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General Motors to invest $7 billion in Michigan facilities to ramp up electric vehicle production to 1 million units

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General Motors says it will invest more than $7 billion in four Michigan manufacturing sites, creating 4,000 new jobs and retaining 1,000, and significantly increasing battery cell and electric truck manufacturing capacity.

This is the single largest investment announcement in GM history. The investment includes construction of a new Ultium Cells battery cell plant in Lansing and the conversion of GM’s assembly plant in Orion Township, Michigan for production of the Chevrolet Silverado EV and the electric GMC Sierra, GM’s second assembly plant scheduled to build full-size electric pickups.

Mary Barra, GM chair and CEO, says: “We are taking the next step in our continuous work to establish GM’s EV leadership by making investments in our vertically integrated battery production in the US, and our North American EV production capacity. [Read more…] about General Motors to invest $7 billion in Michigan facilities to ramp up electric vehicle production to 1 million units

Interview: Energy Systems Network CEO Paul Mitchell talks about the future of cars and Indy Autonomous Challenge

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It’s been a while since we wrote up an interview, mainly because they take a long time to transcribe and edit into a readable article. And we’re not yet a large enough website to devote time to doing that because there are many other stories that would have to wait while we’re busy doing that.

However, the subject of electric vehicles and EV charging networks are important technologies that literally millions of people have been reading about on this website, and we think they will find this interview interesting.

The interview is with Paul Mitchell, president and CEO of Energy Systems Network, a US-based nonprofit which could be described as a kind of public-private partnership with the aim of discovering and commercialising technologies that provide a platform for the continued healthy growth of the entire clean-energy future of moving machines – cars and other road-going vehicles in particular, but possibly even marine vessels and other types of craft such as drones and maybe even planes. [Read more…] about Interview: Energy Systems Network CEO Paul Mitchell talks about the future of cars and Indy Autonomous Challenge

Enway releases new generation of its sweeping robot

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Enway has released the new generation of its autonomous sweeping robot, the B2.

The second generation of the autonomous sweeper is the first of a new series, says the company.

There are several new features and other advantages compared to the B1 for industrial cleaning. In addition, the Europe-wide export of the fully CE-certified self-driving sweeper starts now. [Read more…] about Enway releases new generation of its sweeping robot

Baidu DeepWay unveils autonomous truck

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DeepWay, a Baidu-backed company, has unveiled Xingtu, a smart new energy heavy-duty truck with a computing power of more than 500 teraflops per second and ultra-long-distance sensing capabilities of more than 1 kilometer.

This launch marks Baidu’s entry into the multi-trillion dollar global freight market.

Powered by Baidu’s globally recognized AI technology stack and the Baidu Apollo autonomous driving platform, Xingtu is a prime example of the next generation vehicles we will see in the smart driving era. [Read more…] about Baidu DeepWay unveils autonomous truck

South Korea’s top battery makers enjoy steady growth

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South Korea’s Electric Vehicle Battery Trio – LG, Samsung, and SK – enjoyed steady growth in the January to March period, according to a report by SNE Reseach.

Amid intense competition in global EV battery deployment, LG Energy Solution ranked 2nd, while Samsung SDI and SK Innovation captured the 5th and 6th spots respectively.

Global competition for the world’s top spot for the xEV (EV, PHEV, HEV) battery market is getting fiercer, with CATL continued to top for both Mar 2021 and Jan-Mar 2021. LG Energy Solution came in 2nd, while Samsung SDI and SK Innovation ranked 5th and 6th respectively. [Read more…] about South Korea’s top battery makers enjoy steady growth

Air taxi winners: Watch orders not investment, says IDTechEx

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Air taxi operators are unfazed by the 200 or so organizations designing vertical take-off electric aircraft. The IDTechEx report with the big picture is, Manned Electric Aircraft: Smart City and Regional 2021-2041.

Air taxi operators have placed large orders with a company that models itself on Tesla, entirely making born-electric, conventional take-off, fixed-wing aircraft.

Using extreme lightweighting, efficiency, and aerodynamics, Bye Aerospace has over $250 million of orders for two and four-seaters from air taxi operators and flying schools. It spent only $24 million to have certifiable demonstrators aloft.

Bye is so inundated with orders it has just doubled its prices because the aircraft still cost far less per mile than the polluting traditional equivalents. In the US, 11,000 of those are approaching 50 years old and illegality. Bye deliveries start from 2022. [Read more…] about Air taxi winners: Watch orders not investment, says IDTechEx

Comau designs ‘highly automated, high-volume’ battery manufacturing line

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Comau, an industrial robotics and automation specialist, has designed and developed a “high-volume module manufacturing line” to produce new generation lithium-ion batteries for Leclanché, a provider of energy storage solutions for the heavy transportation, naval and railway industries.

Comau says the “state-of-the-art, highly automated line” is the result of a simultaneous engineering process and combines industrial robots, vision systems, laser welding, and the automated in-line validation of joints via artificial intelligence. Priority was given to ensuring multi-module configurability, full traceability and the highest level of safety.

The line includes the latest quality and process control technologies, thus setting the foundation for the transition towards Industry 4.0 principles. It will also allow Leclanché to produce up to six times the company’s current capacity, reaching an output of more than 60,000 modules per year. The solution is also expected to reduce costs by up to 20 percent, support 50 different product configurations and save Leclanché valuable time when introducing new formats into the manufacturing line.  [Read more…] about Comau designs ‘highly automated, high-volume’ battery manufacturing line

Singapore mega-port implements Stäubli robot charging solution

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PSA Singapore’s new mega-port will have fully automated key operations with AGVs that are automatically charged during the operation process with Stäubli’s QCC high-power charging solution.

In the course of maintenance, the battery systems are exchanged automatically with Stäubli’s Multi Connect System, or MCS.

PSA Singapore is ranked the world’s largest container transshipment hub. To anticipate the future growth in global trade, PSA is constructing the new mega port at Tuas. This future port will feature totally automated terminal operations. [Read more…] about Singapore mega-port implements Stäubli robot charging solution

Global EV battery production needs ‘significant boost’ to meet growing global demand

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An ABB-sponsored report predicts that plans for 80 new electric vehicle battery gigafactories will be “insufficient” and that battery production needs a “significant boost” to meet growing global demand. 

The report highlights role of automation in meeting demand as EVs are predicted to overtake internal combustion engine-powered vehicles by 2036. [Read more…] about Global EV battery production needs ‘significant boost’ to meet growing global demand

GM and LG invest $2.3 billion in second battery manufacturing plant in US

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Ultium Cells, a joint venture of LG Energy Solution and General Motors, is planning to make a “more than $2.3 billion investment” to build its second battery cell manufacturing plant in the United States. The facility will be located in Spring Hill, Tennessee.

Ultium Cells will build the new plant on land leased from GM. The new battery cell plant will create 1,300 new jobs. Construction on the approximately 2.8 million-square-foot facility will begin immediately, and the plant is scheduled to open in late 2023. Once operational, the facility will supply battery cells to GM’s Spring Hill assembly plant.

Mary Barra, GM chairman and CEO, says: “The addition of our second all-new Ultium battery cell plant in the US with our joint venture partner LG Energy Solution is another major step in our transition to an all-electric future. [Read more…] about GM and LG invest $2.3 billion in second battery manufacturing plant in US