Mon.Jun 29, 2015

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Opinion: Why Buffett Bet A Billion On Solar: Miles Per Acre Per Year

Green Car Congress

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

Solar 295
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Tesla Battery Gigafactory 'Slightly Ahead Of Schedule': State Officials

Green Car Reports

Tesla is currently juggling several major projects, leading to speculation about when each will be completed. It plans to launch its much-delayed Model X electric SUV later this year, and unveil a concept version of the Model 3 sedan next year. But the Model 3's timeliness is largely dependent on another Tesla project--the company's massive.

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Audi launches next-gen A4 with new Millerized TFSI engine; g-tron model w/ Audi e-gas

Green Car Congress

Audi has unveiled the new-generation Audi A4 and A4 Avant, developed with a high priority on the reduction of CO 2 emissions. Among other developments, the new A4 is the launch vehicle for the new high-efficiency 2.0L TFSI based on Miller cycle, introduced by Audi earlier this year at the Vienna Motor Symposium. ( Earlier post.) The A4 Sedan and the A4 Avant will be launched in the market this fall.

Audi 216
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BMW i3 Electric Car Quirk: No AM Radio--But Why?

Green Car Reports

The BMW i3 electric car is a tour de force of advanced engineering--and the most energy-efficient car sold in the U.S. this year. Its body shell is made of carbon-fiber reinforced plastic, riding on an aluminum platform containing the lithium-ion battery, the electric motor, and the crash structures. But you can't get AM radio in the car. DON'T.

BMW 128
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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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DOE to award $20M to projects to recover rare earth elements from coal and coal byproducts

Green Car Congress

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a funding opportunity ( DE-FOA-0001202 ) that will award an estimated $20 million to projects quickly to develop bench scale and pilot scale projects for recovering Rare Earth Elements (REE)—a set of seventeen chemical elements in the periodic table and key components of electronics and renewable energy technologies—from coal and coal byproducts.

Coal 214
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Solid-State Batteries Already Powering Electric Cars: BlueCars, In Fact

Green Car Reports

In the quest for a better battery chemistry that can make electric cars more competitive with internal combustion, solid-state cells have generated quite a bit of buzz. As the name implies, solid-state cells replace the liquid electrolyte used in current lithium-ion cells with a solid material--a design that has numerous potential advantages.

More Trending

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VW Renewable Diesel Test Finds Same Drivability, Lower Carbon Emissions

Green Car Reports

Three years ago, Volkswagen announced that it was testing two different types of renewable diesel fuel in a pair of its TDI diesel-engined cars sold in the U.S. Now, the company says it has finished its testing, and the results are in. The renewable fuel gave the same performance as conventional crude oil-based diesel, and cut wells-to-wheels.

Renewable 128
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Wireless charging company Evatran gains $1.6M strategic investment from China Tier 1 supplier

Green Car Congress

Evatran Group, Inc. has completed a strategic investment from Zhejiang VIE Science and Technology Company (VIE), a manufacturer of automotive parts based in Zhejiang Province, China. The initial investment of $1.6 million is the first phase of a planned further partnership with Evatran to introduce wireless electric vehicle (EV) charging product to China.

China 203
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Chevy Cruze Hybrid Coming Soon To Join Diesel, Gasoline Models?

Green Car Reports

Sometimes a few words can make all the difference. In last week's seminars and presentations on the new 2016 Chevrolet Cruze compact sedan, GM discussed its 1.4-liter turbocharged gasoline engine and gave a few scant details on a future 1.6-liter diesel model as well. But the company also suggested the possibility of a future Chevy Cruze Hybrid.

Gasoline 122
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National Electric Vehicle Sweden celebrates ground breaking for production and R&D in China

Green Car Congress

National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS) held its project launching ceremony for the production and research & development joint ventures in Tianjin Binhai Hi-tech zone on 28th June, marking the start of NEVS’ strategic setup in China. NEVS’ Tianjin factory will be focused on new energy vehicles with an annual capacity of 200,000 units. NEVS will thus have two global production units, with the Trollhättan factory to support the Tianjin factory with manufacturing planning, workers training and pro

Sweden 203
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Faurecia and Accenture partner on products and services for connected and autonomous vehicles

Brief

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Tesla Gigafactory Update, VW Tests Renewable Diesel, Chevy Cruze Hybrid: Today's Car News

Green Car Reports

Today, we have an update on construction of the Tesla battery "Gigafactory," Volkswagen's verdict on renewable diesel, and the possibility of a Chevrolet Cruze hybrid. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Breathing the fumes produced by heavy traffic is bad for your health, but could the actual noise it makes cause problems as well? A new study.

Renewable 117
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Fuel cells: Ballard Power Systems buying Protonex for $30M

Green Car Congress

Ballard Power Systems signed a definitive agreement to acquire Protonex Technology Corporation, a designer and manufacturer of advanced power management products and portable fuel cell solutions, in a transaction valued at $30 million. Ballard is assuming and paying Protonex’s debt obligations at closing, currently estimated at approximately $4.4 million, and paying the balance of approximately $25.6 million through the issuance of 11.2 million Ballard shares.

Power 197
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Diesel Priced Almost As Low As Gasoline, As Gas Demand Surges

Green Car Reports

The price of diesel fuel in the U.S. has fallen more than 25 cents per gallon this year. And thanks to high demand for gasoline, the two fuels now cost nearly the same in many states. The difference in price between gasoline and diesel is now the smallest that it's been in six years. DON'T MISS: U.S. Drivers Covered Record High Number Of Miles So.

Gasoline 114
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Evident launches skutterudite thermoelectric product

Green Car Congress

Evident Thermoelectrics has launched the first commercial thermoelectric product using skutterudite material technology: the Evident Skutterudite Test Kit. This thermoelectric material, which was originally developed by NASA to power deep space probes, operates in the mid- to high-temperature range—suited for, among other applications, automotive.

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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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Volkswagen announces successful completion of 2-year drop-in renewable diesel evaluation with Solazyme and Amyris

Green Car Congress

Volkswagen of America announced the successful completion of its Renewable Diesel Evaluation Program in collaboration with Solazyme and Amyris. ( Earlier post.) Beginning in 2012, Volkswagen measured the environmental impacts from the use of pre-commercial renewable diesel formulas with TDI Clean Diesel technology found in the 2012 Passat TDI (which uses a NO x storage system) and 2012 Jetta TDI (SCR system).

Renewable 197
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Toyota’s THUMS 5 software can model occupant posture immediately before collisions

Green Car Congress

Studies show that roughly half of drivers take defensive action (such as sudden braking or steering) to avoid collisions, with vehicle occupants commonly bracing themselves at the same time. Occupant posture—whether braced or relaxed—has a significant effect on body movement during a collision. However, current human surrogate models used in virtual crash simulations are unable to simulate the reflexive defensive actions that humans take in the moments before an imminent collision, s

2004 197
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Europe’s BBI JU issues new €200M call for proposals for bioeconomy projects

Green Car Congress

Europe’s Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU) has issued a new, more than €200-million (US$223-million) call for proposals for bioeconomy projects. This latest call for proposals follows a €100-million (US$111-million) call launched in May. The BBI JU, a €3.7-billion (US$4.1-billion) public-private partnership aimed at supporting the development of Europe’s emerging bioeconomy, itself was launched in July 2014.

Oil 188