Green Car Congress

JUNE 18, 2015

Nomadic Power has received a €2-million (US$2.25-million) grant from the European Commission for their “MobileBattery” project—a trailer-mounted battery pack that can serve the function of intelligent and safe back-up power for a home when stationary, and boost EV range when attached to the owner’s vehicle. An 85 kWh Nomad is capable of taking a small electric car up to 600 kilometers (373 miles).

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Green Car Reports

JUNE 25, 2015

If we heard it once, we heard it a dozen times this week. The upcoming Chevrolet Bolt EV 200-mile electric car is "for regular people, not for the elites." You'd almost think that General Motors had adopted the "1 Percent" meme that appears to be the lasting legacy of Occupy Wall Street. DON'T MISS: Tesla Model 3: Revealed Next Year, Production.

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 12, 2015

The model line-up of the second generation of Audi’s high-performance R8 sports car, unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year, includes the new R8 e-tron battery-electric vehicle. ( Earlier post.) The new R8 e-tron delivers 340 kW (456 hp) of power; acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h (62.1 mph) in 3.9 seconds; and a driving range of up to 450 km (279.6 mi).

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 29, 2015

by Henry Hewitt for Oilprice.com. During the late innings of the ICE-age (as in the Internal Combustion Engine age) it has become clear that feeding gasoline and diesel to the next billion new cars is not going to be easy, or cheap. In China alone, 500 million new vehicles can be expected to jam the roads between now and 2030. That may sound far-fetched, but considering annual sales have already made it to 25 million units per year (vs. around 17 million in the US—China became the top mark

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 24, 2015

PEV battery life cycle with second use. Source: NREL. Click to enlarge. Researchers at the US Department of Energy (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) are identifying battery second use (B2U) strategies capable of offsetting vehicle expenses while improving utility grid stability. Second-use options for automotive “end-of-life” Li-ion battery packs support a broad spectrum of sustainable energy strategies, as they increase the potential for widespread PEV adoption by eliminating en

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 19, 2015

2.8-liter 1GD-FTV direct-injection turbo diesel engine. Click to enlarge. Toyota has introduced a new line of turbodiesel engines with more torque, greater efficiency and lower emissions. The new GD engines feature Toyota’s next-generation advanced thermal insulation diesel combustion to reduce cooling loss significantly. The use of Thermo Swing Wall Insulation Technology (TSWIN) helps make the 2.8-liter 1GD-FTV engine one of the most thermally efficient, with a maximum thermal efficiency of 44%

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 22, 2015

Stealth-mode battery start-up 24M has introduced its new semi-solid lithium-ion cell. Co-founded by MIT’s Dr. Yet-Ming Chiang, 24M’s Chief Scientist, the company is leveraging existing, preferred energy storage chemistry but using a new cell design with semi-solid (a mixture of solid and liquid phases) thick electrodes and manufacturing innovations to deliver what it says will be up to a 50% reduction in current Li-ion costs.

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 8, 2015

TCF, the manager of the Garcia River Forest Project, would like to enable its increasing number of redwood trees to reach the 1,000-year-old status of some of their neighbors, like this one. Click to enlarge. In 2014, Volkswagen of America announced that starting with the launch of the zero-tailpipe emissions battery-electric 2015 e-Golf ( earlier post ), it would invest in projects to offset the carbon emissions created from the e-Golf on a full lifecycle basis: production, distribution and up

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Carbon Personal Store Emissions 271

Green Car Congress

JUNE 30, 2015

Four additional cities—Amsterdam, Lima, Catalonia (Barcelona) and Rome— signed up to the Global Clean Bus Declaration at the 1 st global Clean Bus Summit in London. The Global Clean Bus Declaration , developed by the Mayor of London Boris Johnson in partnership with the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group , launched in Buenos Aires in March 2015 with 20 original signatories.

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 16, 2015

GM is using five used battery packs from Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric cars to help power the new General Motors Enterprise Data Center at the Milford Proving Ground. A new solar array and two wind turbines feed the administration building’s circuit breaker panel, where the five Volt batteries work in parallel to supply power to the building, delivering net-zero energy use on an annual basis.

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Volt Chevrolet Building Powered 262

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 17, 2015

The German Press Agency dpa reported that Volkswagen plans to build 12,000 charging points for electric vehicles in the next few years at its company parking lots in Germany—10% of the company’s 120,000 parking spaces for employees. The plans were announced by CEO Martin Winterkorn behind closed doors at the National Conference on Electric Mobility earlier this week in Berlin, according to unnamed sources cited by dpa.

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Germany Building Charging Automobile Industry 261

Green Car Congress

JUNE 23, 2015

On 27 June, during the French leg of the FIA WTCC, GreenGT will present the GreenGT H2, a hydrogen fuel cell racing car, on the Paul Ricard circuit. The GreenGT H2, which runs without a battery, achieves the performance of a GT and has a range comparable with competition cars powered by an internal combustion engine, the company says. GreenGT H2. One of the hydrogen tanks (orange) is visible.

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 11, 2015

Driven by environmental problems, a growing auto industry, and a big policy push, China’s advanced energy storage market will be worth $8.7 billion in 2025, more than quadrupling from the current $1.7 billion, according to a new report from Lux Research called “ Clearing the Haze: Demystifying Energy Storage Opportunities in China ”. Transport applications will dominate with $7.4 billion, or 85% share of the revenues.

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Energy Storage Transportation Market Energy 258

Green Car Congress

JUNE 3, 2015

The Volkswagen Group and SAIC Motor Corporation Ltd, Volkswagen’s original joint venture partner in China, have agreed to expand the main plant of their joint venture Shanghai Volkswagen (SVW) in Anting to support the local production of electric vehicles. Full localization of the Volkswagen Group’s electric vehicles in China will be gradually implemented.

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 17, 2015

BMW took top honors at the latest International Engine of the Year Awards , with the 1.5-liter, three-cylinder hybrid drive unit in the BMW i8 plug-in hybrid being declared the overall winner—as well as picking up two class wins—edging out Ford’s 1.0L three-cylinder EcoBoost. BMW also picked up a class win (2.5-liter to 3-liter) for the 3-liter, Twin Turbo six-cylinder engine in the BMW M3 and BMW M4.

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BMW 2015 International Engine 257

Green Car Congress

JUNE 30, 2015

A group of University of Wisconsin-Madison engineers and a collaborator from China have developed a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) that harvests energy from a car’s rolling tire friction. An innovative method of reusing energy, the nanogenerator ultimately could provide automobile manufacturers a new way to squeeze greater efficiency out of their vehicles.

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Fuel Wisconsin Waste Automobile Manufacturer 256

Green Car Congress

JUNE 5, 2015

A new study by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that death rates among people over 65 are higher in zip codes with more fine particulate air pollution (PM 2.5 ) than in those with lower levels of PM 2.5. It is the first study to examine the effect of soot particles in the air in the entire population of a region, including rural areas.

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 23, 2015

SynSel Energi AS has entered into an IH 2 (Integrated Hydropyrolysis and Hydroconversion) process demonstration license agreement with CRI/Criterion Catalyst Company Ltd, a member of the CRI Catalyst group (CRI), a global group of catalyst technology companies. IH 2 technology is a continuous catalytic thermochemical process which converts a broad range of forestry/agricultural residues and municipal wastes directly into renewable hydrocarbon transportation fuels and/or blend stocks. ( Earlier p

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Convert Transportation Fuel Norway 253

Green Car Congress

JUNE 8, 2015

The Groupe Renault Dieppe plant in northern France has started assembling Bolloré’s all-electric city car Bluecar , from bodies and parts brought in by Bolloré. This is in line with the partnership agreement between the two companies of 9 September 2014. ( Earlier post.). Groupe Bolloré is phasing in assembly by Groupe Renault of the Bluecar model, previously only made in Italy.

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Italy Polymer France MPH 250

Green Car Congress

JUNE 22, 2015

After extensive field testing of renewable diesel HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oils), Volvo Trucks has approved the fuel for all Euro 5 engines and is preparing certifications for Euro 6 engines. HVO (such as Neste’s NEXBTL) is produced from renewable raw materials such as vegetable and animal fats and acts as regular diesel. HVO can reduce CO 2 emissions between 30-90%, depending upon the raw material.

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 9, 2015

Daimler, Bosch and car2go are partnering on a project investigating automated parking in a parking garage. The vehicle will drive to a free space independently and return when summoned up by itself. Automated parking is made possible thanks to an intelligent infrastructure in the car park and a vehicle control unit from Bosch in conjunction with the newest generation of Mercedes-Benz on-board sensors and the car-sharing expertise of car2go.

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Cars Mercedes Future Vehicles 246

Green Car Congress

JUNE 24, 2015

The Renault-Nissan Alliance has sold its 250,000th electric vehicle: a white Renault ZOE sold to a French engineer. The Alliance reached the milestone in early June, 4½ years after the launch of the Nissan LEAF. The Alliance today accounts for half of the electric vehicles sold worldwide. Nissan LEAF remains the best-selling electric vehicle yet, with more than 180,000 units sold.

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 10, 2015

The Mercedes-Benz energy storage systems for private use are now available for reservation; interested parties can place a reservation at www.schlauerspeichern.de without obligation. On 29 May, Daimler announced that it was entering the commercial and residential stationary energy storage system (ESS) market with its wholly-owned subsidiary Deutsche ACCUmotive. ( Earlier post.).

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Energy Storage Mercedes Available Energy 246

Green Car Congress

JUNE 24, 2015

by Leonard Brecken of Oilprice.com. As stated previously , asset monetization by small E&P operators will start in earnest in the second half of this year out of cash flow necessity. Most, if not all, smaller market capitalization companies, public or private, are still free cash flow negative (operating cash flow less capital expenditure) and only a few of the larger ones are now, or will be, based on guidance.

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 15, 2015

Nissan Motor Company and Green Charge Networks, a provider of commercial energy storage, are partnering to deploy second-life Li-ion vehicle batteries for stationary commercial energy storage in the US and international markets. General availability is targeted for Q4 2015. With more than 178,000 sales since its launch in late 2010, Nissan LEAF is the world’s top-selling electric vehicle.

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Energy Storage Nissan Commercial Energy 240

Green Car Congress

JUNE 12, 2015

A team of motorsport enthusiasts will attempt to drive from the Atlantic Coast of Florida to the Pacific Coast of California on just one tank of Neste NExBTL renewable diesel 21-26 June 2015. Neste’s NExBTL renewable diesel can replace petroleum diesel on a drop-in basis due to having the same chemical properties as the ultra-low sulfur diesel. It can also reduce carbon dioxide emissions compared to conventional diesel by as much as 90% over its lifecycle.

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 10, 2015

Proterra has completed the structural testing program at the Altoona Bus Research and Testing Center with its new Catalyst battery-electric bus ( earlier post ), in the process setting records for efficiency, gradeability, weight and acceleration. The full public Altoona report is available here. While conventional diesel buses average 3.86 mpg (60.9 l/100 km), the Proterra Catalyst achieved the best overall average fuel consumption rating yet for a 40' transit bus at 22.16 MPGe (equivalent to 1

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 30, 2015

Skeleton Technologies ( earlier post ) has launched a new range of cylindrical ultracapacitors that offers specific power performance of up to 111 kW/kg (SC450, 450F) and specific energy up to 9.6 Wh/kg (SC4500, 4500F) with ESR as low as 0.075 mΩ (SC3000, 3000F)—the highest performance cylindrical cell ultracapacitors in the market. Through the use of its patented graphene material, the new series features a capacitance of up to 4500 farads (the SC4500 cell).

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 24, 2015

The global smart urban mobility infrastructure and services market is expected to grow from $5.1 billion in 2015 to $25.1 billion in 2024, according to a new report from Navigant Research—a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.4%. Navigant expects growth through 2018 to be rapid, at a rate of more than 20% annually. From 2019 onward, Naigant projects a slower pace—from around 20% from 2018 to 2019 to a 12% growth rate at the end of the forecast period.

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 30, 2015

On 26 June, CLP Motorsports’ Superlite Coupe crossed the finish line in Santa Monica, California, after driving across the USA on one tank of NEXBTL renewable diesel ( earlier post )—the first time that this type of trip was driven using a fuel that is made exclusively from bio-based raw materials. The 2,507-mile (4,035 km) journey, which began in Jacksonville, Florida, and finished successfully in Santa Monica, California, took a total driving time of 37 hours 2 minutes (thus average spee

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 24, 2015

More than 75 experts from China and the U.S. convened in Beijing on 9 June for a discussion of their respective standardization work programs related to electric vehicles (EVs). The overarching focus of the workshop was cooperation on standards, conformance, and training programs among industry and government stakeholders to facilitate the growth of the EV market.

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 5, 2015

Advanced Microgrid Solutions (AMS) has selected Tesla as the primary technology provider for its utility-scale energy storage projects. Under the agreement, AMS will install up to 500 MWh of Tesla batteries in its energy storage projects. AMS has also signed a master agreement with global firm Black & Veatch for engineering and construction services.

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Energy Storage Energy Tesla Grid 233

Green Car Congress

JUNE 30, 2015

Battery-eletcric bus manufacturer Proterra has completed a $55M strategic financing. This signals a new growth phase for the company, as Proterra scales production to meet growing demand and accelerates cash realization. Proterra closed a $30-million Series 4 equity round led by $19 million from several new strategic investors. The existing major investors in Proterra added $11 million of equity.

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 17, 2015

By Nick Cunningham of Oilprice.com. The fallout of the collapse in oil prices has a lot of side effects apart from the decline of rig counts and oil flows. Oil production in North Dakota has exploded over the last five years, from negligible levels before 2010 to well over a million barrels per day, making North Dakota the second largest oil producing state in the country.

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