Grid

Bus is on route to the future

Daimler has developed an electric bus platform that will accommodate the next generation of batteries and fuel cells (writes Nick Flaherty). The powertrain of the eCitaro bus is based on the proven ZF AVE 130 electric axle, with 125 kW electric motors at the wheel hubs providing...

Grid

Testing facility for e-motors

New testing laboratory for E-mobility drives The Von Roll institute in Breitenbach, Switzerland, recently expanded the capabilities of its already comprehensive test facilities with the addition of a new lab, dedicated to the testing of e-motors specifically for...

Grid

Diesel digger goes electric

US motor maker Dana has developed a custom electric drivetrain for compact excavators (writes Nick Flaherty). The drive for Mecalac’s e12 electric compact wheeled excavator uses Dana’s Spicer 112 axles and a Spicer 367 shift-on-fly transmission. The 146 kWh LiFePO4 batteries in the area previously occupied by...

Grid

eVTOLs distribution deal

VerdeGo Aero, a US company with the goal of producing an eight-rotor eVTOL air taxi – and headed up by Erik Lindbergh, great-grandson of aviation pioneer Charles Lindbergh – is developing a distributed power system that could be marketed to other eVTOL aircraft developers (writes Lawrence Butcher). The company’s design, referred to as...

Grid

Smoothing road to electric

In recent months, efforts by Tesla and Toyota to bring electrification to semitrailers for road freight have made the headlines (writes Lawrence Butcher). The goal of full electrification, as sought by these companies, is an admirable one, but in the near term, there is much that can be achieved through...