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MIT study finds materials risk exposure increases significantly with vehicle electrification

Green Car Congress

Modern automobiles are built with more than 2,000 different compounds comprising 76 different elements. Now, a study by a team from MIT’s Materials Systems Laboratory, with support from Ford, provides insight into how electrification is changing vehicle composition and how that change is driving supply risk vulnerability.

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Ford OpenXC platform out of beta; open-source hardware and software platform

Green Car Congress

Following on the launch of its first software developer program ( earlier post ), Ford is now turning its attention to the growing trend in hardware hacking by transforming vehicles into an experimental development environment. Ford is committed to innovating with the help of software and now hardware developers.

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Ford takes OpenXC research platform global, engaging local developers for market-specific connected vehicle apps in India

Green Car Congress

Ford is now shipping beta test kits of its open-source connectivity research platform, OpenXC ( earlier post ), to developers and universities around the world. OpenXC is an open-source hardware and software platform developed by Ford Research and Innovation and New York City-based Bug Labs. Click to enlarge.

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Thomson Reuters report finds established auto industry companies, not Silicon Valley, leading development of autonomous driving tech

Green Car Congress

The report, which analyzes global patent activity in the field of self-driving automobiles over the last five years, identifies the global leaders in the development of the technologies and also makes predictions about the future of driverless cars. Google ranks 19 th in the world in this area, followed by Ford at number 20.

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Ford showcasing vehicle-to-vehicle communication for crash avoidance; potential for leveraging WiFi and smartphones to extend quickly the number of participating vehicles

Green Car Congress

At the “Forward with Ford” event held in June—a conference exploring the linkage of Ford vehicles and technologies to global consumer trends—the company showcased its work on vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications with a focus on crash avoidance. Click to enlarge. Background. US DOT Connected Vehicles Research.

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USABC awards Cobasys $8.4M for the development of high-energy density Li-ion cells and packs for EVs

Green Car Congress

The objective of the alliance is to adapt lithium-ion battery technology to the requirements of automobiles, and thus explore the market for hybrid and electric vehicles. Together, the companies will have invested approximately $500 million in the joint venture by 2013.

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False Starts: The Story of Vehicle-to-Grid Power

Cars That Think

Photo-illustration: Max-o-matic; photo source: Alec Brooks The AC Propulsion experiment thus became an obscure footnote in the tortuous saga of the green automobile. In the early years of the automobile, battery-powered electric cars were competitive with cars fueled by gasoline and other types of propulsion.

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