Formula E revealed its new Gen3 race car last week at Monaco’s Yacht Club. With a design inspired by a fighter jet, this car is faster, stronger, and more efficient than its predecessors. While the maximum power output from the Gen1 to the Gen2 only increased by 50 kW, FIA’s newest EV blows previous generations out of the water with a staggering 650 kW of total power. And that power upsurge was achieved in only one year! Some other noteworthy features of the Gen3 include a weight that is 60 kg lighter than the previous models and top speeds of over 200 mph. The new race car will also be built from renewable materials, including recyclable batteries, natural rubber, and recycled fiber from Gen2 cars.Formula E’s New Gen3 Car Shows How Fast Battery Technology is Advancing
Earlier this week, Swedish EV manufacturer CAKE announced the winners of the Cake Worlds Race, the first ever all-electric, gender-neutral race in North America. After the action-packed weekend in Del Mar, CA, professional MXA test-rider Josh Moisman was crowned the North American 4X champion. Ashley Fiolek, coming in ninth place, was crowned the best female rider. Dylan Gaszak secured first place in the amateur class. All three will represent the U.S. in the CAKE Worlds Finals, taking place later this year. While their press arm is robust, CAKE really needs to work on their PR before an event, as one of our team attended the Del Mar race, and found it sparsely attended. EV racing is a blast to watch, so ramp up the notice, CAKE!CAKE Worlds Race Winners Announced
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Finance recently made a purchase commitment for 50,000 Lucid EVs, with an option to buy another 50,000 more over the next decade. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) currently holds a controlling 61% stake of the EV maker…an interesting point given the country’s status as the world’s largest exporter of crude oil. Saudi Arabia is also opening up formerly forbidden areas to tourism, and has made huge infrastructure investments in new tourist areas of ancient architecture and astonishing natural beauty, all of which look simply amazing. The question is, will Saudi Arabia invest in Lithium mining to ensure they can build those 100,000 cars?Lucid Will Build 100,000 EVs for the Saudi Government
The new Mahle X20 e-Bike powertrain claims to be the lightest in the world. The X20 system barely tips the scale at just 7.05 lbs, including the motor, wiring, battery, controller, and head unit. Due to its ultra-lightness, the rear hub motor only cranks out about 23 Nm of torque, but will still be a welcome boost for any bicycle.The World’s Lightest Powertrain?
Luxury automaker Aston Martin announced earlier this week that it is targeting 2030 as the expiration date of new cars with gas-powered engines. The company also plans to drop its first electric model by 2025.Aston Martin Plans to Go Entirely Electric
Major Global Lithium Shortage, and ‘The New Oil’
From the Publisher: Lithium is a very common mineral on planet Earth, found in rock and soil and seawater. Lithium is also a critical element for the battery technology currently powering EVs, but extracting Lithium from all these places is difficult, expensive, and is currently a filthy business, perhaps even dirtier than oil extraction. The planned-for shift to EVs across Europe and North America, and the current growth of the EV mobility sector, have exposed a major weakness in the supply chain: the demand for Lithium by battery manufacturers worldwide has exceeded the available supply by 50,000metric tons every year since 2020. The price of Lithium carbonate has gone through the roof, shooting up 442% since 2020, and now accounts for 80% of the cost of EV batteries. The cost of a new Tesla long-range has gone up $1000 this year to reflect this, as one example of a quantifiable impact of the mineral shortage on EV mobility. And looking forward, “All the world’s cell production combined represents well under 10% of what we will need in 10 years,” said Robert Scaringe, CEO of Rivian.
Lithium has earned the name ‘white gold’, but perhaps it’s better called ‘the new oil’, given its impact on global energy geopolitics, and a shift away from the Middle East as primary energy brokers for a power-hungry world. China remains in control of an estimated 80% of the world’s Cobalt extraction, according to a New York Times story, but Lithium production is currently split between Australia (#1), China, Chile, and Argentina. After threatening to nationalize Lithium production in Mexico, President Obrador (AMLO) allowed Chinese company Ganfeng Lithium to take a 50% stake in UK mining company Bacanora currently controlling mineral mining in Sonora…effectively giving the Chinese a 50-year lease on 100,000 hectares in the Sonoran desert. Economically weak countries with vast natural resources are under tremendous political pressure to concede their natural resources to foreign economic powers. And whether the world will know what the extraction ultimately looks like is an open question, given the regular murder of journalists and activists daring to give voice to local concerns over extraction. At The Vintagent, we believe in sustainability and a clean environment, and support efforts to that end. The EV industry is painted as essentially ‘green’, but that is still an open question, given the usual ugliness of extraction. Let’s hope the rush to reduce carbon in our atmosphere doesn’t lead to an even worse situation on the ground.
Formula E 3.0 ? Advanced ? Have you seen these overgrown toys in action ? Christmas day in the morning … there are vintage F1 cars ( as in decades old ) that are faster .
And then there’s the perennial issue of range . Of which the latest … has less than the previous . e.g. You pay a price fro incrementally lore speed . You lose massive amounts of range
Aston Martin … hmmm … in light of their current ( pun intended ) balance sheet .. one has to wonder …. What the ( cuss ) is keeping that financial black hole afloat ? And they’re going to go all EV ? With what ? Dreams and Wishful; thinking ?
And then there’s that Li shortage y’alls FINALLY acknowledging ( though you’re still ignoring the Cobalt shortage which is equally important to the production of Li batteries )
So yeah …. wheres all the Li supposed to come from ? Not to mention where’s all the electricity needed to charge Li batteries gonna come from ? And then … what are we going to do with all the ‘ bricked ‘ Li batteries when their day is done ?
All the REAL WORLD questions nobody is asking as the rush to an EV future disaster on the road to global perdition continues blindly and ignorantly on
Welcome to the Collective Stupidity of Humanity ( fueled by greed ) damned and determined to be the agent of its own demise
So … ya thinks lithium is the only necessary item to build EVs in short supply ? Try ;
Lithium
Nickle
Cadmium
Cobalt …
and … just for good measure
Neon gas .. needed to make ALL ( not just EV ) micro chips
( DW News )
And here’s the real EV kick in the arse
For every ‘ new ‘ EV ordered ( if its already built …its too damn late … not that there are any ready mades available mind you )
Take 20-45% of the retail value of the EV you just so proudly ordered …. and hand it over to Vlad the Impaler ( {Putin ) in support of the Ukraine war . Cause Holmes … thats what you just did ! Ain’t ya just so very proud of yourself … knowing you’re partly responsible for all the gore and atrocities being committed in Ukraine !
( FYI ; With any new ICE .. its more like 15-25% … but thats still too damn much in my never ever humble opinion )
All statistics and figures from DW News confirmed by the WSJ .. MSBNC Financial… Bllomberg etc