Green Car Congress

APRIL 18, 2016

A new study by a team from the University of Edinburgh and independent engineering company INNAS BV has found that, when factoring in the additional weight and non-exhaust PM factors, total PM 10 emissions from electric vehicles (EVs) are equal to those of modern internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs). Non-exhaust PM factors include tire wear, brake wear, road surface wear and resuspension of road dust.

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Exhaust Emissions Gasoline-Electric 2016 327

Creative Greenius

APRIL 26, 2016

I’ve lived in my house in Torrance, California for 23 years now. Been in L.A. since I was 19 years old in 1976, back when then Governor Brown was telling us that we were “living in an era of diminished expectations.” He always was so ahead of the curve… Like I say, I live in Torrance, home of the exploding Exxon Mobil refinery where our Air Quality Management District just gave the refinery operators exemptions to exceed pollution limits while they restart the aging clima

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Los Angeles Renewable Long Beach Climate Change 235

Green Car Reports

APRIL 28, 2016

Lithium-ion cells and the battery packs that hold them are the single most costly part of modern electric cars. And how fast their costs will fall remains the defining factor in making those cars affordable for the mass market. GM made waves last fall when product chief Mark Reuss said the company will pay $145 per kilowatt-hour for the cells in.

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GM Lithium Ion Electric Cars Batteries 98

Green Fleet Magazine

APRIL 28, 2016

Bridgestone is adding seven new sizes of its DriveGuard tires designed for minivans and compact SUVs that will be available May 1. The tire line was already available in 36 run-flat sizes for sedans.

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Minivan SUV Available Design 52

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Green Car Congress

APRIL 14, 2016

by James Stafford of Oilprice.com. Demand for lithium—the hottest commodity on the planet and the only commodity to show positive price movement in 2015—is poised to continue on its upward trajectory, becoming the world’s new gasoline and earning the moniker of “White Petroleum”. And the battle for market share in and around this commodity has everyone from major tech players to trend-setting investor gurus vying for a foothold.

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Argentina Price Chile Nevada 222

Green Car Congress

APRIL 29, 2016

Even small amounts of PM 2.5 pollution appear to raise the risk of a condition in pregnant women linked to premature births and lifelong neurological and respiratory disorders in their children, new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research suggests. Fine particles from car exhaust, power plants and other industrial sources are breathed into the lungs, but the scientists have now found evidence of the effects of that pollution in the pregnant women’s placentas.

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Boston Pollution EPA Standards 219

Green Car Congress

APRIL 29, 2016

Long-term exposure to ambient PM 2.5 , a mixture of environmental pollutants, was associated with increased risk of mortality for many types of cancer in an elderly Hong Kong population, according to a study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention , a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. Long-term exposure to particulate matter has been associated with mortality mainly from cardiopulmonary causes and lung cancer, said the study’s co-lead author, Thuan Quoc T

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Pollution 2001 Universal 2016 212

Green Car Congress

APRIL 7, 2016

Airbus Group and Siemens have signed a collaboration agreement in the field of hybrid electric propulsion. In doing so, the Chief Executive Officers (CEO) of both companies, Tom Enders and Joe Kaeser, have launched a major joint project towards the electrification of aviation with the goal of demonstrating the technical feasibility of various hybrid/electric propulsion systems by 2020.

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Hybrid Electric Electrical 2000 210

Green Car Congress

APRIL 19, 2016

While other major automakers have either introduced (Hyundai, Honda) or are in serious development of new hydrogen fuel cell vehicles for the market, Toyota continues to take the point in not just promoting, but also supporting the broader technical (and infrastructure) development required for a large-scale realization of hydrogen-based electromobility.

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Toyota Design Fuel 2016 207

Green Car Congress

APRIL 26, 2016

The US Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) announced up to $30 million in funding for a new program for technologies that use renewable energy to convert air and water into cost-competitive liquid fuels. ( DE-FOA-0001562 ). ARPA-E’s Renewable Energy to Fuels through Utilization of Energy-dense Liquids (REFUEL) program seeks to develop technologies that use renewable energy to convert air and water into Carbon Neutral Liquid Fuels (CNLF).

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Renewable Water Fuel Energy 197

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Green Car Congress

APRIL 29, 2016

The Bakken Formation, a shale oil and gas field in North Dakota and Montana, is emitting roughly 2% (about 250,000 tons per year) of the globe’s ethane, according to new study led by researchers at the University of Michigan. The paper appears in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. Ethane is the second-most abundant atmospheric hydrocarbon. Ethane reacts with sunlight and other molecules in the atmosphere to form ozone, which at the surface can cause respiratory problems, eye irritation an

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Ozone Global Emissions North Dakota 195

Green Car Congress

APRIL 29, 2016

At Auto China in Beijing, Qoros Auto unveiled a concept car showcasing a new Qoros “Qamfree” engine featuring FreeValve ’s Pneumatic-Hydraulic-Electric-Actuator (PHEA) technology. FreeValve and Qoros also announced a partnership for the continued development of the camless technology. FreeValve AB is a sister company to Koenigsegg Automotive. FreeValve’s PHEA technology replaces the conventional camshaft and associated hardware, and allows the engine management system to have full control over e

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Concept 2007 Engine Auto 195

Green Car Congress

APRIL 28, 2016

Supported by partners, Clean City Coalitions and corporate sponsors, Alliance AutoGas is embarking on a 5300+ mile, 12-city, cross-country road trip—the Alliance AutoGas Coast-to-Coast Clean Air Ride —with its record-setting propane autogas F-150. The event is being hosted by the Metropolitan Energy Center/Kansas City Regional Clean Cities in conjunction with Veolia/Kansas City Transportation Group and Alliance AutoGas.

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F-150 Kansas City Clean Cleaning 195

Green Car Congress

APRIL 27, 2016

Wrapping up the track on the commercialization of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and hydrogen infrastructure held at the 2016 SAE World Congress ( earlier post ), a panel of technical experts agreed that while significant progress has been made with the technology, and while the first generation of consumer-available fuel cell vehicles is now being sold in parts of the US, there are still challenges to overcome with respect to the cost of the technology and the build-out of a supporting hydrogen re

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Fuel Honda Hydrogen Production 190

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Green Car Congress

APRIL 22, 2016

French transport tech developer Adgero will unveil the regenerative braking-powered UltraBoost ST—an ultracapacitor-based kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) installed on a curtainsider semi-trailer—that aims to cut fuel and carbon emissions by up to 25% at the Commercial Vehicle Show in Birmingham, UK. Adgero’s hybrid technology consists of an electrically-driven axle-mounted unit under the semi-trailer, powered by a bank of ultracapacitors, and controlled by intelligent managemen

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Store Transportation Installation Carbon 190

Green Car Congress

APRIL 20, 2016

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) has admitted to manipulating fuel consumption testing data for some 625,000 mini-cars it manufactured for sale in Japan by itself and partner Nissan. Nissan was the one who identified the discrepancies. In a statement, MMC said that with respect to the fuel consumption testing data submitted to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), MMC conducted testing improperly to present better fuel consumption rates than the actual rates; and

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Mitsubishi Japan Fuel Economy Motoring 190

Green Car Congress

APRIL 15, 2016

A prototype self-driving truck under development by Scania and Swedish research universities has tested successfully at speeds of up to 90 km/h (56 mph). According to the research lead at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, the successful tests are aimed at implementing self-driving Scania trucks in mining operations within a year or two. KTH, Scania, Linköping University, Saab and Autoliv and collaborating in a government-funded project called iQMatic , which is aimed at to develop a fully self-

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ECC 2015 Universal MPH 190

Green Car Congress

APRIL 15, 2016

Japan’s Council for a Strategy for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells, which includes experts from industry, academia, and government, recently issued a revised version of the Strategic Roadmap for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells. Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) established the Council in December 2013; the Strategic Road Map was first published in June 2014.

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Hydrogen Japan Fuel Vehicles 183

Green Car Congress

APRIL 14, 2016

Three emerging and converging factors—connectivity, autonomy and transport-as-a-service—will fundamentally change the automotive industry over the next few decades, according to Mike Abelson, GM’s VP of Strategy and Global Portfolio Planning. These three factors, said Abelson in a panel talk at the 2016 SAE World Congress in Detroit, are changing how the vehicle interacts with the environment; how the user interacts with the vehicle; and the entire business structure around it.

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Connect Connected Transportation Industrial 183

Green Car Congress

APRIL 8, 2016

The California Energy Commission has released a $17.3-million solicitation ( GFO-15-605 ) for publicly accessible hydrogen refueling stations that serve California’s light duty fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). The Energy Commission will make available two categories of Capital Expense (Cap-X) funding. Operation and Maintenance (O&M) funding is also available for stations whose capital expenses are funded under this solicitation.

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California Energy Grant Hydrogen 183

Green Car Congress

APRIL 3, 2016

While many technical advances have made solar cells more efficient and affordable, a disadvantage remains in the fact that solar cells produce no power when it’s raining. Now, however, researchers from the Ocean University of China (Qingdao) and Yunnan Normal University (Kunming, China) have developed an all-weather solar cell that is triggered by both sunlight and raindrops by combining an electron-enriched graphene electrode with a dye-sensitized solar cell.

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Green Car Congress

APRIL 23, 2016

UTA and the University of Utah received a $5.4-million Low-No grant from the US Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to purchase five New Flyer battery-electric buses. ( Earlier post.) Three of these will be used on route 2 in Salt Lake City and two that will serve the University of Utah campus (also in Salt Lake City). Each all-electric bus in service with UTA will save the equivalent of 6,000 gallons of diesel fuel per year.

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Utah Fleet Batteries Battery 174

Green Car Congress

APRIL 20, 2016

Members of AVnu Alliance , the industry consortium driving open, standards-based deterministic networking ( earlier post ), publicly demonstrated interoperability of systems designed to meet the AVnu Automotive Profile at the Automotive Ethernet Congress held in Munich, Germany earlier this year. The demo featured products and solutions from several AVnu Alliance members: Ixia, a provider of network testing, visibility, and security solutions; Marvell Technology Group, a provider of complete sil

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Congress Standards Low Cost Connect 174

Green Car Congress

APRIL 14, 2016

General Motors is turning its employees’ recycled water bottles into a noise-reducing fabric insulation that covers the Chevrolet Equinox engine. The bottles—collected from five of its Michigan facilities—are also being turned into air filtration components and insulation in coats for the homeless community. Given its drive to zero waste, all of GM’s global facilities recycle their water bottles.

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Water GM Parts Chevrolet 174

Green Car Congress

APRIL 13, 2016

Velodyne LiDAR introduced the ULTRA Puck VLP-32A, combining best-in-class 32-channel performance with a small form factor and the high reliability, at the the 2016 SAE World Congress in Detroit. The ULTRA Puck VLP-32A is the company’s most advanced LiDAR sensor to date, delivering high performance at a cost-effective price point of around $500 at automotive-scale production.

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2004 2016 Congress Ford 174

Green Car Congress

APRIL 11, 2016

A team at Japan’s New ACE Institute—an industry-funded research initiative founded to develop a new diesel combustion concept—has developed a new diffusion-combustion-based concept with multiple fuel injectors to overcome the trade-offs of thermal efficiency with energy loss and exhaust emissions typical of conventional diesel engines. In a presentation at the 2016 SAE High Efficiency IC Engine Symposium, Noboru Uchida, general manager of research for New ACE, outlined the basic appr

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Diesel Concept 2016 Exhaust 174

Green Car Congress

APRIL 7, 2016

Tesla Motors reported that Model 3 reservations have topped 325,000, corresponding to about $14 billion in implied future sales (average unit price ~$43,000). Base price is $35,000. Model 3 reservations secure the approximate priority within the buyer’s region for taking delivery of the desired Model 3. The reservation ($1,000) is effective when it is placed, and when Tesla receives payment.

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Price Tesla Purchase Tesla Motors 174

Green Car Congress

APRIL 7, 2016

Cummins Inc. has been awarded a $4.5-million grant from the US Department of Energy to develop a Class 6 commercial plug-in hybrid electric vehicle that can reduce fuel consumption by at least 50% over conventional Class 6 vehicles. ( Earlier post.) When fully loaded, Class 6 vehicles weigh between approximately 19,000 and 26,000 pounds; typical examples include school buses or single-axle work trucks.

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Fuel PHEV Ohio Plug-in 174

Green Car Congress

APRIL 1, 2016

A team from The University of Manchester and East China University has developed a process for the direct hydrodeoxygenation of raw woods into liquid alkanes with mass yields up to 28.1 wt% over a multifunctional Pt/NbOPO 4 catalyst in cyclohexane. The superior performance of the catalyst allows simultaneous conversion of cellulose, hemicellulose and, more significantly, lignin fractions in wood sawdust into hexane, pentane and alkylcyclohexanes, respectively.

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Conversion Fuel Energy Convert 174

Green Car Congress

APRIL 30, 2016

A new study by consultancy Roland Berger defines an integrated roadmap for European road transport decarbonization to 2030 and beyond; the current regulatory framework for vehicle emissions, carbon intensity of fuels and use of renewable fuels covers only up to 2020/2021. The study was commissioned by a coalition of fuel suppliers and automotive companies with a view to identifying a roadmap to 2030+ to identify GHG abatement options at the lowest cost to society.

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Emissions Transportation Fuel Vehicles 163

Green Car Congress

APRIL 29, 2016

Regulating water content in polymeric membranes is important in a number of applications—such as in the proton-exchange fuel-cell membranes used in automotive fuel cell stacks. Researchers from CSIRO in Australia and Hanyang University in Korea have now developed a new type of hydrocarbon polymer membrane that has the potential to deliver a significant boost in fuel cell performance.

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Fuel Water Polymer Universal 163

Green Car Congress

APRIL 28, 2016

Small-scale gas-to-liquids (GTL) company Velocys says that it has successfully scaled up its Fischer-Tropsch (FT) reactor design to individual reactors with capacities in the range 350 to 1,000 barrels per day (bpd) by adding further standard reactor cores within a single pressure vessel. Extensive modelling carried out on the design has yielded very positive performance data, according to the company.

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Gas Production Design Standards 163

Green Car Congress

APRIL 28, 2016

Volkswagen is presenting the latest generation of the EA211 TSI evo at the 37 th International Vienna Motor Symposium. The first model in this future generation of spark ignition engines is the 1.5-liter TSI. The fuel-efficient and high-torque gasoline-fueled TSI engine is set to launch in late 2016, initially with outputs of 96 kW and 110 kW. The main technology elements of the new EA211 TSI evo result in efficiency benefits of up to 10% compared with the previous 1.4l TSI (92 kW).

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Engine Exhaust Re-Charge Gasoline-Electric 163

Green Car Congress

APRIL 26, 2016

In Europe, Ford revealed the all-new 2.0-liter EcoBlue diesel engine—the first in a new range of diesels that will offer optimized fuel efficiency and reduced CO 2 and NO x emissions. Building on the performance and technology of Ford’s award-winning EcoBoost gasoline engines, the EcoBlue diesel range will deliver power outputs ranging from 100 PS to 240 PS (99 to 237 hp).

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Diesel Ford Fuel Oil 163