Remy announced it has been awarded a three-year contract for electric motors by ALTe Powertrain Technologies. Under the agreement, Remy HVH 250 electric motors will act as an onboard generator to recharge batteries and deliver electric drivetrain traction power for ALTe's hybrid vehicle powertrain conversions.

Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide exhibited its Ford F-150 Plug-in Hybrid Electric (PHEV) pick-up at the 2011 Electric Utility Fleet Managers Conference in Williamsburg, Virginia, starting on 19 June. The vehicle is powered by Quantum's F-Drive hybrid drive system which is a derivative of the original Quantum Q-Drive with enhanced technologies and subsystems.

Siemens AG, Diamond Aircraft and EADS are set to present the world's first aircraft with a serial hybrid electric drive system at the Paris Air Show Le Bourget 2011.

EcoCAR 2: Plugging in to the Future, is a three-year collegiate engineering competition and the only program of its kind. The competition's mission is a vital one: offer an unparalleled hands-on, real-world experience to educate the next generation of automotive engineers. The competition challenges 16 universities across North America to reduce the environmental impact of a Chevrolet Malibu without compromising performance, safety and consumer acceptability.

EVO Electric Ltd., a pioneer in advanced electric drive solutions for the automotive sector, has formed a Joint Venture ('JV') with GKN Driveline, a division of GKN Plc (LSE:GKN), the world's leading supplier of automotive driveline systems and solutions. GKN will also acquire a 25.1% stake in EVO Electric.

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation announced recently the launch of a new transfer moulded power module (T-PM) mainly designed for hybrid and electric vehicle applications. The company's J Series T-PM, whose lifespan is 30 times longer than that of industrial power modules and is completely lead-free, provides enhanced reliability by incorporating Mitsubishi Electric's proprietary technology that ensures power loss reduction.

Electrovaya Inc announced that it has signed a contract to supply Chrysler with Lithium Ion SuperPolymer battery systems for 25 Town and Country minivans that will be part of a demonstration fleet of Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles that Chrysler Group LLC has developed in partnership with the United States Department of Energy.

Aircraft are becoming more electric even to the extent of having electric traction just like an electric car. Curiously this is starting at the light and heavy end, with medium sized feeder aircraft adopting electrification later.

The use of flywheels has yet to be commercially successful in production vehicles. Decades ago they were tried as an energy source powered up before the vehicle went on its way. That proved expensive, heavy and sometimes dangerous but the technology has reappeared as mechanical storage of braking energy and therefore potentially useful in both pure electric and hybrid electric vehicles.

The rechargeable lead batteries concerned are used in scooters, cars and some mobile phones.

BYD a leading-edge provider of green energy technologies based in Shenzhen China has signed a Letter of Intent with the city of Frankfurt, Germany to introduce BYD's all-electric, long-range, eBUS.

Electric vehicle parts are not evolving: they are changing completely. Sometimes, the traction battery will be replaced by a supercapacitor or supercabattery and the dumb skin of the vehicle by smart skin. Energy harvesting and range extenders are new key enabling technologies and AC motors are often replacing DC motors. This is an industry in ferment.

To penetrate the fog surrounding lithium-ion traction batteries we should use the term generically for all rechargeable batteries involving lithium ions. For example, it is false to talk of lithium polymer as an alternative to lithium-ion because the term lithium polymer simply refers to a form of electrolyte involving solid polymer electrolyte usually with gel.

IDTechEx has issued another report in its series on the various types of electric vehicle - hybrid and pure electric - and their future entitled Light Electric Vehicle (LEV) Industry Worldwide 2011-2021 (www.IDTecHEx.com/LEV). Electric vehicles by land, water and air will be a market of over $210 billion in ten years from now. The segments of this market are very different in certain respects yet they increasingly share some technical challenges and vehicle and component suppliers. This report concerns electric bicycles, ebikes and other Light Electric Vehicles (LEVs) that constitute an important part of the overall EV business. Other reports in the series cover aircraft, marine, buses/taxis, military/police/security and cars.

EnSol AS (a small R&D company based in Bergen, Norway), has developed a unique, 4th generation, metal based photovoltaic (PV) cell. The cell benefits from a simple construction, with production technology based on current industrial coating practises, and a limiting theoretical efficiency three times that of conventional semiconductor based cells.

Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. and the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) today announced a joint trial operation of a roadside service vehicle equipped with a charger to assist electric vehicles (EVs) which run out of battery power. The trial service commences on June 7, 2011.

Significant advance in battery architecture could be breakthrough for electric vehicles and grid storage

Research is being conducted at Risø DTU into the development and manufacture of new battery materials, e.g. improved electrode and electrolyte materials for the next generation of Li-ion and Li-air batteries. This requires insight and 'nano-scale engineering' as well as detailed understanding of the underlying processes.

Electric vehicle charging infrastructure will see a frenzy of change over the next ten years. That will involve how it is made and installed, how it operates and even whether it is needed at all. For example, the 1.3 million electric vehicles for the disabled, obese and elderly being sold this year will rise to over three million in 2021 and none of them will have a charging station - you simply plug them into a regular socket. Registering that the most convenient and affordable charging station is none at all, the e-bike manufacturers have at last started to move in the same direction. Adoption of the new lithium-ion batteries releases a huge amount of weight and space and a charger can now be fitted into the e-bike. That will become more affordable as the years go by. Here are some more of the surprises revealed during the research for the new IDTechEx report, "Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure 2011-2021".