Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 11, 2011

Light duty vehicle fleet by type and average fuel efficiency. Source: ExxonMobil Outlook. Click to enlarge. Exxon Mobil Corporation’s new The Outlook for Energy: A View to 2040 , released last week, projects that global energy demand in 2040 will be about 30% higher than it was in 2010 as population grows to 9 billion and global GDP doubles. Growth is led by developing regions such as China, India, Africa and other emerging economies.

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Plugs and Cars

FEBRUARY 26, 2011

I just ran across the latest available data, from 2005, for the electricity consumption by petroleum refineries. ( Source: Energy Statistics Database | United Nations Statistics Division ) The US is, hoorah, #1. Almost 49,000,000,000 kWh. One electric car, roughly speaking, will use about 3000 kWh to go about 12,000 miles. That means the electricity alone we use to refine petroleum each year could drive over 16,000,o00 electric cars 12,000 miles each year.

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Electric Cars are for Girls

DECEMBER 20, 2011

"For your average drag race fan, this change opens a new and exciting chapter on the drag race scene, not seen since the likes of the inception of the electric vehicle itself.

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Green Car Reports

OCTOBER 1, 2011

We already know a lot about the all-electric 2012 Tesla Model S sedan -- but at a press event ahead of tonight’s exclusive VIP event at the former Toyota NUMMI facility in Fremont, California, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced Tesla was making a faster Model S for those with a sporty side. Cutting the brisk 0-60 time of the standard Model S from.

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All Cars Electric

MARCH 31, 2011

Believe it or not, most of what you watch on television is scripted. What you may not know is that some shows which appear unscripted, like the BBC’s infamous Top Gear, are also scripted word for word. Everything from the banter between its three middle-aged hosts to its madcap challenges and car reviews has been meticulously planned, before.

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National Green Transportation

JULY 24, 2011

Today, the first joint TTXGP/e-Power electric motorcycle race was run, with Mission Motors winning in a spectacular show. They won convincingly over a field containing the who's-who of electric motorcycle racing including last years.

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Electric Motorcycles Motor Motors Motoring 106

Green Car Congress

JUNE 8, 2011

Electric and hybrid cars generate more carbon emissions during their production than current conventional vehicles, but still have a lower carbon footprint overall, according to a new report prepared by Ricardo for, and in collaboration with, the expert membership of the UK’s Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership that includes major vehicle manufacturers and oil companies.

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Green Car Congress

NOVEMBER 28, 2011

General Motors today announced initiatives for customer satisfaction and outlined its steps in battery safety research to ensure ongoing confidence in the safety of Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle. On Friday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened a formal safety defect investigation to assess the risk of a battery-related fire in Chevy Volts that have been involved in a serious crash. ( Earlier post.

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Green Car Congress

AUGUST 30, 2011

Research project Turbosteamer, Generation 2. Click to enlarge. Despite improvements in engine efficiency—e.g., with technologies such as direct fuel injection, variable valve timing, exhaust-driven turbochargers, brake energy regeneration and Auto Start Stop function—about 60% of the generated energy is still lost, half of it being exhaust heat, with the remaining half as heat absorbed by the engine cooling system.

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Waste BMW Exhaust Gas-Electric 376

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 14, 2011

The President’s Budget proposes a 12% increase in funding for the Department of Energy. Click to enlarge. In support of President Obama’s goal of having 1 million advanced technology vehicles on US roads by 2015, the President’s Budget submitted today proposes a new effort to support electric vehicle manufacturing and adoption in the United States through new consumer. rebates, investments in R&D, and competitive programs to encourage communities. that invest in electric vehicl

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Green Car Congress

MAY 13, 2011

Audi A3 TCNG for e-gas project. Click to enlarge. Starting in 2013, Audi will begin series production of TCNG models whose engines—derived from TFSI units—will be powered by e-gas: synthetic methane produced via the methanation of hydrogen produced by electrolysis using renewable electricity. Audi’s newly unveiled e-gas project is a component of achieving its goal of “Audi balanced mobility”—i.e., achieving a neutral CO 2 balance across the entire mobility chain.

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Green Car Congress

APRIL 16, 2011

The overall market for energy storage technologies that power electric vehicles is set to grow from $13 billion in 2011 to $30 billion in 2016, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18%. Despite the visibility of plug-in passenger cars with large packs such as the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf grab most of the headlines, the bulk of future growth will be driven by more humble vehicles, such as e-bikes and micro-hybrids, according to a new report from Lux Research.

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Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 10, 2011

Urban density is one of the most important determinants of car use and transport-related energy consumption in cities. Source: WHO report. Click to enlarge. Among strategies to reduce CO 2 emissions in the transport sector, a shift to active transport (walking and cycling) and rapid transit/public transport combined with improved land use can yield much greater immediate health “co-benefits” than improving fuel and vehicle efficiencies, according to a new WHO (World Health Organization) report.

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Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 14, 2011

Ford’s Michigan Assembly Plant is starting production of the 2012 Focus Electric ( earlier post )—a five-passenger, battery-electric car Ford expects will achieve more than a 100 miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe) fuel economy rating. By comparison, the Nissan LEAF carries a 99 MPGe (combined) EPA rating, while the smaller i-MiEV carries a 112 MPGe (combined) rating. (1 gallon of gasoline=33.7 kWh).

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Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 24, 2011

Saying that “ investment-grade climate change and clean energy policy is required to shift private sector investment from high-carbon to low-carbon assets ”, a group of 285 investors has urged governments and international policy makers to take new and meaningful steps in the fight against climate change. In a joint statement, the group, representing more than $20 trillion in assets under management, stressed the urgent need for policy action which stimulates private sector investmen

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Climate Change Climate Global Energy 360

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 25, 2011

Skeleton Technologies , an energy-storage start-up located in Tartu, Estonia, was recently awarded a US patent ( #7,803,345 ) on its nanoporous carbon powder supercapacitor material. The material possesses very high surface area and a high packing of nanopores, according to Skeleton, which aims to commercialize the carbon material and supercapacitor technology.

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 30, 2011

A general diagram of Blue Marble’s manufacturing system. A photobioreactor and algae perform the “water recycling”; the pelletized solid waste material will be used in the gasifier. Source: Blue Marble. Click to enlarge. Blue Marble Biomaterials, a wholly owned subsidiary of Blue Marble Energy Corp., has launched the first zero-waste chemical biorefinery in the US in Missoula, Montana.

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Green Car Congress

APRIL 20, 2011

Top : Schematics of ignition by (a) a spark plug and (b), (c) a laser. (c) shows multipoint ignition. Bottom : Schlieren photographs for early stage of ignition in a constant-volume chamber ignited by (a) spark plug and (b) micro-laser in a stoichiometric mixture. Click to enlarge. Lasers have been discussed as a promising alternative ignition source for efficient internal combustion engines since the mid 1970s.

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Fuel Emissions Auto Plug-in 350

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 12, 2011

US transportation GHG emissions under the Base Case and three Mitigation Scenarios. Source: Greene and Plotkin (2011). Click to enlarge. A new study published by the Pew Center on Global Climate Change finds that combined actions across three fronts—technology, policy, and consumer behavior—could deliver up to a 65% reduction in transportation emissions from current levels by 2050.

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Green Car Congress

APRIL 3, 2011

Contribution of each metric to the FCI Success and VMT-FE Success scenarios. Credit: ACS, Melaina and Webster. Click to enlarge. Aggressive near-term actions are necessary in three areas—vehicle miles traveled (VMT), vehicle fuel economy (FE), and fuel carbon intensity (FCI)—in order to achieve a “fair share” reduction within the light-duty-vehicle sector toward meeting US goals of an 83% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions below 2005 levels by 2050, according to a new study by a t

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Electric Cars are for Girls

DECEMBER 9, 2011

Steve Fambro, Aptera's founder, will be speaking today for the first time about Aptera. Specifically - hopefully - What Went Wrong Over at Aptera. Not to be ghoulish about an EV company that didn't make it, but.don't we all wanna know? The show airs live at 3pm Eastern on Transport Evolved.

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Electric Cars are for Girls

NOVEMBER 12, 2011

If you're in the San Diego area, and would like to attend an EV conversion workshop. The Kick Gas Car Club is offering a series of evening classes, starting in January, on converting a small pickup to electric. Class size is limited to 8 people. Follow the link for more information or to grab a seat.

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Electric Cars are for Girls

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

Here's an idea: 1. Decrease payroll taxes. 2. Increase taxes on dirty carbon-based fuels at the source. Yeah, you know who I'm talking about; ) 3. Retrain coal miners and refinery workers into green jobs. 4. Save the planet for future generations. Good idea? Follow the link to whitehouse dot gov to sign the petition.

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Coal Green IDEA Tax 229

Electric Cars are for Girls

AUGUST 17, 2011

Mission Motors just secured $9m in its second round of funding. I hadn't heard of this stealthy manufacturer of electric car motors and drive train components until today, but I get the feeling we'll be seeing more of them in the future - under the hood of our electric car.

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Electric Cars are for Girls

JULY 4, 2011

Remember Peachtree City, Georgia , the land of a thousand golf carts ? Now Panasonic Automotive and AT&T are teaming up to test "connected car" technology, using that community as a model.

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Electric Cars are for Girls

JULY 2, 2011

Marc Geller mentioned a few minutes ago on Twitter that he rented his electric vehicle to a Canadian through a peer-to-peer car sharing service called Getaround. I love this idea for getting people into electric cars! Might not be available for sale in your neighborhood, but if you happen to be visiting San Francisco you can rent one for a while, and see how you like it.

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Electric Cars are for Girls

JUNE 24, 2011

Tesla is "discontinuing" the Roadster we've all come to love, and they're concentrating their attention on the new Model S. "Click for more info" below to see photos of the Model S at Mashable. Don't worry, Roadster fans! It seems the Tesla Roadster is being revamped and a new 2.0 version will be coming out. Eventually. Quote: "In the next several years.

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Electric Cars are for Girls

JUNE 22, 2011

New treatment for range anxiety: AAA. Triple A is planning to add mobile charging units in California, Florida, Georgia, Oregon, Tennessee and Washington.including some with 500V charging capability.

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Electric Cars are for Girls

MAY 16, 2011

The notorious Top Gear , aka the electric car hater show, (mostly) drained a Nissan Leaf's battery pack and limped it around a neighborhood in England known for having few public charging stations. The lead photo was a couple of people pushing the Leaf. What was the point?

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Electric Cars are for Girls

MARCH 29, 2011

Electric cars don't use any gas (except for the Chevy Volt), but now legislators in three states, including mine, are trying to figure out how to make up the money they're going to lose on the gas tax we're not paying. Their idea for figuring out how to tax you for miles driven? Put a device in your EV that tracks your miles, and delivers that information to your government.

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Electric Cars are for Girls

MARCH 17, 2011

I get asked this question quite a bit: Why not take a light, aerodynamic hybrid - like a Prius - and convert it into an all-electric car? Well, "Plasma Boy" John Wayland is working on just that, an all-electric Honda Insight conversion, 'cause he's gotta be different, and the Prius has been done, and done, and done.and so when it's finished, he's planning a freeway trip-slash-parade from Portland to Seattle and back in his Insight conversion, called the Silver Streak, flanked by a squadron of Te

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Electric Cars are for Girls

MARCH 17, 2011

and it always will be." Did you think hydrogen cars had slipped right out from under the radar into oblivion, another Bush-era delusional fantasy? (Right, me too.) Now you can lease a hydrogen Mercedes in California and all the hydrogen you can use is included in your lease. Even at 600 bucks a month, that might be a bargain these days!

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Electric Cars are for Girls

NOVEMBER 12, 2011

"In the long run, a fully electrified vehicle fleet would theoretically -- just do the math! -- provide enough balancing power for a 100 percent renewable electricity system.

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Electric Cars are for Girls

FEBRUARY 17, 2011

Opel has come out with a range-extended electric police car (a plug-in hybrid, like the Chevy Volt) for the European market. The advantage of electric police cars, according to the report, is that they can be silent and sneaky. I wish folks would make up their minds on whether the silent factor is a good thing or not, I'm getting whiplash. 36 thousand Euros after the VAT, though?

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