and permits to allow charging stations to be installed, commercial and government fleet purchases, and utility rates that encourage plug-in use.

Last week, I reported on Shelby Super Cars (SSCs) plan to release what will become the world’s fastest electric car, the Ultimate Aero EV.

Since then, the company has been subject to intense speculation that some of it’s claims about the EVs performance were, how can I put this, a trifle over ambitious. In fact, a growing majority of critics have publicly ridiculed Shelby’s claim that the Aero’s battery will feature a 10 minute re-charge capability via a 110v outlet, saying that it simply defies the laws of the known universe.

The Australian government has given the green light to a plan to establish one of the world’s largest electric car recharging infrastructures, powered entirely by renewable energy.