Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 11, 2011

Light duty vehicle fleet by type and average fuel efficiency. Source: ExxonMobil Outlook. Click to enlarge. Exxon Mobil Corporation’s new The Outlook for Energy: A View to 2040 , released last week, projects that global energy demand in 2040 will be about 30% higher than it was in 2010 as population grows to 9 billion and global GDP doubles. Growth is led by developing regions such as China, India, Africa and other emerging economies.

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Creative Greenius

DECEMBER 4, 2011

Let me tell you how pissed off I was the day after Thanksgiving when I read this headline in the Daily Breeze: “ Vandals Uproot Saplings Planted by Youngsters “ The story in a nutshell read, “ Forget the financial loss. Vandals crushed a lot more than that this week when they ripped out fledgling oak trees and smashed other plants being cultivated by dozens of young people from across the South Bay in Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park. “ It steamed my chaps and I wasn̵

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Electric Cars are for Girls

DECEMBER 20, 2011

"For your average drag race fan, this change opens a new and exciting chapter on the drag race scene, not seen since the likes of the inception of the electric vehicle itself.

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Green Car Reports

DECEMBER 1, 2011

Despite the NHTSA inquiry into battery-pack fires following severe crash tests of the Chevrolet Volt range-extended electric car, the car's 5,000 or so owners to date seem to be unworried. Comments on Volt owner forums largely dismiss worries about any risk of fire during accidents, and many owners still seem ecstatically happy with their cars. So.

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Volt Electric Cars Chevrolet Cars 166

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National Green Transportation

DECEMBER 20, 2011

While Tesla Motors is best known for the Roadster, an all electric super-sports-car, their eyes all along have been on a business plan to develop modest priced electric cars. The Tesla Model S, to go on sale.

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Green Cars News

DECEMBER 14, 2011

Energy firm E.ON is the latest to launch a electric car tariff designed for those with their own electric car to recharge. A trial two year plan called ‘E.ON EV Miles’ will cover the cost of charging an electric car for as little as £236 a year, compared to the typical annual refuelling cost of [.].

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Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 14, 2011

Ford’s Michigan Assembly Plant is starting production of the 2012 Focus Electric ( earlier post )—a five-passenger, battery-electric car Ford expects will achieve more than a 100 miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe) fuel economy rating. By comparison, the Nissan LEAF carries a 99 MPGe (combined) EPA rating, while the smaller i-MiEV carries a 112 MPGe (combined) rating. (1 gallon of gasoline=33.7 kWh).

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Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 12, 2011

The US Department of Energy is awarding more than $7 million to fund four 3-year projects in California, Washington and Oregon to advance hydrogen storage technologies to be used in fuel-cell-electric vehicles. The selected organizations will provide close to $2 million in cost share. The projects focus on lowering the cost of compressed hydrogen storage systems and on developing advanced materials for hydrogen storage.

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Hydrogen Carbon Fiber Oregon Alabama 330

Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 28, 2011

IBM and the University of Guadalajara (UdeG) in Mexico have created a Smarter Cities Exploration Center. Supported by technical and intellectual guidance of IBM’s global research lab experts, the Center will be the first of its kind in Latin America, tasked with the mission to design solutions to tackle infrastructure challenges faced by Guadalajara—Mexico’s second-largest city—and other cities around the world.

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Universal Transportation Insight Water 329

Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 5, 2011

Plugless Power system components. Click to enlarge. Evatran, a developer of wireless charging systems for electric vehicles ( earlier post ), has signed contracts with six commercial participants to outfit their Chevrolet Volt and Nissan LEAF models with pre-production Plugless Power wireless charging systems. Plugless Power is a Level 2 (240V at 30A, 3.3 kW rated power output) inductive charging system, with a transfer efficiency of 90%.

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2012 Volt Commercial Power 329

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Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 18, 2011

Norwegian transportation company Fjord1 launched the MF Boknafjord , the world’s largest gas ferry. The new ferry, delivered by Fiskerstrand BLRT AS, will serve the Arsvågen-Mortavika route on the Boknafjord in Rogaland County. MF Boknafjord. Click to enlarge. The new gas-operated ferry is designed by Multi Maritime AS in Førde, Western Norway and has a total length of 129.9m, a maximum width of 19.2m and a capacity of 242 passenger cars or 22 heavy goods vehicles in combination with passenger c

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Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 6, 2011

As part of its strategy of developing solutions to reduce CO 2 emissions, Valeo has acquired the Variable Torque Enhancement System (VTES) ( earlier post ) business of UK automotive technology development company Controlled Power Technologies (CPT). VTES will be integrated into Valeo’s Powertrain Systems Business Group with immediate effect. With this move, Valeo becomes the first automotive supplier to offer its customers a range of electric superchargers.

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Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 29, 2011

The Nikkei reported that Mitsubishi Motors Corp. has started developing an electric light truck—its third electric vehicle—with a fiscal 2012 launch in mind. The new EV reportedly will be targeted at farmers, contractors and others who use light trucks for their work—applications in which limited range is less of an issue. The electric light truck will allow users to recharge its battery off normal household power outlets.

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Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 9, 2011

ARB regulates two size classes of particles: up to 10 microns (PM 10 ) and up to 2.5 microns in size (PM 2.5 ). PM 2.5 particles are a subset of PM 10. Source: ARB. Click to enlarge. Three new studies released by the California Air Resources Board (ARB) show that exposure to airborne fine-particulate matter significantly elevates the risk for premature deaths from heart disease in older adults and elevates incidence of strokes among post-menopausal women.

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Pollution California 2011 Davis 319

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Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 1, 2011

Changes in percentage of teenagers with driver’s licenses, 1983 to 2008. Data: Sivak and Schoettle. Click to enlarge. The age composition of US drivers has changed substantially between 1983 and 2008, according to a new study by University of Michigan researchers Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle, published in the journal Traffic Injury Prevention.

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2008 Transportation Michigan Future 319

Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 26, 2011

The Aqua hybrid. Click to enlarge. Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) launched the Aqua gasoline-electric compact hybrid—to be marketed as the Prius c in the US—in Japan. The Aqua features a small 1.5-liter Toyota Hybrid System II (THS II) with reduction gear, which achieves fuel efficiency of 35.4 km/L (83.3 mpg US, 2.8 L/100km) under the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism’s (MLIT’s) JC08 test cycle and 40.0 km/L (94 mpg US, 2.5 L/100km) under the MLIT 10-1

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Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 29, 2011

To assess consumer demand, preferences, and price sensitivity for plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) and electric vehicle charging infrastructure, Pike Research conducted a web-based survey of 1,051 US consumers in the fall of 2011 using a nationally representative and demographically balanced sample. The survey found that, based on Americans’ driving and commute patterns, PEVs should be a strong fit for a large number of consumers.

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Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 12, 2011

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC), working with EIDAIKAKO Co., Ltd., MRC Pylen Co., Ltd. and Toyota Tsusho Corporation, has developed a new floor mat made using plant-based bio-polyethylene (bio-PE) fiber to add to its lineup of proprietary plant-based “Green Plastic” products. The company plans to start production of the new floor mats in the summer of 2012.

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Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 12, 2011

Marangoni Tire, the Italian tire specialist, presented its latest show car, the Marangoni Evoque HFI-R, at the Bologna Motor Show earlier this month.Evoque HFI-R. Click to enlarge. The Marangoni Evoque HFI-R, based on a Si4 2.0 Turbo gasoline engine model, has been tuned to deliver 300 bhp, but still manages to significantly reduce fuel consumption and harmful emissions by exploiting combined hydrogen and natural gas technology.

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Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 31, 2011

With Iran’s current threat to close the Strait of Hormuz in response to sanctions as a backdrop, the US Energy Information Agency issued an update to its “World Oil Transit Chokepoint” brief ( earlier post ), noting that “ Hormuz is the world’s most important oil chokepoint due to its daily oil flow of almost 17 million barrels in 2011, up from between 15.5-16.0 million bbl/d in 2009-2010.

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Oil Panama Saudi Arabia United Arab Emirates 297

Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 12, 2011

The NH 2 hydrogen fuel cell tractor. Click to enlarge. New Holland previewed the farm-ready version of the hydrogen fuel cell NH 2 tractor ( earlier post ) at the Agritechnica international agricultural machinery show in Hannover in November. Derived from the New Holland T6.140 production model, the new tractor will operate all the implements required for different seasonal operations: soil preparation, seeding, baling, transport, and front loader applications.

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Hydrogen 2012 Fuel Energy 297

Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 11, 2011

Countries meeting in Durban, South Africa, managed to deliver an agreement after an extension to negotiations. Governments at the COP17 meeting decided to adopt some form of a universal legal agreement on climate change as soon. as possible, but not later than 2015. Work on this is to begin immediately under a new group called the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action.

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Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 18, 2011

Life-cycle GHG emissions per MJ of fuel produced and combusted for both 100-year and 20-year time horizons. Gasoline section shows results for fuel derived from both conventional oil and oil sands. Expansion bars show the components of fuel production. Credit: ACS, Burnham et al. Click to enlarge. The base results from a study by a team at the Center for Transportation Research, Argonne National Laboratory indicate that shale gas life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are 6% lower than conven

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Gas Coal Emissions Gasoline 284

Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 7, 2011

Forecast global spending on ITS. Source: Pike Research. Click to enlarge. The concept of intelligent transportation systems (ITS) encompasses a wide range of systems and applications. In a new report, Pike Research focuses on four key smart transportation sectors—traffic management systems; smart charging for plug-in electric vehicles; public transportation systems; and vehicle-to-vehicle systems—and forecasts a global investment in these totaling $13.2 billion by 2017.

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Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 6, 2011

The National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium (NAFTC) will hold its upcoming Electric Drive Vehicle First Responder Safety Training at the Tesla Motors headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif. Scheduled for 6-7 Dec., the train-the-trainer workshop is the fifth of its kind to ensure first responders nationwide have the opportunity to expand their knowledge of electric drive vehicle accident response procedures.

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Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 27, 2011

Global R&D spending 2011. Size of circle reflects the relative amount of annual R&D spending by the country noted. Source: 2012 Global R&D Funding Forecast. Click to enlarge. The Battelle-R&D Magazine annual Global R&D Funding Forecast concludes that global research and development (R&D) spending will grow by about 5.2% in 2012 to more than $1.4 trillion.

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2012 Global Companies Economy 277

Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 15, 2011

The direct injected 2.0 L turbocharged four-cylinder engine, with an estimated 270 horsepower (201 kW), will be among the powertrain options available in the all-new 2013 Cadillac ATS compact luxury sedan. Click to enlarge. GM will debut a new high-performance 2.0L turbocharged four-cylinder engine in the new 2013 Cadillac ATS compact luxury sedan, which will be revealed at the 2012 North American International Auto Show in January.

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Cadillac GM Engine Audi 273

Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 1, 2011

Different pathways to jet fuel. Alcohol-to-jet (bottom) is currently being explored by an ASTM Working Group. Source: Byogy. Click to enlarge. LanzaTech has received a US$3-million contract from the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), through the Department of Transportation’s John A. Volpe Center, to accelerate commercial availability of alcohol-to-jet (ATJ) renewable drop-in aviation fuel. ( Earlier post.).

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Alternative Fuels 2011 Renewable Waste 265

Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 24, 2011

The Nikkei reports that Honda Motor Co. plans to make its vehicles lighter by adopting new design and assembly methods. Some of Honda’s new manufacturing methods involve welding outer panels to the frame, rather than assembling the ceiling, side and other panels, to reduce the use of bolts and reinforcing materials. Other techniques include combining two steel sheets of different thicknesses into a single sheet and using thinner steel sheets that are heat-treated during processing to enhance the

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Honda Design Vehicles Automobile 261

Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 19, 2011

Cumulative light-duty PEV deployments by segment, world markets: 2011-2017. Source: Pike Research. Click to enlarge. Nearly nine out of ten plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) sold this year will include at least a basic telematics package, and that percentage will likely grow to 94% by 2017, according to a new report from Pike Research. Annual revenue from worldwide sales of electric vehicle telematics will total $1.4 billion by 2017, Pike forecasts.

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Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 5, 2011

The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) has signed a contract to purchase 450,000 gallons of advanced drop-in biofuel for the US Navy from Dynamic Fuels, LLC, a joint venture between Tyson Foods, Inc. and Syntroleum Corporation. Solazyme, Inc., a renewable oil and bioproducts company, will help Dynamic Fuels fulfill the contract, which the Navy and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) report is the single largest purchase of biofuel in US government history.

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Purchase Fuel Renewable Mariner 259

Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 30, 2011

Ford plans to cut the amount of water used to make each vehicle 30% globally by 2015, compared with the amount of water used per vehicle in 2009. If Ford meets the 30% goal, the amount of water used to make a vehicle will have dropped from 9.5 m 3 (2,510 gallons US) in 2000 to approximately 3.5 m 3 (925 gallons US) in 2015. Ford is also developing year-over-year efficiency targets as part of its annual environmental business planning process and has established a cross-functional team spanning s

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Water 2015 Ford 2000 257

Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 20, 2011

Top: Conventional F-T process. Bottom: SRI process. Click to enlarge. Researchers from SRI International (SRI) are developing a methane-and-coal-to-liquids process that consumes negligible amounts of water and does not generate carbon dioxide. Based on data from bench-scale tests, SRI engineers estimate that the capital cost for a full-scale plant using SRI’s process would be less than half that of a conventional coal-to-liquids (CTL) plant using Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS).

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Coal Water Transportation Fuel 257

Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 24, 2011

Materials in clean energy technologies and components. Source: DOE. Click to enlarge. Several clean energy technologies—including electric vehicles, wind turbines, PV thin films and fluorescent lighting—use materials at risk of supply disruptions in the short term, with risks generally decreasing in the medium- and long-terms, according to the newly released 2011 Critical Materials Strategy report from the US Department of Energy (DOE).

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