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VW invests in QuantumScape for potentially fireproof, long-range EV batteries

VW might be getting ready to push its plug-in technology in a big way thanks to an investment in the battery startup QuantumScape. Key point: the solid-state battery is said to be fireproof and will offer tremendous range advantages. Details are not abundant yet, but according to Bloomberg, VW of America bought a five-percent stake in QuantumScape (and has an option to raise its holding). The tech could "more than triple" the EV range of VW, Porsche and Audi plug-in vehicles as soon as the middle of 2015, according to unnamed sources that Bloomberg talked to. Former Stanford University researchers started QuantumScape in 2010. The bare-bones QuantumScape website (there's nothing there other than some contact information) doesn't offer many hints about what's happening at the company, but GigaOM's Katie Fehrenbacher notes that QuantumScape is licensing tech from the "All Electron Battery" project at Stanford a few years ago. It certainly sounds amazing: [It's] a completely new class of electrical energy storage devices for electric vehicles that has the potential to provide ultra-high energy and power densities, while enabling extremely high cycle life. The All-Electron Battery stores energy by moving electrons, rather than ions, and uses electron/hole redox instead of capacitive polarization of a double-layer. ... If successful, this project will develop a completely new paradigm in energy storage for electrified vehicles that could revolutionize the electric vehicle industry. If that's what's coming in a future e-Golf or E-Tron, sign us up.

VW Golf R pre-order sells out in less than 11 hours

Volkswagen fans had to be pretty quick if they wanted to ensure their pre-order for one of the first 500 units of the 2015 Golf R to enter the US. The German brand opened the books online at at 12:01 AM EST, and according to company spokesperson Leigh Anne Sessions speaking to Autoblog, by around 10:30 AM EST all of them were snapped up. VW's pre-order page currently shows these vehicles as no longer available, and the company confirms the news on Twitter, as well. There's still a chance to get an early Golf R by signing up for the waiting list and hoping one of the 500 orders falls through. VW Customer Care will contact people if there's an opening. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This entire allotment of the Golf R comes in Lapiz Blue Metallic paint with VW's adaptive damper system, navigation, a six-speed dual-clutch gearbox and more. To further sweeten the pot, the company is also giving these folks a watch, key chain and certificate with their vehicle's VIN. The 500 models were priced at $39,090, plus $820 destination and delivery, but only $500 was required to reserve one online. The amount was refundable if a person backed out.

BMW, Ferrari, VW cars use tungsten mined by terrorists

Bloomberg Markets is reporting that BMW, Volkswagen and Ferrari have been using tungsten ore sourced from Columbia's FARC rebel terrorists. The extensive story focuses on Columbia's illegal mining trade and calls into question the provenance of the rare ore that is used not only in crankshaft parts production, but is also found in the world's computing and telecommunications industry for use in screens.
The ore is mined by the FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - People's Army), and exported to Pennsylvania, where it is refined. The refined ore is then sent over to Austria, where a company called Plansee turns it into a finished product. Now, it's important to note that we aren't talking about the world's supply of tungsten here. In 2012, Plansee's American refinery purchased 93.2 metric tons of tungsten, valued at $1.8 million. That's peanuts, with the entire Colombian tungsten mining industry producing just one percent of the world's supplies.
That doesn't make indirectly supporting FARC any more acceptable, though. BMW, VW and Ferrari are all committed to not accepting mineral supplies from the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is also in the grips of a guerrilla insurrection funded, in part, by illegal mining. The same commitment would figure to extend to Colombian mining, but as BMW points out, it's difficult for a multi-national manufacturer to know where every item in its supply chain comes from. A company spokesperson says as much, telling Bloomberg, "These few grams out of the billions of tons of raw materials passing through the BMW supply chain are of no practical relevance."