NOVOSENSE Microelectronics has launched the SP301H/L, a family of three-channel digital isolators built on the company’s third-generation capacitive isolation technology and aimed at RS485 communication links. By integrating three isolation channels onto a single chip, the part replaces the three optocouplers and supporting passives that conventional isolated RS485 designs rely on.
The data channel runs at up to 8 Mbps and the enable control channel at up to 1 Mbps, faster than typical optocoupler-based RS485 isolation manages. NOVOSENSE offers two enable-logic options: the SP301H ships with a default-high enable pin and the SP301L with a default-low pin, giving designers flexibility in the MCU enable logic. Both come in a compact SSOW10 wide-body package with fine-pitch leads, which the company says reduces PCB area by more than 60% compared to optocoupler-based solutions. Operating ambient temperature runs from –40° C to 125° C, and the company says a low quiescent current makes the part suitable for battery-powered field instruments.
The SP301H/L supports a withstand voltage up to 5 kVrms for one minute and surge capability exceeding 10 kV, meeting reinforced insulation requirements, according to the company. Common-mode transient immunity reaches a typical 200 kV/μs. Compared to the previous SP301A and NIRS31 series, NOVOSENSE says the new parts improve electrical overstress (EOS) tolerance by about 10% and keep latch-up immunity above 10 V. The company also cites improved power-supply noise immunity, which it says keeps communication error-free under high-frequency, high-amplitude system noise in the MHz range.
NOVOSENSE positions the SP301H/L within its Isolation+ line of digital isolators, isolated sensors, interfaces, power supplies and gate drivers.
RS485 nodes in equipment like power meters, industrial automation systems and energy storage often sit far apart at different ground potentials, and a digital isolator blocks those potential differences and surges while passing the signal. An optocoupler does the same job by coupling signals through an LED, but its output dims over years of operation, shifting timing and eventually limiting service life. A capacitive isolator has no such wear-out mechanism, and folding three channels into one chip cuts the bill of materials and board routing that a discrete optocoupler design needs.
After getting off to a slow start, some US retail chains, convenience stores and fast-food restaurants are rolling out public EV charging at a respectable clip. Walmart, Wawa and Bojangles are just some of the latest companies to tout new charging initiatives.
Target recently announced plans to expand its EV charging empire. The company commissioned its first fast charging site at a store in San Mateo, California in 2017, and now hosts charging at 300 sites (with over 3,000 charging stalls) across 42 states. The company says its customers frequently name EV charging as an added convenience that enhances their shopping experience.
Now Target has announced that it has 35 more EV charging sites currently under construction and another 100-plus sites in development.
Target works closely with partners to determine which Target stores are likely to make the best charging sites, weighing market dynamics, local EV penetration and utility availability.
Zero-emission truck (ZET) deployment in the US increased in the second half of 2025, according to the June 2026 edition of CALSTART’s biannual Zeroing in on ZETs report. During this period, zero-emission trucks (battery-electric and hydrogen fuel cell) represented 4.14% of all truck deployments from July through December 2025, up from 1.32% in the first half of the year.
State-level adoption trends indicate that the transition to zero-emission truck technologies reflects the impact of state policies. Unsurprisingly, California led the nation in deployments. New York and Pennsylvania were tied for second and third place. State funding programs such as the New York Truck Voucher Incentive Program and the Pennsylvania Freight Innovations in Transportation Grant Program contributed to adoption in both states.
Other findings in the report:
By December 2025, cumulative ZET deployments reached 72,309 nationwide, an increase from 52,787 at the end of 2024.
The second half of the year saw nearly double the 6,526 vehicles deployed in the first half of the year and a 31% year-over-year increase from the same period in 2024.
California (12,874), Florida (6,179) and Texas (5,953) continued to lead the nation in cumulative ZET deployments.
Twenty-two states now have more than 1,000 ZET deployments, up from 18 in the previous market update.
The percentage of zero-emission yard tractors in operation reached 3.21%, the highest of any segment.
“The market, even absent tax credits, has shown positive growth,” said Jared Schnader, Executive Vice President of Initiatives, CALSTART’s Florida Regional Office. “The data points to a strong zero-emission future as operational cost advantages continue to accelerate over fossil fuels, capital costs continue declining and operator acceptance trends in a positive direction.”
Battery diagnostics specialist AVILOO has launched a warranty product for used EV buyers based on independent battery health data.
The AVILOO Battery Warranty takes effect in July in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, Austria, Belgium, Ireland and Switzerland, following launches in France and Sweden in June.
For used EV buyers, the battery—the most expensive component of an EV—remains difficult to assess at the point of purchase. Manufacturer-reported health figures are not independently verified or standardized.
The AVILOO Battery Warranty is designed to address this issue. It is issued as a standalone document separate from AVILOO’s existing battery certificate. It is managed through AVILOO Connect, a digital dashboard for EV remarketing that allows dealers, fleet operators and remarketing platforms to manage battery test lifecycles from vehicle inspection through warranty issuance.
For each vehicle, an individual State of Health (SoH) floor is calculated using AVILOO’s battery diagnostics database. The calculation establishes the minimum SoH the battery must maintain at 20,000 kilometers during the one-year warranty period. Dealers can offer the warranty to buyers without assuming the associated financial risk.
Buyers receive a one-year warranty period during which they can carry out an AVILOO FLASH Test, a three-minute diagnostic that assesses battery capacity, thermal management and charging capability against original factory specifications. The test covers 96% of EV models currently on the road.
If a battery’s SoH falls below the calculated threshold during the warranty period, the buyer receives compensation.
AVILOO’s battery diagnostics service is used by a number of automotive and fleet organizations. Mercedes-Benz, Volvo and Porsche Holding have selected AVILOO as a third-party battery testing provider for dealerships in Europe. Several leasing firms and dealership groups have integrated AVILOO’s service into their European operations.
“The AVILOO Battery Warranty raises the used electric vehicle market to a new level,” said Marcus Berger, CEO of AVILOO. “We are providing the foundation for a warranty based solely on objective, independent measurement data. With the Battery Warranty, we are establishing a framework intended to strengthen confidence in used EV transactions.”
Valeo has commercially launched a 48 V two-speed eAxle that replaces the mechanical rear driveline of a 4×4 with an electric rear axle. Launch customer Dacia is using the unit to power its new Hybrid-G 150 4×4 system on the Duster and Bigster, and plans to install it on the Striker as well.
At low speeds, the eAxle uses a short gear ratio, and delivers up to 1,800 Nm of torque to the rear wheels. At higher speeds, it shifts to a long ratio for efficient cruising at up to 140 km/h. The axle can be decoupled from the driveline when four-wheel drive isn’t needed, so it doesn’t sap efficiency on the highway. According to Valeo, the design resolves the long-standing trade-off between low-speed torque and high-speed efficiency that has dogged cheap electric axles.
Speaking of dogs, handling the gear change cleanly is the job of what Valeo calls its Smart Dog Clutch, which uses software rather than extra hardware to synchronize its engagement speed.
The unit delivers peak power of 31 hp, and weighs 41 kg, which Valeo says makes it the most powerful 48 V rear electric powertrain on the market. It is compact enough to drop into existing B-segment platforms, turning a mild hybrid car into one with electric rear-wheel drive.
A conventional mechanical 4×4 burns extra fuel, and the resulting CO₂ emissions carry a rising cost under European rules. Swapping the mechanical hardware for a more efficient electric drive offsets that penalty and keeps the system affordable on entry-level cars, Valeo explains.
Valeo says the eAxle and its control software enable the Duster and Bigster to stay in in electric mode during up to 60% of urban driving.
“This breakthrough technology preserves the iconic 4×4 DNA of the Duster while significantly reducing its CO₂ emissions,” said Xavier Dupont, CEO of Valeo Power Division.
Slate’s 180,000-plus reservation holders can now configure their trucks; here’s what they get.
Slate Auto, the improbable electric-truck startup, says it will deliver its first vehicles before the end of the year—and at the promised price of $25,000 (with one asterisk).
Slate unveiled its design for a small electric pickup truck in April 2024. The “Blank Slate” base model, built in just one color (grey), promised a back-to-basics pickup that blended small-truck design chops of the Eighties and Nineties with a very modern battery-electric powertrain.
This week, Slate announced more details about the truck—most importantly, its price—at a media event in Southern California. More than 180,000 reservation holders, who have put down a $50 deposit any time since April 2025, can now configure their specific vehicle online for an additional $250. Slate confirmed it will deliver its first customer vehicles in the fourth quarter of this year.
Here’s what we learned at the event.
MODELS and PRICING
The Blank Slate is a two-door, standard-cab pickup truck; its price will start at $24,950 before options and accessories. But two additional body styles are also offered, both SUVs, a fact that was somewhat lost in all the “small pickup” publicity.
Beyond the pickup comes the “Squareback” wagon. Cleverly, this is an add-on panel kit that removes the cab back, remounts it at the end of a longer roof panel to act as the tailgate, and adds a second-row seat. The result is a two-door wagon with a square roofline—a body style essentially lost to U.S. buyers. The cost is $5,000 higher, at $29,950.
The third version is the “Fastback”, a more sloping version of the Squareback idea that resembles the International Scout ‘Sportop’ accessory shell. The Fastback adds $7,000 to the Blank Slate, taking it to $31,950.
* The big asterisk on those prices
Slate confirmed that all three versions, built in the factory, will be available at launch for reservation holders to choose. Earlier, the company said the two SUV body styles would be available as flat-pack kits that could be shipped directly to owners who want to modify their pickups as a DIY project. (Auto enthusiast site The Autopian has suggested two further Slate alternatives: an extended cab back and a convertible pickup.)
Here’s the caveat on the prices above, however: They do not include the Destination or Delivery fee that every maker adds on top of the Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price, or MSRP. Those fees can range from $1,150 to more than $3,000. Slate told Charged it will reveal that fee closer to the time of its first deliveries.
But if it goes with the lowest $1,150 now on the market, the cost of a Blank Slate (before taxes and registration) would be $26,100. Could the company keep it down to, say, $995, so the price would be $25,945? We’ll have to wait and see.
The pricing and the two-door cab remains a bold gamble in small trucks. “Slate is making a $25,000 bet that drivers still want something simple,” said Ivan Drury, director of insights at auto-data firm Edmunds. “Our data show the market quietly walked away from that price years ago, so this is a real test of how much affordability still matters to today’s buyers.”
Powertrain, charging
All Slates will be powered by a rear-mounted motor producing 135 kilowatts (181 horsepower) and torque of 264 Nm (195 lb-ft). The company quotes a 0-to-60-mph acceleration time of 8.0 seconds, respectable if hardly Tesla Plaid performance.
The motor is powered by a 65 kilowatt-hour battery pack (63 kWh usable) that uses lithium-iron-phosphate cells supplied by Gotion, in packs assembled in Illinois. The completed packs are then shipped to the company’s assembly plant in Warsaw, Illinois.
Slate estimates the range of the Blank Slate will be 205 miles. When it unveiled its early prototypes more than a year ago, Slate said it would offer two battery capacities: a standard-range pack for 150 miles of range, and an Extended Range version for 240 miles. Those packs would have used NMCA cells from SK-On. That plan has been tossed; only the single LFP pack, estimated at 205 miles, will be offered.
Charging is done through a NACS port on the left-rear fender, with an onboard 11-kW AC charger that can take the pack from 20 to 100 percent in 4 hours. (LFP cells should regularly be charged to 100 percent, unlike NMCA chemistries, generally recommended to charge only to 80 percent where possible.) Slate’s fast charging isn’t the fastest we’ve seen, at up to 120 kW; recharging the pack from 20 to 80 percent will take 30 minutes.
Truck stuff stats
It’s a compact pickup, so the Slate is never going to tow an Airstream. But it’s rated to tow 2,000 pounds, meaning one or two riding mowers or motorcycles or jet skis or quad ATVs (depending on the trailer weight). Payload capacity is 1,550 pounds. Curb weight is 4,050 pounds for the pickup truck, which rises to 4,335 lbs for the two SUV models.
The pickup bed length is 5 feet (60.5 inches), which rises to 80.7 inches with the tailgate down. Every Slate has a front trunk holding 7 cubic feet, and the SUV models can hold up to 34 cubic feet behind the rear seat, or 58.4 cu ft with the second row folded down. All Slates come with 17-inch steel wheels.
Customized, personalized, unique
If you believe the marketing, the Slate isn’t actually a truck at all. It’s an innovative, modular platform for customization. Over time, Slate expects the majority of buyers to make their trucks or SUVs unique by choosing accessories galore—starting with full-vehicle wraps under $500 for customers who don’t want a grey truck. More than 100 colors will be available at launch, the company promises.
The Slate Marketplace will open with more than 200 accessories—and more than 80 percent of them will cost less than $500 apiece. (This is, presumably, how a $25,000 truck becomes profitable.) They include useful interior items like cupholders, consoles, mobile-phone mounts, power windows, zip-on seat covers, and stereos. You can get a roof rack, or multiple dress-up items like light covers.
Slate provided airfare, lodging, and meals to enable Charged to bring you this first-person report.
Contrary to what the anti-EV crowd would like you to believe, EVs are no more likely to catch fire than other vehicles. However, it is true that lithium-ion battery fires require special treatment. Compromised battery packs can enter thermal runaway without warning, and reignite unexpectedly long after the original incident. Suppressing these fires can also require significant volumes of water, which can create environmental and cleanup concerns after the scene has been cleared.
Responders need a way to safely contain and transport a compromised EV after an incident, and that’s where Ramp Container’s new EV RESCUE recovery and containment platform comes in.
EV RESCUE uses liquid cryogen technology—inert gases that have been liquefied to achieve extremely low temperatures—to help operators manage thermal risk and reduce operational exposure throughout post-incident recovery and transport, from the moment a vehicle is loaded until its final disposition.
EV RESCUE is designed to help operators:
protect personnel during recovery operations
reduce equipment exposure to thermal and chemical risk
support safer transport of compromised vehicles
minimize roadway disruption
manage reignition risk
limit environmental impact from suppression runoff and post-incident handling
Ramp Container is engaging with transportation agencies, emergency response organizations, towing operators and municipal partners to demonstrate EV RESCUE and discuss deployment opportunities.
“Battery incidents don’t end when the visible flames are extinguished,” said a Ramp Container spokesperson. “Recovery teams need practical, purpose-built tools that let them move a compromised vehicle safely, efficiently and with operational control, rather than simply hoping the danger has passed.”
