Tesla to open power train facility in Palo Alto

The City of Palo Alto and Tesla Motors announced today that Tesla will develop and manufacture electric vehicle components in a renovated building in the Stanford Research Park in Palo Alto. Tesla, the only automaker that is already producing and selling highway-capable electric vehicles, will lease an approximately 350,000-square-foot building on a 23-acre parcel at 3500 Deer Creek Road. The...

Voltec / E-REV explained

What is “Voltec”? “Voltec” is the brand name for GM’s revolutionary extended-range electric vehicle (E-REV) technology that uses electricity as its primary power source and gasoline as its secondary power source to generate electricity. The main components of the Voltec electric propulsion system include a T-shaped battery pack, an 111 kW electric drive unit, and an...

Going for a ride in a pre-production Chevy Volt with chief engineer Frank Weber

Autobloggreen went for a brief ride in a pre-production Volt at the GM Proving Ground with chief engineer Frank Weber. GM started building these integration prototypes in late May and is currently finishing them at the rate of 10 per week. By the time the whole fleet is done later this summer, 80 Volts will be running through a battery of tests to evaluate all aspects of the car. There are...

Toyota, University of Tohoku improve lithium-ion batteries ten-fold

Toyota and the University of Tohoku have announced the development of a new technology that is able to boost the capacity of lithium-ion batteries. What’s this new improvement all about? Current lithium-ion batteries are usually made from a polycrystalline form of lithium cobalt oxide that are connected with grains of graphite. The newly-developed batteries use a less graphite, just a...

Nissan and Showa Shell Start studies on joint development of a quick charging system n

Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. and Showa Shell Sekiyu K. K. today announced they will start studies on joint development of a quick charging system for electric vehicles (EV) using Showa Shell’s next-generation CIS solar panels and Nissan’s advanced lithium ion batteries for automotive use. This joint development will take place as part of a commissioned project for EV diffusion launched by...