Lithium News

Scarcely noticeable in Honda showrooms these days is the new 2019 Insight hybrid electric vehicle, a four-door with a trunk, little different in appearance from the company’s mainstream Accord and Civic gasoline-engine models.

The Insight only recently arrived and in its first full month of showroom presence in July, 1,972 were sold, which placed the Insight in the month’s top 10 of gas/electric hybrid sales.

The contemporary look is good. It doesn’t cast that gosh-awful style of its two previous ventures with an Insight hybrid.

Honda tried the unique look 20 years ago with its first Insight hybrid, a funny-looking two-seater which generated few sales and was discontinued in 2006. Three years later in ’09, Honda launched its second go-round with Insight, styled similarly to the leading hybrid seller, the Toyota Prius. What worked for Prius didn’t work for Honda and the Insight was dropped again, four years ago.

The third-generation Insight fits between the compact Civic and midsize Accord and reflects family resemblance from all angles.

In addition to its direct, longtime competitor, the Prius, the Insight goes against other compact-sized, alternatively fueled vehicles such as the Chevy Bolt and Volt, Nissan Leaf and Hyundai Ioniq.

Powered by a combination of 1.5-liter Atkinson-cycle 4-cylinder engine, an electric motor and lithium-ion battery pack, the front-wheel-drive Insight delivers consistently high fuel mileage. The battery pack is stored beneath the rear seats.

Throughout the week I spent with the new Insight, it mattered little how I drove it or where I drove it, the Insight’s fuel-mileage reading registered just beneath 50 miles per gallon, ending at 49.3. Much normal driving operates on electric power, with the gas engine acting as a generator to charge the battery pack. The engine delivers power during most high-speed acceleration, while during slowdowns the Insight’s regenerative braking system restores electric reserve to the battery pack.

The review model I drove was the heavier, well-eqipped Touring, with EPA fuel estimates of 51 in the city and 45 highway; the lesser-priced LX and EX versions boast EPA numbers of 55 in city and 49 highway.

A frequent accompaniment of Insight’s performance is whining from its continuously variable transmission. The transmission is operated from a somewhat awkward push-button/pull-button type shifter.

Regardless, the Insight is a fun car to drive and accelerator response is improved when a drive mode button is pushed for “Sport” over “Eco.” Combined output of the engine and traction motor is 151 horsepower. The Insight rides on Continental ProContact 215/50R17 tires. It is built in Greensburg, Ind.

The Insight shows off a nice interior, with perforated leather seats, stitched leather on the dash and doors, a roomy rear seat and trunk space of 15 cubic feet.

The Touring model was priced at $28,985, with LED headlights, automatic walkaway locking, 17-inch wheels, one-touch power moonroof and, with right-hand turn signal engaged, a clear photo view of the right side. Prices begin around $23,500 for the LX.

The Insight is on a wheelbase of 106.3 inches, is 183.6 inches in overall length, 71.6 in width, 55.6 in height and curb weight of 3,120 pounds.

Gains in plug-in hybrids and battery electric car models offset declining sales in gas/electric hybrids for an overall sales increase of 7 percent in alternately fueled vehicles for the first half of this year.

Six-month sales of the hybrids and electrics totaled 282,888 vehicles, amounting to 3.3 percent of the total auto sales of 8,558,117 during the same period in the U.S.

Among solid individual sales leaders are Toyota Prius Prime in plug-in hybrids and Tesla Model 3 in battery electrics, while among gas/electric hybrids a three-way race is seen among the Toyota Prius Liftback, Ford Fusion and Toyota RAV4.

Graphene, the versatile miracle material that can be used for everything from creating better speakers for hearing aids to body armor that’s stronger than diamonds, has another application to add to its résumé. In the U.K., engineers at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) recently unveiled the world’s first graphene-skinned plane at the “Futures Day” event at Farnborough Air Show 2018. Called Juno, the 11.5-feet wide unmanned airplane also boasts graphene batteries and 3D-printed parts. The combination adds up to a pretty darn impressive whole.

“This project is a genuine world’s first,” Billy Beggs, UCLan’s Engineering Innovation manager, told Digital Trends. “It represents the latest stage of an ongoing collaborative program between academia and industry to build on innovative research, and exploit graphene applications in aerospace. We are establishing a lead in the industrial application of graphene.”

While the 3D-printed elements and graphene batteries are certainly exciting, the graphene-skinned wings are the most promising part of the project. Specifically, it is hoped that the use of graphene can help reduce the overall weight of the aircraft to increase its range and potential payload. This is made possible because the graphene carbon used in Juno is around 17 percent lighter than standard carbon fiber. Other properties of the graphene can help it counter the effects of potentially dangerous lightning strikes, due to its extreme conductivity, and protect the aircraft against ice buildup during flight.

Working with UCLan on the project is the Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Center, University of Manchester’s National Graphene Institute, Haydale Graphene Industries, and assorted other businesses and research institutes.

“The U.K. Industrial Strategy highlights graphene as an example of a scientific discovery that needs to translate into industrial applications,” Peter Thomas, head of Innovation and Partnership at UCLan, told us. “Post-Brexit, the U.K. needs to continue to develop competitive advantage in aerospace through innovation.”

With Juno having made its stunning public demonstration, the next phase of the operation will include further tests to be carried out over the next two months. Should all go according to plan, airplanes such as this may well turn out to a particularly promising line of inquiry for graphene-related initiatives.

Just as Tesla is preparing to go private, another electric vehicle startup, Electra Meccanica, is announcing plans to go public in order to bring the SOLO electric three-wheeler and Tofino electric roadster to market.

The company went public this week by offering 2,353,000 shares in order to raise $10 million. They are trading under ‘SOLO’ on the NASDAQ.

They listed their vehicle programs in their Preliminary Prospectus for the public offering:

The company warned that they expect signifcant losses to continue until they can bring the SOLO, the Super SOLO and the Tofino to production.

As of the last reported quarter, they still had $5 million in cash and they were loosing over $2 million per quarter.

They said that they plan to use the $10 million they raised to bring the SOLO to mass production by the end of the year:

“Electra Meccanica intends to use the net proceeds from this offering for plant and equipment, production molds, sales and marketing and inventory associated with the mass production of its SOLO electric vehicle by Zongshen Industrial Group Co. Ltd., initial deliveries of which are anticipated in the fall of 2018.”

They started deliveries of the first few units in Canada and in the US earlier this year, but they want to ramp up to 75,000 units by 2020.

Australian utility Origin Energy Ltd this week announced plans to install a 4-MW/4-MWh energy storage facility at a peaking plant power station in Townsville, North Queensland.

The grid-scale battery will be installed at the 414-MW Mt Stuart open cycle gas power station, used to supply power during periods of peak demand. The battery system will be delivered and installed by a consortium led by South Korea’s Bosung Powertec, with commissioning scheduled for May next year.

According to Origin Energy, this will be the first time in Australia that a grid-scale battery will be linked to an open cycle gas turbine power facility. It will enable the company to launch the power station without flowing grid electricity in extreme cases, lower carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and support renewable projects. “Our transition to renewables and shift to decentralised generation requires an ongoing focus on ensuring our customers have reliable and affordable energy and we’ll be looking closely at the battery’s performance to see how larger versions might be deployed elsewhere across our generation portfolio,” said Greg Jarvis, Origin Energy’s executive general manager of energy supply and operations.

Area residents could eventually charge their electric vehicles while they work or take care of business at some Linn County facilities.

On Wednesday, the Linn County Board of Supervisors discussed a proposal by Supervisor James Houser to install electric vehicle charging stations at the Jean Oxley Public Service Center, 935 Second St. SW, — where most public meetings and county services, like auditor and treasurer, are located — and the Linn County Sheriff’s Office, 310 Second Ave. SW.

Houser said his proposal was inspired by calls he received from “several” area residents or county employees interested in having access to electric vehicle charging stations at the two county buildings.

“We need to set an example as a governmental entity to promote electric cars. There are other employers in Cedar Rapids that are providing electric charging for their employees to drive electric cars to work,” Houser said during the meeting.

While the majority of board members seemed to agree with the value of charging stations, several questioned if the Sheriff’s Office was an appropriate location for such an offering.

“We should do an assessment of everything that we have and where charging stations are most needed for employees, the public,” Supervisor Brent Oleson said.

Garth Fagerbakke, Linn County facilities director, estimated the cost of four electric vehicle chargers among two posts to cost around $6,800. Installation would cost more than the actual chargers, he added.

The board did not vote on the matter Wednesday.

As Linn County supervisors debate if and where they should install electric charging stations, the ability to charge an electric vehicle is slowly spreading across town.

It’s been about two years since Park Cedar Rapids added charging stations to some downtown parking ramps, including at the Five Seasons parking ramp, Fourth Avenue ramp and Convention Center ramp.

Jon Rouse, general manager with Park Cedar Rapids, said the charging stations — more than a dozen spaces among three downtown ramps — have had anywhere from 80 percent to 100 percent occupancy.

“One of my concerns was they’d be underutilized, but they’re actually being utilized on a regular basis in every facility,” he said. “At some point in time we’re going to actually be looking at expanding that program.”

Rouse said it’s possible charging stations will be added to another parking facility as soon as six months to a year out.

The Eastern Iowa Airport last fall added four charging stations — two in the long-term lot and two in the short-term lot.

Pam Hinman, director of marketing and communications with the airport, said the chargers were added as part of the airport’s commitment to environmental stewardship.

“We have been trying really hard to find ways we can incorporate elements into the airport operations,” she said.

The stations also provide another offering to airport clientele, she added.