A roadway will charge your EV while you’re driving

2 Φεβρουαρίου, 2022 6:33 μμ

-A “Category 6” storm simulator

A trend toward rapidly intensifying, powerful hurricanes in recent years is spurring experts to more closely examine how to prepare communities to better withstand such violent weather, Andrew writes.

Driving the news: The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) recently awarded about $13 million over four years to Florida International University’s (FIU) Extreme Events Institute to support the design of what is essentially a “Category 6” storm simulator.

• The grant will allow FIU to create a testing facility capable of producing winds up to 200 mph, complete with a water basin to simulate storm surge and wave activity.

Why it matters: Tropical cyclones, known in the tropical Atlantic and eastern Pacific as hurricanes, are intensifying as the oceans and atmosphere warm in response to human emissions of greenhouse gases.

• As storms get stronger they are capable of inflicting more damage, both to homes and critical infrastructure.

Context: Currently, the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale goes from Category 1 through 5, maxing out when a storm’s top sustained winds exceed 155 mph.

• Yet many hurricanes, such as 2019’s Dorian, have intensified so significantly that they might as well be called Category 6 storms, though the meteorological community has not yet rallied around a push to add a category.

Details: The new FIU facility will be built with the participation of other colleges, along with a private company, AeroLab.

It’s part of a broader NSF initiative to address threats posed by natural hazards.

Read the whole story.

 

 

-New in VC: $80 million for CO2 removal

Verdox, a CO2 capture and removal startup, this morning announced $80 million in funding from investors including the Bill Gates-led Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV), Prelude Ventures, and Chris Sacca’s Lowercarbon Capital, Ben writes.

Why it matters: The company, spun out of MIT, says its tech is applicable to capture from industrial sources or atmospheric removal, and at higher efficiency than competing methods.

How it works: I’m outsourcing to a detailed piece by Bloomberg’s Akshat Rathi, who reports on what’s now still only lab-scale technology that Gates and others see as promising.

• Verdox has “developed a special type of plastic that can selectively pull out CO₂ from a mix of gas—in air or exhaust—when charged with electricity.”
• “Once trapped, a change in voltage releases the CO₂. The startup said its material could cut the total energy used in direct air capture by 70% or more.”

 

-One intriguing idea: gravity storage growth

Energy Vault, one of a few startups looking to commercialize gravity-based storage tech using solid materials, has reached a deal to develop projects in China, Ben writes.

Driving the news: The company yesterday announced a $50 million licensing agreement with Atlas Renewable, which is majority-owned by the Chinese company China Tianying.

Atlas is also increasing its existing investment in Energy Vault’s move to go public via a SPAC deal.

Why it matters: Energy storage is important for helping high levels of intermittent renewable power penetration. The companies said the technology can help China meet its decarbonization goals.

How it works: The idea is a system that raises 30-ton composite bricks and “potential energy is stored in the elevation gain of the brick,” a primer on their site notes.

When power is needed, the system “releases kinetic energy back to the grid via controlled lowering of the bricks using gravitational force.”

Yes, but: Gravity storage has its skeptics.

 

-A roadway will charge your EV while you’re driving

The nation’s first stretch of road to wirelessly charge electric vehicles while they’re in motion will begin testing next year in Detroit.

Why it matters: “Electrified” roadways, which have wireless charging infrastructure under the asphalt, could keep EVs operating around the clock, with unlimited range — a big deal for transit buses, delivery vans, long-haul trucks and even future robotaxis.

• In-road charging could also help pave the way for more widespread EV adoption by relieving consumers of the need to stop and plug in their cars.

Driving the news: Electreon Wireless, an Israeli company whose plug-free charging infrastructure is already being tested in Europe, will deploy its first U.S. pilot in Detroit’s Michigan Central district, a new mobility innovation hub near downtown.

• The electrified road, up to a mile long, would allow EVs to charge whether they’re stopped or moving, and should be ready for testing in 2023.
• The state will contribute $1.9 million toward the project, which will also be supported by Ford Motor, DTE Energy and the city of Detroit.

The big picture: Wireless EV charging is expected to grow to $827 million worldwide by 2027, says Meticulous Research.

• Most of that growth will be for “static” wireless charging systems in places like parking garages, taxi stands, and bus or truck depots.
• Major U.S. players include WiTricity, WAVE, Momentum Wireless Power, Mojo Mobility, HEVO and Plugless Power, per the research firm.
• Electreon claims leadership in the market for “dynamic” wireless charging — systems that allow vehicles to suck up juice while in motion.
• It has ongoing pilots in Germany, Italy and Sweden, and will soon launch a plug-free charging network for 200 public buses in Tel Aviv.

How it works: Wireless EV charging systems use magnetic frequency to transfer power from coils buried underground to a receiver pad attached to the car’s underbelly.

• An EV can pull into a designated parking place with an underground charging pad and add electricity the same way a smartphone charges wirelessly.
• Along an electrified road, vehicles with wireless charging capability can suck up energy as they drive, but for all other cars, it’s an ordinary road.

Between the lines: Wireless, or inductive, charging has multiple benefits over traditional EV plugs.

• Vehicles that charge on the go can use smaller, cheaper batteries.
• They also don’t need to be taken out of service for charging. More uptime means more revenue for fleet owners and better customer service for transit agencies.
• A taxi waiting at the train station, for example, can add 10 minutes of charging without having to plug in. Buses can also top off their battery at the depot while loading passengers.
• And wireless charging is ideal for autonomous vehicles, which don’t have a driver to plug a traditional charging cable into the car’s socket.

Yes, but: Wireless charging can add $3,000 to $4,000 to an already pricey EV, notes Meticulous Research.

• Electreon, which is working with carmakers to add receivers to their vehicles, aims to get the cost down to $1,000 or $1,500, Stefan Tongur, Electreon’s vice president of business development, tells Axios.
• Users would likely access the feature through a monthly subscription, he noted.

Where it stands: President Biden is calling for 500,000 new public charging stations by the end of 2030, and Congress allocated $7.5 billion for EV charging in the $1.2 trillion infrastructure package passed last November.

• “What a great time to come to the U.S. and show there’s an alternative — a smarter, faster charging system that takes us to where we need to be,” says Tongur.

 

Πηγή: axios.com