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Tesla patents Supercharger that can handle herd of EVs

Tesla Motors is quietly getting ready for an electric-vehicle charging station that could be considered smarter than the drivers using it. The California-based automaker has applied for a number of patents (details here) in which its super-quick Superchargers would be programmable to better manage what Tesla hopes will be a mass influx of thirsty Model S (and Model X and, potentially, Model E) EVs. This company thinks big. Among other things, the patents detail a charging station that has multiple charging ports and that can manage multiple charging stages. It can also do things like redirect power to either whichever car arrives first or, by measuring the batteries' respective states of charge, who needs it the most. Heck, there's even a provision where the system can redirect power according to the drivers' intended departure time, i.e. whomever says they're sticking around the longest gets last charge. If the station could also get drivers to be truthful about such things, that'd be a real accomplishment. Tesla has already had a lot of success with its Supercharger network, which is now expansive enough to exclusively power a cross-country drive. Earlier this month, a couple of Model S vehicles went from Los Angeles to New York City using nothing but Superchargers and pulled off the trip in 76.5 hours (the blog posts are here). We're guessing those EVs may have broken the speed limit here or there, but don't quote us. Featured Gallery Tesla Supercharger News Source: Google via Green Car Reports Green Tesla Technology Emerging Technologies Electric charging station patent supercharger

Tesla buys test track adjacent to its factory

Two months ago, Tesla hired Chris Porritt to be the vice president of its vehicle engineering program. Tesla's purchase last week of a 35-acre parcel abutting its factory in Fremont, California will give Porritt, formerly the boss of Aston Martin's Vehicle Engineering team (he's the father of the One-77 supercar), at least a portion of a test track where he can challenge and hone the EVs of the future.
The land was part of a parcel of more than 160 acres that had been owned by the New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc., the former joint venture factory built by General Motors and Toyota. When NUMMI (shown above) closed, the land was bought by Union Pacific Railroad, which sold the lot to Tesla.
While Tesla hasn't laid out its plans, we're guessing they'll eventually expand the track as the factory footprint grows; CEO Elon Musk has said Model S production could equal 800 cars per week by the end of next year. As for Porritt, from his new base in Fremont and with that new test track, he'll oversee further development of the Model S and the birth of the Model X, Roadster successor and the "affordable Tesla" due by 2017.

Recharge Wrap-up: Panasonic, Tesla on Gigafactory deal?

Bentley has been awarded the Carbon Trust Standard for reductions of carbon, water use and waste production in manufacturing. The Carbon Trust is an organization that helps groups such as businesses and governments reduce carbon emissions, use of energy and resources, and waste output. From 2011 to 2013, Bentley reduced CO2 emissions by 16 percent per car manufactured, curtailed water use by 35.7 percent, and saw significant waste reductions. Darran Messem of Carbon trust says, "Bentley is clearly passionate about continuing to improve its environmental performance, which is reflected by the fact the company has consistently invested in new technology." Read more in the press release below. Chevrolet is giving 12 Volts to MBAs Across America. The organization will use the range-extended electric cars in its efforts to help MBA students learn from and work with small business owners. As part of the MBAs Across America program's first year, four students drove 8,000 miles to provide entrepreneurs with free business counseling. The program has expanded, and this year, teams of MBAs will use the Volts to travel to 25 cities to offer their services. Learn more about the partnership between Chevrolet and MBAs Across America in the press release below. A professor from the University of Michigan has found fuel cycle analysis to be too flawed to be relied upon for measuring CO2 impacts of transportation fuels. Professor John DeCicco of the university's Energy Institute feels that the flaws in calculating the carbon footprint of liquid fuel production and combustion make such lifecycle analysis impractical. He suggests, instead, to focus to carbon capture. Since capturing CO2 directly from a vehicle is probably never going to happen, DiCicco believes the solution is to capture carbon from the atmosphere in sectors outside of transportation. Says DiCicco, "Research should be ramped up on options for increasing the rate at which CO2 is removed from the atmosphere and on programs to manage and utilize carbon fixed in the biosphere, which offers the best CO2 removal mechanism now at hand. Such strategies can complement measures that control the demand for liquid fuels by reducing travel activity, improving vehicle efficiency and shifting to non-carbon fuels." Read more at Green Car Congress. Global transportation energy consumption is expected to increase by 25.4 percent by 2035, according to a report by Navigant Research.