IEEE Spectrum’s transportation protection this yr lined breakthroughs in electric vehicles, batteries, charging, automation, aviation, maritime tech and extra. Readers adopted the race to rebuild U.S. magnet manufacturing, rethink EV-charging structure, and reinvent automotive software. They tracked China’s sprint towards five-minute charging, the rise of high-power house chargers, and the push to automate airports. Our most-read tales additionally explored next-generation navigation, zero-carbon shipping fuels, record-size electric vessels, and early highway exams of solid-state batteries. Learn on for our roundup of the transportation tales printed in 2025 that readers discovered most compelling.
Enterprise Wire
The most-visited transportation post of the year targeted on the US’s efforts to rebuild a home provide of neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnets—crucial parts for EVs, wind turbines, HVAC methods, and plenty of military systems. MP Materials has begun trial manufacturing at its new Texas plant, with plans to ramp as much as between 1,000 and three,000 tonnes per yr and provide corporations like General Motors. Different U.S. tasks from e-VAC Magnetics, Noveon, USA Rare Earth, and Quadrant are additionally rising.
However these efforts are dwarfed by China’s rare earths business: China makes 85 to 90 p.c of NdFeB magnets and 97 p.c of the underlying rare earth metals, with particular person Chinese language corporations producing tens of 1000’s of tonnes—excess of all non-Chinese language crops mixed. China additionally has huge unused refinement and manufacturing capability, conserving international costs low.
MP Supplies’ distinctive mine-to-magnet technique might provide intelligence and supply-chain resilience, however competing with China’s subsidies and scale will likely be extraordinarily troublesome. The U.S. Department of Defense might pay a premium for “friendly-nation” magnets, however cost-obsessed automakers like GM would possibly resist larger home costs.
Jim West/REA/Redux
A robust public EV-charging community is important for mass electric-vehicle adoption, particularly for drivers who can’t reliably cost at house. But at this time’s fast-charging stations are costly and complicated largely due to one function: galvanic isolation—the transformer-based security barrier that protects in opposition to electric shock when floor connections fail. This isolation {hardware} accounts for roughly 60 p.c of charger power-electronics price and about half of energy losses, making quick chargers expensive to construct and keep. The authors of this piece—veterans of AC Propulsion, whose early expertise influenced the Tesla Roadster—argue that galvanic isolation is no longer necessary.
The authors suggest a brand new method they name direct energy conversion (DPC): get rid of the isolation hyperlink solely and substitute it with: (1) a double-ground system with ground-continuity detection to stop shock hazards, and (2) a buck regulator to deal with voltage mismatches between the grid and the EV battery. Eradicating isolation would simplify chargers from 4 power-conversion phases to only one (plus a buck regulator if wanted). This might minimize charger {hardware} prices by greater than half, enhance effectivity by 2–3percent, allow less expensive fast-charging stations, permit EV onboard chargers to develop into highly effective sufficient for Level 3 charging, and speed up enlargement of public charging infrastructure.The authors argue that simplifying chargers—and shedding previous assumptions about galvanic isolation—is the quickest path to an inexpensive and dependable EV-charging community, which is crucial to broad EV adoption.
BYD has unleashed megawatt-class EV charging in China, delivering 400 kilometers of range in five minutes—triple the ability (and thus triple the pace) of at this time’s greatest U.S. setups. A Han L sedan briefly hit 1,002 kilowatts on BYD’s new 1,000-volt platform, which makes use of 1,500-V silicon-carbide chips and redesigned lithium iron phosphate batteries to allow secure, ultrafast charging. BYD’s vertically built-in method—constructing automobiles, batteries, and chargers—lets it scale shortly and preserve costs low. The corporate has already deployed 500 megachargers and plans 4,000 extra, pushing China far forward as rivals like Huawei and Zeekr race to match speeds as much as 1,500 kW.China makes 85 to 90 p.c of NdFeB magnets and 97 p.c of the underlying uncommon earth metals, with particular person Chinese language corporations producing tens of 1000’s of tonnes—excess of all non-Chinese language crops mixed.
ChargePoint
While BYD is amping up public EV charging speeds so that adding range takes no longer than filling a petrol vehicle’s fuel tank, another company is pursuing a charging strategy that makes better use of the time when vehicles sit idle—which is more often than not.
MCKIBILLO
Airports are rolling out a wave of new automation to hurry journeys from curb to gate. Copenhagen Optimization’s Virtual Queuing lets vacationers reserve safety occasions, with machine-learning fashions adjusting slots and staffing in actual time. Digital Bagtags generate paperless luggage tags by way of NFC, whereas Idemia’s biometric methods confirm identification with a fast face scan. Smiths Detection’s X-ray diffraction machines determine supplies by molecular “fingerprint,” decreasing false alarms. Amazon’s Just Walk Out retailers allow cashierless purchases, and Avidbots’ Neo robots autonomously scrub terminal flooring. Even boarding will get smarter with methods that flag passengers attempting to leap the queue.Eradicating galvanic isolation might simplify chargers from 4 power-conversion phases to only one. This might minimize charger {hardware} prices by greater than half, enhance effectivity by 2–3percent, and allow less expensive fast-charging stations.
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