Lithium metal batteries are a type of battery that can store more energy than usual batteries. They have been hard to make safe because tiny needle-like bits called dendrites can damage them.
The Kia PV-5 is a type of electric van that can carry goods or people. It can be set up in different ways, including special versions for people who use wheelchairs.
The D9 is a type of car that is known to be a bit complicated and heavy, especially in places like Australia. Being heavy means it might not drive as easily or quickly as lighter cars.
The Denzer B8 is a big SUV with three rows of seats. It weighs a lot and has a small engine plus a big battery, which helps it run using electricity and gas together.
Pollution from big trucks and buses can make people sick, and this costs a lot of money for health care every year.
LIVE
Let's do the 60-Second Savings Challenge!
Step 1. Download Rocket Money.
Step 2. Link your accounts and see every subscription you're paying for.
Tap 1 you don't use and cancel it. That's money back every month.
Step 3. Create a financial goal.
$50 every paycheck or let the app automatically move small amounts of cash when you can afford it.
In a week, you'll forget you set it up.
In a month, you'll see real dollars piling up.
In a year, you'll be shocked at how much money you've saved.
Bonus Challenge!
Upload an internet or phone bill and let Rocket Money try to lower it.
You only pay if they find you savings.
On average, Rocket Money members can save up to $740 a year when using all the app's premium features.
Users love the app with over 186,000 5-star ratings.
Make saving money the resolution you actually keep.
Start the 60-Second Savings Challenge at rocketmoney.com slash cancel.
That's rocketmoney.com slash cancel.
Rocketmoney.com slash cancel.
Are you from Dallas and you're tired of not being able to play slots and table games?
Well, guess what?
Pull out your phone, pull up spinquest.com.
Moretzky's gonna give you some game, baby.
Over a thousand slots and table games, absolutely free.
With the ability to win real cash prizes, spinquest.com.
It's available in Texas and $30 coin packages are only $10.
How are ya?
SpinQuest is a free to play social casino.
Boyd, we're prohibited.
Visit spinquest.com for more details.
The holidays are expensive.
You're paying for gifts, travel, decorations, food,
and before you know it, you've blown way past what you were planning to spend.
Don't start the new year off with bad money vibes.
Download Rocket Money to stay on top of your finances.
The app pulls your income, expenses, and upcoming charges into one place
so you can get the clearest picture of your money.
It shows how much to set aside for bills and how much is safe to spend for the month
so you can spend with confidence.
No guesswork needed.
Get alerts before bills hit.
Track budgets and see every subscription you're paying for.
Rocket Money also finds extra ways to save you money
by canceling subscriptions you're not using and negotiating lower bills for you.
On average, Rocket Money users can save up to $740 a year
when using all of the app's premium features.
Start the year off right by taking control of your finances.
Go to rocketmoney.com slash cancel to get started.
That's rocketmoney.com slash cancel.
Rocketmoney.com slash cancel.
$30 coin packs for just $10.
An LNFP cell at a 20C charge rate.
Donut Lab have made some extraordinary claims lately
and that requires extraordinary evidence of which they've yet to produce
but they did put out the first bit of independent testing.
It was just some simple testing of one of their cells that went up to an 11C charge rate
which is nice but nothing kind of alien technology.
They say that they are now looking for investments.
And Samsung, which I think is a big enough company with enough history
not to be treated with any suspicion,
is talking about how they've worked with the Columbia University
to solve a decades old problem with lithium metal batteries.
Typically, I think would Dendrites,
which are microscopic needle-like crystalline structures
that can degrade the lifespan of batteries.
I won't get into it but either way they've solved that problem
and so that's a promising technology
because those lithium metal batteries are about
just over one and a half times as energy dense as conventional cells.
Okay, Slate Auto, the makers of that stripped back truck.
One of their test vehicles has been seen by a reader of the website Electric.
Testing in Hancock, Michigan.
They even say that the driver of the vehicle confirmed it was a rear wheel drive version
but those test drivers are not authorized to speak
and so that sheds a little bit of doubt on that story.
That picture looks real though and that would fit into the timeline
of the truck testing right now.
Kia is bringing the PV-5 electric van to Canada.
It's starting with a cargo version but you can get the PV-5 from Kia
in all sorts of configurations.
Passenger carries wheelchair accessible variants.
They're going to come early with chassis cabs to vehicle to load
and lots of features for those being working vehicles.
ALEGO, the charging network and Uber have done a deal
in the Netherlands to allow the Uber drivers to charge half price
if they use their stations outside of Peacouse,
which is a nice little nudge to get people to use the resources available
but not when they would otherwise be busy.
BMW and Mercedes are pulling back from autonomy.
They've both had level three systems on the road up to various speeds
where they take full control of the vehicle.
Moving back they say to advanced level two systems,
which can go to higher speeds.
It's interesting that they're not betting their future on level three autonomy.
Ford will return to Pikes Peak and take one of their vehicles up the hill.
They call it a Mackie but it's not a Mackie because it's 1600 horsepower,
three six-phase motors and a 50 kilowatt hour lithium polymer,
NMC pouch cell battery pack.
They've learned from all the previous runs they've done
and they say this one will be more complex.
Denzer's B8 is a big boy.
It's got a weight problem in Australia because it tips the scales as now
officially the country's heaviest passenger vehicle.
3,290 kilograms for the big Denzer B8.
It's a three-row SUV.
It's got a two-liter engine and a 37 kilowatt hour battery pack.
The engine is a generator but it can drive the wheels like the Shark 6
up at high highway speeds.
Diesel trucks and buses cost Australia $6.2 billion a year.
In health cost damage Melbourne University putting an actual dollar amount
on the emissions of heavy-duty vehicles and that's $6 billion a year of health costs
to trade away the lungs of our children to make oil industry executives a little bit richer.
Phoenix Contact have launched their new 500 kilowatts cables with J3400 and CCS for North America
and a storage from Australia shows that a sheep farmer added solar panels to his fields
and the sheep rested underneath them.
He says the panels shield the grass from weather extremes.
It has better pasture for the sheep and he's making 15% more from his wool business.
I love it, that's briefly.
The app gives you a list of all of your subscriptions and reminds you of upcoming
payments so you're not hit with any surprise charges.
On top of that it also sends you alerts when subscription prices go up
so you always know the price you're paying.
If you decide you no longer want a subscription you can cancel it right from the app.
No customer service needed and the best part is RocketMoney even reaches out
and tries to get you refunded for some of the money you lost.
On average people that cancel their subscriptions with RocketMoney
save $378 a year and overall RocketMoney has saved its members $880 million
in canceled subscriptions.
Stop wasting money on things you don't use.
Go to rocketmoney.com slash cancel to get started.
That's rocketmoney.com slash cancel.
Rocketmoney.com slash cancel.
You know what, it sucks to be bored.
But when I get on my phone and play real casino games on spinquest.com
the time flies by that two hour wait at the DMV seems like 10 minutes.
Play your favorite spots, live blackjack, live preps with a live dealer.
New players $30 coin packs are on sale for 10 bucks.
Play spinquest.com and you'll never be bored again.
SpinQuest is a free to play social casino.
Voidware prohibited visit spinquest.com for more details.
About this episode
The episode covers recent developments in EV battery technology, including promising lithium metal battery advances by Samsung and ongoing testing of Slate Auto's electric truck. Kia's PV-5 electric van launch in Canada and a new Uber charging deal in the Netherlands highlight EV infrastructure growth. BMW and Mercedes are scaling back level 3 autonomy efforts, favoring advanced level 2 systems. Ford prepares for a powerful Pikes Peak run with a 1600-hp electric vehicle. The episode also touches on Australia's heaviest passenger vehicle, diesel pollution costs, and innovative solar farming. Brief sponsor mentions focus on money-saving apps and online gaming.
It's EV News Briefly for Tuesday 24 February 2026, everything you need to know in less than 5 minutes if you haven't got time for the full show.
Patreon supporters fund this show, get the episodes ad free, as soon as they're ready and are part of the EV News Daily Community. You can be like them by clicking here: https://www.patreon.com/EVNewsDaily
