Thermal imaging firm Raythink has released a white paper outlining a three-layer approach to monitoring thermal risks across the lithium-ion battery lifecycle, from production and testing through charging, energy storage and end-of-life recycling.

The system centers on infrared-based thermal monitoring. The first layer uses thermal cameras rated for harsh environments, deployed at production lines, storage facilities and other critical areas. The second layer, a cloud platform called VIS3000, centralizes thermal data for trend analysis, incident review and compliance documentation. The third integrates with existing safety systems—including BMS, fire alarms and distributed control systems—to create a unified monitoring network.

According to the company, most thermal monitoring solutions in practice remain fragmented, with different stages of the battery lifecycle relying on independent systems. Raythink’s approach consolidates data from all environments onto a single platform, which the company says also yields process and quality insights beyond safety monitoring.

“The system addresses key gaps in traditional lithium-ion battery safety monitoring and enables proactive, full-lifecycle management of EV battery thermal risks,” according to the company.

The white paper is available for download at raythink-tech.com.

Source: Raythink

UK-based electrification technology firm Equipmake has signed a £2.4-million ($3.28-million) agreement to supply Argentine-Brazilian bus manufacturer Agrale with electric drivetrain systems for 23 electric buses.

The new deal follows a September 2025 agreement worth £5.45 million, under which Equipmake supplied drivetrain systems for 50 Agrale electric buses that are now being deployed in Buenos Aires, Brazil. The companies previously developed a bus model together that was unveiled in 2022.

Equipmake is supplying Agrale with a fully integrated electric drivetrain system combining an electric motor, inverter, control systems and battery pack, using the company’s products and technology in addition to components sourced from third parties.

“The successful deployment of the initial fleet in Buenos Aires has led to this follow-on order which helps cement the relationship with such an important customer, together with our shared commitment to developing a robust sustainable transport network in the region,” said Ian Foley, CEO of Equipmake.

Source: Equipmake

EV charging solutions provider Versinetic is warning UK charger manufacturers and charge point operators to act ahead of charging standards changes taking effect in 2026.

The changes have downstream implications for organizations responsible for deploying EV charging infrastructure.

The convergence of new technical protocols and tougher regulations is raising the minimum technical and regulatory baseline for EV chargers sold or deployed in the UK, according to Versinetic.

Changes include the rapid adoption of ISO 15118 (Plug & Charge), which introduces certificate-based authentication and secure charger-to-vehicle communication, and migration to Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP) 2.0.1 and 2.1, raising expectations around cybersecurity, smart charging and interoperability with back-office systems. In addition, companies will need to comply with UK-specific regulations such as the Smart Charge Points Regulations and Public Charge Point Regulations, which impose mandatory requirements around smart charging, payments, reliability and data transparency.

These overlapping technical and regulatory requirements are tightening procurement and interoperability expectations across charging networks. Manufacturers that fail to address them risk products stalling at certification, facing costly redesigns or being excluded from future network procurement as operators and fleets increasingly demand full standards compliance, Versinetic said.

The company has published a guide titled “Emerging UK EV Charging Standards: What Manufacturers Need to Know,” to help manufacturers translate the evolving standards into concrete design, testing and certification decisions.

The guide is structured around five areas that directly affect charger roadmaps: standards alignment, compliance and testing, hardware and firmware architecture, operational readiness and future planning.

The guide also includes an interactive audit and compliance toolkit that allows manufacturers to assess their current readiness against emerging standards and identify where late design decisions could create certification, retrofit or market-access risk.

“UK EV charging standards are increasingly acting as gatekeepers for grid connection, certification, and commercial deployment. What many manufacturers underestimate is when compliance decisions are effectively locked in during the development cycle,” said Dunstan Power, Managing Director at Versinetic.

“One of the biggest risks we’re seeing is manufacturers assuming they can retrofit compliance later. In practice, hardware architecture, firmware structure and security choices constrain what can be achieved, and by the time non-compliance becomes visible, the cost and disruption are often far higher than expected.”

Source: Versinetic

The Baden-Württemberg police department is using ADS-TEC Energy’s ChargePost in a pilot project for battery-buffered fast EV charging at the Pforzheim motorway police station.

The Pforzheim traffic police unit is responsible for one of the busiest sections of motorway in Germany, putting pressure on vehicle availability and charging speeds. Charging infrastructure is critical when emergency vehicles must be available around the clock, noted Thomas Speidel, CEO of ADS-TEC Energy.

ADS-TEC Energy’s battery-buffered fast-charging system delivers ultra-fast charging even in locations that have limited grid capacity, eliminating the need for time-consuming and costly grid upgrades. ChargePost features an integrated battery capacity of 201 kWh in a compact footprint and delivers charging power of up to 300 kW, or the ability to charge two vehicles at 150 kW simultaneously.

The combination of a local battery, intelligent control technology and high charging power is designed to ensure reliable and resilient operations.

“What makes this ADS-TEC Energy solution special is its integrated battery storage, which enables EV charging at high power even at locations with limited grid capacity. This allows us to stress test EVs in real motorway conditions,” said Thomas Strobl, Deputy Minister-President and Minister of the Interior of Baden-Württemberg.

“This project represents the next phase in a journey that we started 15 years ago. Around 630—roughly 12%—of our 5,400 police vehicles are already electric and the Pforzheim traffic police unit will now put the new fast charging system and EVs through their paces,” Strobl added.

Source: ADS-TEC Energy

Orion Energy Systems has announced that it will install 105 EV charging stations and related infrastructure for the Boston Public School system. The contract is valued at $4 million.

Orion’s Voltrek division is installing 105 DC fast charging stations and related infrastructure at the Freeport Bus Yard operated by the Boston Public Schools. The new units feature an innovative above-ground mounting method with Jersey barriers.

Orion/Voltrek is involved in numerous fleet electrification initiatives in the Northeast, including multiple-location deployments for municipalities and rollouts of electric van charging capabilities for school districts. One notable recent project: the installation of 13 charging stations for the Lower Pioneer Valley School Educational Cooperative, which serves the Greater Springfield, Massachusetts area.

“Orion/Voltrek is proud to be a reliable long-term provider of EV charging, infrastructure and maintenance to Boston Public Schools, one of the most innovative public school districts in America,” said Orion CEO Sally Washlow. “Fleet managers increasingly rely on Orion/Voltrek to deliver the quality, reliability and scalability that enterprise fleet managers require.”

Source: Orion Energy Systems

ChargerHelp was founded to address the scandalous reliability problems that have plagued public EV charging providers. The company provides Reliability as a Service (RaaS) to fleets, site hosts and networks. (Read our 2025 interview with CEO Kameale Terry.)

Now ChargerHelp has announced several growth milestones that “underscore the industry’s shift toward data-centric operations and proactive service models.” ChargerHelp has recently increased its number of stations under management, formalized a new partner program, and added to its executive team.

ChargerHelp applies a data-centric approach to optimize charging infrastructure. The company has collected some 300 million data points, which fuel its machine learning algorithms.

ChargerHelp has launched a new Partner Program. This initiative uses the company’s proprietary EMPWR platform, a technology layer that sits above OEMs and CMS platforms, to orchestrate coordination among hardware manufacturers, software providers and field technicians.

The program builds on established partnerships with over 40 EVSE providers. By integrating with backend systems via the EMPWR APIs, ChargerHelp creates “a unified feedback loop” with partners such as ChargeLab. According to ChargerHelp, this collaboration ensures that the 90% of charger outages related to software issues are quickly diagnosed and the appropriate action is determined—resolving issues remotely when possible and eliminating unnecessary truck rolls.

Meanwhile, ChargerHelp has expanded its leadership team. Jerry Varnado, formerly Chief of Staff at ChargePoint, has joined ChargerHelp as SVP Operations. Brad Juhasz, formerly of EV Connect and Eaton, joins the company as Chief Product Officer.

“Reliability at scale is a learning problem, not a maintenance problem,” said Kameale Terry, CEO of ChargerHelp. “When data and field experience are fragmented, every failure is treated like the first, with truck rolls for even minor software issues. By unifying cross-network data with real-world field intelligence into a single platform, we reduce diagnosis and decision latency and create a flywheel where every resolved issue makes the system smarter. Reaching this milestone shows the industry is ready to move beyond reactive maintenance toward intelligence-led infrastructure operations.”

Source: ChargerHelp

Vishay Intertechnology has introduced five 1,200 V silicon carbide (SiC) MOSFET power modules in the industry-standard SOT-227 package: VS-SF50LA120, VS-SF50SA120, VS-SF100SA120, VS-SF150SA120 and VS-SF200SA120. Vishay says the modules target medium- to high-frequency power conversion, where switching losses and thermal headroom limit efficiency, including EV offboard, switched-mode power supplies (SMPS), DC-to-DC converters, uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems and telecom power supplies.

Vishay says the modules are offered in single-switch and low-side-chopper configurations and integrate a SiC MOSFET with a soft body diode designed for low reverse recovery. This combination reduces switching losses and increases efficiency in the listed inverter and converter use cases.

The modules are built in a compact SOT-227 molded package and serve as a drop-in replacement for competing SOT-227 solutions, avoiding printed-circuit-board (PCB) layout changes. Vishay says the package provides electrical insulation up to 2,500 V for one minute, which it says can eliminate the need for additional insulation between the component and heatsink.

Across the family, Vishay specifies continuous drain current ratings from 50 A to 200 A, with on-resistance down to 12.1 mΩ, plus high-speed switching with low capacitance. The company lists a maximum operating junction temperature of +175 °C and says the devices are Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS)-compliant. Vishay reports samples and production quantities are available now, with lead times of 13 weeks.

Device summary:

• VS-SF50LA120: 1200 V, 50 A, 43 mΩ, low-side-chopper, SOT-227
• VS-SF50SA120: 1200 V, 50 A, 47 mΩ, single-switch, SOT-227
• VS-SF100SA120: 1200 V, 100 A, 23 mΩ, single-switch, SOT-227
• VS-SF150SA120: 1200 V, 150 A, 16.8 mΩ, single-switch, SOT-227
• VS-SF200SA120: 1200 V, 200 A, 12.1 mΩ, single-switch, SOT-227

Product datasheets: VS-SF50LA120, VS-SF50SA120, VS-SF100SA120, VS-SF150SA120, VS-SF200SA120

Source: Vishay Intertechnology

The Mobility House North America has unveiled a new vehicle-to-grid integration platform for utilities. Cascade EV Aggregator is an EV load aggregation tool that enables charging and discharging optimization across a variety of charger and vehicle asset classes, from home chargers to electric school bus fleets.

“Electric vehicle batteries can play a substantial role in meeting the tremendous challenge of load growth on the electrical grid,” said Greg Hintler, CEO of The Mobility House North America. “The Mobility House is committed to developing the technology that harmonizes EV charging with reliable grid operations.”

A recent report from BNEF forecasted that total EV battery capacity in the US will reach 4 TWh in the next ten years, which would make them the largest Distributed Energy Resource (DER) if aggregated and optimized.

The Mobility House’s Cascade is designed to optimize charging flexibility. A charge management system (CMS) such as The Mobility House’s ChargePilot manages charging optimization for a fleet operator, but Cascade can work with each CMS at thousands of sites to create flexibility for the distribution grid.

Cascade EV Aggregator enables EVs to serve as energy storage assets and provide energy services such as demand response, dynamic rate optimization and grid constraint management. The platform can manage both unidirectional smart charging to incentivize load shifting (V1G) and bidirectional vehicle-to-grid (V2G) chargers exporting power from EV batteries to the grid. Cascade receives real-time signals from utilities or market programs and engages EV fleet charge management systems and residential chargers across a service area.

Cascade is being used to enable V2G features for school bus fleets currently being deployed in California, Massachusetts and New York.

“The electric school buses in our fleet work hard every day to get students to school safely,” said Ernest Epley, Transportation Director, Fremont Unified School District. “And now as a part of The Mobility House’s Cascade Aggregator they can earn revenue for the district supporting the energy grid while they are parked at the depot.”

Source: The Mobility House

Metals recycling and refining firm Aqua Metals has signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cell manufacturer American Battery Factory (ABF) proposing a strategic collaboration focused on advancing the US battery materials supply chain through recycling and circular manufacturing.

The companies intend to evaluate the co-location of a commercial Aqua Metals lithium-ion battery recycling facility adjacent to ABF’s planned battery cell manufacturing operations in Tucson, Arizona.

The facility would be capable of processing up to 10,000 metric tons of lithium-ion battery materials annually, including manufacturing scrap and third-party feedstock.

Aqua’s AquaRefining technology replaces high-temperature furnaces and chemical-intensive hydrometallurgical processes with an electricity-powered, closed-loop system. The proposed collaboration would enable Aqua Metals to recycle lithium-ion battery manufacturing scrap generated by ABF and supply battery-grade lithium carbonate back into ABF’s supply chain or to downstream partners.

By integrating recycling directly into battery manufacturing, the companies said they aim to improve cost competitiveness, reduce logistical complexity and strengthen domestic supply chain resilience.

The companies also expect to evaluate how domestic manufacturing incentives, including the 45X Advanced Manufacturing Production Tax Credit, could further support the economic competitiveness of US-based battery materials production.

Any definitive agreements would be subject to financing, permitting, and regulatory approvals and would target the start of commercial operations in 2028, the companies said.

“This strategic collaboration reflects our belief that domestic battery recycling must be economically viable, not just environmentally preferable,” said Steve Cotton, President and CEO of Aqua Metals. “By working alongside American Battery Factory, we are evaluating a model that would keep valuable materials in circulation, support US manufacturing jobs, and offer a realistic alternative to exporting battery scrap overseas for processing methods that simply do not translate well to the United States.”

Source: Aqua Metals

Mitra EV, provider of a commercial fleet electrification platform, has closed a $27-million financing round including equity funding from lead investor Ultra Capital and a credit facility from S2G Investments. Mitra will use the new funding to expand its shared charging network, deploy additional fleet solutions, and scale its electrification model into new markets.

 “The way we structured this financing matters as much as the amount,” said James Tong, co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Mitra EV. “It gives us the flexibility to deploy the right mix of vehicles, overnight charging and shared fast-charging hubs to address real fleet needs now and scale responsibly over time.”

“Commercial electric vehicles are already economical for a growing set of use cases,” the company explains. “For many fleet operators, the challenge is not whether electrification can work financially, but whether they have the time, expertise and resources to navigate the complexity of vehicles, charging, incentives and financing.”

Mitra EV offers a fully managed electrification model designed to serve both smaller and larger fleets. The offering includes no-upfront-cost leasing of EV s from OEMs including GM, Ford and Mercedes-Benz, dedicated overnight charging, and access to a network of shared DC fast charging hubs. Mitra claims to deliver immediate reductions of up to 75% in operating costs, driven by lower fueling costs and reduced maintenance.

“Fleet electrification makes economic sense when you focus on the right use cases and remove operational friction,” said Galina Russell, co-founder and CEO. “Our customers want solutions that work for their business today, not five years from now. By managing the entire process and delivering guaranteed cost savings from day one, we provide fleets with a fast path to lower operating expenses, improved reliability and advanced data on their entire fleet operation.”

“Mitra plugged directly into our existing fleet cycle—no disruptions, no heavy lift on our end,” said Jason Hanson, CEO of Sierra Pacific, a California-based home services company. “As a business owner operating a midsize, mixed fleet, I’m always looking for ways to optimize performance and reduce operating costs.”

Source: Mitra EV