Innovation for EV challenges

Issue #240, February 2024

Electric vehicle (EV) makers continue to innovate to address the challenges in the sector and leverage the opportunities. Charging continues to be the biggest road block for large scale EV adoption. Wireless charging and 800V in EVs are two innovations that are seeing investment happening for further research to accelerate charging. A virtual power plant is one approach to balance demand and supply for electricity from EV charging. EVs are gearing up for cargo carriers on a pilot basis. General Motors will include EV business metrics in its employee incentives. A new material for covers to protect batteries and other EV parts from electromagnetic waves can lighten the vehicle upto 10%. Below are some recent innovations in the EV sector to address issues and to implement new ideas.

Wireless EV charging

The promise of wireless EV charging with an inductive transfer of electrons would eliminate the need for all those pesky cords. Multiple startups have spent years working towards a world in which wireless charging goes mainstream, and as EV adoption picks up, momentum is building to make that dream a reality. Companies are coalescing around standardized technology, automakers are embarking on wireless experiments, and municipalities are mapping out use cases. Even Tesla Inc. is interested. For carmakers, enabling wireless charging is still difficult to justify: it is expensive, and there aren’t yet charging stations to make it a compelling perk for car buyers.- Bloomberg

800V for fast EV charging

Automakers are rolling out new 800-volt EV platforms, which promise to cut charging time in half. A few of the biggest manufacturers are still hesitating to invest in the new technology, leaving them at risk of getting left behind. - Bloomberg

VPPs for EVs

A virtual power plant (VPP) is a system of distributed energy resources that work together to balance energy supply and demand on a large scale. To make the most of these resources, VPPs introduce another layer: a central smart system that coordinates energy consumption and supply. This system allows utility companies to handle times of higher energy demand by making adjustments like shifting EV charge time to avoid peak hours. By the end of 2023, there were over 20 million EVs in China, almost half the global total. Together, these cars can consume monstrous amounts of energy. Obviously, it will take a long time to transform our grids. But developing VPPs along with the EV charging network seems like a win-win situation for China. - MIT Technology Review

Electric cargo 2-wheeler

After around 6 years of development work, an electric scooter designed to be a cargo carrier, is gearing up for commercial production. The designed and made in India electric cargo carrier, made a public debut in US, in a conference by software technology major Dassault Systemes. - ET Auto

EVs and employee incentives

General Motors will factor in the company's performance with electric vehicles, software and services, and its Cruise?autonomous vehicle unit when calculating salaried employees' bonuses for this year. 60% of the bonus will be based on GM's EBIT and free cash flow results and the other 40% now will include EV production targets, software and services and self-driving car business targets, as reported in media. - Auto News and other sources

Battery covers to lighten EVs

EVs have more onboard electronic devices than do gas-powered cars. Interference from electromagnetic waves generated from inverters, onboard chargers and other equipment can cause these devices to malfunction, potentially leading to accidents. Batteries and other parts currently are covered with aluminum cases to block electromagnetic waves. Proterial has developed an alternative sheet covering consisting of thin plates made mainly of iron sandwiched between films. Batteries and other parts are covered with the sheet and then coated with a layer of plastic to shield them from vibrations. The advancement can lighten EVs by more than 10% when used in place of the current aluminum cases. - Nikkei Asia