For the last few weeks, we’ve been running a sidebar survey about what Electrek readers think it would take to convince the most EV-resistant fleet operators to realize that electric vehicles are ready for work TODAY. After receiving 1,700 responses, here’s what you told us.
Chinese equipment brand LiuGong is putting its 25-ton 870HE electric wheel loader to work at a STRABAG quarry in Slovenia, proving that electric vehicles can get the job done without the sky-high fuel costs associated with fossil fuels.
Danish engineering and powertrain experts Danfoss have developed a new digital hydraulic system designed specifically for electric construction equipment that can reduce energy consumption from the machine’s battery by 35%, and improve runtime by more than 50%. (!)
Drivers opening an EV charging app for the first time today will be presented with thousands of so-called “public” chargers at local car dealers. Once they arrive, however, the store’s customers, store hours, security gates, and Wild West pricing can turn what should be a routine charging stop into a frustrating ordeal. For first-time EV drivers, that doesn’t just reflect poorly on the dealer – it reflects poorly on the EV, itself. And we need to fix it.
UPDATE 05SEP2026: another Hyundai store, another $418 bill.
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Researchers are replacing rigid silicon-based AI hardware with stretchable, neuromorphic electronics that mimic how the brain processes information, opening new possibilities for long-term human-machine integration. Modern artificial intelligence can outperform humans in tasks ranging from image recognition to medical data analysis, but there is one environment where today’s hardware still struggles: the human body. The [...]
Commercial truck startup Harbinger is partnering with the robotics experts at American Rheinmetall to develop an uncrewed military ground vehicle based on the company’s medium duty hybrid and electric truck chassis.
2 min read
NASA’s Hi-Rate Composite Aircraft Manufacturing (HiCAM) project brought together its full team of Advanced Composites Consortium partners for a 2026 spring review at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.
The meeting took place May 5-7, bringing together about 150 people from the consortium, a 22-member public-private partnership.
The review gave NASA and industry partners a chance to look at recent progress and plan for the work ahead. NASA announced recent portfolio decisions, selecting technologies that can have the greatest impact on manufacturing rate for the next airplane program.
During the meeting, teams reviewed the latest results from the project’s Development Phase and discussed early progress under Phase 2, known as the Demonstration Phase. This phase will scale up key manufacturing technologies in the coming years.
A major part of the event included full-day workshops focused on assembly demonstrations of two large aircraft structures: the wing and fuselage. These sessions brought together NASA researchers, industry engineers, and partners to share updates, exchange ideas, and discuss long-term plans. Many teams said they noticed stronger collaboration and coordination across the group this year.
That collaboration supports HiCAM’s goal of large-scale manufacturing demonstrations of a composite fuselage barrel and wing box in 2028 and 2029. These demonstrations represent major project milestones and will help show how advanced composite materials and processes could support faster, lower cost aircraft production.
NASA and its partners continue to make steady progress toward the project’s goals. The project’s work could help pave the way for new manufacturing methods for lightweight composite structures that make future aircraft easier to build and more efficient to operate.
Kimiko Booker
NASA Langley Research Center
Lease deals get all the hype, but a lot of people would still rather buy their vehicles. If that sounds like you, you’re in luck, because there’s a whole bunch of great EVs you can buy with 0% financing this month – including the best-selling Tesla Model Y!
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