Featured Threads Archive
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SIAC EVs getting solid state batteries
Well semi-solid ones.
"The company has announced that the battery is actually a semi-conductor battery, although it still uses an electrolyte that combines a fluid with a solid component."
The liquid portion is 5% by mass. They claim more than twice the capacity of LFP.
https://uk.motor1.com/news/715871/im-l6-ev-solid-state-battery-sale/
https://uk.motor1.com/news/732606/mg-model-solid-state-battery-coming-2025/ -
Lithium price collapse, predictable
Source: Daily Automotive News
U.S. EV EFFORT SUFFERS SETBACK
We start out today’s show with a big setback in the U.S. effort to become self-sufficient in securing lithium. We’ve been following the crazy decline of lithium because a big part of it is caused by the drop in EV demand since lithium is a key ingredient in batteries. Prices are down 83% in the last year alone. And one company seems to really be struggling with that decline. U.S.-based Piedmont Lithium laid off a third of its workforce earlier this year, last month it canceled a planned project in Tennessee and now it’s pulling an application for a government loan. The company says it’s making the move partly because of high... -
2024 Millenium Technology Prize goes to IGBT inventor
Yahoo! news link
-a few quotes frorm article-
Professor Bantval Jayant Baliga was handed the 2024 Millennium Technology Prize for inventing the Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT).
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Baliga is credited with having the most negative carbon footprint in the world. His IGBT is estimated to have reduced global emissions of the greenhouse gas by more than 82 gigatons since the 1990s — roughly the same amount of carbon dioxide generated by all human activity for three years.
Nice work, professor! -
GM finally got it right "Chevy Equinox EV"
I'm skeptical of YouTube videos by those who make a living reviewing EVs. Too often, their reports don't match what the EPA numbers show or early adopters discover. But this one sounds interesting:
- claimed 315 mi EV range - my 2019 Tesla measured 240 mi
- 150 kW charge rate - my Tesla was initially 120 kW but now +170 kW
- right sized SUV style
A good rule of thumb, always buy the 2d or 3d model year to give the manufacturer time to correct the infantile problems. When shopping, start with the EPA numbers in Fueleconomy.gov. Not perfect but head a shoulders above there rest.
Bob Wilson -
Global EV Sales Report H1 2024 by EV Universe
This site popped up in my feed today. Looks like they did their homework...
Global EV Sales Report H1 2024 by EV Universe -
New Study: Charging Lithium Ion Batteries at High Currents for the First Time is Good
https://www.greencarcongress.com/2024/08/20240830-slac.html
From the SLAC-Stanford Battery center, the very first charge for a Lithium Ion battery cell actually should be at a rather high currents which increased their average lifetime by 50%. Now I'm curious.
Darn, now that made me read the original article:
Researchers discover a surprising way to jump-start battery performance
Typically battery manufacturers use a low energy charge to try and control the SEI layer build up. It's also a slow and costly way to do this. So they went brute force and attempted to use up a large initial supply of lithium during the batteries first charge by creating the SEI (Solid Electrolyte Interphase) with very high currents.
I wasn't too keen on their analogy of comparing it to scooping out water... -
Rivian parked EVs fire
Source: https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a61972616/rivian-evs-destroyed-fire-factory/
Over 50 Rivian vehicles were destroyed in a fire that broke out Saturday night at the electric vehicle company's factory in Normal, Illinois, according to photos from the scene and a local news report. No injuries were reported in the fire.
Witnesses reported seeing fire outside the Rivian factory shortly before 10 p.m. on Saturday night. The Normal Fire Department (NFD) responded and fought the blaze which was in a parking lot outside of the factory. NFD spokesperson Matt Swaney said that the fire was out by midnight on Sunday and that the EV factory was not damaged, according to 25 News Now.
There has been no official word on the number of vehicles damaged in the fire. However, aerial... -
High efficiency EV motor
Source:
A higher speed electric motor makes a lot of sense:
- Lower current - electrical losses are (I882)*R so a faster turning motor will have a higher, back EMF needed a higher voltage. Higher voltages reduce resistance losses leaving more power to the motor.
- Higher feed voltage reduces current loss in the battery and power lines.
Bob Wilson -
China EV's & plugins now over ½ of all sales
EVs, Hybrids Set to Exceed 50% of China Car Sales for First Time - Bloomberg
this news is revealing in that our media has tried to pour tons of clickbait drama into plug-in sales news that occasionally shows sales dip (implying the end us near for plugins) down on their upward spiral.
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Tesla Semi crashed and caught fire. I-80 closed for a day
A Tesla Semi was apparently returning to the Tesla giga factory in Nevada for a fresh load of cargo when the vehicle ran off the road. These electric only Semi-trucks are frequently used to ferry batteries to the Fremont factory. In this case there was no trailer on attached to the tractor.
Cal Trans spent most of the day cooling the battery pack below ignition temperatures before trying to tow it away. Elon iMusk is fond of pointing out that normal ICE sedans have fires too. I don't recall too many of them needing a day to cool down enough to transport the carcass away from the scene.
More information here: A Tesla Semi crashed and caught fire on a California highway - The Verge -
Stein nearly crashes in Full Self Driving
Here is his experience:
I have no problem with his story. My experience:
- Full Self Driving (and AutoPilot) needs mentoring - the instruction and disclaimer are easy for new drivers to skim over. We have a term for that phenomena, RTFM (Read The Fine Manual) but the corollary is "and understand it."
- Edge case flaws - sometimes called "chasing the nines" as in 99% done, 99.9% done, 99.99% done, etc, etc. In this case:
- Wearing glasses - the instructions point out wearing sun glasses and other glasses can revert from hands free to steering nag mode. Stien wears glasses which a mentor would point out.
- My testing found UV protecting safety glasses also act like sun glasses and disables, hands free driving mode.
- If you don't read the manual, an alert text shows up on the screen and he reports 'deliberately looking away' which makes it likely the alert message was not seen.
- His accident scenario matches my...
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Conversations at a Toyota dealership
Small NC town. Lots of hybrids and Teslas around on the roads. Occasional other EVs. I'm in for routine service on a 5 year old Rav4h. Next door is a GM/Chevy dealership, other side a Nissan dealership.
Model S pulls up in the front and hooks up to the charger.
Me: If you don't mind, why are you charging here rather than at the Supercharger 4 miles up the road.
He: Because I work here and will be here for 11 hours. We have a charger in front and one in back.
Half hour later wandering the lots in front on a day everyone else stayed home because of a storm and flooding. Came upon 2 sales types camped out in front of the front door of the dealership to snare any customer.
Me: Tough sales day.
They: Yea, not a prospect in sight all day.
Me: Ever sell any EVs?
They: No not really. I think we have one on the back lot that just came in. Can't recommend them, they seem to get traded back in 2 months...sometimes the same car repeatedly. -
Tesla Q2 2024 Safety report:
https://www.tesla.com/VehicleSafetyReport
Q2 2024
In the 2nd quarter, we recorded one crash for every 6.88 million miles driven in which drivers were using Autopilot technology. For drivers who were not using Autopilot technology, we recorded one crash for every 1.45 million miles driven. By comparison, the most recent data available from NHTSA and FHWA (from 2022) shows that in the United States there was an automobile crash approximately every 670,000 miles.
I wish they included Full Self Driving miles.
Bob Wilson -
Toyota prius plus 2013 , alot of lights shows up dashboard
Hi
I have toyota prius plus or it's called alpha 2013, suddenly road slippery sign comes on dashboard followed by abs sign ,engine management light, battery lights and a lot of warning signs comes on dashboard I am uploading four photos as well, secondly car is not goings into D from N ,if I try to put D on transmission stick it's stays on N and P sign shows up on the dashboard .it's just hailed now. I did try to reset battery by removing battery leads for 10 min and put back on didn't work ,reset hybrid battery, story remains the same. I would be appreciate, if someone can help or was I similar situation -
Toyota Tundra and Lexus LX recalled for engine replacement
Author’s chatty style starts to grate, but interesting recall story, late-model Toyata/Lexus engine replacement campaign:
Toyota Tundra, Lexus LX recalled for engine replacements | Driving -
The Reality Of Modern Car Repair is an Expensive One....
Here's why I buy the car with the lowest optioned list available.
Due to the large open lower grille area of almost all modern cars, I always install a protective lower grille screen.
This would be especially important of PHEV and BEV's with complicated and expensive heat pump systems. -
The Tesla monopoly on repair and parts; Why I won't buy one.
Additionally, even if you get a used electrical or electronic module, they must be electronically paired to your particular vehicle, which only Tesla can do.
They have the arbitrary option to refuse, if you did not purchase the part from them and have their technician install it at your cost.
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