This week, we have news on battery recycling from a Tesla Co-Founder, Texas' plans for charging infrastructure, DIY EV conversions, and the first production Ford F-150 Lightning.
Check out the full newsletter for the week which includes more Electric Vehicle News, and also news about Autonomous Vehicles.
Bio: John is the COO at EPG, a company focused on helping electric and autonomous vehicle companies hire the best talent. In addition to these services, EPG puts out an informative weekly newsletter that is now named Mobility EVo.You can sign up for the newsletter here.
Recycled
Toyota and Redwood Materials are partnering to collect and recycle EV batteries. The recycled batteries will most likely be from the first generation of Toyota Priuses in California with the eventual goal to move operations East. Redwood removes the materials from the batteries, such as nickel and copper, and can reintroduce these materials into the battery supply chain in the form of materials for anodes and cathodes.
Redwood is currently receiving around six gigawatt-hours of batteries, and anticipates producing 100 GWh of components by 2025. One other interesting fact about Redwood Materials is that it was founded by the co-founder of Tesla, JB Straubel. Pretty cool.
Lonestar
The state of Texas is planning to add EV stations to support 1 million electric vehicles. The Texas DOT’s 5-year plan is that every 50 miles, along non-business routes, there will be a charger. The draft plan declares the chargers will be powered at 150kW and will bring most EVs from 10% to 80% charge in approximately 30 minutes.
The project will be funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which will allocate $408 million to Texas. The amount of EVs in Texas has tripled since 2020 and continues to grow. They’ll need the chargers.
Convert
Ever dream of a DIY EV conversion? Some people made these dreams come true with their DIY EV Builds. Zack Nelson converted his 1995 Military Humvee to an EV fitted with a cutout in the roof for guns or other military equipment. Nelson added several Tesla battery cells to give the EV a powerful punch.
There is also a 1978 Ferrari 308 GTS equipped with an electric motor and battery packs to make the remodel faster than the original model. And, I have to say, she is a beauty. Makes me want to find a roller 911 and convert, but then I will need a bigger garage, a lift, additional tools, etc… My birthday is coming up.
The First Lightning
Ever wonder what it’s like to get the first production vehicle delivered to you? I have, and Nick Schmidt of Standish, MI, made this happen. Nick Schmidt has made history by becoming the first owner of an F-150 Lightning. Nick ordered his new EV last May and recently picked up his first to-be-delivered Lightning. He praised the vehicle for how similar it felt to his gas-powered F-150 and its impressive acceleration. Congrats Nick!
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