A somewhat surprising is that fast charging (for electric cars) can reduce the cost of electric cars. Because electric car cost is a major factor delaying electric car adoption, if fast charging support would allow a cheaper electric car then it’s important to get fast charging infrastructure out there as…
It’s thought that DC Fast Chargers deployment is a crucial element to widespread electric car adoption. For example, the Japanese deployed a widespread CHAdeMO network in 2008 and immediately saw electric car utilization rates go up. My feeling is that fast charging is the way to implement the normal behavior…
Oregon is already fairly well enlightened in regard to electric vehicle adoption, and infrastructure for electric vehicles. For example, there is the West Coast Electric Highway, a project which has placed EV charging stations along the I-5 corridor through both Oregon and Washington State (it was originally slated to extend…
Most “technology” developments are enjoying a rapid pace of development, and in computer technology there is a truism known as Moore’s Law that claims CPU’s will double in complexity/capability/speed every 18 months. It’s Moore’s Law that explains why our cell phones have more computing power than the supercomputers of the…
My high school years fell between the two faux-oil-crises of the 1970’s, giving my almost-adult mind a potent lesson in the fragility of our society and its dependence on fossil oil. During my research into alternatives to oil I had this idea about the hydrogen cycle, and went through the…
Recently I had the occasion to write up a news article about new CHADEMO fast charging stations from Fuji Electric and ABB. In the press release from ABB I noticed a paragraph saying that the station was compatible with the Open Charge Point Protocol. Hmm.. I thought, what does that…
Electric cars are a major focus of what I write about, but are not the be-all-end-all of solutions for the full range of transportation problems our society is facing. Electric cars offer a great solution for noise pollution, air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and peak oil, but they do not…
Moving to make Tesla Model S ownership more affordable, the new financing deal gives prospective Model S owners peace of mind from the certainty of knowing ahead of time the cost of owning an electric car. Buying a Tesla Model S just became a lot easier with an announcement on…
It’s looking more and more that Fisker Automotive is circling around the Bankruptcy end game. On Wednesday the company announced a temporary furlough of employees, so the company could preserve cash. On Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Fisker’s management is now exploring bankruptcy, but unfortunately that article is…
The just-announced Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive has an electric drive train designed by Tesla Motors. But, you wouldn’t know this from the press release because it says nothing about Tesla. Further, you wouldn’t know this from the on-board charging system, because it’s not going to use the Supercharger port, apparently. …
Is the Tesla Supercharger network a big money pit that will sink the company, or is it an uber-cool strategy that will propel Tesla to greatness? That’s a big question we’re pondering, and in the balance hangs not just a scrappy start-up electric car company, but the whole project of…
It appears two things are at the top of Carlos Ghosns’ mind about the Nissan Leaf: China, and cost reduction. At appearances in Portugal and Japan recently, Ghosn talked about his intention for Nissan to take a leadership role in the Chinese electric car market, following the pattern which let…
Why do I cover electric racing news? (a sister site to Long Tail Pipe is Electric Race News) It’s because I know about the general stereotype that electric vehicles can only be slow boring ugly golf carts. This isn’t true, but that’s the stereotype, and electric racing is a way…
So-called bio-batteries or microbial fuel cells took a tiny step toward reality with the announcement of research at the University of East Anglia showing that proteins on the surface of bacteria can produce an electric current by simply touching a mineral surface. The result demonstrates that it is possible for bacteria to…
That wiley Elon Musk and his obtuse tweets have caused a stir of attention today. The tweet said there’d be a big announcement on Thursday (now apparently changed until next Tuesday) in which Elon would be putting his money where his mouth is. And I don’t think he’s talking about…
