Green Car Congress

MARCH 7, 2013

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, will has outlined a vision for a £913-million (US$1.48-billion) investment in cycling infrastructure for the city. Among other features, the plans would create a “Crossrail for the bike”—a route that will run for more than 15 miles (24 km), very substantially segregated, from the western suburbs, through the heart of London, to Canary Wharf and Barking.

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London Transportation Grid Think City 389

Creative Greenius

MARCH 30, 2013

Source of an Epic FAIL. I’ve been seeing the b t full page ads for Icelandic Glacial water in the print edition of the Los Angeles Times for months now and every time I do they p**s me off. . If you know the Creative Greenius you know that I am easily pissed off by the charlatans, greenwashers and pompous posers who prey upon the ill-informed and gullible and that’s exactly what Icelandic Glacial water is and does.

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Iceland Water Los Angeles Carbon 277

Green Car Reports

MARCH 25, 2013

It's the sweetest dream of every electric-car fan: a battery that could store enough energy to offer up to 1,000 miles of real-world range. While it's not going to arrive in showrooms any time soon, Israeli startup Phinergy thinks its aluminum-air energy storage device might just be that battery. Moreover, say CEO Aviv Tzidon, the company has.

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National Green Transportation

MARCH 31, 2013

All eyes are on Tesla Motors and whether the companies sales live up to expectation. Tesla has made a big bet they can sell 20,000 electric luxury cars a year when the likes of Nissan and General Motors.

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Tesla Motors Motoring Motors Motor 100

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Green Cars News

MARCH 14, 2013

If you were told that a city in the UK would be leading the way with fuel cell technology you’d be forgiven if you expected the city in question to be London, Edinburgh, Cardiff or Belfast. In reality however, it is Aberdeen that will soon boast Europe’s largest hydrogen fuel cell bus fleet. That’s because [.].

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Hydrogen Fleet Fuel London 80

Green Car Congress

MARCH 9, 2013

Transportation fuel mix in millions of oil-equivalent barrels through 2020. Source: ExxonMobil Outlook. Click to enlarge. Diesel will surpass gasoline as the number one transportation fuel worldwide by 2020 and continue to increase its share through 2040, according to ExxonMobil’s recently published Outlook For Energy: A View To 2040. The relative shift away from motor gasoline to diesel is driven by improving light-duty vehicle fuel economy and the growth in commercial transportation activity.

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Gasoline Transportation 2020 Diesel 383

Green Car Congress

MARCH 21, 2013

The California Energy Commission (CEC) approved $5,580,773 for clean-energy transportation projects including biodiesel production, power control electronics for medium-and heavy-duty battery electric vehicles, and buydowns for propane vehicles. The awards were made through the Commission’s Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program.

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San Diego California Energy Transportation 346

Green Car Congress

MARCH 15, 2013

TEF project points to deep cuts in petroleum and emissions in the transportation sector by focusing on modes, fuels, and demand. Source: DOE. Click to enlarge. The US Department of Energy (DOE) released findings from a new project—Transportation Energy Futures (TEF)—that concludes the United States has the potential to eliminate petroleum use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by more than 80% in the transportation sector by 2050.

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Transportation Hydrogen Fuel Light 345

Green Car Congress

MARCH 14, 2013

The new SuperTruck achieved a 54% increase in fuel economy. Click to enlarge. Cummins Inc. and Peterbilt Motors Company, a division of PACCAR, released test results showing their demonstration SuperTruck tractor-trailer achieved a 54% increase in fuel economy, averaging nearly 10 mpg US (23.5 l/100 km) under real world driving conditions. In addition, the truck also demonstrated a 61% improvement in freight efficiency during testing compared to a baseline truck driving the same route.

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Peterbilt Fuel Economy Economy Fuel 342

Green Car Congress

MARCH 2, 2013

Powertrain components of the PRIMOVE bus. Click to enlarge. German regional transit operator Rhein-Neckar-Verkehr GmbH (RNV) is introducing a pair of electric buses with Bombardier PRIMOVE wireless charging technology ( earlier post ) in a research project serving the city of Mannheim, Germany. During the “PRIMOVE Mannheim” research project, the electric buses will recharge wirelessly while passengers get on and off the vehicles at bus stops along the inner city route 63.

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Germany Charging Electrical Electric 341

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Green Car Congress

MARCH 15, 2013

Rate capacities of VO 2 -graphene architectures with different VO 2 contents, measured for 30 cycles at each selected rate from 1C to 190C. Credit: ACS, Yang et al. Click to enlarge. A team from Rice University has developed vanadium oxide (VO 2 )-graphene ribbon materials that, when used as cathode materials in Li-ion batteries, enable ultrafast, “ supercapacitor-like ” charge and discharge rates with long cycle life while maintaining highly reversible capacity.

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Li-ion Lithium Ion Universal Charging 341

Green Car Congress

MARCH 31, 2013

Map showing the location of Tamar, as well as the larger Leviathan field which is entering development. Source: Noble Energy. Click to enlarge. On Saturday, Israel’s Ministry of Energy & Water Resources reported that commercial natural gas production had begun from the deepwater Tamar field (c. 5,500 ft, 1,676 m) in the Eastern Mediterranean, 90 km (56 miles) west of Haifa. ( Earlier post.).

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Israel Gas Production Gas-Electric 322

Green Car Congress

MARCH 5, 2013

Volvo Car Group used the venue of the Geneva Motor Show to introduce new safety technology that detects and automatically brakes for cyclists swerving out in front of the car. The new functionality is an enhancement of the present detection and auto brake technology, and the package will be called Pedestrian and Cyclist Detection with full auto brake.

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Volvo Auto Cars MPG 312

Green Car Congress

MARCH 8, 2013

The Volkswagen Group announced that it is choosing CO 2 as the future low global warming potential (GWP) refrigerant for its mobile air conditioning (MAC) systems. The announcement follows press reports from the Geneva Motor Show that Daimler, BMW and Volkswagen would pursue CO 2 (R744) as the refrigerant for MACs instead of R-1234yf (developed by Honeywell and DuPont). ( Earlier post.).

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Future CO2 2009 Climate 311

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Green Car Congress

MARCH 6, 2013

A new study by Dr. Michael Sivak, Director, Sustainable Worldwide Transportation, University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI), has found that from 1970-2010, an increase in vehicle distance travelled in the US, coupled with a decrease in the number of occupants in the vehicles, combined to undercut the impact of advances in vehicle fuel economy during that period.

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Fuel Economy Economy Fuel North America 311

Green Car Congress

MARCH 6, 2013

VIZIV Concept. Click to enlarge. Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. (FHI), the manufacturer of Subaru automobiles, introduced the VIZIV (“Vision for Innovation”) hybrid crossover concept at the Geneva Motor Show. The powertrain is a plug-in hybrid system that combines a 2.0-liter Subaru Boxer diesel engine and high-torque-compatible Lineartronic continuously variable transmission (CVT) with a single front motor that provides both vehicle drive and power generation, and two independent rear motors for ve

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Plug-in Concept Diesel Motoring 311

Green Car Congress

MARCH 25, 2013

Sketch describing the ZIP-Cap architecture and how it. differs from that of the EDLC. Source: Ionova. Click to enlarge. Ionova Technologies, Inc. reports that its zinc-ion-based ZIP-Cap asymmetric ultracapacitor is expected to provide a 25-fold reduction in build cost and a 5-fold increase in energy density (up to 35Wh/L) without the ultra-pure materials or expensive “dry-room” facilities that are necessary to build today’s ultracapacitors.

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Building Energy Lead Acid DC 304

Green Car Congress

MARCH 10, 2013

A plot of ESOI for 7 potential grid-scale energy storage technologies. Credit: Barnhart and Benson, 2013. Click to enlarge. A new study by Charles J. Barnhart and Sally M. Benson from Stanford University and Stanford’s Global Climate and Energy Project (GCEP) has quantified the energetic costs of 7 different grid-scale energy storage technologies over time.

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Energy Storage Grid Cost Of Energy 304

Green Car Congress

MARCH 19, 2013

Cutaway of the Flybrid flywheel and Torotrak IVT. Click to enlarge. UK-based toroidal drive company Torotrak has acquired a 20% stake in flywheel hybrid innovator Flybrid Automotive Ltd (formerly Flybrid Systems LLP) ( earlier post ) with an option to acquire the remaining shares before the end of the calendar year. Torotrak says that the transaction strengthens its ability to provide turnkey development and manufacture of complete flywheel hybrid systems for buses, trucks, passenger cars, comme

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Hybrid Fuel Economy Commercial Manufacturer 301

Green Car Congress

MARCH 13, 2013

Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) has confirmed offshore production of methane from methane hydrate layers under the Daini-Atsumi Knoll (seamount) in the eastern Nankai trough off the coast of central Japan. Conceptual diagram of the first offshore methane hydrate production test. Source: METI. Click to enlarge. Although the first offshore production test is not commercial production and is very much an experimental research operation, JOGMEC said, it marks a milestone in t

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Production Japan 2001 Commercial 301

Green Car Congress

MARCH 4, 2013

A3 Sportback e-tron drivetrain - hybrid components. Click to enlarge. Audi is providing more details on the coming A3 Sportback e-tron plug-in hybrid at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show. ( Earlier post.) The A3 Sportback e-tron, with 50 kW (204 hp) of system power and 350 N·m (258 lb-ft) of system torque, accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 7.6 seconds on its way to a top speed of 222 km/h (138 mph).

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Audi Plug-in MPG Miles 301

Green Car Congress

MARCH 13, 2013

California-based Balqon Corporation, a developer of heavy-duty electric vehicles, drive systems and lithium battery storage devices ( earlier post ), has entered into a Joint Development Agreement with China-based Sichuan Automobile Industry Co., Ltd (SAIG) to manufacture inner-city electric buses. Under this Agreement, SAIG purchased the Balqon electric drive system for integration into a 22-foot bus chassis.

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China Automobile Industry Building Lithium Ion 300

Green Car Congress

MARCH 1, 2013

Audi A3 Sportback g-tron. Click to enlarge. Audi will introduce the compact A3 Sportback g-tron—which can be powered by the CO 2 -neutral Audi e-gas, synthetic methane generated from eco-electricity in the Audi e-gas project ( earlier post )—at the end of the year. The e-gas fuel will be produced in the power-to-gas plant in Werlte, Germany.

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Gas Audi CO2 Gas-Electric 296

Green Car Congress

MARCH 27, 2013

Mitsubishi Motors reported two separate incidents with Li-ion battery packs: one, a fire in a i-MiEV battery pack at the Mizushima battery pack assembly plant; the other, heating and melting in a pack installed in an Outlander plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. In the Mizushima event, the pack was connected to charge-discharge test equipment. There was no injury to personnel, or damage to the main plant building and equipment.

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i-MiEV Mitsubishi PHEV Li-ion 294

Green Car Congress

MARCH 26, 2013

Fuji Electric Corp. of America has begun US production of their UL-Certified DC Quick Chargers for Electric Vehicles, with the first production units shipping out of Milpitas, CA by late March. The manufacturer’s 4 th -Generation 25kW DC Quick Charger features a slimmer design than previous versions, making it suited for a wide variety of commercial applications.

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DC Production America Electrical 294

Green Car Congress

MARCH 27, 2013

2014 Jeep Cherokee. Click to enlarge. Chrysler introduced the new 2014 Jeep Cherokee mid-size SUV at the New York International Auto Show. The new Cherokee features a segment-first nine-speed automatic transmission, developed in partnership with ZF; fuel economy improvements of more than 45% versus the outgoing Liberty model; and more than 70 advanced safety and security features.

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Jeep 2014 MPG Chrysler 294

Green Car Congress

MARCH 1, 2013

The California Energy Commission voted to expand the state’s clean-vehicle rebate program with an award of $4.5 million to the California Air Resources Board through an interagency agreement to provide funding for the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project. This funding will be used to support purchases of light-duty zero-emission electric vehicles and light-duty plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.

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Cleaning Clean California Energy 290

Green Car Congress

MARCH 11, 2013

Scania truck with a pantograph on the roof (“trolley-truck”). Click to enlarge. Scania and Siemens have entered into a partnership which involves the integration of Siemens’ trolley-assist technology with Scania’s expertise in the electrification of powertrains in trucks and buses. Scania has for a long time explored the possibilities of electrifying the powertrain in buses and trucks, while Siemens has developed trolley-assist systems for heavy duty trucks and is selling its SIMINE trolley-assi

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Los Angeles Hybrid Long Beach Vehicles 287

Green Car Congress

MARCH 9, 2013

The US DOE has released the final version of a new funding opportunity announcement ( DE-FOA-0000793 ) that will award more than $50 million in funding for new projects intended to accelerate the development of advanced plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) technologies to increase vehicle fuel economy and improve performance. DOE had earlier requested public comment on a draft of the solicitation. ( Earlier post.

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Plug-in Plug Vehicles Fuel Economy 287

Green Car Congress

MARCH 29, 2013

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed long-anticipated Tier 3 standards for gasoline sulfur content; evaporative emissions; and tailpipe emissions from all light-duty vehicles (LDVs, or passenger cars), light-duty trucks (LDT1s, LDT2s, LDT3s, and LDT4s) and Medium-Duty Passenger Vehicles (or MDPVs). With a proposed start in 2017, the Tier 3 program is also harmonized with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) Low Emission Vehicle (LEV III) program—enabling automakers to

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EPA Gasoline Standards Emissions 286

Green Car Congress

MARCH 21, 2013

The amount of traffic and pattern of changes in average speed with vehicles equipped with the system. Click to enlarge. Honda Motor Co., Ltd. conducted public-road testing of its new traffic congestion minimization technology ( earlier post ) in Indonesia and verified the effectiveness of the technology in delaying the development of congestion and in improving fuel efficiency by more than 20%.

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Indonesia Honda Fuel Motorcycles 286

Green Car Congress

MARCH 8, 2013

The University of Michigan and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel will create a research partnership to collaborate on developing renewable technologies. The partnership aims to make progress toward solving major challenges in the areas of advanced vehicle fuels, solar energy and thermoelectric materials. Each university has pledged half of the $1 million that will jumpstart the three-year program.

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Michigan Universal Solar Energy 285

Green Car Congress

MARCH 15, 2013

Adjusted CO 2 emissions and adjusted fuel economy, MY 1975-2011. Source: EPA. Click to enlarge. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its annual report summarizing key trends in carbon dioxide emissions, fuel economy, and CO 2 - and fuel economy-related technology for gasoline- and diesel-fueled personal vehicles sold in the United States, from model years (MY) 1975 through 2012.

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Fuel Economy 2012 EPA Economy 284

Green Car Congress

MARCH 27, 2013

A chart from EnerG2’s 2012 DOE Merit Review presentation shows different pore profiles for different energy storage applications. Click to enlarge. EnerG2, a manufacturer of advanced carbons for next-generation energy storage ( earlier post ), has begun production of nano-structured hard carbon for Li-ion battery anodes that it says can boost anode capacity by more than 50% over standard graphite.

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Li-ion Carbon Standards Energy Storage 281