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Show #830   Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Sunday 5th July 2020. It’s Martyn Lee here and I go through every EV story so you don't have to.   Thank you to MYEV.com for helping make this show, they’ve built the first marketplace specifically for Electric Vehicles. It’s a totally free marketplace that simplifies the buying and selling process, and help you learn about EVs along the way too.   IONITY CELEBRATES 250TH FAST-CHARGING STATION IN EUROPE "IONITY, the European fast-charging network, founded in 2017 by BMW Group, Daimler AG, Ford Motor Company and the Volkswagen Group with Porsche AG, and joined by Hyundai Motor Group (Hyundai and Kia) in 2019, celebrates its 250th charging location." says InsideEVs: "The company announced the news on July 3, 2020, about six months since the milestone of 200 stations. The pace of new installations was probably significantly lowered by the COVID-19 lockdown, so we are wondering whether the target of 400 locations by the end of 2020 is still the case. IONITY's website shows that there are 251 stations installed, while another 49 are under construction. Most of the chargers are supplied by Tritium (55%: 569 chargers at 139 stations), followed by ABB (41%: 424 chargers at 108 stations) plus 5 stations with a total of 28 Porsche Engineering chargers."   https://insideevs.com/news/432240/ionity-250-fast-charging-station-europe/   TESLA INSTALLS 500TH SUPERCHARGER IN UK & IRELAND "Tesla continues to expand its electric vehicle charging network around the world, following the announcement of its CEO Elon Musk. To meet growing demand, 500 Supercharger devices have now been installed in the UK and Ireland. The first Superchargers appeared in the UK in 2014 and are now available in 63 locations. Tesla has already installed 42 new Superchargers this year, which confirms the company's intention to expand globally." reports Tesmanian: "Previously, the company’s Supercharger Network expansion has slowed down to allow for the ramp in the production of Supercharger V3 units. V3 Supercharging uses the same principle as Tesla’s current Superchargers but adds a 1MW power cabinet to the equation. That means 250kW peak charging rates per car. To date, eight V3 Superchargers have been installed in the UK - all at the brand’s Park Royal service center in London. Model 3 is compatible with the device as standard, and models S and X come with an adapter that allows them to use the same system."   https://www.tesmanian.com/blogs/tesmanian-blog/tesla-installs-500th-supercharger-in-uk-ireland   TESLA UPDATES WARRANTY ON PROBLEMATIC MEDIA UNIT AND TOUCHSCREEN "Tesla has updated its warranty for its already problematic media unit and touchscreen with a ridiculously shorter two-year or 25,000-mile limit." is the wording of electrek today: "As we previously reported, Tesla had a problem with the embedded Multi-Media-Card memory (eMMC) in its original MCU (the central media unit with a touchscreen). It is being overwritten to the point of failure, and many early Tesla owners are having to replace it. This week, Tesla updated the warranty on replacement MCUs and slashed the length of coverage in half."   https://electrek.co/2020/07/04/tesla-updates-warranty-problema   BUICK TO INTRODUCE VELITE 6 PHEV IN CHINATIC-MEDIA-UNIT-TOUCHSCREEN/ "Buick is adding the VELITE 6 plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) to its new energy vehicle (NEV) portfolio in China. The model is expected to be launched this month. The VELITE 6 PHEV will be powered by Buick eMotion electric drive technology that leverages GM’s global electrification expertise." reports Green Car Congress. And don't get that confused with the Buick Velite 7 I've previously reported on: "Based on a variant of the BEV2 platform that the Chevrolet Bolt EV debuted in 2016, the brand-new Buick Velite 7 EV includes a state-of-the-art battery pack that will allow it to offer an electric range of up to 500 kilometers – equivalent to about 311 miles – with a full charge, calculated under the conditions of the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC). In China, this makes it the most efficient electric crossover in its class. Aesthetically, the Velite 7 EV boasts a relatively simple design with a distinctive front fascia, and might share a few body panels with the upcoming Chevrolet Bolt EUV. The company has announced that the new high-performance lithium-ion modular battery that mounts the new Buick Velite 7 has a higher energy density, thanks to improved cell chemistry. Additionally, the battery pack has an advanced structural design and BMS thermal management system that meets GM’s global standards" as per GM Authority   https://www.greencarcongress.com/2020/07/20200704-buick.html   https://gmauthority.com/blog/2020/06/brand-new-buick-velite-7-ev-crossover-unveiled-in-china/   TESLA SUPERCHARGING USAGE HITS PRE-COVID 19 HIGHS @elonmusk: "North American Supercharger usage is now at pre-covid high, Europe about a week behind, China & Asia-Pacific in general doing great"   TEPCO TO REUSE CHINESE EV BATTERIES FOR ENERGY STORAGE "Japanese utility Tokyo Electric Power Co. Holdings will launch a storage battery business utilizing used electric-vehicle batteries from China, Nikkei has learned. The plan is to assemble used batteries into a containerized energy storage system to assist renewable-energy plants" writes Nikkei Asian Review: "Transmission and distribution unit Tepco Power Grid will purchase used EV batteries from trading companies in China and elsewhere, combining 20 to 30 vehicles' worth of them into a container-type battery. The batteries will then be sold to solar and other renewable-energy plants for 30% to 50% less than new batteries. Tepco hopes to grow the business into a new revenue stream. EV batteries are generally replaced after seven to 10 years, but the used batteries still have about 70% of their original capacity"   https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Energy/Tepco-to-reuse-Chinese-EV-batteries-for-energy-storage   AUDI, ENBW TO TURN ELECTRIC CAR BATTERIES INTO GRID SUPPORT TOOLS "Audi and utility EnBW are setting up an electric car battery operation at EnBW's Heilbronn plant to build scaleable storage facilities by the end of this year, drawing on retired batteries to help power grids." according to Car and Bike.com: "Electric vehicle battery recycling and reuse has become a priority for car and battery makers while renewable energy companies face the problem of how to absorb surpluses of wind and solar power to avoid waste and disruption to the stability of grids, slowing the transition to purely carbon-free energy system. Audi has been testing the behaviour of electric car batteries, which represent a third of an EV's unit costs, in a research setting in Berlin for three years. The batteries to be used for the commercial phase of the project come from test cars, which have run hundreds of thousands of kilometres, Kupfer said. "A used EV battery still can function for another three to 10 years," he said."   https://www.carandbike.com/news/audi-enbw-to-turn-electric-car-batteries-into-grid-support-tools-2257009   ELECTRIC CAR SCRAPPAGE SCHEME REJECTED BY GOVERNMENT MINISTERS "Hopes of a new scrappage scheme reportedly offering up to £6,000 towards the cost of an electric car have been dashed now that the government appears to have rejected the idea." says the RAC: "The Times reports that a letter from Rachel Maclean, junior minister for transport and the environment, reads: “the government has no plans at this stage to introduce a scrappage scheme.” A similar scrappage scheme was dismissed in 2018 as ministers believed it was “difficult to deliver [and] potentially open to abuse.” At present, the government provides a grant of up to £3,000 only towards the purchase of plug-in cars, although this was cut by £500 in March."   https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/news/motoring-news/electric-car-scrappage-scheme-rejected-by-government-ministers/   [mention for Premium Partners]   You can listen to all 829 previous episodes of this this for free, where you get your podcasts from, plus the blog https://www.evnewsdaily.com/ – remember to subscribe, which means you don’t have to think about downloading the show each day, plus you get it first and free and automatically.   It would mean a lot if you could take 2mins to leave a quick review on whichever platform you download the podcast.   And if you have an Amazon Echo, download our Alexa Skill, search for EV News Daily and add it as a flash briefing.   Come and say hi on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter just search EV News Daily, have a wonderful day, I’ll catch you tomorrow and remember…there’s no such thing as a self-charging hybrid.     PHIL ROBERTS / ELECTRIC FUTURE (PREMIUM PARTNER) BRAD CROSBY (PREMIUM PARTNER) AVID TECHNOLOGY (PREMIUM PARTNER) BRIGHTSMITHGROUP.COM – FOR CLEANTECH TALENT (PREMIUM PARTNER) PORSCHE OF THE VILLAGE CINCINNATI (PREMIUM PARTNER) AUDI CINCINNATI EAST (PREMIUM PARTNER) VOLVO CARS CINCINNATI EAST (PREMIUM PARTNER) NEW! 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Show #408.   Can You Help Me Fight The Fossils? Read More About Patreon here EVne.ws/patreon   Read today’s show notes on https://www.evnewsdaily.com   Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Thursday 7th March 2019. It’s Martyn Lee here and I’ve been through every EV story I could find today, and picked out the best ones to save you time.   Thank you to MYEV.com for helping make this show, they’ve built the first marketplace specifically for Electric Vehicles. It’s a totally free marketplace that simplifies the buying and selling process, and help you learn about EVs along the way too.   Formula E on terrestrial free TV this weekend, Hong Kong race to be screened live by BBC2.   CARLOS GHOSN RELEASED ON BAIL "An an unusual move in Japan, former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn was released on bail Wednesday after 108 days in jail, according to a report in Automotive News." Says Green Car Reports: "Ghosn, who is known as the father of the Nissan Leaf for his work championing the car's production, was arrested in November on charges of allegedly misusing company funds and underreporting his compensation for 10 years.In Japan, criminal suspects are routinely held without bail, and prosecutors can file new charges against jailed suspects to extend their detention, as they had with Ghosn."   “I am innocent and totally committed to vigorously defending myself in a fair trial against these meritless and unsubstantiated accusations,” he said in a statement following his release.   https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1121916_japanese-judge-releases-former-nissan-chairman-ghosn-on-bail     SUPERCHARGER V3 CHARGES AT 1000 MILES PER HOUR V3 is a completely new architecture for Supercharging. A new 1MW power cabinet with a similar design to our utility-scale products supports peak rates of up to 250kW per car. At this rate, a Model 3 Long Range operating at peak efficiency can recover up to 75 miles of charge in 5 minutes and charge at rates of up to 1,000 miles per hour. Combined with other improvements we’re announcing today, V3 Supercharging will ultimately cut the amount of time customers spend charging by an average of 50%, as modeled on our fleet data.Supercharger stations with V3’s new power electronics are designed to enable any owner to charge at the full power their battery can take – no more splitting power with a vehicle in the stall next to you. With these significant technical improvements, we anticipate the typical charging time at a V3 Supercharger will drop to around 15 minutes.   On-Route Battery Warmup New Supercharging infrastructure isn’t the only way we are improving our customers’ charging experience. Beginning this week, Tesla is rolling out a new feature called On-Route Battery Warmup. Now, whenever you navigate to a Supercharger station, your vehicle will intelligently heat the battery to ensure you arrive at the optimal temperature to charge, reducing average charge times for owners by 25%.   This combination of higher peak power with V3, dedicated vehicle power allocation across Supercharger sites, and On-Route Battery Warmup enables customers to charge in half the time and Tesla to serve more than twice the number of customers per hour. Additionally, we are also unlocking 145kW charge rates for our 12,000+ V2 Superchargers over the coming weeks. By increasing the number of vehicles we’re able to charge at each Supercharger in a day, the investment we’re making in our network will go significantly further with every V3 station deployed. Paired with other savings, these efficiencies will translate to an increased pace of investment for Superchargers moving forward, with a continued focus on getting to 100% ownership coverage across all regions we operate.   We will increase Model S and X charging speeds via software updates in the coming months. V3 Supercharging will roll out to the wider fleet in an over the air firmware update to all owners in Q2 as more V3 Superchargers come online. Our first non-beta V3 Supercharger site will break ground next month, with North American sites ramping in Q2 and Q3 before coming to Europe and Asia-Pacific in Q4.   So we need to see all of this in the context of the Model Y, the Semi Truck and the Roadster.     PORSCHE TAYCAN DEBUT AND LAUNCH INFORMATION UNVEILED? “We may finally have some much-anticipated information about the Porsche Taycan reveal and deliveries.” “Porsche’s first all-electric car is coming, and many people are extremely excited about its potential. So much so, that orders are already sold out for at least the first year. Reports say that Porsche plans to build about 40,000 cars initially, however, it seems they’re all spoken for at this point. Hybrid Cars were apprised of some information on the Taycan EV Forum. The site came across a tweet from a user whose Porsche rep leaked some new details about the upcoming performance EV’s timeline.”   “It claims that the Taycan will be unveiled this coming September, with deliveries starting in January 2020. As Hybrid Cars points out, the Frankfurt Motor Show is in September, so this might be the case.”   Per my Porsche rep, Porsche has closed down its Deposit program for the US due to high demand, Sep 2019 unveil confirmed, 1mo prior to unveil build out for orders to open up, Jan 2020 deliveries   Dennis C. (@ClarkDennisM)   https://insideevs.com/porsche-taycan-debut-launch-information/amp/     KIA BRINGS E-SOUL TO EUROPE, UPGRADES NIRO HYBRID AND PHEV Kia used the Geneva International Motor Show as the platform to introduce the battery-electric e-Soul to Europe, as well as to reveal new upgrades to the Niro Hybrid and Plug-in Hybrid. Every Kia vehicle on show in Geneva employs the brand’s mild-hybrid, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, or electric vehicle technology. The e-Soul makes its European debut with a choice of two electric powertrains. Now in its third generation, the Kia e-Soul’s new-generation battery packs—either 64 kWh or 39.2 kWh in capacity—are up to 30% more energy efficient than Europe’s current best-selling electric vehicle. The car is offered in Europe without the option of an internal combustion engine. The new e-Soul goes on-sale in select European markets from the end of the first quarter of 2019, sold as standard with Kia’s 7-year, 150,000-kilometer warranty, which also covers the car’s electric motor and battery pack.   ALL-NEW PEUGEOT E-208 LOOKS DYNAMIC IN GENEVA "The all-new Peugeot 208 with the all-electric e-208 version shown in Geneva in GT trim, raised a lot of interest. The new French subcompact brings to the table completely new dynamic styling." says Mark Kane for InsideEVs: "In the current specification – especially with the 50 kWh battery,  WLTP range of 340 km (211 miles) and 100 kW electric motor – it could be the tamer of the Renault ZOE, but there is one doubt. In several months, ZOE will get major upgrade in the form of a second generation version, which should make both cars at least competitive. Orders will be accepted from late summer 2019 on, while the launch is expected in the fall of 2019."   https://insideevs.com/peugeot-e-208-debut-geneva-photos-videos/amp/   CURRENT BMW I3 TO GET REVAMP RATHER THAN ALL-NEW MODEL “The BMW i3 is entering its seventh year of production, but the electric car will continue to be produced with further updates planned. The BMW i3 will last beyond the usual seven-year model cycle and get further updates, according to the boss of BMW i Division." Reports John McIlroy for AutoExpress: "The electric city car recently received its second battery upgrade, taking the capacity to 120Ah (42.2kWh) and the real-world range to around 160 miles. However, speaking to Auto Express at the recent Geneva Motor Show, i Division chief Robert Irlinger said the latest battery tweaks would not be the last upgrades in the i3’s life - and stressed that the car is not bound by conventional life cycles."   https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/bmw/i3/106240/current-bmw-i3-to-get-revamp-rather-than-all-new-model   NISSAN TO INTRODUCE E-POWER MODELS IN EUROPE Nissan unveiled the IMQ concept crossover, equipped with its award-winning e-POWER system, and announced it will launch the electrified powertrain technology in Europe. The technology will debut in European markets by 2022, Roel de Vries, Nissan corporate vice president, said at the Geneva International Motor Show. e-POWER has been a hit with consumers in Japan, where it’s helped make the Nissan Note the country’s best-selling registered car. Combining 100% electric motor drive with a gasoline engine that charges the battery, e-POWER cars give customers instant, smooth acceleration and excellent fuel efficiency. Introducing the technology in Europe will reinforce Nissan’s leadership in electrified vehicles in the region, where the Nissan LEAF is already the best-selling electric car. Building on the success of LEAF, e-POWER will be among a suite of new technologies coming to Nissan’s best-selling vehicles in Europe in the coming three years. By 2022 sales of electrified Nissan vehicles will increase five-fold, and by the end of that year will be double the market average.       COMMUNITY And thanks to MYEV.com they’ve set us another Question Of The Week. Keep your comments coming in on email and YouTube…   How do you feel about Tesla’s move to online-only sales? Do you want to test drive a car first? What about if you have to arrange finance to buy it, even tho Tesla say you can return it?     I want to say a heartfelt thank you to the 197 patrons of this podcast whose generosity means I get to keep making this show, which aims to entertain and inform thousands of listeners every day about a brighter future. 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By Guest Blogger, Nathan Edge This month Nathan Edge discusses the nature and operation of nuclear devices being used in unmanned space operations. As an aside, I can't believe I wasn't the first person to type into Google, "nuclear engine...USS Enterprise"?! Nathan provides links to sites for more information throughout the piece. Anyway, on with the article!-------------------------------------------------Nuclear power isn’t just applicable to terrestrial electricity generation; it has also been used in space travel since 1961 – whereby it is still a tremendous source of potential for propulsion mechanisms. Many well known space vehicles such as the deep space probes Voyagers 1 & 2 – which are over 18,000,000,000 and 15,000,000,000 km from Earth respectively – rely on nuclear power. It is even being used on NASA’s Curiosity Rover, which made a spectacular touchdown on Mars last year.Voyager 2. One of the most distant man-made objects in existence.The popularised spacecraft don’t actually use conventional nuclear reactors. Radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) - which harness Plutonium-238 as fuel - are the primary propulsion source. These so-called “nuclear batteries” exploit the principle that plutonium undergoes alpha-decay to produce heat. This is subsequently converted in to electricity using thermoelectric generators. Since they have no moving parts, RTGs are very reliable; the RTG on Voyager 2 has worked continuously since 1977, and is expected to continue working until 2025.A general RTG configurationThis is not to say, however, traditional nuclear reactors have not also been used in space operations in the past … albeit with some serious modifications. For example, the Soviet RORSAT satellites used 90% enriched uranium fuel as a power source. The safety implications of using such a system in earth orbit are obvious, and any fears of utilising such a technology are not exactly unfounded. The nuclear-powered Cosmos 954 satellite, for instance, fell into Canada in 1978 after a systems failure, distributing radioactive debris over 124,000 square kilometres. Due to events like these, it is likely that any future reactors will be confined to deep space like RTGs. However, this does not mean that they will only be used for unmanned exploration probes. NASA has its eyes on a manned Mars mission, but traditional chemical rockets would take six to seven months to reach Mars. A 1MW fission reactor powering 100-400 kW electric ion thrusters would take 3 months, thus limiting the health degradation astronauts face on long space journeys.Modern RTGs are designed to survive the possible accidents which could befall it during operation, including propellant fires during launch and land/water impacts. Reassuringly, RTGs cannot explode like nuclear weapons: the plutonium associated with weapons is Pu-239, not Pu-238. A similar safety feature which has been specified for nuclear reactor propulsion tech is that they are not activated until they are confirmed to have reached space successfully. Ultimately, this is to ensure fission fragments and other components of nuclear waste are not present if failure occurs during launch. Space: The future of waste disposal?Lastly, when using an RTG some additional thought must be applied to the disposal of the spacecraft when they come to the end of their working life. This is not just a nuclear issue: it’s important not to disturb any areas which potentially harbour extraterrestrial life. For example the RTG-powered Galileo spacecraft was sent into Jupiter’s atmosphere and destroyed to stop it crashing into a potential ocean under Europa’s crust. The disposal of RTGs and future nuclear reactors actually touch on one of the more outlandish proposals for dealing with nuclear waste: firing it out of the solar system.In short, the space and nuclear industry have a surprising legacy: nuclear power has already been used successfully for near-earth and deep space missions in the past, and its use has continued into the cutting edge-missions of today. Only time will tell whether or not it is the key to future exploration, both manned and unmanned, into our universe.DOCUMENT LINKS (IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE)NASA, 2013 Where are the Voyagers? [online]. Available at: http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/where/index.html[Accessed 02/02/2013]Atmos, J. 2012. Curiosity rover made near-perfect landing [online]. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19219782[Accessed 02/02/2013]Snyder, G.J. Small Thermoelectric Generators [pdf]. Available at: http://www.electrochem.org/dl/interface/fal/fal08/fal08_p54-56.pdf[Accessed 02/02/2013]NASA, 2013. Voyager – Spacecraft Lifetime [online].Available at: http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/spacecraftlife.html[Accessed 03/02/2013]Encyclopaedia of Science, 2013. RORSAT (Radar Ocean Reconnaissance Satellite [online]. Available at: http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/R/RORSAT.html[Accessed 03/02/2013]HackCanada, 2013. Cosmos 954 Satellite Crash [online]. Available at: http://www.hackcanada.com/canadian/other/cosmos954.html[Accessed 10/02/2013]King, L, 2012. Manned Mars mission still on track [online]. Available at: http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/story/2012/09/12/manned-mars-mission-still-on-track/57767950/1[Accessed 11/02/2013]Rousseau, I.M. 2007. Analysis of a High Temperature Supercritical Brayton Cycle for Space Exploration [pdf]. Available at: http://web.mit.edu/rsi/www/pdfs/papers/2005/2005-ianr.pdf[Accessed 01/10/2012]Discovery, 2013. Known effects of long-term space flights on the human body [online]. Available at: http://www.racetomars.ca/mars/article_effects.jsp[Accessed 10/02/2013].US Department of Energy, 1982. Nuclear Safety Criteria and Specifications for Space Nuclear Reactors [pdf]. Available at: http://www.fas.org/nuke/space/osnp-1.pdf[Accessed 20/02/2013].NASA, 2013. Solar system exploration  -Galileo Legacy Site [online]. Available at: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/galileo/[Accessed 21/02/2013].The Space Review, 2013. Nuclear waste in space? [online]. Available at: http://www.thespacereview.com/article/437/1[Accessed 22/02/2013]IMAGESSpace Today Online, 2011. Voyagers are leaving the Solar System [online]. Available at: http://www.spacetoday.org/SolSys/Voyagers20years.html[Accessed 02/02/2013].Wikipedia, Radioisotope thermoelectric generator [online]. Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioisotope_thermoelectric_generator[Accessed 02/02/2013]Gunter’s Space Page, 2013. US-A[online]. Available at: http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/us-a.htm[Accessed 05/02/2013]The Space Review, 2013. Nuclear waste in space? [online]. Available at: http://www.thespacereview.com/article/437/1[Accessed 22/02/2013]