electric vehicles evs Balanced News

Rivian lays off 6 percent of its workforce as it struggles with EV production

As expected, electric pickup manufacturer Rivian is laying off 6 percent of its 14,000-strong workforce in an effort to boost production without raising more funds, The Wall Street Journal has reported. The company has a 71,000 vehicle pre-order backlog for its R1T and R1S electric pickup and SUV, but had to slash its production forecast for 2022 in half to 25,000 vehicles.Rivian is also concerned about raising cash in the current economic environment. "Over the last six months, the world has dramatically changed with inflation reaching record highs, interest rates rapidly rising and commodity prices continuing to climb — all of which have contributed to the global capital markets tightening,"
— (Engadget) (July 28)   (Pocket)

EV startup Fisker explores higher production in 2023, U.S. manufacturing - Reuters

Aug 12 (Reuters) - Electric-vehicle startup Fisker Inc (FSR.N) said on Friday it was exploring options to manufacture in the United States in 2024 and was considering ramping up production of its first vehicle, the Ocean SUV, in the second half of 2023.
— (Reuters) (August 12)   (Pocket)

Who will pay for all the electric car chargers? Pretty much everyone

Americans nationwide will likely face higher electric bills to pay for the next stage of the country's electric vehicle (EV) charger buildout — even if they don't drive an EV.Why it matters: The U.S. will need a massive investment in public charging infrastructure to match the anticipated spike in EV demand. But such capital outlays don't make economic sense for many companies until there are more EVs on the road — which won't happen until there are more chargers.It's a classic chicken-and-egg scenario that, in the near term, is likely to be solved by regulated public utilities that can pass on the investment burden to their customers over many years.
— (Axios) (August 8)   (Pocket)

High Prices, Range Anxiety Holding Back EV Adoption

High Prices, Range Anxiety Holding Back EV Adoption While the tax credits for new and used electric vehicles included in the Inflation Reduction Act will do its part in making electric cars more attractive to American consumers, Statista's Felix Richter notes that there’s more than just the high purchase price keeping Americans from buying electric. According to a recent survey conducted byAAA, one quarter of Americans say that they would be likely to buy an electric vehicle (excluding hybrids) as their next car. That leaves three quarters who don’t see themselves plugging in instead of filling up just yet. And the reasons for that hesitancy are mainly threefold.
— (ZeroHedge Opinion) (August 14)   (Pocket)

Which alt-fuel is right for you? That depends on where you live

Congratulations, you’ve found one of only 54 hydrogen filling stations in the United States – all of them in California. This one is in Marin County. (Credit: Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images) Here’s the thing about getting rid of the combustion engine: We’re not switching from one system to another, but from one to many. The future of mobility isn’t going to be all-electric. Granted, if you’re looking to replace your “classic” motorization — an internal combustion engine (ICE) running on gasoline or diesel — with an alternative fuel, the best available fit will often be an electric vehicle (EV). But it’s not just EVs that claim to be more efficient and sustainable than ICEs.
— (Big Think) (August 11)   (Pocket)

What V2G Tells Us About EVs and the Grid

As the number of electric vehicles on the world’s roads explodes, electric utilities are grappling with increasing demand while simultaneously having to stabilize their grids where more intermittent renewable-energy sources like wind and solar are coming online. For utilities looking for ways to store power for later use, all those shiny new EVs might look like rolling batteries that they can not only charge but also draw power from when demand exceeds supply. That’s the promise of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology.While China accounted for about half the 6.75 million EVs sold worldwide in 2021, according to Sweden-based analysts EV Volumes, Europe also showed strong growth.
— (IEEE) (August 1)   (Pocket)

What the Senate deal could mean for the fight against climate change

A deal formed late Thursday among Senate Democrats would bring substantial new money to boost the expansion of renewable energy and provide more incentives for people to buy electric vehicles. But it also expands more fossil fuel development projects. David Roberts, who covers the politics of climate change in his Substack newsletter and podcast called "Volts," joins William Brangham to discuss.
— (PBS) (July 28)   (Pocket)

Climate bill backs oil leasing: How much of a CO2 problem?

While the “Inflation Reduction Act” brokered by pro-oil Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Senate majority leader from New York, would entrench oil’s footprint on public lands and waters for years, some climate experts say the benefits of the $369 billion commitment to expand clean energy and electric vehicles, the emergent hydrogen space, and nuclear energy far outweigh the downside of more fossil fuel leasing.
— (E&E News) (August 9)   (Pocket)

The climate bill could short-circuit EV tax credits, making qualifying for them nearly impossible

Today's EVs rely heavily on China and other countries for materials. Shen Chunchen/VCG via Getty ImagesThe U.S. Senate passed a far-reaching climate, energy and health care bill on Aug. 7, 2022, that invests an unprecedented US$370 billion in energy and climate programs over the next 10 years – including incentives to expand renewable energy and electric vehicles. Rapid and widespread adoption of electric vehicles will be essential for the United States to meet its climate goals. And the new bill, which includes a host of other health and tax-related provisions, aims to encourage people to trade their gasoline-fueled cars for electrics by offering a tax credit of up to $7,500 for new electric vehicles and up to ...
— (The Conversation) (August 8)   (Pocket)

The Joes' Green Machine - The American Conservative

The bill calls for a nearly $370 billion investment in climate-related projects in the coming decade, with subsidies for solar and wind and proposed tax credits for electric vehicles. While progressives have resisted efforts to expand domestic oil production even as gas approached $8 a gallon in parts of the country, the Democrat-drafted summary of the bill touts the "over $60 billion" it allocates "to on-shore clean energy manufacturing in the U.S. across the full supply chain of clean energy and transportation technologies."
— (The American Conservative) (August 2)   (Pocket)