June, 2016

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Sweden inaugurates its first electric road

Green Car Congress

Sweden inaugurated a test stretch of electric road on the E16 in Sandviken, thus becoming one of the first countries to conduct tests with electric power for heavy transports on public roads. The test stretch on the E16 is two kilometers long. The technology is similar to light rail, with contact lines 5.4 meters over the roadway. The truck has a pantograph on the roof that feeds 750 VDC to the truck’s hybrid electric system.

Sweden 304
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The Greatest Solar Powered Music Festival in World History! SUNSTOCK JUNE 18 Los Angeles

Creative Greenius

Out of the darkness, comes the light! Be there and shine with us! Your Creative Greenius loves him some Cults. You KNOW I dig Kaki King… In fact, there has NEVER been a greater, more talented, more entertaining musical line up than Sunstock! Hey, but don’t take the Greenius’ word for it, listen to what my bro, contemporary music expert, Dr.

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VW to make big electric-car commitment; battery factory too?

Green Car Reports

Volkswagen is reportedly considering building its own battery factory as part of a large commitment to electric cars. The company is targeting sales of 1 million electric cars within 10 years. That likely includes sales from the main VW brand as well as other Volkswagen Group brands like Audi and Porsche. DON'T MISS: Daimler to spend $500 million.

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Jeremiah Johnson to race with U of Nottingham in MotoE racing series

National Green Transportation

On Sunday, the University of Nottingham Electric Superbike race team announced that American motorcycle racer Jeremiah Johnson would return to their saddle for the 2016 MotoE electric motorcycle racing season. The team is fresh from the Isle of.

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How serious is Norway about climate change? So much that its streetlights self-dim

emissions global warming Norway climate change carbon dioxide youtube lighting

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ARI Opens Technology and Innovation Center

Green Fleet Magazine

Located in the same corporate center as the company’s global headquarters, the newly opened Technology and Innovation Center will be home to the company’s 200-plus member information technology team.

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US DRIVE releases comprehensive cradle-to-grave analysis of light-duty vehicle GHGs, cost of driving and cost of avoided GHGs

Green Car Congress

The US DRIVE Cradle-to-Grave Working Group has published the “Cradle-to-Grave Lifecycle Analysis of US Light-Duty Vehicle-Fuel Pathways: A Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Economic Assessment of Current (2015) and Future (2025–2030) Technologies” Argonne National Lab Report. The study provides a comprehensive lifecycle analysis (LCA), or cradle-to-grave (C2G) analysis, of the cost and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of a variety of vehicle-fuel pathways, as well as the levelized cost of driving (LCD)

Cost Of 230

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Scripps research ship fueled by 100% NEXBTL renewable diesel for 1 year; emissions analysis

Green Car Congress

In 2014, Scripps Institution of Oceanography received a grant from the US Department of Transportation to test the use of biofuel on the research vessel Robert Gordon Sproul for more than a year. Spearheaded by Scripps Associate Director Bruce Appelgate and co-led by Scripps atmospheric scientist Lynn Russell, the biofuel project investigated the viability of using hydrotreated renewable diesel fuel (HRD) on a long-term basis.

Renewable 223
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Lux: plug-in vehicle battery market to hit $10B in 2020; 6 carmakers = 90% of demand; VW to show most growth

Green Car Congress

Led by Tesla, China’s BYD, and Volkswagen, the battery market for plug-in vehicles will rise to $10 billion in 2020, with electric vehicles (EV) emerging as the drivetrain of choice, according to a new forecast by Lux Research. Volkswagen will show the most growth as it focuses on plug-ins following its emissions scandal, while Toyota will continue to lag in plug-in sales as it focuses more on hybrids and fuel cells.

Plug-in 250
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Mitsubishi Motors to unveil new PHEV concept at Paris Show in October

Green Car Congress

At the 2016 Paris Motor Show in October, Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) will unveil a new “Ground Tourer Concept” high-end plug-in hybrid SUV coupé. The reveal will follow on the introduction of the “Concept XR PHEV II” at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show and the “eX Concept” at the 2015 Tokyo Motor Show.

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Dana presenting VariGlide beltless transmission technology at International VDI Conference

Green Car Congress

Dana Holding Corporation will present its VariGlide planetary variator for beltless continuously variable transmissions (CVTs) at the International VDI Conference, to be held 21-22 June 2016, in Friedrichshafen, Germany. Dana’s VariGlide technology features a unique planetary, coaxial configuration, which eliminates belts and pulleys used in conventional CVTs.

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Faurecia and Accenture partner on products and services for connected and autonomous vehicles

Brief

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Harvard “bionic leaf 2.0” exceeds efficiency of photosynthesis in nature; hydrogen and liquid fuels

Green Car Congress

Researchers at Harvard have created a hybrid water splitting–biosynthetic system based on a biocompatible Earth-abundant inorganic catalyst system to split water into molecular hydrogen and oxygen (H 2 and O 2 ) at low driving voltages. Grown in contact with these catalysts, the bacterium Ralstonia eutropha then consumes the produced H 2 to synthesize biomass and fuels or chemical products from low CO 2 concentration in the presence of O 2.

Hydrogen 217
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WEC report: EVs need 16% market share by 2020 for fuel economy standards to be met

Green Car Congress

Electric vehicles (EVs) will need to increase their combined market share to 16% by 2020 for markets to achieve the aggressive fuel economy standards set by regulators, according to new research by the World Energy Council, the UN-accredited global energy body representing the entire energy spectrum. While EVs currently represent less than 1% combined market share across the world’s largest markets for new passenger cars, they should be considered central to any policy and technology portfolio d

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Kreisel Electric introduces Li-ion home energy storage systems; 9.6 kW output for faster EV charging

Green Car Congress

Austrian manufacturer of high-performance batteries Kreisel Electric ( earlier post ) has introduced the MAVERO home energy storage system. The Li-ion battery packs are available in four different sizes, with usable capacity ranging from 8 kWh to 22 kWh. The casing is available in two colors and communicates all charge and discharge activities by means of LEDs.

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Torotrak outlines advances in its full-toroidal traction-drive CVT using PitchSteer; EV applications as well

Green Car Congress

At the 2016 International VDI Congress “Drivetrain for Vehicles” in Friedrichshafen, Germany, John Fuller, Director of Concepts & IP for Torotrak Group, presented and discussed the company’s latest advances to optimize its full-toroidal variator technology for the light vehicle market as applied in continuously variable transmissions (CVTs). Torotrak’s main drive CVTs combine its full toroidal traction drive variator with other conventional transmission components.

Low Cost 225
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ExxonMobil announces 6th oil discovery offshore Guyana with Ranger-1; Guyana may move from non-producer to regional powerhouse

Oil

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Argonne Lab partners with Strem Chemicals to bring next-gen battery materials to market

Green Car Congress

Strem Chemicals, a manufacturer and distributor of specialty chemicals founded in 1964, has licensed 23 separate pieces of intellectual property for next-generation battery materials from Argonne. Strem will manufacture and distribute nine resulting battery solvents and additives via its extensive marketing and global distribution networks. The materials were all invented at Argonne’s Electrochemical Energy Storage Center and scaled at Argonne’s Materials Engineering Research Facility (MERF).

Market 218
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Guy Nègre, founder of compressed air engine car company MDI, dies

Green Car Congress

MDI , a Luxembourg-based company striving to commercialize a compressed air engine vehicle ( earlier post ), reported last week that its founder, Guy Nègre, had died. The core of MDI’s work is a piston engine powered by the expansion of electronically injected compressed air. MDI developed two versions: a single fuel engine that relies solely upon compressed air, designed for urban areas only; and a dual-fuel version that uses compressed air and a combustible fue.

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BMW i home energy storage system integrates 2nd-life i3 vehicle batteries

Green Car Congress

BMW i announced a home stationary energy storage system solution integrating its BMW i3 vehicle battery at EVS 29 in Montréal. The system utilizes BMW i3 high-voltage batteries and can be expanded to incorporate second-life batteries as they become available in the market. This strategy will extend the useful life of the battery for the owner, even beyond in-vehicle use, BMW said.

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Hunan team develops new strategy to prolong cycle life of Li-S batteries

Green Car Congress

Researchers at Hunan University, China, have developed a new strategy to suppress the diffusion of polysulfides into the electrolyte in Li-Sulfur batteries, resulting in improved performance. As described in a paper in the Journal of Power Sources , the research tea used hydrophilic carbon paper anchored by hierarchically porous cobalt disulfides as an interlayer for capturing polysulfides through physical absorption and chemical bonding.

Batteries 190
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European team devises new strategy for rare-earth-free magnets

Green Car Congress

European researchers have devised a new way to make nanoparticles that could replace rare-earth material use in magnets. The researchers used a mixed iron-cobalt oleate complex in a one-step synthetic approach to produce magnetic core-shell nanoparticles. The resulting materials showed strong magnetic properties and energy-storing capabilities. The approach could signal an efficient new strategy toward replacing rare earths in permanent magnets such as those uses in electric motors and keeping c

Store 190
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Elio Motors completes first E-Series test vehicle

Green Car Congress

Elio Motors, the start-up vehicle manufacturer planning to launch a three-wheeled vehicle that will get up to 84 mpg (2.8 l/100km) with a targeted base price of $6,800, has completed its first E-Series testing vehicle, code-named the E1A. As Elio Motors continues to develop the E-Series vehicles, its supplier and engineering teams will put the vehicles through a battery of tests that will help refine and finalize the overall design prior to final production.

Motor 199
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UMD team develops new high-performance solid-state ion-conducting membrane for Li batteries

Green Car Congress

Researchers at the University of Maryland have developed a novel, flexible, solid-state, ion-conducting membrane based on a 3D ion-conducting ceramic nanofiber network. The researchers said that their work, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), represents a significant breakthrough to enable high performance lithium batteries.

Li-ion 199
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Ricardo investigating potential for its split-cycle engine in large engine market

Green Car Congress

Ricardo is exploring the value proposition for applications of its novel split-cycle combustion engine ( earlier post ). In a poster-session paper presented at CIMAC Congress 2016 in Finland, Ricardo described the use of this split-cycle concept in high- and medium-speed engines for power generation to achieve efficiencies of 60% from units of 1–30 MW mechanical output.

Engine 199
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Honda launches 2017 Accord Hybrid; 2nd generation two-motor hybrid powertrain

Green Car Congress

Honda has launched the 2017 Accord Hybrid ( earlier post ) at its dealers in the US. Featuring an advanced second-generation two-motor hybrid powertrain, the 2017 Accord Hybrid midsize sedan delivers peak total system output of 212 hp, best-in-class EPA fuel economy ratings of 49/47/48 mpg US (4.8/5.0/4.9 l/100 km) (city/highway/combined), and a starting MSRP of $29,605.

2017 183
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New report suggests bioenergy crops are not a risk to food production

Green Car Congress

In a new report, researchers have challenged the belief that growing crops for bioenergy will cut food production, a concern they say is stalling new schemes. The report also identifies five ways that countries as diverse as the United States and Brazil can achieve their targets to increase energy security, foster rural economic development and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

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Daimler developing new dedicated architecture for battery-electric vehicles; debut at Paris Motor Show in September; 500 km

Green Car Congress

Daimler is developing a dedicated, multi-model electric vehicle architecture for battery-powered vehicles. ( Earlier post.) The global debut will take place at the Paris Motor Show this fall, and the first model is to be launched onto the market before the end of the decade. Mercedes-Benz said it will benefit not only from its internal development and production expertise but also from the group’s multi-model series modular strategy for alternative drive systems and direct access to key componen

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New BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo improves fuel economy by up to 14%

Green Car Congress

BMW will launch the latest BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo in time for the start of summer. Combining the style of a coupé, the passenger spaciousness of a luxury sedan and the trunk capacity of a station wagon, the 3 Series Gran Turismo has developed into a firm fixture of the mid-size class over the last three years. Its biggest sales markets are China, Germany and the USA; the majority of BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo customers are new to the BMW brand.

BMW 183
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USABC awards $4M to SiNode Systems to develop advanced silicon-graphene anode materials for EV batteries

Green Car Congress

The United States Advanced Battery Consortium LLC (USABC), a collaborative organization of FCA US LLC, Ford Motor Company and General Motors, awarded a $4-million contract to SiNode Systems Inc. for development of advanced anode materials for automotive lithium-ion battery applications. The competitively bid contract award is 50% cost share-funded by the US Department of Energy (DOE).

Li-ion 186
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MAHLE Powertrain first engineering services provider to offer VCA-approved RDE test process in UK

Green Car Congress

MAHLE Powertrain is the first independent engineering service provider (ESP) to have its real driving emissions (RDE) test process and routes approved by the UK Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA). MAHLE’s approval comes well in advance of the adoption of RDE across Europe in 2017, when portable emissions measurement systems (PEMS) will become mandatory for the emissions testing of all new vehicles.

Engine 174
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Manchester team proposing graphene-based ballistic rectifier for waste heat recovery

Green Car Congress

Researchers at the University of Manchester (UK) have developed a graphene-based nano-rectifier (“ballistic rectifier”) that can convert waste heat to electricity. The nano-rectifier was built by a team led by Professor Aimin Song and Dr. Ernie Hill, in collaboration with a team at Shandong University (China). The device exploits graphene’s phenomenally high electron mobility—a property which determines how fast an electron can travel in a material and how fast electronic devices can opera

Waste 174
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Ford, LG Chem team reports 1st cradle-to-gate LCA for mass-produced battery pack in commercial BEV; cell manufacturing key GHG contributor

Green Car Congress

A team from Ford’s Research and Innovation Center and LG Chem’s Corporate R&D group has reported the first cradle-to-gate (i.e., the factory gate—before delivery to the consumer) emissions assessment for a mass-produced battery in a commercial battery electric vehicle (BEV)—the lithium-ion battery pack used in the Ford Focus BEV. Their paper is published in the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology.

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Volvo Trucks D13 engine with turbo compounding improves fuel efficiency up to 6.5% and delivers more torque

Green Car Congress

Volvo Trucks North America is adding a turbo compounding option for the Volvo D13 engine. By converting wasted heat energy, the 13-liter D13 with turbo compounding improves fuel efficiency by up to 6.5 percent%, while also delivering up to 100 extra lb-ft of torque for improved performance. Turbo compounding increases fuel efficiency by converting wasted heat energy from the exhaust into useable mechanical energy that is returned as extra torque to the crankshaft of the engine.

Volvo 170
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Report finds US automakers remain profitable under future CAFE standards even with fuel price fluctuation

Green Car Congress

Even with wide-ranging unpredictable gas prices, US automakers will remain profitable and suppliers will benefit under existing national fuel economy standards slated to be in place until 2025, according to a new economic analysis brief prepared by independent automotive industry analysts, commissioned by the nonprofit group Ceres. The brief is a summary for investors and policy analysts of a larger study that will be available from Ceres in August 2016.

Standards 170
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IEA: 7% increase in total energy investment could cut premature deaths from air pollution in half by 2040

Green Car Congress

A new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts that energy policy choices backed by a 7% increase in total energy investment through 2040 could cut premature deaths from air pollution roughly in half by 2040. Under such a scenario, premature deaths from outdoor air pollution would decline by 1.7 million in 2040 compared with the report’s main scenario, and those from household pollution would fall by 1.6 million annually.

Pollution 170
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Sainsbury trialing Dearman liquid air engine in refrigerated truck

Green Car Congress

Sainsbury’s has become the first company to introduce a refrigerated delivery truck cooled by a liquid nitrogen powered engine ( earlier post ), which will eliminate all emissions associated with refrigeration. Supplied by cooling technology specialist Dearman and its partners, the zero-emission cooling unit replaces the traditional diesel engine used to chill the vehicle and will significantly cut emissions.

Engine 170