Electric Vehicles

The Charlotte City Council on Monday voted 6-3 to remove Tesla from a list of pre-approved electric vehicles the city can purchase.

Drivers of electric vehicles will have to pay a $180 annual registration fee starting Jan. 1, in addition to other existing charges. Previously, the fee was $140. The newly implemented annual registration fee for plug-in hybrid vehicles is $90.

Duke Energy is delaying by one year a pilot program to test the use of electric vehicle batteries to power the electric grid in North Carolina.

North Carolina's revival as a major source of lithium will take another step forward early next year. Albemarle Corp. expects to obtain permits and begin draining water in the next few months from the 168-foot deep lake at the former mine off I-85 in Kings Mountain.

Piedmont Lithium reported its first revenues and profits Tuesday thanks to shipments from its mine partnership in Quebec. But the Belmont, N.C.-based company told investors it's still waiting for permits and financing to open its planned lithium mine in northern Gaston County.

The location near Greensboro will serve as Toyota’s epicenter of lithium-ion battery production in North America. It will be a key supplier for the Kentucky-based plant tasked with building Toyota's first U.S.-made electric vehicles.

Charlotte-based Albemarle Corp. is taking steps to make its planned lithium mine in Kings Mountain climate-friendly. The company announced a deal Wednesday to supply Caterpillar with lithium for electric vehicles. Caterpillar will provide battery-powered mining equipment to Albemarle.

Duke Energy plans to begin testing a flat-rate home charging service for electric vehicle owners this fall in North Carolina.

North Carolina-based Piedmont Lithium says it expects to record its first revenues this month, after seven years of planning and investments — and that the money will help continue its development of a mine in Gaston County and other projects. That's because of a lithium mining partnership in Quebec that sent its first shipment Tuesday.

As U.S. drivers contemplate joining the electric vehicle revolution, the availability of charging stations on the road is a big concern. A Charlotte-area startup company called Koulomb is trying to solve that problem as it builds a network of fast chargers in the region.