16 May 2024 11:38:00 UTC

 EDITOR'S CHOICE

Toyota Will Invest $5.6 Billion In EV Battery Production

31 Aug 2022 | Synopsis

"A little more than half of the outlay will be invested in a battery plant in the western Japanese city of Himeji as well as other Toyota sites around Japan.

"The balance, about $2.5 billion, will boost capacity at the North Carolina site..an initial $1.3 billion investment in the Liberty, North Carolina battery plant..produce enough lithium ion batteries to power up to 1.2 million vehicles per year. Production is expected to begin in 2025."

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California's Lithium Rush For EV Batteries Hinges On Taming Toxic, Volcanic Brine

31 Aug 2022 | Synopsis

"...boiling brine, pumped up to the stark surface from 8,000 feet underground...is good for more than just its heat: The Salton Sea brine is also one of the world's richest sources of lithium...

"...the technology to suck that precious lithium out of the boiling hot brine, which is highly corrosive and loaded with toxins like arsenic and lead, is unproven."

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Electric Battery Maker SPARKZ to Locate Factory In West Virginia

31 Aug 2022 | Synopsis

"The batteries will be built at a 482,000-square-foot (4.5-hectare) plant in Taylor County off U.S. Route 50 near Bridgeport, the company said in a statement. The plant, which eventually will employ 350 workers, originally was a glass factory that ceased operations in 2009.

"The plant will produce cobalt-free batteries, an effort to bring down the cost of U.S. lithium-ion battery production."

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Wrightbus: Co Antrim Firm Secures One of UK's Largest Ever Electric Vehicle Bus Orders

31 Aug 2022 | Synopsis

"Totalling 193 buses, the £81m order from Scotland-based from multi-national transport group, FirstGroup, is the largest EV bus purchase outside of London.

"The order will be split between five areas.. Each regional project will be completed over the course of the next two years.

All of the buses - the GB Kite Electroliner BEV and the StreetDeck Electroliner BEV, which is the world's most efficient double decker battery-electric bus."

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Electric Car Battery Factory Breaks Ground in Bowling Green, Kentucky

31 Aug 2022 | Synopsis

"The 30 GWh plant will create 2,000 new, skilled jobs for the region, producing battery cells and modules to power the next-generation EVs produced for multiple global automotive manufacturers.

"[The Envision] Bowling Green operation is expected to power up to 300,000 vehicles annually by 2027.

The economic impact of this project will generate $20 billion over the next decade, and at full employment, will generate over $233 million..."

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Moving To Electric Vehicles Will Dull Recessions Currently Inflated By Oil Markets

30 Aug 2022 | Synopsis

"A recession is almost always following or during rising oil prices. It makes complete sense: If more money is spent on a fixed cost (gas), then less is available to be spent on other areas of the economy, resulting in a contraction.

"It will take some investments to strengthen the energy grid and supporting infrastructure to make this a reality, precisely what the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) aims to do."

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Are Bikes Good for the Environment?

30 Aug 2022 | Synopsis

"...many of the consumer level bikes available today are built for obsolescence. The problem has gotten so bad that bike mechanics across Canada and United States have created a petition asking for brands to do better.

"With an estimated 18 million new bikes purchased each year in the U.S. alone, the bicycle becomes an important cultural text that has largely managed to elide environmental criticisms even though it ends up in the landfill..."

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The USPS Underestimated the Benefit of Going Electric, Study Shows

30 Aug 2022 | Synopsis

"...the USPS chose a different approach: Fudge the numbers to make it look like a better decision than it is. One way it did so was to list the vehicle's curb weight as one pound heavier than a critical regulatory threshold..

"All of these issues were immediately obvious to anyone who read the environmental impact statement..."

"...the study found the USPS drastically underestimated the benefits of electric trucks."

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Electric Boat Breaks New Speed Record At 109 MPH with Vision Marine's New Outboard Motor

30 Aug 2022 | Synopsis

"In a showcase of its latest electric outboard motor, Vision Marine Technologies has achieved a new speed record of 109 mph on the water on Lake of the Ozarks.

"The company partnered with Hellkat Powerboats to fit its E-Motion™ electric outboard powertrain in a 32' catamaran hull specifically designed to accommodate the necessary battery banks." Company currently collaborating with Groupe Beneteau..."

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Opinion: A Planner's Take on California's EV News

30 Aug 2022 | Synopsis

"...today, a bigger concern is whether this focus on personal electric vehicles will monopolize public resources that would be much better spent in other ways: namely, on investments in frequent, reliable public transportation between and within cities and towns, better walking and bicycling infrastructure, and land uses that remove the need to depend on vehicles - however they are powered - for every trip."

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