Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 6, 2012

The US Department of Energy (DOE) will award up to $1 million for up to two projects for 3–4 years to evaluate the most promising technology paths toward achieving $2 to $4 per gallon gasoline equivalent (gge) of hydrogen fuel or less by 2020. The projects selected through this funding opportunity ( DE-FOA-0000748 ) will help identify cost-effective and efficient materials and processes to produce hydrogen from renewable energy sources and natural gas.

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Electric Cars are for Girls

OCTOBER 5, 2012

The Kenguru NEV is pretty much the PERFECT around-town vehicle for wheelchair users. It's more convenient and easier to use than its gas-guzzling counterpart, and it's a quarter of the price.

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Green Car Reports

OCTOBER 8, 2012

Renewable energy, especially solar, is making inroads into the U.S. power grid, but it's a very slow process. And especially in the wake of the Solyndra collapse, it's one fraught with political wrangling. But there's another country that plans to invest heavily in solar power, hoping to provide fully 30 percent of its energy needs from the sun in.

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National Green Transportation

OCTOBER 1, 2012

In this part of the Ford Focus Electric review, we will go over the electric drive train systems. This is part of a multi-part review of Ford's all-electric Focus, for an overview of the car.

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Ford Electric Electrical Parts 96

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Green Cars News

OCTOBER 31, 2012

Consumer range anxiety about electric cars is a myth and motorists are largely positive about electric cars, new research suggests. Given the chance, drivers quickly get over any anxiety or concerns they have about battery-power cars, with many motorists who have driven them found to prefer them to conventional models, according to a study by [.].

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Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 24, 2012

Power density. The 6.2L LT1 is almost 40 lbs lighter (and more compact) than the 4.4L BMW Twin Turbo V8, and is expected to deliver more power and comparable torque. Click to enlarge. When the all-new 2014 Chevrolet Corvette arrives late next year, it will be powered by a new 6.2L V-8 delivering an estimated 450 hp (335 kW) and 450 lb-ft (610 N·m ) of torque (610 Nm) and helping to produce 0-60 times of less than four seconds.

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Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 28, 2012

Cool Planet’s process relies on three core elements: novel biomass fractionation, advanced catalysis, and a char-to-soil enhancer. Source: Cool Planet. Click to enlarge. Cool Planet Energy Systems projects that using its patented mechanical process and novel scaling approach ( earlier post ), it will be able to produce high-octane carbon-negative (with the use of its bio-char byproduct) renewable gasoline at a cost of $1.50 per gallon, without the need for government subsidies.

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Carbon Production Gasoline-Electric Google 356

Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 16, 2012

Ideal Power Converters (IPC) announced that the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable. Energy Laboratory (NREL) has successfully demonstrated vehicle-to-grid (V2G) capabilities using IPC’s bi-directional Battery Converter. IPC’s Battery Converter will provide bi-directional power between the EV. battery and a 480Vac power grid. The Battery Converter is based on IPC’s patented indirect power converter topology and its Universal Power Converter Platform, which uses a standard hardware platf

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Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 16, 2012

New 1.6L SIDI engine. Click to enlarge. Opel revealed more details about its new mid-size gasoline engine family at the Aachen Colloquium in Germany. ( Earlier post.) The all-new 1.6-liter, four-cylinder, SIDI (spark ignition direct injection) ECOTEC Turbo engines, which begin Opel’s renewal of its powertrain portfolio, deliver improved fuel consumption, performance and refinement.

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Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 22, 2012

ABB launched the Terra Smart Connect Duo , the first 22 kW AC & DC fast charging station tested and proven to successfully support the Daimler smart electric drive and Renault Zoe using AC charging, as well as with CHAdeMO cars such as the publicly announced Nissan EV200, Mitsubishi Outlander, Citroen Berlingo and Peugeot Partner. Terra SC Duo Charge Station.

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DC Charging Estonia Citroen 345

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Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 12, 2012

On the Nordschleife. Click to enlarge. The racing driver Sabine Schmitz has tested the battery-electric Furtive eGT sports car from Exagon Motors ( earlier post ) on the Nordschleife (north loop) of the Nürburgring, achieving a top speed of nearly 240 km/h (149 mph) on the 20 kilometer long Nordschleife. The Furtive eGT, introduced earlier this year at the Paris Motor Show, features motors from Siemens and batteries from Saft.

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Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 30, 2012

The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has launched Titan, a 20 petaflop (20,000 trillion calculations per second) supercomputer that will be 10 times more powerful than ORNL’s last world-leading system, Jaguar, while overcoming power and space limitations inherent in the previous generation of high-performance computers.

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Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 24, 2012

PSA Peugeot Citroën and General Motors confirmed important steps toward the execution of their Global Strategic Alliance. ( earlier post ) This alliance is structured around two main pillars: the sharing of vehicle platforms, components and modules; and the creation of a global purchasing joint venture for the sourcing of commodities, components and other goods and services from suppliers with combined annual purchasing volumes of approximately $125 billion.

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Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 16, 2012

2013 Pathfinder. Click to enlarge. Nissan’s new 2013 Pathfinder SUV—the 4 th generation of the vehicle introduced more than 25 years ago— utilizes a new drivetrain featuring a 3.5-liter DOHC V6 engine mated to a next-generation Xtronic CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) to help provide up to a 30% increase in combined city/highway fuel economy over the previous V6-equipped model while maintaining comparable power.

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Fuel Economy 2013 Economy SUV 321

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Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 18, 2012

Isuzu D201 35 hp diesel engine (left) and the LiquidPiston 40 hp X2 Prototype (right). Click to enlarge. LiquidPiston, Inc. (LPI), the developer of engines based on its High Efficiency Hybrid Cycle (HEHC)( earlier post ), introduced the latest version of its X-series of rotary engines embodying HEHC at the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) 2012 Directions in Engine-Efficiency and Emissions Research (DEER) Conference in Dearborn, Michigan.

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Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 10, 2012

A simple Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) waste heat recovery system could recover up to 10% of engine waste heat under highway driving conditions, corresponding to a potential 7% improvement in fuel consumption in a light-duty plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), with low penalization of the added weight to the vehicle electric range, according to a simulation study by researchers from the University of Stuttgart and the Ohio State University.

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Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 7, 2012

Researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) have compared the emissions resulting from the production, use, and end-of-life of electric and internal combustion engine vehicles (EVs and ICEVs) in a full life-cycle analysis (LCA). They found that electric vehicles (EVs) powered by the present European electricity mix offer a 10% to 24% decrease in global warming potential (GWP) relative to conventional diesel or gasoline vehicles assuming lifetimes of 150,000 km (93,20

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Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 29, 2012

Comparison of current federal subsidy to base case assumptions showing lifetime fuel savings (HomeEve charging scenario). An EPA estimate based on the Chevy Volt’s reported efficiency is also included for comparison. The federal subsidy significantly favors larger battery packs to a stronger degree than their potential for additional gasoline savings.

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Gasoline PHEV Gasoline-Electric Battery 308

Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 23, 2012

As another step toward autonomous driving systems, Volvo Car Corporation is demonstrating a new traffic jam assistance system. The new system, whereby the car automatically follows the vehicle in front in slow-moving queues up to 50 km/h (31 mph), will be ready for production in 2014. The traffic jam assistance function is an evolution of the current Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane Keeping Aid technology, which was introduced in the all-new Volvo V40 earlier in 2012.

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Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 16, 2012

A123 Systems, Inc., a developer and manufacturer of advanced Nanophosphate lithium iron phosphate batteries and systems, has entered into an asset purchase agreement with Johnson Controls, Inc. in a transaction valued at $125 million. Under the agreement, Johnson Controls plans to acquire A123’s automotive business assets, including all of its automotive technology, products and customer contracts; its facilities in Livonia and Romulus, Michigan; its cathode powder manufacturing facilities in Ch

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Li-ion Grid Delaware Purchase 304

Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 15, 2012

SAE International’s anticipated new revised technical standard for the combo coupler for plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) and electric vehicles (EV) has been approved and published. ( Earlier post.). Developed in a consensus environment by more than 190 global experts representing automotive, charging equipment, utilities industries and national labs, “J1772: SAE Electric Vehicle and Plug in Hybrid Electric Vehicle Conductive Charge Couple” enables charging time to be reduced from as long

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Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 23, 2012

Trunk lid inner panel is the first use of GM process for magnesium sheet metal. Click to enlarge. General Motors is testing an industry-first thermal-forming process and proprietary corrosion resistance treatment for lightweight magnesium sheet metal that will allow increased use of the high-strength alternative to steel and aluminum. Magnesium weighs 33% less than aluminum, 60% less than titanium, and 75% less than steel.

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Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 9, 2012

Prototype CFRP hood. Click to enlarge. At the Composites Europe event in Dusseldorf, Ford Motor Company displayed a prototype carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) hood. The prototype hood weighs more than 50% less than a standard steel version. As a result of progress made during an on-going Hightech.NRW research project involving engineers from the Ford European Research Centre, production time for an individual carbon fiber hood is fast enough to be employed on a production line—a sign

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Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 18, 2012

Volkswagen Group of America Electronics Research Laboratory (ERL) and Plug and Play Tech Center have launched the Volkswagen ERL Technology Accelerator Powered by Plug and Play. The new Silicon Valley-based program is designed to accelerate 10 select startups from various industries to help develop next-generation technologies that can be applied in the automotive domain.

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Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 17, 2012

Households with plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) and smart meters actively managed how, when and where they charged their cars based on electricity rates but rarely took advantage of online feedback, according to a two-year study by a team at the University of Colorado Boulder’s Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute ( RASEI ). The study, sponsored by Toyota Motor Sales USA with the integral partnership of Xcel Energy, is one of the only of its kind, combining both household and vehicle data

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Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 1, 2012

A diagram of the powertrain components of the proposed hyMod. The front-wheel drive traction motor (blue) and in-floor 5 kWh battery pack (green) are always present. The car can change between a rear engine-pack (red) and a larger battery-pack (green) to enable hybrid or full EV operation. Click to enlarge. A Romanian team—Dan Scarlat (automotive journalist), Marian Cilibeanu (designer) and Cristian Ionescu (engineer)—are proposing the SCI hyMod modular concept car.

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Engine Concept Hybrid Battery 287

Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 16, 2012

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has rated the overall range for Ford’s plug-in hybrid C-MAX Energi at 620 miles (998 km). The Toyota Prius plug-in trails the C-MAX Energi by 80 miles at 540 miles of overall range, and the Chevrolet Volt comes in third at 380 miles. — C-MAX Energi achieves up to 21 miles in all-electric mode, meaning at least one leg of the average work commute of 20 miles each way could be completed each day on electric battery charge only, allowing customers

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Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 8, 2012

General Motors and its joint ventures sold a September record 244,266 vehicles in China, up 1.7% from September 2011 and 10.5% from August. During the first nine months of 2012, sales by GM and its joint ventures in China increased 10.0% on an annual basis to a record 2,081,812 units. Shanghai GM’s domestic sales were up 3.7% year on year to an all-time September high of 120,010 units.

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Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 3, 2012

Pike Pulse grid of the PEV market. Click to enlarge. A new report by Pike Research assessing the plug-in vehicle (PEV) strategy and execution of 16 leading vendors ranks Chevrolet as the current leader in the PEV market, due to its high ratings in both strategy and execution, closely followed by Renault. Pike rates Toyota and Nissan as very close contenders for leadership, though both have either product portfolio or pricing issues that limited their scoring in Pike’s evaluation.

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Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 17, 2012

Components of the next-generation steering system. Click to enlarge. Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. unveiled the first steering technology that allows independent control of a vehicle’s tire angle and steering inputs. This next-generation steering technology was developed by Nissan and will be deployed on select Infiniti models on sale within one year. A conventional steering system directs tire movements by transmitting steering inputs to the tires via a mechanical link.

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Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 16, 2012

GM will build the Cadillac ELR, a luxury coupe featuring extended-range electric technology, at the Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly, General Motors North America President Mark Reuss said Tuesday. The ELR is the production version of Cadillac’s Converj, a concept vehicle revealed at the North American International Auto Show in 2009. ( Earlier post.). Production is scheduled to begin in late 2013.

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Extended Range Detroit Cadillac Electric Vehicles 281

Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 23, 2012

Contribution of gasoline and diesel exhaust to SOA over 0% to 50% diesel fuel use. SOA contributions from the two sources are equivalent at 6% diesel fuel use. The United States and California state averages shown are based on total on- and off-road use. The urban areas in California shown are for on-road fuel use only. Gentner et al. Click to enlarge.

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Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 11, 2012

AllCell Technologies received a new US patent (Nº 8,273,474 ) covering the use of phase change materials (PCM) to prevent thermal runaway propagation in electrochemical devices such as lithium-ion batteries, ultra capacitors, and fuel cells. The new patent is an extension of AllCell’s intellectual property, which already includes US and international patents covering the use of PCM for thermal management of electrochemical devices.

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Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 19, 2012

Honda Motor Co., Ltd. will participate in the 19 th World ITS Congress from 22–26 October 2012 with a demonstration of automobile and motorcycle V2X communication—how its vehicles can communicate both with each other and with road-side infrastructure to benefit road safety, the environment, driver comfort and convenience. Congress participants can also experience for themselves Honda’s ITS equipped Insight hybrid and an ITS Honda motorcycle (NC700X) by participating in the joint Car2Car an

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