New Chemistries, Cheaper Metals Spark EV Battery Price Declines

This is a guest post from John Gartner, Vehicle Electrification and Mobility Consultant and Researcher. Originally posted on June 18, 2020.

Cost of Lithium Carbonate in China, Last 12 Months.

If electric vehicles are to become mainstream, they need to become comparable to internal combustion engine vehicles in their purchase price. Reducing the cost of the EV battery packs – a major contributor to the overall price tag – is essential to reaching price parity. Battery costs are expected to continue their downhill slide due to declining material costs as well as manufacturers eliminating the use of premium-priced metals.

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New Jersey EV Proposal Addresses Major Charging Obstacles

By John Gartner, Vehicle Electrification and Mobility Consultant and Researcher. 

[Click image to Enlarge] Gov. Murphy's goal of 330,000 electric vehicles by 2025 is going to need a strong utility plan and soon as the end of 2019 revealed only 29,601 EV and PHEVs on the road in the garden state. (Source: Drive Green NJ)Utilities are known to focus on reliability of service and for not wanting to be first when it comes to implementing a new technology or policy. The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) has conscientiously avoided being on the bleeding edge of electric vehicle (EV) policymaking. The BPU’s recently released straw proposal for supporting EVs shows that they have been studying other states' experiences, and it astutely recognizes and addresses many of the significant challenges faced in operating and integrating EV charging stations.

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Virginia Leaps Forward with Offshore Wind Power and Other States Regress

SG 14-222 DD offers a14 MW capacity and its all-in-one blade design.Virginia hasn't been known as a cleantech state, but many lawmakers and the state's main utility, Dominion Energy, are now whistling a different tune as the Governor recently signed into law the...Virginia Clean Economy Act. The new legislation drastically changes how the state procures power,

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Colorado's EV Plan Could Mean Blue Skies Ahead

This is a guest post from John Gartner, Vehicle Electrification and Mobility Consultant and Researcher. Originally posted on April 30, 2020.

The State of Colorado may not have been one of the first states to push for leadership in electric vehicles (EVs), but the just-released Colorado Electric Vehicle Plan 2020 clearly signals that the state is focused on rapidly making up ground.

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Form Energy's Vision and its New Energy Storage Pilot with Great River Energy

Great River Energy, the second largest utility in Minnesota, is launching a pilot program with Form Energy to implement 1MW of renewable energy along with 150MWh of "long-form" energy storage in Cambridge, MN. For many, energy storage technology conjures up lithium-ion battery technology and four hour bursts of supplemental power for utility scale operations. However, Form Energy's nascent solution relies on long-duration batteries, based on "aqueous-air" battery technology that according to the company "leverages some of the safest, cheapest, most abundant materials on the planet."

For this application, Form Energy will produce 150 continuous hours of rated power. According to ARPA-e, a governmental energy body, the technology uses low cost and high abundance sulfur in a water-based solution, and MIT research demonstrated that aqueous sulfur flow batteries represent the lowest chemical cost among rechargeable batteries."

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Xcel Energy May Have a Transformational EV Charging Station Solution for Multi-Unit Dwellings

Xcel Energy reveals an ambitious plan for multi-unit dwellings in Colorado to solve the issue of how to deliver EV charging stations to owners. What's the secret to the utility's success? Develop a solution with your customers front and center. 

Many city dwellers are finding roadblocks to owning electric vehicles (EV) at multi-unit dwellings, also known as MUDs, due to the lack of charging stations nearby or on-premise parking. You can buy a new Chevy Bolt (260 mi. battery pack) or Tesla Model 3 while living at a MUD, but with no charging stations on the premises, it can be a substantial hurdle in buying an electric vehicle. Homeowner association (HOA) boards can also be obstacle due to their lack of experience or education in procurring EV charging stations.

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Chicago City Council Passes Multi-Unit Dwelling EV Ordinance

Last Friday, the City Council in Chicago passed the Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment Ready ordinance to help pave the way for more charging stations at residential multi-unit dwellings (MUDs) and commercial buildings. The new EV MUDs ordinance does a number of things, but the big takeaway is the requirement to provide plug-in equipment for residential and commercial properties.

The new 2020 ordinance cites any new residential construction consisting of at least five residential units should reserve "no less than 20% of parking spaces for EVs." The previous Chicago MUD ordinance required all new residential construction consisting of at least 24 residential units to reserve no fewer than two parking spaces for EVs.

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