Sat.Mar 31, 2018 - Fri.Apr 06, 2018

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Tesla Q1 2018 vehicle production up 40% from Q4; Model 3 now at +2,000 units per week

Green Car Congress

Tesla reported Q1 2018 vehicle production of 34,494 vehicles—a 40% increase from Q4 and its most productive quarter. Of the total, 24,728 (72%) were Model S and Model X, and 9,766 (28%) were Model 3. The Model 3 output increased fourfold over last quarter. Tesla was able to double the weekly Model 3 production rate during the quarter by addressing production and supply chain bottlenecks, including several short factory shutdowns to upgrade equipment.

2018 262
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Why I traded my Chevy Bolt EV for a Tesla: one reader's story

Green Car Reports

As a nation, the U.S. takes lots of road trips, because most of the country has no viable mass transit between city pairs. If electric cars are ever to enter the mass market in North America, they have to be usable on those road trips. Last year, our reader Jay Lucas of Alexandria, Virginia, wrote an account of his road trip in a new 2017.

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Lightning Systems battery-electric heavy-duty Ford Transit showing 61 MPGe city, 66 MPGe highway

Green Car Congress

Lightning Systems, a global developer of zero-emissions solutions for commercial fleets, is taking its new Ford Transit LightningElectric model ( earlier post ) on the road, showcasing the recently released vehicle efficiency ratings of 61 MPGe on in-town routes and 66 MPGe on highway. The LightningElectric is a battery-electric drivetrain package for the heavy-duty Ford Transit, a product used extensively by commercial and government fleets.

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NUS team discovers bacterium that produces only biobutanol directly from cellulose

Green Car Congress

A team of engineers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) recently discovered that a naturally occurring bacterium, Thermoanaerobacterium thermosaccharolyticum TG57, isolated from waste generated after harvesting mushrooms, is capable of directly converting cellulose to biobutanol. In an open-access paper in the journal Science Advances , the research team, led by Associate Professor He Jianzhong, reported that TG57 is capable of using microcrystalline cellulose directly to produce but

Singapore 247
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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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Ceres Power unveils 5 kW SteelCell SOFC stack, V5 SteelCell technology

Green Car Congress

Ceres Power, a UK-based spin-out from Imperial College, recently unveiled a new 5kW stack platform and the latest advancements of its SteelCell V5 solid-oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology. ( Earlier post.). In less than two years, five global OEMs have signed joint development agreements to work with the SteelCell including Cummins ( earlier post ), Honda ( earlier post ) and Nissan ( earlier post ).

Power 231
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Study projects future EVs to have 30-70% lower environmental impacts that current EVs when changes to electricity generation are considered

Green Car Congress

Numerous studies have tackled the future environmental impact of battery-electric vehicles; the resulting assessments are highly uncertain. Now, a team of researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institut in Switzerland, with colleagues at Leiden University (Netherlands) and PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency have used Monte Carlo and global sensitivity analysis to quantify parametric uncertainty of the impacts.

Future 231

More Trending

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Buick announces VELITE 6 PHEV, BEV models for China

Green Car Congress

Buick will add two new models to its China portfolio—the VELITE 6 plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) and VELITE 6 battery-electric vehicle (BEV)—to tap into the fast-growing domestic demand for new energy vehicles. In April 2017, Buick introduced the Velite 5, its first extended-range electric vehicle, in a global debut in Shanghai. ( Earlier post.

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DESY study finds edges and corners increase efficiency of catalytic converters

Green Car Congress

Catalytic converters for cleaning exhaust emissions are more efficient when they use nanoparticles with many edges, according to a study carried out at the the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), a research center of the Helmholtz Association, X-ray source PETRA III. A team of scientists from the DESY NanoLab watched live as carbon monoxide (CO) was converted into CO 2 on the surface of noble metal nanoparticles such as those used in catalytic converters of cars.

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NASA awards $247.5M contract to Lockheed Martin Skunk Works to build quieter supersonic aircraft

Green Car Congress

NASA has awarded a contract for the design, building and testing of a supersonic aircraft that reduces a sonic boom to a gentle thump. Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company was selected for the Low-Boom Flight Demonstration contract, a cost-plus-incentive-fee contract valued at $247.5 million. Work under the contract began 2 April and runs through 31 December 2021.

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RPI team develops method to use paper-making by-product in lithium-sulfur batteries

Green Car Congress

Lignosulfonate, a sulfonated carbon waste material, is a major by-product in the papermaking industry. Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) have now developed a method to use this cheap and abundant waste byproduct to build a components for lithium-sulfur batteries. Reported in an open-access paper published in the RSC journal Sustainable Energy & Fuels , the method uses lignosulfonate as both the donor (decomposition of sulfonic groups (–SO 3 H)) of sulfur and the sulfur accept

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

Brief

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EPA: GHG emissions standards for cars and light trucks should be revised; joint process with NHTSA (updated with more reactions)

Green Car Congress

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt announced the completion of the Midterm Evaluation (MTE) process for the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions standards for cars and light trucks for model years 2022-2025, and his final determination that the current standards are not appropriate and should be revised. Administrator Pruitt also announced the start of a joint process with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to develop a notice and comment ru

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Northwestern team develops new approach to catalyst design using SPBCL and DFT; new HER catalyst 7x more active than Pt

Green Car Congress

Researchers at Northwestern University have developed a new approach for creating new catalysts to aid in clean energy conversion and storage. The design method, reported in a paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , (PNAS) also has the potential to impact the discovery of new optical and data storage materials, catalysts that impact pharmaceutical synthesis and catalysts that allow for higher efficiency processing of petroleum products at much lower cost.

Design 191
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NUS-led research team develops cost-effective technique for mass production of high-quality graphene; 50x less solvent

Green Car Congress

A research team led by the National University of Singapore (NUS) has developed an economical and industrially viable strategy to produce graphene. The new technique addresses the long-standing challenge of an efficient process for large-scale production of graphene, and paves the way for sustainable synthesis of the material. Graphene is a two-dimensional material with a honeycomb structure of only one atom thick.

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Volkswagen of America hires Tesla Model S, X program manager to steer objectives for MEB EV line

Green Car Congress

Volkswagen of America, Inc. (VWoA) has appointed Matthew Renna as Vice President, Volkswagen North American Region (NAR)-G4, effective 16 April 2018. Renna will manage the NAR-G4 team, steering objectives for the Modular Electrification Toolkit (MEB) line, Volkswagen’s modular system for manufacturing electric vehicles. Renna most recently served as program manager for Model S and Model X at Tesla Motors.

America 186
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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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NREL-led team overcomes major technical obstacle in Mg-metal batteries by developing artificial solid-electrolyte interphase

Green Car Congress

Magnesium offers a number of advantages over lithium for rechargeable batteries: it is safer and earth-abundant, and doubles the total charge per ion, delivering larger theoretical volumetric capacity compared with a typical lithium-ion battery. Further, in Mg batteries (MB) the anode is energy-dense Mg metal (~?3,830 ?Ah? l ?1 )—surpassing the theoretical volumetric energy density of graphite anodes (~?

Batteries 186
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SoftBank Group to acquire 9.9% of Nemaska Lithium

Green Car Congress

Nemaska Lithium Inc. has entered into an investment agreement with SoftBank Group Corp. for a private placement of common share subscription receipts at a price of CAD 1.12 (USD 0.88) per receipt for aggregate gross proceeds of up to CAD 99,075,000 (USD 75,000,000). Under the investment agreement, SoftBank will acquire up to 9.9% of Nemaska Lithium’s outstanding common shares.

Financing 170
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Notre Dame team develops plasma-enabled catalysis for ammonia production at milder conditions at smaller scale

Green Car Congress

The Haber-Bosch process developed in the early 1900s relies on non-renewable fossil fuels and large, centralized chemical plants for the large-scale synthesis of ammonia at elevated temperatures (~700 K) and pressures (~100atm). Researchers at the University of Notre Dame have now developed a sustainable low-temperature and -pressure ammonia synthesis process using plasma-based catalysis.

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Porsche invests in Israeli AI start-up Anagog; on-device mobility status detection

Green Car Congress

Porsche Digital GmbH has purchased a minority stake in Israeli start-up Anagog as a strategic expansion to its digital innovation portfolio. Founded in 2010, the Tel Aviv-based start-up currently has around 30 employees and specializes in developing artificial intelligence (AI) in the context of mobility. Daimler also recently took a stake in the company. ( Earlier post.).

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New photocatalyst for the hydrogenation of CO2 to methanol with high selectivity at atmospheric pressure

Green Car Congress

Researchers from Soochow University in China and the University of Toronto have developed a new photocatalyst for the hydrogenation of CO 2 to methanol with 50% selectivity under simulated solar irradiation. A paper on their work appears in the journal Joule. The solar methanol production of the defect-laden indium oxide, In 2 O 3-x (OH) y , with a rod-like nanocrystal superstructure, can be stabilized at a rate of 0.06 mmol g cat -1 h -1 at atmospheric pressure.

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China NEV startup Singulato to invest ~$2.4B in Suzhou

Green Car Congress

Xinhua reports that Chinese new energy vehicle (NEV) start-up Singulato Motors plans to invest some $2.39 billion in eastern China’s Suzhou over the next five years. A partnership between the company and the Suzhou city government covers research and development, production and industrial investment in the NEV industry. Singulato’s first production car will be iS6 SUV, due to be on market this year.

China 170
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2018 Nissan Leaf electric car: Is there a fast-charging problem?

Green Car Reports

As Tesla has shown, not all fast charging is created equal. Now owners of the new 2018 Nissan Leaf are complaining that the car's "fast" charging is not always as fast as advertised. Owners have found that the car's electronic management software dials back charging speeds with each successive fast charge on any given trip. Nissan says this.

2018 122
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California now has 33 hydrogen fueling stations for 4,200 fuel-cell cars so far

Green Car Reports

Hydrogen fuel first went on sale in California in January 2015, more than three years ago, though it had been dispensed free at a dozen or so prototype locations before that. Five years ago, the state set a goal of 100 hydrogen fueling stations throughout the state by 2020, a deadline that now appears unlikely to be met. On Friday, the state's.

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China plans to standardize electric-car tech nationally to expand its global lead

Green Car Reports

Sales of plug-in electric vehicles in China were almost four times those in the U.S. last year, and the gap is expected to widen this year. The world's largest car market is engineering a massive shift over the next two decades away from cars with combustion engines toward battery-powered cars. It is a way for China to address hazardous air.

China 116
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5 things about the 2019 Hyundai Kona Electric we learned at the NY auto show

Green Car Reports

After a Detroit auto show that was about little except pickup trucks and a new Jeep, followed by a tepid Chicago show, New York proved to be relatively rich in interesting new green cars. The standout was clearly the 2019 Hyundai Kona Electric, the 250-mile battery-electric small hatchback that will go on sale before the end of the year. While it.

2019 113
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Tesla Model 3 production crossed 2,000 last week; is it sustainable?

Green Car Reports

Tesla reported Tuesday that it built 34,494 electric cars in the first quarter of 2018, by far its largest quarterly production total ever. But all eyes were on one number: the production of Model 3 sedans, which was 9,766 vehicles out of that total. Of the rest, 11,730 were Model S hatchback sedans and 10,070 were Model X crossover utility.

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Smart to go all-electric worldwide by 2020: Daimler CEO

Green Car Reports

The U.S. sales history of the Smart two-seat minicar started with a bang in 2008, when gasoline prices soared, and has waned since then. A complete redesign of the little ForTwo in the 2016 model year, with the Cabrio soft-top following for 2017, didn't do much for sales. That led parent company Daimler to make a radical decision: For the 2018.

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Nissan Leaf refurbished batteries offered for older electric cars, in Japan

Green Car Reports

With more than 300,000 Nissan Leaf electric cars on the road, some more than six years old, battery degradation is becoming more and more of an issue. The different rates of capacity loss are a topic of much discussion among Leaf owners, but it now seems likely that Nissan's choice of passive air cooling rather than active liquid cooling has.

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2019 Jaguar I-Pace: brief first drive of all-electric luxury crossover

Green Car Reports

A parking lot in suburban New Jersey isn’t the first place I’d look for a revolution. According to Jaguar, it’s where ours will start. After less than four minutes behind the wheel of the 2019 Jaguar I-Pace, the electric Jaguar feels like the beginning of something. DON'T MISS: 2019 Jaguar I-Pace electric crossover debuts in.

2019 105
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Classic Mini converted to electric previews 2019 Mini E to come

Green Car Reports

With a new, all-electric Mini E set to arrive in dealerships in a year or less, BMW wants to highlight the idea of a Mini Cooper powered by batteries. That's what led it to display an "old Mini" converted to electric power at a reception before last week's New York auto show. Sadly, the car wasn't on display at the show itself because—as.

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Buyers in seven Northeast states urged to consider electric cars

Green Car Reports

When companies want to sell more of something, they market it. Now, at long last, electric cars are about to get the same treatment. Following an announcement at the New York International Auto Show last week, 16 major automakers are joining forces with seven states to promote sales of electric vehicles to consumers. The Alliance for Automobile.

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2018 Hyundai Ioniq Electric "Unlimited" subscription more limited this year

Green Car Reports

While global demand for the Hyundai Ioniq Electric appears to be strong, supplies have remained limited. The battery-electric compact hatchback, rated at 124 miles of range by the EPA, forgoes the "weird styling" of contenders like the previous Nissan Leaf. In the U.S., however, the all-electric Ioniq has been limited in sales to certain areas of.

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Electric I-Pace may lead Jaguar design, style into the future

Green Car Reports

In January 2007, Jaguar dropped a bombshell, in the form of the C-XF concept sedan it unveiled at that year's Detroit auto show. The sleek, fastback shape, simple rectangular grille with recessed mesh, and swept-back cat's-eye headlights yanked Jaguar design out of its fusty retro-traditional straitjacket and catapulted it into the 21st century.

Design 85
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What China learned from California about getting electric cars on its roads

Green Car Reports

In the U.S., California has long been viewed culturally as the crazy, free-spirited cousin. As Californians like to point out, their state of 40 million people is also the world's sixth-largest economy all by itself. Resolutely progressive, it has regulated vehicle emissions for five decades and worked to get zero-emission vehicles onto its roads.

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Plug-in electric car sales for March: Prius Prime romps, monthly data an endangered species? (update)

Green Car Reports

The monthly report on sales of plug-in electric cars may well have come to a close this month. General Motors, makers of the Chevrolet Bolt EV and Volt, said it will only release sales figures quarterly starting after its Tuesday release of deliveries for the month of March. Interestingly, the company adopted an argument used by Tesla for almost a.

Plug-in 84