Batteries

Plug-In Hybrid Cars Gain Ground in Race With Electric Rivals

In late 2010, General Motors sought to seize the high ground from Toyota’s successful Prius hybrid with the Volt plug-in hybrid — a car that could drive short distances on only electricity and fire up a gasoline engine for long trips. But the Volt and other cars like it struggled to win over drivers as […]

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Climate Bill ‘Transformative’ for Auto and Energy Industries

Making electric cars more affordable. For the auto industry, one of the most important provisions in the climate bill would eliminate a cap on how many cars from each manufacturer are eligible for a $7,500 tax credit that taxpayers get for buying electric vehicles. Currently, the credits are phased out after a manufacturer has sold […]

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Energy Department will lend G.M. and LG $2.5 billion to build battery factories.

The U.S. Energy Department said Monday that it would lend $2.5 billion to a battery maker owned by General Motors and LG Energy Solution to build battery factories, advancing the Biden administration’s plan to promote electric vehicles and reduce dependence on China for critical components. G.M. and LG Energy, a South Korean battery maker, are […]

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Electric Car Sales Climb Sharply Despite Shortages

Americans are buying electric vehicles at a record pace, undeterred by rising prices and long waits for delivery, a further indication that the twilight of the internal combustion engine is on the horizon. Vehicles that run on batteries accounted for 5.6 percent of new-car sales from April through June, still a small slice of the […]

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Advanced E.V. Batteries Move From Labs to Mass Production

SAN JOSE, Calif. — For years, scientists in laboratories from Silicon Valley to Boston have been searching for an elusive potion of chemicals, minerals and metals that would allow electric vehicles to recharge in minutes and travel hundreds of miles between charges, all for a much lower cost than batteries available now. Now a few […]

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More Than 400,000 Solar-Powered Umbrellas Recalled Over Fire Risk

The authorities have recalled more than 400,000 solar-powered umbrellas sold at Costco because of overheating and fire risks. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, which issued the recall on Thursday for the 10-foot SunVilla Solar LED Market Umbrella, said consumers reported that lithium-ion batteries in the umbrella’s solar panel can overheat, posing fire and burn […]

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Red Flags for Forced Labor Found in China’s Car Battery Supply Chain

The photograph on the mining conglomerate’s social media account showed 70 ethnic Uyghur workers standing at attention under the flag of the People’s Republic of China. It was March 2020 and the recruits would soon undergo training in management, etiquette and “loving the party and the country,” their new employer, the Xinjiang Nonferrous Metal Industry […]

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Interested in Solar Panels? Here Is Some Advice.

Thanks to technological and manufacturing advances, costs for solar panels have tumbled in the last decade, making solar energy more popular for homeowners. But figuring out how to add a solar energy system to your roof can be daunting. Workers installed a solar and battery system this winter at my home in a New York […]

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The Tesla Effect: Snowmobiles, Boats and Mowers Go Electric

STOWE, Vt. — Snowmobiles are part of the winter soundtrack in this part of Vermont, at their worst shattering the stillness of the forest like motorcycles on skis. But the motorized sleds bouncing along a wooded mountain trail in February were silent except for the whoosh of metal runners on snow. The machines, made by […]

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