Green Car Congress

APRIL 12, 2018

XL recently completed a successful pilot deployment of school buses with Careful Bus Company in New York City outfitted with the XL hybrid system. The XLH system uses regenerative braking during deceleration and electric assist during acceleration to increase fuel economy. The system, which was installed on five of the company’s standard Ford E-Series vehicles in just a few hours, is expected to increase miles driven per gallon by 25% and improve brake life, while decreasing CO 2 emissions by 20

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Green Car Reports

APRIL 12, 2018

Amidst nine months of "production hell" for the Tesla Model 3 electric car, the company's next vehicle has somewhat fallen off the radar. According to a report Wednesday by Reuters, Tesla has now put out requests to suppliers for initial bids on parts for the Tesla Model Y, its high-volume crossover utility intended to be more affordable than the.

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Cars That Think

APRIL 12, 2018

Unlike the lidars promised by most startups, Luminar's steers the laser beam with good, old-fashioned moving parts.

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Green Car Congress

APRIL 8, 2018

Blue Bird is taking orders for its electric school buses for delivery in 2018. Blue Bird is the only school bus OEM to offer electric Type C & D configurations. ( Earlier post.) Blue Bird electric buses have completed certification testing; they are now in pre-production. Blue Bird RE Electric. Our electric buses have received an Executive Order from the California Air Resources Board and both HVIP and TVIP listing, which qualify Blue Bird’s electric buses for grants available in California and

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Lithium Ion Kentucky Re-Charge Production 301

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Green Car Congress

APRIL 12, 2018

Volvo Trucks introduced its first battery-electric truck for commercial use: the Volvo FL Electric for urban distribution and refuse operations, among other applications. Sales and series production of the new model will start in Europe next year. The first trucks in the Volvo FL Electric range are now entering regular operation with customers—refuse collection and recycling company Renova and haulage firm TGM—in Gothenburg, the home of Volvo Trucks.

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Volvo Commercial Sale Production 299

Green Car Congress

APRIL 9, 2018

Impact Coatings, which develops and sells technology for PVD-coatings of fuel cell plates and vehicle reflectors, recently received its first production order for Ceramic MaxPhase coatings from Michelin. PVD (physical vapor deposition) is a method of producing thin layers of metals and ceramics under vacuum for surface coatings that maximize performance and durability.

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Fuel Hydrogen Low Cost Sweden 287

Green Car Congress

APRIL 12, 2018

Dürr is building a paint shop in Mexico for the BMW Group that meets the requirements for connected Industry 4.0 production. This plant, featuring the first integrated smart factory concept from Dürr, is being built at the San Luis Potosí site. San Luis Potosí will build the BMW brand’s best-selling model series, the BMW 3 Series Sedan. Start of production is scheduled for 2019, with an annual production capacity of up to 150,000 units.

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BMW Mexico Industrial Industry 253

Green Car Congress

APRIL 9, 2018

Audi has produced the Audi e-tron Vision Gran Turismo concept car, which it will deploy as a race taxi in Formula E starting with the race in Rome on Saturday 14 April. Employees at Audi’s pre-production center developed and produced this one-of-a-kind car within the space of just eleven months based on the example of the Audi e-tron Vision Gran Turismo from the “Gran Turismo” PlayStation game.

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Taxi Audi Concept Switzerland 249

Green Car Congress

APRIL 12, 2018

Volkswagen Braunschweig has been awarded the contract to further the development and production of battery systems for the Modular Electric Drive Modular System (MEB). In the future, the plant will produce up to half a million battery systems per year for the electric vehicles of the Volkswagen brand and other Group brands. The Volkswagen brand is doing its utmost to develop and produce the electric cars of the future in Germany.

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Batteries Battery Building Low Cost 247

Green Car Congress

APRIL 9, 2018

A new study by researchers at Leiden University in The Netherlands, with colleagues at the University of Freiburg (Germany) and PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, shows that climate policies can strongly increase metal demand. In an open-access paper published in the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology , the team explores toward 2050 for the demand of copper, tantalum, neodymium, cobalt, and lithium in electricity production, cars, and electronic appliances.

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Hybrid Netherlands Climate Global 236

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Green Car Congress

APRIL 11, 2018

Nikola Motors, the startup developing a Class 8 hydrogen fuel cell range-extended electric truck ( earlier post ) has hired Jesse Schneider as vice president of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. A noted hydrogen and fuel cell expert, Schneider is an automotive industry veteran who spent most of his career working for BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Schneider has spent nearly 20 years in vehicle electrification, fuel cells, electric and hydrogen infrastructure and storage tanks at automakers in Germany

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Hydrogen Phoenix BMW Fuel 231

Green Car Congress

APRIL 12, 2018

The Colorado Energy Office (CEO) has released a request for applications ( RFA ) inviting private sector partners to build fast-charging stations for electric vehicles (EVs) along most major highway corridors in Colorado, including I-25, I-70, US 36, US 40, US 50, US 160, US 285 and US 550. The state is investing approximately $10 million in this program: the ALT Fuels Colorado Electric Vehicle Direct Current Fast Charging Corridor Grant Program.

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Colorado Building Charging Alternative Fuels 230

Green Car Congress

APRIL 9, 2018

An evo version of the Le Mans winning Porsche 919 Hybrid established a new track record at Spa-Francorchamps. Porsche works driver Neel Jani lapped the 7.004 kilometer long Belgian Grand Prix Circuit in the Ardennes mountains in 1:41.770 minutes, beating the previous record by 0.783 seconds that was set by Lewis Hamilton (GB) at the wheel of a Mercedes F1 W07 Hybrid.

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Green Car Congress

APRIL 11, 2018

Imec, a global research and innovation hub in nanoelectronics, energy and digital technologies, has fabricated an innovative type of solid-state Li-ion battery achieving an energy density of 200 Wh/liter at a charging speed of 0.5C (2 hours). The battery is a significant milestone on imec’s quest to surpass wet Li-ion battery performance and reach 1000 Wh/L at 2C by 2024.

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Li-ion Taiwan Batteries Battery 218

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Green Car Congress

APRIL 12, 2018

Hino Motors, Ltd. and Volkswagen Truck & Bus GmbH signed a Strategic Cooperation Framework Agreement (SCFA) aiming to build a mutually beneficial strategic long-term partnership. Both companies will further explore each other’s capabilities to cooperate in logistics and traffic solution research, existing and new technologies as well as in procurement.

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Motor Motoring Motors Asia 207

Green Car Congress

APRIL 10, 2018

Germany-based Akasol is manufacturing lithium-ion battery systems for Daimler subsidiary EvoBus. The leading European bus manufacturer plans to launch its new electric Citaro bus ( earlier post ) at the IAA Commercial Vehicles event in September. These buses will be fitted with up to ten of Akasol’s AKASYSTEM OEM battery packs (max. 243 kWh). The technology combines high demands on performance charging and discharging, energy density and lifespan.

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Li-ion Manufacturer Lithium Ion Sweden 207

Green Car Congress

APRIL 8, 2018

GM’s Buick brand will stage the global debut of the Enspire, its new all-electric concept SUV, at Buick Brand Night on 17 April in Wuzhen, Zhejiang. It will also be on display to the public at Auto China 2018 in Beijing, which begins later this month. Buick Enspire all-electric concept SUV teaser. The Enspire leverages GM’s global resources and is an exploration of design and new technologies.

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Buick China SUV Sale 207

Green Car Congress

APRIL 13, 2018

Researchers have measured CO 2 emissions from fossil fuel use in California and compared them to reported emissions. This is the first time fossil fuel emissions have been independently checked for such a large area. The team of researchers, led by researchers from Imperial College London (ICL), developed a technique to estimate CO 2 emissions from fossil fuels using atmospheric measurements, then tested the technique over three months in California.

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Emissions Fuel CO2 California 199

Green Car Congress

APRIL 7, 2018

Big Blue Bus (BBB), a bus operator serving Santa Monica and the Los Angeles area, will invest $18.3 million in Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and California Proposition 1B Bond funds to replace fifty 40-foot New Flyer buses purchased between 2004 and 2006. Seven 30-foot Gillig buses are being placed in service now; an additional twenty 40-foot Gillig buses will be delivered and commissioned in October 2018.

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Fleet Engine Los Angeles Gas-Electric 199

Green Car Congress

APRIL 10, 2018

After first analyzing the role and underlying fundamental mechanisms of porous media in suppressing dendritic Li growth on Li metal anodes, a team of researchers from the US and China has synthesized a novel porous silicon nitride submicron-wire membrane and incorporated it in both half-cell and full-cell configurations to suppress the formation of lithium dendrites.

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Batteries Battery Recharge 2018 191

Green Car Congress

APRIL 13, 2018

Researchers at Tsinghua University in China have used ultrathin and lightweight molybdenum sulfide (MoS 2 )/carbon nanotube (CNT) interlayers to trap polysulfides in high-performance lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries. A paper on their work is published in the Journal of Power Sources. An electrode with the MoS 2 /CNT interlayer delivers an attractive specific capacity of 784 mAh?

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Lithium Sulfur Batteries Battery Carbon 186

Green Car Congress

APRIL 12, 2018

Researchers at Jilin University (China) have investigated the effect of gasoline components on fuel economy, combustion and emissions in a GDI (gasoline-direct-injection) engine. The team subsequently followed up this first study with a second, exploring the effects in a PFI (port-fuel-injection) engine. The first paper (Han et al. , 2018a) is published in the journal Fuel , the second (Han et al. , 2018b) in the ACS journal Energy & Fuels.

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Fuel Economy Gasoline Economy Emissions 186

Green Car Congress

APRIL 11, 2018

Tenneco, one of the world’s leading designers, manufacturers and distributors of Ride Performance and Clean Air products and technology solutions for diversified markets, signed a definitive agreement to acquire Federal-Mogul, a leading global supplier to OEMs and the aftermarket. Tenneco is acquiring Federal-Mogul from Icahn Enterprises L.P. for a total consideration of $5.4 billion to be funded through cash, Tenneco equity and assumption of debt.

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Companies 2019 Fuel Economy Cleaning 186

Green Car Congress

APRIL 10, 2018

Ford has unveiled the all-new Ford Focus. The new Focus features a broad suite of Ford advanced driver assistance technologies and advanced EcoBoost gasoline and EcoBlue diesel engines offering a 10% fuel-efficiency improvement across the range. Powertrains are supported by standard Auto Start-Stop for reduced running costs and a six-speed manual and a new eight-speed automatic transmission.

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Fuel Economy Ford Gasoline Diesel 186

Green Car Congress

APRIL 13, 2018

The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) reports that the Marine Environment Protection Committee of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has adopted a resolution codifying an initial greenhouse gas (GHG) strategy for international shipping. This strategy, which represents the first global climate framework for shipping, includes quantitative GHG reduction targets through 2050 and a list of candidate short-, mid-, and long-term policy measures to help achieve these targe

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International Climate Mariner 2018 170

Green Car Congress

APRIL 13, 2018

The Volkswagen Group is readying autonomous parking functionality for deployment in series production vehicles in 2020. Group brands Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche are currently testing autonomous parking at Hamburg Airport. In the test scenario, users can book a parking space at Hamburg Airport from home using an app and simply leave their car at the entrance to the multi-storey car park.

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2020 Vehicles Porsche Audi 170

Green Car Congress

APRIL 13, 2018

Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory )PNNL) have developed and successfully tested a new solid-phase technique called Friction Stir Dovetailing (FSD) to join thick plates of aluminum to steel. The new process will be used to make lighter-weight military vehicles that are more agile and fuel efficient. An open-access paper on the work is published in the journal Scripta Materialia.

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Fuel 2018 2014 Engine 170

Green Car Congress

APRIL 13, 2018

LG Chem will form two joint ventures with China’s Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt to secure supplies of cobalt for Li-ion batteries. Huayou Cobalt is the world’s largest producer of refined cobalt, delivering 20,000 tons in 2017. LG Chem will invest KRW 239.4 billion (USD 224 million) by 2020 to establish two joint ventures: one for precursor materials, the other for cathode materials.

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Li-ion China Batteries Battery 170

Green Car Congress

APRIL 11, 2018

Audi has launched the new Audi A6 Avant station wagon equipped with a standard 48V mild hybrid system (MHEV) for the four- and six-cylinder TDI (diesel) and TFSI (gasoline) engines. The new eight-generation A6 sedan, introduced in February this year, also features the 48V MHEV system as standard. ( Earlier post.). The A6 Avant and A6 sedan join the new second-generation A7 Sportback ( earlier post ) and A8 ( earlier post ) as now incorporating the MHEV system as standard.

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Green Car Congress

APRIL 11, 2018

Efficient Drivetrains, Inc. ( EDI ) has integrated integration its EDI PowerDrive 4000 into a Class-4 General Motors Low Cab Forward platform, creating an electrified work truck for agriculture applications. The vehicle combines the benefits of a CNG Fuel system and Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV) technology and is geared to help agriculture fleets switch from petroleum-based liquid fuels to domestically available, cleaner burning natural gas and electricity.

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Green Car Congress

APRIL 10, 2018

US Secretary of Energy Rick Perry announced a new Department of Energy Request for Proposals (RFP), potentially worth up to $1.8 billion, for the development of at least two new exascale supercomputers—and possibly three—to be deployed at DOE National Laboratories in the 2021-2023 timeframe. The new supercomputers funded through this RFP ( CORAL-2 RFP No. 6400015092 ) will be follow-on systems to the first US exascale system authorized by Secretary Perry this past June, named Aurora,

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Financing Tennessee Congress Industrial 170

Green Car Congress

APRIL 9, 2018

Moody’s Japan K.K. says that the push toward alternative-fuel vehicles—battery electric vehicles, hybrids, plug-in hybrids and fuel-cell vehicles—poses a credit challenge for multiple sectors in Japan, with the large auto sector and sectors such as steel and refining most affected. Over the next decade, Japanese auto manufacturers and associated industries will make sizeable upfront investments in alternative-fuel vehicle technologies while bearing the risk that these vehicles may ul

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Japan Alternative Fuels Vehicles Carbon Fiber 170

Green Car Congress

APRIL 11, 2018

IEEE signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the American Center for Mobility (ACM) ( earlier post ), a global center for testing and validation, product development, education and standards work for connected and autonomous vehicles and other technologies. The MOU is intended to help accelerate development and deployment of technical standards.

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Connect Connected Standards Michigan 150

Green Car Congress

APRIL 11, 2018

BP Wind Energy, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Rolling Thunder I Power Partners LLC, has signed a purchase agreement to install a high-storage battery at its Titan 1 Wind Farm in South Dakota. The project is the first of its kind in BP’s US-operated wind business and a potential step forward in the performance and reliability of wind energy. The 212 kW / 840 kWh battery, supplied by Tesla, will be integrated with the wind farm and configured to help manage internal electricity demands of tu

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