BMW, Energy Absolute, AESC, Formula E.

BMW’s electric scooter showpiece called Link is at Villa d’Este. The electric drive and flat battery pack free up space for cargo and up to two riders on the expendable seat that is deliberately low. A reverse gear facilitates manoeuvring, while the heads up display projects a future feel.
autoblog.com, carscoops.com, press.bmwgroup.com

Gigafactory to spread to Asia: Thai renewable energy firm Energy Absolute intends to rival Tesla’s battery production and wants to erect a li-ion battery plant from autumn next year with an annual capacity of 50 GWh upon completion by 2020. The project could see an investment of 100bn baht (2.9bn dollars) but the firm has yet to decide on a location. Four Asian countries are in the run up with the initiators favouring to stay local, given Thailand will enact clear policies.
electrek.co, bloomberg.com

1bn dollar deal for Nissan battery unit? Chinese investor GSR Capital is reaching for Automotive Energy Supply Corp. (AESC), a joint venture of Nissan and NEC that builds the Leaf batteries. While the talks are still confidential, Bloomberg learnt the deal could be worth as much as 1bn dollars and mean the Hubei provincial government who backs GSR could take a stake within the next two weeks.
bloombergquint.com

One race, one charge: The next-gen battery for the Formula E’s fifth season has completed its first race simulation. With a significantly higher power density, McLaren’s new battery pack shall provide 54kWh and thus almost double storage capacity of the equipment currently used. If the engineers succeed, charge stops will become a thing of the past from 2018/19.
motorsport.com