Sat.Jun 16, 2012 - Fri.Jun 22, 2012

Green Car Congress

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Audi R18 e-tron quattro hybrid with flywheel energy system wins Le Mans; first hybrid win there

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The R18 e-tron quattro hybrids at work. Click to enlarge. Marking the first victory of a hybrid vehicle at Le Mans, the Audi R18 e-tron quattro ( earlier post ), equipped with Williams Hybrid Power’s (WHP) electromechanical hybrid flywheel system, took the top two spots at the 80 th running of the endurance race over the weeken. The win was Audi’s 11 th Le Mans victory.

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Honda to begin reuse of rare earth metals extracted from used NiMH batteries before year end; targeting extraction from motors and Li-ion batteries as well

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Flow of the reuse of rare earth metals Honda is striving to achieve. Click to enlarge. Honda Motor Co., Ltd., which has been extracting rare earth metals from used nickel-metal hydride batteries at the plant of Japan Metals & Chemicals Co., Ltd. from April of this year, plans to begin reusing the extracted metals before the end of 2012. Honda will pursue the recycling of precious resources by reusing extracted rare earth metals not only for nickel-metal hydride batteries, but also for use in a w

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ITF analysis finds that societal costs for electric cars and vans range from €7K to €12K more than fossil-fueled equivalents

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Sample consumer and societal break-even curves for BEVs, with data points for a compact diesel for comparison. Source: Philippe Crist — Discussion Paper 2012-03. Click to enlarge. Electric passenger cars currently cost €4K to €5K (US$5,079 to $6,349) more to their owners than an equivalent fossil fuel car over the vehicle’s lifetime, according to the latest policy brief from the International Transport Forum (ITF), an intergovernmental organization with 54 member countries at the OECD.

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Federal Mogul develops advanced aluminum piston for high-performance light-duty diesel engines

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Federal-Mogul’s DuraBowl technology strengthens the crown of a piston, improving the aluminum’s strength where it is most needed. Click to enlarge. Federal-Mogul Corporation has. developed an aluminium piston that meets the higher strength and thermal performance. demands of very high-power diesel engines. BMW is the first to use the piston in its triple-turbo 3.0-liter diesel (N57D30S1) engine applied in the M550d xDrive, with a specific power output of 93 kW/liter (124 bhp/liter).

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Cellulosic ethanol from oil palm empty fruit bunch

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Researchers from Malaysia and Japan report on an efficient method of producing the cellulosic ethanol from oil palm waste in the Pertanika Journal of Tropical Agricultural Science. Researchers first separated glucose from cellulose in the plant matter, and then used it as a substrate for ethanol production. Oil palm empty fruit bunch is an abundant biomass waste, with 15 million tonnes generated annually by palm oil mills in Malaysia alone.

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Pike Research forecasts clean diesels to represent more than 12% of global light-duty vehicle sales by 2018; outpacing hybrids in North America

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Annual clean diesel ldv sales by region, world markets: 2012-2018. Source: Pike Research. Click to enlarge. A new report from Pike Research finds that rising fuel prices and stronger fuel economy regulations will stimulate increasing demand for clean diesel vehicles in markets around the world, and forecasts sales of these vehicles will increase from 9.1 million in 2012 to 12.1 million annually by 2018, representing 12.4% of all LDV sales by the end of that period.

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EPA rating for 85 kWh Tesla Model S: 89 MPGe, 265-mile range

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The EPA has rated the Tesla Model S luxury EV equipped with the 85 kWh pack at 89 MPGe combined (88 MPGe city, 90 MPGe highway), with a range per charge of 265 miles. Tesla is offering a choice of three battery pack configurations on the Model S: 40, 60, and 85 kWH packs, along with an 85 kWh pack performance model. The numbers for the other packs have not been released, according to Tesla.

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