Sat.Feb 02, 2013 - Fri.Feb 08, 2013

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UPS deploys 100 commercial EVs in California

Green Car Congress

UPS announced the deployment of 100 fully electric commercial vehicles that will be delivering packages around the state. The vehicles were manufactured in Stockton, California by Electric Vehicles International ( EVI ). ( Earlier post.). These UPS electric trucks will reduce the consumption of conventional motor fuel by approximately 126,000 gallons per year.

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Electric Monster Truck Crushes Puny Gasoline Cars This Weekend

Green Car Reports

Remember the world's first all-electric monster truck? If you're at the AutoRama Car Show in Kansas City, Missouri this weekend, you'll be able to see it in action. We're told it'll be "participating in two car-crush demonstrations per day", which sounds like a polite way of saying it'll be causing total mechanical carnage as it pulverises a.

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Are hydrogen cars finally on their way to the UK? The Green Piece

Green Cars News

Tuesday 5 February, 2013. The Green Piece Column. Toyota and BMW and now Ford, Daimler and Nissan; marriages made in the name of fuel cell vehicles. Why are these collaborations happening now? Well mainly because the industry is getting serious about the ideal of fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) but the mammoth task of developing [.].

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Better Place halts US and Australian operations, focusing on Denmark and Israel

National Green Transportation

Project Better Place announced on Wednesday it is shutting down operations in the U.S. and Australia in a move that's meant to focus the company's efforts on existing operations in Denmark and Israel. These.

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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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California Governor’s Office releases 2013 ZEV action plan; 1.5M ZEVs on CA roadways by 2025

Green Car Congress

California Governor Jerry Brown’s Office and state agencies issued a 2013 Zero-emission Vehicle (ZEV) Action Plan. The Action Plan follows on Governor Brown’s Executive Order (B-16-2012) released March 2012, which set required milestones for state government to enable 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles on California roadways by 2025. ( Earlier post.

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Tesla Model S Performance: Fastest Electric Car (Video)

Green Car Reports

The Tesla Model S Performance looks great on paper. Not only does the 85 kWh Model S have an impressive 265-mile EPA-rated range, but it'll do the benchmark 0-60 mph sprint in only 4.4 seconds. That means the all-electric luxury sport sedan from Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] is at least as fast as V-8 German super sedans like the BMW M5. But how do you.

More Trending

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Better Place halts US and Australian operations, focusing on Denmark and Israel

National Green Transportation

Project Better Place announced on Wednesday it is shutting down operations in the U.S. and Australia in a move that's meant to focus the company's efforts on existing operations in Denmark and Israel. These.

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Comprehensive assessment concludes black carbon second-most important human emission in warming climate

Green Car Congress

A comprehensive assessment of black-carbon climate forcing accepted for publication in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres estimates that black carbon, with a total climate forcing of +1.1?W?m -2 , is the second-most important human emission in terms of its climate-forcing in the present-day atmosphere. Only carbon dioxide has a greater forcing, the international team of researchers who performed the study found.

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Classic BMW Coupe Becomes 800-Horsepower Electric Car

Green Car Reports

BMW's ActiveE coupe is a great little electric car. Even more so when it's working. It looks pretty good, there's decent performance on offer, and drivers enjoy BMW handling and BMW quality without having to feed a drop of gas into it. An electrified 1-Series coupe will never be quite as cool as Mike Pethel's electric BMW coupe, though. Based on a.

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Electric vs. hydrogen cars: no war here

Green Cars News

No sooner do we have news that the UK is getting serious about hydrogen cars (see story), then we have the death knell sounded for electric cars. An article on Reuters suggests that this rise of hydrogen-powered fuel cell cars (FCEVs) could signal the end of electric cars. According to news agency, announcements from two [.].

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

Brief

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Consumer Reports testing finds many small turbo engines underperforming; fuel economy, acceleration no better than in larger conventional powertrains

Green Car Congress

Consumer Reports’ own fuel economy tests of vehicles equipped with small turbocharged engines has found in many cases that the turbocharged cars tested by CR have slower acceleration and no better fuel economy than the models with larger conventional engines, the organization said. Consumer Reports tests many cars with small, turbocharged engines, and many competitors with traditional, naturally aspirated engines, large and small.

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Ford and PlugShare partner on real-time charging station information

Green Car Congress

Ford is partnering with PlugShare, an aggregator of public charge stations, to provide real-time charge station information to drivers of Ford’s plug-in vehicles. Ford’s MyFord Mobile smartphone app and Web portal now features a charging station finder powered by PlugShare.com. In addition to aggregating publicly available lists of charging stations from a variety of sources, PlugShare incorporates crowd-sourced information from users to provide the most comprehensive dataset available.

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DOE seeking input on proposed automotive fuel cell cost and durability targets

Green Car Congress

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is issuing a Request for Information (RFI) ( DE-FOA-0000855 ) seeking input from stakeholders on proposed cost targets for fuel cells designed for automotive applications. The purpose of this RFI is to solicit feedback from developers, manufacturers, end users, and other stakeholders on proposed cost and durability targets for automotive fuel cell systems.

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AC Kinetics to showcase next-generation motor control software at ARPA-E Summit; 10-40% reduction in energy consumption and improved performance

Green Car Congress

Internal AC Kinetics testing used an AC induction motor coupled to a large inertia, following a modified EPA city traffic cycle. The AC Kinetics drive used about half of the energy of competitor commercial drives, while also having the smallest tracking error. Source: AC Kinetics. Click to enlarge. Motor control company AC Kinetics, Inc. will introduce its next-generation motor control technology at the upcoming ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit in Washington, D.C., 25-27 February.

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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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Frost & Sullivan forecasts extended range electric vehicle market to reach more than 329K units by 2018

Green Car Congress

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan —Strategic Analysis of Global Market for Range Extenders—estimates the total market for range extenders will exceed 329,000 units by 2018. Extended range electric vehicles (eREVs) will be equipped with different applications such as internal combustion engine range extenders, fuel cell range extenders and micro-gas turbine range extenders.

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PSA to commercialize SwRI-developed Dedicated-EGR technology in high-efficiency gasoline engines by 2018

Green Car Congress

The D-EGR concept dedicates one (or more) cylinders to EGR production and fuel reforming. Source: SwRI, DEER 2012. Click to enlarge. During its recent Innovation Day presentations ( earlier post ), PSA Peugeot Citroën announced that it will commercialize high-efficiency gasoline engines featuring dedicated exhaust gas recirculation (D-EGR), derived from a collaborative program with SwRI in the US.

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Imperial Oil ups costs of Kearl oil sands initial development 18% to $12.9B

Green Car Congress

Imperial Oil has raised the expected final cost for the Kearl oil sands initial development to $12.9 billion, up 18% from the 2011 figure of $10.9 billion. Kearl, jointly owned between Imperial Oil (operator) and ExxonMobil Canada, will be one of Canada’s largest open-pit mining operations with regulatory approval for up to 345,000 barrels a day of production.

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Caterpillar and Fiat develop turbo-supercharged marine diesel

Green Car Congress

Caterpillar has partnered with Fiat Powertrain Technologies (FPT Industrial, S.p.A.) to deliver a solution for its pleasure craft customers seeking a high performance, fuel-efficient marine diesel engine: the Cat C12.9. Expected to be available in 2014, the C12.9 will be available in both 850 mhp @ 2300 rpm and 1000 mhp @ 2300 rpm iterations, with the latter making the C12.9 an industry leader in power density.

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UKH2Mobility interim report finds potential for 1.6M hydrogen-powered vehicles on UK roads by 2030, with annual sales of 300K units

Green Car Congress

UK consumer demand for FCEVs increases as the cost premium diminishes and the network of hydrogen refueling stations (HRS) expands. Source: UKH 2 Mobility. Click to enlarge. More than 1.5 million hydrogen-powered vehicles could be on UK roads by 2030, according to interim Phase I findings of the UKH 2 Mobility project, a joint Government-industry to evaluate the potential for hydrogen as a fuel for Ultra Low Carbon Vehicles in the UK before developing an action plan for an anticipated roll-out t

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DOE moves FutureGen 2.0 CCS project forward into second phase

Green Car Congress

Following the successful completion of the first phase, the US Department of Energy (DOE) announced the beginning of Phase II of the FutureGen 2.0 project development with a new cooperative agreement between the FutureGen Industrial Alliance and DOE for a carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in Illinois. The Department of Energy is committed to the demonstration of carbon capture and storage technologies.

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Norwegian shipping industry pursuing battery-powered ships

Green Car Congress

The Norwegian shipping industry is teaming up to develop battery-powered ships. The first four hybrid vessels will start to sail in 2013/14. In 2015, these will be followed by the world’s largest electric ferry, which will regularly cross Norway’s largest fjord. Some 120 managers representing the entire maritime cluster gathered at a DNV seminar last week. 15 years ago, the Norwegian cluster was looking into opportunities for gas-fueled ships.

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BP and Maersk collaborating to develop next-generation offshore drilling rigs for Project 20K

Green Car Congress

BP and Maersk Drilling will collaborate to develop conceptual engineering designs for a new breed of advanced technology offshore drilling rigs that will unlock the next frontier of deepwater oil and gas resources. The agreement is part of BP’s Project 20K, a multi-year initiative to develop next-generation systems and tools for deepwater exploration and production that are beyond the reach of today’s technology.

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SAE High Octane Fuels Symposium: Is a new high-octane fuel a pragmatic pathway for higher engine efficiency in the US? (part 2)

Green Car Congress

As highlighted at the 2013 SAE International High Octane Fuels Symposium (HOF) last week, high octane fuels—combined with optimized engines—are viable enablers to higher efficiency operation. When ethanol is used as the octane enhancer, there is an added benefit due to the latent heat of vaporization of that fuel. ( Earlier post.). As articulated by Dr.

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DOE seeking comment on draft $50M solicitation for new projects over 11 areas of interest to improve vehicle performance and decrease fuel consumption

Green Car Congress

The US Department of Energy (DOE) Vehicle Technology Program is seeking public comment on the draft of an upcoming solicitation ( DE-FOA-0000793 ) totaling more than $50 million for new research projects that will develop advanced technologies to improve vehicle performance and increase fuel economy. As part of the Advanced Vehicle Power Technology Alliance between DOE and the Department of the Army, the Army plans to contribute $3.5 million in co-funding for several areas where there are joint

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Chevrolet debuts 2014 Cruze Clean Turbo Diesel for US and Canada

Green Car Congress

2014 Cruze Clean Turbo Diesel engine. Click to enlarge. Chevrolet is entering the US and Canadian diesel car markets this summer with a 2.0L turbo-diesel version of the Cruze. Assembled in Lordstown, Ohio, the 2014 Cruze Clean Turbo Diesel has demonstrated an estimated 42 mpg (5.6 l/100km) on the highway. Final fuel economy ratings and power specs will be released closer to the on-sale date.

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Ford increasing EV-certified dealerships in US to 900; 3,405 plug-in vehicles sold in total so far

Green Car Congress

Ford will have one-third of its US dealers in all 50 states—more than 900— certified to sell the Focus Electric battery electric vehicle (BEV) and C-MAX Energi and Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) by spring. The 900 dealers represent about one-third of all Ford dealers in the US—triple Ford projections for the time frame—and are an increase up from 200 in November 2012, the second full month the C-MAX Hybrid and C-MAX Energi plug-in hybrids were avai

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DOE launches new database to support sustainable development of ocean energy resources

Green Car Congress

As part of an international collaboration with the International Energy Agency, the US Department of Energy (DOE) launched a new database that includes results of environmental monitoring and research efforts on wave, tidal, and current energy development worldwide. Called “ Tethys ,” after the Greek titaness of the ocean, the database will help industry regulators and energy project developers deploy sustainable ocean energy projects in an environmentally responsible manner.

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Energy 2030 outlines steps to double US energy productivity by 2030; spend $166B a year to net savings of $327B

Green Car Congress

The Alliance Commission on National Energy Efficiency Policy released a set of recommendations— Energy 2030 —designed to double US energy productivity by 2030. The Commission was created in 2012 to identify solutions for increasing US energy productivity and aid in jumpstarting the economy. To achieve the Commission’s goal of doubling energy productivity by 2030 with currently available technology and design practices, households, businesses, and federal, state, and local governments

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Kandi Technologies to form JV with Geely Auto for EVs in China

Green Car Congress

Zhejiang Kandi Vehicles Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of Chinese EV maker Kandi Technologies Group, Inc., signed a cooperation framework agreement with Shanghai Maple Guorun Automobile Co., Ltd., a 99% owned subsidiary of Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. to establish a joint venture company, named Zhejiang Kandi Electric Vehicles Investment Co, Ltd. to engage in the investment, research and development, production, marketing and sales of electric vehicles in China.

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Chevron greenlights $5.6B Mafumeira Sul project offshore Angola

Green Car Congress

Chevron Corporation’s Cabinda Gulf Oil Company Limited subsidiary will proceed with the development of the Mafumeira Sul project located offshore Angola. Located 15 miles (24 km) offshore Cabinda province in 200 feet (60 m) of water, the Mafumeira Sul project is the second stage of development of the Mafumeira Field located in Block 0. The project scope includes 50 wells, two wellhead platforms, a central processing and compression facility and approximately 75 miles (121 km) of subsea pipelines

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UMTRI: US new vehicle average fuel economy hits record 24.5 mpg in January

Green Car Congress

The average fuel-economy (window-sticker) value of new vehicles sold in the US in January reached a record of 24.5 mpg (6.47 l/100km), according to the monthly tally by Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI). The figure represents an increase of 0.4 mpg from the revised December value and is up 4.4 mpg (or 22%) from the value in October 2007 (the first month of monitoring).

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Maersk calls for EU enforcement of reefer legislation, pushes its Supotec foam

Green Car Congress

Maersk Container Industry (MCI) is calling for tougher enforcement of European environmental legislation designed to protect the Earth’s ozone layer and help prevent climate change. We urge the European Commission to ensure enforcement of existing EU legislation regarding insulation foam in reefer containers. This would benefit the environment, and it would help European innovation and environmental investments pay off.

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ExxonMobil contributes $2.5M to University of Wyoming to support unconventional hydrocarbon research

Green Car Congress

ExxonMobil is contributing $2.5 million to the University of Wyoming to provide laboratory equipment for the university’s Improved Recovery Program, which is part of the newly created Center for Advanced Oil and Gas Technologies. The center is part of the School of Energy Resources and focuses on oil and gas extraction from unconventional reservoirs.

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Initial friction tests on RadMax 375 hp axial vane rotary diesel

Green Car Congress

REGI U.S., Inc. and Reg Technologies Inc. announced that the assembly on one side of the 375 hp (280 kW) RadMax axial vane rotary diesel engine ( earlier post ) has been completed and initial testing has begun. Initial dry friction tests indicate the engine should have friction loads equal to or better than a standard diesel engine, the company said. 375 HP Diesel RadMax engine.

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