We’re back for another installment of EV Morning! We had a great time last week covering the IAA Mobility show so this week we’re taking it easy on cars and looking at some other pretty interesting stories.
Two-wheel news
First up is Zero Motorcycles. It was only back in July that they announced their newest model, the FXE. But they haven’t rested on their laurels since then and have decided to give some of their existing models a refresh for the 2022 year. We’re most excited by the DSR, the performance version. The motor turns out 70hp and 116lb-ft of torque. It has a top speed of just over 100mph. And thanks to a 14.4kWh battery, they reckon you’ll get a range of around 160 miles. What do ya think? Would you have one in your garage?
Our attention also got piqued when someone said CAKE. No, not the one you eat…the funky motorbike and scooter manufacturers. They’ve teamed up with Polestar for a special edition electric scooter. A couple of weeks ago they released the Makka coming in at a price just under $4,000. But now you can get a tow-bar attachment that sits your Makka on the back of your Polestar. You can charge the bike from a charging port on the car. Handy for commuting to a city and using the bike to avoid traffic in town.
Nissan picking up the pace
Us EV fans will always hold a special place in our hearts for the LEAF and what it did to progress EV adoption. But then they kind of lost their way a little. We got an electric van, and they updated the LEAF a couple of times, but really started to fall behind as other manufacturers picked up the pace.
So we are all waiting with bated breath for the Ariya. And now we have some prices for Europe. They have just given the details on what it will cost in Norway. Now the Ariya is a tasty proposition, but so is the price. The entry-level, 63kWh usable version will cost you the equivalent of $47k. Not bad you might say, but for some perspective that’s nearly double what the entry-level 40kWh LEAF will cost you there. It’s also a good bit more than the $32k price tag on the 62kWh LEAF e+. The top of the range AWD, you know, the one with the silly e hyphen four orchy…or whatever way they want you to say it! Yeah, that one with a 0-100kmh time of 5.1 seconds. That’ll set you back $64k.
And while we’re on the topic of Nissan, they’ve given us a teaser of a new light commercial EV due to be launched at the end of September. We can expect it to have a lot of similarities with the Kangoo. Hopefully, they knock it out of the park and we can get back to you soon with some impressive details.
Redwood Materials
Tesla fans will know the name JB Straubel very well. He was a co-founder and former CTO of the company. He also founded Redwood Materials in 2017, and they have now announced plans to construct cathode active materials and anode foil on a colossal scale. These materials will then be purchased by battery manufacturers. They hope to supply enough material for the equivalent of 100GWh of batteries by 2025. And by 2030, they hope to ramp up that amount to a massive 500GWh.
The company hopes to produce these materials from recycled batteries that have passed their usable lifetimes. But the reality is that batteries are holding up so much better in cars than people have predicted. So it will take a long time before the batteries in old EVs actually become available. Even at that stage, they may spend years more being used for commercial storage before being recycled!
Now, we really hope all this comes to pass, and quickly! The demand for EVs is growing rapidly. More and more individuals and fleet operators are becoming convinced of the huge benefits of EVs. The demand side looks to be well catered for. But we also need the vehicles to meet this demand. And to make those vehicles, we need supply like this!
Solar-powered truck stop
We’re only weeks away from WattEV breaking ground on its futuristic, solar-powered truck charging station. The Californian-based company is putting an initial $10million into the site. It will feature 12 truck chargers and total capacity of 4MW.
But they hope to expand the site out to 110 acres. At that point, there will be 25MW of solar capacity, that can take advantage of on-site battery storage. 40 chargers will supply a range of 250kW, 350kW and 1MW of power.
Conveniently, the site is located 12 miles from a key Walmart distribution center and only 1 mile from an Amazon fulfillment center.
Summary
Time for me to stop talking and you to start typing because we want you to have your say! Let us know in the comments.
Do you hold high hopes for the Nissan Ariya?
And what about the CAKE scooter you can charge on the back of your Polestar, do you see other applications with the increasing amount of vehicle to load charging?