Metals Tech

Tesla may have overshadowed the Nikola One with their electric Semi unveiled last December, but development of the hydrogen electric truck continues.

The small start-up has already partnered with Bosch, claiming that they will bring the One and Two semis to the market by 2021. However, before that, Nikola One will unleash a fleet on the roads next year for testing purposes.

Celebrating the announcement is a video released by Nikola Motor, which shows the One on the road, with its futuristic styling, hauling a big trailer behind it. The company claims that their model will “outperform any semi-truck in every category”, including “weight, acceleration, stopping, safety, and features”.

The Nikola One utilizes a hydrogen fuel cell, combined with electric motors rated at around 1,000 horsepower, and a 320kWh lithium-ion battery. As it stands, the semi has a 500-1000-mile (805-1,609km) range. It also promises to complete the 0 to 60mph (96km/h) acceleration in 30 seconds, under load. That’s about half the time required by a diesel-powered truck.

Unlimited miles and free hydrogen fuel are offered to buyers, as part of a special leasing program, which will set them back for $5,000 to $7,000 monthly, for a 72-month program. Owners will be able to trade the One when the contract expires, or when the semi clocks 1 million miles (1.6 million km).

The Central Research Institute for Marine Electronics and Technology (CRIMET) will increase power of the new solid-fueled battery BTE-50K-E for air-independent powerplants; the power will grow from 50 kW up to 100 kW, a well-informed insider told Mil.Press Today.

According to him, developers of the third-generation megawatt-class air-independent powerplants (Rubin and Malachite design bureaus, CRIMET) are expecting funds to continue works.

The CRIMET-designed battery is a part of 250-450 kW modules consisting of an electrochemical generator and a hydrocarbon fuel converter.

The electrochemical generator has been already made, and the converter is still being developed, Mikhail Kasatkin, deputy chief designer for hydrogen energy at CRIMET told Mil.Press Today.

Upon upgrading, the system will be used in air-independent powerplants of advanced Russian submarines. The prototype battery has successfully passed tests.

In June 2017, Russian Navy’s deputy commander for armament Vice Admiral Viktor Bursuk told Mil.Press Today that Project 677 Lada would be the basis for development of submarines with air-independent powerplants.

The BTE-50K-E battery obtained the advertising and exporting certificates in 2017.

CRIMET is the largest scientific and research subdivision of the Krylov Center. The institute is engaged in hydrogen energy technologies since 2003.

 

Most electric car batteries come from Asia, but the EU Commission wants to jump-start a domestic market. A battery alliance is charging ahead with local production plans.

Last October, German heavyweight corporations BASF, Bosch, Daimler and VW all sent top managers to an EU Commission hearing to discuss the possibility of producing auto batteries in Europe. In the coming electric car boom, the continent’s industry and governments would rather not rely on Asia and the US for their defining components.

Auto manufacturers and suppliers so far have been loath to enter the battery production market, discouraged by Asian innovation and the uncertainty of electric car sales. But the hesitance annoys the EU Commission and the German government, which worry about the companies’ competitiveness in a most important industry.

Observers weren’t particularly optimistic about the summit on domestically-produced batteries, but the skepticism was rash. A month before the working groups are set to present their findings, there’s been promising movement.

An EU member state and investors are considering funding a major car battery plant.

“We are progressing very quickly by European standards,” EU Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič told Handelsblatt. The industry will present an action plan by the end of February that includes more than 40 suggestions to realize the initiative. The ideas include a clearinghouse for resources such as lithium, cobalt and nickel. Rules for recycling used e-auto batteries are also being discussed.

It also addresses production of battery cells, the weakest point in the European supply chain. An EU member state and investors are considering funding a major car battery plant, according to representatives from the auto and chemicals industries. A decision is due soon, they added, and announcements can be expected in the coming months.

Currently, nearly 90 percent of the memory cells used to create batteries are imported from China, Japan and South Korea. In Europe, the industry is still in its infancy. VW, which has launched a massive shift to produce electric cars, is soliciting potential partners in China, Europe and North America to jointly build batteries. German startup TerraE is planning to launch production in 2019 and have two plants with a total capacity of 34 gigawatts by 2028.

In the US, Tesla and Panasonic are investing $5 billion together in a 35-gigawatt Gigafactory that aims to be the world’s biggest producer of lithium ion batteries. Europe would have to make a similar investment to compete, something that is being discussed within the battery alliance.

German automakers have been generally done with the topic since Daimler closed its battery cell production facility in 2014 after failing to match the prices and quality of competitors such as Samsung, Panasonic and LG Chem. BMW is also uninterested in producing its own batteries: “We buy from the best suppliers, and they are currently in Asia,” purchasing head Markus Duesmann told Handelsblatt.

Car-parts makers Bosch and Continental are setting their sights on solid-state battery technology.

The carmakers would welcome batteries made by Bosch or Continental, but those suppliers are hesitant. CEO Volkmar Denner said Bosch will make a decision on batteries this year, though he has told Handelsblatt that entrance into the current technology would not make sense. Continental boss Elmar Degenhart said his company cannot compete with the price and technology of lithium ion batteries provided by Samsung and LG. But both German car-parts makers are setting their sights on solid-state battery technology that could be ready for production after 2025.

Mr. Šefčovič finds the wait-and-see attitude dangerous. “If we just wait for the next generation of batteries, we risk losing the whole market to the competition here in Europe,” he said. Without gaining production experience, the European industry risks losing even more ground. To encourage local manufacturing, the EU Commission is ready to invest more than the €200 million in development funds already available. Building battery cell factories could be declared a European common interest and thereby be freed from subsidy restrictions.

“With this combination of political, regulatory and financial approaches, I hope we can kick start the necessary dynamic for this sector,” Mr. Šefčovič said.

Aside from the alliance, Swedish startup Northvolt, led by former Tesla executive Peter Carlsson, aims to produce batteries with 32 gigawatt hour capacity by 2023. The European Investment Bank will decide in the next weeks whether to grant it a credit in the mid-two-digit million range. The EU Commission will reveal its contribution to the domestic battery market in May.

Tesla has managed to ship several high-end electric vehicles to consumers, but commercial trucking is the company’s next big move. After showing off its design for an electric semi truck, the company has been working on an aggressive release schedule. However, the vehicle hasn’t been spotted in real life until now. A video uploaded to YouTube shows Tesla’s sleek electric semi cruising down a road in California.

There are few details to glean from this short clip (below). The original prototype trucks Tesla unveiled several months back did not have side mirrors, leading some to suspect Tesla had some fancy alternative in mind. The truck just spotted in the wild does have mirrors, though. That’s necessary for it to be street-legal, so Tesla probably just omitted the mirrors for the announcement to make the truck look cooler.

As you can see in the video, the front of the semi is narrower than standard diesel trucks. It doesn’t need a giant engine, and the cab is slightly smaller with a centered driver’s seat. It’s vastly quieter than a regular semi as well. The truck doesn’t even drown out other road noise as it passes the camera. There’s someone behind the wheel of the truck, but Tesla is touting the autopilot features of the vehicle. Although, many have pointed out Tesla’s self-driving tech is far behind the curve.

Tesla claims the base model truck will get about 300 miles per charge, but an upgraded version with a larger battery will get 500 miles. The reduced drag coefficient helps make it more power efficient, but that’s a shorter distance than your average semi can go on a full tank of fuel. It also takes longer to recharge a giant battery than it does to refill a tank. However, an electric semi could be much cheaper to operate for shorter trips than a diesel one.

The four independent electric motors also ensure the Tesla semi can go from zero to 60 in just five seconds. That’s without a trailer, though. With an 80,000 pound load, the Tesla semi can reach 60 MPH in about 20 seconds.

So far, Tesla has taken larger orders for its trucks from companies like Walmart and Pepsi. CEO Elon Musk claims the company will begin shipping vehicles in 2019. The base model will cost about $150,000, and the upgraded model will be $180,000. That’s not much more than the cost of a conventional semi truck, which usually sells for around $120,000.

In South Africa, PowerOptimal and Cranbrook are working together to deploy the Elon Solar photovoltaic (PV) water heating technology.

This technology powers geysers without the need for expensive batteries and inverters.

A joint press release noted that the technology delivers increased reliability, at reduced costs and requires little maintenance; attributes which are high priorities in property development and energy management.

The PowerOptimal Elon Solar PV water heater consists of a switching unit that allows for direct connection of solar PV modules to standard South African electric water heaters (geysers).

“Renewable energy is playing an increasingly important role in property development in South Africa and around the world,” said Cranbrook CEO, Peter du Plessis.

The company focuses on property development in areas where growth industries create strong demand for infrastructure development.

Solar PV water heating technology

Also commenting on the innovation, Dr Sean Moolman, CEO of PowerOptimal said:“The long lifetime and low maintenance of Solar PV, combined with using water as a battery, creates an affordable, reliable, manageable and sustainable water heating solution suitable for a range of enviroments. Payback periods are in the range of four to six years.”

Moolman continued: “Solar PV modules routinely last over 30 years, with manufacturers providing 25-year performance guarantees. That’s opposed to solar thermal or heat pump systems that have much shorter lifetimes, typically 10 to 15 years, and require annual maintenance.”

The dramatic fall in solar PV module prices over the past few years has changed what is possible with the unlimited energy from the sun.

Richard Fearon, director at the company added: “Heating water with Solar PV used to be a very expensive option, but through our proprietary switching technology, it has become the most cost-effective and reliable way to heat water. No inverter and no battery means affordability and reliability.

“The water itself acts as the battery. This brings down the cost of energy produced by the Elon system to less than 90c/kWh, or about half what typical residential electricity customers pay for electricity.”

Head of electronics talks about future battery, charging tech

As Porsche prepares to introduce the Mission E in 2019, it’s naturally looking to bolster its technology in the EV space as well. In an interview conducted with Porsche, Uwe Michael, head of electrics and electronics, talks about the direction of batteries and ways the brand will improve the charging experience on high-performance electrified vehicles of the future.

As we already knew, Porsche is introducing an 800-volt charging system compatible with the Mission E. This 800-volt system allows cars to recoup 249 miles of range in less than 20 minutes. But Porsche also wants to give customers the ability to choose the charging output on their wall boxes based on their individual preferences. Those driving a plug-in hybrid can choose an output of 3.6 kilowatts if they drive slower, or 7.2 kilowatts if they drive more aggressively. For electric vehicles, the choice between 11 and 22 kilowatts is appropriate.

The charging experience should also be tailored to your route plans, Michael says. With Porsche’s Turbo Charging Planner, EV drivers can optimize quick charge options based on their route. Porsche also wants drivers to be able to reserve charging stalls to save even more time.

Many automakers have explored inductive charging, and Porsche is one of them. But Michael notes that there are plenty of challenges in this area. He says that at first, this will only be an option for home charging. “We’re delighted that all the brands within the Volkswagen Group are working together to find a uniform solution. This will go a long way towards setting a benchmark,” he said.

In order for EVs to really take off, automakers must continue to improve battery technology. Michael predicts that traditional lithium-ion batteries will improve 5 percent in efficiency per year in the foreseeable future. These incremental improvements will add up to large increases in power. In the future, over-the-air updates could increase a car’s power when the customer wants a little extra juice.

Porsche is working on solid-state batteries with no liquid electrolyte. However, Michael doesn’t expect this technology to reach cars before 2025. Lithium-air technology is even further out, and it’s unlikely we’ll see this tech in a production car before 2030.

BMW sees a future with Level 5 automation, the highest level of autonomy on the SAE scale. These vehicles don’t need a steering wheel, brake pedal, or accelerator because the car controls virtually all functions by itself. But, according to Michael, Level 5 isn’t a priority for Porsche. Instead, the automaker continues to make strides with assistance systems that work with human drivers.