Green Car Congress

JUNE 9, 2017

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT) are beginning testing of the Soletair demo plant, which uses air-captured carbon dioxide to produce renewable fuels and chemicals. The pilot plant is coupled to LUT’s solar power plant in Lappeenranta. The aim of the project is to demonstrate the technical performance of the overall process and produce 200 liters of fuels and other hydrocarbons for research purposes.

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Green Car Reports

JUNE 9, 2017

It's one of the most common questions among electric-car buyers: what happens if the battery fails? The answer is that all electric-car batteries are warranted against failure for either 8 years/100,000 miles or 10 years/150,000 miles, depending on which state you live in. The followup is often: OK, then, what does a battery cost once my car's out.

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Green Cars News

JUNE 6, 2017

Heathrow, Britain’s biggest and busiest airport, has turned to the Nissan Leaf as part of its plans to inspire a new culture of electric car usage acr

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Nissan Parts Fleet Electric Cars 36

Green Car Congress

JUNE 6, 2017

Fuel cell system manufacturer Ballard Power Systems has entered into an $18-million supply contract with Zhongshan Broad-Ocean Motor Co., Ltd. (Broad-Ocean) to support the deployment of 400 FCveloCity fuel cell systems integrated into clean energy buses and trucks in key Chinese cities. The transaction is part of an ongoing program with Broad-Ocean ( earlier post ) to implement Ballard’s fuel cell technology in support of China’s ambitious plan to address environmental concerns and advance the a

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 9, 2017

Hydrogenics Corporation, a leading developer and manufacturer of hydrogen generation and hydrogen-based power modules, has signed a Purchase and License Agreement for technology and fuel cells with Blue-G New Energy Science and Technology Corporation (Blue-G) in China. Under the agreement, Hydrogenics will deliver 1,000 fuel cell units to Blue-G to be integrated into zero-emission electric buses and an engineering support component for an aggregate sum payable to the Company of more than US$50 m

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Hydrogen China Fuel Power 210

Green Car Congress

JUNE 6, 2017

The Buick LaCrosse is adding eAssist light electrification for the 2018 model. This new eAssist system, when coupled with the four-cylinder engine, has a 19% increase in city fuel economy compared to the LaCrosse’s advanced V-6 and leverages a compact lithium-ion battery pack to provide select benefits found in fully electric vehicles, such as torque-assisted launch, energy-saving regenerative braking and exceptionally smooth stop/start.

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Buick 2018 Standards Lithium Ion 210

Green Car Congress

JUNE 5, 2017

Hiroshima University and Mie Fujitsu Semiconductor Limited (MIFS) have developed a low-power millimeter-wave amplifier that feeds on 0.5 V power supply and covers the frequency range from 80 GHz to 106 GHz. It was fabricated using MIFS’s Deeply Depleted Channel (DDC) technology. This is the first W-band (75−110 GHz) amplifier that can operate even with such a low power-supply voltage.

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Honolulu Hawaii Cars 2017 207

Green Car Congress

JUNE 9, 2017

Switzerland-based Climeworks, a spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH), recently launched the world’s first commercial plant that captures atmospheric CO 2 for supply and sale to a customer. The Swiss direct air capture company—which has also partnered with Audi in that company’s e-fuels initiative ( earlier post )—launched the commercial-scale Direct Air Capture (DAC) plant, featuring its patented technology that filters carbon dioxide from ambient a

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Commercial CO2 Fuel Switzerland 199

Green Car Congress

JUNE 5, 2017

In the UK, Renault and Powervault are partnering to re-use electric vehicle (EV) batteries in home energy storage units. This partnership will reduce the cost of a Powervault smart battery unit by 30%, helping Powervault to bring home energy storage to the tipping point of mass-market roll-out in the UK. Powervault is placing 50 trial units, powered by second-life batteries provided by Renault, in the homes of customers who already have solar panels installed.

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Batteries Battery Energy Storage Solar 199

Green Car Congress

JUNE 8, 2017

Honda is targeting the year 2025 for the introduction of vehicles with highly-automated driving capability in most driving situations (SAE Level 4). This new goal builds upon earlier-announced plans for Honda and Acura vehicles to have highly-automated freeway driving capability (SAE Level 3) by 2020. Honda Motor Co., Ltd. President & CEO Takahiro Hachigo made the announcement at a media briefing held at Honda R&D Co., Ltd. in Japan, where media were able to test-drive Honda automated vehicle te

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Honda Acura 2020 Minivan 186

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 8, 2017

California Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. and California Air Resources Board (CARB) Chair Mary D. Nichols met with officials of China’s leading automakers and battery manufacturers in an effort to expand cooperation and accelerate deployment of zero-emission cars, trucks and buses. At the close of the meeting, Governor Brown and Chair Nichols agreed to establish a new working group through the China-US ZEV Policy Lab at UC Davis to expand cooperation with Chinese zero-emission vehicle and battery

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 7, 2017

With more than 750,000 units sold over the year, the number of electric vehicles in the global parc—primarily Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs)—surpassed 2 million units in 2016, following a year of strong growth in 2015, according to the International Energy Agency’s Global EV Outlook 2017. This is up 60% from 2015, indicating rapid market evolution.

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2016 Electric Vehicles Global Re-Charge 186

Green Car Congress

JUNE 7, 2017

NEVS’ Tianjin Joint Venture NNEV (National New Energy Vehicle Co., Ltd) will adopt Microsoft’s advanced Cloud technology to power NEVS’ mobility solutions globally. The partnership will aim to enhance the in-car experience of NEVS products and service with Microsoft’s forefront technology in connectivity and will lay a solid foundation for NEVS’ future improvements on the offers.

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Connect Connected Cars Asia 186

Green Car Congress

JUNE 6, 2017

UNSW Sydney chemists have fabricated a new, inexpensive catalyst for water splitting based on an ultrathin nanosheet array of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) on different substrates. Their nickel-iron-based metal-organic framework array (NiFe-MOF) demonstrates superior electrocatalytic performance towards the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) with a small overpotential of 240 mV at 10 mA cm −2 and operates for 20,000 s with no detectable activity decay.

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Water Gas-Electric Hydrogen Gas 186

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 6, 2017

In China, California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. signed an agreement with China’s Minister of Science and Technology to deepen cooperation on the development of green technology. Governor Brown also met with China President Xi Jinping for approximately 45 minutes at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. The Governor and President discussed the importance of expanding cooperation on green technology, innovation and trade.

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California Green China San Francisco 186

Green Car Congress

JUNE 6, 2017

As automakers strive to improve fuel economy, they have turned increasingly to lightweight materials to reduce overall vehicle weight—even though the average weight of materials in North American light vehicles has increased from 3,694 lbs (1,675.57 kg) in 1995 to 3,994 lbs (1,811.65 kg) in 2014, according to figures from the US Department of Energy (DOE).

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 5, 2017

Audi engineers have intensively further developed the new 3.0 TDI diesel engine for the European market. In the new Audi A5 and Q5 models, the V6 diesel outputs 210 kW (286 hp) as well as 620 N·m (457lb-ft) of torque (this engine version is not yet for sale. Since it still lacks an overall type approval, it is not subject to Directive 1999/94/EC), the latter from 1,500 to 3,000 revolutions per minute.

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Diesel Hybrid Audi Exhaust 186

Green Car Congress

JUNE 9, 2017

The PSA Group has developed a Gasoline Particulate Filter (GPF), to treat particle emissions from gasoline direct injection (GDI) engines. This technology offers 75% higher efficiency in terms of the number of particles captured. Starting in December 2017, PSA Group will roll out the GPF to all PSA Group GDI engines—on the 3-cylinder turbo engine families, as well as the 4-cylinder units—regardless of the model.

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Gasoline 2017 Engine Fuel Economy 170

Green Car Congress

JUNE 9, 2017

At a press meeting in Tokyo, Honda Motor Co., Ltd. President & CEO Takahiro Hachigo discussed the future direction of Honda, including various products and technologies and the company’s new 2030 Vision. Hachigo said that Honda aims to electrify two-thirds of global automobile unit sales in 2030. The company will put a central focus on hybrid-based models utilizing a high-efficiency plug-in hybrid system unique to Honda.

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Honda Sale Batteries Battery 170

Green Car Congress

JUNE 9, 2017

The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced approximately $15.8 million for 30 new projects aimed at discovery and development of novel, low-cost materials necessary for hydrogen production and storage and for fuel cells onboard light-duty vehicles. Selected projects will leverage national lab consortia launched under DOE’s Energy Materials Network (EMN) this past year ( earlier post ), in support of DOE’s materials research and advanced manufacturing priorities.

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Hydrogen Carbon Fiber Fuel Low Cost 170

Green Car Congress

JUNE 8, 2017

Eck Industries has signed an exclusive license for the commercialization of a cerium-aluminum (Ce-Al) alloy co-developed by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory that is ideal for creating lightweight, strong components for advanced vehicles and airplanes. Aluminum alloys at present are limited to applications below 230 °C due to the rapid loss of mechanical characteristics at higher temperatures; however there is a need for aluminum alloys that have good castability and maint

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Industrial Industry 2016 Manufacturer 170

Green Car Congress

JUNE 7, 2017

Fuel Cell System Manufacturing LLC (FCSM), the joint venture company established by General Motors and Honda for the production of advanced hydrogen fuel cell systems ( earlier post ), revealed its company logo at an event recognizing local elected officials for helping bring the operation to metro Detroit. Announced on 30 Jan 2017, FCSM is the auto industry’s first joint venture formed to mass-produce hydrogen fuel cell systems.

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Honda GM Manufacturer Fuel 170

Green Car Congress

JUNE 7, 2017

A study by researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) has significantly associated exposure to particulate air pollution after being diagnosed with liver cancer with an increased risk of premature death. The study appears in the International Journal of Cancer. Particulate matter (PM) air pollution exposure has been associated with cancer incidence and mortality especially with lung cancer.

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 3, 2017

by Nick Cunningham of Oilprice.com. The U.S. shale industry might have just received a huge windfall with the nine-month extension of the OPEC cuts. Shale output was already expected to come roaring back this year, but the extension of the cuts provides even more room in the market for shale drillers to step into. The sky is the limit, it seems. However, there are growing signs that the U.S. shale industry could be reaching the end of the low-hanging fruit.

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Production Oil Eaton 2017 170

Green Car Congress

JUNE 9, 2017

Nissan is making Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) standard on a projected one million vehicles sold in the United States for model year 2018, including seven of the company’s most popular models—Rogue/Rogue Sport, Altima, Murano, LEAF, Pathfinder, Maxima and Sentra (except manual transmission-equipped and all NISMO versions). AEB (previously known as Forward Emergency Braking) uses radar technology to monitor a vehicle’s proximity to the vehicle ahead, giving the driver audible and visual

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Standards Nissan 2018 United States 150

Green Car Congress

JUNE 9, 2017

Cognata, Ltd., launched of its simulation engine, supported by $5 million in funding from Emerge, Maniv Mobility, and Airbus Ventures. The company will use the funding to accelerate product development and commercialization of its new solution, which combines artificial intelligence, deep learning, and computer vision in a simulation platform. The platform is designed to allow autonomous vehicle developers to shave years off the long, costly process of road-testing autonomous vehicles.

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Market Vehicles Environment Miles 150

Green Car Congress

JUNE 9, 2017

Excelfore, a provider of Cloud platform and connectivity applications for transportation, has introduced the eSync Alliance, a global automotive initiative to drive multi-company solutions for over-the-air (OTA) updates and diagnostic-data in the automotive electronics eco-system. The eSync Alliance envisions automotive suppliers working cooperatively to provide eSync Compliant components.

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Industrial Industry Connect Connected 150

Green Car Congress

JUNE 8, 2017

Volvo Trucks has developed a new self-steering truck that can become a significant productivity booster for Brazilian sugar-cane growers. The truck, which is used to transport newly harvested sugar-cane, is steered with great precision through the fields in order to avoid damaging the young plants that will form the following year’s crop. At present, about 4% of the crop is lost as young plants are run over and the soil is compacted by moving vehicles.

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Volvo Sweden Brazil Transportation 150

Green Car Congress

JUNE 8, 2017

Parkopedia, the world’s largest parking service provider, has been selected to be the new global provider of Audi’s premium in-car parking services as of June 2017. The Parkopedia premium parking service will include off-street and on-street parking data as well as dynamic space availability for both legacy installed and new vehicles. Markets covered include Europe, the Americas, Japan, Australasia, Middle East and Africa.

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Audi Global Africa 2017 150

Green Car Congress

JUNE 8, 2017

Transdev, a leading global provider of mobility services, and Delphi Automotive PLC have entered into a commercial partnership to develop a global, fully automated, mobility-on-demand (AMoD) transport system. The system will utilize Transdev Universal Routing Engine (URE) and Delphi’s previously announced automated driving platform—the Centralized Sensing, Localization and Planning (CSLP) platform which Delphi is developing in partnership with Mobileye. ( Earlier post.).

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Transportation France Miles Global 150

Green Car Congress

JUNE 8, 2017

In a large-scale test, researchers at the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR), together with Lufthansa Technik and the Bundeswehr Research Institute for Materials, Fuels and Lubricants, investigated the chemical and physical properties of particularly promising aviation biofuels. The tests were carried out in a special test rig at Lufthansa Technik.

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Pollution Climate Change Fuel Engine 150

Green Car Congress

JUNE 8, 2017

ROUSH CleanTech has developed the first propane autogas engine available in class 4-7 vehicles and Blue Bird Type C buses certified to the optional low NO x level.05 g/bhp-hr. These new Environmental Protection Agency- and California Air Resources Board-certified propane engines are 75% cleaner than the current emissions standard. Nitrogen oxides are a group of gases known as a primary contributor to acid rain, smog and other air quality issues.

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Engine Cleaner EPA Standards 150

Green Car Congress

JUNE 7, 2017

The US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy’s Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) Program will award up to $13.5 million to research projects to develop solid oxide fuel cell technology to the level necessary for broad commercial success. ( DE-FOA-0001735 ) The funding opportunity announcement (FOA) comprises two topic areas: SOFC Prototype System Testing: Applications are being sought under this topic area for prototype system development and field-testing (at a site other than the devel

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Commercial Fuel Concept Gas 150

Green Car Congress

JUNE 7, 2017

Ricardo Strategic Consulting is collaborating with the California Fuel Cell Partnership to provide economic modeling tools that will enable the assessment of total cost of ownership (TCO) of future fuel cell trucks, and hydrogen stations necessary to support commercial operation. Ricardo Strategic Consulting’s proprietary Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) modeling capability, provides insights on the economics of fuel efficient technologies, both today and in future.

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