Getting started with an Electric Vehicle
Getting started with an Electric Vehicle
GoEV Managing Director Mark Lampard has announced that the NRMA has commenced the modernisation of its electric vehicle charging infrastructure with the installation of its first SINEXCEL charger, replacing the failing Tritium chargers across its network.
NRMA’s first new dual CCS2 SINEXCEL charger unit has replaced an aging CCS+CHAdeMO Tritium charger at the HMAS Otway Submarine Park in Holbrook, NSW.
Batteries for electric vehicles have been notoriously difficult to recycle, but growing demand for the rare metals they contain is leading to innovative new ways of retrieving them from used power cells.
As the climate crisis intensifies, the world is electrifying. Countries are increasingly shifting towards renewable sources of energy including solar panels and wind turbines. Homeowners are installing heat pumps in the place of old gas or oil boilers. And drivers are increasingly buying electric vehicles (EVs) powered by batteries.
New battery re-cycling technology is bringing us closer to a circular economy, in which almost nothing is thrown away.
The largest and “most advanced” electric vehicle (EV) charging station of its kind in the UK has opened.
The new InstaVolt Superhub in Winchester, Hampshire, includes 44 “ultra-rapid” chargers, a Starbucks cafe, and other facilities for drivers and passengers.
An on-site solar farm, alongside “cutting-edge” battery storage, will be used to power the site, InstaVolt said.
The firm’s CEO said the development would provide “industry-leading reliability at an unprecedented scale, ensuring drivers can charge quickly and with confidence”
Read more at the BBC >>>
While many of the features of the 2023 MG ZS EV are an improvement on the previous model, the reversing lights are definitely not on that list. The standard reversing lights on our 2023 model are a shocker – there is virtually no rear vision at all when reversing at night.
To address this issue, we have replaced the reversing light bulbs on our 2023 MG ZS EV with Alopee LED bulbs ….. a huge improvement. (Note: we have no affiliate arrangement with Amazon.)
There may also be other suitable replacement bulbs available, but the Alopee bulbs shown here have LED chips around the perimeter of the bulb, which make use of the reflector in the vehicle’s rear tailgate light housing to project the bulb’s light output.
Unfortunately, replacing the bulbs isn’t as simple as it could be – you have to remove a clip-in plastic cover, undo three 8mm nuts, unclip a wiring connector, then remove the whole light housing from the tailgate to access the bulb. Not too difficult, just fiddly. It takes about 15 mins for each bulb, and is explained in the DIY video above.
However, it is definitely worth the effort. We can now actually see behind the car when reversing at night.
Highly recommended.
(Note: Not required for 2020/2021 models – the reversing lights in these earlier models are OK.)
Nissan says it is on track to launch its first production electric car powered by its pioneering solid-state batteries in 2028 following real-world trials in 2026.
Nissan said it first began experimenting with the ground-breaking battery technology back in 2018 and says it has already shown off its new state-of-the-art production facility where the batteries will begin being made as soon as this year.
Regarded as both the holy grail of battery tech and the final piece of the puzzle that will allow the full transition from combustion to all-electric cars, Nissan’s solid-state batteries are at least 50 per cent more energy-dense, compared to traditional cells, while being capable of being charged more than three times as fast.
Chinese battery-making giant CATL has launched its new Shenxing Plus battery at the Beijing motor show claiming it’s capable of adding as much as 600km of range after a short 10-minute charge and delivering a driving range of more than 1000km.
Impressively, CATL says both those figures are achieved using the cheaper, more stable lithium iron phosphate chemistry (LFP), with the CATL Shenxing Plus battery outperforming many more expensive nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) cells.
The battery is claimed to be both lighter and more stable in extreme charge/discharge scenarios, which means it’s safer too.
Brisbane-based electric car charging firm Tritium – which produces the hardware for many charging stations in Australia – is on the brink of financial collapse, after declaring itself insolvent and calling in the administrators.
Lenders for the troubled company – which has been criticised for poor reliability of its charging stations – have brought in receivers to take control of its assets and try to find a buyer.
In a statement issued to the Nasdaq stock exchange in New York last week, on which it has been struggling to keep a listing because of its falling share price, Tritium said three of its local subsidiaries were “insolvent or likely to become insolvent”.
Which might help explain why so many Tritium charging stations are out of order, or have faulty screens, etc.
Parking a petrol or diesel car in a space marked for electric-car charging is now illegal in South Australia, with wrongdoers set to get slapped with fines from this week.
The SA Government has become the latest authority to hit petrol and diesel-powered cars parking in spaces dedicated to electric vehicles, following bans being introduced across other states and territories in recent years.
From this week, drivers of petrol or diesel cars face on-the-spot fines of $75 for committing the offence.
It will also apply a penalty to electric cars which park in designated spaces for charging, without plugging in. Interestingly, committing this offence would earn owners a higher fine of $111.
We have all seen the social media commentators claiming how much range an electric vehicle needs. It normally goes like this: “I’m all for electric vehicles and keen to buy one but unless it has X amount of range I’ll stick with my trusty diesel”.
As each year passes and the range of showroom EVs increase, the commentators’ X number also increases.
This is Uncertainty 101 from those with the most to lose when the country transitions to electric drivetrains, and it’s a very effective manipulation of all the fence sitters that are close to making a new car purchase.
Is an extended road trip an achievable reality in Australia, in the new age of electric vehicles?
We are about to find out!
We will be travelling from Hervey Bay in Queensland to Kiama in NSW – clocking up about 1400 km over 6 days.
Under ‘normal’ (ICE) circumstances this trip would be a regular, mostly unremarkable road trip. However, undertaking the journey in an EV adds a degree of re-charging adventure – especially for someone who hasn’t previously travelled a long distance in an EV.
We are planning on visiting friends and family along the way, so rather than driving long stints to explore the limits of the vehicle’s range, we hope to be re-charging in the towns where we are staying each night.
Can we do it?