2009

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Pike Survey: 48% of US Consumers Interested in Purchasing a PHEV40

Green Car Congress

Expressed interest in PHEV40 purchases. Click to enlarge. According to a new survey from Pike Research, 48% of prospective US consumers would be “extremely” or “very” interested in purchasing a PHEV with a 40-mile range on a single charge (PHEV40), given electricity cost equivalent of $0.75 per gallon, home re-charging, additional charging stations being available around town, and assuming the price and other vehicle features were right.

Purchase 357
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BREAKING NEWS: Exxon/Mobil Ordered Out of Torrance, Guilty of Greenhouse Gas Pollution

Creative Greenius

“Pack Up Your Toxic, Fossil Fuel Factory With Its Climate-Changing Products & Get Out of Town By 2020!&# Greenius Rules. It’s true, I have declared it thus this very day, marking this date as the beginning of the end of the Exxon/Mobil era. Consider this fair and legal warning, world’s largest and most polluting oil company - I’m giving you 10 years to pack up and hit the road.

Pollution 292
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Chevy Volt gets a Chirpy Sound

Electric Cars are for Girls

Remember when blessed silence was a GOOD thing? Well, not anymore. Apparently, those treehugging Prius drivers have been inadvertently mowing down pedestrians in their path from Starbucks to Pilates, so GM is talking to the National Federation for the Blind about how they can add a level of noise pollution to electric cars. Apparently involves a non-birdly "automotive" chirping.

Volt 229
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The Power of Electric

Revenge of the Electric Car

Cast and Crew: Stefano, Alexandra, and Gary. When Google asked for submissions of a 90 second video on the benefits of plug in cars to show at a 2008 Washington DC Brookings-Google Electric Car conference, Alexandra Paul and Stefano Paris decided to rise to the challenge! With Stefano’s friend Gary Winterboer, they shot this video at a local gas station using Alexandra’s RAV4-EV and Stefano’s EVO.

Power 185
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How serious is Norway about climate change? So much that its streetlights self-dim

emissions global warming Norway climate change carbon dioxide youtube lighting

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GM's Second Electric Car After Chevy Volt To Be Cadillac Converj

Green Car Reports

General Motors will follow its 2011 Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric car with a production version of the Cadillac Converj concept car revealed at this year's Detroit Auto Show. It's been an open question for a while now: What will be the next vehicle to use GM's Voltec series hybrid electric-car platform? The Opel/Vauxhall.

Cadillac 124
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Green Cars News

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Automakers agree on common plug to recharge electric vehicles

Tony Karrer Delicious EVdriven

Skip to Content Massively explains Warhammer Online to the dedicated WoW player AOL Tech Europe ↓ Polska Deutschland Asia ↓ ???? ???? ??? ???? Español HD Mobile Engadget Engadget Engadget Web Images Video News Local RSS Feed Contact us Tip us on news! Automakers agree on common plug to recharge electric vehicles by Darren Murph , posted Apr 19th 2009 at 4:24PM Just hours after General Motors put forth a proposal for a standardized plug for electric vehicles , in flies this.

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UMass Amherst Licenses Catalytic Fast Pyrolysis Technology to Startup Anellotech to Produce Renewable Biogasoline

Green Car Congress

Huber’s process rapidly pyrolizes biomass in the presence of a zeolite (ZSM-5) catalyst. Click to enlarge. The University of Massachusetts Amherst recently granted a biofuels startup company, Anellotech , exclusive global rights to the university’s catalytic fast pyrolysis (CFP) technology developed by chemical engineer and UMass Amherst faculty member George Huber for producing renewable biogasoline and other biohydrocarbon fuels. ( Earlier post.).

Renewable 348
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Study Finds that US Subsidies for Fossil Fuels Are Almost 2.5x Those for Renewables

Green Car Congress

US subsidies for fuels and renewable energy, 2002-2008. Nuclear was not included in the analysis. Source: Adeyeye et al. 2009. Click to enlarge. The vast majority of US federal subsidies for fossil fuels and renewable energy from 2002-2008 supported fossil energy sources that emit high levels of greenhouse gases when used as fuel, according to research released on Friday by the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) in partnership with the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

Renewable 338
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3 Fuel Cell Cars from 3 OEMs Complete 1,137km Demonstration Run in Japan

Green Car Congress

Hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles from Toyota (the FCHV-adv), Nissan (X-Trail FCV) and Honda (FCX Clarity) completed a 1,137 km (706.5 miles) demonstration run from Tokyo to Fukuoka to demonstrate that they can go as far as gasoline-powered cars on a single fueling. The total amount of hydrogen used in the process of driving the cars was 28.8k; average fuel economy was 118.4 km/kg (73.6 mi/kg).

Fuel 329
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Faurecia and Accenture partner on products and services for connected and autonomous vehicles

Brief

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Colorado State University Spinoff to Commercialize 3D Li-ion Battery Technology for Higher-Capacity, Longer-Life Cells

Green Car Congress

Examples of prospective 3-D architectures for charge-insertion batteries, as proposed by Long et al. (a) array of interdigitated cylindrical cathodes and anodes; (b) interdigitated plate array of cathodes and anodes; (c) rod array of cylindrical anodes coated with a thin layer of ion-conducting dielectric (electrolyte) with the remaining free volume filled with the cathode material (the Prieto Battery approach); (d) aperiodic “sponge” architectures.

Li-ion 319
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Perspective: US Needs to Transition to Hydrous Ethanol as the Primary Renewable Transportation Fuel

Green Car Congress

by Brian J. Donovan, CEO Renergie, Inc. [ This opinion piece originally appeared in the Field-to-Pump blog, published by Renergie, Inc. ]. Use of Hydrous Ethanol in Brazil. The oil price shocks of the 1970s led the Brazilian government to address the strain high prices were placing on its fragile economy. Brazil, the largest and most populous country in South America, was importing 80% of its oil and 40% of its foreign exchange was used to pay for that imported oil.

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President Obama Announces 48 Projects to Receive $2.4B in Grants for Next-Generation of Batteries and Electric Vehicles; To be Combined with $2.4B in Industry Cost-Share

Green Car Congress

President Obama announced 48 new advanced battery and electric drive projects that will receive $2.4 billion in funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. These projects, selected through a highly competitive process by the Department of Energy (DOE), are intended to accelerate the development of US manufacturing capacity for batteries and electric drive components as well as the deployment of electric drive vehicles.

Grant 317
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Toyota Industries Corp. Develops Solar Charging Station for EVs and PHEVs

Green Car Congress

Toyota Industries’ solar charging station. Click to enlarge. Toyota Industries Corp (TIC) has developed a solar charging station for plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHVs) and electric vehicles (EVs). The municipal government of Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture plans to build 21 such stations at 11 locations such as the municipal office and branch offices. Full operation of the stations will begin in April, with 20 Prius Plug-In Hybrids.

Solar 316
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ExxonMobil announces 6th oil discovery offshore Guyana with Ranger-1; Guyana may move from non-producer to regional powerhouse

Oil

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Michigan State University Receives $2.5M ARPA-E Award to Build Wave Disc Engine/Generator for Series Hybrid Applications

Green Car Congress

Schematic model of a wave disk engine, showing combustion and shockwaves within the channels. Source: MSU. Click to enlarge. Researchers from Michigan State University have been awarded $2.5 million from the Department of Energy’s ARPA-E program ( earlier post ) to complete its prototype development of a new gasoline-fueled wave disc engine and electricity generator that promises to be five times more efficient than traditional auto engines in electricity production, 20% lighter, and 30% cheaper

Michigan 316
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Toyota Aims to Reduce Fuel Cell Vehicle Cost to 1/10 of Current By Commercialization in 2015; Reduction to Another 1/10 With Scale

Green Car Congress

Toyota’s targeted cost reductions in fuel cell vehicles. Source: Toyota. Click to enlarge. In a news conference at the Japan National Press Club on Friday, Toyota Motor President Akio Toyoda said that the company plans to begin mass production of electric vehicles in the US in 2012, followed by US production of fuel cell vehicles in 2015. Toyoda positioned EVs for short-distance travel and fuel cell cars for longer ranges.

2015 315
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Bio-Platinum Hybrid Catalyst for Solar Hydrogen Production Can Deliver Up to 25x Greater Energy Yield Than Current Biomass-to-Fuel Strategies

Green Car Congress

Schematic of the electron flow in the photosystem I catalytic nanoparticle. Source: Iwuchukwu et al., Nature Nanotechnology. Click to enlarge. Researchers at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville have shown that a combination of photosystem I from a thermophilic bacterium and cytochrome-c 6 can, in combination with a platinum catalyst, generate a stable supply of hydrogen in vitro upon illumination.

Hydrogen 312
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Volkswagen and LichtBlick Partner on Home Combined Heat and Power Systems; LichtBlick Plans a SchwarmStrom for 2,000 MW of Decentralized Power

Green Car Congress

An EcoBlue CHP unit. Click to enlarge. Volkswagen and German energy supplier LichtBlick have formed an exclusive world-wide energy partnership. Volkswagen will produce the high-efficiency EcoBlue CHP (combined heat and power) plant, which is to be driven by natural gas engines from Volkswagen. LichtBlick will market the plants as “ZuhauseKraftwerke” (home power plants) and will use them in a new, decentralized intelligent power supply scheme: “SchwarmStrom” (current swarm).

Power 310
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Secretary of the Navy Sets Target for 50% of Total Energy Consumption from Alternative Sources by 2020; Role for Biofuels and EVs

Green Car Congress

In a speech at the Naval Energy Forum, US Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus set out five energy targets for the department to meet over the course of the next decade, including the overall goal of half of the total energy consumption for ships, aircraft, tanks, vehicles, and shore installations coming from alternative sources by 2020. Another of the five goals is for the Department of the Navy to reduce petroleum use in its 50,000 strong commercial fleet by half by 2015.

2020 308
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Volkswagen to Premiere New Generation of Polo, Golf and Passat BlueMotion Models; Consumption As Low As 3.3 L/100km (71.3 mpg US)

Green Car Congress

Volkswagen Passat BlueMotion, Polo BlueMotion and Golf BlueMotion. Click to enlarge. Volkswagen will introduce the new generation of the Polo BlueMotion, Golf BlueMotion and Passat BlueMotion at the International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt in two weeks. All three Volkswagens are the most fuel-efficient models in their respective size classes, according to VW; all three are celebrating world premieres as production versions at the IAA; and all three can be ordered later this fall.

MPG 307
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US Navy Awards Lockheed Martin $8 Million Contract to Advance Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Technology (OTEC)

Green Car Congress

The US Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) recently awarded Lockheed Martin an $8.12 million contract to further develop Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) technology, which the leverages ocean’s natural thermal gradient between warmer water at the ocean’s surface and colder water below to produce renewable and reliable power. In geographical areas with warm surface water and cold deep water, the temperature difference can be leveraged to drive a steam cycle that turns a turbine an

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EU SARTRE Project Targets Autonomous Road Trains; Enhanced Safety and Lower Fuel Consumption

Green Car Congress

An autonomous road train as envisioned by SARTRE. Click to enlarge. The new EU project SARTRE (Safe Road Trains for the Environment) project will develop and test technology for vehicles that can drive themselves in long road trains on motorways. This technology has the potential to improve traffic flow and journey times, offer greater comfort to drivers, reduce accidents, and improve fuel consumption and hence lower CO 2 emissions.

Fuel 304
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ALTe Developing Series Plug-in Hybrid Powertrains for Conversion and OEM Applications

Green Car Congress

Rendering of the Gen 2 series plug-in hybrid powertrain under development. Source: ALTe. Click to enlarge. A Bloomfield, Michigan startup is developing light- and medium-duty series plug-in hybrid electric vehicle powertrain systems—initially as conversions, but ultimately extending to an OEM basis. ALTe, LLC has initially targeted fleet applications—specifically, the New York Ford Crown Victoria taxi fleet—as the passenger car market does not drive enough miles per year to del

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DOE Launches $122M Energy Innovation Hub to Focus on Solar Fuels: Fuels from Sunlight

Green Car Congress

The US Department of Energy will invest up to $366 million to establish and operate three new Energy Innovation Hubs focused on accelerating research and development in three key energy areas, one of which is developing an effective solar energy to chemical fuel conversion system—i.e., “Fuels from Sunlight” Each Hub, to be funded at up to $122 million over five years, will bring together a multidisciplinary team of researchers in an effort to speed research and shorten the path

Solar 299
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Volkswagen Unveils New One-Liter Concept Car; Smallest Production-Intent Diesel Yet from Volkswagen Applied in A Full Hybrid Design

Green Car Congress

Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, Member of the Board of Volkswagen Brand Technical Development, in front of the Volkswagen Concept Car L1 in Frankfurt. Click to enlarge. Volkswagen unveiled the L1, its second-generation one-liter class concept car, at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The diesel-electric full-hybrid vehicle, weighing just 380 kilograms (838 lbs), offers an initial glimpse at how a future production version might appear.

Diesel 296
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Google Unveils Faster, Cheaper Mechanism To Track Worldwide Deforestation Online; Support for Land Use Change Measurement, Verification and Reporting

Green Car Congress

by Jack Rosebro. Progressive deforestation in Rondonia, Brazil as seen in. satellite imagery; from left, 1975, 1989, and 2001. Sources: USGS. Landsat images via Google Earth. Click to enlarge. Through its philanthropic arm, Google.org, Google introduced an online suite of beta software that leverages cloud computing to track worldwide land-use changes such as deforestation.

Google 294
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Renault Unveils Four Concept EVs and Quickdrop Battery Switch System; Commits to 100,000 EVs with Better Place

Green Car Congress

Aerial view of the four ZE Concepts: Twizy, Kangoo, Zoe, and Fluence. Click to enlarge. At the Frankfurt Motor Show, Renault unveiled four Lithium-ion battery electric concept vehicles that provide a preview of Renault’s range of production electric vehicles to be released from 2011 on: Twizy ZE Concept (city car); Zoe ZE Concept (compact car); Fluence ZE Concept (5 passenger sedan); and Kangoo ZE Concept (electric van).

Concept 294
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Study Finds Water Use for Switchgrass Ethanol Production Approximately the Same as for Gasoline

Green Car Congress

Consumptive freshwater use for ethanol and petroleum gasoline production. Data: Wu, ANL/ESD/09-1. Click to enlarge. In the US, producing one gallon of ethanol from switchgrass consumes approximately the same net amount of water as does producing a gallon of gasoline from conventional crude or oil sands oil, according to a study by Argonne National Laboratory researchers presented at the 238 th national meeting of the American Chemical Society last week.

Water 292
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Researchers Develop Solid-State, Rechargeable Lithium-Air Battery; Potential to Exceed 1,000 Wh/kg

Green Car Congress

Sample UDRI solid-state, rechargeable lithium-air batteries, and Dr. Binod Kumar. Click to enlarge. Engineers at the University of Dayton Research Institute (UDRI) have developed a solid-state, rechargeable lithium-air battery. When fully developed, the battery could exceed specific energies of 1,000 Wh/kg in practical applications, the researchers wrote in a paper published online 13 November in the Journal of the Electrochemical Society.

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New Study Finds Flaw in Carbon Accounting for Bioenergy, Another Contends That Indirect Land Use Change Emissions for Biofuels Will Be Up To Twice Direct Land Use Change Emissions

Green Car Congress

Thirteen scientists and land use experts conclude in a new paper that an important but fixable error in legal accounting rules used to measure compliance with carbon limits for bioenergy could undermine efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by encouraging deforestation. Their paper is published in the 23 Oct. issue of the journal Science. A separate paper published online in Science Express by researchers from the Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole and MIT concludes that indirect land

Emissions 285
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Northern Lights Energy and Reva Electric Car Company Sign Agreement to Develop the Electric Vehicle Market in Iceland

Green Car Congress

The REVA NXR. Click to enlarge. Northern Lights Energy ( NLE ), the initiator of the 2012 charging infrastructure project and provider of infrastructure and services for electric vehicles (EV) based in Iceland, has signed an agreement with Reva Electric Car Company to jointly develop the electric vehicle market in Iceland. NLE will have exclusive distribution rights for the NXR, the new model premiered by Reva at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, and consequent follow-up models, such as the

REVA 284
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US and China Presidents Announce US-China Electric Vehicles Initiative, Six Other Measures to Strengthen Cooperation Between the Countries on Energy Issues

Green Car Congress

In Beijing, US President Barack Obama and China President Hu Jintao announced a package of seven measures to strengthen cooperation between the United States and China on clean energy, including: a Clean Energy Research Center; Electric Vehicles Initiative; Energy Efficiency Action Plan; Renewable Energy Partnership; 21 st Century Coal; Shale Gas Initiative; and Energy Cooperation Program.

China 281
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INEOS Bio Begins Advanced Waste-to-Ethanol Plant Feasibility Study

Green Car Congress

The INEOS Bio waste-to-ethanol process, originally developed by BRI. Click to enlarge. INEOS Bio, a subsidiary of INEOS, the world’s third-largest chemicals company, has started a feasibility study for a plant in the UK to convert locally generated biodegradable household and commercial wastes into carbon neutral road transport fuel and clean electricity, using the INEOS Bio technology process. ( Earlier post.).

Waste 281
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New Catalytic Pathway for the Reduction of CO2 to CO Under Mild Conditions

Green Car Congress

The reaction for carbon dioxide splitting into carbon monoxide with aromatic aldehydes as oxygen acceptors. Credit: ACS, Gu and Zhang. Click to enlarge. A team of researchers in Singapore have developed a process for the catalytic reduction of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) to carbon monoxide (CO) under mild conditions, using aromatic aldehydes as reductants and N-Heterocyclic Carbenes (NHCs) as organocatalysts.

CO2 281