Recently, Seat Sa vehicle manufacturer has announced it will release an electric urban car in 2025; a vehicle with which the company will enter the approximately 20,000 â 25,000 Euro segment, essential to make electric mobility accessible for the vast majority of the population and to reach Green Deal goals.
Moreover, on the occasion of the 2021 Budget Conference, the Spanish company presented the ambitious Future Fast Forward plan, whose target is leading the automotive industry electrification in Spain.
The project core concerns the production of electric urban vehicles in Spain since 2025. «We want to produce electric cars in Spain starting from 2025. Our ambition is manufacturing over 500,000 electric urban cars yearly at Martorell, also for Volkswagen Group, but we need an engagement defined by the European Commission» – shared Wayne Griffiths, President of Seat Sa.
Seat: target is leading the automotive industry electrification in Spain
The biggest diesel plant in the world shifts to electric
It is one of the most topical 2021 news with Stellantis hashtag: the former PSA French factory, headquartered at Tremery, the biggest in the world for the production of diesel engines, will be fully reconverted to the manufacturing of electric motors.
The mega-structure was inaugurated in 2019 and this year it will produce 180,000 electric motors, with the long-term target of reaching 900,000 units in 2025, afterwards with a production of electric motors exceeding combustion onesâ.
«Some years ago â stated Yann Vincent, executive vice-president and industrial director of PSA â we decided investing in the energy transition and making our plants more flexible. TreÌmery factory is an excellent example of this change».
If on one hand the environment is very grateful, on the other hand much concern regards employment, which might be reduced owing to the minor labour needed for an electric motor versus a conventional one.
A great electric cruise ship
It is announced as the largest electric cruise ship in the world. We are speaking of Yangtze River Three Gorges 1, built by Wuxi Saisiyi Electric Technology Co, which will be launched in July 2021 and whose first cruise will take place in November along a stretch of Yangtze River, the longest in the Asian Continent, in Central South China. What technical specifications can endure the travel that reaches the Three Gorges Dam, on the route connecting Yichang and Chongqing cities?
The 7.5 MWh mega accumulator will be a lithium-iron-phosphate (Lfp) battery with over 10,000 cells, by Catl brand.
It is a battery as big as 75 batteries of current electric car models and two recharge types will be available. They are high-voltage and low-voltage, in order to assure utmost flexibility.
In the role of record electric ship, Yangtze River Three Gorges 1 replaces Color Hybrid, which navigates on the route from Norway to Sweden, crossing Sanderfjord fiords, equipped with five MWh battery.
Electric lifting motor: energy efficient and environmentally friendly
The race to the full electric technology does not include only transport vehicles like cars and bikes, but also work equipment. They include aerial work platforms and telescopic lifters that can increase the performance level. Among the latest releases, we can find the all- electric Vinciâą AE1932 scissor lift created by JLG Industries Inc., company of Oshkosh Corporation Group. The absence of hydraulic elements to eliminate leaks in the yard and the emission zeroing make this 5.79 m scissor lift an ideal machine for interventions in places needing the compliance with severe environmental regulations.
Each DaVinci component is optimized, from controls to the lift mechanism, from transmission to steering, to reduce energy consumptions by even 70% compared to conventional machines and to succeed in using a single lithium-ion battery.
The full electric permanent-magnet transmission system of DaVinci generates torque and runs the motor.
The permanent-magnet system is expected to increase the efficiency of a motor by 20-30 percent on average and extend its lifecycle, annulling service interventions.
DaVinci lifter, which can be recharged in 3.5 hours, stands out for an advanced battery management system, which monitors charge and use, besides providing detailed diagnostic information about its status through DavinciGo App.
«DaVinci AE1932 scissor lift â explains Shashank Bhatia, senior director of AWP sector of JLG â represents the new electric generation. Certainly, battery- or electric machines are not missing on the market, but none is devoid of hydraulic cylinder mechanisms that require the use of oils and generate the consequent leaks, even where they are not tolerable».
Electric aircraft for commuters
In 2026, the P-Volt passenger plane, full electric means for the transport of commuters, is expected to start operating. The companies at the base of the design are Rolls-Royce and the Italian manufacturer Tecnam, together with the Norwegian WiderĂže airline company.
The fully electric P-Volt plane, based on the 11-seat Tecnam P2012 Traveller aircraft, is ideal for short take-offs and landings, and for the routes in the North and in the west coast of Norway. The plane will make its debut precisely in this nation: owing to its topography, Norway (renowned for its pioneering spirit in the sustainability issue) widely uses the airline traffic for its transports and for this reason it pursues the ambitious goal that all national flights are at zero emissions by 2040.
The programme announced by Rolls-Royce and WiderĂže dates back to two years ago, to 2019, when it started a strategic partnership with Tecnam to develop the Tecnam P2010 plane modified with H3PS propulsion system, the first parallel hybrid-electric propulsion system for general aviation, started together with Rotax in May 2018.
Supply chain. Provisioning problems and price increases
The automotive production chain is sounding an alarm on the provisioning difficulties that, since the beginning of the year, it has perceived concerning stainless steel materials, plastic materials and microprocessors of vehiclesâ electronic components. A strong rise in prices has been surveyed for steel and plastic materials since the start of 2021.
Referring to microprocessors, the missing offer on the market has already compelled various vehicle manufacturers and tier 1 suppliers to the manufacturing stop in some plants in Europe. If this circumstance should last, the risk of a negative impact on the European automotive supply chain in terms of employment is very high and would be summed to the criticalities already in progress in this delicate phase of Covid-19 pandemic management. The scarce availability of materials, in fact, is dangerously extending delivery terms, in some cases even tripled, threatening companiesâ capacity of satisfying customersâ final demands, with consequent delays and risking of causing relevant economic losses. However, what are the reasons? We hypothesize it can be due to the absorption of a vast part of the world availabilities of raw materials by China, the current unavailability of containers and the annulment, by logistic players, of new unit orders in the first haff of 2020.
Peugeot e-208 is electric car business of 2021
The sixth edition of the Business Trophies 2021 took place in Paris. Nine Business trophies were at stake, for a total of 79 vehicles selected from among the novelties meeting the criteria for professional use in companies.
In the “Electric Business” category for 2021, the Peugeot e-208 won against 11 contenders with a total of 20 points and won the first prize.
But it isnât the first time that ThePeugeot 208 winning. Indeed, it has already received 26 awards since its launch in October 2019, including the 2020 Car of the Year award. The new Peugeot 208 incorporates the brand’s latest stylistic codes with the innovative Peugeot i-Cockpit Âź with 3D instrumentation, safe and aesthetic.
âWe are very proud â said Hugues de Laage, B2B Sales Director France – that the Peugeot e-208 has been recognized as the best business electric vehicle of the year. The group’s product strategy on this multi-energy platform is rewarded and allows the PEUGEOT 208 to be recognized for its intrinsic qualities. We have the ambition to grow in volume after this year of full commercialization, the Peugeot e-208 has the best cost of use in its category and we must continue to progress to gain market share with the Peugeot e-208 higher than that of the Peugeot 208 in combustion engine».
What Modul-System as conversion partner?
Levc, London Electric Vehicle Company, has announced its first official conversion partner for its new VN5 electric van. Itâs Modul-System, the largest global vehicle racking manufacturers that will support Levc across multiple key European markets.
Modul-System has been operating for over 40 years and offers high quality, custom and lightweight vehicle racking solutions specifically designed to meet the demanding and ever-changing needs of the commercial vehicle market.
The company has already provided conversions for Levcâs VN5 prototype âtrial fleetâ of converted TXs that are being used by a wide range of businesses including logistics giants Dpd and Royal Mail, as well as telecoms flagship, BT Group.
Modul-System has been operating for over 40 years and offers high quality, custom and lightweight vehicle racking solutions specifically designed to meet the demanding and ever-changing needs of the commercial vehicle market. The company has already provided conversions For Levcâs VN5 prototype âtrial fleetâ of converted TXs that are being used by a wide range of businesses including logistics giants Dpd and Royal Mail, as well as telecoms flagship, BT Group.
Hypercar and integrated circuits
In the name of the highest possible performances, stands out the collaboration between Rimac, manufacturer of electric luxury vehicles, for its C_Two model and the component supplier Analog Devices.
The mission is achieving a more accurate management of the batteries intended for electric sports vehicles: using the precision integrated circuits offered by Analog Devices, the BMS (battery management system) developed by Rimac will exploit at best the capacity of batteries, supplying in continuous a very accurate measurement of the charge status and of other fundamental parameters.
BMS manages the battery charge and discharge and, besides, it supplies vital safety measures to protect the accumulator against eventual damages. One of the key elements for the battery pack is the balancing of the cell groups that work together to prevent the anticipated interruption of the charge process and a reduction of the accumulator service life.
Therefore, integrated battery management circuits by Analog Devices guarantee a safer vehicle operation and the autonomy maximisation and they are integrated into Rimac C_Two, an electric hypercar equipped with a powertrain able to supply 1,914 HP (1,408 kW) with 2,300 Nm of torque.
Its performances are very high: it reaches 415 Km/h and takes just 1.85 seconds from 0 to 100 Km/h, while 300 Km/h are reached in just 11.8 seconds. The battery pack is equipped with 120 kWh capacity and the autonomy reaches 550 Km according to the WLTP cycle.
Brazil loves the wind
The wind power, the second source of electric power in Brazil, behind the hydroelectric, represents 19,000 jobs in this country, as compared to 34,000 in 2018. Even with the fall, Brazil remains among the 10 most used in the world.
Around 80% of this market is located in the northeast, which has the best wind conditions. The report indicates that local containment requirements and subsidized services for project developers have strengthened the national supply chain for wind turbines. It is also of high impact in the production of towers and the most moderate effect in the manufacture of wind turbines. The national content in the Brazilian wind sector is currently estimated at 80%.
Brazil continues to be the second country that employs the most in renewable energies. If the numbers of all the countries of the European block are sums up, Brazil will continue to be in the world leader, occupying the third place.
In this context, Italian company Bonfiglioli firstly started Yaw and Pitch drive local production in Brazil in 2014 with a big success.