August, 2012

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Progress toward commercializing the GTI IH2 thermochemical process for drop-in hydrocarbon fuels

Green Car Congress

Automated, continuous IH 2 pilot plant, 50 kg/day biomass feed. Source: GTI. Click to enlarge. At the 244 th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), Gas Technology Institute (GTI) scientist Dr. Martin Linck provided an update on the progress toward commercializing the GTI Integrated Hydropyrolysis and Hydroconversion (IH 2 ) process, with a presentation of new data on IH 2 developed from a continuous 50 kg/day pilot plant. ( Earlier post.).

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EV Fest 2012: Toronto, Ontario

Electric Cars are for Girls

Toronto's EV Fest 2012 is a place where the public, business owners, and fleet managers can come to learn about electric vehicles and green energy. Sept. 9 at Evergreen Brickworks, 10-5.

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Toyota Hybrid Battery Replacement Cost Guide

Green Car Reports

"Sure, but what do the batteries cost to replace?" is a question frequently posed to hybrid and electric vehicle owners. It's true that batteries aren't cheap, and at some point down the line they'll have expended their useful life and require replacement. But what do these packs actually cost, if and when that replacement date comes? We've.

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2013 Nissan Leaf will be sold in Puerto Rico, first expansion into Latin America

National Green Transportation

Nissan today announced the 2013 Nissan Leaf will be available in Puerto Rico, making it the first Latin America market for Nissan's electric car. Nissan and Puerto Rico signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) 14 months ago.

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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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Mercedes-Benz E 300 BlueTec Hybrid: the most intelligent hybrid car yet?

Green Cars News

Mercedes will roll out an amazing hybrid car later this year, one so impressive on paper, you wonder why no executive car maker has done it before. The E 300 BlueTec Hybrid is an electric-IC hybrid that, unlike most cars we’ve seen to date, pairs a diesel engine with the electric drive, rather than a [.].

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Bosch increases commercial vehicle diesel injection pressure to 2,500 bar

Green Car Congress

Bosch’s CRSN3-25 offers injection pressure of up to 2,500 bar. Click to enlarge. As it outlined in 2010, Bosch has increased the maximum injection pressure of its CRSN3-25 injection system for medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles to 2,500 bar. The aim is to help meet more stringent emissions standards such as US 10 and Euro VI; higher injection pressures help lower fuel consumption and emissions.

More Trending

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GM reporting Duramax Diesel powertrain issues caused by aftermarket software; non-GM software voids powertrain warranties

Green Car Congress

General Motors has released Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) 08-06-04-006J, which provides updated information to dealership service departments on identifying non-GM engine control module (ECM) calibrations. The bulletin also extends the procedures to cover many Duramax-equipped vehicles built for model year 2013. The bulletin outlines software identification and power-up hardware detection procedures, and recommends that such procedures be carried out whenever a “hard part failure” is observed

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New mobile phone app identifies driver phone use, enabling action to reduce distracted driving

Green Car Congress

Illustration of the logical flow in the system. By measuring the amount of time that sound takes to travel from each speaker, the cell phone app can determine whether the phone is on the driver’s side or the passenger’s side of the car. Source: Yang et al. Click to enlarge. A team from Rutgers University and Stevens Institute of Technology have designed and tested a smart phone application that can pinpoint where in the car a cell phone user is sitting—i.e., on the driver’s side or the pas

Connect 342
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India adopts National Electric Mobility Mission Plan 2020; 6-7M electrified vehicles by 2020, total investment up to $4.1B

Green Car Congress

India’s National Council for Electric Mobility (NCEM) has adopted the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan 2020 (NEMMP 2020), which is the mission document for National Mission for Electric Mobility (NMEM). The NEMMP 2020 lays the vision, sets the targets and provides the roadmap for achieving significant penetration of electric vehicles (including hybrids) in India by 2020.

2020 338
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Ford and suppliers investing $220M to produce new HF35 hybrid transmission and others at Van Dyke plant

Green Car Congress

HF35 architecture. Click to enlarge. Ford and suppliers are investing $220 million to transform Van Dyke Transmission into a modern operation capable of producing Ford’s new hybrid transmission—HF35—as well as other fuel-efficient transmissions. HF35 will be used in five electrified vehicles being introduced this year: C-MAX Hybrid; C-MAX Energi plug-in hybrid; Fusion Hybrid; Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid; and the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid.

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

Brief

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Worldwatch: Fossil fuel subsidies continue to outweigh those for renewable energy; international pledges on reform unfulfilled

Green Car Congress

Estimated consumption subsidies, industrial and developing countries, fossil fuels and renewables. Source: Worldwatch. Click to enlarge. Fossil fuel subsidies continue to far outweigh support for renewable energy, according to new research conducted for the Worldwatch Institute’s Vital Signs Online service. Although independent reporting on these subsidies has increased, global efforts to move forward with subsidy reform have been hindered by a variety of causes, leaving international pledges un

Renewable 312
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Ford C-MAX Hybrid EPA-rated at 47 mpg city, 47 mpg highway; plug-in Energi version offers 85 mph top electric speed

Green Car Congress

The Ford C-MAX Hybrid ( earlier post ) is now officially EPA-certified at 47 mpg city, 47 mpg highway and 47 mpg combined (5.0L/100km), bettering the fuel economy of the Toyota Prius v by 3 mpg on the city cycle and 7 mpg on the highway (5 mpg combined). Ford also announced that the plug-in hybrid version of the C-MAX, the Ford C-MAX Energi, features the a top electric-only speed among all plug-in of 85 mph (137 km/h)—more than 20 mph more than the Prius plug-in, and sufficient easily to k

MPG 312
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Argonne upgrades Advanced Powertrain Research Facility with Environmental Test Cell

Green Car Congress

Argonne National Laboratory has upgraded its Advanced Powertrain Research Facility with the new Environmental Test Cell (ETC). The ETC allows vehicle researchers to simulate a range of external temperatures—between 20 °F to 95 °F (-6.7 °C to 35 °C)—in order to study the impact of temperature on the performance of electrified vehicles (EVs).

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GE to supply electric propulsion systems totaling 1,105 MW for 23 new LNG ships

Green Car Congress

GE’s Power Conversion business recently received a series of new orders from South Korean companies Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering and Hyundai Heavy Industries. The GE equipment will be installed on 23 new LNG ships and represents total propulsion power of 1,105 megawatts. The scope of GE’s contracts includes MV7000 converters, induction motors, transformers, generators, main and cargo switchboards and propulsion control systems.

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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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Toyota developing external power supply system and V2H for fuel cell buses

Green Car Congress

FC Bus Power Supply System and the V2H System. Click to enlarge. Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) has developed an external power supply system that uses electricity generated within a fuel cell bus (FC bus) to supply electrical power to devices such as home electrical appliances. An FC bus—based on the FCHV-BUS (Fuel cell hybrid vehicle-bus)—equipped with the new power supply system has two electrical outlets (AC 100 V, 1.5 kW) inside the cabin that can supply a maximum output of 3 kW

Supplies 304
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First reference installation of Opcon Waste Heat Recovery technology for ships; potential for 5–10% fuel savings

Green Car Congress

The MV Figaro. Click to enlarge. Opcon, in collaboration with Wallenius Marine, recently completed the first reference installation of its Waste Heat Recovery technology for ocean-going vessels in a project supported by the Swedish Energy Agency. ( Earlier post.) The company has now received official approval from Lloyd’s Register for use at sea. The Opcon systems generate electricity from low-value waste heat in the vessel’s steam and cooling system.

Waste 300
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Novel sorbent achieves 90% carbon capture in DOE-sponsored test

Green Car Congress

The successful bench-scale test of a novel carbon dioxide capturing sorbent promises to further advance the process as a possible technological option for reducing CO 2 emissions from coal-fired power plants. The new sorbent, BrightBlack, was originally developed for a different application by Advanced Technology Materials Inc. (ATMI) , a subcontractor to SRI for the Department of Energy (DOE)-sponsored test at the University of Toledo.

Carbon 300
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Aiken County and SRNS agree to $3M expansion of hydrogen research lab

Green Car Congress

Aiken County and Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, LLC, (SRNS) have reached agreement on a corporately funded $3-million expansion plan that will add an additional 6,435 square feet of finished laboratory and support space to the county-owned Center for Hydrogen Research (CHR) facility, located in Aiken County’s Savannah River. Research Campus adjacent to the Savannah River Site.

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Study finds clear trend of increasing NOx with higher biodiesel blends with CARB diesel; NOx neutrality achieved by blending in renewable or GTL diesel

Green Car Congress

NO x emissions results of biodiesel, renewable, and GTL diesel fuel blends, and CARB diesel fuel for 2006 Cummins ISM. Credit: ACS, Hajbabaei et al. Click to enlarge. A study by researchers at the University of California, Riverside’s College of Engineering – Center for Environmental Research and Technology (CE-CERT) and colleagues at the California Air Resources Board (ARB) found a relatively clear trend of increasing NO x emissions with increasing biodiesel blend level at levels of B20 and abo

Diesel 290
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Honda enters European robotic lawn mower market with Li-ion-powered Miimo

Green Car Congress

[Repost due to publishing problems.]< /p>. Honda Motor Europe is entering the fast-growing European robotic lawn mower market with the introduction of Honda Miimo, its first commercial robotic product for domestic use. The electric Honda Miimo cuts little and often, typically mowing 2-3mm of grass at a time, several times each week. Miimo. Click to enlarge.

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Mitsubishi Motors to launch new Mirage global compact in Japan; 1.0L gasoline engine with 64 mpg US

Green Car Congress

The new Mirage. Click to enlarge. Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) will launch the all-new Mirage global compact car at dealerships throughout Japan on 31 August at an MSRP ranging from ¥998,000 to ¥1,288,000 (US$12,800 to $16,500). ( Earlier post.). In Japan, the new Mirage will be offered in three trim levels with all models coming with a powertrain mating a new 1.0-liter 3-cylinder MIVEC (Mitsubishi Innovate Valve timing Electronic Control) engine to a new version of the INVECS-III (Intell

Japan 287
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California Energy Commission to showcase two converted electric heavy-duty trucks for LA ports

Green Car Congress

The California Energy Commission and industry partners will unveil two heavy-duty electric-powered vehicles at the 3 rd Annual PortTechEXPO in San Pedro on 6 September. Designed to provide cleaner transportation at Southern California’s ports, these electric trucks—a Navistar International Pro-Star on-road tractor and a Kalmar Ottawa off-road tractor—have been converted from diesel fuel to run on electric battery power.

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Univ. of Tokyo researchers explore “oxygen rocking” batteries as an alternative to Li-ion

Green Car Congress

Operating principle of oxygen rocking batteries using CLFO. Hibino et al. Click to enlarge. Researchers at the University of Tokyo are exploring the development of novel lithium-free “oxygen rocking” rechargeable aqueous batteries for large-scale energy storage. They describe the principle and their initial work in a paper published in Scientific Reports , an open access, primary research publication from the publishers of Nature.

Li-ion 285
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NOAA, partners find about 98% decline in VOCs concentrations in LA Basin over last 50 years despite 3x increase in use of gasoline and diesel

Green Car Congress

A scatter plot of CO, as a tracer for pollution, versus CO 2 , as a tracer for the amount of combustion, for 2002 and 2010. Even though the CO 2 enhancements over background were comparable in the two years, about 25 ppm in 2002 and 35 ppm in 2010, the ?CO/?CO2 ratio for this flight track segment decreased from 24.5 ppbv/ppmv to 10.7 ppbv/ppmv. Source: Warneke et al.

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BMW launches ParkNow mobile parking service; more details on DriveNow electric car-sharing service

Green Car Congress

At a press conference with San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, BMW Group Member of the Board Dr. Ian Robertson announced the upcoming launch of ParkNow, a mobile parking solution that is a joint venture with Urban Mobility; and also provided new details about DriveNow, a new premium car-sharing service which features a fleet of BMW ActiveE all-electric vehicles.

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Toyota RAV4 EV key for meeting California ZEV requirements; Tesla powertrain uses Model S components

Green Car Congress

The RAV4 EV. Click to enlarge. Toyota held its first media briefing and drive for the RAV4 EV ( earlier post ), due to go on sale later this year in California. The converted RAV4 is the result of the partnership between Toyota and Tesla Motors announced in May 2010; Toyota has contracted for 2,600 units. In remarks during the briefing, Bill Fay, Group Vice President & General Manager, Toyota Division, noted that the RAV4 EV is an important element of Toyota’s plan to meet the Phase 3 requiremen

Toyota 281
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Pike forecasts 26.4% CAGR for electric-drive buses to 2018; hybrid, battery-electric and fuel cell

Green Car Congress

Pike Research forecasts that the global market for all electric-drive buses—including hybrid, battery electric, and fuel cell buses—grow steadily over the next. 6 years, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 26.4% from 2012 to 2018. In a new report, “ Electric Drive Buses ”, Pike finds that China market will constitute the majority of global electric drive bus sales, while some of the more developed markets will see fluctuations in electric bus uptake.

2018 276
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Toyota to conduct plug-in vehicle charger infrastructure verification tests in Japan

Green Car Congress

Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) will carry out a series of verification tests in Aichi Prefecture, Japan from November 2012 to March 2013 to assess various practicalities of the widespread deployment of standard chargers for plug-in vehicles. The tests will be conducted together with two local governments and 10 businesses. Currently, charger installation in Japan is carried out at the discretion of commercial and non-commercial facilities, and there is no established method of recuperating insta

Japan 275
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Waste Management and Renmatix to explore conversion of urban waste to low-cost cellulosic sugar via supercritical hydrolysis

Green Car Congress

Waste Management, Inc. and Renmatix, a manufacturer of biobased sugar intermediates for global chemical and fuel markets, have entered into a joint development agreement (JDA) to explore the feasibility of converting post-consumer waste into affordable, sufficient-quality sugars for manufacturing biobased materials using Renmatix’ supercritical hydrolysis technology. ( Earlier post.).

Waste 274
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A123 Systems in non-binding MoU with Wanxiang for strategic investment of up to $450M; Wanxiang would own up to 80% of A123 common stock

Green Car Congress

A123 Systems, a developer and manufacturer of advanced lithium-iron phosphate batteries and systems, signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Wanxiang Group Corporation establishing the framework for a strategic investment through which Wanxiang would invest up to $450 million in A123. A123 announced the Wanxiang deal along with its financial results for the second quarter ended 30 June 2012 in which the company reported a net loss of $82.9 million (a 50% increase in loss comp

2012 273
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GE, Ford, University of Michigan in APRA-E project to develop a smart, miniaturized sensing system for EV batteries; smarter BMS for longer life

Green Car Congress

GE researchers, in partnership with Ford Motor Company and the University of Michigan, are developing a smart, miniaturized sensing system that has the potential to significantly extend the life of automotive traction batteries over the conventional battery systems used in electric vehicles today. The $3.1-million project is funded by the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) ARPA-E. ( Earlier post.

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J.D. Power and Associates study finds EPA emission-compliant heavy-duty engines yielding increase in engine problems, decline in satisfaction

Green Car Congress

Technology changes related to revised emissions standards for heavy-duty trucks are causing an increase in heavy-duty truck engine problems and a decrease in overall satisfaction with the powertrain, according to the JD Power and Associates 2012 US Heavy-Duty Truck Engine and Transmission Study. Now in its 16 th year, the study measures satisfaction with engines and transmissions among primary maintainers of heavy-duty (Class 8) trucks that are one model-year old.

Engine 268
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Mexico President Calderón announces first PEMEX deepwater Gulf of Mexico oil discovery; preliminary indication of 350M barrels oil equivalent

Green Car Congress

Mexico President Felipe Calderon today announced PEMEX’ first oil discovery in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. The state-owned company’s Trion 1 well, 177 km off the coast of Tamaulipas, confirmed the presence of light oil reservoirs in the province of the Perdido fold belt. The well, located 39 km. south of the border territory with the US ( earlier post ), was drilled to 2,500 meters (8,202 feet) water depth and current depth of 4.5 kilometers (2.8 miles), including seafloor crust.

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Nikkei: Japan government to broaden disclosure of CHAdeMo quick-charging standards

Green Car Congress

The Nikkei reports that the Japan government will broaden its disclosure of CHAdeMo quick-charging technology standards for electric vehicles, currently known by only a few automakers, to promote the spread of EVs and related industries. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry aims to accelerate the development of charging infrastructure, which is still not widespread.

Japan 268