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Battery cell maker Northvolt has filed for bankruptcy in Sweden, the company said on Wednesday, marking one of the country's largest corporate failures and effectively ending Europe's best hope of developing a rival to challenge China. "This was a decision we did not take lightly" and it was the only "realistic path forward," Northvolt Chairman Tom Johnstone told a press conference, saying every avenue had been pursued to avoid bankruptcy for the company, which puts 5,000 jobs at risk. The EV battery maker sought U.S. Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November as its cash pile dwindled and it scrambled to...

Korean researchers have developed advanced Ni-rich cathodes that improve all-solid-state battery performance, offering longer lifespans and greater energy efficiency. n an era where electronic devices and electric vehicles demand better battery performance, scientists are racing to develop batteries that last longer, charge faster, and store more energy. A promising solution lies in all-solid-state batteries (ASSBs), which could outperform traditional lithium-ion batteries in both efficiency and safety. At the heart of this innovation is the cathode active material (CAM), particularly those rich in nickel (Ni), which plays a crucial role in boosting battery performance. Role of Ni-rich cathodes ASSBs differ from...

Electric vehicles are “not mission critical,” said the Trump administration, which has ordered all EV chargers located at federal buildings to be shut down nationwide and newly purchased EVs to be offloaded. This comes on the heels of pausing already-promised EV infrastructure funding. The U.S. General Services Administration, or GSA, is the federal agency responsible for contracts and procurement as they relate to the government’s real estate, IT, products, and equipment, which includes vehicles. According to The Verge, there are several hundred charging stations managed by the GSA, which amounts to roughly 8,000 charging ports across the country. And they...

According to a new report by the California New Car Dealers Association, the growth rate of all electric vehicles in California was stagnant, and went up by only 1% in 2024. The number of total registrations for electric cars dropped by o.3% from 2023.

That’s one way to avoid congestion pricing. U.S. automaker Alef Aeronautics proved that the sky’s not the limit for vehicles after releasing the first-ever footage of a flying car like something out of a science-fiction movie. The groundbreaking fly run starts off typically enough with the black test vehicle — which is 100% electric — driving along a road in California. Then, all of a sudden, it lifts off vertically and soars over another car like a less futuristic scene from the film "Back To The Future II." Flight is facilitated through a system called distributed electric propulsion, with a...

When Ric Harris traded in his ageing Mercedes for a Tesla Model 3, he was instantly converted. “It was a bit like having a spaceship,” says the 51-year-old computer programmer. “It saved me an absolute fortune in fuel; the only thing it’s had done is tyres and topping up the windscreen washer fluid.” When he acquired the car on a company scheme, Harris did not consider the politics of Tesla’s billionaire owner too closely. “Elon Musk just seemed like a really interesting person. Everything he was doing seemed really positive,” he says. Four and a half years later, the car’s...

BMW’s conservative approach to EV adoption, investing in platforms that can accommodate internal-combustion, hybrid, and electric powertrains, is now paying off as the company navigates the uncertain transition to electric vehicles. Inside EVs reports that as the automotive industry grapples with the challenges of transitioning to electric vehicles, BMW’s strategic decision to invest in flexible platforms is proving to be a wise move. Unlike some of its rivals, such as Mercedes and Audi, who have focused heavily on dedicated EV platforms, BMW has taken a more measured approach by developing architectures that can support multiple powertrains, including internal-combustion engines (ICE),...

An e-bike battery that exploded is being blamed for an apartment fire in the city of Ithaca Monday morning. When firefighters arrived on Cherry Street at around 6:40, they found heavy smoke coming from the fourth floor of the five-story building. They determined a battery was burning in the apartment, which ignited other materials. The three people who were inside the apartment were able to escape safely. The building sustained moderate smoke and water damage. The sprinkler system activated and prevented the fire from growing larger. The Red Cross was called to help those residents who were displaced and no...

An electric vehicle caught fire in Ojai on Saturday, prompting evacuation and shelter-in-place orders in a nearby residential area. The vehicle, the maker of which not identified, caught fire due to thermal runway, according to the fire department. Thermal runway, a “challenging and hazardous condition,” is a process that occurs when a battery uncontrollably reaches high temperatures incredibly quickly. The department said the safest approach to such a blaze is to let it burn in a controlled environment. Direct extinguishment can exacerbate the fire, authorities said. The orders were expected to last about 3 hours.

The Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas has reportedly been evacuated after a Cybertruck exploded outside the front doors. A Cybertruck - made by Trump croonie Elon Musk's company Tesla - was seen in a fiery blaze outside the front revolving doors of the hotel, social media video showed. Large orange flames were seen crawling out the windows of the Cybertruck before several explosive sounds can be heard. The top of the car appears to blow afterward Fire alarms were heard going off in the building. It is unclear if hotel guests have been evacuated. It is unclear if anyone...

The government of Brazil stopped issuing work visas for Chinese electric carmaker BYD after local authorities rescued 163 Chinese nationals working in conditions “analogous to slavery” at a BYD factory under construction in the city of Camaçari, Bahia, Reuters reported Friday. BYD, a company with deep ties to the Chinese Communist Party, is building the plant at a location once occupied by American carmaker Ford, which sold the location to the local Bahia government in 2023 after Ford ceased all operations in Brazil in 2021. Brazil’s Public Prosecutor’s Office announced on December 23 that construction work on BYD’s factory in...

"Enjoying your rental? Take it home with Hertz Car Sales."Hertz bought a bunch of Tesla Model 3s for its rental fleet and quickly realized that Tesla depreciation would be extra bad at scale. In an aggressive effort to sell off its remaining Tesla inventory, the rental company is sending extra cheap buyout options to rental customers. If you like your rental, Hertz will sell it to you for an extra cheap good deal. One Hertz customer took to Reddit to show off a screenshot of the deal he got directly from Hertz, a 2023 Tesla Model 3 with 30,000 miles...

It is often taken as a given that electric vehicles are friendlier for the environment and that we will all inevitably be driving them in the future. In this short video, Mark P. Mills of the National Center for Energy Analytics questions the government’s push towards EVs, and whether these “givens” are true. 500,000 pounds of rock to produce ONE batter for one EV.

Executives at Ford Motor Company, General Motors (GM), and Stellantis are begging President-elect Donald Trump to keep in place President Joe Biden’s Electric Vehicle (EV) mandates. The plea comes as automakers have invested billions in EVs that have failed to turn a profit. In March of this year, Biden issued a federal regulation to begin phasing out gas-powered cars, requiring American automakers to produce EVs and ensure that by 2032, the majority of new cars sold in the U.S. market are electric. Since then, Ford, GM, and Stellantis have staked their futures on EVs. The results have been bleak as...

General Motors CEO Mary Barra is still committing to taking the automaker fully electric by 2035, even as third-quarter earnings show Electric Vehicles (EVs) are still not profitable. “That is the plan we’re still executing,” Barra told the New York Times of GM’s plans to fully transition to EVs by 2035 regardless of who is in the White House. Barra first made the commitment in 2021 after President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris took office. The commitment, though, has not made EVs any more profitable.

Despite government subsidies, mandates and promotion, demand for electric vehicles (EVs) is still so low that car thieves don’t think they’re worth stealing — but, if they are stolen, they’ll cost more to replace than traditional, gas-powered vehicles. While the Biden-Harris Administration provides tax credits to people who buy electric vehicles, there are no such incentives for those who might steal them. A record number of vehicles were stolen in the U.S., but electric vehicles were far less likely to be stolen, a Highway Loss Data Institute analysis of insured vehicles model years 2021-23 finds. Four of the six vehicles...

Robert Stevenson, a Tesla Cybertruck owner, recently revealed that GEICO is kicking out his Cybertruck from his multi-vehicle insurance policy.In a post that was first shared on X and later reposted on Reddit, Robert writes, “@GEICO said they can no longer insure my Cybertruck.”Robert added, “It makes no sense, as there are other, riskier cars out there. Let me know if you recommend any insurer for the truck. I have eight cars with an amazing record. I will be canceling my entire Geico policy!! Bye-bye!”Below his post, the Cybertruck owner included the letter he received from GEICO informing him that...

A semi-truck carrying large lithium-ion batteries overturned Thursday in San Pedro, sparking a fire and hazardous materials concerns while also forcing a closure of the 47 Freeway and the Vincent Thomas Bridge

* The European Union on Friday voted to adopt definitive tariffs on China-made battery electric vehicles (BEVs). * "Today, the European Commission's proposal to impose definitive countervailing duties on imports of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) from China has obtained the necessary support from EU Member States for the adoption of tariffs," the EU said in a statement. * The EU added that it was still working in China to look for "an alternative solution" even as the tariffs are adopted.The European Union on Friday voted to adopt definitive tariffs on China-made battery electric vehicles (BEVs). "Today, the European Commission's proposal...

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor on Friday speculated that a home in the city’s upscale Davis Islands neighborhood likely burned down because an electric vehicle inside a garage caught fire. "Water and ion batteries do not mix. They literally explode. So if that was the case of this particular fire, I saw that home from the helicopter and there’s one wall left," she said. "It’s very, very tragic. Fortunately nobody was hurt."