Green Car Congress

MAY 28, 2015

In coordination with local air officials, the California Air Resources Board is initiating a retire-and-replace pilot program in the Greater Los Angeles area and San Joaquin Valley to help people of low income replace old, polluting cars with cleaner, more fuel efficient vehicles that also cut greenhouse gas emissions. The air district-administered program provides incentives on a sliding scale, with larger cash payments for the lowest-income families moving up to the cleanest cars.

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Creative Greenius

MAY 9, 2015

When Chevron, or Phillips 66, or ExxonMobil or E&B oil companies give schools and nonprofits funding money they do it for one reason only. To pay them to shut up. You can fool yourself if you want to, but you can’t fool your kids, because in the end they will know their school, or that nonprofit pretending to be teaching kids about the environment, sold them out.

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Oil Chevron Climate Change Companies 284

Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 23, 2015

The European Union appears to be undergoing a transition from the testing of and experimentation with electric vehicles to full-scale EV commercialization, according to a new report from the EU’s Joint Research Center (JRC). This report covers battery-electric (BEV), plug-in hybrid (PHEV), range extended electric vehicles (REV), and fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV).

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Electric Vehicles Commercial PHEV Europe 312

Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 25, 2015

by Alex Vanover. Honda isn’t a car company… it never really has been. When asked to define what kind of company Honda is, company representatives bill the multinational firm as an engineering company. It is a company that strives to engineer products in a variety of different sectors of the highest quality. And it is also an innovative company that looks for problems in the world and then engineers solutions to those problems.

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Motorcycles Electric Motorcycles Honda United States 306

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Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 5, 2015

On 2 October, one of PSA Peugeot Citroën’s four autonomous vehicles drove itself 580 km (360 miles) on the highway from Paris to Bordeaux entirely in autonomous mode to take part in the Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) World Congress, which runs until 9 October. The car autonomously adjusted its speed and changed lanes to overtake, taking into account other vehicles, speed limits and infrastructure.

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Green Car Congress

NOVEMBER 7, 2015

Although overshadowed by the announcement on denial of a Presidential Permit to build the Keystone XL pipeline ( earlier post ), on Friday, the Obama administration also on Friday announced and highlighted a number of actions to sustain and advance nuclear energy in the US. In 2014, nuclear power generated about 60% of carbon-free electricity in the United States, and continues to play a major role in efforts to reduce carbon emissions from the power sector.

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Green Car Congress

JANUARY 21, 2015

'The Cal State L.A. (CSULA) Hydrogen Research and Fueling Facility has become the first hydrogen station in California to be certified to sell fuel to the public by the kilogram measure. Although the state currently has other other hydrogen stations “open to the public”, these stations have had to sell hydrogen by the tank, explained Michael Dray, the technical operations manager of the Hydrogen Research and Fueling Facility at CSULA.

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Green Car Congress

JANUARY 17, 2015

'The cost of generating power from renewable energy sources has reached parity or dropped below the cost of fossil fuels for many technologies in many parts of the world, according to a new report released by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). The report, “ Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2014 ”, concludes that biomass, hydropower, geothermal and onshore wind are all competitive with or cheaper than coal, oil and gas-fired power stations, even without financial support and de

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Green Car Congress

NOVEMBER 16, 2015

A new study by a team from the University of Tennessee, Tsinghua University and the University of Minnesota has found that the wide-scale deployment of electric vehicles in China can increase the Environmental Justice (EJ) challenge in that country. According to their findings, published in a paper in the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology , most (∼77%, range: 41–96%) emission inhalation attributable to urban EVs use—i.e., from the shifting of transportation’s air pollution fro

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Green Car Congress

JANUARY 28, 2015

'The C9. Click to enlarge. BYD Motors Inc. unveiled the first long range, 100% battery-electric over-the-road coach bus (as opposed to a city transit bus) at the United Motorcoach Association Expo in New Orleans. This first electric coach—the BYD C9—is a two-axle, 40'' coach with the seating capacity to carry 47 people at highway speed for more than 190 miles.

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BYD Battery Batteries Li-ion 301

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Green Car Congress

MAY 4, 2015

Wrightspeed Inc., a developer of range-extended electric vehicle powertrains for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles ( earlier post ), has unveiled the Fulcrum, a new proprietary turbine generator for use in its Route family of electric powertrains (Route for Class 3-6, Route HD for Class 7-8). The new 80 kW Fulcrum is a radial inflow, axial turbine, intercooled and recuperated.

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Range Extended Range Gas-Electric Chrysler 299

Green Car Congress

JUNE 12, 2015

The model line-up of the second generation of Audi’s high-performance R8 sports car, unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year, includes the new R8 e-tron battery-electric vehicle. ( Earlier post.) The new R8 e-tron delivers 340 kW (456 hp) of power; acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h (62.1 mph) in 3.9 seconds; and a driving range of up to 450 km (279.6 mi).

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 29, 2015

by Henry Hewitt for Oilprice.com. During the late innings of the ICE-age (as in the Internal Combustion Engine age) it has become clear that feeding gasoline and diesel to the next billion new cars is not going to be easy, or cheap. In China alone, 500 million new vehicles can be expected to jam the roads between now and 2030. That may sound far-fetched, but considering annual sales have already made it to 25 million units per year (vs. around 17 million in the US—China became the top mark

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Green Car Congress

MAY 29, 2015

Daimler is entering the commercial and residential stationary energy storage system (ESS) market with its wholly-owned subsidiary Deutsche ACCUmotive. The announcement comes four weeks after Tesla Motors announced its own entry into the ESS market with the home PowerWall Li-ion battery system ( earlier post ), although Daimler has been considering the move for several years.

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Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 27, 2015

'A new study from the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) demonstrates the conversion of lignin-derived compounds to adipic acid, an important industrial dicarboxylic acid produced for its use as a precursor to nylon, plasticizers, lubricants, polyesters, and other popular products and chemicals. Published in the RSC journal Energy & Environmental Science , the research demonstrates how lignin-derived compounds can first be converted to muconic acid via a biological p

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Green Car Congress

MARCH 27, 2015

'DTNA’s SuperTruck was unveiled at the 2015 Mid-America Trucking Show. Click to enlarge. Daimler Trucks North America’s (DTNA) SuperTruck program has achieved 115% freight efficiency improvement (gallons of fuel consumed per ton of goods moved per mile traveled)—surpassing the Department of Energy (DOE) program’s goal of 50% improvement and exhibiting the best results of all reporting OEMs. ( Earlier post.

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Green Car Congress

JANUARY 15, 2015

'The production and sales of plug-in vehicles in China boomed last year, according to statistics from CAAM (China Association of Automobile Manufacturers). Total production reached 78,499 units, 3.5 times the number in 2013. Among the total, 48,605 units were battery electric vehicles (BEV) (62%) and 29,894 units were plug-in hybrids (PHEV) (38%)—2.4 times and 8.1 times the numbers of 2013.

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Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 13, 2015

Toyota made significant improvements in its new generation full hybrid powertrain applied in the fourth generation Prius ( earlier post ), reducing losses, redesigning and relocating key components and reducing weight. Extensive changes to the transaxle, engine and combined hybrid system, generate an expected improvement in EPA estimated MPG on core models of up to 10% (i.e., up to ~55 mpg US combined), with an Eco model that will achieve an even greater improvement.

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Green Car Congress

NOVEMBER 4, 2015

The world’s largest 2nd-life battery storage unit will soon go into operation in the Westphalian town of Lünen. A joint venture between Daimler AG, The Mobility House AG and GETEC, it will be operated from the beginning of next year at the site of REMONDIS SE and marketed in the German electricity balancing sector. The stationary storage unit, with a total capacity of 13 MWh, uses second-life battery systems from the second generation of smart electric drive vehicles.

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Green Car Congress

NOVEMBER 11, 2015

by Derek Peterson. It’s fascinating how individuals and companies continue to find creative ways to recycle and reuse. Companies will attract negative attention for not doing their part to help protect the environment—potentially risking a loss in profits due to a shrinking consumer base because of their environmental decisions. One company, Michelin, has learned how to recycle and reuse large amounts of scrap tires in an intriguing way.

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Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 17, 2015

'Monday afternoon, a CSX oil train (109 cars, two locomotives, carrying Bakken crude from North Dakota) derailed in West Virginia, resulting in a fire, with an as yet unspecified number of cars rupturing and exploding. WVNS earlier reported that firefighters with the Boomer Fire Department said that there have been at least six explosions in connection with the fire.

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Green Car Congress

MARCH 9, 2015

'Researchers at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) are proposing that it is possible to design an efficient graphene-cathode-based thermionic energy converter (TIC)—a device for converting heat to electricity leveraging the phenomenon of thermionic emission, or the release of electrons from a hot body—operating at around 900 K (626 °C) or lower, as compared with a conventional metal-based cathode TIC operating at about 1500 K (1227 °C).

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Green Car Congress

APRIL 7, 2015

'Results from a new study by researchers at the University of California Irvine support a growing body of scientific literature indicating that sensitive populations, including children, certain ethnic groups and people of lower socioeconomic status, are more vulnerable to the effects of high exposures to traffic-related air pollution. The UC Irvine study, which examined the effect of chronic exposure in asthmatic children living in homes near traffic pollution, was led by Ralph J.

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Pollution California Ozone Davis 289

Green Car Congress

SEPTEMBER 18, 2015

EPA has issued a notice of violation (NOV) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) to Volkswagen AG, Audi AG, and Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (collectively referred to here as Volkswagen). The NOV alleges that Volkswagen and Audi cars from model years 2009-2015 equipped with 2.0-liter, four-cylinder diesels include software (a “defeat device”) that circumvents EPA emissions standards for NO x.

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Green Car Congress

JANUARY 16, 2015

'Crazy Diamond Performance Inc. (CDP) is now offering BRC FuelMaker residential and commercial fueling compressed natural gas (CNG) products, when ordered in conjunction with its advanced dedicated CNG vehicle retrofit systems. CDP is offering a package of an EPA certified 2015 mono-fuel CNG Cruze LS ( earlier post ) and a BRC FuelMaker Phill refueling compressor for $27,559, for a limited time.

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Vehicles EPA Alternative Fuels 2015 288

Green Car Congress

SEPTEMBER 3, 2015

A Proterra 40-foot Catalyst XR (extended range) electric bus drove 258 miles (415 miles) on a single charge under test conditions at Michelin’s Laurens Proving Grounds (LPG). The Catalyst XR configuration for the max mileage test used 8 NMC Li-ion battery packs, with a total energy capacity of 257 kWh. Average speed was 30 mph (48 km/h); average energy consumption was 0.8 kWh/mile.

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Extended Range Miles Lithium Titanate Range 286

Green Car Congress

AUGUST 30, 2015

A working paper by a team at the Energy Institute at Haas, University of California, Berkeley, has found that 60% of the $18 billion in US federal income clean energy tax credits issued between 2006 and 2012—e.g., for weatherizing homes, installing solar panels, and buying hybrid and electric vehicles—went to the top income quintile in the US (above $200,000 per year).

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Green Car Congress

MAY 26, 2015

Last week, Audi and its partner Global Bioenergies announced that the first batch of renewable isooctane—which Audi calls “e-benzin”—using Global Bioenergies’ fermentative isobutene pathway (sugar→isobutene→isooctane) had been produced and presented to Audi by Global Bioenergies. ( Earlier post.). Global Bioenergies, founded in 2008, has developed a synthetic isobutene pathway that, when implanted in a micro-organism, enables the organism to convert sugars (e.g., from starc

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Green Car Congress

MARCH 23, 2015

'Five years and more than 35,000 European sales since the launch of its all-electric LEAF, proprietary data released by Nissan show that 99.99% of its battery units remain entirely fit for purpose. The failure rate of the battery power unit is less than 0.01 percent—three units in total—a fraction of the equivalent industry-wide figure for defects affecting traditional combustion engines.

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Green Car Congress

SEPTEMBER 21, 2015

Last Friday, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and California Air Resources Board (ARB) charged that Volkswagen (Jetta, Beetle, Golf, Passat) and Audi (A3) passenger cars equipped with 2.0-liter diesels in the US have used a software defeat device to cheat on the results of NO x testing, and thus have violated the US Clean Air Act. According to the charges, the software, when it detected regulatory testing on a dyno, ran a different, more emissions-stringent engine calibration to meet

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Green Car Congress

APRIL 13, 2015

'A team of researchers in South Korea and Italy has demonstrated a highly reliable lithium–sulfur battery showing cycle performance comparable to that of commercially available lithium-ion batteries while offering more than double the energy density. The team, led by a group from Hanyang University, used a highly reversible dual-type sulfur cathode (solid sulfur electrode and polysulfide catholyte) and a lithiated Si/SiO x nanosphere anode.

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Li-ion Lithium Sulfur Battery Batteries 285

Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 27, 2015

DuPont will officially open its cellulosic ethanol facility in Nevada, Iowa, on 30 October; the plant will be the largest cellulosic ethanol plant in the world. The US Department of Energy (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) Director, Jonathan Male, alongside senior government officials, DuPont leaders and staff, and local farmers will attend the grand opening ceremony and plant tour.

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Creative Greenius

MARCH 11, 2015

'I was in Carson California last month at their City Council meeting to speak on behalf of the resolution I asked them to pass to approve participating in a feasibility study on community choice aggregation (CCA). . Carson was the sixth city to have our resolution on their agenda, the five others having already passed it. Like in each of the other cities, someone in Carson, this time the City Manager, had the same question for me, . “I understand all the CCA program stuff you’re tell

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Green Car Congress

JULY 15, 2015

The Audi e-gas plant in the city of Werlte in Lower Saxony ( earlier post ) produces CO 2 neutral-fuel (synthetic methane from water, renewable electricity and CO 2 ); it now also contributes toward stabilizing the public power grid. After successfully completing a test sequence, the plant is now qualified for participating in the electricity balancing market.

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