Electric Car News

Electric car news is well covered by blogs and wire services. We go through EV news listings and provide summaries for you to check out.

In The News

The Aptera electric car is back

Aptera closed it's doors, but may be soon opening them back up. The Zhejang Jonway Group has purchased all rights to the old car. The car will be updated as the Zaptera. Sales are said to start in 3013.

Battery Prices to Drop

A new report by IDC Energy predicts that Li-Ion battery prices will fall to $400 per kWh in the next three years. The price drop will be brought on as market forces reach an equilibrium by 2015.

California Settlement Provides Charging Network

NRG Energy went to court against the State of California regarding overcharging consumers for power ten years ago. As a result, NRG Energy will provide some 200 public EV charging stations, and provide for the installation of the wiring for another 10,000 units spread across 1,000 California locations. The entire settlement is worth over $100 million.

EV Trucks Moving On

EVI will supply UPS with 100 EV delivery vans. To meet the production schedule, EVI expands to a new 30,000 sq ft facility in Stockton, CA. That's OK, at about $180,000 each there should be room for growth.

Reva NXR on the Market

The 2012 Mahindra Reva NXR is ready for the maeket. The 2012 NXR is complete and ready for sale in India. Sales may be slow, but should be interesting.

Fisker Recall

Fisker has recalled over 200 Karma hybrids to check out the battery packs. It seems they are subject to leaking coolent....hate when that happens!

Mitsubishi Markets 17,000 EVs

As of near the end of 2011, some 17,000 iMiev electric cars have been sold over the world. The cars are sold under the Mitsubishi, Peugeot, and Citroen brands.

The French Government has ordered up 18,711 Electric Vehicles!

Three automakers will fill the bill.

PSA Peugot along with Citroen - 3,074 Peugot Ion EVs.
Renault SA (RNO.FR) - 15,637 Kangoo EV Vans.

This single order way tops all the electric cars and trucks sold in the USA in 2011!

The Largest EV Parade in modern US History, Oct. 18, 2011

National Plug-in Day was celebrated in some 20 locations across the USA.
In the largest event, 200 EV drivers lined up for a parade in Santa Monica, California.
The first EV Parade took place in 1899.

Super Electrodes

A group at Stanford University claims to have prepared a super efficient Cathode. The trick is sulfur coated hollow carbon nanofibers. The fibers can be filled with an electrolyte additive as well.

This group from Stanford has also improved battery Anodes by the use of silicon nanowires. Both battery electrodes have now been improved by the Stanford team. No word yet on practical application of the research prototypes.

Seaweed Based Batteries:

No joke, it is looking good for seaweed-brown algae. Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Clemson University have extracted a compound from common seaweed-brown algae that could increase energy density, reduce toxicity, and reduce production costs. The compound called alginate has helped to boost energy storage and output for graphite-based electrodes. The compound also seems to work with silicon-based electrodes.