Author: Green Car Online News

Renault plans Europe’s largest battery storage network

Renault utility storage network to deploy used electric car batteries in France and Germany
European electric-carmaker Renault plans to build the continent's largest stationary battery storage network next year using old electric-car batteries.

Renault announced on Tuesday that it will install used (and some new) electric car batteries in three locations: two Renault factories in France, and the site of a former coal-fired power plant in Germany.

The company says the battery storage network will be expanded gradually over time.

DON'T MISS: (Reverse) Engineering Explained: What happens to old electric car batteries?

By 2020, Renault says the network will deliver 70 megawatts of power and store at least 60 megawatt-hours of energy storage to smooth out supply from solar and wind power to make them available at peak times when consumers need it.

The stationary battery storage network will use batteries from 2,000 of the company's European electric cars—the Renault Zoe and Twingo and the Nissan Leaf, among others—built into containers.

The network will comprise used batteries from the cars as well as some new electric-car batteries that have been inventoried as replacement packs for older models but never sold.

Renault Zoe and Kangoo ZE electric cars on the Outer Hebrides

Inside the containers, the batteries will be installed on racks. Each container will also include charge controllers and battery monitoring systems.

Once built, the batteries will provide enough power for 5,000 homes.

The system is designed to target a weak spot in the grid, where power consumption exceeding supply has often compromised the stability of the grid.

CHECK OUT: As used electric-car batteries set to flood market, Automakers ramp up reuse efforts

“One of the main challenges when it comes to increasing the share of renewable sources in the energy mix is to manage the discrepancies between electricity consumption and electricity production at a given moment,” Nicolas Schottey, Renault’s director of new energy business, said in a statement.

“Our energy stationary storage system solution helps to compensate for those gaps: it delivers its energy reserves at the exact moment an imbalance occurs in order to mitigate its effects,” he said.

READ MORE: Renault plans huge energy storage plant using old Zoe electric-car battery packs

The system was originally planned to be even bigger, with up to 100 megawatts of storage, but Renault alludes to potential future expansion under the existing plan.

Renault says its goal is to create Europe's largest stationary energy storage system to encourage the growth of renewable energy sources on the grid.

The network will be operated by Renault partner Mobility House.

Out of juice: Infiniti Q50 Hybrid luxury sedan dropped

2016 Infiniti Q50 Hybrid
The long-running Infiniti Q50 Hybrid luxury sedan won't return for 2019, the automaker said Thursday.

Infiniti spokesman Kyle Bazemore confirmed the demise of the Q50 Hybrid this year for Green Car Reports. The automaker axed the Q70 Hybrid in July.

Although Infiniti didn't report sales for the Q50 Hybrid and Q70 Hybrid models separately, it's likely that the hybrid-battery powered sedans were a small fraction of overall sales for both.

The Q50 Hybrid sedan was powered by a 3.5-liter V-6 and electric motor combo that produced 360 horsepower. According to the EPA, the Q50 Hybrid was rated at 29 mpg combined for front-drivers, 28 mpg combined for all-wheel-drive versions. The Q70 Hybrid sedan was powered by a similar hybrid powertrain and returned 30 mpg combined, compared to 21 mpg for V-6-only versions.

The Q50 Hybrid first appeared in Infiniti dealers in 2013.

DON'T MISS: Infiniti announces new electric car lineup based on Q Inspiration

Last year, Infiniti quietly killed its slow-selling QX60 Hybrid crossover after relegating it to special-order only for buyers.

The move leaves Infiniti without an electrified powertrain in its vehicle lineup, for now.

Infiniti announced most new models coming from the luxury automaker would be electrified by 2021. The company also announced it would build a range of electric cars based on its Q Inspiration concept before 2023.

This year, the QX50 debuted a new variable-compression turbocharged engine that can change its operation for better efficiency or better power. The turbo-4 found under the hood of the popular crossover contributed to an overall fuel-efficiency improvement of more than 20 percent, compared to prior generations.

Orders in: 1,000 buyers in Norway reserve coming all-electric BMW iX3 crossover SUV

BMW Concept iX3
BMW opened order books for its upcoming electric iX3 in Europe at the beginning of September, and the company already has deposits for 1,000 in Norway.

In a page out of the Tesla playbook, the Norwegian buyers each put down deposits of almost $1,900 (1,600 Euros.)

News of the deposits was first reported by the Express in Britain.

DON'T MISS: BMW iX3 to be built in China, exported worldwide

BMW introduced the iX3 concept at the Beijing auto show in April, but has not yet shown a production version. The iX3 will be built in China and exported around the world.

Unlike the BMW Vision iNext concept the company previewed in New York last week, the iX3 is based on an existing gas-powered X3 SUV.

The electric SUV will use a 70-kwh lithium battery mounted under the floor to give the iX3 an estimated range of 249 miles, based on the new European WLTP test cycle. That number may be smaller on the more stringent EPA test cycle in the U.S. when it arrives next year.

READ THIS: BMW debuts iX3 SUV electric car

It will incorporate 150-kw DC fast-charge capability that BMW says will recharge about 192 miles in 30 minutes. The electric motor will put out 270 horsepower.

BMW has not announced whether the electric version of the X3 will have all-wheel drive.

The iX3 will be the first electric car under a new strategy from BMW that bases electric cars on existing, steel-bodied models, rather than developing dedicated, lightweight carbon-fiber chassis for its electric models as it did for the i3 and the i8.

Standard dash cams coming to Teslas

Tesla Model 3 dashboard in Autopilot testing with IIHS [CREDIT: IIHS]
Tesla chief executive Elon Musk revealed on Twitter that the company plans to make dash cams standard in its products with a new software update rolling out in the next few weeks.

Since most Teslas already have forward cameras for the Autopilot system, it seems it should be simple for Tesla to enable the feature.

Many Tesla owners have been asking for a dash cam in their cars.

CHECK OUT: Tesla will roll out new Autopilot later this month

In response to a question on Twitter from user Richard Ulmer, whose Tesla was vandalized when he wasn't with it, Musk said beta version of the new dash-cam software will be included with the Version 9 software update, which is due to roll out most Tesla owners in the next several weeks.

Musk says Tesla's engineering team has been focused on adding the feature.

General Motors already includes dash cams on high-end models from Cadillac and on the Chevy Corvette for recording laps on a race track.

Musk said the feature is supposed to be improved again when Version 9.1 of Tesla's operating system rolls out at an unspecified point in the future.

DON'T MISS: Tesla raises price of full self-driving option–if you wait for it to work before buying

The Version 9 update, being pushed to a few Tesla early adopters now, revamps the structure of the original vertical display screen in the Model S and Model X.

Musk has also said it will enable the first features of the company's long-promised Full-Self Driving Capability. That's the name Tesla applies to software, though it's uncertain exactly how capable the system will be.

Among the first features will be “on-ramp-to-off-ramp” capability on the highway, Musk has said in a conference call with investors.

Many Tesla owners have paid in advance for the Full Self-Driving Capability option since it was introduced in 2016, even though the features still don't work. Those buyers will automatically have the features enabled via an over-the-air software update in return for a discount compared with buyers who have the option added after the features have been released.

Toyota enters $82 million partnership to roll out hydrogen trucks in Los Angeles port

Toyota Project Portal 2.0 fuel cell-powered semi-trailer truck
After showing its second-generation fuel-cell semi-truck at the Port of Los Angeles in July, Toyota announced last week it will build 10 more fuel-cell trucks for the project.

In addition to the trucks, the project will add two new heavy-duty hydrogen filling stations, two new hydrogen forklifts at Toyota's warehouse at the next-door Port of Long Beach, and two new zero-emissions yard tractors at the nearby Port of Hueneme.

The California Air Resources Board will provided $41 million of funding for the project. Toyota, Shell, and Kenworth, which builds the trucks, will provide the balance of the project costs, which totals $82 million.

READ THIS: Toyota introduces second hydrogen fuel-cell powered semi working in Los Angeles

The Port of Los Angeles is the largest in the country, and has been targeted by the state for investments in zero emissions technology.

In July, Toyota revealed its second-generation fuel-cell semi truck after operating a proof-of-concept prototype for the previous year. The updated model can go 300 miles between hydrogen refills, rather than 200 for the initial truck, and has a small sleeper in the back of the cab, which the first truck lacked.

The trucks use two fuel-cell stacks from the Toyota Mirai fuel-cell car to deliver 670 horsepower and 1,325 pound-feet of torque, and include a 12-kwh battery pack to store power.

CHECK OUT: Toyota 'Project Portal' hydrogen fuel-cell heavy-duty semi tractor as proof of concept

The trucks will ferry cargo from the Port of LA to Ontario, California, where Shell is installing the two new hydrogen filling stations to complement facilities already in the Port of LA.

The projects are part of Toyota's efforts to eliminate CO2 emissions from its logistics facility in the next-door Port of Long Beach, where it is building a combined power facility to produce electricity, water, and hydrogen to power the trucks from agricultural wastes.

DON'T MISS: California utilities commission passes record incentives for chargers

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are a primary focus of California's efforts to clean up its air. About 40 percent of all imports and exports traveling to and from the U.S. come through the ports, creating a concentration of diesel trucks that has been linked to poor health in the area.

California is expanding efforts to replace those trucks with zero-emissions battery-electric and fuel-cell replacements. Toyota's agreement is the largest part of the hydrogen initiative in the area. The state is also expanding infrastructure to charge a growing number of electric drayage trucks and other equipment at the facility.

British engineering firm brings lightweight race car design to production cars

Gordon Murray Design iStream construction
British race car design company Gordon Murray Design showed off its new lightweight race car body last week at the Low Carbon Vehicle Show in England.

The company calls its body-in-white—an industry term for a car body with no components attached—iStream, and it says it's the result of a new process it patented to make lightweight racing technology easier to manufacture.

CHECK OUT: 2019 Mercedes-Benz A-Class sedan sets wind-cheating record

Cutting weight can make all kinds of cars more efficient, from pure electric, to hybrids, to conventional cars. Automakers have known how to make cars lighter for a long time, but the lightweight, affordable, and easy to manufacture trifecta has been a challenge.

Gordon Murray Design said that thanks to its patented manufacturing methods, the iStream is expected to be half the weight of a comparably-sized conventional steel body at the same cost. Like the BMW i3, the iStream uses a carbon fiber reinforced body structure paired to an aluminum pan that holds the vehicle's mechanical components.

READ MORE: Carbon fiber from plants close to carbon-neutral? Scientists hopeful

Gordon Murray also released concept specs for a sports car based on the body based on the body in white.

The company says it would weigh just 1,874 pounds. Using a 220-horsepower, 1.5-liter 4-cylinder engine would give an iStream race car a power-to-weight ratio of 8.5 pounds per horsepower. With a six-speed manual transmission geared for maximum acceleration, that could give it a 0-60 time of just over 4 seconds.

Gordon Murray Design iStream construction

Reducing the weight of the body reduces the need for even heavier batteries for an electrified version and would the use of smaller, lighter brakes and other components, too.

Along with the iStream body, Gordon Murray showed a lightweight seat that the company says weighs 30 percent less than conventional seats. The seats use a tubular frame and fiberglass or carbon composite structure, and can fold for access for cars that need it.

Gordon Murray didn't specify the cost of the race car body or the racing seat.

ChargePoint commits to build charging stations for 2.5 million cars by 2025

2014 BMW i3 REx fast-charging at Chargepoint site, June 2016 [photo: Tom Moloughney]
At the Global Climate Action Summit this week in San Francisco, several companies made commitments to reducing climate change.

ChargePoint, one of the oldest electric-car charging networks in the U.S., said Wednesday that it aims to complete enough charging stations globally by 2025 to cover 2.5 million parking spots. The commitment does not include thousands of home chargers that ChargePoint also sells. Each station could cover one or two parking spots, a ChargePoint spokeswoman said.

READ MORE: ChargePoint invests in commercial charging for buses, delivery vans, taxis

According to the company's website, it currently has 45,000 charging locations across the U.S. and has begun expanding in Europe.

Setting such a goal by 2025 represents a huge challenge for the company.

ChargePoint Express Plus modular DC fast-charging system for electric cars, launched at 2017 CES

“Our commitment to deploy 2.5 million charging spots by 2025 comes as the company embarks on the most significant period of growth in our history and in the midst of a revolution in transportation,” said Pasquale Romano, president and CEO, ChargePoint. “The time for transformative change is now, and broadly distributed, substantial and immediate investments in charging infrastructure are necessary to usher in the future of e-mobility.

“We're at a huge tipping point here,” he said, “where this thing begins to accelerate very, very quickly.”

Even as the Trump Administration in Washington, D.C., begins dismantling the legal framework that incentivized electric cars, Roman said, it's a “train that has already left the station.”

CHECK OUT: Gas stations aren't a model for electric-car charging: ChargePoint CEO

Romano said that he expects the electric-car business to grow from almost $78 billion last year to almost $128 billion by 2022.

The additional chargers from ChargePoint will help expand public charging at businesses, workplaces, apartment buildings, as well as charging for commercial vehicles such as trucks and buses.

ChargePoint recently acquired Kisensum, a data analytics firm focused on helping utilities manage power loads.

Facing increased competition, especially from Electrify America, operating under a court mandate to spend $2 billion expanding public charging in the same time frame, Romano says there is room for multiple charging networks in the industry, but he expects some consolidation.

German authorities uncover emissions-cheating collusion among diesel automakers

2014 Mercedes-Benz E250 BlueTec 4Matic
New documents revealed in a German investigation into diesel emissions cheating show that German automakers, including Volkswagen, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz may have colluded to limit the amount of emissions-cleaning AdBlue diesel exhaust fluid the cars used.

The news was reported by the German newspaper Handelsblatt on Tuesday.

The AdBlue urea solution was contained in tanks too small to last the specified distance between refills, internal company documents reveal. In one 2008 email, an Audi engineer wrote that if customers had to refill their tanks every two months, “it would be a disaster for the entire clean diesel strategy in North America…. This assessment is shared also by VW, BMW, and Daimler.” (Daimler is the parent company that produces Mercedes-Benz cars.)

DON'T MISS: Volkswagen fires six managers over diesel emissions cheating

The documents were revealed as part of a criminal investigation in Germany of 39 Volkswagen executives for fraud and deceptive advertising.

An Audi presentation uncovered last year referred to a “commitment of the German automotive manufacturers at board level” to using smaller urea tanks and making them last longer.

All three automakers, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz, along with Volkswagen and its luxury division Audi, submitted documents to German regulators showing that the cars would use 0.26 gallons (1 liter), of urea fluid in 1,000 miles of driving, when it fact it would take 0.78 gallons (3 liters) of the fluid to neutralize emissions for that distance.

CHECK OUT: Mercedes-Benz gets its own diesel emission cheating questions now

The documents show email exchanges among the companies discussing a German investigation into “defeat device software” used to minimize urea consumption and flout emissions laws when the cars were driven on the road, and still meet the requirements when the cars were tested.

All three automakers, plus Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, used emissions hardware and software from German supplier Bosch, which has also been sued for its role in the scandal.

READ THIS: Those fuel-efficient diesels? Actually worse on lifetime CO2, study says

The emissions cheating led to a historic settlement with Volkswagen that has cost the automaker an estimated $30 billion, including buying back most of the diesel models it sold in the U.S.

Bosch has settled lawsuits against it in relation to the scandal.

Class-action lawsuits are outstanding against BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and FCA.