Bidirectional charging and the vehicle-to-home and vehicle-to-grid applications it enables (collectively known as V2X) have the potential to turbocharge the EV industry, both by providing valuable features for drivers and by making EVs into an asset for the electrical grid.
At the moment, V2X is being used at commercial scale only in certain applications—mostly in “ideal use cases” such as electric school buses. Industry observers differ over how important residential V2X will eventually turn out to be.
Tracy K. Price is the founder and CEO of Qmerit, a provider of electrification services that handles EV charging installation jobs of all shapes and sizes out of over 3,000 locations in North America. In a recent interview, Price told Charged that he sees great potential for residential V2X applications.
“Bidirectional charging for the consumer, once they figure out what the legitimate clearing price is for those electrons, will be great because utilities want to sell electricity, they don’t want to buy it,” Price told Charged. “Right now, they’re buying it for a very low price—what they’ve locked in with some of the recent legislation for solar net metering—but realistically, the value of that managed charging capability or distributed energy resources is higher than the current market price.”
The value of that managed charging capability or distributed energy resources is higher than the current market price.
“Once this happens at scale, the consumer’s going to be in a better position to offset the cost of these systems. Commercial buildings will be as well. I think the utilities are going to have to raise the prices that they’re willing to pay, and there’ll be all kinds of people being aggregators and organizers—it should be an interesting market.”
We asked Price if his company is already installing residential bidirectional EV systems. “We have done early installations for some Ford F-150 customers,” he said. “One in particular is [EV expert and prolific writer] Tom Moloughney. We just did Tom’s house, and he’s got the full cradle-to-grave F-150 bidirectional system, including whole-home backup. We brought in a 400-amp service and split it into two 200-amp panels. One of the 200-amp panels is backed up by the generator. The other one is connected to the whole-home backup.”
Virtually every car company we talk to has some aspirational desire to be a whole-home backup provider.
“We work with GM, Ford and Lucid, and virtually every car company we talk to has some aspirational desire to be a whole-home backup provider,” Price continues. “There are some great models and pilots that have been done. It’s really cool when you can have a fleet of Nissan LEAFs show up to a building and offset the demand charges to pay for the vehicles and the fuel. That’s a great model.”
So far, only a few companies are offering bidirectional EV chargers, but Price believes there will soon be a decent selection of bidirectional chargers for people to buy. “Today, there’s some EV charger manufacturers that are offering bidirectional chargers. There are some auto OEMs: Ford’s the most recognizable, but Lucid has made their announcement, and GM’s made their announcement. A ton of the auto OEMs and the EVSE companies have either announced or have a bidirectional product coming to market.”
Tesla’s founders set out to sell “not just the best electric cars, but the best cars.” In several markets around the world, the company’s EVs have now become the best-selling cars.
In Q2 of this year, Tesla had the two best-selling cars in California by a wide margin, helping to push the market share of battery-electric vehicles to a record 21% in the state.
According to the California New Car Dealers Association’s second-quarter 2023 California Auto Outlook report, Tesla had a record quarter in the Golden State.
The best-selling vehicle in Q2 was the Tesla Model Y, which sold 74,765 units through June 2023. In second place, the Tesla Model 3 which sold 41,718. In the number-three spot was the Toyota Camry with 27,169 sales, followed by the Toyota RAV4 with 26,032.
As Tesla’s sales soared by 62% compared to Q2 2022, Toyota’s shrank by 8%. The result: for the first time ever, Tesla was the best-selling brand in California, edging out long-time front-runner Toyota. Tesla sold 69,212 cars in the quarter, while Toyota shifted 67,482.
Is this significant? Well, Toyota, maker of the Prius, has been the top-selling brand in climate-conscious California for many years. To be bested by a 20-year-old company that sells only four models highlights how far the world’s second-largest automaker has fallen behind.
“If that doesn’t light a fire under Toyota’s ass, I don’t know what will,” quipped Electrek’s Fred Lambert.
Traveling in Europe (and nearby countries) these days is in some ways like traveling to the future. London has been an electrification leader for some years, and the streetscape this summer looks much more electric than it did on my last visit 4 years ago.
I saw no evidence of the “hollowing out” of downtown districts that has hit many US cities in the wake of the work-from-home trend. Office towers in The City and Docklands may be struggling with low occupancy rates, but London’s shopping and nightlife hotspots remain as jam-packed as ever.
Oxford Street is a long string of department stores with a massive transport artery (buses, taxis and pedicabs only) running down the middle. While waiting for my wife and sister-in-law to finish shopping, I made an informal survey of London bus powertrains. On these particular routes, hybrid, hydrogen, battery-electric and old-fashioned stinkpot buses were running, in roughly equal proportions.
London has been deploying electric buses since at least 2015. While the ambitious objectives set at that time weren’t met, the city has made great strides in electrifying its enormous fleet. According to an audit from March 2023, there are 3,835 hybrid buses, 950 battery-electric buses, and 20 hydrogen fuel cell buses, out of a total bus fleet of 8,643. That makes around 56% of the bus fleet zero-emission, and 100% of the fleet meets Euro VI emission standards.
After observing the seedy entertainment centers of Soho, we took an Uber to a jazz club. Our driver, a young Turkish gentleman, told us he loves his Hyundai Ioniq. His previous car was a Kia Niro EV, and he was quite knowledgeable about EVs. His Ioniq has a range slightly over 200 miles, which he said was plenty for a day of stop-and-go city driving. When he gets home at night, he plugs into a lamppost charger for a slow charge, and his battery is topped up the next morning. A nightly charge costs him about 10 pounds. (Driving 200 miles on petrol would cost around 32 pounds, or $40, at current prices.)
The petrol savings are just part of the story. In addition to its Congestion Zone, London now has an Ultra-low Emissions Zone (ULEZ), in which carbon-emitting vehicles are subject to fees. EVs are exempt from both the Congestion Zone and ULEZ fees, which add up to 27.50 quid ($34) per day.
The massive cost savings explain why a large and rapidly growing proportion of the city’s taxis and rideshare vehicles are electric. London’s iconic black cabs started their journey to electrification in 2016, and now plug-in cabs outnumber old-fashioned diesel taxis on the capital’s streets.
The London EV Company (LEVC), a subsidiary of Chinese automaker Geely, makes a plug-in hybrid taxi called the TX5. The LEVC TX offers 78 miles of electric range. It features a 33 kWh LG Chem battery pack and a 110 kW (148 hp) electric motor that drives the rear wheels. The TX drives in electric mode all the time, and the battery is recharged by an 81 hp 1.5-liter three-cylinder petrol engine.
LEVC started selling the TX in 2018, and it now represents more than 40 percent of all the black cabs in London—around 6,000 ply the city’s streets, squares, terraces, crescents, courts, circuses and closes. (The TX also is also in operation in Germany and Israel.)
Private EVs are also common in London—I saw loads of Teslas, more than a few Ford Mustang Mach-Es, and loads of Hyundais and Kias. At first, Londoners were a little slow to embrace EVs, due to the Plight of the Drivewayless. As in many dense cities, many car owners have no driveways, or even assigned parking spaces—they park on the street, and have no possibility of installing home chargers. For several years, the city was a laboratory for urban charging solutions—some clever, some charmingly low-tech, and some, frankly, crazy. The solution (as drivers in Oslo and Amsterdam have also learned) turned out to be quite simple—lots and lots of curbside chargers. Street chargers of all brands and form factors are to be seen all over the city. Many are installed in lampposts—an ingenious solution that minimizes sidewalk clutter and takes advantage of existing electrical service. One DC fast charger on a quiet side street provided an object lesson in the importance of proper siting—yobs had ripped out the cables for the copper, and vandalized the cabinet for good measure.
Whatever you may think about Boris and the rest of the crew who brought us Brexit, it can’t be denied that on their watch, London has made great strides in transit electrification (other parts of The Isles are less charged). Londoners have lots of green transit options, from EVs to bike lanes to the city’s sprawling, modern public transport networks. Alas, the positive momentum may not last. On the same day that the UK reported its hottest June in history, the Tory government revealed plans to zero out the UK’s planned funding for global climate programs. As the country tries to deal with some unfortunate economic realities, EV-friendly domestic programs may soon face the budget ax as well.
The increase in demand for EV Batteries has already permanently transformed the car manufacturing landscape, with almost all major automotive companies now operating electric vehicle production lines.
While electric vehicles do have less moving parts than their internal combustion engine (ICE) counterparts, manufacturing them is still extremely complex. From stators and rotors, to intricate wiring harnesses, LMI is involved with many EV manufacturing applications. But the heart of an EV is its battery, and this is where machine vision solutions have become essential to market success.
EV Battery Manufacturing Overview
EV battery manufacturing can be broken up into 5 general steps: (1) electrode manufacturing, (2) cell assembly and packaging, (3) cell-to-module assembly, (4) module-to-pack assembly, and (5) final installation inspection.
Gocator 3D smart sensors and their built in, onboard measurement tools are used in every stage of this manufacturing process.
Let’s look at these applications individually.
Electrode Manufacturing
Electrode slurry is coated onto copper and aluminum foil to facilitate electric flow. The metal surface, separator, and coating must be inspected for edge defects as well as uniform shape and thickness.
During this step, Gocator sensors are used to ensure uniform shape and thickness of the electrode as the slurry is applied. Sensors are also used to measure the distance between tabs on a cell sheet. Tolerances are extremely small for these applications so high resolution and small field of view sensors are used.
Smart 3D sensors are used for different tasks at this phase of inspection including:
Electrode Width Gauging – Accurate width gauging of the dimensions of the separator and electrode.
Electrode Edge Profile Measurement – High-speed profiling of the edges of coated electrode sheets to ensure the correct dimensional tolerances are met.
Tab Distance Gauging – Scanning and measurement of the distance between tabs on a cell sheet to meet dimensional tolerances.
Cell Assembly and Packaging
A separator and electrode are joined together, and the joined cell (including anode and cathode) is either wound, rolled, or stacked. Stacked cells are then housed in a metal casing and sealed by welding.
Two of the most common cell types used in electric vehicles are cylindrical and prismatic. Cylindrical cells are packed together into groups and scanned for presence/absence, correct position and dimensions, as as well as for potential surface defects such as any dents or scratches on the cell top. Only 3D provides the shape (height) data required to inspect battery surface features and dimensions for defects such as bulges, fissures, warps, and more.
Prior to welding, a Gocator® or multisensor network delivers high-speed 3D laser profiling and a built-in tool to measure the gap & flush between the prismatic battery cell and its metal casing. After welding, they are inspected again to ensure that the weld seam is uniform and within tolerances.
The surface of the battery cell needs to be inspected for correct dimensions and to detect defects of the face, edges, and corners. It is also worth noting that smart 3D sensors like Gocator come with blue laser model options. The shorter-wavelength blue light generates higher-quality scan data (i.e., less noisy) on highly specular battery surfaces such as polished metal.
Cell-to-Module Assembly
Once the individual battery cells are inspected for quality control, a set number of them are precisely grouped together to form a battery module. An example application for module inspection is for sensors to measure and inspect the weld seams of each module.
Gocator 2500 series laser profiler scanning prismatic EV battery module
Module-to-Pack Assembly
Modules are then combined to form battery packs. Gocator sensors are used at the final stage of the process, combining modules into a single battery pack, ready to be installed into a new electric vehicle. It is necessary to measure and inspect its length, width, height, and flatness of each surface to ensure that all dimensions are matching the GD&T design tolerances.
Final Installation Inspection
In electric vehicles, a large tray/pan sits underneath the floor panel. The lithium-ion battery pack is glued to this tray. Gocator sensors are used at this final stage to inspect the glue bead application for correct dimensions (height, volume, width, length) and surface quality (breaks, gaps, overflow etc.).
Choosing the Right 3D Sensor for Your EV Battery Application
LMI Technologies offers a range of laser profile sensors that can handle any EV battery inspection application. For example, the Gocator 2500 Series offers ultra high-speed blue laser profiling for high-performance inspection of shiny EV battery surfaces. Or when even greater measurement precision is required, engineers can deploy the Gocator 2600 Series in their production lines for powerful ultra high-resolution 4K+ profiling.
Combine Smart 3D Scanning with AI-Based Inspection
In addition to its suite of high-speed, high-resolution 3D smart sensors for EV battery scanning (with web browser interface and onboard software), LMI Technologies also provides inspection engineers with the option to add powerful FactorySmart AI-based inspection to their EV Battery production lines for the most complete end-to-end solution on the market today.
For example, in EV battery array inspection, engineers can deploy a set of tightly integrated LMI products from sensor hardware to edge devices and human-machine interface (HMI) in order to solve the application with maximum performance and cost-efficiency.
An example of this solution might include:
2x Gocator 2600 laser profilers for 4K+ high-resolution 3D point cloud generation of the EV battery array
2x GoMax NX edge devices for sensor acceleration and powerful AI-based surface defect detection
GoFactory interface for data management (performance monitoring, telemetry dashboarding, configurable alerts)
Conclusion
EV battery production continues to grow rapidly around the world. LMI is not only supporting the current industry, but actively developing next generation sensors specifically designed to meet future battery production needs.
ABC Companies, a provider of motorcoach, transit and specialty passenger transport equipment, together with commercial EV specialist Proterra, has announced the opening of a large electric motorcoach charging facility in Newark, California.
The charging facility, which was jointly developed by ABC, Proterra and local utility Pacific Gas & Electric, is equipped to charge up to 40 electric motorcoaches with 20 dual-cable EV charging dispensers, and can support up to 1.4 megawatts of EV charging power. The facility will support Van Hool electric motorcoaches, which are powered by Proterra’s battery technology.
ABC Companies’ Fleet Electrification Services offers EVs ranging from 8-passenger vans to 75-passenger 45-foot double deck motorcoaches, along with charging equipment.
“As the largest passenger motorcoach dealer in North America, we are going beyond selling and supporting these vehicles, as we educate, demonstrate, and invest in zero-emissions commercial transportation,” said Roman Cornell, CEO of ABC Companies. “In under 2 years, over 20% of our motorcoach sales are now battery-electric vehicles. However, the rapid growth in our commercial EV sales requires a corresponding charging infrastructure capable of handling the size and power requirements of these vehicles.”
Proterra Energy provides fleet operators with a comprehensive set of EV charging solutions—a team of electrification experts strives to recommend the ideal fleet charging solution for each project, optimized for usability, physical footprint, power or cost, depending on each customer’s priorities.
PG&E’s EV Fleet program is designed to help medium- and heavy-duty fleet customers easily and cost-effectively install charging infrastructure via comprehensive construction support and financial incentives. To date, the EV Fleet program has contracted with more than 180 sites to support the electrification of over 3,700 medium- and heavy-duty vehicles in PG&E’s service territory.
“This project aligns with our core focus of proactively preparing the grid for the future, increasing access to charging infrastructure, and supporting electric transportation adoption through rates, rebates, tools, and education,” said Lydia Krefta, PG&E’s Director for Clean Energy Transportation.
A lot of folks were doubtless still digesting the details of Tesla’s near-takeover of the North American public EV charging scene—and along comes another blockbuster development on the infrastructure front.
Seven of the world’s major automakers—GM, Stellantis, BMW, Mercedes, Hyundai, Kia and (oddly enough) Honda—have announced plans to form a joint venture to build a new North American fast charging network in the US and Canada with at least 30,000 chargers. The first stations are expected to open in the summer of 2024.
This is a very big deal. According to the DOE, there are currently about 32,000 publicly available DC fast chargers in the US. Tesla, North America’s largest fast charging provider, operates around 22,000 Supercharger stalls. Electrify America, the next largest, has 3,592 units.
As astute readers may have gathered, some of us at Charged didn’t whole-heartedly join in the near-industry-wide jubilation at Tesla’s recent triumphs. We feared it might not be wise to give so much control over the public charging experience to any one company—especially one with a poor record of meeting deadlines and a grandstanding CEO.
Well, if this new charging initiative pans out as advertised, I think we’ll have to mark those concerns as answered. We’ll get plenty of new state-of-the-art chargers, all open to all EV drivers, and no one automaker will be king of the charging hill.
The new network appears to tick all the boxes, at least going by what the magnificent seven have told us so far (hedged with the usual weaselly “expected to” and “intended to” phrases).
The new charging stations will support both CCS and Tesla’s NACS, and are “expected to meet or exceed the spirit and requirements of the US National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program.” Each site will be equipped with multiple high-powered DC chargers (350 kW for a starter), powered by renewable energy. Stations will offer all the expected amenities (canopies, restrooms, restaurants and shops). The network will use Plug & Charge technology, and will be integrated with participating automakers’ in-vehicle and in-app experiences.
Each of the seven CEOs made the sort of statement you’d expect: carbon emissions are bad, charging is critical, they’re proud to be involved. Two of them were fairly eloquent:
“What we need now is speed—across political, social and corporate boundaries,” said Mercedes-Benz Group CEO Ola Källenius. “To accelerate the shift to electric vehicles, we’re in favor of anything that makes life easier for our customers.”
“A strong charging network should be available for all—under the same conditions—and be built together with a win-win spirit,” said Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares.
As usual, several questions remain unanswered. The companies did provide a few more details to Green Car Reports.
What will the new network be called? Probably something silly, but who cares?
Will it support Tesla’s NACS V4? 800-volt architecture? Probably—GM and Mercedes are among the automakers that plan to add Tesla’s NACS port to their vehicles.
How much investment are we talking about? The automakers plan to leverage both public and private funds, and are open to investment from other automakers or other companies in or out of the auto industry. Considering that a typical fast charger can cost in the neighborhood of $100,000, industry execs told Reuters that the JV’s budget will likely run into multiple billions. “The investment will be far less through this partnership than building individual charging networks,” said Akshay Singh, a partner at consultancy PwC Strategy.
GM and Mercedes have both already announced significant investments in North American fast charging networks—are these plans affected? No. GM said the new venture “won’t change GM’s existing commitments or collaborations.”
Is there an antitrust issue? Andre Barlow, an antitrust attorney with Doyle, Barlow and Mazard, told Reuters that the Justice Department would likely review the deal. However, the White House has already issued a strong statement of support.
When it comes to building power systems, the half bridge switch topology is king. But as they say, the devils in the details.
In this whitepaper, we’ll dig into the challenges of designing high-performance half bridges for electric vehicles where it’s imperative to squeeze every drop of performance from a design. Specifically, we’ll address the power supply portion of the design where some novel improvements can go a long way in addressing challenges like radiated emissions, developing a compact and high-voltage layout, and safely driving new SiC devices at higher switching speeds.
Leoni, a supplier of wiring systems, has jointly designed a wiring system with an automotive manufacturer to allow the automated production of cable sub-harnesses, such as for bumpers.
Leoni’s zonal architectures enable automotive manufacturers to reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO) of wiring systems and to reorganize production processes and supply chains. A zonal architecture divides the wiring system into zones, in which a zone controller will independently perform sub-tasks such as power distribution or data management to and from the sensors and actuators.
Within a few years, the first zonal architecture (zonal approach 1.0) will be mass-produced. Leoni is developing intelligent concepts and systems for the production of small, and later larger, cable harnesses. Initial analyses from current projects show that zonal architecture could decrease the weight of wire harnesses by 10%, the company said.
“Even in the development phase, the unavoidable short-term changes can be integrated more easily and thus more quickly into the overall architecture,” said Walter Glück, CTO of Leoni’s WSD Wiring Systems Division. “The same applies to model maintenance measures and ongoing development of the wiring system architecture in the event of a model change.”
Medium-duty commercial EV manufacturer Lightning eMotors has started the production of its next-generation GM-based Lightning ZEV4 work trucks.
Lightning is offering the ZEV4 for several vehicle applications, including box trucks, stake bed trucks, utility trucks, dump bed trucks and daily work/landscaping trucks, in addition to cargo delivery vehicles, shuttle buses, school buses and more.
The versatile Lightning ZEV4 model is equipped with 120 kWh batteries located within the frame rails, delivering 241 horsepower, 790 pound-feet of torque and a range of up to 130 miles, as well as improved weight distribution for better handling and improved safety, says the company. The Lightning ZEV4 is capable of Level 2 AC and 80 kW DC fast charging.
In addition, Lightning’s ZEV4 platform is compatible with a variety of bodies from manufacturers, including Knapheide, Rockport Trucks, Brown Industries and Morgan Corporation. At current production volumes, ZEV4 work trucks are typically available for delivery four-to-six months from the order date.
“There has never been a better time for Class 4 work truck operators to upgrade their fleets to zero-emission vehicle technology,” said Lightning eMotors CRO Kash Sethi. “Aggressive funding programs—many of which can be stacked to optimize both purchase subsidies and tax incentives—combined with advanced data tracking and insights capabilities of our GM-based Lightning ZEV4 create an exciting environment for operators to act.”
Marelli has launched a new thermal management system for EVs, which combines the different thermal circuits in the vehicle to increase efficiency.
Marelli’s integrated Thermal Management Module (iTMM) modularizes water-cooled heat exchangers like the chiller or condenser with a smart valve arrangement that controls up to 6 channel combinations, unlike single-function heat exchangers. The iTMM integrates the three systems, using their synergies and sharing components, to optimize energy management using this combined valve. The iTMM’s efficiency in severe weather and low temperatures increases the vehicle’s driving range by 20% when coupled with a heat pump system in winter, the company said. The module also meets market demand for ultra-fast charging through pre-conditioning and OBD (on-board diagnostics) standards.
Alongside this technology, Marelli’s Thermal Solutions division has developed a full range of thermal systems for both internal combustion engines and electric powertrains, allowing the control and balance of thermal energy.
German automaker Opel has announced that its subcompact Crossland SUV will be offered with an all-electric drive in 2024, meaning that every product in Opel’s portfolio will be available as an EV as early as next year.
The range of Opel EVs currently consists of the Rocks Electric quadricycle; the Combo-e Life and the Zafira-e Life vans; and the Corsa, Mokka and Astra EVs. Aside from the upcoming Crossland, these will be joined by the new compact Grandland SUV next year.
Opel also offers EV versions of its entire commercial vehicle portfolio, which includes the Rocks Electric Kargo, Combo-e, Vivaro-e and Movano-e. The portfolio of Opel electrified vehicles also features a range of hybrids, including models from the company’s sub-brand GSe: the Astra GSe, the Astra Sports Tourer GSe and the Grandland GSe. Opel will offer 15 electrified models by the end of this year, and says it is committed to offering a fully electric product portfolio in Europe by 2028.
Ample, which currently operates battery swapping stations in San Francisco, is now working with Mitsubishi Fuso (of which Daimler Truck is the majority owner), to build a battery-swapping system for electric last-mile-delivery fleets.
“Our partnership will deliver Mitsubishi Fuso electric trucks powered by Ample’s Modular Battery Swapping technology,” says Ample. “The initial deployment will leverage Mitsubishi Fuso’s latest all-electric FUSO eCanter starting this winter in Japan.”
Ample says its swapping stations will offer a “gas-station-like experience” that enables electric trucks to install a fully-charged battery in 5 minutes, ensuring maximum on-the-road utilization of the vehicle. Trucks can even be loaded and unloaded during a battery swap.
The other shoe has dropped on GM’s decision to take its only volume EV model out of production: a revised Bolt using the new Ultium battery is coming.
General Motors CEO Mary Barra said this morning an updated Chevrolet Bolt EV will come to market “on an accelerated timeline,” with new Ultium battery cells replacing the LG Chem design used in the current model. In April, GM said the Bolt would go out of production by the end of this year.
The announcement of the updated Bolt came during GM’s second-quarter earnings call, on which Barra was questioned about the slow rollout of the company’s long-awaited volume EV lineup: Chevrolet Silverado EV full-size pickup truck, Chevy Blazer EV mid-size SUV, and Equinox EV small SUV. Those vehicles, along with the GMC Hummer EV and Cadillac Lyriq, rely on production of new Ultium battery cells from three new plants in Warren, Ohio; Spring Hill, Tennessee; and Flint, Michigan.
GM had expected production of those Ultium cells to ramp up much faster, Barra said. She cited delays in battery-pack production owing to delays by an “automation supplier,” but provided no further specifics.
Update, not a clean-sheet design
“We will keep the [EV] momentum going by delivering a new Bolt,” said Barra. “And we will execute it more quickly [than] an all-new program, with significantly lower engineering expense and capital investment, by updating the vehicle with Ultium and Ultifi technologies and by applying our ‘winning with simplicity’ discipline.”
Few other details are known about the next-generation Bolt EV. GM said only, “Timing and specific details about the next-generation Bolt will be announced at a later date.” A possible clue to a new design may come in a rendering posted on the GM Design Instagram feed late in April. The caption noted the “unique proportions and surfacing” of the sketch by Logan Phillips.
How GM fits its Ultium cells into a vehicle that may use some or much of the current Bolt’s understructure remains to be seen. The rectangular Ultium cells used in North America appear too wide to install them in the two parallel rows seen in the Equinox and Blazer EVs. GM has long touted the flexibility of its Ultium cells, however, which can be packaged into modules of different shapes for everything from low passenger and sports cars to tall full-size trucks and SUVs.
“With GM struggling to scale-up its next-generation EV offerings, course-correcting and not ending the Bolt’s future—which has achieved a sort of cult-classic status—is a smart step,” said Corey Cantor, senior associate for EVs at Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
Bolt just hitting its stride
A new Bolt makes increasing sense given that the current models—one now in its seventh model year—are having their best year to date. In May 2021, GM rolled out its larger Bolt EUV version and recast the pair of Bolt hatchbacks as EV value entries. But within weeks, it had to stop sales due to roughly a dozen Bolt battery fires. Those ultimately led to a recall of tens of thousands of vehicles to replace their packs, for which LG Energy Solutions ultimately reimbursed GM the cost of $1.9 billion.
2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUV
This year, though, GM noted that first-half sales of Bolt EV and Bolt EUV have been the strongest since the first deliveries of Bolt EVs in December 2016. From January through June alone, Chevrolet delivered 33,659 Bolts—against 38,000 for all of last year. That first-half total compares to 2,316 Lyriqs and a mere 49 Hummer EVs (a vehicle going through its own battery recall).
In other words, the Bolts made up the bulk of GM’s EV sales for the first half of the year during which the Ultium models were going to hit the market. On the call, Barra confirmed the company’s goal of 50,000 EVs built (not sold) in the first half, plus a further 100,000 from July to December.
Barra first telegraphed a new Ultium-basedBolt during a radio interview in June. It makes considerable sense: It’s the company’s best-known EV nameplate, especially now it’s no longer confused in showrooms with the discontinued Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid. And with Chevrolet now entirely an SUV and truck brand (excepting the largely ignored Malibu mid-size sedan), the Bolt was the only way Chevy could bring new customers into the brand. “Nearly 70 percent of buyers who are trading in a vehicle for [a] Bolt are trading in a non-GM product,” the company said—and 80 percent of them plan to stay loyal to Chevy.
Low-cost competition from China?
Plans for an updated Bolt may also have been spurred by the appearance of the 2025 Volvo EX30 subcompact SUV. The 268-hp rear-drive model of the EX30 sports a premium brand, a claimed range of 275 miles—and a starting price of $36,145. Note that number includes the 27.5-percent U.S. import duty levied on any vehicle built in China (Sweden’s Volvo is owned by China’s Geely).
While GM has promised a “$30,000 Equinox EV” at some point in the future, it’s not likely to appear immediately. Slotting in a redesign Bolt below the Equinox EV lets Chevy continue to offer an “entry level” EV with a starting price akin to the current model’s, currently $27,800.
“It’s no surprise that GM is planning on keeping the Bolt EV alive,” said Jessica Caldwell, executive director of insights at Edmunds. “Barra’s move recognizes the fact that EV prices must move downward in order to encourage mass adoption. Middle-income Americans currently face not only high vehicle costs but also high interest rates. While there is currently a robust selection of EVs at high prices, there are far fewer choices at the lower end—the market niche the relaunched Bolt will fill.”
BNEF’s Cantor stressed EV affordability as well. “In a few short years, the U.S. will see a more competitive EV market in the below-$35,000 price range—from vehicles including Tesla’s next-generation EV and Volvo’s EX30. The Bolt, if upgraded properly, gets a head start from its existing brand name and lets GM occupy an important space in the burgeoning entry-level EV market.”
But, Cantor warned, “The questions remaining are less about the potential for a next-generation Bolt and more about GM’s ability to scale its Ultium platform. This announcement shows GM recognizes the potential space its new EVs should occupy, but does nothing to alleviate the battery-related challenges the company continues to face.”
British-American hydrogen aircraft manufacturer ZeroAvia has identified applications for hydrogen-electric, zero-emission propulsion for regional jet aircraft.
The hydrogen-electric CRJ aircraft would be equipped with two ZeroAvia regional jet engines (derivatives of the ZA2000 engine class) to match the existing performance, and ZeroAvia analysis suggests it could support up to 60 passengers with a range of up to 560 nautical miles, covering more than 80% of current flights.
The company has also identified an initial entry point for a CRJ 700 retrofit with ZeroAvia’s ZA 2000RJ powertrain, confirming the maximum takeoff weight, center of gravity and structural allowance. The results come from a technical study conducted alongside Type Certificate holder MHIRJ over the last year.
The study also identified opportunities for onboard hydrogen fuel storage and powertrain integration to ensure the preservation of aircraft aerodynamics. The technical assessment found that the loss of turbine core thrust could be overcome within the constraints of the original airframe with increased fan diameter, while further efficiency gains were possible by adopting novel propulsor technologies such as geared, ducted electric fan or open rotor designs.
The assumptions based on the Phase 1 study included HTPEM fuel cell system-specific power of 2.4 kW/kg. ZeroAvia has already achieved 2.5 kW/kg at the cell level of its HTPEM stacks and plans to deliver 3 kW/kg system-level specific power within two years.
ZeroAvia’s prototype ZA2000 hydrogen-electric system for 40-80 seat regional turboprop aircraft will soon be tested aboard a 76-seat Dash 8-400, with a target of certifying the technology for use as early as 2027.
“There is some payload and range compromise, but this technical study confirms a viable propulsion architecture and integration which could be transformational,” said Val Miftakhov, CEO of ZeroAvia. “Before the end of the decade, airlines could be flying zero-emission jets.”
The electric vehicle market is growing rapidly and so is the demand for the critical electronic components within the EV systems, drivetrain electrification, and sensors. COINING can meet and support any design in metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) and insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs). MOSFETs are electronic devices used to switch or amplify voltages in circuits. IGBTs are suitable for high-voltage, high-current applications and are designed to drive high-power applications with a low-power input.
In the journey to enhance reliability, through thermal management, and increase efficiency in converters and inverters, it is crucial to utilize high-performance components. COINING’s range of solder preforms, bond pads, copper clips, bonding wire and ribbon play a vital role in the electric vehicle’s entire system. By incorporating COINING’s high-performance micro components, superior thermal management is achieved, resulting in improved power performance. Additionally, these electronic solutions offer cost reduction benefits and minimize process variability, contributing to overall system optimization and enhanced reliability.
COINING’s high-performance engineered materials are optimized for the challenges of electric vehicle applications. Our elaborate selection of engineered alloys will enhance the overall performance of the assembly process by increasing the production yield and lowering the defect rate. EV designs will benefit from the superior heat dissipation characteristics achieved by using optimized alloys. COINING offers hundreds of alloys and is flexible with customization utilizing our integrated manufacturing from melting to final packaging of stamped components. The Coining alloy selection chart can help narrow the search to specific alloys or identify needs for customized products.
This whitepaper provides an overview of the significance of high-power electronic components in battery systems, focusing on charge ports: power supply AC/DC DC/AC, MOSFET and IGBT. The whitepaper showcases COINING’s EV components and how they impact reliability, thermal management, and overall enhanced performance.
When it comes to EVs, the mainstream press displays a curious mix of skepticism and credulousness (disasters and miracles generate clicks, but slow, steady progress does not).
A recent announcement from Toyota concerning solid-state batteries got the world’s media all excited about a big boost for battery-electric cars. (A search for “EV Holy Grail” will turn up most of the relevant articles.)
“Toyota says solid-state battery breakthrough can halve cost and size,” fulminated The Financial Times. (A couple of days later, the FT walked back on Toyota’s “hope and hype,” having realized that the company has seen its timetables “pushed back again and again.”)
“Toyota says it has made a technological breakthrough that will allow it to halve the weight, size and cost of batteries,” gushed The Guardian. (A few weeks ago, the paper was forced to revise an anti-EV screed after it turned out to be riddled with misleading statements and falsehoods.)
Yes, solid-state batteries (SSBs) represent a major advance over current Li-ion technology—they’re expected to be safer and more energy-dense, and to offer faster charging. And yes, Toyota has been working on SSBs for a long time. The much-heralded breakthrough appears to be a new way to simplify the production of SSBs. Toyota now expects to be able to manufacture an SSB for use in EVs as soon as 2027.
However, those of us who’ve been following the EV field for years know that Toyota has been touting breakthroughs in SSBs for years. (We also know that Toyota is a laggard in the electrification race, and that it continues to spread misinformation and to actively lobby against e-mobility.)
EV journalist John Voelcker’s take on the latest big news: “I have press clippings of Toyota promises on solid-state battery technology that now date back seven years. In 2017, Toyota said it could be producing cars with solid-state battery packs by 2020. We are now in 2023, and it is now offering the same 3- to 5-year timetable. Ahem.”
In 2020, Toyota predicted that its “game-changing solid-state battery” would debut in 2021.
So, the latest announcement looks less like a grab at the Grail, and more like a reiteration of what Toyota’s been saying for years. Furthermore, Toyota is far from the only firm working on SSBs—in fact, it appears that others have beaten it to market. Chinese automaker Nio just announced plans to use SSBs in a production vehicle.
Toyota’s noise about SSBs strikes me as a typical brownie tactic. Here’s what Keiji Kaita, President of Toyota’s R&D Center for Carbon Neutrality, said about the recent so-called breakthrough: “For both our liquid and our solid-state batteries, we are aiming to drastically change the situation where current batteries are too big, heavy and expensive.”
In other words: “Current EVs stink, so don’t buy one—wait until we’ve perfected this future miracle technology, which is (and will remain) only four years away.”
To remain relevant, Toyota will need to do more than catch up in the solid-state battery field. It will need a drastic change in its global strategy—and long before 2027.
Charging network Electrify America and ride-hailing company Lyft have announced an extended collaboration to offer Lyft EV drivers discounted charging at the more than 800 Electrify America DC fast charging stations across the country.
Using the Electrify America mobile app, Lyft Rewards drivers will receive a tiered discount as a loyalty benefit. Drivers can also use the app to locate nearby charging stations and check charger availability.
“Upfront costs and access to affordable charging continue to be two of the biggest challenges drivers face when transitioning to electric vehicles,” said Erin Gray, Product Director at Lyft. “By teaming up with Electrify America, we’re attacking those barriers head-on.”
The Clark County School District in Nevada has ordered 15 GreenPower Type D BEAST electric school buses through vehicle dealership the RWC Group.
CCSD is the fifth-largest school district in the country, and it owns and operates some 1,924 buses that transport 125,000 students daily. The district put its first GreenPower Type D BEAST school bus into service earlier this year.
The new batch of 15 e-buses will be purchased using funding from the EPA’s Clean School Bus Program. Under Round 1 of the EPA funding, each Type D GreenPower BEAST is eligible for $375,000 in grant funding. The total purchase price of Clark County’s 15 BEASTs is a little under $7 million.
GreenPower’s BEAST is a purpose-built, 40-foot Type D all-electric school bus with seating for up to 90 passengers. The BEAST features an integrated chassis with an all-aluminum body, allowing for pass-through storage underneath the bus. The dual-port charging supports Level 2 rates up to 19.2 kW and DC fast charging rates up to 85 kW. Wireless charging is also available as an option.
“Clark County is an innovative and forward-thinking school district that leads the country in the transition to all-electric school buses,” said Michael Perez, GreenPower’s VP for School Bus, Contracts and Grants. “We are honored to have our purpose-built BEAST school buses as the foundation of Clark County’s transition.”
The Shell Recharge EV Driver Survey 2023, which assessed the attitudes and behaviors of nearly 25,000 EV drivers in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and the UK, found a reduction in range anxiety. Only 14% of EV drivers said they avoid longer trips.
The survey was commissioned by Shell and conducted by UK research and consulting company LCP Delta. The results suggest that accelerating EV adoption across several key European markets is having a positive effect on driver perceptions, including range anxiety.
The survey indicates that 42% of respondents have purchased an EV within the last year and 67% within the last two years.
The number reporting a good charging experience when driving to other European countries has risen by 5%. Reluctance to drive abroad due to charging or range concerns is down by 7% (for charging) and 5% (for range). Forty-seven percent of respondents said they do not need to charge daily.
One need revealed by the survey is for a streamlined mix of apps and cards to receive maximum value from EV services. Twenty-three percent of drivers reported having installed four management apps, and the same percentage use four or more charge cards to access public charging facilities. Even if it meant paying more per charge, 47% of respondents said they prefer a single method of accessing public charge points.
“It is encouraging to see that many of these drivers are feeling positive about the experience,” said Shell VP Florian Glattes. “However, the industry must listen to the needs of drivers and work together to effectively continue removing barriers and further enhance the customer experience.”
Imerys, a mineral solutions supplier, has bought an 80% share in British Lithium, a private firm that processes Cornish granite to produce battery-grade lithium carbonate.
Imerys contributes its lithium mineral resources, land and infrastructure for an 80% stake in the joint venture, whilst British Lithium brings its bespoke lithium processing technology, its technical team and its lithium pilot plant for the remaining 20%. Imerys’s land has 161 million tons of inferred resources at 0.54% lithium oxide concentration, promising a mine life of over 30 years. At a production rate of 20,000 tons of lithium carbonate equivalent per year, that could equip 500,000 EVs per year by the end of the decade, meeting roughly two-thirds of Britain’s estimated battery demand by 2030 when all UK car manufacturers convert to EVs.
“This venture will reduce the UK’s and Europe’s dependence on critical raw materials imports, thus contributing to the creation of the first fully integrated regional electrical vehicle value chain,” the company said.
Bollinger Motors has begun design validation pilot builds of its B4 electric Class 4 chassis cabs for testing and demonstration. Manufacturing of the pilot vehicles kicked off in partnership with Roush Industries at its facility in Livonia, Michigan. The first 5 completed chassis cabs are expected to roll out this summer, and at least 15 more are to be completed by the end of Q3 2023.
Bollinger will be offering demos of its initial pilot builds in September at Mcity, a demonstration and testing facility on the University of Michigan’s North Campus in Ann Arbor, for invited key prospects and partners. In preparation for that event, Bollinger has engaged multiple upfitting partners to prepare the chassis cabs for a variety of options to meet the needs of potential fleet customers.
“Our Class 4 Bollinger B4 truck was purpose-built for fleets, and it gives them unlimited upfit options,” said Chief Revenue Officer Jim Connelly. “Our nationwide service network will be announced soon.”
“Bollinger Motors has over eight years of experience in developing, producing, and testing electric trucks,” said CEO Robert Bollinger. “I’m excited to see our hard work come together in the B4 and to keep hitting our milestones.”
The Bollinger B4 will be eligible for a federal purchase incentive of 30% of the cost of the vehicle, up to a total of $40,000. Deliveries are expected to begin in July 2024.
Make informed design decisions early on by quantifying millions of architectures virtually
Architecture analysis, whether it is a powertrain architecture or a cooling system architecture, ensures that the system architectures are aligned with desired requirements and that all the possibilities are thoroughly explored. It is an essential aspect of Model-Based Systems Engineering, (MBSE), an approach where all requirements are captured and converted into a model showing the relationship between function and requirements. In this article, we will explore an architecture analysis technique with generative engineering within the realm of MBSE. We will also showcase a case study of cooling architecture analysis for electric vehicles (EVs) to demonstrate the practical application of these techniques.
The current state of the art in automotive architecture selection often involves a time-consuming and iterative process of evaluating and refining concepts based on past experiences and expert judgment. This process can be subjective, prone to biases, and limited by the knowledge and experiences of the individuals involved. It may also overlook certain trade-offs and system interactions that can significantly impact the overall performance and efficiency of the automotive architecture. As automotive systems become more complex, interconnected, and technologically advanced, there is a growing need for a more systematic and comprehensive approach to concept selection that goes beyond the limitations of the existing state of the art.
Generating ideas faster and bringing products to market more quickly
Generative engineering is an iterative design and engineering process that uses AI to generate outputs based on a set of criteria. It allows engineers to quickly iterate and select the best design options. It is particularly valuable for solving difficult problems, such as early architectural design explorations.
Generative Engineering in architecture exploration is complemented by trade-off simulation & analysis, which quantifies the benefits and drawbacks of architectural alternatives, leading to more informed design decisions. By creating virtual models and subjecting them to simulated scenarios, engineers can assess system performance and other key attributes. Simulations enable the evaluation of architectural alternatives under various conditions, providing a comprehensive understanding of system behavior.
Simcenter Studio software from Siemens offers generative engineering solutions that help manufacturers make a holistic assessment of alternative system architectures. A team of experts from multiple disciplines within your organization can work together to incorporate a broad range of requirements and tie them to simulation or test, to define a system model. From that central model, the software automatically explores every possible alternative system architecture, intelligently ranking and promoting them to ensure you make your selection from the best options available.
Generative engineering involves systematically generating and evaluating a wide range of architectural alternatives within predefined constraints. This approach encourages creativity and innovation by uncovering novel configurations that may not have been considered using traditional methods. Engineers can manually explore the design space or leverage automated algorithms to discover optimal designs.
Exploring alternative architecture analysis of cooling systems for an electric vehicle
Efficient cooling systems are vital to maintain optimal performance and prevent damage to sensitive components.
The vehicle architecture analysis of internal combustion engines often focuses on optimizing a single cooling objective, such as maintaining a specific temperature range for the engine. However, for an electrified vehicle, there are multiple components that need to be maintained at different temperatures. The cooling system now needs to serve many targets and objectives. The engine still needs to be maintained at 95 C° but the lithium-ion battery is at around 35 C° and the electric motor somewhere in the middle, around 65 C°. Embracing multi-objective optimization techniques allows engineers to consider additional objectives, such as minimizing energy consumption and reducing system complexity.
Using a model-based approach, engineers can create a virtual representation of the electric vehicle and its cooling system in a system simulation tool such as Simcenter Amesim. This model includes parameters such as ambient temperature, battery temperature, weight, and cost. By subjecting the model to various simulated driving scenarios, your engineers can evaluate different cooling architectures and assess their performance under different operating conditions.
Automatically evaluating EV cooling design alternatives
At its core, generative engineering starts by capturing the requirements and constraints of a specific problem or system. These requirements could include factors like performance goals, safety regulations, material limitations, or cost targets. By inputting these parameters into the generative engineering framework, engineers create a design space that can be systematically explored.
Basic generative engineering process workflow.
Using advanced algorithms, generative engineering generates a wide array of design alternatives that satisfy the specified requirements. These designs are often innovative and unconventional, stretching beyond the boundaries of what human designers might conceive. By exploring this vast design space, engineers can discover novel solutions that were previously unknown or unexplored.
Simcenter Studio’s use of AI in generative engineering allows Siemens to design the thermal cooling system architecture for the demonstrator electric vehicle, Simrod, which was optimized for power consumption, cost, and weight. This methodology leverages advanced algorithms and computational models to explore a vast design space and identify optimal solutions.
With generative engineering we created numerous designs that operated within specified temperature limits while delivering efficient performance. By considering three different temperature scenarios and two drive cycles, this process enables comprehensive evaluation and robustness analysis.
Through generative engineering, various design parameters such as heat exchanger configurations, coolant flow rates, and fan placements are systematically explored and iterated upon. The algorithms intelligently generate and evaluate numerous design alternatives, optimizing for power consumption, cost, and weight simultaneously.
The objective of the cooling system architecture design is to optimize power consumption while reducing weight and cost. Simultaneously, the design needs to keep the temperature of its components in an acceptable range.
The resulting thermal cooling system architecture for the Simrod was able to achieve a fine balance between thermal performance and resource efficiency. It offers enhanced cooling capabilities, ensuring temperature control under different conditions, while also minimizing power usage, reducing costs, and maintaining a lightweight profile. Generative engineering allowed our engineers to efficiently and effectively design an advanced thermal cooling system that met diverse requirements and outperformed traditional design approaches.
Summary of exploring architectural design options of an EV cooling system.
How to take maximum advantage of AI-driven generative engineering
Generative AI is an incredible technology, but it’s still just a technology. To take maximum advantage of it, companies need to rewire so they can rapidly develop solutions, improve their customer experience, accelerate innovation, and reduce costs.
In case you experience project backlogs or need simulation capability , you can partner with Simcenter Engineering and Consulting experts to meet your unique needs. The team brings critical expertise to your process with proven product design services that address your most critical development challenges.
In conclusion, alternative architecture analysis techniques offer valuable enhancements to traditional methods of feasibility analysis and architecture definition stage in Model-based System Engineering. Embracing generative engineering and system simulation can significantly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the architecture analysis process. By incorporating these approaches into the Model-Based Systems Engineering framework, engineers can optimize system performance, make informed design decisions, and ultimately create robust systems that successfully fulfill multiple objectives much early in the development process. These alternative techniques foster innovation and elevate the overall quality of system design.
Manufacturing flexibility is key to respond to ever changing customer demand. RapidLaunch is a globally supported control standard enabling manufacturers to launch vehicle programs in record time. Built for virtual design and commissioning using proven automotive specific architecture and network guidelines reduces risk and accelerates the use of new technologies and innovations. See what the future of automotive manufacturing looks like!
This webinar will be hosted by Charged and Rockwell Automation on Wednesday 30th August, 2023 at 11am US EDT and includes a presentation and live Q&A session.
US global safety science company UL Solutions has started construction of its North America Advanced Battery Laboratory in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Completion is expected by mid-2024.
The laboratory’s purpose is to facilitate shorter development cycles, faster times-to-market, and greater global competitiveness for EV and industrial battery OEMs and their suppliers. It will provide electrical, mechanical abuse, thermal fire propagation and environmental testing based on UL and IEC standards, UN goals and initiatives, and Society of Automotive Engineers and OEM specifications.
“We are pleased to welcome UL Solutions to Auburn Hills, where its new laboratory will help North American manufacturers bring safer products to market in the US and for export throughout North America,” said Auburn Hills Mayor Kevin McDaniel.
