Sydney is the largest and most populated city in all of Australia. It is also the capital of New South Wales. Sydney is known as a global center for the arts, culture, fashion, commerce, music, entertainment, tourism, and education. It was home to the 2000 Olympic summer games and the 2003 Rugby World Cup final (more…)

BMW is seeking 700 so-called “electronauts” to test a fleet of 2012 BMW Active E vehicles. While BMW is not shy of flaunting the phrase “ultimate driving machine”, one would not necessarily attach that phrase to the auto industry’s current crop of electric vehicles. With the Active E, BMW seeks to change all (more…)

During the past few weeks, many of the largest automotive companies involved in vehicle electrification have made announcements about using solar power to charge vehicles. While skeptics say that these are merely feel-good gimmicks to promote their vehicles, they are actually the start of something (more…)

U.S. researchers say they have developed a technology that could dramatically reduce the time it takes to recharge lithium-ion batteries used in cellphones, laptop computers, and electric vehicles (EVs).

Unlike conventional lithium-ion rechargeable batteries — in which active material is placed on a thin film that has limited storage (more…)

The system is the first to offer consumers a simple way to charge their EVs with the ease of hands-free, automatic technology.

Google is famous for giving the digital generation what it wants, so it only makes sense that the search giant would branch out into other technologies it feels are worth of its attention. So it shouldn’t come (more…)

In previous posts here and here, I discussed Atlanta, Georgia, wireless mesh technology company Sipco’s patent infringement suits against utilities and various smart meter and energy management companies.

Last month Sipco expanded the scope of its patent enforcement activity to include (more…)

How about breaking up a road journey to grab a coffee and recharge the batteries? The car batteries, that is.
A new product launch will help assuage the fear that electric cars may not get the driver to the destination, also known as ‘range anxiety’ as Gigaom puts it.

Created by Switzerland-based Nation-E, the Mobile Angel Car® is a system designed to (more…)

Shai Agassi is not merely a prophet for the electric car industry. When the CEO and founder of Better Place describes the development of an ecosystem for the EV, he turns skeptics into believers.

Listening to Mr. Agassi speak in Santa Clara at an event sponsored by The Churchill Club, I was struck by his passion – his belief (more…)

While San Francisco and Portland are each publicly claiming they’ll have the best electric vehicle networks in place in their cities, San Jose may be have made the most progress.

The city of San Jose has installed 7 charging stations so far, including spots at City Hall and a public parking garage. At the charging locations vehicle owners don’t pay for the power; instead they are charged based on the time in the parking spot. To simplify payment, EV owners get a keychain fob that’s connected to their credit card.

Nanci Klein, the manager of corporate outreach for the city, says vehicle chargers are being added to light poles in “key neighborhoods.” The city will take advantage of its control of the right of way on light poles (which will be upgraded as they are repaired) and in parking garage to create a network that will incentivize residents to purchase plug-in and battery-electric vehicles. San Jose’s redevelopment agency, as well as the Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration, have contributed funding to the project.

(more…)