Recent developments in EV space

Issue #142, May 7th 2022

These are some recent and interesting development in the electric vehicle (EV) industry. The frunk or the front trunk is a storage space in EVs, as engines make way for batteries, creating space under the hood. Japan and India are developing joint standards for charging stations for ease of installation and interoperability. Approximately 500 companies support the CHAdeMO (CHArge de MOve) standard and it will be used as the basis. Bosch's new Silicon Carbide chips promise upto 6% improvement in EV efficiency. The Biden administration in the U.S. has allocated $3 billion as investment for developing local infrastructure for battery making materials. EV charging stations of the future need not be lonely units but customer-focused, with creative designs inspired by surrounding communities. Here are some recent and interesting updates in EV space.

Storage in an EV frunk

People have long prized having storage space in the back of their cars. As more buy EVs, they’ll increasingly be tossing stuff in an inelegantly named space where the engine used to be. Meet the frunk, for front trunk. EVs trade out the engine for a battery pack, which typically lines the vehicle’s floor. That opens up a big front-end cavity for a new role. While under-hood storage has long existed on niche vehicles, it was never anything car makers made a big deal about. Today, as competition among EV producers heats up, they have unleashed their designers on the front trunk and made a feature as mundane as storage space something to brag about. - WSJ

Indo-Japan standard for EV charging station

Japan and India will join hands to develop an EV charging standard for emerging markets, eyeing easy-to-build stations based on Japanese protocols that would slash installation costs by two-thirds. Standards leaders in India have begun working closely with Japan’s CHAdeMO association to create a plug-in compatible standard for EV chargers. Approximately 500 companies support the CHAdeMO standard. Using it as the basis for the electrification of transport in India will make it easier for Japanese companies to promote their own electric vehicles, as well as related infrastructure components, in the local market. - Nikkei Asia

SiC chips for EV efficiency

Bosch is introducing silicon carbide (SiC) chips to help boost EV efficiency by about 6%. SiC allows for higher switching frequencies and a 50% reduction in heat dissipation resulting in more power and less energy loss. The bottom line is 6% more driving range from the same battery charge. That means drivers can either go further, or got the same distance with a smaller, lighter, cheaper battery. - Forbes

US $3 bil. investment for batteries

The Biden administration will allocate more than US$3 billion in infrastructure funding to finance EV battery manufacturing, US officials. The funds will be allocated by the US Department of Energy from the US$1 trillion infrastructure bill Biden signed last year. Among the initiatives will be processing of minerals for use in large-capacity batteries and recycling those batteries, the agency said. - Channel News Asia

EV charging station of the future

As it now stands, most EV public charging stations tend to be spartan affairs, with one or two lonely units situated at the distant corners of retail parking lots or enclosed garages. One solution might be to give a greater number of stores, restaurants, and hotels, as well as existing gas stations incentives to install on-site chargers for their customers. The Volkswagen subsidiary Electrify America envisions a series of public charging locations that will be “customer-focused stations created with designs inspired by the surrounding communities” to exist as accommodating environments that employ “spatial, behavioral and emotional layers focused on enhancing the human experience.” - Forbes