Sat.Jul 21, 2012 - Fri.Jul 27, 2012

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MTSU group seeking to commercialize new wheel motor plug-in hybrid retrofit kit

Green Car Congress

A prototype plug-in hybrid retrofit kit is applied to a research vehicle’s rear wheels. After switching on the traction motors, the vehicle fuel economy increased from 50–100%. Click to enlarge. A group at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU), led by Dr. Charles Perry, who holds the Russell Chair of Manufacturing Excellence, has developed and demonstrated a proof-of-concept for a wheel motor plug-in hybrid retrofit kit for almost any car.

Kits 338
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Greenius Will Meet With Al Gore To Talk Climate Reality

Creative Greenius

Joe Galliani Selected As Climate Leader Just As Global Warming Reaches Tipping Points. After five years of studying, writing, advocating, volunteering, community organizing and now working professionally to try and make a positive difference on the issue of global warming – all in the face of relentlessly increasing world temperatures and rapidly rising greenhouse gas emissions – I have reached the point of one last stand. .

Al Gore 247
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Tesla Opens Portland Store, Passes A Million Visitors So Far In 2012

Green Car Reports

By the sales numbers—even if you consider the 20,000 Model S sedans (which Green Car Reports drove this week, with a first drive review and video post) the company hopes to sell annually—Tesla Motors [NYSE: TSLA] is a small niche automaker. But based on what the upstart electric automaker has seen so far this year, there’s a lot.

Portland 149
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2013 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid gives better fuel economy, at same MSRP as EcoBoost mode

National Green Transportation

Going against traditional pricing for hybrid cars, the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid offers the advantages and fuel cost savings of the Hybrid, but without the higher price.Hybrid vehicles have long carried a premium price which meant we had to justify.

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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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China’s CNOOC to acquire Canada-based Nexen for $15.1B; offshore oil and gas, oil sands, and shale gas

Green Car Congress

CNOOC Limited—China’s largest producer of offshore crude oil and natural gas and one of the largest independent oil and gas exploration and production companies in the world—is acquiring all of the Common Shares of Canada-based energy company Nexen Inc. for US$15.1 billion cash. The price represents a premium of. 61% relative to the closing price of the Common Shares on the NYSE on. 20 July 2012 and a premium of 66% relative to the volume-weighted average price of the Common Shares o

Oil-Sands 325
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Greenius Will Meet With Al Gore To Talk Climate Reality

Creative Greenius

Joe Galliani Selected As Climate Leader Just As Global Warming Reaches Tipping Points. After five years of studying, writing, advocating, volunteering, community organizing and now working professionally to try and make a positive difference on the issue of global warming – all in the face of relentlessly increasing world temperatures and rapidly rising greenhouse gas emissions – I have reached the point of one last stand. .

Al Gore 150

More Trending

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2013 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid gives better fuel economy, at same MSRP as EcoBoost mode

National Green Transportation

Going against traditional pricing for hybrid cars, the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid offers the advantages and fuel cost savings of the Hybrid, but without the higher price.Hybrid vehicles have long carried a premium price which meant we had to justify.

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Researchers suggest subsidies and policies targeting plug-ins with small battery packs would produce more benefits at lower cost

Green Car Congress

Federal subsidies and policies to encourage plug-in vehicle adoption would produce more benefits at lower cost by targeting the purchase of vehicles with small battery packs, according to Jeremy J. Michalek, an associate professor at Carnegie Mellon University and his colleagues Mikhail Chester, an assistant professor at Arizona State University; and Constantine Samaras, an engineer at the RAND Corporation.

Plug-in 319
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Renault to trial wireless electric vehicle charging in London

Green Cars News

French carmaker Renault has announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Qualcomm Incorporated to bring a wireless electric vehicle charging trial to London. They will conduct preliminary studies using Renault vehicles after Qualcomm acquired all of the technology and assets of HaloIPT last year – a company that provided wireless charging technology [.].

London 62
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How Many Miles Are Enough To Kill Electric-Car Range Anxiety?

Green Car Reports

Range anxiety, or the fear that an electric car will run out of charge before you reach your destination. is a real and present fear for many first-time electric car drivers and buyers. Even though research clearly shows that present electric cars can satisfy the requirements of 95 percent of all trips made in the U.S., many car buyers say.

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

Brief

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2013 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid gives better fuel economy, at same MSRP as EcoBoost mode

National Green Transportation

Going against traditional pricing for hybrid cars, the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid offers the advantages and fuel cost savings of the Hybrid, but without the higher price.Hybrid vehicles have long carried a premium price which meant we had to justify.

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American Sands Energy announces successful operation of oil sand pilot facility in Utah

Green Car Congress

American Sands Energy Corp., an oil sands exploration and development company operating in the state of Utah, announced the successful operation of its oil sand recovery pilot facility. As a result, CEO William Gibbs said that the company is now ready to submit a mine permit application and begin development of a 5,000 barrel per day facility at its Utah property.

Oil-Sands 306
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Electric car family travel 1,500 miles across Europe

Green Cars News

A family from the Grasse region of France is testing the UK’s electric car charging network on a cross-European road trip, set to once and for all prove that long distance EV road trips are possible. Mark Nitters, along with wife Rhona, eight year-old son Alexander and six year-old daughter Louise have started a journey [.].

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2012 Chevrolet Volt: Most Loved Compact Car, Most Satisfied Drivers

Green Car Reports

According to a recent, very peppy General Motors ad campaign, many Chevrolet Volt owners are brimming with enthusiasm about their plug-in hybrid. Then again, having Chevy Volt owners evangelize about their cars in an ad designed to sell the plug-in hybrid is hardly a fair yardstick to gauge how Volt owners feel about their cars. But a recent J.D.

Volt 126
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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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Nikkei: Toyota to launch car-sharing service

Green Car Congress

The Nikkei reports that Toyota Motor Corp. will launch a car-sharing service through affiliated auto-rental shops across Japan. Toyota is already operating a pilot program at some locations. Plans call for a full launch under a new brand, starting with about 10 affiliated car-rental locations in Hokkaido, Tokyo, Aichi Prefecture and elsewhere, including the facilities participating in the pilot program.

Toyota 286
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Renault, LG Chem and CEA preparing to sign three-way agreement concerning next-generation traction battery development and production; European plant, based in France

Green Car Congress

Renault, LG Chem and CEA (France’s Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission) are preparing to sign a three-way agreement in September concerning next-generation battery production. In 2010, Renault and the CEA initiated a strategic partnership in the areas of clean vehicles and mobility. As part of this partnership, they signed several research agreements including a strategic cooperation contract for new battery technologies.

France 281
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Honda delivers first Fit EV to California customer

Green Car Congress

American Honda Motor Co., Inc., delivered the first all-electric 2013 Honda Fit EV to a couple in Southern California. The 2013 Honda Fit EV carries a combined adjusted Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) mile-per-gallon-equivalency rating of 118 MPGe, and a consumption rating of 29 kWh per 100 miles. Ventura County, Calif., residents, Matt and Becky Walton, took delivery of their Honda Fit EV at the Woodland Hills Honda dealership located north of Los Angeles.

Honda 281
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Eni’s Versalis to partner with Genomatica and Novamont for bio-based butadiene; rubber for tires

Green Car Congress

Versalis, Eni’s chemicals subsidiary leader in the production of elastomers, together with Genomatica, a leading developer of process technology for renewable chemicals, and Novamont, a leader in biodegradable plastics and pioneer in third-generation integrated biorefineries, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish a strategic partnership to enable production of butadiene from renewable feedstocks.

Polymer 279
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Obama Administration publishes “roadmap” for solar energy development on public lands in West

Green Car Congress

The Department of the Interior and the Department of Energy are publishing the Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for solar energy development in six southwestern states—Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. The final Solar PEIS represents a major step forward in the permitting of utility-scale solar energy on public lands throughout the west.

Solar 268
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Ford prices C-MAX Energi plug-in hybrid at $29,995 after federal tax credit; expects conquest rate of about 50%

Green Car Congress

Ford is pricing the new C-MAX Energi—expected to offer 15 class-exclusive features, a 550-mile (885 km) total range and more than 20 miles (32 km) of electric-only range ( earlier post )—at $33,745. Its eligibility for a $3,750 federal tax credit drops that to $29,995. Ford is targeting the Prius Plug-In Hybrid (PHV) directly in its positioning of the C-MAX Energi, saying that the C-MAX Energi is less expensive [for some models]; has a longer electric-only range [20 miles vs. 11 (EPA

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DENSO develops vehicle-to-home power supply system for electric vehicles

Green Car Congress

DENSO’s H2V system leverages its HEMS. Click to enlarge. DENSO Corporation has developed a vehicle-to-home (V2H) power supply system for electric vehicles (EV), which is designed to work in coordination with DENSO’s home energy management system (HEMS), which was introduced earlier this year. ( earlier post ). The V2H system can quickly charge an EV with direct current from the HEMS storage battery, and can supply the electricity in the EV back to the household.

Supplies 257
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Univ. of St. Andrews researchers show reversible, higher-rate non-aqueous Li-air battery using gold cathode and DMSO electrolyte

Green Car Congress

Very high energy density rechargeable lithium air (or Li-O 2 ) batteries are of great interest for future electrified transportation because at best their practical energy density could approach that of current gasoline engined vehicles (after factoring in tank-to-wheel efficiencies). However, researchers are still looking at a multi-decade development cycle for the technology, which can be embodied in a several different architectures. ( Earlier post.).

Batteries 257
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Cloud Peak Energy and Crow Tribe reach tentative agreement for up to 1.4B tons of in-place coal in Montana

Green Car Congress

Cloud Peak Energy Inc., one of the largest US coal producers, and the Crow Tribe of Indians reached tentative agreements regarding exploration rights and exclusive options to lease and develop up to an estimated 1.4 billion tons of in-place Northern Powder River Basin coal on the Crow Indian Reservation in southeast Montana. An earlier Crow Tribe project with Australian-American Energy Co. to build a coal-to-liquids plant ( earlier post ) had foundered.

Montana 255
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Daimler invests in ridesharing network carpooling.com

Green Car Congress

Daimler AG is investing in the ridesharing network carpooling.com GmbH. The main shareholders will continue to be the company’s three founders, as well as venture capital firm Earlybird. The capital investment will serve primarily the development and expansion of carpooling.com’s mobility solutions. carpooling.com is the leading ridesharing network, with 4 million registered users, transporting 1 million people a month across Europe.

2012 253
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DOE awards $7M to eight oxy-combustion coal technology projects; carbon capture, utilization and storage

Green Car Congress

The US Department of Energy (DOE) selected eight projects to advance the development of transformational oxy-combustion technologies capable of high-efficiency, low-cost carbon dioxide capture from coal-fired power plants. The Energy Department’s $7 million investment—leveraged with recipient cost-share to support approximately $9.4 million in total projects—will support the development and deployment of Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) by focusing on further improving

Coal 250
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Preliminary cost analysis finds ITM Power fuel cell membranes could reduce automotive fuel cell costs to $35/kW

Green Car Congress

Cost reduction potential of a polymer fuel cell system using an ITM Power membrane. Source: Carbon Trust. Click to enlarge. The preliminary results of an independent assessment commissioned by the UK’s Carbon Trust of ITM Power’s fuel cell membrane performance indicates that ITM Power’s membrane technology has the potential, assuming that the significant technological hurdles can be overcome, to reduce fuel cell costs to US$35/kW in manufactured quantities of 500,000 units per year.

Fuel 250
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Tesla reports Q2 loss of $93M, revenues of $27M; revenue guidance remains $500-$600M for year

Green Car Congress

In its letter to shareholders, Tesla Motor reported a non-GAAP net loss for the second quarter (Q2) of $93 million, or $(0.89) per share and GAAP net loss of $106 million, or $(1.00) per share, based on 105.2 million weighted common shares outstanding. The company reported Q2 revenue of $27 million, with automotive sales of $22 million—including powertrain work for Toyota and Daimler.

Tesla 244
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Stevens Institute of Technology and mPhase to explore graphene-based inkjet printing of electrodes and circuits

Green Car Congress

Stevens Institute of Technology and mPhase Technologies, Inc. ( earlier post ) have agreed jointly to pursue business opportunities with government and industry as well as research and development (R&D) projects. Specifically, Stevens and mPhase will collaborate on the design and fabrication of an advanced battery technology utilizing intellectual property and know-how from both parties with the possibility of integrating and advancing mPhase’s Smart NanoBattery Technology with Stevens’ graphene

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Daikin to begin producing Li-ion electrolytes

Green Car Congress

Nikkei. Japan-based Daikin Industries Ltd. will soon start producing electrolytes for lithium-ion batteries, initially at its Daikin America plant in Alabama, and begin selling them in January. Daikin says its product can be charged at higher voltages than conventional electrolytes, helping to lift battery capacity by 20%. And because the electrolytes cannot be easily degraded, the battery will last longer, according to the company.

Li-ion 244
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Honda begins assembling Fit Hybrid in Thailand

Green Car Congress

Honda Motor has begun assembling and marketing the subcompact Fit Hybrid (Jass Hybrid) in Thailand. The hybrid is assembled at Honda’s plant in Ayutthaya, using core components from Japan. It will be priced at 768,000 baht (US$24,328). Planned sales volume in 10,000 units per year. Honda said it has sold about 150,000 units of the Fit and Jazz hybrid worldwide so far.

Thailand 240
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US Navy awards FuelCell Energy $3.8M Phase I contract for Hybrid SOFC-Battery system for Large Displacement Unmanned Underwater Vehicle

Green Car Congress

The Navy program seeks to enable the operation of pier-launched UUVs in littorals for 70+ days. Source: US Navy. Click to enlarge. The US Navy has awarded FuelCell Energy, Inc. a $3.8-million Phase I contract to develop and test a Hybrid Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC)-Battery power system for large displacement undersea vehicle propulsion. The objective of the project is to develop a refuelable power system, with high energy density, that is suitable for undertaking long duration underwater missio

Hybrid 240
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Hydro-Québec launches V2G-V2H [repost]

Green Car Congress

[This is a repost of the H-Q story. Due to as as-yet undiagnosed pubishing problem, some stories, as H-Q below, render on the home page, but have a dead link to the remainder. TypePad is working on it. —GCC]. Hydro-Québec’s research institute (IREQ) has awarded GRIDbot Canada the contract for the development and supply of an advanced bidirectional charging station for an experimental project on vehicle-to-grid and vehicle-to-home power exchanges (V2G-V2H).

Grid 240
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U-M Solar Car Team wins a fourth consecutive American Solar Challenge, sets record

Green Car Congress

The University of Michigan Solar Car Team won the 2012 American Solar Challenge (ASC) with its car Quantum, snagging a fourth consecutive ASC title, and also breaking the record the team set in 2008. Final time for the 1,650-mile (2,655 km) competition was 44:36:21—10 hours and 18 minutes ahead of second-place Iowa State. This is the seventh North American title for the U-M team, which won the inaugural event in 1990 with its first car, the Sunrunner.

Solar 240
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GM Canada investing C$850M in R light-weighting materials, mechatronics, software and communications

Green Car Congress

General Motors of Canada is making investments totaling $850 million in R&D in light-weighting materials, mechatronics, software and communications. General Motors of Canada has made great strides since 2009 when our Government pledged its support to help it restructure. We are encouraged that, thanks in part to that support, GM is now making important investments in the future of the auto sector and manufacturing in Canada.

Canada 236