Automobile industry revolution: microgrid, hydrogen fuel, EV backup power for EV charging

The EU Parliament has voted to end combustion vehicle sales in 2035, Siemens has announced plans to develop wireless charging for electric vehicles, and Lightyear has begun finalising its long-range, ready-to-use solar car.

European Union law

European Union lawmakers have upheld plans to ban combustion engines on new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles by 2035, while forcing car manufacturers to stop selling gasoline-powered cars.  Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) support the EU Commission’s corresponding proposal.  Specifically, car manufacturers should reduce their average fleet emissions by 15% by 2025, 55% by 2030, and 100% by 2035.  Synthetic fuels are not exempt from the ban.  “The ambitious revision of CO2-standards is a critical part of reaching our climate goals,” said Dutch MEP John Huitema, who introduced the draft.  “With these standards, we are creating clarity for the car industry and promoting innovation and investment for car manufacturers.”  EU member states will ratify the final agreement on stricter emissions requirements in the coming weeks.

Ferrari expanding

Ferrari is reportedly looking to expand its factory in northern Italy as part of its electrification strategy, to be launched next week.  According to BloombergNEF, the Italian luxury carmaker has purchased space near its Marenello plant and has begun clearing a third production line dedicated to making hybrid and electric vehicles.  According to unknown sources, the expansion will include a new battery R&D centre.  Ferrari is expected to release its first fully electric vehicle in 2025.

“Lightyear 0″

Lightyear has released the final design of its long-range, ready-to-use solar car.  Renamed “Lightyear 0”, the version has a 625-kilometer Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) type and has a usage of 10.5 kWh per hundred kilometers.  However, Dutch startup claims to achieve a theoretical range of 695 kilometers with a 60 kWh battery pack capacity.  “An optimized solar roof and integrated design can drive a car for weeks, even months, without a fee,” the company said.  Lightyear is already preparing its second solar electric car, which will be available in late 2024 or early 2025.

Neo battery packs

Neo said it would start manufacturing high-voltage battery packs in 2024.  Chinese EV manufacturers have developed them on their own as part of improving profitability and competitiveness.  It started producing an 800-volt battery pack that recharges faster than the 400-volt batteries found in most EVs on the market today.  Self-generated batteries will be used in its new mass-market models, which will be ready for sale in the second half of 2024.  Like Tesla, Neo plans to use a combination of self-generating and external source batteries in the long run.  .

Nano One and Rio Tinto

Nano One and Rio Tinto have announced a strategic partnership to provide iron and lithium products, and a $ 10 million investment in Nano One equals 4.9% of the company’s stock.  The partnership and fund accelerates Nano One’s multi-cathode commercialization strategy and supports the production of active cathode materials in Canada. The Canadian Battery Developer’s patented One Pot Process and Metal-to-Cathode Active Material (M2CAM) technology shape a completely unique production platform.  This allows the nickel-rich (NMC), iron-rich (LFP) and manganese-rich (LNMO) lithium-ion cathode active materials to be sulphate-free from a range of battery metal sources with low steps, low costs, and low complexity.  , And small environmental footprint. The generation applies to all lithium-ion battery chemistries for programs in electric powered vehicles, renewable power garage and transportable electronics.

Siemens Wireless Charging

Siemens Wireless Charging Specialist has acquired a minority stake in WhiteCity for $ 25 million.  The two companies are seeking to narrow the gap in the global standardisation of wireless charging for electric passenger and light duty commercial vehicles, enabling interoperability between vehicles and infrastructure and supporting market penetration.  In addition, they support wireless charging systems.

KCE and Zincfive together?

Kaizen Clean Energy (KCE) and Zincfive have come together to develop a combined distributed energy solution for EV charging, hydrogen fuel and backup power.  The new solution provides lower distribution costs for hydrogen fuel, as well as hydrogen production at 2,300 kg / day, equivalent to 38 MWh of usable energy in a 40-foot, movable containerized solution.  It may be island or grid-connected, with no risk of battery thermal runaway and small amounts of hydrogen stored on site.  The system combines KCE’s hydrogen generator, ZincFive’s immediate energy nickel-zinc batteries and power cells with power cells, and provides customers with modular, scalable economical fuel.  Robert Meaney, co-founding father of KCE, instructed pv mag that the power enter comes from methanol.  The system is basically a pure version of a diesel generator, he said.  It uses the ZincFive battery for immediate demand response as the methanol-to-hydrogen system ramps up to full production within the first 15 minutes.  After entering full production mode, the batteries freeze and the reformers take on full power demand.  The system charger is agnostic and supports multiple DC fast chargers simultaneously.  KCE has begun accepting pre-orders and plans to deploy a 20-foot, 150 kW solution in the fourth quarter of 2022 with pilot customers.

United Arab Emirates

Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure has selected Siemens to establish a nationwide network of ultra-fast charging stations for electric vehicles.  Ten Siemens Sycharge D 160 kW and 180 kW charging stations will be installed on the highways in Ras al Khaimah, Ajman, Umm al-Quwain and Fujairah.  To meet changing market demand, chargers have scalable power of up to 300 kW and can be extended to two additional charging cables with additional external distributors.  These are all cloud-connected devices that allow remote monitoring and management.