EV, Charging & Battery News: onsemi, FLO, ChargeLab, ChargeX Consortium, Sensata Tech & Volcon

Nov 03, 2023

In electric vehicle and charging news are onsemi, FLO, ChargeLab, ChargeX Consortium, Sensata Tech and Volcon.

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onsemi a leader in intelligent power and sensing technologies, and Penn State are pleased to announce the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) towards an $8 million strategic collaboration which includes the establishment of the onsemi Silicon Carbide Crystal Center (SiC3) at Penn State's Materials Research Institute (MRI). onsemi will fund SiC3 with $800k per year over the next 10 years.

Silicon carbide (SiC) is vital for enabling efficiency in electric vehicles (EVs), EV charging and energy infrastructure and contributes to the decarbonization of the global economy. Academic research in SiC made great advancements in the late 1990s and early 2000s, but has since diminished in the U.S. This agreement will put SiC crystal research in America back on the map.

In addition to conducting SiC research at SiC3, Penn State and onsemi will raise awareness about the increasing demand for tech jobs in the semiconductor industry. This is part of their efforts to enhance the share of U.S. semiconductor manufacturing. They also will partner on workforce development initiatives such as internship and cooperative programs and include SiC and wide bandgap crystal studies in Penn State's curriculum. The relationship with Penn State is part of onsemi's commitment to promoting STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) education, ranging from helping K-12 students in underserved communities to university collaborations that support the development of the workforce for today and the future.

Lora Weiss, Penn State senior vice president of research, noted that the Penn State-onsemi collaboration is a match that makes perfect sense given each entity's demonstrated strengths.

"onsemi is a proven innovator, delivering a comprehensive portfolio of intelligent power and sensing technologies to enable and accelerate sustainable solutions across multiple markets," Weiss said. "At the same time, as per the National Science Foundation's research expenditure rankings, Penn State is ranked first in materials science and second in materials engineering. We have world-class nanofab and characterization facilities that support research on thin films, silicon carbide and other materials used in semiconductors and other technologies. These complementary capabilities between onsemi and Penn State will have a strong impact on research and development, economic growth, and workforce development."

Penn State's capabilities make them an ideal academic partner for onsemi to advance the state of the art in silicon crystal growth.

"Penn State is uniquely positioned to rapidly establish a silicon carbide crystal growth research program," said Pavel Freundlich, chief technology officer, Power Solutions Group, onsemi. "The university offers a wide breadth of capability based on its current materials research, wafer processing capabilities in its nanofab facility, and a comprehensive, world-class suite of metrology instrumentation."

The relationship developed over a period of due diligence during which it became clear that their cooperative efforts would position Penn State and onsemi as leaders in SiC research.

"Over the next decade, this collaboration will enable Penn State to become the nation's leading resource for semiconductor crystal science and workforce development," said Justin Schwartz, Penn State executive vice president and provost. "And this would not be possible without the relationship-building efforts of Priya Baboo, senior director of corporate and industry engagement, and the technical expertise of Joshua Robinson, professor of materials science and engineering, and their counterparts at onsemi."

Scott Allen, vice president, University Relations, onsemi, added that "Penn State's expansion of its curriculum to offer specialty courses in SiC and wideband gap technology will play a key role in meeting onsemi's strategic workforce development goals and help to meet American semiconductor workforce goals as outlined in the recently signed CHIPS and Science Act."

A newly released evaluation report on the NYC DOT Curbside Level 2 EV Charging Pilot Program shows FLO curbside chargers maintained an uptime of more than 99% during the first 18 months of the program. The pilot program was launched by the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT), Consolidated Edison (Con Ed) and FLO®, a leading North American electric vehicle (EV) charging company and smart charging solutions provider, in June 2021, and includes 100 public FLO curbside Level 2 charging stations located across all five boroughs.

During the evaluation period, nearly 50,000 charging sessions were initiated by 7,200 unique users. Overall utilization of the system, or the percentage of time the chargers were connected to a vehicle, reached 34% in December 2022. The efficiency rate of the system – the percentage of time that vehicles were actively charging while plugged in – was 81%. FLO maintained an uptime of over 99% on its network of chargers across the city.

"With an operational uptime of more than 99% and a presence in all five boroughs, these curbside chargers are available when and where NYC EV drivers need them," said Louis Tremblay, president and CEO of FLO. "FLO is proud that our curbside chargers are bringing access to EV charging to more and more drivers and we look forward to advancing our work with our partners at the NYC DOT and Con Edison as New York City's transition to a cleaner transportation future continues."

EV adoption in New York City has grown rapidly in recent years. The New York City DOT has set ambitious targets for vehicle electrification to meet its goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. By 2030, the city will need over 40,000 publicly accessible Level 2 chargers to meet the projected demand of the nearly 400,000 EVs expected to be registered in the city.

The report will provide one of the first comprehensive evaluations of a curbside Level 2 EV charging program in the world. By benchmarking the usage patterns and performance of the FLO chargers deployed for the program, this evaluation provides valuable insights for policymakers and stakeholders in major cities looking to deploy curbside chargers.

ChargeLab, a leading charging station management system (CSMS) for the electric vehicle industry, announced that it has completed the Service Organization Control (SOC) 2 Type II audit. Conducted by Sensiba San Filippo, LLP, a CPA and a business advisory firm, the audit verifies that ChargeLab's cloud-based CSMS adheres to the strictest standards for protecting sensitive consumer data.

ChargeLab's SOC 2 report verifies the platform's compliance with the security, confidentiality, and availability standards established by The Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (AICPA). SOC 2 Type II is considered the security gold standard for organizations that handle sensitive consumer data and intellectual property. This accreditation is a crucial step for a SaaS platform of ChargeLab's scope and scale.

"ChargeLab is committed to creating and maintaining a secure operating environment for our customers," says Ehsan Mokhtari, Chief Technology Officer and co-founder of ChargeLab. "Our successful completion of the SOC 2 Type II certification demonstrates that we are investing in security and compliance at every level. Our customers can feel confident in the knowledge that we build everything with security in mind."

ChargeLab aims to become the most ubiquitous back-end platform for managing smart EV chargers. This certification, along with upcoming platform enhancements, positions ChargeLab as the most reliable and scalable smart EV charging solution available today.

FLO, a leading North American electric vehicle (EV) charging company and a smart charging solutions provider, was named a founding member of a new effort led by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to develop EV charging solutions on behalf of Americans. FLO, along with members of the National Charging Experience Consortium (ChargeX Consortium), will work to measure and identify opportunities to improve customer experience with public EV charging infrastructure.

"There is no doubt ChargeX Consortium will be crucial for the future of America's EV industry and FLO supports its ultimate mission to improve EV charging infrastructure across the U.S.," said Cory Bullis, Director of Public Affairs at FLO. "Together with our industry partners, our work has the potential to not only transform the way we power our vehicles, but also help pave the way for a more sustainable future. FLO is proud to join this important initiative as part of our commitment to provide the best EV charging experience to consumers."

The goal of ChargeX Consortium is to ensure public charging stations function more reliably for drivers. This goal compliments federal requirements of greater than 97% uptime to ensure customers can successfully and seamlessly charge at public charging stations.

FLO's recent achievements engaging with public-private partnerships to improve the overall EV charging experience and increasing EV charging accessibility are highlighted below:

Ford joined the U.S. Joint Office of Energy and Transportation to launch of the National Charging Experience Consortium, a new effort to rapidly develop solutions to improve electric vehicle (EV) charging across the U.S.

Ford will join a cross-industry group of automakers, charging providers, utilities and the Department of Energy national laboratories to drive innovation and universal enhancements around current and future public charging infrastructure and the entire customer experience. The consortium will immediately focus on payment processing, user interfaces and vehicle-to-charger communication, as well as work toward collaborative diagnostic data sharing to further support solutions for all stakeholders.

"Creating a seamless and simple public charging experience requires collaboration across the entire electric vehicle ecosystem, and remains key to accelerating EV adoption and providing customers with range confidence," said Bill Crider, head of global charging and energy services, Ford Motor Company. "Bringing together a cross-section of industry, academia and government will address current challenges and drive swift improvements to the entire charging experience, helping Ford customers and all EV drivers realize all the benefits of driving electric."

Ford joins the U.S. Joint Office of Energy and Transportation to launch of the National Charging Experience Consortium, a new effort to rapidly develop solutions to improve electric vehicle (EV) charging across the U.S.

Ford will join a cross-industry group of automakers, charging providers, utilities and the Department of Energy national laboratories to drive innovation and universal enhancements around current and future public charging infrastructure and the entire customer experience. The consortium will immediately focus on payment processing, user interfaces and vehicle-to-charger communication, as well as work toward collaborative diagnostic data sharing to further support solutions for all stakeholders.

"Creating a seamless and simple public charging experience requires collaboration across the entire electric vehicle ecosystem, and remains key to accelerating EV adoption and providing customers with range confidence," said Bill Crider, head of global charging and energy services, Ford Motor Company. "Bringing together a cross-section of industry, academia and government will address current challenges and drive swift improvements to the entire charging experience, helping Ford customers and all EV drivers realize all the benefits of driving electric."

Sensata Technologies, announced the launch of the c-BMS24X, a new compact Battery Management System (BMS) that addresses the latest market needs for industrial applications, low voltage electric vehicles, and energy storage systems.

The c-BMS24X uses advanced software functionality that enables improvements in vehicle range, uptime, battery health and performance in applications up to 24 cells in series and 2000 amps like energy storage systems (ESS), scooters, 3-wheelers, forklifts and AGVs. The BMS will be showcased for the first time at The Battery Show Europe in Stuttgart, Germany from May 23 – 25 at Sensata's stand 10-C10.

The new c-BMS24X offers advanced capabilities that address the need for improvements in vehicle range, uptime and battery health and performance, such as:

"We are excited to bring the c-BMS24X to the market at Battery Show in Stuttgart as it highlights the added value we bring to customers through our expertise in electrified applications. The c-BMS24X enables a great degree of battery design freedom, eliminates downtime due to battery charging, and provides high precision measurement accuracy using the latest proprietary algorithms from Sensata." says Justin Colson, Vice President, CES Components & Spear Power Systems at Sensata Technologies.

The new c-BMS24X is built on the proven hardware of Lithium Balance c-BMS24, a compact BMS that can handle 24 cells in series and 2000+ A continuous current.

Volcon Inc. (NASDAQ: VLCN), ("Volcon" or the "Company"), the first all-electric, off-road powersports company, announced that it intends to offer its securities in a firm commitment underwritten public offering (the "Offering"). The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the Offering for general corporate purposes, including working capital, operating expenses and capital expenditures. The offering is expected to close on May 24, 2023, subject to customary conditions.