Battery maker A123 Systems, a one-time darling of the U.S. electric car industry and recipient of millions in government funding, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Tuesday. A123 (AONE) missed an Oct. 15 interest payment totaling about $2.7 million on $144 million of debt. The battery manufacturer had $460 million in total assets and $376 million in debt as of Aug. 31, according to documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. Tuesday.
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It might seem like a strange idea to launch a car company these days, especially in the challenged electric vehicle sector. But viewed from the perspective of evolving energy technology and shifting generation and energy use priorities, electric cars are in many ways just one facet of energy storage at a scale accessible to most consumers.
Coda, a California company that views itself as an advanced technology firm leveraging the lithium phosphate battery, is also an electric car company. Keep reading →
The greatest roadblock to developing smart grids in the US is not high up-front investment, good news when 65 million electric vehicles could be on the road by 2025, according to the results of a recent annual electric utility industry survey. Infrastructure firm Black & Veatch queried over 500 qualified industry participants about some of the most prescient issues of the day and the results may surprise you.
The top issues the industry is concerned about in 2012 are aging infrastructure, reliability and the environment. Aging infrastructure steadily crept to the top of the list over the past three years – in the 2009/2010 survey the issue ranked sixth in a list of the top ten. The importance of security has also gained importance according to the survey participants. Keep reading →
We’re trying to estimate demand for electric charging units…can anyone help determine demand in a given area?
By Peter GardettCalifornia Energy Storage Startup Community Gets State Bridge Across ‘Valley of Death’
By Felicity Carus
Energy storage technologies – notorious for falling into the infamous financing “valley of death” – are set to get a stronger bridge across the abyss from lab to market in California.
CalCharge, a consortium based in San Francisco’s Bay Area, launched May 29. Keep reading →
Natural gas could reach the status of a globally priced and traded commodity within five years if sufficient shipping capacity is developed.
The use of natural gas in transport has the potential to change the role of energy infrastructure, politics and investing, but without the right mix of government policies and business commitment fuel consumption patterns will lag broader shifts that include a shift in consumption power to emerging economies. Keep reading →
How a quest for a ten-fold improvement in batteries promises to make electric vehicles deliver on their remarkable potential.
The din that accompanied the birth of modern electric vehicles has quieted, despite a steady parade of new models and the ascent of gas prices to worrisome highs. The relative quiet is good news though, a sign that electric vehicles (EVs) are entering a critical period when the technology must evolve from exotic to everyday. Keep reading →
If it’s true that it takes a crisis to force change then the US car manufacturing sector understands this better than anyone. Detroit has undergone a renaissance in the wake of the global economic and financial meltdown, broadening their offerings to include more fuel efficient passenger vehicles, hybrid models and electric cars.
“We are experiencing technological changes in automobiles that I have not seen in my lifetime,” said Ford Motor Company Chairman Bill Ford at a recent reception to promote Ford’s partnership with sustainability innovator SHFT.com. AOL Huffington Post is also a founding partner of the site. Keep reading →
The charging cord for the Tesla Model S electric car
There is a hidden barrier to electric vehicles (EV) adoption – our electric grid. EVs could significantly increase peak demand and thus impact grid reliability. AMI and demand response technologies are often promoted as the solution for this uptick in peak demand. But we also need to look at other, grid-based solutions to enable broader adoption of EVs. Here are a few reasons why: Keep reading →
