While on the face of it, the lithium-batteries that power electric vehicles play an important role in our ongoing shift to sustainable transport, they aren’t without environmental problems of their own. Batteries that use organic, readily available materials in place of rare metals are seen as a promising part of the solution to this dilemma, and new research led by University of Houston scientists demonstrates how the performance of these eco-friendly devices might be brought up to speed.
As demand for electronic devices and vehicles continues to grow, so does the reliance on lithium-ion batteries that rely on scarce metals. Front and center of this dilemma is cobalt, the mining of which is not only associated with environmental degradation and pollution of water supplies, but plagued by ethical issues such as the exploitation of child labor. The use of these metals also makes recycling the batteries difficult at the end of their lives.
However, we are seeing some exciting advances being made in the development of batteries that do away with these types of materials and use organic ones instead. These have included organic-based batteries that can break down in acid for recycling, a heavier reliance on cheaper and more environmentally friendly nickel, and even one from IBM that uses materials found in seawater.
The new device marries this organic architecture with another promising branch of battery research focusing on the use of solid-state electrolytes. Typical batteries move their electrical charge between two electrodes, a cathode and anode, in a liquid electrolyte solution, but scientists are making great inroads into alternative designs that use a solid electrolyte instead. This type of architecture could also allow batteries to work with a lithium metal anode, which could store as much as 10 times the energy of current devices.
The scientists behind the new battery have solved what they say is a key limitation of organic-based, solid-state lithium batteries. Where cobalt-based cathodes afford these batteries a high energy density, ones made from organic materials suffer from limited energy density, which the team found to be because of microscopic structures within the cathode. “Cobalt-based cathodes are often favored because the microstructure is naturally ideal but forming the ideal microstructure in an organic-based solid-state battery is more challenging,” says study author Jibo Zhang.
Working with a cathode made from an organic material called pyrene-4,5,9,10-tetraone (PTO), the scientists used ethanol as a solvent to alter its microstructure. This treatment resulted in a new arrangement that allowed for better transport of ions within the cathode and boosted its energy density to 302 Wh/kg, which the team says is 83 percent higher than current state-of-the-art solid-state batteries with organic cathodes.
“We are developing low-cost, earth-abundant, cobalt-free organic-based cathode materials for a solid-state battery that will no longer require scarce transition metals found in mines,” says Yao. “This research is a step forward in increasing EV battery energy density using this more sustainable alternative.”
The battery pack of a Tesla Model S is a feat of intricate engineering. Thousands of cylindrical cells with components sourced from around the world transform lithium and electrons into enough energy to propel the car hundreds of kilometers, again and again, without tailpipe emissions. But when the battery comes to the end of its life, its green benefits fade.
If it ends up in a landfill, its cells can release problematic toxins, including heavy metals. And recycling the battery can be a hazardous business, warns materials scientist Dana Thompson of the University of Leicester. Cut too deep into a Tesla cell, or in the wrong place, and it can short-circuit, combust, and release toxic fume.
That’s just one of the many problems confronting researchers, including Thompson, who are trying to tackle an emerging problem: how to recycle the millions of electric vehicle (EV) batteries that manufacturers expect to produce over the next few decades. Current EV batteries “are really not designed to be recycled,” says Thompson, a research fellow at the Faraday Institution, a research center focused on battery issues in the United Kingdom.
That wasn’t much of a problem when EVs were rare. But now the technology is taking off. Several carmakers have said they plan to phase out combustion engines within a few decades, and industry analysts predict at least 145 million EVs will be on the road by 2030, up from just 11 million last year. “People are starting to realize this is an issue,” Thompson says.
Governments are inching toward requiring some level of recycling. In 2018, China imposed new rules aimed at promoting the reuse of EV battery components. The European Union is expected to finalize its first requirements this year. In the United States, the federal government has yet to advance recycling mandates, but several states, including California—the nation’s largest car market—are exploring setting their own rules.
Complying won’t be easy. Batteries differ widely in chemistry and construction, which makes it difficult to create efficient recycling systems. And the cells are often held together with tough glues that make them difficult to take apart. That has contributed to an economic obstacle: It’s often cheaper for batterymakers to buy freshly mined metals than to use recycled materials.
Better recycling methods would not only prevent pollution, researchers note, but also help governments boost their economic and national security by increasing supplies of key battery metals that are controlled by one or a few nations. “On the one side, [disposing of EV batteries] is a waste management problem. And on the other side, it’s an opportunity for producing a sustainable secondary stream of critical materials,” says Gavin Harper, a University of Birmingham researcher who studies EV policy issues.
To jump-start recycling, governments and industry are putting money into an array of research initiatives. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has pumped some $15 million into a ReCell Center to coordinate studies by scientists in academia, industry, and at government laboratories. The United Kingdom has backed the ReLiB project, a multi-institution effort. As the EV industry ramps up, the need for progress is becoming urgent, says Linda Gaines, who works on battery recycling at DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory. “The sooner we can get everything moving,” she says, “the better.
Now, recyclers primarily target metals in the cathode, such as cobalt and nickel, that fetch high prices. (Lithium and graphite are too cheap for recycling to be economical.) But because of the small quantities, the metals are like needles in a haystack: hard to find and recover.
To extract those needles, recyclers rely on two techniques, known as pyrometallurgy and hydrometallurgy. The more common is pyrometallurgy, in which recyclers first mechanically shred the cell and then burn it, leaving a charred mass of plastic, metals, and glues. At that point, they can use several methods to extract the metals, including further burning. “Pyromet is essentially treating the battery as if it were an ore” straight from a mine, Gaines says. Hydrometallurgy, in contrast, involves dunking battery materials in pools of acid, producing a metal-laden soup. Sometimes the two methods are combined.
Each has advantages and downsides. Pyrometallurgy, for example, doesn’t require the recycler to know the battery’s design or composition, or even whether it is completely discharged, in order to move ahead safely. But it is energy intensive. Hydrometallurgy can extract materials not easily obtained through burning, but it can involve chemicals that pose health risks.
And recovering the desired elements from the chemical soup can be difficult, although researchers are experimenting with compounds that promise to dissolve certain battery metals but leave others in a solid form, making them easier to recover. For example, Thompson has identified one candidate, a mixture of acids and bases called a deep eutectic solvent, that dissolves everything but nickel.
Both processes produce extensive waste and emit greenhouse gases, studies have found. And the business model can be shaky: Most operations depend on selling recovered cobalt to stay in business, but batterymakers are trying to shift away from that relatively expensive metal. If that happens, recyclers could be left trying to sell piles of “dirt,” says materials scientist Rebecca Ciez of Purdue University.
The ideal is direct recycling, which would keep the cathode mixture intact. That’s attractive to batterymakers because recycled cathodes wouldn’t require heavy processing, Gaines notes (although manufacturers might still have to revitalize cathodes by adding small amounts of lithium). “So if you’re thinking circular economy, [direct recycling] is a smaller circle than pyromet or hydromet.”
In direct recycling, workers would first vacuum away the electrolyte and shred battery cells. Then, they would remove binders with heat or solvents, and use a flotation technique to separate anode and cathode materials. At this point, the cathode material resembles baby powder.
So far, direct recycling experiments have only focused on single cells and yielded just tens of grams of cathode powders. But researchers at the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory have built economic models showing the technique could, if scaled up under the right conditions, be viable in the future.
To realize direct recycling, however, batterymakers, recyclers, and researchers need to sort out a host of issues. One is making sure manufacturers label their batteries, so recyclers know what kind of cell they are dealing with—and whether the cathode metals have any value. Given the rapidly changing battery market, Gaines notes, cathodes manufactured today might not be able to find a future buyer. Recyclers would be “recovering a dinosaur. No one will want the product.”
Another challenge is efficiently cracking open EV batteries. Nissan’s rectangular Leaf battery module can take 2 hours to dismantle. Tesla’s cells are unique not only for their cylindrical shape, but also for the almost indestructible polyurethane cement that holds them together.
Engineers might be able to build robots that could speed battery disassembly, but sticky issues remain even after you get inside the cell, researchers note. That’s because more glues are used to hold the anodes, cathodes, and other components in place. One solvent that recyclers use to dissolve cathode binders is so toxic that the European Union has introduced restrictions on its use, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency determined last year that it poses an “unreasonable risk” to workers.“In terms of economics, you’ve got to disassemble … [and] if you want to disassemble, then you’ve got to get rid of glues,” says Andrew Abbott, a chemist at the University of Leicester and Thompson’s adviser.
To ease the process, Thompson and other researchers are urging EV- and batterymakers to start designing their products with recycling in mind. The ideal battery, Abbott says, would be like a Christmas cracker, a U.K. holiday gift that pops open when the recipient pulls at each end, revealing candy or a message. As an example, he points to the Blade Battery, a lithium ferrophosphate battery released last year by BYD, a Chinese EV-maker. Its pack does away with the module component, instead storing flat cells directly inside. The cells can be removed easily by hand, without fighting with wires and glues.
The Blade Battery emerged after China in 2018 began to make EV manufacturers responsible for ensuring batteries are recycled. The country now recycles more lithium-ion batteries than the rest of the world combined, using mostly pyro- and hydrometallurgical methods.
Nations moving to adopt similar policies face some thorny questions. One, Thompson says, is who should bear primary responsibility for making recycling happen. “Is it my responsibility because I bought [an EV] or is it the manufacturer’s responsibility because they made it and they’re selling it?” In the European Union, one answer could come later this year, when officials release the continent’s first rule. And next year a panel of experts created by the state of California is expected to weigh in with recommendations that could have a big influence over any U.S. policy.
Recycling researchers, meanwhile, say effective battery recycling will require more than just technological advances. The high cost of transporting combustible items long distances or across borders can discourage recycling. As a result, placing recycling centers in the right places could have a “massive impact,” Harper says. “But there’s going to be a real challenge in systems integration and bringing all these different bits of research together.”
There’s little time to waste, Abbott says. “What you don’t want is 10 years’ worth of production of a cell that is absolutely impossible to pull apart,” he says. “It’s not happening yet—but people are shouting and worried it will happen.
International Energy Agency (IEA), Clean Energy Ministerial, and Electric Vehicles Initiative (EVI) (June 2020). “Global EV Outlook 2020: Enterign the decade of electric drive?”. IEA Publications. Retrieved 15 June 2020. See Statistical annex, pp. 247–252 (See Tables A.1 and A.12). The global stock of plug-in electric passenger vehicles totaled 7.2 million cars at the end of 2019, of which, 47% were on the road in China. The stock of plug-in cars consist of 4.8 million battery electric cars (66.6%) and 2.4 million plug-in hybrids (33.3%). In addition, the stock of light commercial plug-in electric vehicles in use totaled 378 thousand units in 2019, and about half a million electric buses were in circulation, most of which are in China.
Roth, Hans (March 2011). Das erste vierrädrige Elektroauto der Welt [The first four-wheeled electric car in the world] (in German). pp. 2–3.
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Guarnieri, M. (2012). Looking back to electric cars. Proc. HISTELCON 2012 – 3rd Region-8 IEEE HISTory of Electro – Technology Conference: The Origins of Electrotechnologies. pp. 1–6. doi:10.1109/HISTELCON.2012.6487583. ISBN978-1-4673-3078-7.
Boyle, David (2018). 30-Second Great Inventions. Ivy Press. p. 62. ISBN9781782406846.
Denton, Tom (2016). Electric and Hybrid Vehicles. Routledge. p. 6. ISBN9781317552512.
“Elektroauto in Coburg erfunden” [Electric car invented in Coburg]. Neue Presse Coburg (in German). Germany. 12 January 2011. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
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Shahan, Zachary (26 April 2015). “Electric Car Evolution”. Clean Technica. Archived from the original on 18 September 2016. Retrieved 8 September 2016. 2008: The Tesla Roadster becomes the first production electric vehicle to use lithium-ion battery cells as well as the first production electric vehicle to have a range of over 200 miles on a single charge.
Evans, Scott (10 July 2019). “2013 Tesla Model S Beats Chevy, Toyota, and Cadillac for Ultimate Car of the Year Honors”. MotorTrend. Archived from the original on 13 July 2019. Retrieved 17 July 2019. We are confident that, were we to summon all the judges and staff of the past 70 years, we would come to a rapid consensus: No vehicle we’ve awarded, be it Car of the Year, Import Car of the Year, SUV of the Year, or Truck of the Year, can equal the impact, performance, and engineering excellence that is our Ultimate Car of the Year winner, the 2013 Tesla Model S.
Nissan (3 December 2020). “Nissan marks 10 years of LEAF sales, with over 500,000 sold worldwide” (Press release). Retrieved 11 December 2020 – via Automotive World. Nissan today celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Nissan LEAF and the delivery of 500,000 LEAF vehicles since the model was first introduced. More than 148,000 have been sold in the United States
When asked which company was the first creating an autonomous electric freight truck, most people will be wrong. And when asked which company was the first creating an autonomous electric truck that is allowed to drive on a public road, most people will be wrong too. It is not Tesla, it is not Alphabet’s Waymo, Uber, or Lyft, and it is not any of the big car or truck manufacturers.
It is Einride (pronounced as “n-ride”), a Swedish startup that was founded in 2016. I spoke to 29-year-old, Forbes 30 Under 30 listed co-founder and CMO of Einride, Linnéa Kornehed to find out how they have done this.
Some Facts About Einride
Founded in 2016, Einride has grown to around 100 people today, and has raised a total of $41M of funding. Nice for a startup, but totally incomparable to the many billions that all the large companies above have invested in electric and autonomous driving. And yet, it is this startup that has beaten all of them in getting its first truck on the road, or “Pod” as Einride likes to call them. As Kornehed explains, “on the day after Elon Musk announced the launch of the Tesla Semi, we already launched our Pod.“
If you aren’t impressed by that already, here are some more facts about Einride:
Named to Fast Company’s prestigious annual list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies for 2021 in the Transportation category
Winner of the 2020 Edison Awards for Innovations and Innovators
Winner of the European Startup Prize for Mobility, a EU-founded Acceleration and Investment Programed for sustainable mobility startups
Listed is CB Insights Game Changers 2020 as one of the 36 startups that could change the world
Featured on 2020 Global Cleantech 100-list
First place in “Sustainable Transport” and “People’s Choice Award”, in the E-prize contest by energy company E.ON. and Veckans Affärer
Exclusive member of the World Economic Forum, Shaping the future of Mobility
Further evidence of their strength are the many brands that have already teamed up with Einride, including Coca-Cola, Lidl, Oatly, and Ericsson, and the fact that they are the first to set a record for an autonomous electric freight vehicle at the Top Gear racing track (see picture and watch here).
Einride is not an ordinary truck manufacturer. It does not produce their Pod’s, nor are their Pod’s for sale. Similar to a company like Apple, Einride is in charge of the design, technology, and branding of their trucks, as well as the control of the complete chain to which they outsource production, assembly and logistics. But most important is its software platform. As Kornehed explains, “at its core, Einride is primarily a software company. It is our platform that makes the difference.”
Einride has adopted at Transportation as a Service (TaaS) model. This means that, as a customer, you don’t buy their products, but you subscribe to a monthly service. In other words, you buy transport, rather than a vehicle. The reason for adopting this innovative business model lies in the specific characteristics of autonomous and electric driving.
Kornehed: “both autonomous and electric driving require careful and systematic planning. This can best be done at the fleet level so that there is an overall planning that is efficient, safe, and that makes best use of the range and charging possibilities of the vehicles.” Through their TaaS model, software platform, and “control room,” Einride can plan much more efficiently than individual transportation companies would be able to do—and thereby help them save money and reduce emissions.
Why and Where Next?
When asked why Kornehed joined Einride and what the company’s drive is, there is no doubt: climate change. As Kornehed continues, “road freight transport is responsible for 7% of global greenhouse emissions. And the volume of shipped goods is growing at a 3-4% rate every year.” Electric, autonomous trucks, according to Einride, could transform road freight transport as we know it by reducing CO2-emissions by 90%. Furthermore, it could also lower operating costs by 60% and radically improve road safety.
When asked whether less transportation would not be a better solution, Kornehed responds, “logistics and transportation are so important in today’s global economy. We don’t want to let that go. The same for traveling, which is great. We should be able to keep all of that, but in a responsible, sustainable way.”
The company wants to set an example and show that the transformation to electric, autonomous freight transportation is within reach. As they show, the technology is there and the legal obstacles can be overcome. Admittedly, their current public road permit is very limited and restricted to a small section of one public road in Sweden. But it means the beginning is there, even in Europe where especially the legal side is a challenge.
Looking forward, Einride’s next steps are starting their operations in the US and expanding further in Europe. And, as Kornehed closes, “we hope to show people and businesses that it is possible to make a change. But change doesn’t happen by itself. By achieving all that we have achieved in just five years with our startup, we hope to inspire others to take their own sustainability initiatives.”
I help companies discover, formulate and execute their future plans, so that they will realize their ambitions in a complex and uncertain world. My drive is to bring people and companies to the next level by offering strategic guidance and training. I wrote “Strategy Consulting,” “No More Bananas,” and “The Strategy Handbook.” Reach out to me via jeroenkraaijenbrink.com, LinkedIn or jk@kraaijenbrink.com
Billionaire Elon Musk saw his net worth fall on Monday, as shares of his electric car company dropped following reports that two people died in a fatal Tesla TSLA-3.4% crash over the weekend.
Shares of Tesla were down 3.8% as of 3:45 p.m. EST on Monday, shaving $5.6 billion off Musk’s fortune. He’s now worth $174.1 billion, according to Forbes estimates. The Tesla CEO and cofounder is the third-richest person in the world—behind Amazon AMZN-0.8% CEO Jeff Bezos, who has a net worth of $195.9 billion, and French luxury goods tycoon Bernard Arnault, who is worth $180.3 billion.
Tesla’s stock fell on Monday amid reports that two men died after their 2019 Tesla Model S crashed into a tree north of Houston on Saturday night. Local authorities said that they believed the vehicle was operating without anyone in the driver’s seat—with one of the men reportedly in the front passenger’s seat and the other in the back seat of the Tesla. The vehicle was traveling at high speeds along a curve before veering off the road and bursting into flames at around 11:25 p.m., police said.
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Harris County Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman told the media in a statement that it took emergency crews about four hours to put out the Model S fire, saying that the team even contacted Tesla for help. While electric vehicles are not necessarily more dangerous than gas-powered vehicles, high-voltage lithium batteries like the ones used in Tesla can reignite even after an initial fire is put out, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
The crash also raises further questions about Tesla’s Autopilot feature. Authorities were not yet certain if Autopilot was active during the crash which killed the two men, aged 59 and 69, respectively. Nonetheless, the company’s semiautomated driving system has faced mounting scrutiny following a series of accidents involving Tesla vehicles in recent months. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said last month that it had launched more than two dozen investigations into crashes of Tesla vehicles, and on Monday said that it would also be investigating the most recent crash north of Houston.
Tesla, which does not have a media relations department, does not appear to have issued any statements in the wake of the accident. Both the company and its billionaire CEO, however, have repeatedly touted the safety of Tesla vehicles and the Autopilot feature. Musk, who is active on Twitter with nearly 52 million followers, posted on Saturday afternoon prior to the accident that a Tesla with Autopilot engaged is nearly ten times less likely to be involved in an accident than an average car.
Tesla also has been rolling out an upgraded suite of assistance features on a limited basis, a system it calls “full self-driving.”“Autopilot and full self-driving capability are intended for use with a fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the wheel and is prepared to take over at any moment,” Tesla says on its website, noting that the features don’t make the vehicle autonomous.
Some safety advocates have said that the company doesn’t do enough to keep drivers from depending too much on the features or using them in situations for which they aren’t designed. They also have criticized the company for the language it uses to describe its features, saying that terms such as “Autopilot” and “full self-driving” risk giving drivers a false sense of the vehicle’s abilities.
“They are intentionally, foreseeably creating unnecessary risks to the public,” said Jason Levine, executive director for the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Auto Safety. Tesla has told federal officials that it doesn’t believe it needs to limit where drivers are allowed to use its assistance system because the vehicle is under the driver’s control.
NHTSA doesn’t have any rules on the books prescribing how companies must monitor driver engagement, something the NTSB, which issues safety recommendations, has criticized, saying that it puts people at risk. NHTSA has said that it is evaluating potential next steps to ensure driver safety.
Update 6:45 pm EST, April 19: Later on Monday, Musk posted on Twitter denying that Tesla’s Autopilot feature was involved in the crash. Data logs recovered from the accident “show Autopilot was not enabled” and that the car did not purchase Full Self-Driving (FSD), the Tesla CEO said in his tweet. “Moreover, standard Autopilot would require lane lines to turn on, which this street did not have,” Musk wrote.
I am a New York-based reporter covering billionaires and their wealth for Forbes. Previously, I worked on the breaking news team at Forbes covering money and markets. Before that, I wrote about investing for Money Magazine. I graduated from the University of St Andrews in 2018, majoring in International Relations and Modern History. Follow me on Twitter @skleb1234 or email me at sklebnikov@forbes.com
Ford released its fourth quarter 2020 financial results Thursday after the markets closed and posted a net loss for the quarter of $2.8 billion and $1.3 billion for the full year. None of that was surprising. However, Ford also announced a doubling of its investment in electrified vehicles to $22 billion through 2025 and an increase in its total investment in automated driving to $7 billion from $4 billion.
Ford began delivering the Mustang Mach-E, its first purpose-built electric vehicle, in late December and plans to ramp up deliveries beginning this month. Mach-Es for North America and Europe are being produced in Mexico, but the automaker recently announced it would add production for the Chinese market from its Changan assembly plant this spring.
So far, Ford has announced three new battery electric vehicles, the Mach-E, the e-Transit commercial van coming this fall and an electric F-150 due out in 2022.
“We are accelerating all our plans – breaking constraints, increasing battery capacity, improving costs and getting more electric vehicles into our product cycle plan,” Jim Farley, Ford CEO said.
As part of the expanded commitment, Ford says that electric vehicles will be fundamental to the premium Lincoln brand. Similar strategies are being followed by many other automakers including General Motors GM+0.5%GM+0.5%GM+0.5%GM+0.5% which is targeting 2030 to have all Cadillacs be electric.
Ford hasn’t revealed any other specific electric products yet, but as part of its latest contract with the Canadian UNIFOR union, it did commit to building electric vehicles at the Oakville, Ontario assembly plant. In addition to Oakville, Cuautitlán, Mexico is building the Mach-E, Dearborn, Mich will produce the F-150 and the Kansas City assembly plant will build the e-Transit. MORE FOR YOU
In support of growing EV sales, Ford is also expanding the charging network available through the Fordpass app from 13,500 to 16,000. Ford EV owners can set up payment through the app and then automatically get billed at chargers that are part of the network when the vehicle is plugged in.
As part of the ongoing development of its automated vehicle program, the Argo AI fleet in Miami undertook a charitable goods pilot delivery program during the fourth quarter. Vehicles completed address-to-address autonomous deliveries of groceries and school supplies. Ford and Argo AI are now testing fourth-generation prototypes based on the Ford Escape Hybrid which feature the production intent hardware configuration prior to the planned commercial launch of services in 2022. Those services are expected to debut in Miami, Washington DC and Austin, Texas.
I’ve spent my adult life working in and around the automotive industry. After earning a mechanical engineering degree from GMI I spent the next 17 years working on electronic control systems that help cars stop, go and change direction before I drove away to write about what other engineers were creating. Since then I’ve been trying to educate my readers, viewers and listeners about how the latest automotive technology works, what it can do and perhaps more importantly, what it can’t do. Since 2014 I’ve been combining my communications and engineering knowledge as a principal analyst with Navigant Research covering alternative fuels, advanced driving technologies and connected vehicles. I also co-host the Wheel Bearings podcast at https://wheelbearings.media/
An ongoing back-and-forth between Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) and the state of California seems to have come to a head, as 30% of Tesla workers are now scheduled to return to work at their Freemont, CA plant on May 8 and resume auto production.
The overnight move has had a slight effect on the company’s stock price, which opened the day about 2% higher in today’s U.S. trading. At time of writing, price has continued to increase at a fast clip climbing past $815 already.
The move has come after the governor of California, Gavin Newsom, released a statewide plan on Thursday to begin an incremental return to normal business operations. Part of this “Phase II” loosening includes lifting of some restrictions on the manufacturing sector, which Tesla falls under.
The cavalcade of news out of Tesla keeps on rolling, as just yesterday CryptoGlobe reported on Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s dramatic claim of selling all his possessions on the Joe Rogan podcast. Also yesterday, several investment analysts called Tesla stock a buy, even amid the challenges of a post-corona world.
This past week was dramatic in general, as tech companies across the board released Q1 earnings reports. One surprise was the 700% uptick in Square’s Bitcoin-derived business, through its money transfer platform Cash App. However, the actual sum is less impressive, amounting to only about $7 million.
This didn’t drop Tesla (TSLA) stock price; this did. It’s simple. Watch this video to see what really changes the price of product exchanged on the stock market. We’ll also update you on Tesla’s (TSLA) price prediction/forecast. It’s time to stop the confusion. Join Us!!! Join This Elite Group – Sign Up Here: https://www.huefinancial.com Follow us on Twitter @HueFin_News Follow us on Instagram – huefinnews Follow us on Facebook – HueFin News Inquiries: contact us at huefinnews@gmail.com Here at HueFin News we will show you that you do not need to buy expensive charting software or use indicators to understand where the market is going. The cryptocurrency market, stock market, and commodities market all speak through the charts. It is a language and it is spoken through volume and bars. It is our purpose to give you market analysis and news that is not confusing. In order to be a profitable trader you have to PREDICT with HIGH CONFIDENCE where price is LIKELY to move. Understanding market language will allow you see where price is going to move with high precision. That’s why we are giving you news (before it happens) according to the charts. Article: https://techcrunch.com/2019/04/26/elo… Make sure you subscribe to this channel to get a better understanding of the market without indicators, shapes, patterns, or expensive software. Also, leave a comment if you have any questions. HueFin News will also speak on topics that are important to you. Some topics include: cryptocurrency news, gold, silver, oil, fiat currencies, fintech, stocks, economic metrics, day trading, swing trading, FOREX, and many other topics that we feel is vital to your profitability in the financial markets. **This is not investment advice** **Trading involves risk** **This is for educational purposes only** #tesla#stockmarket#elonmusk
Consumers may love the “click today, deliver tomorrow” culture of online shopping, but it’s forcing manufacturers to react to changing customer needs faster than ever before. The effects are not limited to mass-produced goods; they’re rippling through the highly specialized world of heavy machinery, which is experiencing burgeoning demand for customized products.
While technology’s growing influence on the sector can’t be ignored, the need for accelerated production and delivery is changing heavy machinery manufacturing – reshaping the sector in profound ways and creating new opportunities for growth.
Going local
The conventional global manufacturing and distribution model is disappearing. Instead of shipping from one large production facility to the rest of the world, manufacturers are searching for more efficient arrangements. For some companies, that means setting up shop closer to customers to gain a deeper understanding of their needs and be able to respond quickly.
Working together is nothing new for Japanese companies. Chowa, as it’s known in Japanese, refers to ‘a spirit of harmonious partnership.’
One company that’s reaping the benefits of proximity is Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Compressor International (MCO-I), a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group. Rather than manufacture machinery at its home base in Japan and ship it to the United States, the company established a Gulf Coast base in 2015, in the heart of the local oil and gas industry – roughly half of the U.S. oil refining and natural gas processing capacity is located along the Gulf of Mexico.
This move has led to MCO-I’s rapid growth in the U.S. over the last four years, allowing the company to better understand the market and adapt its operations to the needs of its customers. Rather than simply shipping pieces of equipment, the company now offers customers whole-life service for its products.
3D printing on the premises
Technologies such as 3D printing are accelerating how companies produce their products. For instance, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Machine Tool Co.(MAT) uses a proprietary additive manufacturing process to print metal components of virtually any size, and a unique monitoring system works in real time, analyzing feedback and automatically adjusting the printing process to guarantee the integrity of the finished product.
Clients have access to a record of the manufacturing, giving them complete traceability. And the process is cheaper than traditional methods, such as casting.
This innovation opens up many possibilities for companies operating closer to their customers. Manufacturers can produce highly specialized components on-site, for industries ranging from auto manufacturing to space travel.
Components produced locally also cut out the carbon dioxide emissions associated with transporting products across long distances, another growing concern for customers.
Growing collaboration
Increasingly, manufacturers are adopting a spirit of collaboration, joining forces to meet the time frames and complex demands of customers.
Some industries are naturally suited to such joint ventures: Mobile phone service providers have been benefiting from shared network infrastructure for years, reducing costs, spreading investment risk and extending their coverage.
Today, deep supply chain integration continues to offer many benefits to both vendor and buyer, especially as the market demands ever faster production and distribution.
Working together is nothing new for Japanese companies. Chowa, as it’s known in Japanese, refers to “a spirit of harmonious partnership.” Harmony can even exist between rivals, where the practical benefits of combining resources outweigh competitive concerns. Mazda and Toyota may compete, for example, but they’re building a joint factory in Alabama – a single facility that will produce cars from both companies for American drivers.
As businesses look to go local, these kinds of collaboration are a strategic way to cut the costs of running multiple global bases.
Partner companies may also have shared interests despite operating in very different fields. Take Google and Volkswagen, which have joined forces in a quantum computing partnership. Although the companies may apply the technology differently, they share a common goal to advance the field while sharing the resources required to do so. In an increasingly high-tech world, where such breakthroughs could shift the playing field, unlikely collaborations could become commonplace.
For major manufacturers, working with other companies provides an opportunity to offer clients end-to-end solutions – through the power of internal chowa. On the Gulf Coast, MCO-I and Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) have come together to supply customers with compressor and gas turbine packages.
A crane lifting a steam turbine onto the foundation at an MCO-I customer site on the Gulf Coast, a hub of oil and gas activity in the U.S.
MCO-I
Deepening integration
Greater collaboration has also become an integral part of successful and faster supply chains, as astute manufacturers realize the benefits of developing deeper relationships with their vendors. These suppliers can help manufacturers reduce costs, boost quality and develop new products and processes to outpace and outperform competitors.
This is a proven strategy for Japanese companies. The country’s major auto manufacturers were fostering supply chain integration in the U.S. in the 1980s. This culture of cooperation exported from Japan ran counter to the price-focused interactions between carmaker and supplier that dominated the American automobile market at the time.
Honda and Toyota built long-term, close-knit vendor networks in the States, in which suppliers learned, improved and shared in the parent company’s success. In the 1990s, production costs fell by as much as 25 percent for some Japanese models, lead times to bring new models to market were shorter than those of U.S. rivals, and overall reliability was superior.
Today, deep supply chain integration continues to offer many benefits to both vendor and buyer, especially as the market demands ever faster production and distribution. Sharing expertise and knowledge builds trust between partners, and often mutual success. The spirit of cooperation makes it easier to respond to customer requests for bespoke products and to react to emergencies.
This strategic, and at times physical, closeness can also give customers peace of mind about what they’re buying: MCO-I’s integration with MHI Group companies means customers know the provenance of their machines.
The result is greater speed and greater transparency – chowa at its best.
About the author
Johnny Wood has been a journalist for over 15 years working in different parts of the world – Asia, Europe and Middle East. As well as an accomplished features writer he has edited several prestigious lifestyle magazines and corporate publications.
A leading industrial firm, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Group (40 billion USD annual revenue) is finding new, simpler and sustainable ways to power cities, improve infrastructure, innovate manufacturing and connect people and ideas around the globe with ever-increasing speed and efficiency. For over 130 years, the company has channeled big thinking into innovative and integrated solutions that move the world forward. MHI owns a unique business portfolio covering land, sea, sky and even space across industries from commercial aviation and transportation to power plants and gas turbines, and from machinery and infrastructure to integrated defense and space systems.
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Connectivity is central to the future of transportation, and if self-driving vehicles are going to enter the mainstream market, they’re going to need 5G. Volvo announced it has partnered with state-owned telecom giant China Unicom to explore vehicle-to-infrastructure and other automotive applications using next-generation 5G mobile network technology.
The two companies will research, develop and test ways that 5G connectivity speeds can be used to help improve safety, sustainability, customer convenience and autonomous driving. The upcoming 5G technology is many times faster than current 4G speeds, and its low-latency is critical for vehicles using the network to communicate real-time information with infrastructure, vehicles, and to cloud-based services. Volvo, which is owned by the Chinese Geely Auto Group, will explore how best to leverage the high-speed network to improve the driving experience.
“Volvo has been a leader in realising the potential of connecting our cars to enable new features and services such as detecting and sharing locations of slippery roads between vehicles,” said Henrik Green, chief technology officer at Volvo Cars. “With 5G, the network performance is improving to allow for many more real-time critical services that can help the driver be safer and get a smoother and more enjoyable ride.”
Applications could help the country improve traffic flow by optimizing speed limits to coordinate with timed lights, or help drivers find open parking spaces. It could also be used to help support Volvo’s “Drive Me” self-driving vehicle pilot program. The auto maker originally planned to put 100 self-driving vehicles on the road in Sweden and China in 2017, but paused testing until 2021. The new 5G connectivity technology will be in the next generation of vehicles built on the SPA2 modular vehicle architecture, which will begin production in 2021.
However, the deployment of v2x technology using state-owned infrastructure could raise privacy concerns. China operates a vast domestic surveillance network that tracks individuals, and is rolling out a nation-wide “social credit” system based on data collected from public and private sources. This credit system can be used to reward citizens with high credit scores, and it can be used to punish those with low scores by limiting their ability to purchase luxury goods or barring them from buying tickets for travel.
Volvo notes that China is “widely expected to implement its own regional standards for vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technologies.” This means that vehicle-to-everything applications developed hand-in-hand with the state-owned telecom without individual privacy protections built in could be the same as handing over the keys to the car to the government.
I’m an automotive technology and lifestyle writer covering alternative powertrains, transportation startups, next-generation infotainment systems, and basically anything could “disrupt” your daily commute. My work has appeared in CNET.com, TheDrive.com, CNN.com, and several print and online publications, including Roadandtrack.com, Popular Mechanics, and Penthouse.
According to the year-end plug-in vehicle sales scorecard compiled by the website InsideEVs.com, Tesla sold 158,925 Model 3s in the U.S. during 2019. That not only makes it the most-popular plug-in vehicle in America, it’s handily outselling all the other electric cars on the market combined, and by a substantial margin.
The Model 3 quite literally beat the pants off all comers last year, including its own showroom siblings, the older and far pricier Tesla Model Y at 19,225 units and the Model S at 14,100 delivered in 2019. Other top sellers in this segment, though nowhere near the Model 3, include the Chevrolet Bolt EV and the Nissan Leaf, responsible for an estimated 16,416 and 12,365 units, respectively. No other EVs recorded five-figure sales last year.
Tesla reportedly pulled out all the proverbial stops to make fourth-quarter sales before its federal tax credit granted to EV buyers expired. The credits phase out for any automaker that sells more than 200,000 plug-in cars, which is something Tesla accomplished in 2008. Its credits dwindled to $1,875 as of July 1, 2019, and were eliminated altogether on January 1.
But that still doesn’t explain the Model 3’s overwhelming dominance in the still nascent electric vehicle market. A close look reveals that, unlike most other automakers, Tesla seems to be much of everything right with regard to its smallest and least-expensive vehicle.
Tesla Model 3 (Photo by Christophe Gateau/picture alliance via Getty Images)
picture alliance via Getty Images
For starters, it’s priced near, if not in the sweet spot for Tesla intenders, starting at $39,990 for the Standard Range Plus version. The mid-to-upper $30,000 range is a popular price point among mainstream EVs right now. Surveys almost unanimously cite the higher cost of battery-driven vehicles as being one of the biggest barriers to more widespread adoption. That could be one reason why luxury-oriented models like the Audi e-Tron and Jaguar i-Pace, priced in the $70,000 range, have yet to connect with consumers.
Range anxiety is frequently cited as a major concern with potential EV buyers, and the Model 3 largely avoids it. The base version can run for an average 250 miles on a charge. That’s more than enough to meet most motorists’ needs and is roughly on a par with smaller and less expressively styled electric vehicles like the Chevrolet Bolt EV and the Hyundai Kona Electric at 259 and 258 miles, respectively. If you have a bigger budget, the $48,990 Long Range model can traverse an estimated 322 miles with a full battery, which is about as much as anyone could drive in a single day.
Lack of a public charging infrastructure is also frequently mentioned as an issue among consumers with regard to EVs. For its part, Tesla gives Model 3 buyers access to its extensive network of Supercharger quick-charge stations, installed in myriad locations on well-traveled routes across the country. And this is in addition to the ability to charge at other expanding networks like ChargePoint, EVGo, and Electrify America.
A Tesla Supercharger rapid battery charging station. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images).
Getty
Another lingering myth about electric cars is that they’re lacking in terms of performance. In fact the opposite is generally true. The base version of the Model 3 can race from 0-60 mph in a frisky 5.3 seconds, and a downright fast 3.2 seconds in the top Performance iteration. As with all electric cars, having the battery mounted under the passenger compartment in a skateboard-like configuration warrants a low center of gravity, which inherently helps afford crisp handling skills.
Another problem with widespread EV adoption is that many models are only sold via select dealerships in California and one or more states that adhere to its stricter emissions regulations. For example, for 2019 the Kia Niro EV was only available in California, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Texas, and Washington. The Honda Clarity Electric was restricted to California and Oregon.
Though Tesla is barred from establishing a company-owned retail presence in some states or is restricted to the number they can open due to long-established franchise laws, its vehicles remain widely available and the company seems to have developed a cult following. There are company-owned Tesla Stores in 26 states where consumers can see, touch, and learn about the vehicles. Tesla also sells its cars direct to customers via the Internet, though again with exclusions in some states.
At that, the traditional sales model doesn’t seem to be delivering the goods when it comes to EVs. A recent study conducted by the Sierra Club found a disturbing lack of enthusiasm among more-established automakers and their dealers to sell electric cars. The organization sent 579 volunteers out into the field to visit over 900 auto dealerships in all 50 states to assess how well battery powered vehicles are being supported on the retail level. They found disturbing shortfalls in electric car availability, how they were presented and charged for test drives, and salesperson knowledge regarding the products.
How will the Tesla in general and the Model 3 in particular are moving forward, with another model year under its belt?
Mustang Mach-E (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)
Getty Images
Though the Model 3 is currently king of the proverbial hill, the electric car market will see several important new models coming to market in the coming months (including some pricey pickup trucks and sports cars). For its part, Ford is generating tons of enthusiasm with its coming Mustang Mach-E full electric crossover SUV, already racking up enough pre-orders (with refundable $500 deposits) to sell out its allotment of First Edition models. The Mach-E will come to market late in 2020 and will compete most directly with Tesla’s new Model 3-based Model Y compact crossover, expected around mid-year. As it is, with consumers shunning sedans in favor of taller crossovers these days, the Model Y will undoubtedly cannibalize Model 3 sales and could fast become the automaker’s top-selling model.
Perhaps the biggest hurdle Tesla will face in 2020 will be the lack of a federal tax credit as a deal sweetener. Congress has yet to extend or amend the current federal incentives that were enacted in 2010 to help spur sales of plug-in vehicles. While Tesla’s spiffs have expired and General Motors are slated to go away on May 1, all other automakers can still offer the full $7,500 credit. Despite lobbying by the auto industry, legislators declined to address the tax credits in a year-end spending bill, with the White House said to be staunchly opposed to their retention.
I’m a veteran Chicago-based consumer automotive journalist devoted to providing news, views, timely tips and reviews to help maximize your automotive investments. In addition to posting on Forbes.com, I’m a regular contributor to Carfax.com, Motor1.com, MyEV.com and write frequently on automotive topics for other national and regional publications and websites. My work also appears in newspapers across the U.S., syndicated by CTW Features.
Topline: While states often compete to attract thousands of new tech jobs, a USA Todayinvestigation uncovered a host of issues—from workplace injuries to housing shortages—at Tesla’s Nevada Gigafactory in recent years, showing the darker side of big corporate factories.
According to the investigation by USA Today, workers at the Tesla Gigafactory outside Reno, Nevada, have been struggling with workplace safety issues for the last few years, with some incidents not even getting reported as required by law.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) had to send inspectors onsite more than 90 times in three years, whereas other factories in the area on average only had to see an inspector once during that same period, the report found.
Injuries occurred routinely, at least three times a month, with some—including amputations, one of which USA Today describes in grisly detail—never even getting recorded by Tesla.
Emergency responders have been hard-pressed to answer regular calls from the factory in recent years: In 2018, for instance, there was an average of more than one 911 call per day coming from the factory, spanning everything from workplace injuries to medical concerns, according to USA Today’s report.
The arrival of 7,000 new workers when the plant opened has also exacerbated an already critical housing shortage and homelessness issue in the Reno area: Gigafactory employees found it hard to find an affordable place to live, with several resorting to living in tents or cars, the investigation found.
Traffic has also increased exponentially in the surrounding area, with roads leading to the massive factory—which is only 30% complete—getting routinely congested.
Key background: In 2014, Nevada beat out other states competing to be the new home for Tesla’s ambitious battery factory project, which the company promised would become one of the world’s biggest factories. State officials rushed through a $1.3 billion tax abatement package—the largest in Nevada’s history—to incentivize Tesla to move there. But when complications emerged from the influx of new workers, state and local governments were ill-prepared and had little financial resources to address them.
Further reading: This isn’t the first time safety issues have been reported at a Tesla factory. A Forbes investigation earlier this year found that Tesla’s factory in Fremont, California, had racked up more fines and workplace safety violations than any other car factories.
Tangent: Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced on Tuesday that the company plans to build its fourth Gigafactory in Berlin, Germany.
I am a New York—based reporter for Forbes, covering breaking news—with a focus on financial topics. Previously, I’ve reported at Money Magazine, The Villager NYC, and The East Hampton Star. I graduated from the University of St Andrews in 2018, majoring in International Relations and Modern History. Follow me on Twitter @skleb1234 or email me at sklebnikov@forbes.com
Union organizers say hundreds of construction workers walked off the job at the Tesla Motors manufacturing plant east of Reno to protest the increased hiring of out-of-state workers for less pay.
