Not ready to pull the trigger on buying an EV? Consider a lease, instead.

EV leases are growing in popularity, driven in part by tightening restrictions on consumer tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act.

The IRA ushered in a program aimed at boosting consumer adoption of EVs and promoting domestic manufacturing of the vehicles and their components. The program includes a $7,500 tax credit consumers can claim on EV purchases that meet certain pricing, assembly, and sourcing restrictions, among other requirements.

A loophole in the law, however, is spurring interest in leasing EVs. It allows commercial EV purchasers to get the tax credit without meeting some of the IRA requirements; companies can claim the credit and pass on the savings to car shoppers. The loophole remains in place even as more stringent eligibility restrictions on EV purchases go into effect this year.

“Leasing continues to be an attractive option for EV consumers since it’s a loophole to receive the Inflation Reduction Act incentive,” Stephanie Valdez Streaty, director of industry insights for Cox Automotive, said during a recent presentation. “EV leasing increased by 159% from January to the end of the year. This leasing trend should continue because the new IRA rules to incentivize domestic sourcing will disqualify many models that were previously eligible for the full or partial tax incentive.”

Keep reading here.—JG

Demand for lithium is projected to soar 20x by 2040. Lithium is essential for batteries in electric cars, renewable energy storage, and even smartphones.

So, how are we going to get all that lithium to meet demand? EnergyX is using technology to solve the problem. Their patented LiTAS™ tech can extract up to 300% more lithium than traditional methods.

They’ve already inked deals with top lithium producers and secured a partnership and strategic investment from General Motors (you can even invest in EnergyX alongside GM).

But seeing is believing. That’s why Sandy Munro took a behind-the-scenes tour of EnergyX’s tech. And you have a front-row seat.

Find out why Sandy says EnergyX’s innovation is “10x better” than anything else by watching the full clip here.

The future may be electric, but for now Hertz is reining in its EV transition.

The rental car company last week revealed plans to offload 20,000 EVs, or about one-third of its global electric fleet, from its US inventory.

The company said in a regulatory filing that it plans to sell the vehicles, which are primarily Teslas, “over the course of 2024.” Hertz plans to use some of the proceeds to buy internal combustion engine vehicles “to meet customer demand.”

The move marks a major shift for Hertz after the company said in 2021 that it would buy 100,000 Teslas, Bloomberg reported. In an interview with the outlet, Hertz CEO Stephen Scherr cited “elevated costs associated with EVs.”

Now, Hertz is advertising used Teslas on its website for as low as $20,000, Business Insider reported.

Jessica Caldwell, head of insights at Edmunds, told Tech Brew it might simply be too early for rental companies to push EVs onto customers, given anxieties about range and charging availability, as well as many consumers’ unfamiliarity with plug-in cars.

“EVs are tough for a short-term or rental time period because without having a home-based charger, it becomes very stressful to figure out where to charge, and then also trying to find a fast charger,” she said. “So if you’re somebody who’s not as familiar with how an EV works…you’re probably not that happy.”

Keep reading here.—JG

From GPS to the internet, very few of the futuristic gadgets gleaming on the floor of the Las Vegas Convention Center during this year’s CES would be possible without breakthroughs made by the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA).

Last week, the Department of Energy aimed to show off how it brings that same model of innovation to the future of clean power with ARPA-E’s (the E is for energy) first appearance at the tech industry’s biggest trade show.

The agency spotlighted a range of nascent tech it backs, spanning everything from magnets made without rare-earth metals and wood as tough as steel to hybrid-electric aircraft and pipeline repair robots.

Established in 2007 and formed in the same mold as DARPA, ARPA-E was designed to fund “high-risk, high-reward projects” that it describes as “too early for private-sector investment.” It’s since provided $3.7 billion to more than 1,500 projects. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm has called it a “moonshot factory.”

“At ARPA-E, we embrace the most challenging aspects of innovation because we want to support the most impactful and transformational energy technologies,” ARPA-E Director Evelyn Wang told Tech Brew in an email. “We brought several of these technologies to CES to introduce the electronics community to the sort of cutting-edge energy innovation we support.”

The goal is to fund these ideas to the point where they are seen as more feasible by private investors like venture-capital firms and corporate incubators, according to ARPA-E’s acting deputy director for commercialization, Jonathan Glass. Given how much CES has expanded its focus on energy and sustainability in recent years, the conference started to seem like a “really good fit,” he said.

Keep reading here.—PK