Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 2, 2012

Simplified schematic of the wireless energy transfer system in free space. Yu et al. Click to enlarge. A Stanford University research team is designing a high-efficiency wireless charging system using magnetic resonance coupling ( earlier post ) to wirelessly transmit large electric currents between metal coils placed several feet apart. The long-term goal of the research is to develop an all-electric highway that wirelessly charges cars and trucks as they cruise down the road.

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Design Charging MIT Massachusetts 301

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 17, 2012

The BMW 116d EfficientDynamics Edition will make its debut at the 2012 International Motor Show in Geneva. Powered by a 1.6-liter, 85 kW/116 hp diesel engine with BMW TwinPower Turbo Technology, its average fuel consumption in the EU test cycle is 3.8 liters per 100 kilometers (62 mpg US), with CO 2 emissions of 99 g/km. The new 116d accelerates from zero to 100 km/h in 10.5 seconds.

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BMW MPG Diesel 2012 291

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 15, 2012

Seattle, Washington-based EnerG2 ( earlier post ) recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of its new manufacturing facility for electric vehicle battery components in Albany, Oregon. Supported in part by $21.3 million in funding from the US Department of Energy (DOE) through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, this facility will produce nano-engineered carbon materials for batteries and other energy storage devices that can be used in electric drive vehicles.

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Batteries Battery Lead Acid Energy Storage 291

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 15, 2012

The total size of the global hydrogen and fuel cell market—including revenues from fuel cells and from hydrogen for fuel cells and internal combustion engines (ICEs)—will reach $785 million in 2012, according to a new white paper from Pike Research. The white paper describes ten key trends for the hydrogen and fuel cell industry in 2012.

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2012 Hydrogen Fuel United Kingdom 286

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 1, 2012

A new study by researchers at MIT’s Center for Transportation and Logistics (CTL), concludes that electric commercial vehicles can cost 9 to 12% less to operate than trucks powered by diesel engines when used to make deliveries on an everyday basis in big cities and when V2G (vehicle-to-grid) revenue is incorporated. The CTL study was conducted using data collected by the international office supplier Staples, as well as ISO New England, the nonprofit firm that runs New England’s electric power

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MIT Fleet Diesel Commercial 284

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 16, 2012

Researchers in the Netherlands have demonstrated the direct conversion of synthesis gas through a Fischer-Tropsch process to C 2 through C 4 light olefins with selectivity up to 60 wt.% using catalysts that constitute iron nanoparticles (promoted by sulfur plus sodium) homogeneously dispersed on weakly interactive ?-alumina or carbon nanofiber supports.

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Conversion Light Gas Sodium 281

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 5, 2012

Honda Motor Co., Ltd. has installed a 9 kW-capacity solar power generation system at the Adachi Odai location of the Honda Cars Tokyo Chuo dealer network. The installation is the kick-off of a project to install Honda Soltec solar power generation systems with a total capacity of 1 MW at Honda automobile dealership locations in Japan by 31 March 2014.

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Automobile Honda Japan Installation 281

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 11, 2012

US Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced three winning startup companies—based on a public vote and an expert review—out of the 14 participating in the US Department of Energy (DOE) “ America’s Next Top Energy Innovator ” challenge. ( Earlier post.). Initially, 36 start-up companies elected to participate in this first-of-its-kind effort.

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Hydrogen Engine Energy Batteries 279

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 18, 2012

Schematic of a redox flow battery. Staiger et al. Click to enlarge. Sandia researchers have developed a new family of electrochemically reversible, metal-based ionic liquid (MetILs) that could lead to non-aqueous redox (reducing-oxidizing) flow-battery energy storage systems ( earlier post ) able to cost-effectively store three times more energy than today’s batteries.

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Low Cost Batteries Battery Energy Storage 278

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 3, 2012

Audi will compete in the 80 th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans on 16-17 June 2012 with a total of four LMP1 sports cars. Two of the four cars in action will be equipped with hybrid drive for the first time. Audi Sport Team Joest will also follow a two-pronged approach in the newly created FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) during the 2012 season.

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Audi Hybrid 2001 Belgium 277

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 3, 2012

Proposed oil sands monitoring by 2015. Click to enlarge. The Government of Canada and Government of Alberta unveiled “The Joint Canada-Alberta Implementation Plan for Oil Sands Monitoring” in a partnership to improve environmental monitoring in the oil sands region with a program that will sample more sites for more substances more frequently. The program is designed to provide an improved understanding of the long-term cumulative effects of oil sands development.

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Oil-Sands Canada Oil Water 274

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 8, 2012

Enterprise Rent-A-Car is adding the Torrance, Calif., rental office at 20625 Hawthorne Blvd as the 11 th location in Southern California offering electric vehicle (EV) rentals, providing customers throughout Southern California with the opportunity to experience EV technology with the addition of Nissan LEAF EVs and an on-site charging station. In collaboration with the South Bay Cities Council of Governments (SBCCOG), Enterprise is also piloting an “EV Owners Discount Program” for customers at

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San Diego United Kingdom Sustainable Transportation California 268

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 24, 2012

The US Department of Energy (DOE) Advanced Research Projects Agency—Energy (ARPA-E) will make $30 million available for a new research competition in the coming months focused on natural gas vehicles ( DE-FOA-0000672 ). DOE will also make $14 million available ( DE-FOA-0000615 ) to support research and development into biofuels from algae. President Obama announced both new programs during a speech on Thursday at the University of Miami.

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Gas Miami Low Cost 2012 268

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 22, 2012

New Energy dCi 90 engine. Click to enlarge. Renault is introducing two new 1.5L diesel engines in its Energy family ( earlier post )—the Energy dCi 90 and 75—and applying them first in the Kangoo range. Fuel consumption will be 4.4 liters/100 km (53.5 mpg US), equivalent to 115g of CO 2 /km. Oil change intervals have been extended to every 40,000 km/two years, instead of every 30,000 km/two years, the longest in the engine’s class.

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Energy Engine Range Diesel 268

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 13, 2012

The President’s Budget for FY 2013 provides $27.2 billion in discretionary funds for the US Department of Energy (DOE), a 3.2% increase above the 2012 enacted. level. The request includes increased funding for clean energy, research and development to spur innovation, and advanced manufacturing. Savings and efficiencies are achieved through eliminating more than $4 billion annually in fossil fuel subsidies; eliminating low-priority and low-performing programs, and by concentrating resources on f

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2013 Fuel Wind 2012 261

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 29, 2012

Shanghai Daily. The city of Shanghai, China will spend 10.3 billion yuan (US$1.63 billion) on 53 projects targeting air pollution, especially for PM2.5 control, over the next three years. The city will begin publicly reporting PM 2.5 in June. Exhaust from motor vehicles and boats account for 25% of the PM 2.5 , according to the Shanghai Environmental Protection Bureau said yesterday.

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Pollution Exhaust Cleaner China 257

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 20, 2012

A complete overhaul of global environmental governance is urgently needed if the challenges of global sustainability are to be met for seven billion people, according to a wide-ranging Foresight Process conducted by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The process involved a Foresight Panel and more than 400 scientists and experts from around the world.

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Global Environment Climate Change International 257

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 7, 2012

The Government of Québec plans to inject C$27 million in Québec’s first full-scale commercial cellulosic ethanol plant through the Ministry of Natural Resources and Wildlife and Investissement Québec. This facility will be built and operated by a joint venture partnership formed by Enerkem, a waste-to-biofuels and chemicals company, and GreenField Ethanol, Canada’s largest ethanol company.

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Waste Canada Mississippi Commercial 257

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 17, 2012

Pike Research forecasts that the global market for biofuels will more than double over the coming decade, increasing from $82.7 billion in 2011 to $185.3 billion by 2021. At least 38 national governments have enacted blending mandates or targets to accelerate the expansion of biofuels production and consumption in the transportation sector. However, despite strong. growth in the industry over the next decade, Pike expects production volumes to fall short of an estimated 71.8 BGPY of biofuels dem

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Global Market 2012 Financing 253

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 17, 2012

Anheuser-Busch Companies, LLC and Blue Marble Biomaterials recently signed a memorandum of understanding to begin development of a bio-refinery pilot at a North American Anheuser-Busch facility. Blue Marble uses novel bacterial consortia to produce specialty biochemicals from the anaerobic fermentation of a range of biomass feedstocks. ( Earlier post. ).

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Companies Montana Waste Personal 252

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 10, 2012

Autonomous sensor systems for vehicle safety. Source: GM. Click to enlarge. The 2013 Cadillac XTS will feature GM’s first application of a Driver Assistance Package using sensor fusion, which combines the information of several, generally heterogeneous sensors and positioning technologies to alert drivers more accurately of road hazards and help them avoid crashes.

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Fusion GM Cadillac 2013 252

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 4, 2012

The US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has published the Notice of Availability (NOA) of the Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) and Possible Land Use Amendments for Allocation of Oil Shale and Tar Sands Resources on Lands Administered by the BLM in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. The publication opens a 90-day public review and comment period.

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Oil-Sands Oil Available Commercial 252

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 4, 2012

US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the availability of funds for Fiscal Year 2012 for two key programs to encourage the use of renewable biomass and production of advanced biofuels. About $25 million will be made available through each program. Up to $25 million will be available to advanced biofuels producers who expect to produce eligible advanced biofuels at any time during Fiscal Year 2012.

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Renewable Waste Energy 2012 252

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 28, 2012

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) “ Inventory of US Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2010 ” draft report shows that in 2010, overall greenhouse gas (GHGs) emissions increased by 3.3% from the previous year. This trend is attributed to an increase in energy consumption across all economic sectors, due to increasing energy demand associated with an expansion in the economy.

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2010 EPA Emissions Transportation 250

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 13, 2012

Pond-to-wheel GHG estimates for low-impact, nominal, and high-impact algal diesel fuel technology sets. Well-to-wheel GHG estimates for palm hydrotreated renewable diesel (HRD) fuel, with and without direct LUC, and diesel fuel included to enable comparisons. Contribution by stage shown in the inset charts. Credit: ACS, Vasudevan et al. Click to enlarge.

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MIT Oil Water Minneapolis 250

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 9, 2012

Evonik Industries is presenting the lightweight battery-electric Elise-E at the Car Symposium in Bochum. The vehicle weighs 950 kg (2,094 lb), has a power of 150 kW, accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.4 seconds and has a top speed limited to 200 km/h (124 mph). The purpose of exhibiting the vehicle is to show the automotive industry what can be achieved with our expertise in chemicals.

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Lithium Ion Carbon Fiber Electric Electrical 250

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 7, 2012

Intelligent Energy and the Suzuki Motor Corporation have created a joint venture company called SMILE FC System Corporation to develop and manufacture air-cooled fuel cell systems for a range of industry sectors. The joint venture also includes a non-exclusive license agreement that gives Suzuki access to Intelligent Energy’s fuel cell technology for its next generation of fuel cell vehicles.

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Suzuki Corporation Motor Motors 250

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 8, 2012

Mitsubishi’s i-MIEV battery electric vehicle took the top spot from the Honda Civic Natural Gas on the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy’s (ACEEE) 14 th annual environmental ranking. The natural gas Civic had held first place for 8 years running. Making its model year 2012 debut on the US market, the i-MIEV earned a score of 58, the highest Green Score awarded since the rankings began in 1998.

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i-MiEV Gas Honda Insight Li-ion 247

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 7, 2012

GM is continuing the deployment of the eAssist light electrification system ( earlier post ) as a standard across its platforms. Starting with the arrival of 2013 models, eAssist will be standard on the Regal with the discontinuation of the 2.4L base model. Both the Regal Turbo and Regal GS models will remain available. For the 2012 model year, eAssist became standard for the larger Buick LaCrosse luxury sedan.

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Congress Buick 2013 GM 247

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 21, 2012

The military is interested in replacing lead-acid batteries with higher performing Li-ion systems. From a 2011 TARDEC presentation. (Skalny). Click to enlarge. A123 Systems has introduced the Military 6T Battery, a robust Li-ion battery system engineered specifically to meet the demanding requirements of military vehicles. The 6T is a standard form factor (10.5 in. x 10 in. x 8.5 in.), and is used in a wide range of applications.

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Li-ion Lead Acid Lithium Ion Design 247

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 23, 2012

Volvo Car Corporation, Ericsson, the utility company Göteborg Energi and the Viktoria Institute are collaborating in the research project ELVIIS (Electric Vehicle Intelligent Infra Structure) to develop a concept for using intelligent infrastructure for the smart on-board charging of plug-in vehicles. The new architecture allows drivers to control charging of cars while plugged into any ordinary power outlet.

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Volvo Corporation Plug-in Plug 246

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 16, 2012

Toyota Motor Corporation’s (TMC) production affiliate in Taiwan, Kuozui Motors, Ltd. (Kuozui), has started production and sales of the Camry Hybrid in Taiwan. Production of the Camry Hybrid at Kuozui’s Kuanying Plant in Taiwan’s Taoyuan County began on 15 February, making the plant Toyota’s seventh hybrid-vehicle production site outside Japan. Initial annual production is set at approximately 7,000 vehicles, to be the exclusive supply of the domestic market.

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Camry Hybrid Taiwan Japan Hybrid 246

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 16, 2012

Lehr, Inc., a company that patented the use of propane canisters to fuel small engines, is introducing the first OEM marine outboard engines that run on propane. Benefits of the propane engine include: Up to 50% lower fuel cost and more cost effective to use and maintain; No gasoline polluting the water; No ethanol or fuel related issues; Zero evaporative emissions; and.

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Miami Engine International Fuel 246

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 9, 2012

2013 Beetle TDI. Click to enlarge. Volkswagen will bring the new Beetle TDI diesel ( earlier post ), unveiled at the Chicago Auto Show, to market in the US this summer as a 2013 model. Pricing of the diesel model, which is joining the gasoline-fueled Beetle 2.5L and Turbo in the lineup, will be announced closer to market launch. From 1998 until 2006, the New Beetle was fitted with a 1.9-liter turbocharged four-cylinder diesel engine.

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Diesel Sale Exhaust Engine 246

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 8, 2012

The US Department of Energy (DOE) Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E) released two Requests For Information (RFIs). The first ( DE-FOA-0000663 ) concerns a draft Open Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). ARPA-E intends to formally issue a revised version of this Open FOA in early March 2012. The Open FOA is expected to support transformational and disruptive high-impact energy R&D projects related to renewable power, bioenergy, transportation, conventional generation, the elec

Commercial 246

Commercial Grid Fuel Transportation 246

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 7, 2012

The US Department of Transportation (DOT) Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office (ITS JPO) will hold a free Policy Research Workshop on Enabling a Secure Environment for Vehicle-to-Vehicle and Vehicle-to-Infrastructure Transactions on 19-20 April in Washington, DC. This two-day workshop will give participants an opportunity to learn about and provide input into research being conducted on potential organizational and business models for supporting security and data transaction n

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Environment Vehicles Washington Financing 246

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 2, 2012

Enhancement in thermal conductivity. Credit: ACS, Taha-Tijerina et al. Click to enlarge. Rice University scientists have created a nano-infused mineral oil that could greatly enhance the ability of devices as large as electrical transformers and as small as microelectronic components to shed excess heat. The approach, described in a paper in the journal ACS Nano , could increase the thermal conductivity of such thermal oils by as much as 80% without compromising the electrically insulating prope

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Oil Mexico Automobile Solar 246