Weekly-ish News - Episode 19 (June 13, 2021)

If you have any feedback or suggestions, please feel free to find me on Twitter @archduketyler

**I didn't discuss the Tesla Plaid Model S announcement in this episode because there isn't much new to say about it. It may come up in a later episode, but if you want to learn more about it in the meantime, you can check out these links:
Full Release Event.

The Verge short video on the event.

Headlines from this episode:

Electric Vehicles:

Nissan Ariya deliveries will be delayed until early 2022.

• This is partially due to semiconductor shortages.
• Around a 6mo delay all told.

Lordstown Motors is apparently struggling pretty badly.

• They submitted an Amended Form 10-K/A that mentioned, "Additional funding is needed for production in 2022 and beyond and to continue our ramp up to full commercial production. The amounts required may be significant." 
• “The Company believes that our current level of cash and cash equivalents are not sufficient to fund commercial scale production and the launch of sale of such vehicles.”
• They have lowered production targets for 2021 from 2,200 vehicles to 1,000.
• They lost $125m in Q1 this year.
• Their shares subsequently fell by 16%.

Toyota says it isn't anti-EV.

• Most of the article is not new, but these quotes are interesting:
  • “We are not anti-BEV,” proclaimed Carter (VP Toyota North America). “In fact we are committing to rolling out more BEVs.” “For the industry to reach an all electric future it’s going to take combined efforts between automakers, government, dealers, suppliers, and of course, most importantly, consumers,” Carter added. 
  • Lisa Materazzo, VP of marketing "[Toyota is] all in on BEVs.", "The customer is the boss; they’ll be the ones deciding what technology best suits their needs,” she said. “We are well positioned with our portfolio approach to go where the market takes us and we will follow the lead from our consumers.”

Electrify America is finally selling home chargers.

• 9.6kW at 40A
• $649

A company SparkCharge offers "charging as a service" (called ChargeUp), basically a subscription model for DC Fast Charging.

• $25/mo
• 1 charge per day
• 50min sessions (100min premium)
• Max of 80% charge
• They bring the charger (powered by batteries) to your vehicle.
• Available in Dallas, Los Angeles, and San Francisco
• Home | ChargeUp EV Charging (chargeupdelivers.com)
• They also do roadside assistance stuff.

Energy:

A request for information by the Department of Interior has gone out to gauge interest in offshore wind in the Gulf of Mexico.

• Louisiana's governor is supportive of this.
• National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) published two reports stating that the Gulf is very well positioned for wind.

The Department of Energy (DOE) has launched an "Earthshot" initiative to reduce hydrogen cost to $1/kg from renewables (currently around $5/kg).

• The beginning of this is a request for information about the industry.