Flux Power Systems Targeting LSV & Golf Car Market

Posted on October 14, 2009 by Marc Cesare

Flux Power, a startup led by the co-founder of vehicle manufacturer Aptera, is targeting the LSV and golf car markets with their lithium based power systems. Flux Power’s products manage, monitor and charge lithium batteries. Flux Power products are designed to work with batteries from a variety of manufacturers to create modular battery units. A vehicle manufacturer or other customers could then combine units to create custom battery packs. Smart charging technology can be integrated as well. By increasing the efficiency of lithium battery packs and thereby lowering costs, the company hopes to penetrate markets currently dominated by lead-acid batteries. Products are expected to be available in November, 2009. Learn more: Earth2tech.com

Federal Tax Credit Appears To Be Significantly Boosting LSV Sales

Posted on October 11, 2009 by Marc Cesare

Based on stories from around the country, the federal tax credit for new plug-in electric vehicles purchased during 2009 is providing a significant boost to LSV sales. The tax credit is included as part of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA) and is credit of $2,500 to $7,500 for a four wheeled vehicle that draws propulsion using a rechargeable battery with at least four kilowatt hours of capacity. The base credit is $2,500 and increases depending on the size of the battery pack. An additional $417 is added for each kilowatt hour above four kilowatts hours. For many LSV this equates to a tax credit of roughly $4,000 to $6,000 depending on the brand of LSV and the battery pack option chosen.

A Tomberlin dealer in Oklahoma has reported a “dramatic” increase in sales, Bad Boy Buggies is hoping to launch their street legal vehicle shortly to take advantage of the tax credit fueled demand and in a recent story out of South Carolina a dealer reported a sales jump from 10 to 60 vehicles per month because of the tax credit. South Carolina adds a state tax credit equal to 20% of the federal tax credit and Oklahoma adds a 50% tax credit for electric vehicles. In addition, the major LSV manufacturers are all prominently touting the tax credit on their websites, often with the specific tax credit available for each model. Learn more: SCNow.com

ZENN Announces Change In Strategic Plan

Posted on September 25, 2009 by Marc Cesare

ZENN recently announced that they will not be mass producing the highway capable cityZENN and instead will focus on developing their ZENNergy Drive Systems, which incorporates EEStor technology. The change probably means an exit from the LSV manufacturing business as well. Management notes competition from a large number of well-funded new and existing automotive OEMs that have now entered the electric vehicle market as a factor in the decision to become more of a supplier to vehicle OEMs rather than a vehicle OEM itself.

This strategy plays into ZENN’s technology advantage arising from their relationship with EEStor, of which ZENN owns 10.7%. Of course this relies on EEStor delivering on their promised technological advancements. With regards to the viability of EEStor’s technology, ZENN CEO Ian Clifford states,

EEStor has publicly stated that they expect to complete initial component testing in September 2009 and deliver functional technology to ZMC by the end of the year.

Learn more: GM-volt.com

ZAP Distributing Electric Vehicles From Wuling Motors Of China

Posted on September 17, 2009 by Marc Cesare

ZAP distributes Wuling Motors electric truck

ZAP received the first shipment of small electric trucks from Wuling Motors of China earlier this year. To date approximately 100 of the vehicles, which are classified as LSVs, have been shipped to the US. Most of the vehicle is manufactured by Shanghai-GM-Wuling except for the transmission, battery, controls and motor. The batteries are provided by HOPPECKE Batterien GmbH & Co. KG and the vehicles have an AC motor. Besides ZAP, Green Go Tek also distributes the electric trucks.

Wuling is planning on rolling out their Smile-E micro car for the NEV markets such as gated communities and retirement areas as early as next month. The Smile-E will be distributed by Green Go Tek and Ruff and Tuff vehicles. Learn more: ChinaBizGov

Boulder Electric Vehicle’s Prototype Exceeds Expectations

Posted on July 10, 2009 by Marc Cesare

Boulder Electric Vehicle's Prototype Delivery Truck

Boulder Electric Vehicle’s prototype all electric delivery truck has exceeded the company’s expectations for power at takeoff, acceleration and range. The prototype was finished in early June and has been undergoing testing since that time. The vehicle, powered by a lithium ion phosphate battery, has been surpassing the anticipated range of 100-120 miles under both gentle and aggressive driving conditions. The vehicle is designed to carry a payload of up to 6,000 lbs and has a top speed of 65 mph. The company is hoping to receive $30 million in stimulus funding to produce an initial 250 vehicles and is targeting companies like UPS and Fedex as potential customers. Learn more: Boulder County Business Report

ExxonMobil and Electrovaya Announce LSV Sharing Program

Posted on June 24, 2009 by Marc Cesare

ExxonMobil and Electrovaya just announced, AltCar, a vehicle sharing program to be based at the Maryland Science Center in Baltimore, MD that will use Electrovaya’s Maya 300 low speed vehicle. The fleet of five vehicles will grow to ten shortly and people will be able to rent the vehicles for the day. The Maya 300 uses Electrovaya’s Lithium Ion SuperPolymer battery, which incorporates ExxonMobil Chemical’s separator film. Learn more: greencarcongress.com

Update: According to Green Energy News rental rates for the vehicles will be $14.50 per hour but decrease to $7-9 per hour if you join the sharing program. Additional fees apply with the program.

Breakthrough In Lithium Ion Battery Technology

Posted on June 5, 2009 by Marc Cesare

A Canadian research team has reported a high level of performance in their developmental work related to lithium-sulfur based batteries. According to the researchers:

This composite material can supply up to nearly 80 percent of the theoretical capacity of sulfur, which is three times the energy density of lithium transition metal oxide cathodes, at reasonable rates with good cycling stability

The team used nanocasting to create the cathode material. Learn more: renewableenergyworld.com

ZENN Certifies EEStor Technology Milestone

Posted on May 31, 2009 by Marc Cesare

ZENN recently reported that a third party had certified an important technology milestone reached by EEStor. Independent tests showed that…

…the main material in the ultracapacitor technology achieved relative permittivity of at least 22,500 over an operating range of -20 to +65 degrees Celsius. Permittivity is a measurement of how much energy can be stored in a material.

Per the agreement with EEStor, reaching the milestone triggers an additional $700,000 payment by ZENN and an opportunity to increase their equity stake. The next milestone is to commercialization of the technology, which according to the agreement, is supposed to start by the end of 2009. ZENN still plans to incorporate the ultracapacitor technology in vehicles in 2010. Learn more: cleantech.com

Trojan Battery Introduces Watering System For Golf Car Batteries

Posted on May 5, 2009 by Marc Cesare

Trojan Battery has introduced their Hydrolink battery watering system for 6, 8 and 12-volt golf car batteries. Hydrolink was developed in partnership with Flow-rite Controls, the leading designer and manufacturer of watering systems. The product is available pre-installed on Trojan Batteries and features a non-mechanical water level indicator that will not give a false reading, according to the company. The system can fill a set of batteries in less than thirty seconds. Learn more: earthtimes.org

Technology & Research Developments

Posted on May 4, 2009 by Marc Cesare

Battery/Ultracapacitor System for Small EVs – Using an NEV as the target vehicle, researchers from the Illinois Institute of Technology and Allborg University (Denmark) are working on a hybrid system that combines a battery pack with an ultracapacitor. The battery handles average power loads while the ultracapacitor handles peak loads.

The target NEV has a speed limit of 40-50 km/h (25-31 mph), maximum power of 40 kW, and a weight of about 800 kg. The battery pack comprised two parallel strings of 14 series-connected 12 V NiMH batteries (Saft NHE 10-100). The ultracapacitor was a Maxwell BMOD0063 module with a nominal voltage of 125V.

Learn more: greencarcongress.com

Bi-polar Lead Acid Battery For EVs – Last week a partnership between University of Glamorgan (Wales) and Atraverda was announced for the purpose of developing bi-polar lead acid batteries for a variety of commercial markets including EVs. Atraverda has expertise in conductive ceramics that would be used in the batteries. Prototypes are expected to begin testing within a year.

The partners say their work could lead to lead-acid batteries that are up to 40% lighter, 20% smaller, have 40% more energy capacity and twice the lifespan of traditional lead acid batteries.