Green Car Congress

JANUARY 20, 2012

Design of the microbial platform for production of biofuels and renewable commodity chemical compounds from macroalgae. Wargacki et al. Click to enlarge. A team of scientists from Bio Architecture Lab (BAL) in Berkeley, California, ( earlier post ) has engineered a strain of Eschericia coli to break down and then to ferment alginate—one of the most abundant sugars in brown algae, but a sugar that industrial microbes can’t metabolize—into ethanol.

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Creative Greenius

JANUARY 13, 2012

Man, I can’t believe it’s been over a month now since I wrote in this space about the villainous and vile vandals who destroyed the trees and native plants at Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park over Thanksgiving. But time has afterburners when the holidays roll around especially when your friendly neighborhood Greenius is in such demand locally.

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Electric Cars are for Girls

JANUARY 7, 2012

Interview with Mike Willmon, president of NEDRA - the National Electric Drag Racing Association. Not surprisingly, we're talking about driving really, really fast in electric cars.

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Green Car Reports

JANUARY 25, 2012

The Chevrolet Volt range-extended electric car has been on sale for over a year now. You might have caught our previous guide to the Volt, but so much can happen in such a short space of time that there's always something new to add. Over the next few pages you'll find links to all sorts of information about the Volt. This page deals with the.

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Volt Chevrolet Electric Cars Range 167

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National Green Transportation

JANUARY 27, 2012

Ever since the bankruptcy of Think last spring, Indiana based battery manufacturer Ener1 has been in trouble. Not only was Think a major customer of Ener1, Ener1's large stake in Think was a big bet on that.

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Indiana Manufacturer Batteries Battery 92

Green Cars News

JANUARY 23, 2012

Tuesday, 24 January 2012. The Green Piece Column. As the London Mayor Boris Johnson launches a campaign to combat idling engines (see story) we take a look at just what happens when you needlessly leave your engine running. You might think that sometimes it is more efficient to leave the engine on or that stopping [.].

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Green Car Congress

JANUARY 26, 2012

BMW has introduced a new range of M Performance Automobiles featuring a new 6-cylinder in-line diesel developed exclusively for those applications. The engines, which feature three turbochargers, deliver maximum output reaching 280 kW/381 hp and peak torque of 740 N·m (546 lb-ft). The new engine is applied in the BMW M550d xDrive Sedan, BMW M550d xDrive Touring, BMW X5 M50d and BMW X6 M50d.

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Green Car Congress

JANUARY 25, 2012

The City of Bogota, Colombia, has launched a pilot project to spur the use of electric vehicles in Bogota’s center-city taxi fleet. The first taxis are expected to be operational in the city in the next few months. The project was developed in close collaboration with the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI) Cities program and its partner the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group ( C40 ); it is a direct result of Bogota’s active participation in the C40-CCI Electric Vehicle Network of 15 global cities

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Green Car Congress

JANUARY 7, 2012

Chevrolet led all automakers in US passenger car sales in 2011 and posted its largest year-over-year retail sales increase in 35 years, due in large part to strong sales of the Cruze compact sedan. Chevrolet compact car sales almost doubled compared with 2010. Chevrolet sold more than 763,000 passenger cars in 2011. Products included the Sonic subcompact, Cruze compact sedan, Volt electric car, Malibu and Impala sedans, and Camaro and Corvette sporty cars.

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Green Car Congress

JANUARY 21, 2012

Pike Pulse Grid for electric motorcycles and scooters. Click to enlarge. According to a new Pike Pulse report published by Pike Research, the two electric motorcycle and scooter manufacturers who are best positioned to take advantage of upcoming shifts in the market are Zero Motorcycles and Jiangsu Xinri E-Vehicle. The market for electric motorcycle and electric scooters is nascent in most regions of the world, except for Asia-Pacific.

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Motorcycles Electric Motorcycles Manufacturer Asia 305

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Green Car Congress

JANUARY 20, 2012

The Opel Meriva can now be ordered with the 1.4 liter LPG Turbo ecoFLEX dual fuel engine. Click to enlarge. Opel is expanding and enhancing its Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) offer. The Astra 5-door hatchback, the Astra Sports Tourer and the Meriva can now be ordered with the new 1.4 liter LPG Turbo ecoFLEX engine. The dual fuel engine can operate in LPG and gasoline mode and is available in two power versions: 103 kW/140 hp with 200 N·m/148 lb-ft of torque in the Astra 5-door and Sports T

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Green Car Congress

JANUARY 23, 2012

Sectioned Mg||Sb liquid metal battery operated at 700 °C showing the three stratified liquid phases upon cooling to room temperature. The cell was filled with epoxy prior to sectioning. Credit: ACS, Bradwell et al. Click to enlarge. Drs. Donald Sadoway and David Bradwell of MIT and colleagues report promising initial performance results for a high-temperature (700 °C) magnesium–antimony liquid metal stationary storage battery comprising a negative electrode of Mg (magnesium), a molten salt e

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MIT Molten Salt Batteries Battery 301

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 29, 2012

On Friday 27 January, the California Air Resources Board (ARB) adopted the new Advanced Clean Cars (ACC) package that sets out the regulatory emissions and technology requirements for light-duty automobiles through model year 2025. ( Earlier post.) The Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) regulation—one of the three main regulatory packages that constitute ACC—introduces a new regulatory vehicle category: the BEVx, or a battery-electric vehicle with a small “limp-home” range extending engine

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Green Car Congress

JANUARY 23, 2012

Japan-based JNC Corporation and its partners have completed construction of a bamboo-to-ethanol demonstration plant and have begun test runs. Bamboo is of interest as a biofuel feedstock as it does not compete with food. The bamboo raw material is procured from the city of Minamata. The demo plant at Kumamoto University saccharifies the bamboo to produce sugar, which is then fermented using genetically modified yeast developed at Sojo University.

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Green Car Congress

JANUARY 24, 2012

Royal DSM and POET, LLC, one of the world’s largest ethanol producers, have formed a joint venture to commercially demonstrate and license cellulosic bioethanol based on their proprietary and complementary technologies. POET–DSM Advanced Biofuels, LLC , is scheduled to start production in the second half of 2013 at one of the first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plants in the United States.

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Green Car Congress

JANUARY 12, 2012

Cumulative distribution curve for daily driven distance by cars that were used on the Travel Day (representing 61% of all cars owned by the participating households). Data source: NHTS 2009. Click to enlarge. In an effort to calculate what percentage of daily trips in the US could be covered with a fully charged electric vehicle, two Columbia doctoral candidates recently conducted a statistical analysis using the National Household Travel Survey of 2009 on distances driven by the US population.

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Green Car Congress

JANUARY 22, 2012

REL Matrix MMC brake rotor assembly for motorcycles. Click to enlarge. Michigan-based REL, Inc. , a developer of metal matrix composite (MMC) transportation and aerospace components, is teaming with researchers at the Polytechnic Institute of New York University (NYU-Poly) to develop a next-generation aluminum composite brake rotor for automobiles potentially weighing 60% less than today’s cast iron rotors with triple the life expectancy.

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Green Car Congress

JANUARY 2, 2012

A recent study by truck maker Volvo and tire manufacturer Michelin found that having the correct tires, tire pressure and wheel alignment can reduce truck fuel consumption by up to 14.5%. The two-week long, 1,000-km (621-mile) test conducted at Hällered, Volvo’s test circuit in Sweden, featured two Volvo FH 4x2 trucks, each equipped with a 500 hp 13-liter Euro 5 engine.

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Green Car Congress

JANUARY 21, 2012

Honda has begun deliveries of the 2013 Fit EV ( earlier post ), with the first going to the city of Torrance today as one of the first major steps in the Honda Electric Vehicle Demonstration Program. The program is a prelude to the limited retail market launch of the Fit EV with customers in California and Oregon this summer. City of Torrance gets its Fit EV.

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Green Car Congress

JANUARY 19, 2012

Gen Y’s strong affinity for hybrid vehicles could make it the “ generation that leads us away from traditional gasoline-powered vehicles ,” reports Craig Giffi, vice chairman and automotive practice leader at Deloitte LLP, after seeing the results of Deloitte’s annual survey of consumers and what they want in an automobile. (Deloitte defines Gen Y consumers as those currently ranging in age from 19 to 31.). 59% of Gen Y respondents surveyed prefer an electrified vehicle over any other type of ca

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Green Car Congress

JANUARY 13, 2012

The Lola-Drayson B12/69EV Click to enlarge. Drayson Racing Technologies and Lola Group unveiled the anticipated electric-powered Le Mans prototype racing car, the Lola-Drayson B12/69EV, at the 2012 Low Carbon Racing Conference at the NEC. ( Earlier post.) The car showcases technologies such as inductive charging, moveable aerodynamics, structural composite batteries and electrical regenerative damping.

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Batteries Battery Li-ion Energy Storage 277

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 12, 2012

Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide Inc. has been awarded an engineering development contract from India automaker Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. to develop hydrogen systems for a mini-bus platform. Under this contract, Quantum will engineer and modify Mahindra’s 2.5L engine to run on hydrogen, while improving vehicle performance characteristics through enhanced electronic control software strategies and engine calibration.

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Green Car Congress

JANUARY 14, 2012

Quimera all-electric GT prototype. Click to enlarge. Strategic sustainability project specialists Quimera, the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) and the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón (ALMS) are collaborating to develop an international Electric Vehicle motorsport series. Beginning this year, the partners will take steps to prepare investors, the general public, media, sponsors and other interested parties for the impending series, with the goal of being ready to

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Green Car Congress

JANUARY 31, 2012

Initially announced at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit earlier this month, Hyundai’s Lifetime Hybrid Battery Replacement Guarantee applies to all US 2012 model year Sonata Hybrids and is the first-of-its-kind in the industry. The Hyundai Lifetime Hybrid Battery Replacement Guarantee ensures that if the 2012 Sonata Hybrid lithium polymer battery fails, Hyundai will replace the battery and cover recycling costs for the old battery pack free of charge to the original own

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Green Car Congress

JANUARY 26, 2012

Initial design layout of the Rotrak system with the corresponding block diagram. Source: Stone (2010). Click to enlarge. Rotrak, the 50:50 joint-venture between traction drive specialist Torotrak plc and centrifugal supercharger company Rotrex A/S, is testing an advanced variable drive supercharger technology at Torotrak PLC’s test facility in Leyland, UK. ( Earlier post.

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Green Car Congress

JANUARY 11, 2012

The eMO study. The front seats are mounted atop the 18.4 kWh air-cooled battery pack. Click to enlarge. Tata Technologies, a global provider of engineering services and product development IT, was selected by Michelin to display its electric MObility (eMO) engineering study EV as part of the Michelin Challenge Design display at the 2012 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit.

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Green Car Congress

JANUARY 5, 2012

Former and realigned EPA research programs and strategic goals. Credit: ACS, Anastas 2012. Click to enlarge. In a paper published in the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology , Dr. Paul Anastas, Science Advisor to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as well as the Agency’s Assistant Administrator for Research and Development, outlines the principles of the EPA’s new research paradigm called “The Path Forward”, as well as the actions taken since 2010 to align EPA’s researc

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Green Car Congress

JANUARY 27, 2012

Simplified palm oil biofuel lifecycle system diagram. Source: EPA. Click to enlarge. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has conducted lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) analyses on biodiesel and renewable diesel produced from palm oil and estimated GHG emission reductions of 17% (81 (kgCO 2 e/mmBtu) and 11% (87 (kgCO 2 e/mmBtu) respectively for these biofuels compared to the statutory baseline (97 (kgCO 2 e/mmBtu) petroleum-based diesel fuel used in the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) progra

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Green Car Congress

JANUARY 4, 2012

XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept. Click to enlarge. At the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Volvo Car Corporation will unveil the Volvo XC60 gasoline-electric Plug-in Hybrid Concept. In February 2011 at the Geneva Motor Show, Volvo introduced the diesel-electric V60 Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV) to go on sale in Europe later this year. ( Earlier post.

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Green Car Congress

JANUARY 16, 2012

Criegee intermediates (CIs) play a central role in the formation of numerous atmospheric compounds. Welz et al. succeeded in isolating the simplest CI and reported direct kinetic measurements of its reactions with water, NO, NO 2 , and SO 2. Credit: Marston (2012), Photo credit: Daniel Stein/Istockphoto.com.Click to enlarge. Molecules called Criegee intermediates—carbonyl oxides—are important atmospheric reactants, but only indirect knowledge of their reaction kinetics has been avail

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Green Car Congress

JANUARY 27, 2012

ACC combines three sets of regulations to reduce emissions from light-duty vehicles and build the market for advanced zero emission vehicles. Source: ARB. Click to enlarge. In a unanimous vote on Friday, the California Air Resources Board (ARB) adopted the Advanced Clean Cars (ACC) regulatory package ( earlier post ), launching California into another round of major automotive regulations for model years 2015-2025 that are designed to deliver cleaner air, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and to

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Green Car Congress

JANUARY 23, 2012

Concept of the service and mobile app for renewable charging. Click to enlarge. OnStar and Google are working together to demonstrate a new OnStar service for managing the charging of Chevrolet Volts with renewable energy, using the 17 Chevrolet Volts in Google’s “Gfleet” based at the company’s headquarters in Mountain View, Calif. The technology is enabled as OnStar receives a signal from PJM Interconnection that shows the percentage of available renewable energy on the grid.

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Green Car Congress

JANUARY 31, 2012

Micro-hybrids will grow nearly eight-fold to 39 million vehicles in 2017 and create a $6.9 billion market for energy storage devices, according to a Lux Research report titled, “Every Last Drop: Micro- And Mild Hybrids Drive a Huge Market for Fuel-Efficient Vehicles.”. Micro-hybrids, which use a small battery to provide varying degrees of efficiency-boosting features, will dominate the automotive market, gaining 42% of the overall light-duty vehicle market, according to the report.

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Green Car Congress

JANUARY 26, 2012

Li-ion manufacturer Ener1, Inc. has initiated a pre-packaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy case to implement a restructuring plan agreed on by its primary investors and lenders. Ener1 says the plan will significantly reduce its debt and provide up to $81 million to recapitalize itself to support its long-term business objectives and strategic plan. In 2009, Ener1 subsidiary EnerDel received $118.5 million in federal grant funding under the stimulus package.

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