Asahi Kasei signs its first China license for Acetolyte battery electrolyte

Asahi Kasei has signed its first license agreement in China for Acetolyte, an acetonitrile-containing electrolyte, granting HighChem Shanghai a non-exclusive license to produce and sell the material to Chinese battery manufacturers.

HighChem Shanghai, an affiliate of the HighChem group focused on trading in China, will manufacture and sell the electrolyte for the local market. Asahi Kasei says the partnership draws on HighChem’s customer base and presence in China’s battery industry to speed adoption as the country’s electric vehicle and energy storage markets expand.

“Having focused on the lithium-ion battery business for nearly 20 years, HighChem has knowledge and extensive business experience in the Chinese market,” said Yueyuan Long, General Manager of HighChem Shanghai. “Acetolyte offers excellent low-temperature performance, and we believe that our collaboration with Asahi Kasei will enable us to maximize the value of this technology and open up new possibilities for the battery industry.”

Asahi Kasei says Acetolyte’s high ionic conductivity increases battery power output at low temperatures and improves durability at high temperatures, both persistent problems for current lithium-ion cells. By enabling smaller battery packs with greater energy density, the electrolyte reduces manufacturing costs, according to the company.

Asahi Kasei has already licensed the electrolyte in Europe, where Charged covered EAS Batteries’ commercialization of an LFP cell built on it.

Under a medium-term plan announced in April 2025, the company is pursuing what it calls Technology-value Business Creation, monetizing patents, know-how, data and algorithms through licensing rather than manufacturing. It aims to conclude at least 10 new license agreements across fiscal 2025 to 2027 and a cumulative profit contribution of ¥10 billion or more by around 2030.

“We have steadily expanded the Acetolyte business through licensing partnerships in Europe. This first license agreement in China represents a significant advance in the global extension of our technology,” said Osamu Matsuzaki, Senior Executive Officer of Asahi Kasei and Head of Corporate R&D.

Source: Asahi Kasei

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Kia’s first electric van makes a big splash in its European debut

Delivery vans represent an excellent use case for EVs, and they’re an increasingly common sight on European streets.

Kia and sister company Hyundai are two of the most forward-looking of the legacy automakers, but they haven’t been much of a factor in the commercial van market—until now.

As Joris Van Roy reports in New Mobility News, Kia’s first electric van has become an instant hit in Europe, outselling models from manufacturers with decades of history in the segment.

According to Kia, since going on sale in Europe, the new PV5 Cargo has become the best-selling battery-electric small (C-segment) van in 12 countries. In the UK, Kia registered 3,239 PV5 Cargo vans and 1,141 Passenger models during the first seven months of 2026, making it the country’s best-selling electric van.

Competitors Mercedes-Benz, Renault, Ford, Peugeot, Citroën, Opel and Volkswagen already have large dealer networks, fleet contracts, and generations of experience with commercial customers. What’s Kia’s secret sauce?

Well, it might just be the fact that its small van is a purpose-built EV, rather than a conversion of a legacy vehicle. Built on Kia’s dedicated E-GMP.S platform, the PV5 Cargo features an under-floor battery pack, which gives it 4.4 cubic meters of space, room for two Euro pallets, and a loading sill only 419 millimeters high.

The long-range version sports a 71.2 kWh battery pack that delivers 416 kilometers of WLTP range—superior to that of the Mercedes eCitan (283 km), the Renault Kangoo Van E-Tech (308 km) the Ford E-Transit Courier (334 km) and the Opel Combo Electric (which is related to the Peugeot E-Partner and Citroën ë-Berlingo, and offers up to 343 km).

As Mr. Van Roy notes, the Kia tends to be a bit more expensive than competing models, notably offerings from Renault and the Stellantis brands. In Belgium, the PV5 Cargo starts at roughly €32,425 (plus VAT). Buyers seem to be willing to pay a bit more for the PV5’s combination of range, usable space, charging speed and equipment.

Kia’s PV5 is currently available in Cargo, Passenger and Chassis Cab versions, and the company plans to release more than 40 PBV body types, including the larger PV7 (due in 2027) and the PV9 (2029).

Source: New Mobility News

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BTC Power’s survey of EV charging infrastructure customers reveals some surprises

We all know that the commercial EV charging industry is maturing, and that EV charging is increasingly considered critical infrastructure. But what are the reasons companies are deploying charging infrastructure, and how do execs view the future of government incentives?

Commercial EV charging system manufacturer BTC Power has released findings from its State of EV Charging survey, a proprietary study of more than 200 commercial decision-makers in the US who are deploying EV charging infrastructure across retail, fleet, hospitality, corporate campuses, fueling/convenience stores, and multi-family housing.

According to the company, the data from the survey “signals a market that has crossed a critical threshold.” Some 94% of respondents report that EV charging has become essential to how they operate and compete, and 97% plan to increase EV charging investment.

However, there are still significant roadblocks along the road to electrification, and as BTC points out, the way organizations deal with these challenges may separate leading operators from those left behind.

“Performance and reliability now outrank cost as the primary reasons charging network operators change vendors,” said SJ Oh, Chief Revenue Officer, BTC Power. “That tells us the EV charging market has matured beyond a lowest-price mindset. Decision-makers have experienced installations that failed to meet expectations, and they now recognize that the true cost of unreliable hardware—downtime, maintenance, lost revenue and poor driver experiences—far exceeds any upfront savings.”

A couple of findings from the survey may be surprising to some.

Despite the US government’s well-publicized hostility to EVs, 90% of BTC’s respondents expressed confidence that government and industry policies will sustain EV charging growth. Federal tax credits, NEVI funding and utility incentives influence 61% of deployment plans, and state incentives affect 58%.

In today’s cynical world, many might assume that corporate decision-makers think only of the short-term bottom line. But BTC’s survey found that environmental sustainability was tied with customer demand as the top driver of EV charging adoption, at 46% of respondents, outpacing revenue generation (36%) and fleet transition (32%).

Less surprising: some 60% of decision-makers prefer a full-service partner that handles all phases of infrastructure deployment, from planning through ongoing support, while only 17% said they prefer a hardware-only provider.

“A few years ago, sustainability was the reason companies started looking at EV charging. Now it is one of several reasons they cannot stop,” Oh said. “Among corporate campuses specifically, 55% cited ESG progress as their top realized benefit from EV charging programs, the highest single-category score across all facility types in the survey.”

Source: BTC Power

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Electrified Automation’s 193-120 IPM motor delivers 210 Nm for off-highway machines

Electrified Automation has added the 193-120 to its 193 Series of electric motors, a low-voltage interior permanent magnet (IPM) unit built for off-highway machinery. It produces up to 210 Nm of peak torque from a 25 kg package.

The 193-120 comes in 48 V and 80 V configurations. Both reach 210 Nm of peak torque and a maximum speed of 7,000 RPM, and both weigh 25 kg. Peak power is 26 kW for the 48 V version and 49 kW for the 80 V version, and rated power is 14 kW and 16.5 kW respectively.

The 193-120 uses an interior permanent magnet layout that places the magnets inside the rotor, and it offers through-shaft capability. Interior permanent magnet designs are common in traction applications because burying the magnets lets the rotor add reluctance torque and hold output at higher speeds. Electrified Automation describes the 193-120 as combining high torque density with compact packaging.

Electrified Automation positions the 193-120 for off-highway machinery, listing last-mile delivery vehicles, construction equipment, material handling and utility vehicles among its target applications.

The 193-120 sits within the EA 193 Series, a permanent magnet line Electrified Automation launched after expanding from automated manufacturing equipment into supplying its own motors. The company designed the range for high-volume automated production.

“We also know that a major priority for OEMs is a reliable and responsive supply chain that can deliver the volumes they want when they want them,” said Jim Winchester, Managing Director at Electrified Automation. “That’s why we have designed the motor architecture to maximise the automation potential, so it is fully optimised for high volume production.”

Source: Electrified Automation

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Pickering’s 60-191 LXI family switches currents up to 80 A

Pickering Interfaces has introduced the 60-191 LXI high-current and sense switching family, which Pickering calls its highest-current switching products to date. Each unit switches signals up to 80 A and 300 V and is built to connect, disconnect and sequence multiple high-current power supplies in an automated test system.

The family comes in four standard configurations, combining up to twenty 40 A and four 80 A hermetically sealed SPST-NO contactors with a complementary set of 1 A SPST relays for sense lines. Each unit occupies a 4U enclosure, and high-current and sense-line connections are made through front-panel screw terminals. Custom relay combinations and alternative connectors are available on request. All four configurations carry a three-year warranty.

In use, a unit sits between several power supplies and the device or system under test, connecting and disconnecting each supply's positive and negative outputs and their associated high- and low-sense lines under program control. Engineers can switch every relay independently or operate two high-current and two low-current relays together with a single command, matching the four connections a power supply typically uses.

A built-in sequencing service stores up to 5,000 predefined switching sequences and runs them from software or configurable hardware triggers. Holding the sequences on the LXI controller cuts host transactions and system latency, according to Pickering. Front-panel LEDs show switch status, and relay cycle counting supports preventive maintenance and spreads wear across the available paths.

The units use an LXI 1.5-compliant 1000Base-T Ethernet interface and are controlled through an API or a built-in soft front panel. IVI and direct I/O drivers cover Windows and Linux and development environments including LabVIEW, Python, C/C++, C#, MATLAB and Simulink.

Pickering lists typical applications as EV battery and high-drain automotive electronics testing, fuel-cell and hydrogen-electrolysis research, solar inverter and energy-storage testing, aerospace development and functional or production testing of high-current power supplies.

"High-current switching in automated test systems is often implemented as a custom assembly using contactors and digital output modules," said Steven Edwards, Head of Product Management at Pickering. "The 60-191 family provides fully tested, easily maintainable LXI alternatives in standard 4U enclosures, with the switching capacity, control features, and software support needed to integrate high-current supplies more quickly."

Source: Pickering Interfaces

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ChargePoint and Mercedes-Benz partner to offer fleet charging solutions

EV charging giant ChargePoint has partnered with Mercedes-Benz to offer a new fleet charging service. The partnership provides Mercedes-Benz business customers with “a fully integrated charging solution, from initial site planning through to installation, operation and ongoing service.”

The new service covers charging for drivers of company cars, including passenger cars as well as light- and medium-duty vans. The companies are now rolling the offering out in the UK and Germany, and plan to expand it to other markets later this year.

Mercedes-Benz fleet customers will have access to ChargePoint’s AC and DC charging hardware, smart energy management and fleet charging software, as well as the company’s expert team for site assessment, infrastructure planning, professional installation and ongoing support.

“As part of our long-standing relationship with Mercedes-Benz, we have been providing the company with a range of charging solutions,” says Rick Wilmer, CEO of ChargePoint. “We are now taking our partnership to a new level, delivering a seamless, comprehensive experience that helps business customers lower the total cost of ownership with charging infrastructure that meets operational requirements.”

“Our business customers expect solutions that extend beyond the vehicle itself,” says Nico Dettmer, Global Head of Mercedes-Benz Charging Solutions. “With our new workplace charging offering, we are closing a key gap in the charging ecosystem for fleet customers, complementing both home and public charging.”

Source: ChargePoint

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Kite Magnetics secures A$2-million grant to scale Aeroperm motor core material

Melbourne-based advanced materials company Kite Magnetics has secured an A$2-million grant (about US$1.4 million) through the Australian Government’s Industry Growth Program, funding an A$4.1-million project to commercialize its Aeroperm stator core material.

The money will go toward scaling the company’s pilot manufacturing line in Victoria, generating automotive-grade validation data and delivering prototypes to customers. Kite Magnetics expects the work to move Aeroperm from Technology Readiness Level 4 to Level 6.

Aeroperm is a nanocrystalline soft magnetic material intended to replace conventional electrical steel in electric motor stator cores. The company rates its stator core losses at up to 97% below electrical steel under specified operating conditions, and says the substitution neither requires a full motor redesign nor compromises motor torque.

“Electric motors are one of the most important technologies in the electrification economy. Electric motor-driven systems account for around half of global electricity consumption, but the materials inside our motors have not fundamentally improved in decades,” said Kite Magnetics founder and CEO Richard Parsons. “This support from the Australian government helps us bridge a critical commercialization gap,” he said. “It allows us to turn breakthrough material performance into a scalable and repeatable manufacturing process.”

Energy lost in a stator core becomes heat, and that heat raises cooling requirements and forces compromises across the battery, inverter, motor and thermal management system. Kite Magnetics estimates the resulting battery and system savings at up to about A$1,140 per vehicle, equivalent to up to about A$1.14 billion per million vehicles produced, depending on the vehicle platform and motor design.

The company is delivering samples and paid prototypes to more than 20 organizations, including OEMs, Tier 1 and 2 suppliers and electric mobility partners.

Kite Magnetics is also preparing an A$22-million Series A funding round to scale manufacturing and complete customer qualification.

“Most EV range increases are fought for at the battery pack, software or power electronics level. We are attacking a more fundamental source of loss: the magnetic material inside the motor,” said Parsons.

Source: Kite Magnetics

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