EV influence beyond the auto world

Issue #187, Feb 12th, 2023

Electric mobility and its influence today extends beyond the automotive industry. Used electric vehicle (EV) batteries for example are used to store renewable energy and smoothen fluctuations in supply and demand in California's grid. Ford is looking at simplifying the goals and objectives for its employees after a disappointing quarter. Afterall, its traditional engine driven vehicle division is expected to fund the EV transition! Lithium sources in advanced stages of discovery could reduce the import load for India. Connectivity in cars has been touted as a source of revenue. But interoperability of data between car makers is a challenge. Volkswagen is looking at revamping its software strategy to accelerate EV adoption. Methanol is a green fuel option, needing significant investments in port infrastructure. Below are some updates in the EV and related industry beyond just the auto sector for sustainable mobility.

EV batteries to the grid

Hundreds of used EV battery packs are enjoying a second life at a California facility connected to the state's power grid. Though the technology is nascent, grid-scale storage provides a useful destination for the millions of used battery packs that will come from the transition to electrified transportation in the coming years. It is also a more cost-effective way to deploy the massive amounts of battery capacity needed to store solar and wind energy for when the sun is not shining or the wind is not blowing. - Channel News Asia

ICE vehicles funding the EV transition

Ford split its gas-engine operations from EV and software development in 2022, in an attempt to speed up development of battery-powered models. But more recently, executives have been saying its legacy business of selling traditional gas-engine vehicles is in urgent need of repair, largely because they are counting on it to fund the costly transition to EVs. Chief Executive Jim Farley said in a virtual town-hall meeting recently that he was working to simplify goals and performance metrics for employees. - WSJ

Lithium in G3 stage in India

Geological Survey of India (GSI) recently announced that it has for the first time established Lithium inferred resources of 5.9 million tonnes in the Reasi District of Jammu & Kashmir state. The GSI has categorized the resources in preliminary exploration, called the G3 stage. According to The UN Framework Classification for Resources, there are four stages of exploration. The mineral extraction process typically begins with the G4 stage. - India Today

Connected cars and interoperability

Auto companies have been promising billions in new software revenue by the end of the decade. But two high-profile companies in the space — Otonomo and Wejo — have been in dire financial straits. Why? Each carmaker and supplier is capturing data differently, and there’s no one standardized format. Getting much or all of the auto industry to supply the same kind of data to one marketplace will be a steep hill to climb. The idea of a single data marketplace makes sense in theory, but so far it’s been hard to get off the ground. - Bloomberg

Accelerating the EV shift

Volkswagen will speed up its shift to electric cars and revamp its software strategy in a five-year investment plan presented by management to the supervisory board. The company has been looking at how to fix a software strategy plagued by delays and cost overruns. Full details of what was discussed will be presented at the company's annual media conference in March. - ET Auto

Methanol and port investments

Methanol is widely used as a chemical in plastics, autos and paint, and as a car fuel in countries including China.?But its ultimate success will depend on billions of dollars of investments in ships, port infrastructure and fuel-production capacity in the coming years. - WSJ