Sat.Sep 10, 2016 - Fri.Sep 16, 2016

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NC State team develops new Si/C inverter; 12.1 kW/L & greater efficiency in a smaller, lighter package

Green Car Congress

Researchers at the Future Renewable Electric Energy Distribution and Management (FREEDM) Systems Center at North Carolina State University have developed an inverter for hybrid and electric vehicles using off-the-shelf components made of the wide-bandgap semiconductor material silicon carbide (SiC). The new SiC-based inverter has a power density of 12.1 kW/L—close to the US Department of Energy’s target of 13.4 kW/L by 2020.

Congress 258
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Volkswagen electric-car concept teased before Paris Motor Show

Green Car Reports

Today, Volkswagen sells one all-electric car under its own brand in multiple markets—the e-Golf electric variant of its well-known five-door compact hatchback—and another in Europe only, the e-UP, a battery-electric minicar. But in the wake of continuing fallout from the Volkswagen diesel scandal, the company is wrenching itself toward.

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Raucous drop-tops join Mercedes AMG GT line-up

Green Cars News

The Mercedes AMG GT offers a perfect blend of GT car opulence and extreme performance, but with its latest versions, the German company has taken a sa.

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CALSTART survey of major auto suppliers finds 70% don’t want US to change CAFE targets; split on amount of electrification needed

Green Car Congress

Major automotive suppliers see national fuel economy standards as important for long-term planning and investment and don’t want to see them altered by US policymakers, according to a first-of-its-kind industry survey commissioned by CALSTART and conducted by Ricardo Energy & Environment. The firm polled and interviewed 23 suppliers, almost all of them global Tier 1 suppliers that sell parts directly to automakers.

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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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24M and partners awarded $3.5M from ARPA-E to develop ultra-high-energy density batteries with new lithium-metal anodes

Green Car Congress

As part of its new IONICS (Integration and Optimization of Novel Ion Conducting Solids) program awards ( earlier post ), the US Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) awarded $3.5 million in funding to a team that includes 24M, Sepion Technologies , Berkeley Lab, and Carnegie Mellon University. The funds will be used to develop novel membranes and lithium-metal anodes for the next generation of high-energy-density, low-cost batteries. 24M’s core technology is se

Li-ion 252
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Cellulosic sugars company Renmatix raises $14M from Bill Gates, Total

Green Car Congress

Cellulosic sugars company Renmatix has raised $14 million. The investment, intended to support the commercializing of the company’s Plantrose process, was led by Bill Gates. Gates is joined in the round by Total, the global energy major which, after an initial investment in 2015, has expanded its investment and has additionally signed a licensing agreement with Renmatix for 1M tons of annual cellulosic sugar production capacity, at Total’s discretion to build corresponding facilities.

Companies 240

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Volvo Trucks SuperTruck demonstrator improves freight efficiency by 88%, fuel efficiency by 70%

Green Car Congress

Volvo Trucks North America unveiled an innovative SuperTruck demonstrator whose combination of advanced aerodynamics, vehicle and powertrain technologies achieved a freight efficiency improvement of 88%—exceeding the 50% improvement goal set by the US Department of Energy (DOE) Supertruck I program. The sleek tractor-trailer combination boosted fuel efficiency by 70%—exceeding 12 mpg, with some test runs showing more than 13 mpg—in road tests, and powertrain brake thermal effic

Volvo 239
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GM commits to 100% renewable energy by 2050

Green Car Congress

General Motors plans to generate or source all electrical power for its 350 operations in 59 countries with 100% renewable energy—such as wind, sun and landfill gas—by 2050. This new renewable energy goal, along with the pursuit of electrified vehicles and efficient manufacturing, is part of the company’s overall approach to strengthening its business, improving communities and addressing climate change.

Renewable 231
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Volkswagen teases release of EV concept at Paris; production version to be 1st MEB vehicle

Green Car Congress

At Mondial de l’Automobile Paris, Volkswagen will present a new EV concept; the production vehicle which follows will be the first Volkswagen to hit the market based on the new modular electrification kit (MEB) being developed by the brand. Volkswagen says that the new concept car signals the brand’s entry into a new era, and intends for it to be as revolutionary as the Beetle was seven decades ago before it evolved into the world's best-selling car of the century.

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Strategic consortium to commercialize Virent’s BioForming Technology for low carbon fuels and bio-paraxylene

Green Car Congress

Renewable fuels and chemicals company Virent has established a strategic consortium with Tesoro, Toray, Johnson Matthey and The Coca-Cola Company focused on completing the development and scale up of Virent’s BioForming technology to produce low carbon bio-based fuels and bio-paraxylene (a key raw material for the production of 100% bio-polyester). The consortium members will work together to finalize technical developments and commercial arrangements, with the objective of delivering a commerci

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

Brief

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BMW, Volkswagen and ChargePoint complete EV express charging corridors on the East and West Coasts

Green Car Congress

Electric vehicle (EV) drivers can now travel the most heavily-trafficked corridors on the East and West Coasts of the United States with the installation of 95 new DC Fast charging stations as part of the Express Charging Corridors Initiative—a collaboration of BMW of North America, Volkswagen of America, Inc. and ChargePoint, the world’s largest EV charging network.

BMW 215
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NVIDIA unveils single-processor configuration of DRIVE PX 2 for AutoCruise functions; Baidu deploying

Green Car Congress

NVIDIA unveiled a single-processor configuration of the NVIDIA DRIVE PX 2 AI computing platform ( earlier post ) that automakers can use to power automated and autonomous vehicles for driving and mapping. The new computing platform for AutoCruise functions—which include highway automated driving and HD mapping—consumes just 10 watts of power and enables vehicles to use deep neural networks to process data from multiple cameras and sensors.

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Peugeot introducing eU01s 45 km/h electric bicycle

Green Car Congress

Peugeot is introducing the eU01s, a 45 km/h (28 mph) electric bicycle. Bridging the gap between traditional 25 km/h electric bicycles and scooters, the eU01s offers the rider an agile and rapid cross-town journey. The eU01s will be presented at the Paris Motor Show and launched at the end of 2016. Copyright Mikael PENNEC. Peugeot has made urban mobility a core priority with several new innovations being introduced this year: the eC01 electrically-assisted bicycle with automatic transmission, the

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UK’s APC awards Dearman-led consortium £6M for development of Dearman Engine; clean, cold power

Green Car Congress

A consortium, led by Dearman, the clean cold and power technology company, has been awarded £6 million (US$7.9 million) by the UK’s Advanced Propulsion Centre to develop zero-emission Dearman Engine technology ( earlier post ) and applications, helping to move it into manufacturing and full commercial deployment. The Dearman Engine can deliver significant improvements to the fuel efficiency of HGVs and buses, helping to significantly reduce emissions of NO x , particulate matter and CO 2.

Clean 210
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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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World’s largest 2nd-use battery storage starting up; Daimler, Mobility House, GETEC

Green Car Congress

The world’s largest 2nd-use battery storage is starting up. The 13 MWh project is now nearing completion after a construction time of just under one year; a total of 1,000 battery systems from second-generation smart fortwo electric drive cars are being grouped into a battery storage in Lünen, Westphalia. Partners in the project are Daimler AG, The Mobility House AG and GETEC.

Batteries 210
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Toyota Research Inst. and Open Source Robotics Foundation to partner on robotics and automated vehicle research

Green Car Congress

Toyota Research Institute (TRI) will partner with the Open Source Robotics Foundation ( OSRF ) and its newly-formed for profit subsidiary Open Source Robotics Corporation (OSRC) to expand the development of both open source and proprietary tools for Toyota’s fast-growing robotics and automated vehicle research initiatives. This move to significantly expand TRI’s research and engineering capabilities reflects Toyota’s ongoing evolution beyond the boundaries of the conventional automotive industry

Toyota 210
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Velodyne LiDAR announces Puck Hi-Res LiDAR sensor; higher resolution to identify objects at greater distances

Green Car Congress

Velodyne LiDAR Inc. unveiled its new Puck Hi-Res sensor, a version of the company’s LiDAR Puck that provides higher resolution in captured 3D images, which allows objects to be identified at greater distances. Puck Hi-Res is the third new LiDAR sensor released by the company this year, joining the standard VLP-16 Puck and the Puck LITE. ( Earlier post.).

Standards 209
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Rome study finds Prius hybrids have zero tailpipe emissions for 74.2% of commuting journey time

Green Car Congress

A study from the University of Rome commissioned by Toyota Motor Italy has found that the new, fourth-generation Prius hybrid operates with zero emissions for most of the time and distance covered on a typical city commute in Rome. Data gathered from more than 2,200 km (1,367 miles) of driving on a typical Rome commuting journey revealed that the test Prius cars spent an average 73.2% of the journey time (62.5% of the journey distance) producing no tailpipe emissions.

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Ford embeds researchers in new U-M robotics lab to accelerate autonomous vehicle research

Green Car Congress

Ford and the University of Michigan are teaming up to accelerate autonomous vehicle research and development with a first-time arrangement that embeds Ford researchers and engineers into a new state-of-the-art robotics laboratory on U-M’s Ann Arbor campus. While the new robotics laboratory opens in 2020, by the end of this year Ford will move a dozen researchers into the North Campus Research Complex (NCRC), kicking off the first phase of expanded presence.

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Baidu awarded autonomous vehicle testing permit by California DMV

Green Car Congress

The California Department of Motor Vehicles recently issued Baidu USA an Autonomous Vehicle Testing Permit, allowing the company to test its autonomous driving technologies in the state. We will start testing our autonomous driving technologies on public roads very soon in California. Baidu has already built a strong team in Silicon Valley to develop autonomous driving technologies, and being able to do road tests will greatly accelerate our progress.

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Ecole Centrale Nantes and Renault launch Research Chair dedicated to the propulsion performance of EVs

Green Car Congress

Ecole Centrale Nantes and Renault launched the first Research Chair dedicated to the propulsion performance of electric vehicles. With a budget of €4.6 million (US$5.2 million) over 5 years, this new Chair of electric propulsion performance is led by Malek Ghanes. University professor at Centrale Nantes, he received in 2015 the prize for applied research from the Federation of Electrical, Electronics and Communications Industries (FIECC) for his pioneering work on the development of robust and i

Norway 204
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PowerCell in deal with Chinese company for fuel cell range extender with methanol reformer

Green Car Congress

PowerCell Sweden AB has received an order and signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a Chinese company focusing on green energy solutions, specialized in fuel cell applications for commercial light-duty trucks. The two companies see potential for cooperation within range extenders (REX) for commercial light-duty electrified distribution vehicles.

Chinese 204
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USDOT holding next Connected Vehicle PlugFest in November

Green Car Congress

The US Department of Transportation (USDOT) will hold its next Connected Vehicle PlugFest in Novi, Michigan, 15-18 November 2016. These events provide a venue for vendor-to-vendor connected vehicle device testing as needed to develop certification services for multi-vendor connected vehicle networks. Three certification service providers (Danlaw, OmniAir, and 7Layers) will be on site to demonstrate certification testing products developed through the USDOT Certification Testing Program.

Connect 200
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LanzaTech produces 1,500 gallons of alcohol-to-jet fuel from waste gases for Virgin Atlantic

Green Car Congress

In a milestone for the low-carbon fuel project, LanzaTech has produced 1,500 gallons of jet fuel from waste industrial gases from steel mills via a fermentation process for Virgin Atlantic. Virgin Atlantic and LanzaTech have been working together on the project since 2011. HSBC joined the partnership in 2014. The “Lanzanol” was produced in China at the RSB (Roundtable of Sustainable Biomaterials) certified Shougang demonstration facility.

Waste 200
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Jaguar Land Rover expanding Ingenium powertrain family; new gasoline engine, TRANSCEND transmission

Green Car Congress

This week, Jaguar Land Rover will expand its Ingenium powertrain family ( earlier post ), unveiling new technologies for both current and future vehicles. The new additions will support the company’s long-term commitment to reduce vehicle emissions and improve fuel economy across its range through the introduction of more efficient engines along with alternative powertrains, lighter vehicles and improved vehicle energy conservation.

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FedEx Freight adds 100 Class 8 CNG tractors, CNG fueling station in Oklahoma City

Green Car Congress

Less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier FedEx Freight has purchased more than 100 Class 8 CNG tractors from Paccar units Kenworth and Peterbilt, and has installed a CNG fueling station to serve the new CNG fleet at its Oklahoma City Service Center. FedEx Freight contracted with Clean Energy Fuels Corp to design, build and maintain the fueling station. The CNG fueling station in Oklahoma City also provides efficiency for fueling the fleet through two different methods.

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Daimler Trucks in up to $500M supply agreement with Northstar Battery

Green Car Congress

Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) has entered into a 7-year agreement with Swedish-American energy storage manufacturer NorthStar Battery Company as the supplier of Ultra High Performance Pure Lead AGM batteries as part of the improvements being made to the next-generation Cascadia truck. NorthStar is also available as an extended life option on the majority of DTNA platforms creating a strategic partnership valued at up to $500 million.

Supplies 195
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Toyota installs stationary fuel cells at Honsha Plant

Green Car Congress

Toyota Motor Corporation has installed stationary hydrogen fuel cells at the energy management facility at its Honsha Plant in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture; the fuel cells started operations on 12 September. Toyota is progressing with initiatives toward the fulfillment of the Plant Zero CO 2 Emissions Challenge that was announced at the 2015 Toyota Environmental Forum.

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BMW Motorrad introducing new C evolution electric scooter; longer range with 94 Ah cells

Green Car Congress

At the Paris Motor Show, BMW Motorrad will introduce the new version of the C evolution electric scooter. ( Earlier post.) Featuring a new generation of batteries with a cell capacity of 94 Ah, as used in the current BMW i3, the C evolution has significantly extended its range for one of its variants. The electric scooter will be available in two variants: the Long Range version (160 km / 99 miles) and the European version that meets the requirements for the A1 driving licence (100 km / 62 miles

BMW 194
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Tesla selected to provide 80 MWh Li-ion storage system for Southern California Edison

Green Car Congress

Last week, through a competitive process, Tesla was selected to provide a 20 MW/80 MWh Powerpack system at the Southern California Edison Mira Loma substation. Tesla was the only bidder awarded a utility-owned storage project out of the solicitation. The system will hold enough energy to power more than 2,500 households for a day or charge 1,000 Tesla vehicles.

Li-ion 190
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Volkswagen enters into cooperation with top Israeli experts to establish an automotive cyber security company

Green Car Congress

Volkswagen, three leading Israeli experts and their team are jointly establishing an automotive cyber security company. The newly founded CYMOTIVE Technologies led by Yuval Diskin, Tsafrir Kats and Dr Tamir Bechor will develop advanced cyber security solutions for next-generation connected cars and mobile services. Diskin, former head of the Israeli Security Services, will be serving as the chairman of CYMOTIVE Technologies.

Companies 190
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XALT Energy to supply Li-ion cells for world’s largest electric ferries; 4.16 MWh packs

Green Car Congress

XALT Energy announced a Li-ion cell supply contract for the two largest battery-powered ferries in the world with Plan B Energy Storage (PBES). Each of the two Scandlines Helsingborg-Helsingör ferries will have 4.16 MWh battery packs to provide power for primary propulsion. The electric ferries will carry their part of more than 7.4 million passengers and 1.9 million vehicles annually with zero emissions.

Li-ion 190
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Chevy Bolt offers EPA-estimated 238 miles of electric range

Green Car Congress

When the 2017 Chevy Bolt EV goes on sale later this year, it will be with an EPA-estimated range of 238 miles (383 km). Bolt will have an expected MSRP below $37,500 and before available federal tax credit of up to $7,500. Plenty of range, cargo space, technology and safety features make the Bolt EV an attractive package. Final Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price is not yet announced and does not include, tax, title, license or optional equipment.

EPA 190
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DOE seeking input on H2@scale: hydrogen as centerpiece of future energy system; 50% reduction in energy GHGs by 2050

Green Car Congress

Earlier this year, The US Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratories identified the potential of hydrogen to decarbonize deeply a multitude of sectors in a proposal termed “H2@Scale”. Preliminary analysis performed by the national laboratories on the H2@Scale concept indicated that nearly a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions is possible by 2050 via such large-scale hydrogen production and use.

Hydrogen 190