JDRF Launches 2022 Fundraising Sweepstakes to Win a 2022 F-150® Lightning™ LARIAT
JDRF, the leading global type 1 diabetes (T1D) research and advocacy organization, announces the launch of the 2022 vehicle sweepstakes for JDRF. This year one lucky winner will win Ford’s highly anticipated new electric F-150® Lightning™.
“Building on the excitement around F-150 Lightning is an excellent way to help JDRF fund research and help find a cure for type 1 diabetes,” said Linda Zhang, F-150 Lightning chief program engineer. “One lucky individual will win an F-150 Lightning, but being involved in helping to raise funds and awareness for JDRF is a big win for everyone.”
Launched on April 26, 2022, the F-150® Lightning™ is the smartest, most innovative F-150 Ford has ever built, with the freedom of a 10-kilowatt smart power plant on wheels and software updates that will make it even better over time.
“For more than 25 years, the Ford Motor Company’s generosity has helped raise awareness of type 1 diabetes and support the funding of transformative research,” said Katie Doyle, JDRF Assistant Vice President of Corporate Development. “JDRF is proud of this longstanding partnership and thankful for the continued support.”
As they have in past sweepstakes, Ford Motor Company has donated the grand prize vehicle to JDRF.
Eligible donations start at $10, with all proceeds going to support the JDRF mission to improve lives today and tomorrow by accelerating life-changing breakthroughs to cure, prevent and treat T1D and its complications. The annual fundraiser, which has raised nearly $2,000,000 to date, will conclude following National Diabetes Awareness Month with a drawing on December 1, 2022, from Ford World Headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan.
To make a donation and view the sweepstakes please visit, winfordlightning.com.
Exro Tech to Supply Vicinity Buses with Coil Drive Systems
Exro Technologies Inc. (TSX: EXRO, OTCQB: EXROF) (the “Company” or “Exro”), a leading clean technology company that has developed a new class of power electronics for electric motors and batteries, announced today that it has reached an agreement for up to 2,500 units with electric bus manufacturer Vicinity Motor Corp. (NasdaqCM: VEV) (”Vicinity”).
Vicinity Motor Corp. is a leading supplier of advanced shuttle transportation vehicles for public and commercial use. Its flagship product, the Vicinity Lightning™, is a purpose-built electric bus that is revolutionizing public transit using sustainable and affordable components. Vicinity maintains a majority market share in the mid-size heavy-duty bus segment in Canada and will be able to produce more than 1,000 electric vehicle (“EV”) units annually from its facilities in Ferndale, Washington and Aldergrove, British Columbia.
Under this multiyear sales and service agreement (the “agreement”), Vicinity will purchase high-voltage Coil Drive System units from Exro, along with a production slot, system pricing and commissioning services. Exro’s Vehicle Systems division will provide system engineering consulting services to integrate the electric powertrain for Vicinity’s fleet of next-generation electric buses. News of this deal follows a previously announced supply agreement under which the companies have completed nearly 12 months of development and testing to conduct operational validation for the Vicinity Lightning™ electric bus.
The agreement commences with a first lot purchase order of 100 units. Over the 36-month term of the agreement, Exro will plan to deliver an increasing volume of its Coil Drive System for up to 2,500 units that includes both a Coil Driver™ and an electric motor, which were designed to meet Vicinity’s specific requirements to deploy clean, affordable and accessible electric buses across North America.
Coil Driver™ is an award-winning dynamic smart controller that can eliminate the need for multiple motors across all EVs, allowing manufacturers, like Vicinity, to achieve more acceleration, gradeability, high-speed torque and better efficiencies while reducing the number of costly power electronics inside the vehicle. Automotive-grade Coil Driver™ units will be manufactured at Exro’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Calgary. The 37,000 square foot facility is unique in North America and utilizes clean energy solutions including solar power and battery energy storage with a net-zero carbon emissions objective.
Exro will also support the development of Vicinity’s electric motor chassis for Class 5/6 bus configurations and provide engineering services to enable AC fast-charging using Coil Driver™. Upon complete execution, Vicinity Lightning™ buses optimized with Coil Driver™ are expected to be on the road in the near term and accessible for private and public transit use in several forward-looking cities across North America.
Eaton to Power Transmissions for Proterra
Power management company Eaton has announced its eMobility business has been chosen to supply a 4-speed medium-duty electrified vehicle (EV) transmission to Proterra, a leading innovator in commercial vehicle electrification technology, for the company’s ProDrive drivetrain used in Proterra ZX5 electric transit buses.
“Our EV transmissions have unmatched performance, providing class-leading acceleration, horsepower, range and durability,” said Julie Marshaus, manager, New Product Introductions, ePowertrain, Eaton’s Vehicle Group. “The transmissions also have the ability to enable longer range due to efficiency gains.”
The medium-duty 4-speed transmission, to be used in city buses in North America, addresses the primary issue related to single-speed drives that have contradictory requirements for high efficiency at top speeds and increased torque at launch and low speeds. The transmission is a lightweight, countershaft gearbox with torque capacity up to 1,200 Nm (885 lb.-ft.) and electric gearshift actuation that enables manufacturers to use smaller, more efficient motors.
Eaton’s 4-speed transmission has fine-pitch helical gears that ensure smooth, low-noise operation and a shifting strategy designed to extend range and battery life. Road tests have shown a 20% to 30% efficiency improvement in energy consumption under normal driving conditions compared with a direct-drive transmission and a 10% to 15% improvement compared with a current 2-speed solution.
Penske Adds Orange EV Juice to Rental Fleets
Penske Truck Leasing is adding Orange EV electric terminal trucks for use with customers across the U.S. The vehicles are designed for trailer-handling operations in truck yards, warehousing and distribution centers, container terminals and related operations where short-distance moves are required.
These units will be leased and maintained by Penske. Charging will take place in the customer’s yard, plugging in when the vehicles are not in operation.
Paul Rosa, senior vice president of procurement and fleet planning for Penske Truck Leasing explained: “As we continue furthering our relationship with Orange EV and after spending significant time understanding this equipment’s capabilities, we are very pleased to make it a new product offering for our sales force in the U.S. We currently have several customers placing orders for these units and taking delivery of their equipment.”
Among the notable features and benefits of the Orange EV trucks are:
Zero tailpipe emissions
Regenerative braking with 50% shorter stopping distance
Operates up to 24 hours on a single charge
Digital cab architecture
Remote diagnostic capabilities
Xos & Thermo King Working on BEV Refrigeration
Xos, Inc., a leading manufacturer of Class 5 through Class 8 battery-electric vehicles and powertrains, and provider of charging infrastructure and fleet management software, announced a partnership with Thermo King to jointly develop a refrigerated commercial vehicle prototype that is 100% battery-electric. The battery-electric refrigerated prototype vehicle will support fresh and frozen applications and will be used in field trials by Xos and Thermo King customers.
“We’re proud to partner with a leader in transport refrigeration like Thermo King to continue delivering the best possible electric solutions for our end-customers,” said Jose Castañeda, Vice President of Business Development at Xos.
The partnership also includes a non-exclusive agreement for Xos to use Thermo King’s refrigeration units on the Xos Hub™ mobile charging station and a non-exclusive agreement for Thermo King to use Xos’ Lyra Series™ battery systems on its all-electric trailer refrigeration unit trucks and trailers.
Porsche Invests in Group14 Tech
Porsche is forging ahead with its drive to develop and manufacture high-performance battery cells: the sports car manufacturer is acquiring shares in the US company Group14 Technologies, a producer of advanced silicon-carbon technology for lithium-ion batteries.
As lead investor, Porsche is raising 100 million US dollars and leading a Series C funding round in which several companies are investing a total of 400 million US dollars (about 328 million euros).
Group14 Technologies, which is based in Woodinville in Washington state, intends to use the increase in capital to accelerate its worldwide production of anode material for lithium-ion batteries. Before the end of the year, Group14 will be laying the foundations of another factory for the production of battery active materials (BAM) in the US. In future, Group14 will also supply the Cellforce Group from Tübingen, in which Porsche holds a majority stake. Cellforce was founded in 2021 by Porsche and Customcells Holding. From 2024, in Germany, the joint venture intends to produce self-developed high-performance battery cells with silicon anodes for small series production, motorsport and high-performance vehicles. The Cellforce battery cells are expected to be used in electrically powered Porsche vehicles with high-performance powertrains.
In a market with rapidly growing demand, the cooperation with Group14 ensures that Cellforce has access to high-quality future technology that will make the next generation of battery cells considerably more efficient than the lithium-ion batteries currently in use. The chemistry of the new cells relies on silicon as the anode material. This can significantly increase the power density compared to the batteries currently in series production. The batteries of the future will accordingly be able to store more energy within the same dimensions – and will therefore have a greater range than the batteries currently on the market. The innovative chemistry also reduces the battery’s internal resistance, allowing it to absorb more energy during recuperation, while charging faster.
LG Energy Awarded
LG Energy Solution (LGES; KRX: 373220) y announced that its manufacturing facility in Wroclaw, Poland, has won the Electromobility (E-Mobility) Leader 2021 Award for its contributions to zero-emission mobility in Poland.
LG Energy Solution Wroclaw is the largest single EV battery manufacturer in Europe, currently with 70GWh production capacity which is expected to reach 115GWh by 2025.
Recently, Mayor Drew Dilkens of Windsor, Canada, visited the facility to learn about battery manufacturing process, as well as its mission towards carbon neutrality, taking into account the new LGES-Stellantis JV plant being constructed in Windsor. In fact, LGES Wroclaw’s plant has already completed 100% transition to renewable energy (RE100) in 2019 through Green Pricing Scheme and purchase of Renewable Energy Certificate.
G3 Silicon Anode Patents
Global Graphene Group (G3), a Dayton, Ohio-based materials science company, is recognized as the global leader among Start-Ups in the patent landscape of silicon anode for lithium-ion batteries,
The Knowmade report lists G3 ranked at No. 1 in the USA in terms of Si anode patent portfolio. Among US-based companies, G3 is No. 1 (with 131 patent families in the Si anode), followed by GM (90), Enevate (77), and Amprius (71). G3 is ranked No. 9 in the entire battery industry, after 8 major Li-ion battery cell producers. However, G3 is No. 1 among all global battery start-ups.
G3 plans to capitalize on the explosive growth in EV battery development and is expanding production of its silicon-based anode materials.
G3‘s expansion supports the industry’s need for better battery solutions. G3‘s focus on silicon anodes will drive significant improvements in lithium-ion batteries. Industry-leading EV OEMs believe that silicon anode is needed to drive EV battery technology that will lower cost and provide higher energy density, extending the EV driving range by 20-40%. G3‘s innovative Si anode can deliver this and more today as a drop-in battery component solution. Furthermore, G3‘s entire suite of battery-enabling technology can deliver driving range improvements of 50-100% and at significant cost savings.
G3 has developed the anode materials that precisely meet battery requirements for next-generation EV batteries as outlined by the industry. G3 is actively seeking to establish partnerships for expanding manufacturing capacity of its advanced anode materials.
“G3‘s Si-anode technology meets the cost and performance criteria for EV application,” said Dr. Bor Jang, G3 CEO and co-founder. “G3‘s Si-anode solutions will be a key enabler for next-generation EV batteries. Our team is excited that the EV industry is focused on the same critical path as we see as foundational, using Si-anode to significantly improve EV batteries.”
“Electric vehicles will continue to grow global market share over the next decade,” said Dr. Aruna Zhamu, G3 co-founder and CTO. “Our EV battery technology, including Si-anode, are very attractive to EV manufacturers. It’s a drop-in solution that can easily be incorporated into existing manufacturing processes. We are engaged with many top-tier OEMs who are now validating our solutions.”
The most commonly used anode material for lithium-ion batteries today is graphite. However, graphite can only store lithium up to 372 mAh/g during a battery charge. In contrast, Si can store lithium up to an amount of 4200 mAh/g), significantly increasing energy density.
NI Buys Kratzer
-NI (Nasdaq: NATI) announced it has officially closed the purchase of the test systems business of Kratzer Automation AG (Kratzer), a European leader in providing holistic customer solutions for electric vehicles (EV). The addition of Kratzer further expands NI’s investment in the high growth area of vehicle electrification and enhances customer connections with automotive customers leading the EV transformation.
By providing EV testing software and fully integrated test systems, NI will help enable customers to achieve the scale at which the EV market is growing, driven by consumer demand, global regulations, and the push for sustainable transportation. NI tests all critical components of EV including battery, inverter, and engine control. The combined strength of NI’s flexible EV hardware and software test platform with Kratzer’s application specific EV software and integration capabilities will provide holistic customer solutions that will enable faster responses to changing test needs, accelerating time to market and lowering total cost of test for a broader range of customers.
“We believe that this investment, along with others we have made in this space, puts us in a leadership position for vehicle electrification test systems. The addition of the products, service capability and experienced team from Kratzer Automation AG will help strengthen our ability to provide complete customer centric solutions direct to automotive OEMs and further expand our serviceable market and customer footprint in the fast-growing area of electrification,” said Drita Roggenbuck, NI Sr. Vice President and General Manager, Transportation. “This is another example of prioritizing inorganic investments that accelerate the growth areas of our business.”
About NI
At NI, we bring together people, ideas and technology so forward thinkers and creative problem solvers can take on humanity’s biggest challenges. From data and automation to research and validation, we provide the tailored, software-connected systems engineers and enterprises need to Engineer Ambitiously™ every day.
Momemtum Dynamics’ High Wattage Wireless Charging
Momentum Dynamics, which has been commercializing fully automated inductive (wireless) charging for electric vehicles (EVs) since 2014, announced a major breakthrough with enormous implications for the EV industry: a wireless system that provides the ability to charge light-duty EVs at both high (50-75kW) and low (7-22kW) power. This capability will enable automatic charging at-home or in-depot charging as well as the convenience of high-power opportunistic charging in public settings.
The so-called “dual-power” mode capability will enable cars and light duty trucks and vans to intelligently recognize and charge a vehicle battery at any power using a common inductive component on the vehicle. The achievement was led by Momentum’s team of engineers at its global headquarters in Malvern, Pennsylvania.