The rapid growth of battery-powered technologies, from electric vehicles to renewable energy storage, has heightened the demand for efficient and reliable battery testing solutions. Kikusui has introduced its new Battery Emulator System, a cutting-edge solution designed to address the challenges of evaluating battery-powered devices and components. By leveraging the Kikusui PXB Series Bidirectional DC Power Supply and the SD036-PXB Battery Emulation Software, this system offers unparalleled flexibility and precision in simulating battery behavior under various conditions.
This whitepaper explores the system’s purpose, features, technical specifications and benefits, providing an overview for engineers and researchers in the field.
Mitra EV, provider of a commercial fleet electrification platform, has closed a $27-million financing round including equity funding from lead investor Ultra Capital and a credit facility from S2G Investments. Mitra will use the new funding to expand its shared charging network, deploy additional fleet solutions, and scale its electrification model into new markets.
“The way we structured this financing matters as much as the amount,” said James Tong, co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Mitra EV. “It gives us the flexibility to deploy the right mix of vehicles, overnight charging and shared fast-charging hubs to address real fleet needs now and scale responsibly over time.”
“Commercial electric vehicles are already economical for a growing set of use cases,” the company explains. “For many fleet operators, the challenge is not whether electrification can work financially, but whether they have the time, expertise and resources to navigate the complexity of vehicles, charging, incentives and financing.”
Mitra EV offers a fully managed electrification model designed to serve both smaller and larger fleets. The offering includes no-upfront-cost leasing of EV s from OEMs including GM, Ford and Mercedes-Benz, dedicated overnight charging, and access to a network of shared DC fast charging hubs. Mitra claims to deliver immediate reductions of up to 75% in operating costs, driven by lower fueling costs and reduced maintenance.
“Fleet electrification makes economic sense when you focus on the right use cases and remove operational friction,” said Galina Russell, co-founder and CEO. “Our customers want solutions that work for their business today, not five years from now. By managing the entire process and delivering guaranteed cost savings from day one, we provide fleets with a fast path to lower operating expenses, improved reliability and advanced data on their entire fleet operation.”
“Mitra plugged directly into our existing fleet cycle—no disruptions, no heavy lift on our end,” said Jason Hanson, CEO of Sierra Pacific, a California-based home services company. “As a business owner operating a midsize, mixed fleet, I’m always looking for ways to optimize performance and reduce operating costs.”
Commercial EV and mobile charging firm Xos has expanded its Hub lineup with three new capacity options to deliver fast mobile charging across Classes 1-2 through to heavy-duty fleet operations.
The 210 kWh, 420 kWh and 630 kWh configurations are designed to make rapid-deployment charging infrastructure accessible to fleets of all sizes and duty cycles.
The Hub platform is designed to enable simple installations to be completed in days, rather than months or years. Traditional fixed charging infrastructure often requires 6-18 months for utility interconnection and installation, Xos noted.
The entry-level 210 kWh Hub delivers an optimized, cost-effective solution for Class 1 and Class 2 vehicle applications, including delivery vans, service trucks, and light-duty commercial fleets. The model features two CCS1 charging heads that are NACS compatible, providing flexible charging for multiple vehicles per deployment cycle. The Hub is designed to make mobile charging economically viable for a broader range of fleet operators who previously faced prohibitive infrastructure costs.
The 420 kWh Hub represents a 50% capacity increase over the previous 280 kWh generation, enabling fleets to charge 15-20 commercial vehicles per cycle while maintaining the critical sub-10,000 lb weight threshold. The unit remains towable by standard 3/4-ton pickup trucks without requiring a commercial driver’s license. The 420 kWh variant has four CCS1 charging heads and expanded cable configurations, delivering higher throughput while maintaining portability and ease of relocation.
The 630 kWh Hub configuration addresses medium-duty and heavy-duty electric trucks that require substantial energy in the same compact form factor as lower-capacity variants. This enables fleet operators to deploy maximum charging capability in space-constrained environments, while maintaining full portability for seasonal or project-based operations.
For the largest fleet operations, the Hub’s modular design enables up to 10 units to be connected using a single tie to the grid, providing total capacity exceeding 6 MWh. This scalable architecture allows fleet operators to expand charging capacity as their electric fleet grows, while using a single utility interconnection point to minimize infrastructure costs and complexity.
All three Hub configurations will hold UL 9540 A certification in 2026. When deployed as permanent infrastructure, the Hub delivers DC fast charging capability without the need for trenching, electrical service upgrades, and extended permitting timelines.
Xos plans to start customer deliveries of all three capacity options during the first quarter.
“We are expanding charging access, supporting diverse fleet types, and making it more flexible to rapidly deploy charging infrastructure as the demand for electric vehicles continues to grow every year,” said Aldan Shank, Director of Mobile Charging Products at Xos. “The expanded Hub lineup reflects direct feedback from fleet operators who need solutions tailored to their specific operational requirements. By offering three distinct configurations at competitive price points, we’re removing the barriers that have prevented many fleets from transitioning to electric.”
CharIN has validated comemso’s EVCA (Electric Vehicle Communication Analyzer and Simulator) as a Conformance Test System for DC EVSE (Charging System Basic and Extended) under the CharIN Conformance Testing System (CCTS) program. comemso reports that this validation matters because it is intended to confirm standard-compliant, reproducible test results that support interoperability across different laboratory configurations.
According to comemso, the CCTS validation confirms that the EVCA provides “reliable, reproducible and comparable test results, regardless of the laboratory configuration.” The validation scope includes verifying system performance and correct implementation of relevant test cases as defined by CharIN.
The validated test coverage includes IEC 61851-1, IEC 61851-23, DIN 70121, ISO 15118-2, and ISO 15118-3. The system covers the official CharIN test cases specified in the CharIN Umbrella Documents for DC EVSE (Basic and Extended).
The EVCA is designed for manufacturers and testing laboratories working on DC charging systems and interoperability, with additional offerings beyond conformance test libraries. comemso says it also provides solutions and fully automated functions for advanced interoperability testing, aimed at analysis, error localization, and verification in development, commissioning and field service.
Midwestern Wheels, a licensee of Avis Budget Group, is working with EV charging provider ChargePoint to deliver EV charging to its rental car customers and local residents.
New public charging hubs at Midwestern Wheels’ airport and local market rental car branches in Appleton and Madison, Wisconsin are open to the public.
Multiple stations feature the ChargePoint Omni Port, the company’s adaptable charging solution that allows any new EV to be charged without adapters. All stations are managed by the new ChargePoint Platform, ChargePoint’s next-generation software solution.
“By opening their chargers up to the public, Midwestern Wheels has maximized utilization and accelerated their return on investment while increasing their brand awareness in the local community,” said Rick Wilmer, CEO at ChargePoint. “Midwestern Wheels’ deployment of ChargePoint solutions, particularly our Omni Port, has futureproofed their infrastructure by ensuring its customers and communities can charge when and where they need to, without having to dedicate parking spaces to specific EV connector types.”
“As EV adoption continues, we have created a unique win-win experience by offering EV charging to the public and our rental car customers in addition to our internal fleet charging needs,” said Bill Wallschlaeger, President, Midwestern Wheels. “Our Appleton and Madison charging stations not only simplify the process for our rental EVs, but will serve public EV drivers in each community.”
Designed specifically for OEM system architects, mobile hydraulics engineers, product managers, and application specialists, this 60-minute webinar (45-minute panel discussion plus 15-minute Q&A) delivers practical, actionable guidance on selecting, integrating, and validating efficient electrified mobile hydraulic architectures. Get in-depth insight into core subsystems (traction, steering, work functions, and ePTO), control strategies (positive/negative flow control, power-on-demand, electro-hydraulic load sensing), voltage selection (LV vs HV) and safety considerations, regeneration approaches, and proven methods to improve efficiency and ROI—plus perspectives on Parker’s hydraulic and electronic control solutions. Whether you’re modernizing a legacy platform, scaling capacity, or launching a new vehicle architecture, this webinar gives you the engineering clarity to accelerate electrification, enhance performance and safety, and reduce lifecycle cost.
What you will gain by attending this webinar:
A clear view of core components and integration — traction drives, steering systems, work functions, and ePTO working with advanced controls for stable, efficient performance
A controls decision framework — compare positive vs negative flow control, power-on-demand, ELS, and steering solutions (HPS/eHPS/torque overlay/pure electromechanical) to optimize efficiency and safety
An electrification toolkit — evaluate full-electric vs mild/strong hybrid vs battery ePTO, LV vs HV trade-offs, regeneration limits and strategies, quantify savings, and build a credible ROI case
Practical engineering practices — right-sized components, re-evaluating legacy vehicle architectures, multi-wheel coordination and steer-by-wire safety, and designing for functional safety and HV compliance.
Transporting Li-ion batteries? Make room for mastery, not mistakes.
Transporting very large format lithium batteries—for electric vehicles, solar power storage, data center backup and other purposes—is a major undertaking. Navigating the process safely, compliantly and efficiently is an ongoing challenge, and it’s not uncommon for mistakes to happen.
These mistakes are costly. From penalties for dangerous goods non-compliance to extensive delays to accidents resulting in injuries, mistakes during large-format lithium battery transport can bring about significantly negative financial consequences. To avoid these unforeseen costs and consequences, an organization has to prevent mistakes before they occur.
If your organization is involved in the manufacture or transport of large-format lithium batteries, read the ebook 10 Common Transport Mistakesfor Large-Format Lithium Batteries and become a master, plus see why some of the world’s largest manufacturers rely on DGeo to help them build a turnkey supply chain program.
