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Recharge Wrap-up: NEDC's NOx problems, autonomous Chevy Volts

The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) found a significant difference in NOx emissions in Euro 6 diesel cars in NEDC and WLTC testing. While 88 percent of the cars tested met emissions standards for NEDC, NOx emissions averaged five times higher under WLTC, with only 27 percent of vehicles under the limit. WLTC is considered to be a more realistic driving cycle, using hot starts and factoring a higher top speed as well as harder and more frequent accelerations than the NEDC. Read more at Green Car Congress.GM Canada will build a fleet of autonomous 2017 Chevrolet Volts. The self-driving Volts will be deployed for testing at GM's Warren, Michigan Technical Center. Employees will be able to use a carsharing app to reserve a car, which will then drive itself to the set destination. The project will allow GM to collect important data and experience to help the company more quickly develop autonomous driving technology. Read in a press release more from GM Canada, or at Green Car Congress.Carwatt is showing an electric Renault Trafic powered by second-life batteries at the COP21 environmental summit in Paris. The lithium-ion batteries used to power the EV were recycled from other Renault EVs. With the electric Trafic, Carwatt – a company that converts vehicles to use electric power – aims to demonstrate the "circular economy" of batteries, which can provide more value through a longer lifecycle. Read more in the press release below. Carwatt presents a unique automotive application for second-life batteries from electric vehicles. On the sidelines of the COP21 summit, in the Solutions Gallery running from 2 to 9 December 2015 in Le Bourget near Paris, Carwatt and its partners —Renault, Paris City Council, BPI France, the Ales Ecole des Mines Engineering School, and the Bobigny Business Campus — are showing a very special electric Renault Trafic. This prototype vehicle, the only one of kind in the world, is powered by second-life lithium-ion batteries recycled from Renault electric cars. Circular economy at work with electric vehicles When, over time, the batteries of a Renault electric vehicle fall the performance threshold specified for their initial automotive power duty (around 75% of initial capacity), they can still provide valuable service in "second-life" applications before end-of-life disposal at a recycling centre. Experiments are already under way on power storage applications, for example.

LG Chem's troubled Chevy Volt battery plant hiring once again

The Michigan battery plant known for paying its workers to do nothing has turned things around and is now hiring more workers, specifically to do something. South Korea-based LG Chem, which runs the factory to supply the Chevrolet Volt extended-range plug-in vehicle with its lithium-ion batteries, held a job fair recently to bring on 40 new employees in order to meet higher battery demand, according to WZZM, the ABC affiliate for Grand Rapids, MI. The LG Chem factory is in Holland, MI, about 30 miles west of Grand Rapids, and it made its first batteries last year. Prior to that, though, the factory gained notoriety after a US Department of Energy (DOE) probe found that workers there were getting paid to do, well, nothing. That's because demand for the battery packs was so low that it cost less for the plant to sit idle. The DOE was conducting the probe because of its financial grant to LG Chem. But that was then and today is today. LG Chem is looking to ramp up production in advance of the second-generation Volt. That 2016 model-year version is said to have a longer all-electric range and better performance and will ride on a new chassis, but few official details have surfaced. We will know more when we get our first look at the car at the Detroit Auto Show in January.

Recharge Wrap-up: Tesla P85D upgrades coming soon, lease a Chevy Volt for $149 a month

CarCharging has raised $6 million from shareholders and has restructured to save cash. The EV charging company plans to expand further in 2015 - with an eye toward achieving profitability - in part by investing in technology and "unlocking the value of our significant equipment inventory," says CarCharging CEO Michael D. Farkas. The group expects to reduce administrative costs by 40 percent, and has hired an interim Chief Financial Officer to help carry out its plans for growth. CarCharging raised the cash through offering convertible preferred stock to its shareholders, whom Farkas thanked "for their passion and patience." Read more in the press release below. Rydell Chevrolet in Los Angeles is offering Chevrolet Volt leases for $149 per month. In a video ad, Rydell offers the Volt for $169 a month with $3,390 due at signing, but another ad shows the offer at $149 a month with $3,550 down or $248 per month with $0 down. Rydell Chevrolet will ship the car anywhere in the lower 48 states. It also appears they offer cupcakes. See Rydell's video below, or read more at Inside EVs. Tesla will upgrade the Model S P85D with higher performance and top speed. The free update, which is due "in the next few months" according to a statement from Tesla, will raise the electronically limited top speed from 130 to 155 miles per hour. "Additionally, an over-the-air firmware upgrade to the power electronics will improve P85D performance at high speed above what anyone outside Tesla has experienced to date," Tesla says. The update will be available for the lifetime of the car, which includes subsequent owners. Read more at Green Car Reports. Car Charging Group Completes $6 Million Capital Raise Concurrently Enacts Restructuring Actions to Reduce Cash Burn MIAMI BEACH, Fla., Dec. 29, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Car Charging Group, Inc. (OTCQB: CCGI) ("CarCharging" or the "Company"), the largest owner, operator, and provider of electric vehicle (EV) charging services, today announced that it has closed an offering (the "Offering") and raised net proceeds of up to $6 million with current institutional shareholders. The Offering consisted of convertible preferred securities with a conversion price of $0.70 and warrants exercisable at $1.00. Proceeds will be used to: - Strengthen CarCharging's balance sheet; - Build on the past year's progress; and - Provide growth capital for expanding the Company's network.