Green Car Congress

JANUARY 30, 2017

NSK Ltd. has successfully demonstrated the first transmission-equipped wheel hub motor, designed to improve the environmental performance, safety, and comfort of automobiles. Building on the knowledge it has gained from the prototype wheel hub motor it developed, NSK is aiming to commercialize wheel hub components such as the hub unit bearing with built-in speed reducer, the one-way clutch unit, the miniature cage and roller bearing, and the anti-corrosion bearing.

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Green Car Reports

JANUARY 1, 2017

Renewable-energy growth has accelerated in 2016, but this may go down as a milestone year for one renewable-energy source in particular. Together, all renewable-energy sources are expected to account for 8 percent of U.S. electricity-generation capacity in 2017, according to the Department of Energy, and solar energy is responsible for most of.

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Greenways Insurance

JANUARY 23, 2017

Daniel is off on his Grand Tour! We are teaming up with Shropshire car dealership, Greenhous, to hit the road on our own “Grand Tour” to show the potential of the electric car. Daniel West, Greenways’ business development executive, will be leaving the office behind (only for a few days, mind!) after being given the opportunity to road test an electric car and compare it to the more conventional petrol vehicles.

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Green Cars News

JANUARY 11, 2017

If you’re thinking about an electric or hybrid vehicle as your next car, it’s a good call. Manufacturers the world over are announcing ambitious plans.

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Hybrid Manufacturer Cars Vehicles 51

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Green Car Congress

JANUARY 12, 2017

Oberon Fuels, a producer of clean-burning Dimethyl Ether (DME) transportation fuel ( earlier post ), announced the first customer demonstration of a DME-powered Mack truck, a Mack Pinnacle. Oberon and Mack are working with the NYC Department of Sanitation (DSNY) to run the vehicle at the Fresh Kills Landfill and evaluate performance and overall drivability.

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Green Car Congress

JANUARY 18, 2017

XL Hybrids announced that the company has been selected by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Operational Services Division (OSD), to be a vendor on the newly released Advanced Vehicle Technology statewide contract VEH102. This multi-year contract allows public fleets nationwide to purchase the XL3 Hybrid Electric Drive System as both an upfit and retrofit product through an established public contracting mechanism with competitive volume pricing.

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Green Car Congress

JANUARY 17, 2017

Thirteen leading energy, transport and industry companies have launched a global initiative in Davos to voice a united vision and long-term ambition for hydrogen to foster the energy transition. Meeting in Davos for the first time on Tuesday, the Hydrogen Council currently comprises 13 CEOs and Chairpersons from various industries and energy companies committed to help achieve the ambitious goal of reaching the 2 ˚C target as agreed in the 2015 Paris Agreement.

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Hydrogen Climate Companies Global 224

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 2, 2017

The Stuttgart government bureau recently authorized Mercedes-Benz to test next-generation autonomous vehicles on public roads. The aim of the autonomous test vehicle fleet—based on the Mercedes-Benz V class—is to test the latest sensor generations and the DAVOS (Daimler Autonomous Vehicle Operating System) system intensively in real traffic.

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Green Car Congress

JANUARY 19, 2017

Synthetic Genomics and ExxonMobil have extended their agreement to conduct joint research into advanced algae biofuels after making significant progress in understanding algae genetics, growth characteristics and increasing oil production. ExxonMobil and Synthetic Genomics have been jointly researching and developing oil from algae for use as a renewable, lower-emission alternative to traditional transportation fuels since launching the program in 2009. ( Earlier post.

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Renewable Oil Climate Change Global 221

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 29, 2017

An electric-drive Extra 330LE aerobatics plane recently set a world record in ascent in the category of “Electric aircraft weighing up to 1,000 kilograms. The pilot reached an altitude of 3,000 meters in only four minutes and 22 seconds, beating the previous record by one minute and 10 seconds. The airplane rose into the air at 11.5 meters per second.

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Green Car Congress

JANUARY 13, 2017

Stemming from a major project partially funded with a $9-million grant from the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E) to develop an opposed-piston two-stroke gasoline compression ignition engine (OPGCI) ( earlier post ), Achates Power announced it is developing a 2.7-liter, 3-cylinder (i.e., six-piston) light-duty version of its opposed piston engine (OPE) in both diesel- and gasoline-fueled versions.

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Green Car Congress

JANUARY 20, 2017

GKN Driveline is supplying its innovative electric drive technology to StreetScooter , the electric vehicle company owned by Deutsche Post DHL Group. GKN’s Family 2 eTransmission system transmits torque from the eMotor to the wheels of a new StreetScooter zero-emission pure electric van. GKN’s system has an output torque of up to 2000 N·m in a compact package with superior noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) characteristics and efficiency.

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Li-ion Citroen Electrical Electric 215

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 13, 2017

NuScale Power formally announced the submittal of a Design Certification Application (DCA) for their innovative small modular reactor (SMR) design ( earlier post ) to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for their review and approval. This is the first SMR DCA to be submitted to the NRC and marks a significant milestone for NuScale and the power generation industry.

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Power Powered Industry Industrial 209

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 10, 2017

Honda will produce a new dedicated hybrid model in the US for nationwide in 2018, as part of the Honda Electrification Initiative, which will expand the company’s portfolio of electrified vehicles. Honda set a global target for two-thirds of all sales to come from electrified models by 2030 and to halve its total company CO 2 emissions from 2000 levels by 2050.

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Honda Hybrid 2018 Light 207

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Green Car Congress

JANUARY 31, 2017

China-based Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited (CATL), a leading global provider of battery and energy storage solutions, has taken a 22% stake in Finland-based Valmet Automotive as part of a new strategic partnership in electric automotive solutions. Simultaneously CATL has subscribed to new shares issued by Valmet Automotive for a 22 % ownership in the company.

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Chinese Companies Finland Li-ion 204

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 27, 2017

The University of California, Irvine is poised to be the first college campus in the US to convert its buses to an all-electric fleet. The student-funded and -operated Anteater Express shuttle service is acquiring 20 buses from BYD for $15 million. The vehicles are being built at the company’s Lancaster plant to roll onto campus for the 2017-18 academic year, joining a hydrogen electric bus to provide more than 2 million pollution-free rides annually.

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Green Car Congress

JANUARY 17, 2017

Global Tier 1 supplier Rheinmetall Automotive—formerly KSPG and Kolbenschmidt Pierburg— expects electrification to account for more than half of its sales in 2020. Rheinmetall Automotive AG is the management company of the Automotive sector of Germany’s Rheinmetall Group. Sales amounted to around €2.6 billion (US$2.8 billion) in 2015, including around 16% from the companies located in NAFTA.

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Green Car Congress

JANUARY 26, 2017

Jedlix , a subsidiary of Dutch renewable energy company Eneco, has made its smart charging app available to all home-charging Tesla drivers. A previously conducted test among 40 Tesla drivers demonstrated that the app increases the share of renewable energy in the battery and reduces costs. Jedlix’ mission is that, in time, all cars will run on renewable energy.

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Renewable Available Charging Energy 203

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 12, 2017

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a notice of violation ( NOV ) to Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. and FCA US LLC (collectively FCA) for alleged violations of the Clean Air Act for installing and failing to disclose at least eight auxiliary emissions control devices (AECDs) in light-duty model year 2014-2016 Jeep Grand Cherokees and Dodge Ram 1500 trucks with 3.0-liter diesel engines sold in the United States.

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EPA Chrysler Emissions Diesel 200

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 9, 2017

Sales of plug-in vehicles (PEVs) in China—battery-electric and plug-in hybrid—suddenly soared 343% in 2015 to about 331,000 units—more than 3 times the number sold in the US that year. China-based BYD is now the world’s leading manaufacturer of PEVs, jumping ahead of Nissan and Tesla. Six other China OEMs are among the top 20 PEV manufacturers.

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Green Car Congress

JANUARY 6, 2017

In Europe, the average amount of NO x present in exhaust emissions from modern diesel passenger cars under real-world conditions is more than double the levels from modern trucks and buses, according to a new briefing paper released by the independent research organization International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT). The ICCT paper shows data for 24 Euro VI buses and trucks, some tested on a chassis dynamometer by the Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT), and others tested on-road

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Diesel Cars Emissions Light 223

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 11, 2017

Volkswagen AG has agreed with the US government to resolve criminal and federal environmental and other civil claims against the company relating to the diesel emissions cheating débâcle. As part of the resolution, Volkswagen has agreed to plead guilty to three criminal felony counts, to pay penalties and fines totaling $4.3 billion, and to a series of measures to further strengthen its compliance and control systems, including the appointment of an independent monitor for a period of three year

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Green Car Congress

JANUARY 23, 2017

A startup based on work conducted at the School of Engineering and Technology at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis has received a one-year STTR Phase I grant of $225,000 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support development of a novel solid-state hydrogen storage system based on catalytically-modified porous silicon. Peter Schubert, professor of electrical and computer engineering and director of the Richard G.

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Green Car Congress

JANUARY 31, 2017

UK-based Torotrak, a developer and supplier of emissions reduction and fuel efficiency technology for vehicles, is refocusing its strategy based on its understanding of how the priorities for many players in the European passenger car market—Torotrak’s customers—have profoundly changed in recent months. The Torotrak Group has three main product lines: Flybrid flywheel-based kinetic energy recovery (KERS); Torotrak variable drive transmissions for use in powertrains and auxiliary devi

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Green Car Congress

JANUARY 25, 2017

The 2017 edition of the BP Energy Outlook , published today, forecasts that global demand for energy will increase by around 30% between 2015 and 2035, an average growth of 1.3% per year. However, this growth in energy demand is significantly lower than the 3.4% per year rise expected in global GDP, reflecting improved energy efficiency driven by technology improvements and environmental concerns.

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Fuel Global Energy Oil 190

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 11, 2017

Engineers at the University of California, Riverside (UCR) have developed a new online energy management system (EMS) based on an evolutionary algorithm for plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) that they say can improve PHEV fuel efficiency by more than 30%. A paper describing the research was recently accepted for publication in the journal IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems.

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Green Car Congress

JANUARY 4, 2017

At CES 2017, Panasonic Automotive Systems Company of America introduced the Panasonic Cognitive Infotainment platform designed to provide OEMs and fleet providers a set of cognitive vehicle solutions combining Panasonic’s infotainment expertise with IBM’s Watson and cloud technologies. The platform leverages Watson cognitive capabilities, including deep natural language processing and understanding, to answer questions and provide recommendations as well as directions while en route.

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Vehicles 2017 Connect Connected 210

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 19, 2017

Scotland-based route optimization specialist Route Monkey, a unit of telematics and big data company Trakm8, is working on a new generation of transport and mobility algorithms for quantum computers. Route Monkey already works with Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh on creating and enhancing innovative algorithms for transport and travel ( earlier post ).

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Transportation Universal Fleet Building 188

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 12, 2017

Honda of Canada Mfg. (HCM), a division of Honda Canada Inc., will invest $492 million over the next three years to allow the company to modernize its Ontario manufacturing facilities and to improve its manufacturing carbon footprint significantly—part of Honda’s global initiatives. The new investment brings Honda’s total Canadian facilities investment to over $4.7 billion.

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Canada Honda Grant Manufacturer 188

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 26, 2017

Norsepower Oy Ltd., a provider of low- maintenance, software-operated, and data-verified auxiliary wind propulsion systems, signed an agreement with Finnish shipping company Viking Line to install its Rotor Sail Solution onboard the M/S Viking Grace , an LNG-fueled cruise ferry. The 57,565 GT M/S Viking Grace currently operates in the archipelago between Turku (Finland) and Stockholm (Sweden), and is already one of the most environmentally-friendly cruise ferries in the global maritime industry.

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Wind Installation Hybrid Finland 183

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 25, 2017

The Chinese government approved NEVS’ application to start production of electric vehicles in its manufacturing plant in Tianjin. The electric vehicle production license approved by the Chinese National Development Reform Commission (NDRC) is required in order to manufacture electric vehicles in China. NEVS is the first joint venture company with investors from outside China that is granted a New Energy Passenger Vehicle Project investment approval by NDRC.

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China Production Chinese Grant 183

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 23, 2017

The Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) signed a multi-year strategic partnership agreement with seven Korean research institutes—KICT (Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology); KOTI (Korea Transport Institute); KIMM (Korea Institute of Machinery & Materials); KERI (Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute); ETRI (Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute); KRRI (Korea Railroad Research Institute); and Hanyang University—to ac

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Universal Design Building Engine 183

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 20, 2017

Ford is launching a multi-million pound project designed to help improve air quality in London. The project, supported by Transport for London, features a 12-month trial of 20 new plug-in hybrid (PHEV) Transit Custom vans that reduce local emissions by running solely on electric power for the majority of city trips such as deliveries or maintenance work.

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London Plug-in Ford Hybrid 183

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 19, 2017

Efficient Drivetrains, Inc. (EDI) Awarded Bus Fleet Order for the City of Efficient Drivetrains, Inc. (EDI) has received a major order for its EDI PowerDrive 6000 systems from the city of Sheyang in China. The company is supplying its drivetrain technology to Yaxing Motor Coach for integration into a fleet of city buses to be delivered in March of this year.

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