Battery Design Offers Flexible, Safe Option for Commercial EVs

Photo via Kokam

Korean technology company Kokam has introduced a new battery called Xpand that is designed to improve battery safety and performance for commercial electric vehicles.

By using a liquid cooling system that cools battery cells directly, Xpand batteries have as much as 75% reduced mass compared to air-cooled systems. This allows the company to produce batteries with higher energy density in a more compact package.

The company said that its new batteries exceed current electric vehicle battery standards for safety, with a ceramic separator and other battery pack thermal containment to prevent thermal runaway. The batteries have received an IP67 rating for dust and water protection and also meet many other major standards, per Kokam.

The batteries are also designed for better longevity, with a lifespan of over 6,000 cycles, according to Kokam. They feature a modular plug-and-play design to help adapt to a variety of EV applications while also making them easier to service in the field.

The batteries also come with built-in monitoring capabilities featuring diagnostics, battery state information, and a flexible system architecture to provide more accurate charge and health estimates.

The Xpand battery pack will be offered in two versions: XMP71P, a 7.1-kilowatt hour version, and XMP114E, an 11.4-kilowatt hour version. Both versions are scalable enough to support EV applications from 7.1-kilowatt hours up to 1.5-megawatt hours of capacity in a wide variety of voltages.

"While cost and performance are important considerations for electric bus, tram, and other EV manufacturers when selecting a battery, safety is their number one priority," said Ike Hong, vice president of Kokam's Power Solutions Division. "With Xpand, Kokam now offers manufacturers an EV battery pack that has been tested and certified to be one of the safest EV battery solutions on the market - while still offering high levels of performance at a competitive price."

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Economic Watch: Rising Factory Orders Latest Indicator of Interest Rate Hike

An increase in new factory orders is one of the latest economic signs that the Federal Reserve is moving close to another jump in interest rates, some analysts believe.

New orders for manufactured goods in January increased 1.2% from the month before, according to a full Commerce Department report released Monday, slightly better than a Wall Street consensus estimate. It was boosted by sizable jumps in the notoriously volatile aircraft components for both defense and nondefense.

This followed an unrevised 1.3% improvement in December while new orders are up 5.5% from January 2016.

Orders for manufactured durable goods increased 2% in January following two straight months of declines, better than the first estimated 1.8% gain.

Total shipments of factory goods increased 0.2% in January following a 2.5% surge in December, marking 11 consecutive monthly improvements.

Shipments of so-called “core-capital goods,” which are an indication of business investment and are used in calculating the nation's gross domestic product, fell 0.4% in January, better than the first reported 0.6% drop.

“On balance, the hard data in the manufacturing sector continue to show improvement, although the pace has been slower than sentiment indicators alone would indicate,” said Tim Quinlan, senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities.

He noted that core capital goods orders are up 8.7% on a three-month average annualized basis. That's the fastest pace since 2014 and it corroborates some of the rising sentiment seen in other indicators.

This and other recent indications, such an strong employment, rising prices and anecdotal evidence of a firming gross domestic product, have led some analysts to say they believe the Federal Reserve will increase interest rates when it meets later this month.

Among them is CNBC's Jim Cramer, who said last week that "The rest of the economy is strong enough to take it” and there is no excuse for the central bank ...Read the rest of this story

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Eaton Tunes Transmissions for Vocational Fleets

Photo: Eaton

Eaton has created a new Aggressive Performance calibration for the company's lineup of UltraShift Plus and Fuller Advantage automated manual transmissions aimed at vocational fleets.

The new software feature will help vocational fleets with quicker shift times to improve performance on steep grade climbs by allowing the engine to come in at higher RPMs. Better start gear selection and improved offset have also been added to provide a stronger launch, improving control in challenging terrain.

Compared to the previous Performance calibration, the new Aggressive Performance calibration improves acceleration by up to 2.9 seconds faster to 25 miles per hour and up to 5.4 seconds faster to 55 miles per hour, according to Eaton. The new shift improvements have also resulted in better deceleration rates with raised downshift points and improved skip shifting on level ground.

“Fleets have been asking us for better performance on grades and quicker acceleration,” said Chris Nielsen, manager, global product strategy, vocational and performance transmissions, Eaton Vehicle Group. “Eaton values customer feedback whenever it comes to improving our products, and we have responded with the new Aggressive Performance calibration that is ideal for fleets that are more performance-minded.”

Related: Eaton Upgrades Line of Advantage Series Clutches

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