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Technology Report
Electronics & Computers

New Ultium Battery System Underpins GM’s EV Future

General Motors on March 4 gave media, investors and key dealers the first look at the electric-vehicle (EV) onslaught it is readying for production, along with related propulsion,...

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News
Materials

British HFQ Process May Enhance Aluminum’s High-Volume Future

With this year’s end stage of a major collaborative R&D project, the longstanding competition between steel and aluminum for high-volume vehicle production is set to...

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Articles
Electronics & Computers

The Inside Story on Thermal Management

TLX Technologies designs and manufactures custom electro-mechanical solenoid products for the automotive industry. In this Q&A piece, Travis Mueller, TLX Design Engineer, discusses the importance of thermal management in today’s vehicle designs.

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Q&A
Automotive

Tula Turns Its Tech Toward EV Motor Control

San Jose-based Tula Technology is best known for its innovative Dynamic Skip Fire technology. Editor-in-chief Lindsay Brooke caught up with Scott Bailey, the company’s president and CEO, to find out. Read on for highlights of their conversation.

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News
Motion Control

SAE Symposium Covers New Approaches in Thermal Management

Vehicle thermal management, once almost exclusively about safely rejecting powertrain heat, continues to evolve to dealing with two extremes in operation of battery electric...

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News
Test & Measurement

Continental's Lidar in a Flash

A precise three-dimensional profile of a vehicle’s surroundings is a fundamental prerequisite for automated driving. A new high-resolution 3D flash lidar (HFL) sensor developed for use at close range – 50...

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Technology Report
Test & Measurement

Xtrac Readies E-Tech for Rallycross World Championship

For any motorsport engineering supplier tempted to carry its highly specialized expertise along the winding – often hazardous – road to series cars, the journey can be fraught with...

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Technology Report
Power

GM Deploying Electricals of the Future

General Motors recently offered media a deeper look at the company’s all-new vehicle electrical architecture that was first confirmed in mid-2019, saying the vehicle-wide electrical system is...

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Articles
Power

Modeling Electric Motors

This article looks at an example of using some of the latest software technology to design a traction-drive motor for a medium-duty delivery truck.

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Technical Innovation
Green Design & Manufacturing

Prodrive, Volta Trucks Develop Electric Truck for Urban Driving

Working with Swedish start-up Volta Trucks, Prodrive is helping to engineer what promises to be a unique 16-tonne (17.6-ton) heavy goods vehicle (HGV).

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Articles
Materials

ZwickRoell Rallies for EV Battery Testing

A lightweight, higher-capacity lithium-ion or Li-blended battery could fast-track the demand for electric vehicles (EVs) by increasing the driving range, but progress could be easily sidetracked...

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Q&A
Energy

Parker Takes Electro-Hydrostatic Approach for Electric Machines

Off-highway industrial machines require multi-function implement operation with dynamic duty cycles. In many cases, machine implements demand short bursts of full engine power...

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Articles
Energy

Autonomy’s ‘Pirouetting’ Future

Designing and engineering a 360-degree steering capability for a production electric autonomous road vehicle’s four wheels is no mean achievement. But Protean Electric also combines this pirouetting capability with an in-wheel electric motor, “innovative” suspension and pneumatic ride height control.

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News
Manned Systems

SAE Publishes On-Route Mechanized Conductive EV Charging Systems Recommended Practices

SAE International published SAE J-3105 Electric Vehicle Power Transfer System Using Conductive Automated Connection Devices Recommended Practice in...

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Road Ready
Energy

Volvo’s Polestar Powerhouse Plug-In Hybrid

You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. That’s why Polestar, Volvo’s new electric performance subsidiary, used its first vehicle as a rolling showcase of the brand’s...

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News
Energy

‘Laxatives’ May Ease Challenge of Lithium-Ion Alternative

The R&D dimension of the automotive industry often reveals novel solutions and cross-linking between materials, but a team of international scientists has come up with...

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News
Motion Control

Proving Grounds Are the Hush-Hush Heroes of the Latest Automotive Test Technology

The world’s independent vehicle test-track operators often are the unsung heroes of new-vehicle development. They work in an atmosphere of secrecy that...

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News
Power

New IAAPS Powertrain R&D Center to Accelerate Development of Propulsion Systems

The auto industry needs new areas of expertise, new development tools, and new ways of facilitating collaboration and innovation to keep pace with technologies...

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News
Test & Measurement

Autonomy Already Influencing Vehicle Interior Design

Just about everyone’s seen a recent rendering of future vehicle interiors, but high-function driver assistance, automated driving and mobility as a service (MaaS) are new dimensions...

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News
Manufacturing & Prototyping

Getting a Grip on EV Fasteners

It may not get much R&D fanfare, but fastenings and their coatings will play an essential engineering role in electrified vehicles (EVs). There is an increasing demand from the auto industry for...

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News
Mechanical & Fluid Systems

New GM, LG Chem Joint Venture to Build EV Battery Plant in U.S.

General Motors and longtime battery partner LG Chem announced the companies are forming an equally-owned joint-venture (JV) company to mass-produce lithium-ion batteries for...

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News
Transportation

Commercial-Vehicle Battery Producer Sets up in U.S. as Electrification Takes Hold

Projecting the market for full-electric and hybrid-electric commercial vehicles will continue to expand, Germany-based lithium-ion battery specialist Akasol...

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News
Energy

Narrower Focus, Bigger Payoff for Commercial EVs

Government regulations are prompting a changeover to electric powertrains, with early growth coming in commercial vehicle applications where range and recharging are more easily managed....

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News
Connectivity

Air Exchange System Shows Potential to Reduce Winter BEV Range Loss

Battery-electric vehicle (BEV) range loss from winter use of PTC (positive temperature coefficient) heating has become a source of major concern as the industry works to...

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News
Test & Measurement

Chevy Tweaks 2020 Bolt’s Battery Chemistry to Add Range

In late 2016, the Chevrolet Bolt became a breakthrough vehicle for long-range EV affordability. At the time, no other electric car came close to offering the Bolt’s 238 mi (383...

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News
Green Design & Manufacturing

How Battery Technology Will Drive Truck Electrification

The past three years have seen a major shift in the perception around electrified commercial vehicles, including trucks, driven by a variety of factors that have come together at this...

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News
Energy

EV Startup Rivian Gets More Funding from Ford, Amazon

Rivian, the startup electric vehicle (EV) developer focusing on pickup trucks, SUVs and commercial delivery vehicles, announced on Dec. 23 that it completed a new $1.3-billion round of...

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Articles
Energy

ACeDrive Consortium Plans More Efficient EV Powertrain

It’s called ACeDrive, which may sound innocuous for an auto-industry project, but the consortium that formed it has announced that it seeks to develop the world’s lightest and most...

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News
Propulsion

Is DC Fast-Charging Ready for Prime Time?

It’s a trip we’ve done scores of times with barely a thought. From our home near SAE International headquarters in western Pennsylvania to the metro Detroit area is approximately 300 miles (483...

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