Green Car Congress

MAY 21, 2013

'Amprius’ plan, outlined at the DOE Merit Review in 2012, is to start with consumer electronics and move to vehicle and grid storage markets. Source: DOE. Click to enlarge. Amprius Inc., a developer of lithium-ion batteries using silicon nanowire anodes ( earlier post ), has launched the first generation of its high-capacity and high-energy-density Li-ion batteries.

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Li-ion Energy Lithium Ion Batteries 334

Green Car Reports

MAY 20, 2013

'Sometime yesterday or today, the 100,000th modern plug-in electric car was delivered to a buyer somewhere in the U.S. The exact buyer and car will likely never be known. But any electric-car buyer taking delivery on either day can be forgiven for claiming a small share of the glory. The first modern plug-in car, a 2010 Nissan Leaf, was delivered.

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Plug-in Plug Electric Cars Cars 162

National Green Transportation

MAY 18, 2013

'On Thursday, Formula E Holdings announced two more steps in finalizing plans for the inaugural 2014 season of the Formula 1 style electric car racing series. In one, they announced a partnership with Renault to supply the electric.

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Manufacturer 2014 Cars Electric 89

Green Cars News

MAY 20, 2013

'London''s Plugged-in Places scheme, Source London, has now successfully installed 1,300 electric car charging points across the capital. Over 60 public and private partners, led by the Transport for London (TfL) have taken an active part in helping to build the infrastructure in the two years sin[.].

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London Installation Electric Cars Charging 68

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Green Car Congress

MAY 22, 2013

'Flush with its recent $1.02 billion fundraising , Tesla Motors has paid off the entire loan awarded to the company by the US Department of Energy in 2010. In addition to payments made in 2012 and Q1 2013, today’s wire of almost half a billion dollars ($451.8M) repays the full loan facility with interest. Following this payment, Tesla will be the only American car company to have fully repaid the government.

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Tesla Congress Obama 2003 334

Green Car Reports

MAY 22, 2013

'There are lots of very good plug-in electric cars for sale now, and some of them are starting to show up on used-car lots. We recently suggested some used hybrid-electric vehicles to avoid on the used-car lot--and now we turn to electric cars. Here are four vehicles we suggest you think long and hard before buying, no matter how attractive their.

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Plug-in Plug Electric Cars Cars 157

Green Cars News

MAY 24, 2013

'Best Western is to become the first hotel company in Britain to install a network of electric car charging stations at its properties around the country. Britain''s largest group of independent hotels, consisting of some 270 hotels , plans to install an initial network of 50 Type 2 32A char[.].

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Charging Installation Green Electric Cars 62

Green Car Congress

MAY 23, 2013

'Buquebus and CTS Auto S.A., in partnership with Chinese automaker BYD Ltd, introduced the first battery-electric 12-meter rapid transit bus in Uruguay and the region. The BYD electric bus, powered by two in-wheel electric motors capable of a cruising speed of more than 88 km/h (55 mph) and a Li-ion battery pack has a range of more than 250 km (155 miles)—nearly 24 hours of service daily for most transit applications.

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Uruguay BYD 2015 Li-ion 326

Green Car Reports

MAY 21, 2013

'Today marks my first anniversary driving a Better Place Renault Fluence ZE battery-electric car. So it seemed appropriate to summarize my experience to date with the Better Place service, which has had some challenges but is still very much in operation. I paid around $45,000 upfront for my car and four years of service, which covers all my.

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Electric Cars Cars Electric Electrical 150

Green Car Congress

MAY 22, 2013

'The National Academies has issued a pre-publication version of an interim report on Overcoming Barriers to Electric-Vehicle Deployment. A final, comprehensive report will be published in late summer 2014. Given recognized technical, social, and economic barriers to widespread adoption of plug-in electric vehicles (plug-in hybrid and battery-electric vehicles), Congress had asked the Department of Energy (DOE) to commission a study by the National Academies to address market barriers that are sl

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Plug-in Tax Charging Automobile Manufacturer 312

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Green Car Congress

MAY 20, 2013

'Consumption of lithium in rechargeable batteries by end use, 2012-2017, kt LCE. Source: Roskill. Click to enlarge. In a forecast of the Lithium market through 2017, Roskill Information Services estimates that rechargeable batteries will, in the base-case growth scenario, contribute 75% of the growth in forecast lithium demand to 2017, when total demand for lithium is expected to reach slightly more than 238,000t lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE).

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Market Chile Argentina Batteries 296

Green Car Congress

MAY 24, 2013

'Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and the California Energy Commission today unveiled a utility-scale sodium-sulfur battery energy storage system ( earlier post ) pilot project to better balance power needs of the electric grid. The system has a 4 megawatt capacity, and can store more than six hours of energy. The Yerba Buena Battery Energy Storage System Pilot Project charges batteries when demand is low and then sends reserved power to the grid when demand grows.

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San Jose Sodium Grid Energy 277

Green Car Congress

MAY 23, 2013

'Ricardo-TARDEC FED. Click to enlarge. Ricardo released an analysis of two years of on-the-ground testing of the Ricardo-engineered Fuel-Efficient Ground Vehicle Demonstrator (FED) showing that, when compared to the US military’s regularly outfitted M1151 HMMWV (“Humvee”), the FED experienced a 72% improvement in fuel economy. ( Earlier post.) The FED’s performance was assessed using a number of realistic duty cycles including highway, off-road and idle conditions.

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Fuel Economy Economy Fuel Maryland 275

Green Car Congress

MAY 24, 2013

'Panamera S E-Hybrid PHEV on the road. Click to enlarge. During an international press event in Germany, in which more than 42 test drives were conducted with journalists in the Panamera S E-Hybrid ( earlier post ) covering a total distance of more than 1,200 kilometers (746 miles), the new plug-in hybrid model consumed 4.4 l/100 km (53.4 mpg US) averaged over all drives.

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Porsche MPG Hybrid PHEV 273

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Green Car Congress

MAY 21, 2013

'PowerCell, a Swedish energy technology company with roots in the Volvo Group, unveiled a functioning full-scale prototype of its PowerPac fuel cell system, which combines an autothermal reformer and a PEM fuel cell stack to convert diesel fuel into electricity. ( Earlier post.) The main target groups for PowerPac are truck manufacturers; truck owners; mobile operators; owners of base stations and other telecom infrastructure; and the military.

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Convert Diesel Fuel Hydrogen 268

Green Car Congress

MAY 20, 2013

'The Nikkei reported that Toyota Motor Corp. plans to increase its output of lithium-ion batteries for the Prius and other models to more than 200,000 units a year. Most of Toyota’s hybrids still rely on NiMH batteries. The Nikkei report said that Toyota hopes to extend the range of its hybrid cars by reducing their weight with smaller lithium-ion batteries.

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Li-ion Lithium Ion Toyota NiMH 265

Green Car Congress

MAY 21, 2013

'A new US Geological Survey study finds that US aquifers are being drawn down at an accelerating rate. Groundwater Depletion in the United States (1900-2008) comprehensively evaluates long-term cumulative depletion volumes in 40 separate aquifers (distinct underground water storage areas) in the United States, bringing together reliable information from previous references and from new analyses.

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2008 2000 Water United States 259

Green Car Congress

MAY 22, 2013

'The Q1 2013 index (top) shows that the 7 top automotive nations have seen their competitive positions shift since 2012 (bottom). Source: Roland Berger. Click to enlarge. Despite maturing technology and better cost structures, worldwide production forecasts for electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) are in decline, posing a threat to national targets to raise the share of xEVs in vehicle fleets, according to the latest E-mobility Index by Roland Berger Strategy Consultants a

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South Korea Sale France Plug-in 239

Green Car Congress

MAY 18, 2013

'The California Air Resources Board (ARB) 2013 research plan includes a project that will comprehensively characterize the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) market, with the ultimate goal of increasing consumer purchases of ZEVs. The proposed project will investigate the factors that influence sales of ZEVs in California (e.g., price, vehicle range, infrastructure).

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2013 Market California Future 236

Green Car Congress

MAY 22, 2013

'In a project funded in part by the US Department of Energy (DOE), Novomer Inc. has completed the first successful large-scale production of a polypropylene carbonate (PPC) polymer using waste CO 2 as a key raw material. By using CO 2 that would otherwise be emitted to the atmosphere, the process has the potential to cut greenhouse gas emissions while simultaneously reducing petroleum consumption and producing consumer products.

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Waste CO2 Polymer Production 220

Green Car Congress

MAY 21, 2013

'Trade-off analysis map showing the available and least expensive water option for each site. Sites where water supply costs are. A new analysis by researchers at the US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) finds that the US’ land and water resources could likely support the growth of enough algae to produce up to 25 billion gallons of algae-based fuel per year—one-twelfth of the country’s yearly needs.

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Fuel Water Florida Available 220

Green Car Congress

MAY 19, 2013

'For the 2014 model year, BMW is adding a new inline-6 Advanced Diesel engine for the 5 Series sedan. The enhanced, 2014 BMW 5 Series Sedan and 5 Series Gran Turismo go on sale at Authorized BMW Centers in the US in August, 2013, including the ActiveHybrid 5 model as well as gasoline-engined variants. The 2014 BMW 535d is BMW’s latest diesel variant in North America.

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BMW Diesel North America Price 218

Green Car Congress

MAY 23, 2013

'Top: illustration of the assembled G-S-CNF multi- layered coaxial nanocomposites. Bottom: Comparison of specific capacity and Coulombic efficiency as a function of cycle numbers for electrodes assembled with and without graphene wrapping. Credit: ACS, Lu et al. Click to enlarge. Researchers at Duke University have developed a novel graphene–sulfur–carbon nanofibers (G-S-CNFs) multilayer and coaxial nanocomposite for use as the cathode of Li–sulfur batteries with increased capacity and significa

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Carbon Batteries Battery Energy Storage 210

Green Car Congress

MAY 22, 2013

'ChargePoint and National Grid unveiled the first of more than 80 electric vehicle charging stations in New York, funded through a $1-million award from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). The ChargePoint EV charging station, which can charge two cars at once, has been installed at the Homewood Suites on Wolf Road in Colonie.

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New York Grid Electric Vehicles Charging 210

Green Car Congress

MAY 21, 2013

'Eos Energy Storage, a developer of zinc-air grid-scale battery technology, completed its $15-million Series B financing round with participation from a syndicate of 21 strategic and financial investors. Eos has developed Znyth, a zinc hybrid cathode battery technology. According to Eos, Znyth has demonstrated more than 5,000 cycles to date with no physical degradation.

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Zinc Air Energy Storage Companies Energy 210

Green Car Congress

MAY 20, 2013

'The first battery-electric transit buses in Northern California were put into service today by the San Joaquin Regional Transit District (RTD). The Proterra EcoRide BE35 buses will operate on a rapid charging system and will have all of the functionality of a conventional transit bus. The California Energy Commission (CEC) provided $2.56 million from its AB 118 program that enabled the RTD to purchase the electric buses.

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Batteries Battery Recharge California 210

Green Car Congress

MAY 20, 2013

'Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) have identified two compressed air energy storage methods for the temporary storage of the Northwest’s excess wind power and two eastern Washington locations to put them into practice. Compressed air energy storage plants could help save the region’s abundant wind power—which is often produced at night when winds are strong and energy demand is low—for whe

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Energy Storage Energy Washington Wind 210

Green Car Congress

MAY 18, 2013

'In April, sales of new passenger cars in Europe grew for the first time (+1.7%) since September 2011, according to figures from the European Association of Automobile Manufacturers (ACEA). The region counted on average two more working days compared to the same month last year, which would account for the increase, ACEA said. In absolute figures, April 2013 was the third lowest level of new registrations for a month of April, with the historic low for April reached in 2012 (1,021,358 units).

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2011 Europe Spain Italy 210

Green Car Congress

MAY 18, 2013

'At PCIM Europe 2013 in Nuremberg, Infineon Technologies AG launched its new EconoDUAL 3 IGBT modules, which are fully qualified according to automotive standards. The new offering addresses demanding applications in commercial, construction or agricultural vehicles where extended reliability is a key. Automotive qualification means that the modules provide significantly increased thermal cycling and thermal shock capability, while a new soft diode improves the EMI behavior.

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Power Powered 2013 Standards 210

Green Car Congress

MAY 24, 2013

'EcoCAR 2: Plugging In to the Future named Pennsylvania State University its Year Two winner at the EcoCAR 2013 Competition in San Diego. The 15 universities competing in EcoCAR 2 gathered in Yuma, Arizona last week for six days of vehicle testing and evaluation on drive quality and environmental impact at General Motors (GM) Desert Proving Ground. From there, the competition moved to San Diego for a second round of judging by automotive industry experts.

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San Diego PHEV Pennsylvania Lithium Ion 207

Green Car Congress

MAY 18, 2013

'The Government of Victoria (Australia) is inviting more Victorian car fleets to participate in the Victorian Government’s Electric Vehicle Trial. ( Earlier post.)This is the final expression of interest for fleets to take part. The Government is seeking expressions of interest from companies, not-for-profit organisations and government bodies. Applications are accepted until 31 May.

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Fleet Australia IDEA Electric Vehicles 207

Green Car Congress

MAY 23, 2013

'Bosch Software Innovations has developed an eMobility Starter Package offering out-of-the-box support for two of the leading open-interface protocols—OICP and OCPP—for connecting to roaming platforms and charging infrastructure systems. eRoaming is intended to extend electromobility beyond regional and system boundaries, and will enable drivers of an electric vehicle to recharge the vehicle at any charge spot, not just at ones run by their own provider.

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Charging Connect Connected Maintenance 199

Green Car Congress

MAY 23, 2013

'CleanFUEL USA has partnered with the City of Springfield, Ill., to convert 24 police patrol cars and pickup trucks to clean burning propane autogas. We estimate our fuel savings in the first year alone to be more than $82,000. Transitioning our fleet to propane autogas was an extremely easy decision to make because we are saving taxpayer dollars, improving the environment through cleaner auto emissions and supporting a domestically produced fuel source.

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Convert Illinois USA Vehicles 199

Green Car Congress

MAY 22, 2013

'The Junior WRC Championship is supporting the FIA’s drive to make motorsport more sustainable by switching from gasoline to biofuel. From the Acropolis Rally of Greece onwards, the Ford Fiesta R2s used in the series will be powered by GEM Fuel , a ternary blend fuel containing regular gasoline, bio-ethanol and bio-methanol (i.e., GEM). The development of GEM Fuel is the result of a partnership between BioMCN, Abengoa, Methanex, Eurol and the Methanol Institute initiated and managed by GUTTS , t

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Gasoline Greece Exhaust Fuel 199