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Henrik Fisker Delivers First Fisker Ocena in Copenhagen
Fisker Inc. (NYSE: FSR) (“Fisker”), driven by a mission to create the world’s most emotional and sustainable electric vehicles, announces that the first customer has taken delivery of the brand-new Fisker Ocean all-electric SUV.
The owner received their vehicle from Fisker Chairman and CEO Henrik Fisker at the recently opened Fisker Center+ facility in Copenhagen, Denmark. A limited Ocean One launch edition model, the SUV was presented in Great White exterior paintwork, complete with 22” AirGlider Black alloy wheels and a pristine white Sea Salt interior with white AlcantaraTM seats.
“I’m super excited to be in Copenhagen to hand over the first Fisker Ocean,” said Chairman and CEO Henrik Fisker.
WattEV To Open 26 Truck Charging Plaza in Port of Long Beach May 15
Electric transportation developer WattEV announced that construction of its 26-truck charging plaza at the Port of Long Beach – the largest public truck charging station in the nation – is completed and scheduled to open for public use the week of May 15.
The truck charging plaza’s public opening will follow a charging infrastructure event – the VOLTS conference – taking place May 9-10 in Long Beach sponsored by the California Energy Commission, hosted by Charging Interface Initiative North America (CharIN Inc.), with testing provided by WattEV.
WattEV announced the Long Beach station opening during the annual Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo .
The growing population of heavy-duty electric trucks running in and out of the nation’s busiest ocean port complex now can charge up at the nation’s largest public electric truck charging spot. Branded simply as “WattEV,” the depot is located directly adjacent to the Pier-A terminal in the Port of Long Beach (POLB) and will serve heavy-duty electric trucks with routes connecting to inland destinations throughout Southern California.
The WattEV facility will support the first batch of 14 Nikola electric trucks that will operate on WattEV’s zero-emission fleet-transportation platform. The fleet is expected to expand to more than 100 electric trucks by the end of 2023, with the opening of additional charging depots in Southern California.
The current WattEV fleet will haul freight daily from the POLB to warehouses as far away as Hesperia, some 94 miles in distance.
The new charging depot will serve WattEV’s fleet of electric trucks and other fleets electrifying their trucking operations to and from the combined ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, which receive some 40 percent of the nation’s containerized imports.
On opening, WattEV’s POLB e-truck charging plaza will feature 26 charging bays using Combined Charging System (CCS) connectors to provide power at up to 360 kilowatts. The CCS system is the current charging standard for heavy-duty electric trucks, while faster charging systems are under development.
When trucks with megawatt charging capability become available, four more pass-through e-truck bays are planned at the POLB charging plaza, featuring the faster, higher-power Megawatt Charging System (MCS), rated for charging at up to 1.2 megawatts.
The MCS is expected to become the worldwide standard for fast charging of medium and heavy-duty commercial vehicles, reducing typical charge sessions to less than 30 minutes.
Coulomb Solutions Will Manufacture in US
Coulomb Solutions Inc. (CSI), a provider of innovative electrification solutions for commercial vehicles, announced that it will establish a US manufacturing facility to assemble commercial vehicle battery packs using the world’s most reliable and industry-leading cells.
CSI’s new facility will produce world class battery packs, specifically designed, and optimized for US commercial vehicle applications. CSI will source the lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery cells from the world’s largest battery manufacturer, the industry giant CATL. These cells offer greater durability and are much safer than nickel-cobalt-based chemistries.
The planned facility will have initial capacity to produce up to 4.2 GWh per year and will have the ability to further expand capacity as the US commercial EV industry grows and customer demand increases. The new facility is expected to create over 300 highly skilled jobs including production, assembly, quality, engineering, supply chain, and various support and management functions. After a comprehensive search, CSI has narrowed the potential location for its state-of-the-art facility to three states: Arizona, Nevada, and Texas. CSI expects to finalize its site selection process by early summer.
CSI’s new high-tech facility will produce and stock a variety of off-the-shelf battery packs which can be combined into validated battery systems ranging from 30kWh to over 3.5MWh. By using these validated packs, traditional and emerging North American OEM customers can by-pass lengthy and expensive battery system development programs. These battery systems combined with CSI’s complete suite of plug and play accessories for commercial vehicle electrification will both reduce the cost and greatly improve time to market for US commercial vehicle OEMs in launching new models.
Microvast Almost Ready in TN
Microvast Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: MVST) (“Microvast” or the “Company”), a technology innovator that designs, develops, and manufactures lithium-ion battery solutions, is in the homestretch of renovations and hiring for its newest manufacturing plant located in Clarksville, TN.
“The construction at the Clarksville facility is progressing as planned and we expect to begin production in Q4 2023,” stated Shane Smith, Microvast’s Chief Operating Officer. “From major building renovations to the hiring of veterans and other high-caliber local talent, the Clarksville facility is poised to play a significant role in delivering battery manufacturing to the U.S. while also adding a boost to the local economy here in Montgomery County.”
Smith continued, “Inside Microvast’s manufacturing plant, drastic changes are taking place as we quickly transition from construction to installation of the battery manufacturing equipment. There is still a lot to do, but we remain on track.”
The Clarksville facility focuses on the manufacturing of Microvast’s high-performance 53.5-Ah battery cells and modules used in commercial vehicles and energy storage systems. The renovated plant, expanded from 577,000 to 687,000 sq. ft., is expected to support every stage of the production process, from cell manufacturing through pack assembly. The renovation also includes multiple environmental tests, the creation of environmentally controlled, contaminant-free “dry rooms,” and a brand-new quality lab with state-of-the-art testing equipment to help ensure quality and safety.
Local Clarksville citizens can expect to see some additional activity on May 6, as several helicopter drops will be used to place new HVAC equipment on the roof of the facility located at 780 International Boulevard. Microvast does not anticipate any disruption to local business or thoroughfares.
Along with the renovation progress, Microvast has also ramped up hiring ahead of its anticipated Q4 2023 production start, taking part in several successful recruiting events as it seeks to fill numerous positions. With such close proximity to Fort Campbell, the Company has been particularly focused on adding the talents and skills of local veterans and their spouses to the Microvast team. Potential positions include quality technicians, quality engineers, operations supervisors, and more.
InductEV Issued 4 More Patents
InductEV (formerly Momentum Dynamics), the industry leader in high-power wireless charging systems for commercial vehicles, announced four additional U.S. patents issued or allowed by the U.S. Patent Office. These patents are based on the innovation and real-world commercial experience that InductEV has gained from its customers scaling its wireless charging systems around the world.
One of the new patents, Near Field, Full Duplex Data Link for Resonant Inductive Wireless Charging, improves direct communications between the vehicle assembly and battery management system and the ground assembly of the charger, minimizing potential interference from nearby or adjacent vehicles. This is a significant advancement in charging technology, which improves the reliability and efficiency of charging systems.
Tony Calabro emphasized that the Efficiency Gains Through Magnetic Field Management patent is another example of our continuous improvement approach. It was a result of discoveries made during in-field testing and optimization of our charging systems, which led to alternative power transfer coil designs that raise power transfer efficiency while simultaneously reducing both size and material usage.
Another patent, Current Sensing in a Wireless Power Transfer System, allows for wireless current measurement while maintaining high efficiency and operation of the wireless power transfer system. This feature in the company’s charging technology provides accurate and reliable current measurements, which is critical in energy management.
An additional patent, the Contactless Swappable Battery System patent, offers a potential major advancement in a range of vehicle and non-vehicle applications where swappable batteries are an attractive alternative. This patent helps eliminate the engineering and practical limitations of physical electrical contacts with battery units, while providing additional safety benefits and enhancements in data security.
InductEV has delivered over 1GWh of energy to customers across the U.S. and the EU through its wireless charging network – the equivalent of saving 433 metric tons of CO2.
Thermochillers Ordered from InTest Corp
inTEST Corporation (NYSE American: INTT), a global supplier of innovative test and process technology solutions for use in manufacturing and testing in key target markets which include automotive/EV, defense/aerospace, industrial, life sciences, security, and semiconductor (“semi”), today announced that it has received from a major manufacturer of automobiles and electric vehicles (“EV”), $2 million in orders to provide a range of Thermonics Chillers with cooling capacities up to 14kw at -40 degrees Celsius. Units are scheduled to be delivered in the second half of 2023.
Nick Grant, President and CEO of inTEST, commented, “This win is a demonstration of the breadth of innovative test and process technology solutions we are providing to the EV market and an initial win for our Environmental Technologies Division in this targeted space. With this win, we now can add chillers as innovative solutions for the EV market, complementing our induction heating and battery testing solutions. It also is a testament to the effectiveness of our 5-Point Strategy for growth as we implement proactive sales and marketing strategies to identify, pursue and close on a broader array of opportunities in target markets. We expect to leverage this win to uncover more opportunities to expand our presence in this growth industry.”
inTEST’s Environmental Technologies Division will be supplying its Thermonics Chillers for use during testing, development and production of advanced, high-powered traction inverters which manage the flow of energy from the battery pack to the motor. Innovations in semiconductors and the application of silicon carbide (SiC) enable the recent advances in newer traction inverters. inTEST’s chillers are used to provide the required cooling needed for both the development of inverter technologies as well as providing test environments for production applications
BorgWarner to Supply Battery Packs for Electric Bus Maker in Georgia
BorgWarner has been selected by a global power technology leader to supply battery packs for a series of electric buses. BorgWarner will provide a pair of standardized ultra-high energy packs and a battery management system that the company will integrate into its electrification package for each vehicle. The package will be sold to an electric bus manufacturer in Georgia.
“We are eager to work together with our electric powertrain customer as we continue to cultivate and grow our relationship as partners focused on the future of electrification,” said Volker Weng, Vice President and General Manager, BorgWarner Drivetrain and Battery Systems. “This new business win with our battery technology broadens our industry reach and delivers a more efficient option for school transportation.”
BorgWarner’s battery packs are safe and reliable containing state-of-the-art safety features including current overcharge protection, cell-level passive propagation resistance, and electrical disconnection at the individual cell wire bonds that satisfy the industry’s strict electric vehicle battery safety standards. Additionally, the 98 kWh packs offer active cooling and deliver industry-leading energy density of 274 Wh/liter and 177 Wh/kilogram.
Production of the battery packs began in March 2023.
New FEV EV Housing
FEV together with the production specialist for aluminum hot sheet forming, Impression Technologies (ITL) has presented a battery housing concept for electric vehicles. Utilizing HFQ® Technology, it makes optimum use of the space available for energy storage. For this purpose, the demanding structural requirements for this component are implemented in a novel way. By completely laying the structurally relevant components on the outside and at the same time an integration of the battery housing into the overall vehicle, installation space for additional battery cells is created. This leads to a longer range or a reduced installation space requirement while maintaining the same range. The concept developed as part of the joint project of FEV and ITL is to be manufactured and presented as a demonstrator in the coming months.
“With our latest battery housing development, we are once again showing that FEV is thinking in many directions when it comes to sustainable mobility. We offer solutions that the market demands – for example, to increase the range of e-mobility. With ITL, we have the ideal partner for lightweight construction on board for this project to make the concept tangible for our customers and partners in the form of a demonstrator in a timely manner,” said Professor Stefan Pischinger, President and CEO, FEV Group.
In the approach developed by FEV, the required structural performance is ensured by an ‘exoskeleton’ concept, which realizes a power flow above and below the battery pack. On the one hand, this keeps the loads occurring in the event of a crash away from the installation space used for the battery cells and at the same time optimizes the rigidity of the overall system (battery and bodyshell).
To achieve the required structural performance in a small installation space, the concept developed by FEV requires the implementation of complex structures with low radii and draft angles. A realization of these structures is possible with ITL’s aluminium hot forming technology HFQ® (‘Hot Form Quench’). “The HFQ technology expands our portfolio of possible manufacturing technologies for new developments and enables us to implement more complex structures compared to cold forming technologies,” said Christian Kürten, Head of Vehicle Architecture at FEV Vehicle. “Added to this is the use of high-strength aluminum alloys, which, in conjunction with the HFQ process, ultimately deliver the required performance in optimized installation space.”