Cars Clips: February 24, 2020
Clean
Car Standards
Groups
To Wheeler: Cut Truck NOx Emissions By 90%. According
to E&E News, “Public health groups and air pollution regulators are urging EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler to crack down on harmful emissions from big trucks. At issue is the Cleaner Trucks Initiative, the agency’s effort to strengthen nitrogen oxides (NOx)
emissions standards for heavy-duty trucks. EPA announced Jan. 6 that it was accepting public comments on the initiative. Exposure to NOx emissions is linked to a variety of health problems, including asthma and premature death. The standards have not been
updated in 19 years, despite a provision in the Clean Air Act mandating periodic review. The Cleaner Trucks Initiative is a rare example of the Trump administration’s EPA strengthening an environmental regulation, rather than weakening or delaying a rule.
Yet EPA has not committed to a certain level of stringency in the final rule. And E&E News previously reported that the initiative comes after intense lobbying by the truck industry, including Cummins Inc., an influential engine manufacturer with ties to Vice
President Mike Pence (Greenwire, Jan. 28). In public comments submitted yesterday, a coalition of eight public health and medical organizations urged Wheeler to commit to producing a stringent final rule that delivers meaningful emissions reductions. ‘A carefully
designed and health-protective Cleaner Trucks Initiative (CTI) to control harmful emissions from the heavy-duty vehicle sector is critical to protecting human health from nearby sources of truck traffic,’ the groups wrote.” [E&E News,
2/21/20
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Amid
Industry, Fleet Owner Fears, CARB Plans Tougher Truck ZEV Rule. According
to Inside EPA, “California Air Resources Board (CARB) staff are outlining several areas where they are planning to strengthen a landmark proposed rule requiring medium- and heavy-duty truck makers to sell more zero-emission vehicles (ZEV), despite concerns
expressed by manufacturers and fleet owners. During a Feb. 20 workshop, CARB staff explained possible changes to the board’s October proposed ‘Advanced Clean Trucks Rule,’ including removing an exemption for near-term ZEV sales targets for larger pickups,
hiking current targets for all classes of trucks though model year 2030 and setting first-time post-MY30 standards. CARB initially reviewed the plan in December, but board members generally told staff to prepare tougher targets, in line with long-standing
calls from environmental groups. ‘We all want this rule to be stronger,’ said CARB Chairwoman Mary Nichols during a Dec. 12 meeting. CARB branch chief Tony Brasil told the Feb. 20 workshop that the sales targets in the original proposal for manufacturers would
result in less than 5 percent of the overall truck fleet in California being ZEV by 2030. The direction from board members at the December meeting was ‘those numbers had to be a lot higher than that.’ While staff have not yet ‘firmed up’ specific targets they
will include in the revised proposal, Brasil said they are planning to release new regulatory language in about a month, which would be subject to a 15-day formal comment period. The regulation would then go back to CARB for final approval during its May 28-29
meeting.” [Inside EPA, 2/21/20
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States
What
Democrats’ Climate Change Plans Mean To Michigan Automakers, Workers. According
to Bridge Michigan, “Climate change plans of Democrats in Michigan’s March 10 presidential primary would have major implications for Detroit automakers, suppliers and workers throughout Michigan. The candidates are proposing a series of proverbial carrots
and sticks to ensure all new light vehicles sold in the United States emit no carbon as soon as 2030. That would be a major disruption for the domestic auto industry, which is moving toward electric vehicles but is far off that pace and would likely require
major federal spending to incentive purchases, retool manufacturing facilities and build public charging stations across the country. The proposals come as Republican President Donald Trump, who is up for re-election, looks to roll back fuel economy standards
established by his Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama. Trump says strict standards would keep vehicle prices low for consumers and expects newly brokered international trade deals to benefit manufacturers in states like Michigan. Here’s a look at the Democratic
candidate plans: Bernie Sanders The Vermont senator proposes the most aggressive disruption to the U.S. auto industry — and specifying the most expensive price to ensure all new vehicles sold by 2030 are electric or otherwise produce zero-emissions. He wants
to spend $100 billion on research and development to reduce the cost of electric vehicles and ensure they can be sold for $18,000 or less. Sanders also proposes $2.09 trillion in grants for low- and moderate-income families and small businesses to trade in
fossil-fuel vehicles for electric versions, and a separate $681 billion trade-in program to get older cars off the road.” [Bridge Michigan,
2/21/20
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Electric
Cars Steal Show At Cleveland Auto Show. According
to the Akron Beacon-Journal, “Usually the stars of the Cleveland Auto Show are fast cars with big muscle engines. This year’s spotlight is a lot more subdued and noticeably quieter. Many of the big automakers are showing off their hybrids and all-electric
vehicles. Sure there are still the big trucks and fast exotic sports cars with traditional gas-powered engines, but even these top-end dream vehicles are also being offered in more environmentally friendly models. Ford is showing off its Mustang Mach-E all-electric
vehicle that has a range of 300 miles at the show that opened Friday at the I-X Center in Cleveland. With some 800 vehicles on the show floor, there’s a car or SUV or truck to fit just about everyone’s taste and wallet. The cars range from the fairly inexpensive
Chevy Spark with a starting price tag of $14,095 to the Rolls Royce Cullinan Black Badge that can be yours for the princely sum of a mere $484,775. Visitors to the show that runs through March 1 can even test drive some of the vehicles from 10 brands or ride
along with a professional driver inside of a Jeep or a Ram Truck or a BMW on indoor rugged test tracks. The show includes ‘Auto Show Alpha,’ a full-size concept car that is making its Ohio debut. The ultra-futurist concept car was designed by independent artist
Kip Kubisz and is constructed of high-density foam, polyurea coating and auto body paint. ‘Cars have always been the stars of the Cleveland Auto Show, and this year we’re expanding on that with something Cleveland has never seen before,’ said Lou Vitantonio,
president of the 2020 Cleveland Auto Show.” [Akron Beacon-Journal, 2/21/20
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Want
To Drive Your Electric Car To Pa.’s Capitol? Now You Can Charge It While You’re There.
According
to Penn Live, “Harrisburg officials on Friday rolled out a handful of new charging stations for electric car owners right in the shadow of the Capitol, stepping up calls for the city and its residents to move further toward a renewable future. Mayor Eric Papenfuse
said the eight new stations at Third and North streets — joining another station off Second Street — represent a larger effort to encourage residents to make sustainable lifestyle choices. But to do so, it’s important for city officials to take the first steps,
the mayor said during Friday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony. ‘It’s the city’s job to lead with public infrastructure, and hopefully the public to do the same with their personal decisions,’ Papenfuse said Friday morning outside the State Museum of Pennsylvania
on North Street, while half a dozen electric cars charged behind him. Papenfuse said the project took off over the summer, and by last month, legislators, residents and tourists were making use of the stations. Roughly three dozen cars have been charged at
the stations in the last week alone, he said. The mayor said the city has already turned to renewable energy — mainly wind — to power some of Harrisburg’s infrastructure, including its street lights. Patrick McDonnell, secretary of the state’s Department of
Environmental Protection, said he hopes the charging stations give Pennsylvania residents confidence they can get where they need to go, should they choose to buy an electric vehicle. ‘The story of driving Pennsylvania forward starts right here and continues
with this infrastructure,’ McDonnell said. Rep. Patty Kim, D-Harrisburg, and Sen. John DiSanto, R-Dauphin County, played a role in bringing the new charging stations to the city, and were on hand for Friday’s ceremony.” [Penn Live,
2/21/20
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Auto
Manufacturers
Lordstown
Motors Wants The First Electric Pickup — And Just Released Its Pitch. According
to the Detroit Free Press, “As it hunts for investors, Lordstown Motors Corp. has produced a slick new video about its plans to produce an all-electric pickup at the Ohio plant once owned by General Motors. The company, which bought GM’s former Lordstown Assembly
plant near Youngstown last year, said the new video will be part of a series. Lordstown Motors CEO Steve Burns narrates the company’s mission and goals, ending it by saying, ‘Come ride with us, ride with Lordstown.’ Burns said the company wants to be the first
in the country to produce an all-electric pickup called the Endurance. He goes on to say other goals are to provide jobs and meet consumers’ needs. ‘The mission of Lordstown Motors is to empower the worker’s spirit,’ said Burns in the video. ‘Everything we
do is with the worker in mind, both our worker who is making the truck and the worker who will use it.’ The Endurance will be like ‘no other truck ever made,’ Burns said. ‘Lordstown, Ohio, has a long history of vehicle-making and the people here are enduring.
We’ve got the best of the best. So come ride with us, ride with Lordstown.’ GM sold the 6.2-million square-foot facility to Lordstown Motors on Nov. 7 after idling the plant in March. GM relocated most of the 1,600 workers there to other GM jobs in different
states. The plant and adjoining five parcels of land sold for $20 million, according to local records. A month later, GM made a $40 million loan available to Lordstown Motors to help the startup began building electric trucks there. Lordstown Motors has a
short timeline to retool the plant and start production because GM's option to lease the facilities and land expires April 1, and the option to repurchase the assets expires May 30.” [Detroit Free Press,
2/21/20
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Audi
Suspends E-Tron Electric SUV Production Due To Supply Problems, Batteries Are Suspected.
According
to Electrek, “Audi confirmed that it is temporarily suspending production of its e-tron electric SUV due to supply problems. Battery cell supply issues are suspected. The e-tron is Audi’s first all-electric vehicle built from the ground up. The electric SUV
has been fairly well-received, but the German automaker has been having issues with high-volume production. Last year, shortly after starting volume production, local reports from Belgium, where Audi is producing the vehicle, claimed that the automaker reduced
planned e-tron production due to a battery shortage. Now, new reports from Belgium and Germany state that Audi confirmed that it is suspending production for four days due to ‘bottlenecks in the parts supply,’ according to Manager Magazin. The automaker didn’t
want to confirm the nature of those bottlenecks or the parts affected, but they did confirm that it’s not related to the coronavirus and parts coming from China. As was the case before, battery cell supply, which Audi is getting from LG Chem for the e-tron,
is suspected to be the cause of the production delay. Audi is not the only automaker to have its electric car production affected by battery supply. We previously reported on Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, and Jaguar having issues ramping up production and even suspending
production of their own electric vehicles at times. Audi is also trying to expand its e-tron lineup, with the Sportsback version of the e-tron SUV coming later this year. The vehicle is also being produced at the German automaker’s Belgium factory alongside
the e-tron and adding to the demand for parts.” [Electrek, 2/21/20
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Tesla
Model 3: The Best EV To Buy, According To Consumer Reports. According
to CNET, “Tesla’s reliability questions have long lead to numerous ups and downs, but it’s safe to say the electric carmaker found its footing. For 2020, Consumer Reports named the Tesla Model 3 one of its best cars to buy for the year. That, readers, is a
big accomplishment. It’s doubly big if you’ve followed the twists and turns of reliability rankings CR dished out for the Model 3 in the past. Just last year, CR declared it would no longer name the electric sedan as a ‘Recommended’ model over reliability
concerns. Today, the publication and organization cited improved reliability, ‘invigorating performance’ and a ‘high-tech vibe’ to give this EV the nod. The Model 3 specifically took top honors for the best electric car to buy, but nevertheless, it ranks among
good company. It also left other established rivals in the rearview, such as the Chevrolet Bolt EV, Nissan Leaf and the Hyundai Kona Electric. To even be considered as a Top Pick, vehicles must hold a ‘Recommended’ rating and include forward-collision warning,
automatic emergency braking and pedestrian detection as standard gear. Outside of the EV space, the publication named nine other winners for various segments. Notable takeaways include the Toyota Prius as the hybrid pick, the Kia Telluride for the top three-row
SUV and the Toyota Supra in the sports car segment. Honda also notched a win with its Ridgeline pickup for best compact truck.” [CNET,
2/21/20
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‘Tesla
Killers’ Aren’t Killing Tesla At All. According
to CNBC, “At least a few executives at major automakers have indicated that electric cars are the way of the future, and several of them are making big bets on battery-powered vehicles. But at least in the United States, the market seems to belong almost entirely
to Tesla. The California carmaker’s Model 3 midsize sedan far outstripped sales of any other competitor in 2019. The next best-selling model that year was the Chevrolet Bolt, which sold a mere 16,000. The success of both Tesla cars, and Tesla shares, have
baffled many in the automotive industry, who point to the company’s small size; precarious financial history; and repeated struggles with manufacturing delays; and customer complaints about long waits for orders and difficulty obtaining parts and service.
Meanwhile established automakers with brands that play at practically every price point and in every segment have been promising and slowly releasing their own stabs at a viable electric vehicle. But none have so far proven to be Tesla killers. A slew of new
models are scheduled for release starting in early 2020, and many are starting to offer specs competitive with what buyers can find on Tesla models. For example, Ford’s Mach-E Mustang electric crossover promises 300 miles of range in one configuration, close
to the 322 miles on the long range version of the Model 3 sedan. But relatively few buyers in the United States seem interested in battery electrics, and industry watchers think many buyers are early adopters buying Teslas out of an interest in the brand or
an interest in cutting edge technology, rather than out of an interest in owning an electric car.” [CNBC,
2/21/20
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Tesla
Rival Sets Out To Banish 160-Year-Old Lead Tech From Cars. According
to Bloomberg, “Your sleek new Tesla Model S or electronic BMW has a distinctly 19th century feature that you may not be aware of, among its batteries. A company in Estonia wants to change that. Skeleton Technologies Group OU is working on supercapacitors,
light-weight and long-life components that can distribute intensive bursts of power. These may help eliminate lead-acid batteries, a piece of technology invented in 1859 that still lurks under the hoods of Teslas in addition to the main lithium-ion power source.
Supercapacitors have some way to go before they are widely adopted. There is still a gap with the popular lithium-ion units on how much energy they can store, Skeleton Chief Executive Officer Taavi Madiberk admits. Even so, the technology is promising for
offering higher peak power output and reliability in extreme temperatures and Skeleton has already sold it to clients across the transport industry. ‘Sometimes people think that lead is a problem of the past because it relates to internal combustion engines
but in practice all electric vehicles have 12-volt lead acid batteries,’ Madiberk said. ‘We are working on a viable alternative to replace all lead acid batteries.’ Tesla Inc. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk actually moved to Silicon Valley in the first
place to do research on supercapacitors in his PhD studies at Stanford University, he wrote in a blog post in 2006. While Musk eventually dropped out from Stanford to start his new ventures, he hasn’t abandoned his bet on supercapacitors, also referred to
as ultracapacitors. Tesla, also searching for a breakthrough for electric car batteries, bought Skeleton’s competitor Maxwell Technologies Inc. last year.” [Bloomberg,
2/23/20
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Tesla
Model 3 Tracker. According
to Bloomberg, “The release of Tesla Inc.’s most important electric car, the Model 3, raised an existential question for the company. Could it figure out how to crank up production before the money ran out? To find the answer, Bloomberg built a data-tracking
tool that proved uncannily accurate at estimating output during that critical first year. This is the story of how we did that, why we’re stopping, and what we’re doing next. The Model 3 Tracker launched in February 2018 after Tesla created something no other
automaker could claim: an electric car that hundreds of thousands of people lined up to buy. The only problem, at least in the beginning, was that Tesla couldn’t produce enough of them. Elon Musk had ‘bet the company’ on mass production—and he very nearly
blew it. Tesla reported its production totals only on a quarterly basis, leaving investors to speculate in the dark as the company missed self-imposed targets. Into this fray, Bloomberg’s tracker generated real-time forecasts of the number of Model 3s coming
off the lines at the factory in Fremont, California. We did this by combining data from an obscure government registry with reports from thousands of our readers. The results far exceeded expectations. For four consecutive quarters, Bloomberg’s estimates came
closer than Wall Street forecasts. The Model 3 Tracker twice came within 0.5 percent of Tesla’s actual production. (We blew it on the fifth quarter; more on that below.) Now it’s time to move on to tracking the next phase in Tesla’s evolution. As the company
proved its ability to crank out Model 3s, investors have turned to different metrics of success.” [Bloomberg,
2/24/20
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Electric Vehicles
How To Maximize The Life Of Your Electric Car's Battery, According To Science.
According to Mashable, “Lithium-ion batteries are the Goldilocks of the electronics world. For the li-ion in your electric car, conditions can either be too hot or too cold, but li-ions
prefer it juuust right. A new report from the University of Michigan lays out the best ways to keep your EV’s li-ion battery happy and healthy for the longest amount of time possible. With help from the Responsible Battery Coalition, researchers compiled these
recommendations by analyzing academic reports as well as vehicle instruction manuals. They came out with nine actionable guidelines, which Electrek helpfully summarizes here. The report is a useful tool for EV owners, but it has a higher mission, too. Maximizing
the life of a car’s battery helps limit the environmental impact of these vehicles, since it means fewer cars getting retired and sent through a yet-to-materialize recycling process. On the other end of the production cycle, it could hopefully reduce the need
for more resource-intensive li-ions being created in the first place. Most of the recommendations center around how to keep your car’s battery happy in extreme temperatures, whether frozen or sweltering. Overall, owners should plug in their cars during these
times, which will allow the battery’s cooling or heating systems to run most effectively by using grid power. EV owners should also avoid letting their cars’ batteries run down entirely, since that has a negative effect on battery life.” [Mashable,
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Electric Vehicle Options Growing, But Profitability Challenges Limit Growth.
According to Yahoo Finance, “Automakers are rolling out some big additions to the electric vehicle landscape this year as the market evolves, but it’s still not clear how much Canadians
will be convinced to buy them. Selection is certainly increasing. At the Canadian International AutoShow in Toronto that wraps up this weekend, automakers were showing off more than 40 hybrid and fully-electric plug-in vehicles, while McKinsey & Co. figures
around 400 fully electric models will hit the market globally by 2025, including 113 this year alone. But analysts say that government policies are crucial to actually push companies to sell those models, since automakers otherwise don’t have enough incentive
to move away from internal combustion engine vehicles. ‘I think the real, key problem for them,’ said James Carter, principal consultant at Toronto-based Vision Mobility, ‘is really because they make so much money off ICE trucks, pickups, SUVs right now, that
basically, the question that they’re having to ask themselves is ‘how the hell do we get off this drug?’’ He notes that some companies have been reluctant to move to electrification, while others such as Hyundai and Kia have rolled out popular models but are
not producing enough to meet demand, because profitability is a challenge for electric vehicles. Companies risk losing ground on new technologies if they don’t move fast enough, but also need to make enough profit to make billions of dollars of investment
worthwhile, said Carter. Ford Motor Co. is one of several companies that have made big promises about moving to electric.” [Yahoo Finance,
2/23/20 (=)]
The New World's Largest Electric Vehicle Is A 290-Ton Dump Truck That Will Soon Begin Testing In Africa.
According to Business Insider, “Anglo American, ENGIE, and Williams Advanced Engineering are working together to create the world’s largest hydrogen-powered mining truck capable of
performing just as well, if not better, than its diesel-powered counterparts. Anglo American is in the process of modifying its fleet of mining trucks to make them hydrogen-powered. ENGIE will be supplying the hydrogen technology and Williams the battery system,
while Anglo American is providing its own Komatsu trucks. The first rounds of the hydrogen-powered truck production will begin this year, and testing will occur at the platinum group metals mine in Mogalakwena, South Africa before being used in other locations.
Keep scrolling to see the environmentally-friendly mine truck: The new hydrogen outfit will allow the mining truck to be less noisy and cheaper to maintain than its diesel versions. The dump truck will weigh 290 tons, according to Popular Mechanics, making
it larger than the previous largest electric vehicle: the 45-ton eDumper. A lithium-ion battery will replace the diesel engine, allowing the FCEV haul truck to be powered by both a battery and hydrogen fuel cell technology, similar to the upcoming electric
Nikola Badger pickup truck. It also gives the mining truck energy storage of up to 1,000 kilowatt-hours, allowing it to work in the same ‘harsh environments’ as a diesel-powered haul truck, according to Williams.” [Business Insider,
2/21/20 (=)]
Super Duper Supercapacitors Could Accelerate Electric Car Revolution.
According to Clean Technica, “There are batteries and there are supercapacitors. Both do the same thing — store electrical energy. Batteries charge relatively slowly and discharge
slowly. Supercapacitors charge quickly and discharge quickly. Batteries are capable of storing large amounts of energy, supercapacitors are best for storing smaller amounts of energy. The bottom line is that batteries do some things better than supercapacitors
and supercapacitors do some things better than batteries. In coming years, supercaps, as they are known, may replace the lead acid batteries currently used by all electric cars to store power for such routine functions as operating door locks, providing interior
lighting, and so forth. They also may permit electric car manufacturers to use them to do the things they do best — charge and discharge rapidly — while allowing the main storage battery to do what it does best — move the car down the road for many zero emissions
miles. Scientists at University College London and the Chinese Academy of Sciences claim they have developed a new flexible graphene-based supercapacitor that can safely charge at high speed, accumulate a record amount of energy, and store it for a long time,
according to a report by TechExplorist. Their research was published on February 17 by the journal Nature Energy. The new supercapacitor uses an innovative multi-layer graphene electrode. It can bend up to 180 degrees without losing its performance and does
not require a liquid electrolyte, which minimizes the risk of explosion.” [Clean Technica,
2/23/20 (=)]
Bill Gates Backs Mining Company To Support 'EVs At Scale'.
According to E&E News, “A $1 billion fund spearheaded by Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates is investing in a California startup that promises a better way to extract lithium for
batteries. Oakland-based Lilac Solutions announced last week it had secured $20 million in Series A funding from Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV) to develop its technology for extracting the metal from underground reserves. The Massachusetts Institute of
Technology’s technology fund, the Engine, and several other investors also contributed. BEV was launched in 2016 with support from Gates, Amazon.com Inc. CEO Jeff Bezos and other billionaires to support technologies that could bring emissions to ‘near zero’
(Greenwire, Dec. 12, 2016). ‘While the electrification of vehicles is one of the most promising opportunities to reduce global emissions, today’s limited supplies of battery raw materials like lithium and cobalt challenge this transition,’ said Carmichael
Roberts, a partner at BEV. ‘Lilac Solutions’ novel technology can change the supply and demand equation by helping lithium producers extract much larger quantities at a significantly lower cost, and from new sources. This is the type of industrial innovation
required to support a transition to EVs at scale.’ Lilac Solutions is one of several companies searching for cheaper and more efficient ways to extract lithium for batteries used by electric vehicles and the power grid. Last year, Wood Mackenzie reported that
a ‘supply crunch’ for crucial battery metals could happen as early as the mid-2020s because of rising EV demand (Energywire, July 26, 2019).” [E&E News,
2/24/20 (=)]
VIDEO: "EVs: On The Brink Of Change" - Full Show.
According to Bloomberg, “Electric Vehicles are expected to explode as a more dominant means of mobility in the not-so-distant future. Bloomberg NEF predicts by 2040, 57% of all passenger
vehicle sales will be electric. Bloomberg's Alix Steel explores topics such as market demand and investment; evolving technology and infrastructure; government regulation and subsidies; and the battle for EV dominance between China and the U.S.” [Bloomberg,
2/22/20 (=)]
Chad Ellwood
Senior Research Associate
Climate Action Campaign
202.448.2877 ext. 119