Show #542
Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Monday 29th July 2019. It’s Martyn Lee here and I go through every EV story to save you time.
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@elonmusk: Tesla Megapack now available for utility-scale energy storage
@DMC_Ryan: How’s solar roof tile progress going? You were working on a new version (V3?) of that, right?
@elonmusk: Spooling up production line rapidly. Hoping to manufacture ~1000 solar roofs/week by end of this year.
INTRODUCING MEGAPACK: UTILITY-SCALE ENERGY STORAGE
From Tesla: “Less than two years ago, Tesla built and installed the world’s largest lithium-ion battery in Hornsdale, South Australia, using Tesla Powerpack batteries. Since then, the facility saved nearly $40 million in its first year alone and helped to stabilize and balance the region’s unreliable grid. To match global demand for massive battery storage projects like Hornsdale, Tesla designed and engineered a new battery product specifically for utility-scale projects: Megapack. Using Megapack, Tesla can deploy an emissions-free 250 MW, 1 GWh power plant in less than three months on a three-acre footprint – four times faster than a traditional fossil fuel power plant of that size. Megapack can also be DC-connected directly to solar, creating seamless renewable energy plants. Megapack will act as a sustainable alternative to natural gas “peaker” power plants. Peaker power plants fire up whenever the local utility grid can’t provide enough power to meet peak demand. They cost millions of dollars per day to operate and are some of the least efficient and dirtiest plants on the grid. Instead, a Megapack installation can use stored excess solar or wind energy to support the grid’s peak loads.”
tesla.com/megapack
https://www.tesla.com/blog/introducing-megapack-utility-scale-energy-storage?redirect=no
TESLA GIGAFACTORY 3 GETS AIR CONDITIONING
“Tesla’s Gigafactory 3 is still under construction, but sections of the massive Shanghai-based complex are already approaching their operational phase. As could be seen in a recent drone flyover of the site, both the general assembly building for the Model 3 and the southwest substation appear to be nearing completion.” says Simon at Teslarati: “Looking at the new video, it appears that the installation of around 35 industrial-grade air conditioning units for the general assembly building has been completed. The AC units appear to have been installed on the finished areas of Gigafactory 3, which, as hinted at in the company’s Q2 Update Letter, are already being fitted with electric vehicle production equipment.”
https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-gigafactory-3-ac-units-installs-substation-completion-video/
INDIA TO ADD 5,000+ ELECTRIC BUSES IN 65 CITIES IN ONGOING MASSIVE EV PUSH
“An Indian government committee has sanctioned 5,645 electric buses for 65 cities in one of the largest electric bus initiatives the world has seen outside of China.” according to Electrek. Shanghai has transitioned all of their public bus fleet, over 16,000, to Electric. “The announcement came on Twitter from Amitabh Kant, the CEO of the government’s Niti Aayog commission. Kant tweeted about approval for the buses, which will be made in India by eight State Transport Undertakings. India looks to push the manufacturing of electric car batteries domestically, and there are still plans for major electrification of the country’s two- and three-wheelers. The announcement about electric buses follows another announcement this weekend that India will be cutting taxes on electric vehicles — it’s reducing the electric car tax from 12% to 5%, and cutting taxes on EV chargers from 18% to 5%.”
https://electrek.co/2019/07/29/india-5645-electric-buses/
MERCEDES BENZ ECITARO GOING TO LUXEMBOURG, NORWAY AND SWEDEN
After many orders from German transport companies, Mercedes-Benz is now delivering the first export orders for the eCitaro.
The orders from well-known companies from Luxembourg, Norway and Sweden show the wide range of variants of the eCitaro available. It can be adapted to a wide range of different requirements.
Luxembourg’s Voyages Emile Weber has chosen nine two-door eCitaro buses. These are equipped with the maximum number of twelve high-voltage battery packs delivering a total capacity of 292 kWh. Besides the extensive equipment, the colour concept of the passenger compartment is also very striking. From the upholstery of the seats to the grab bars or the side-wall panelling in needle felt: everything is in red. The floor covering has a homely wooden look. Something else which is especially distinctive: all of the seats in the front section are on raised platforms and all feature two-point seat belts. Voyages Emile Weber has over 600 vehicles, ranging from minibuses to luxury coaches, of which numerous buses from Mercedes-Benz.
TESLA V10 FIRMWARE: NETFLIX, YOUTUBE, AUTOPILOT UPDATES AND MORE
“Tesla’s Version 10 (V10) firmware is on the horizon and will be released to owners starting as early as August, according to CEO Elon Musk. After the company’s Early Access Program results from V10 are assessed and addressed, a wide release of the firmware will follow.” writes Dacia for Teslarati: “Several upcoming V10 features were revealed by Musk on Twitter, including new games, infotainment features, improvements in Autopilot behavior on highways as well as better traffic light and stop sign recognition, and Smart Summon (previously Enhanced Summon). Also mentioned was a feature called “Joe Mode” which would lower the volume of Autopilot warnings and notifications by half. Musk additionally noted that some infotainment features will need a premium connectivity package. In the same conversation regarding the V10 release, Musk provided an update on the all-electric car maker’s support for in-car video streaming while connected to WiFi. Specifically, when Tesla vehicles are in park, drivers will be able enjoy an old school, drive-in movie experience playing videos hosted by Netflix and YouTube as soon as next month.”
@elonmusk: Ability to stream YouTube & Netflix when car is stopped coming to your Tesla soon! Has an amazingly immersive, cinematic feel due to the comfy seats & surround sound audio. Depends on how release to owners with early access goes, but hopefully wide release by end of August
Tesla V10 firmware: Netflix, YouTube, Autopilot updates and more
“ELECTRIC NATION” SMART CHARGING RESEARCH: GRID IS FINE
“The Electric Nation project ran from 2016 to 2019 in the UK, describing itself as “the largest smart charging project in the world”. GreenFlux has now published the results.” summarises electrive.com: “A total of 673 “smart” chargers were installed in participants’ homes as part of the project researching the controlled charging of electric vehicles. Among other things, the project recorded the times of plugging in and unplugging, the duration of the actual charging process and the amount of electricity consumed. In this way, the system monitored the overall demand and was able to instruct individuals charging that they should reduce their charging capacity if necessary. GreenFlux concludes, according to a company statement, that thanks to controlled charging, there is no need to upgrade the existing grid capacity. This will eliminate the need for costly investments in the electricity grid. In Germany, EnBW also came to similar conclusions when they conducted field tests near Stuttgart.”
WALLBOX LAUNCHES IN US & CHINA, ADDS RESIDENTIAL BI-DIRECTIONAL DC FAST CHARGER
“Electric vehicle charging station manufacturer Wallbox launched in the US and China last week, and it tried to sneak in a bit of news about a breakthrough new charger in its lineup in the process.” according to CleanTechnica: “The new unit adds bi-directional DC charging capability to the home via a new CHAdeMO adapter. Wallbox’s new DC charger for the home operates at 7.4kW in both directions. It can pull down power into the car at a rate of 7.4kW or push power back up from the car’s battery at 7.4kW through its CHAdeMO adapter.”
https://cleantechnica.com/2019/07/26/wallbox-launches-in-us-china-adds-residential-bi-directional-dc-fast-charger/
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