After releasing its tentative race schedule for season 3 in late 2022, we’ve known Extreme E has been planning an all-electric X Prix event in Scotland in May. However, today we have learned that the Scottish event will be a Hydro X Prix held at the site of a former coal mine before it’s revamped as a hydropower plant and wind farm.
Extreme E is an FIA-sanctioned off-road racing series that showcases the potential of all-electric SUVs barreling through some of the Earth’s toughest climates as both motorsport entertainment and a subtle reminder of the global effects of climate change. As a series with a cause, Extreme E simultaneously gives back to the areas it races in by setting up environmentally-focused “legacy programs.”
Leading up to the final X Prix event of season 2 last fall, Extreme E shared its initial race calendar for season 3 in 2023. Locations once again included Saudi Arabia and Italy, but also promised a new X Prix event to be held in the US for the first time, or through the Rainforest of Brazil.
That particular race location in September is yet to be determined, but we do know Extreme E is bringing an X Prix to another new country for the first time in May – Scotland. Today, the electric racing series has given even more specifics regarding its second event held in the UK, sharing that the Scotland race will be a Hydro X Prix held at the site of a former coal mine.
Credit: Extreme E
Extreme E will race a coal mine before its transformed
According to the details released overseas early this morning, Extreme E’s Hydro X Prix will be held at the former Glenmuckloch opencast coal mine site in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The Extreme E series states that the coal mine is the perfect race location to provide a “natural amphitheater” to showcase the industry’s transition into clean energy.
Furthermore, the water on site (seen in the video below) will help signify how vital H2O can be in bolstering the use of renewable energy. Extreme E founder Alejandro Agag elaborated:
Extreme E uses its racing platform to tell inspirational stories of global locations on the forefront of climate issues. Here in Scotland, our race site will play homage to the much needed transition of an old coal mine which is being given a new and exciting lease of life as a hydro-project which will provide a fully renewable energy source for the region for centuries to come.
Not only will this site provide one of the most dramatic and extreme race courses we have seen in our global journey, it will tell a poignant story about transition and the changing of courses that the energy industry and communities must all take if we are to succeed in the fight against climate change.
Looking ahead, the Glenmuckloch site will soon be revamped as a Pumped Storage Hydropower (PSH) plant and wind farm for Scotland. When construction is complete, the PSH plant will have a capacity that will be able to deliver a rate of 210 MW per hour alongside eight hours of storage capacity. The estate director for the mine property said 1MW is enough to power 2,000 homes for an hour under average energy demands. The site will act as a power storage site during periods of excess energy supply, then release that stored energy back during peak grid demands.
Additionally, the wind farm being built on site will consist of eight 4.2 MW turbines offering the ability to directly power the Pump Storage Hydropower plant with 100% renewables. Extreme E is also promoting sustainability beyond its race it Scotland. Per the release:
Extreme E will also embark on a community led project of its own, as part of its Legacy Program, to implement a multi-stage project, focused on mitigating climate change effects on local salmon stocks. From the impactful re-planting of over a thousand trees, to using innovative technologies to monitor the habitat, Extreme E will focus on a long-term transformation of the River Nith area that will protect the salmon stocks so important to local industries.
Extreme E’s Hydro X Prix will take place in Scotland May 13-14. Here’s some drone footage of the former mining site to give you an idea of what the driving teams will have to endure.
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Kia’s electric SUVs are taking over. The EV3 is the best-selling retail EV in the UK this year, giving Kia its strongest sales start since it arrived 34 years ago. And it’s not just in the UK. Kia just had its best first quarter globally since it started selling cars in 1962.
Kia EV3 is the best-selling EV in the UK through March
In March, Kia sold a record nearly 20,000 vehicles in the UK, making it the fourth best-selling brand. It was also the second top-seller of electrified vehicles (EVs, PHEVs, and HEVs), accounting for over 55% of sales.
The EV3 remained the best-selling retail EV in the UK last month. Including the EV6, three-row EV9, and Niro EV, electric vehicles represented 21% of Kia’s UK sales in March.
Kia said the EV3 “started with a bang” in January, darting out as the UK’s most popular EV in retail sales. Through March, Kia’s electric SUV has held on to the crown. With the EV3 rolling out, Kia sold over 7,000 electric cars through March, nearly 50% more than in Q1 2024.
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The EV3 was the best-selling retail EV in the UK in the first quarter and the fourth best-selling EV overall, including commercial vehicles.
Kia EV3 Air 91.48 kWh in Frost Blue (Source: Kia UK)
Starting at £33,005 ($42,500), Kia said it’s the “brand’s most affordable EV yet.” It’s available with two battery packs, 58.3 kWh or 81.48 kWh, good for 430 km (270 miles) and 599 km (375 miles) of WLTP range, respectively.
From left to right: Kia EV6, EV3, and EV9 (Source: Kia UK)
With new EVs on the way, this could be just the start. Kia is launching several new EVs in the UK this year, including the EV4 sedan (and hatchback) and EV5 SUV. It also confirmed that the first PV5 electric vans will be delivered to customers by the end of the year.
Electrek’s Take
Globally, Kia sold a record 772,351 vehicles in the first quarter, its best since it started selling cars in 1962. With the new EV4, the brand’s first electric sedan and hatchback, launching this year, Kia looks to build on its momentum in 2025.
Kia has also made it very clear that it wants to be a global leader in the electric van market with its new Platform Beyond Vehicle (PBV) business, starting with the PV5 later this year.
Earlier today, we learned Kia’s midsize electric SUV, the EV5, is the fourth best-selling EV in Australia through March, outselling every BYD vehicle (at least for now). The EV5 is rolling out to new markets this year, including Canada, the UK, South Korea, and Mexico. However, it will not arrive in the US.
For those in the US, there are still a few Kia EVs to look forward to. Kia is launching the EV4 globally, including in the US, later this year. Although no date has been set, Kia confirmed the EV3 is also coming. It’s expected to arrive in mid-2026.
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In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss Tesla’s disastrous deliveries, more Trump tariffs, EV delivery numbers, and more.
As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.
After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:
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Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast:
Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 4:00 p.m. ET (or the video after 5 p.m. ET):
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Charging your EV in freezing weather could soon become dramatically faster, thanks to a big breakthrough from the University of Michigan engineers.
Neil Dasgupta, U-M associate professor of mechanical engineering and materials science and engineering and corresponding author of a study published in Joule, and his team have developed an innovative battery structure and coating that can boost lithium-ion EV battery charging speeds by a whopping 500%, even at frigid temperatures as low as 14F (-10C). “Charging an EV battery takes 30 to 40 minutes even for aggressive fast charging, and that time increases to over an hour in the winter,” Dasgupta explained. “This is the pain point we want to address.”
Freezing weather has traditionally been harsh on EV batteries because it slows down the movement of lithium ions, resulting in slower charging speeds and reduced battery life. Automakers have tried thickening battery electrodes to extend driving range, but this makes some of the lithium hard to access, making charging even slower.
Previously, Dasgupta’s group sped up battery charging using lasers to carve pathways around 40 microns in size into the graphite anode. This allowed lithium ions to reach deeper into the battery more quickly. However, cold-weather performance still lagged because a chemical layer formed on the electrodes, blocking the ions. Dasgupta compares this barrier to “trying to cut cold butter,” making charging inefficient.
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To solve this, the team coated the battery with a thin, glassy material made of lithium borate-carbonate—only 20 nanometers thick—which prevented the problematic chemical layer from forming. Combined with the microscopic channels, the results were groundbreaking: the modified batteries retained 97% of their capacity even after 100 fast-charging cycles in freezing temperatures.
“We envision this approach as something that EV battery manufacturers could adopt without major changes to existing factories,” Dasgupta noted. “For the first time, we’ve shown a pathway to simultaneously achieve extreme fast charging at low temperatures, without sacrificing the energy density of the lithium-ion battery.”
This innovation could tackle one of the biggest concerns holding potential EV buyers back.
The new battery tech is moving closer to commercialization, supported by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s Michigan Translational Research and Commercialization (MTRAC) Advanced Transportation Innovation Hub. The research devices were built at U-M’s Battery Lab and studied with help from the Michigan Center for Materials Characterization.
U-M Innovation Partnerships assisted the team in applying for patents, and Arbor Battery Innovations has licensed the technology for market deployment. Dasgupta and the University of Michigan hold financial stakes in Arbor Battery Innovations.
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