The Amped EV Podcast

Apr 15 2024 2

The Amped EV Podcast artwork

Electric vehicles are causing a shift in the market, so we’ve created The Amped EV Podcast to try to understand and navigate today’s ever-evolving EV automotive landscape. Host and editor of The Buzz, David Sickels, studies the latest trends and innovations surrounding EVs to keep our audience informed on where we see this market heading, as well what can be done to take advantage of its emerging opportunities.

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First Student's blueprint for electrifying 30,000 school buses by 2035

Apr 15 2024 16 mins

First Student isn't messing around when it comes to its ambitions for school bus electrification – 30,000 school buses by 2035. At first glance, it may seem a bit pie-in-the-sky, but Kevin Matthews, head of electrification at First Student, assures that school buses may be the area that makes the most sense when it comes to fleet electrification opportunities in the U.S."That num

Grid management at the intersection of hardware and software

Feb 26 2024 13 mins

Electric vehicle charging and grid management are both critical factors when it comes to handling the increased adoption rates of EVs. The fragmented nature of the electric utility industry mixed with the necessity for the intelligent management of EV charging on a hyperlocal level isn't an easy hurdle to cross – and it's hard to do it alone.The good news is that the industry is

Are EVs really more expensive to maintain?

Jan 30 2024 18 mins

Electric vehicles have been steadily rising in popularity in the US for around a decade now, so surely consumers have had plenty of time to research and understand the differences in aspects like maintenance costs, range and government incentives, right?...Right?The truth is, there are plenty of misconceptions about the current state of EVs, a topic that has recently been researche

How microgrid mastery empowers fleets to go electric

Oct 23 2023 17 mins

The U.S. energy grid is a complicated, dynamic system involving a vast infrastructure, power generation, transmission, distribution, substations, and so much more. Thus, it would be easy to assume that creating your own, personal microgrid – something that fleets across the country are beginning to experiment with – would be a hair-pulling, blood-boiling process.The truth is th

How these autonomous EVs operate outside road lanes

Oct 02 2023 25 mins

Autonomous vehicles tend to be electrified using powerful batteries because they are covered in sensors and require the latest computer hardware to interpret the onboard data in near-real time. This draws a ton of electric power, and an all-electric battery pack can not only provide this power, but keep the stream much more steady and stable when compared to an ICE engine.These sen

World record driver shows off what's possible in an EV

Sep 18 2023 28 mins

Think back to the year you first received your driver's license. What did you do? Maybe driving to school or across town to a friend's house was your idea of excitement. Maybe you even braved the highway, holding your breath on the onramp until safely merged into traffic.When multiple-time Guinness World Record holder Rainer Zietlow first received his license in 1988, one of his fi

Look behind the EV collision repair curtain

Aug 21 2023 15 mins

Collisions happen, and even when no one is hurt, they're a pain. Working with insurance, getting your car worked on, potentially being without a car for a while... none of it is fun. With an EV, this entire process can be even more problematic."I think [drivers] need to know that if they're involved in an accident in their EV, they need to have a whole different set of expectations

How many more miles of EV range can your tires give you?

Aug 07 2023 21 mins

If we're talking about electric vehicles, I'll give it about five minutes before we hit the ol' "range" topic. Typically, the conversation swings into range anxiety territory, and this makes talking about easy ways to extend the driver's range so much fun. Instead of focusing on "range anxiety," we can shift our focus to "range serenity."To this end, many drivers may be surprised a

Mining CEO explains tungsten's role in EVs

Jul 20 2023 19 mins

EV manufacturers depend on a variety of resources to maximize the range, performance and charging capabilities of an all-electric powertrain. Among these is tungsten, a rare metal that, even in tiny doses, is essential to meet the expectations of today's electric vehicle."In relation to EVs, you use [tungsten] in the looms. Tungsten gas is pumped into every semiconductor and you ha

Champtires guides EV drivers toward used tires

Jul 10 2023 8 mins

The words "tires" and "sustainable" aren't typically muttered in the same breath, but this reputation is slowly shifting for the better. New materials and recycling processes being implemented by many tire manufacturers are helping to make a tire's life more environmentally friendly, but Champtires, a seller of used tires, says we can do better, as the company says many tires with