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UK startup Watt Electric Vehicle Company (WEVC) has announced an interesting new partnership today as it looks to reach production of its flagship commercial van, the eCV1. Together with the help of leading Norwegian industrial company Hydro, WEVC hopes to deliver an electric van built from recycled aluminum that can last decades and potentially enable closed-loop production.

Watt Electric Vehicle Company, or WEVC for short, is a UK-based EV startup building upon net-zero goals from its inception, with hopes to develop and deliver ground-up EVs that are built using sustainable and recyclable materials and processes.

With its flagship eCV1 van, WEVC intends to deliver both cost and CO2 savings throughout the entire life cycle of its EVs, which it expects to last 20+ years compared to the average 5-7 years for other commercial vehicles.

When production officially begins, WEVC intends to offer a holistic commercial EV system to customers that includes vehicles, fleet optimization, maintenance, and charging infrastructure. Per the company website:

Vehicle life will be extended by regular refreshes and upgrades, and finally, at end of vehicle life, we will re-purpose body, chassis and powertrain materials at end of vehicle life including viable ‘second-life’ battery applications.

Through this sustainable design process, Watt Electric Vehicle Company hopes to once day achieve a closed-loop production program. Today, the company took a huge step toward that goal with the help of Hydro in order to build its upcoming eCV1 vans using recycled, low-carbon aluminum. Check it out.

  • Watt electric van

Watt’s electric van represents low carbon sustainability

WEVC shared details of its new partnership with Hydro from the UK this morning, relaying that its upcoming eCV1 electric vans will be built exclusively using recycled, low-carbon aluminum within its structurally bonded structure.

Additionally, WEVC says it is exploring the use of certified recycled aluminum to manufacture additional bespoke extrusions on the eCV1 electric vehicles in order to further minimize its carbon footprint during scaled production.

Thanks in part to the use of renewables during the production process, Hydro is able to deliver lower-carbon aluminum that carries a footprint of 4.0 kg CO2 per ton, as opposed to a world average of 16.7 kg per ton. That material, combined with WEVC’s patented bonded aluminum Flex-Tech architecture can eventually enable a significantly cleaner EV production process.

When it begins building its production-intent eCV1 electric vans, Watt believes it can reduce its carbon impact by over 50% compared to other electric light commercial vehicles (LCVs). Per company CEO Neil Yates:

We started WEVC from a clean sheet of paper so are not restricted by legacy platforms or components, giving us freedom in both design and manufacture. Part of our design approach is the patented FlexTech technology used for our aluminum chassis, which gives incredible levels of flexibility and customization opportunities, but crucially is also very light.

In Hydro we have the perfect partner who can deliver very high-quality ‘greener’ aluminum products, which bring a significant reduction in embedded carbon. Forming a development partnership with Hydro allows us to together make sure the new alloys have all the right strength and durability attributes and the lowest possible manufacturing emissions while considering the entire supply chain.

Real world testing of Watt’s eCV1 electric vans is already underway in the UK, as WEVC prepares for commercial production in 2025. the prototype van currently comes equipped with a 110 kWh battery that delivers an estimated range of 310 km (193 miles).

Looking ahead, the startup looks to continue to minimize its carbon footprint while simultaneously developing EVs that are closed loop and built to last. Yates elaborated:

At WEVC, we also recognize that repair, re-use and recycle philosophies demand changes in both product design, manufacturing process and business practice and this partnership with Hydro will also explore wider opportunities such as more sustainable closed loop recycling during manufacture through to end of vehicle life recycling options. Together we can deliver upon multiple sustainability opportunities that come from fully embracing the circular economy.

You can watch Watt Electric Vehicle Company’s electric van prototype being tested in the video below:

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Go West, young brand – GreenPower Motor Company sells 11 more BEAST buses

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Go West, young brand – GreenPower Motor Company sells 11 more BEAST buses

GreenPower Motor Company says it’s received three orders for 11 of its BEAST electric Type D school buses for western state school districts in Arizona, California, and Oregon.

GreenPower hasn’t made the sort of headline-grabbing promises or big-money commitments that companies like Nikola and Lion Electric have, but while those companies are floundering GPM seems to be plugging away, taking orders where it can and actually delivering buses to schools. Late last year, the company scored 11 more orders for its flagship BEAST electric school bus.

As far as these latest orders go, the breakdown is:

  • seven to Los Banos Unified School District in Los Banos, California
  • two for the Hood River County School District in Hood River, Oregon
  • two for the Casa Grande Elementary School District in Casa Grande, Arizona

Those two BEAST electric school buses for Arizona will join another 90-passenger BEAST that was delivered to Phoenix Elementary School District #1, which operates 15 schools in the center of Phoenix, late last year.

“As school districts continue to make the change from NOx emitting diesel school buses to a cleaner, healthier means of transporting students, school district transportation departments are pursuing the gold standard of the industry – the GreenPower all-electric, purpose-built (BEAST) school buses,” said Paul Start, GreenPower’s Vice President of Sales, School Bus Group. “(The) GreenPower school bus order pipeline and production schedule are both at record levels with sales projections for (2025) set to eclipse the 2024 calendar year.”

GreenPower moved into an 80,000-square-foot production facility in South Charleston, West Virigina in August 2022, and delivered its first buses to that state the following year.

Electrek’s Take

GreenPower electric school buses
BEAST and NanoBEAST; via GreenPower Motor Company.

Since the first horseless carriage companies started operating 100 years ago (give or take), at least 1,900 different companies have been formed in the US, producing over 3,000 brands of American automobiles. By the mid 1980s, that had distilled down to “the big 3.”

All of which is to say: don’t let the recent round of bankruptcies fool you – startups in the car and truck industry is business as usual, but some of these companies will stick around. If you’re wondering which ones, look to the ones that are making units, not promises.

SOURCE | IMAGES: GreenPower Motors.

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Harbinger electric truck brand gets real with $100M Series B funding raise

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Harbinger electric truck brand gets real with 0M Series B funding raise

While some recent high-profile bankruptcies have cast doubt on the EV startup space recently, medium-duty electric truck maker Harbinger got a shot of credibility this week with a massive $100 million Series B funding round co-led by Capricorn’s Technology Impact Fund.

It’s been a rough couple of weeks for fledgling EV brands like Lion Electric and Canoo, but box van builder Harbinger is bucking the trend, fueling its latest funding round with an order book of 4,690 vehicles that’s valued at nearly $500 million. Some of the company’s more notable customers including Bimbo Bakeries (which owns brands like Sara Lee, Thomas’, and Entenmann’s) and THOR Industries (Airstream, Jayco, Thor), which is also one of the investors in the Series B.

Other prominent investors include Tiger Global, the Coca-Cola System Sustainability Fund, and ArcTern Ventures.

As for what makes Harbinger such an attractive investment prospect, Dipender Saluja, Managing Partner of Capricorn Investment Group’s Technology Impact Fund explains that, “Harbinger has demonstrated a remarkable ability to reach significant milestones far quicker than other EV companies … the market has been impressed by their ability to develop large portions of the vehicle in-house to drive down unit costs, while remaining capital efficient.”

The company plans to use the funds to ramp up to higher-volume production capacity and deliver on existing orders, as well as build-out of the company’s sales, customer support, and service operations.

“Harbinger is entering a rapid growth phase where we are focused on scaling production of our customer-ready platform,” said John Harris, co-founder and CEO. “These funds catalyze significant revenue generation. We’ve developed a vehicle for a segment that is ripe for electrification, and there is a strong product/market fit that will help fuel our upward trajectory through 2025 and beyond.”

The company has raised $200 million since its inception in 2021.

SOURCE | IMAGES: Harbinger.

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Michigan State Police deploy their first electric patrol vehicle

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Michigan State Police deploy their first electric patrol vehicle

There is no state more associated with cars and car culture than Michigan – and the state that’s home to the Motor City has just taken a huge step into the future with the deployment of its first-ever all electric police vehicle.

The 2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E patrol vehicle is assigned to the Michigan State Police State Security Operations Section, and will be to be used by armed, uniformed members of the MSP specializing in general law enforcement and security services at state-owned facilities in the Lansing, MI area.

“This is an exciting opportunity for us to research, in real time, how a battery electric vehicle performs on patrol,” says Col. James F. Grady II, director of the MSP. “Our state properties security officers patrol a substantially smaller number of miles per day than our troopers and motor carrier officers, within city limits and at lower speeds, coupled with the availability of charging infrastructure in downtown Lansing, making this the ideal environment to test the capabilities of a police-package battery electric vehicle.”

The MSP’s Precision Driving Unit is nationally renowned for its annual Police Vehicle Evaluation, which our own Scooter Doll participated in last year, driving the then-new Chevy Blazer EV Police Pursuit Vehicles in a game of “cops and robbers.”

In those tests, the EVs have impressed – but the MSP has been hesitant to commit to a BEV until now. “We began testing battery electric vehicles in 2022, but up until now hybrids were the only alternative fuel vehicle in our fleet,” said Lt. Nicholas Darlington, commander of the Precision Driving Unit. “Adding this battery electric vehicle to our patrol fleet will allow us to study the vehicle’s performance long-term to determine if there is a potential for cost savings and broader applicability within our fleet.”

Michigan joins other states like Wisconsin and California in deploying electric patrol cars and saving big money on fuel and maintenance, with many more out there and many more to come.

SOURCE | IMAGES: Michigan State Police.

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