Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 8, 2012

The new transaxle in the Prius c features a new cooling system; overall this new hybrid unit with its 2 motor system is now approaching the same weight as single motor competitive systems and is maintaining a competitive size profile, according to Toyota. Click to enlarge. Toyota Motor Sales, USA is putting the new Prius c, the fourth member of the expanded Prius family ( earlier post ), on sale in the US in mid-March with a starting MSRP of $18,950—a lower MSRP than the first-generation P

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Creative Greenius

FEBRUARY 5, 2012

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Electric Cars are for Girls

FEBRUARY 22, 2012

From the Understatement: "A Tesla Roadster that is simply parked without being plugged in will eventually become a "brick". The parasitic load from the car's always-on subsystems continually drains the battery and if the battery's charge is ever totally depleted, it is essentially destroyed." And how has Tesla been responding to customers with accidentally "bricked" cars?

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Green Car Reports

FEBRUARY 28, 2012

There are some pretty efficient cars on sale these days, but it's fair to say that to benefit from the technology, you often have to spend a little more to start with. What if you want to spend as little as possible on fuel, but spend as little as possible on the car itself too? That's where dollars per MPG comes in - a measure to show you how.

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National Green Transportation

FEBRUARY 17, 2012

Electric car manufacturer, Coda Automotive, is due to begin shipping their electric cars in a month or so, and is running another investment round to raise money required to get the company to the finishing line. The investment round.

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Green Cars News

FEBRUARY 9, 2012

Researchers from Stanford University have designed a charging system that some day could allow electric cars to charge their batteries as they travel along the road. Such as system could theoretically give a car infinite range and dispense with the need to leave an EV standing for hours to recharge. Scientists at the university developed [.].

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Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 15, 2012

SucreSource, a wholly owned subsidiary of BlueFire Renewables, Inc. (OTC BB: BFRE.OB), has signed agreements with GS Caltex—a joint venture between GS Holdings and Chevron, and a leading Korea-based petroleum company—to build a cellulose to sugar plant in Korea. The facility will process 2 tons of construction and demolition debris per day into cellulosic sugar, which will be converted into a high value chemical by GS Caltex’s proprietary technology.

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Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 15, 2012

KPMG developed 3 nexuses linked by climate change to represent the challenges of sustainable growth. Source: KPMG. Click to enlarge. In a new study, KPMG International has identified 10 “megaforces” that will significantly affect corporate growth globally over the next two decades. The KPMG study, “Expect the Unexpected: Building Business Value in a Changing World”, explores issues such as climate change, energy and fuel volatility, water availability and cost and resource availability, as well

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Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 22, 2012

Twelve European Union Member States exceeded one or more of the emission limits set by the EU National Emission Ceilings (NEC) Directive, according to recent official data for 2010 reported to the European Environment Agency (EEA). In some instances the limits were exceeded by significant amounts. For the first time, preliminary data recently reported to the EEA by Member States allow a comparison with the legally binding emission limits for 2010 set in the EU NEC Directive.

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Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 14, 2012

The Gas Technology Institute (GTI) in Des Plaines, IL, recently added a new Pilot-Scale IH 2 Plant to broaden biomass-to-liquid hydrocarbon fuel conversion. IH 2 technology is a catalytic thermochemical process that promises to be a very cost-effective route to produce liquid transportation fuels from renewable resources. ( Earlier post.). The IH 2 process converts virtually any type of non-food biomass feedstock—such as wood, agricultural residues, algae, and aquatic plants.

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Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 29, 2012

Extended range electric vehicle powertrain company ALTe ( earlier post ) is tracking to produce a limited number of production-caliber vehicle powertrains by December, and plans to ramp up production in the first quarter of 2013, said CEO John Thomas in a recent interview with Green Car Congress. ALTe is targeting fleet vehicles such as delivery trucks, vans and shuttle buses and even potentially taxis and limos, in the light- to medium-duty vehicle classes—initially as conversions, but ul

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Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 22, 2012

CoolPlanet BioFuels, a start-up developing technology to convert low-grade biomass into high-grade fuels including gasoline, and carbon that can be sequestered ( earlier post ), claims it has achieved a conversion yield of 4,000 gallons gasoline/acre biomass in pilot testing using giant miscanthus, an advanced bioenergy crop. On an energy basis, that yield is about 12 times greater than current corn ethanol production levels, the company noted.

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Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 2, 2012

Simplified schematic of the wireless energy transfer system in free space. Yu et al. Click to enlarge. A Stanford University research team is designing a high-efficiency wireless charging system using magnetic resonance coupling ( earlier post ) to wirelessly transmit large electric currents between metal coils placed several feet apart. The long-term goal of the research is to develop an all-electric highway that wirelessly charges cars and trucks as they cruise down the road.

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Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 1, 2012

Drive systems in the MQB. Click to enlarge. This year, Volkswagen Group will introduce the Modular Transverse Matrix (MQB, modularen Querbaukasten) for the Volkswagen, Audi, ŠKODA and SEAT brands. (At the Tokyo Motor Show, Volkswagen unveiled the first model publicly shown based on the MQB: the Cross Coupé all-wheel-drive (AWD) plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV). ( Earlier post. ).

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Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 17, 2012

The BMW 116d EfficientDynamics Edition will make its debut at the 2012 International Motor Show in Geneva. Powered by a 1.6-liter, 85 kW/116 hp diesel engine with BMW TwinPower Turbo Technology, its average fuel consumption in the EU test cycle is 3.8 liters per 100 kilometers (62 mpg US), with CO 2 emissions of 99 g/km. The new 116d accelerates from zero to 100 km/h in 10.5 seconds.

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Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 15, 2012

Seattle, Washington-based EnerG2 ( earlier post ) recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of its new manufacturing facility for electric vehicle battery components in Albany, Oregon. Supported in part by $21.3 million in funding from the US Department of Energy (DOE) through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, this facility will produce nano-engineered carbon materials for batteries and other energy storage devices that can be used in electric drive vehicles.

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Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 15, 2012

The total size of the global hydrogen and fuel cell market—including revenues from fuel cells and from hydrogen for fuel cells and internal combustion engines (ICEs)—will reach $785 million in 2012, according to a new white paper from Pike Research. The white paper describes ten key trends for the hydrogen and fuel cell industry in 2012.

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Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 1, 2012

A new study by researchers at MIT’s Center for Transportation and Logistics (CTL), concludes that electric commercial vehicles can cost 9 to 12% less to operate than trucks powered by diesel engines when used to make deliveries on an everyday basis in big cities and when V2G (vehicle-to-grid) revenue is incorporated. The CTL study was conducted using data collected by the international office supplier Staples, as well as ISO New England, the nonprofit firm that runs New England’s electric power

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Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 16, 2012

Researchers in the Netherlands have demonstrated the direct conversion of synthesis gas through a Fischer-Tropsch process to C 2 through C 4 light olefins with selectivity up to 60 wt.% using catalysts that constitute iron nanoparticles (promoted by sulfur plus sodium) homogeneously dispersed on weakly interactive ?-alumina or carbon nanofiber supports.

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Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 5, 2012

Honda Motor Co., Ltd. has installed a 9 kW-capacity solar power generation system at the Adachi Odai location of the Honda Cars Tokyo Chuo dealer network. The installation is the kick-off of a project to install Honda Soltec solar power generation systems with a total capacity of 1 MW at Honda automobile dealership locations in Japan by 31 March 2014.

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Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 11, 2012

US Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced three winning startup companies—based on a public vote and an expert review—out of the 14 participating in the US Department of Energy (DOE) “ America’s Next Top Energy Innovator ” challenge. ( Earlier post.). Initially, 36 start-up companies elected to participate in this first-of-its-kind effort.

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Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 27, 2012

Future improvements in P2 hybrid systems should drop high-volume direct manufacturing costs to about $1,200 by 2020—very close to the approximately $1,000 cost threshold required for mainstream customer acceptance, according to John German, Senior Fellow and the US Lead for the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT). Combined with the push from the proposed 2017?

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Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 3, 2012

Audi will compete in the 80 th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans on 16-17 June 2012 with a total of four LMP1 sports cars. Two of the four cars in action will be equipped with hybrid drive for the first time. Audi Sport Team Joest will also follow a two-pronged approach in the newly created FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) during the 2012 season.

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Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 13, 2012

Rate capability of the SnSb/C nanocomposite electrode at various current rates from 100 to 1000 mAh g -1. Xiao et al. Click to enlarge. Researchers at US Department of Energy (DOE) Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have demonstrated a new tin-antimony (SnSb/C) nanocomposite based on sodium (Na) alloying reactions as an anode for Na-ion battery applications.

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Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 24, 2012

Output from Self-Organizing Map of attributes and component sizing. Each pixel in each 3d contour represents a design which plots an attribute against a design feature or a design feature against another design feature to identify optimum combinations to deliver desired effects. This is a very important tool for Ford, Gray said. Click to enlarge. The hybrid system in the coming 2013 MY Fusion and C-Max hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) ( earlier post ) marks the third major generation of Ford&rsqu

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Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 3, 2012

Proposed oil sands monitoring by 2015. Click to enlarge. The Government of Canada and Government of Alberta unveiled “The Joint Canada-Alberta Implementation Plan for Oil Sands Monitoring” in a partnership to improve environmental monitoring in the oil sands region with a program that will sample more sites for more substances more frequently. The program is designed to provide an improved understanding of the long-term cumulative effects of oil sands development.

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Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 8, 2012

Enterprise Rent-A-Car is adding the Torrance, Calif., rental office at 20625 Hawthorne Blvd as the 11 th location in Southern California offering electric vehicle (EV) rentals, providing customers throughout Southern California with the opportunity to experience EV technology with the addition of Nissan LEAF EVs and an on-site charging station. In collaboration with the South Bay Cities Council of Governments (SBCCOG), Enterprise is also piloting an “EV Owners Discount Program” for customers at

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Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 24, 2012

The US Department of Energy (DOE) Advanced Research Projects Agency—Energy (ARPA-E) will make $30 million available for a new research competition in the coming months focused on natural gas vehicles ( DE-FOA-0000672 ). DOE will also make $14 million available ( DE-FOA-0000615 ) to support research and development into biofuels from algae. President Obama announced both new programs during a speech on Thursday at the University of Miami.

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Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 22, 2012

New Energy dCi 90 engine. Click to enlarge. Renault is introducing two new 1.5L diesel engines in its Energy family ( earlier post )—the Energy dCi 90 and 75—and applying them first in the Kangoo range. Fuel consumption will be 4.4 liters/100 km (53.5 mpg US), equivalent to 115g of CO 2 /km. Oil change intervals have been extended to every 40,000 km/two years, instead of every 30,000 km/two years, the longest in the engine’s class.

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Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 13, 2012

The President’s Budget for FY 2013 provides $27.2 billion in discretionary funds for the US Department of Energy (DOE), a 3.2% increase above the 2012 enacted. level. The request includes increased funding for clean energy, research and development to spur innovation, and advanced manufacturing. Savings and efficiencies are achieved through eliminating more than $4 billion annually in fossil fuel subsidies; eliminating low-priority and low-performing programs, and by concentrating resources on f

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Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 29, 2012

Shanghai Daily. The city of Shanghai, China will spend 10.3 billion yuan (US$1.63 billion) on 53 projects targeting air pollution, especially for PM2.5 control, over the next three years. The city will begin publicly reporting PM 2.5 in June. Exhaust from motor vehicles and boats account for 25% of the PM 2.5 , according to the Shanghai Environmental Protection Bureau said yesterday.

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Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 20, 2012

A complete overhaul of global environmental governance is urgently needed if the challenges of global sustainability are to be met for seven billion people, according to a wide-ranging Foresight Process conducted by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The process involved a Foresight Panel and more than 400 scientists and experts from around the world.

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Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 2, 2012

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a funding opportunity announcement ( DE-FOA-0000559 ) for a Batteries and Energy Storage Energy Innovation Hub. The Batteries and Energy Storage Hub will be the fourth such Hub established by DOE. Three Energy Innovation Hubs were launched in FY 2010: Fuels from Sunlight; Energy Efficient Building Systems Design; and Modeling and Simulation for Nuclear Reactors. ( Earlier post.).

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Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 17, 2012

Pike Research forecasts that the global market for biofuels will more than double over the coming decade, increasing from $82.7 billion in 2011 to $185.3 billion by 2021. At least 38 national governments have enacted blending mandates or targets to accelerate the expansion of biofuels production and consumption in the transportation sector. However, despite strong. growth in the industry over the next decade, Pike expects production volumes to fall short of an estimated 71.8 BGPY of biofuels dem

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