March, 2018

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ExxonMobil and Synthetic Genomics algae biofuels program targets 10,000 barrels per day by 2025

Green Car Congress

ExxonMobil and Synthetic Genomics Inc. announced a new phase in their joint algae biofuel research program ( earlier post ) that could lead to the technical ability to produce 10,000 barrels of algae biofuel per day by 2025. The new phase of research includes an outdoor field study that will grow naturally occurring algae in several contained ponds in California.

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Beverly Hills bans plug-in hybrids from public charging stations

Green Car Reports

Well, that's. interesting. The city of Beverly Hills, California, has issued new regulations for parking and electric-car charging. As of Monday, April 2, only battery-electric cars will be allowed to park and plug in at any of the city's 35 public charging stations—plug-in hybrids will not. DON'T MISS: Charging etiquette for electric-car.

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Linda Grave becomes CEO of EV Driver on International Women's Day

EV Driver

After 11 successful years helping East Green Energy grow to become East Anglia’s premier Renewable Energy business, Linda is now turning her attention to running EV Driver full time. Electric Vehicles and Electric Vehicle charging is big news and a day does not go by without a headline story hitting the press. EV’s are the biggest disruption to the motor industry since the combustion engine replaced the horse drawn carriage.

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Mercedes-Benz provides additional details on upcoming 12m electric Citaro bus

Green Car Congress

Mercedes-Benz will introduce its 12m battery-electric Citaro bus in September at the IAA Commercial Vehicles show, with the start of series production also taking place this year. ( Earlier post.) The company has now given a preview of the new locally emission-free 12-meter variant. The drive system of the new all-electric Citaro is based on the tried and tested ZF AVE 130 electric portal axle with electric motors at the wheel hubs, as previously deployed in other variants of the Citaro.

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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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Producing the Mercedes-Benz GLC F-CELL fuel-cell SUV

Green Car Congress

Daimler is currently systematically preparing for series production of the Mercedes-Benz GLC F-CELL; the company had shown preproduction models of the hydrogen fuel cell SUV at the IAA International Motor Show in Frankfurt last September ( Earlier post.). The plug-in hybrid SUV will be produced at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Bremen. Mercedes’ partner EDAG supports the plant with respect to integration of the drive system, and is located in the immediate vicinity of the plant.

Mercedes 305
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Toyota unveiles flexible fuel hybrid prototype in Brazil

Green Car Congress

Toyota unveiled a prototype hybrid flexible-fuel vehicle (Hybrid FFV) during an event Toyota held São Paulo, Brazil. Stakeholders including the state government, universities, and the sugarcane association (the Sugarcane Industry Union: UNICA) attended the event. The prototype is the combination of a flexible-fuel vehicle (FFV) that can be powered by both gasoline and alternative fuels such as ethanol, and Toyota’s hybrid system.

Brazil 301

More Trending

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Van Hool to build 40 hydrogen buses for Cologne and Wuppertal (Germany); largest fuel cell bus order in Europe to date

Green Car Congress

Van Hool, the Belgium-based independent bus, coach and industrial vehicles manufacturer, has landed a significant contract with RVK Köln and WSW Wuppertal (Germany), to supply 40 hydrogen buses of the latest generation. This order consists of 30 fuel cell buses for Cologne and 10 for Wuppertal, making it the largest order for hydrogen-powered vehicles yet placed in Europe.

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Goodyear develops new tire technology to optimize EV performance; also introduces Oxygene concept with moss

Green Car Congress

Goodyear offered a preview during the 2018 Geneva International Motor Show of its EfficientGrip Performance with Electric Drive Technology, a prototype tire for the growing electric vehicle market that will be on the road by 2019 in Europe. Goodyear testing reveals that traditional tires can wear out up to 30% faster on electric vehicles due to the powerful, instant torque from electric motors and the additional vehicle weight from heavy battery packs.

Concept 284
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Study suggests lithium and cobalt for batteries may face supply risks by 2050

Green Car Congress

Lithium and cobalt are fundamental components of present lithium-ion batteries. Analysis by researchers at the Helmholtz Institute Ulm (HIU) of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) suggests that, given the foreseen scaling of battery demand up to 2050, each may face supply risks, albeit for different reasons. The researchers present these results in the journal Nature Reviews Materials as part of a cost and resource analysis of sodium-ion batteries. … The supply risk for lithium, at least

Supplies 281
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HALO research aircraft measuring the emissions of megacities in EmeRGe project

Green Car Congress

Air quality in major cities is a critical issue, especially with regard to road traffic and residents’ health. However, emissions do not just remain in conurbations; particles and gaseous pollutants can be transported thousands of kilometers by the wind. This scenario is particularly relevant in Asia, home to the world’s largest concentration of megacities.

Emissions 268
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Faurecia and Accenture partner on products and services for connected and autonomous vehicles

Brief

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Renault introduces electric robo-vehicle and ride-hailing concept EZ-GO

Green Car Congress

At the Geneva Motor Show, Renault introduced EZ-GO, an electric, autonomous, shared robo-vehicle concept—both a vehicle and a service—that allows people to hail a ride either from a fixed or mobile location. Renault believes vehicle-service integration combined with connection to city infrastructure—leveraging sensors, data analytics, connected services, multimodal systems and more—will be a key characteristic of successful mobility solutions and smart cities of the futur

Concept 265
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Enerkem, NREL team develops High Octane Low Carbon Gasoline (HOLCG) hydrocarbon blends

Green Car Congress

Researchers from Enerkem and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have succeeded in producing a new high-performance biofuel that could improve the octane rating of fuels sold on the market and reduce their carbon footprint. The new fuel has a Research Octane Number (RON) of up to 112. In a paper presented at the 255 th National Meeting of the ACS, the team described an innovative integrated process to convert renewable and recycled carbon into High Octane Low Carbon Gasoline blends.

Gasoline 264
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SABIC lifecycle assessment finds thermoplastic composite doors achieve lower GWP, energy demand than steel, aluminum and magnesium

Green Car Congress

SABIC, a global leader in the chemical industry, released the results of a recent lifecycle assessment of passenger car side doors using hybrid material solutions including laminates made with its continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite (CFRTC), the UDMAX GPP 45-70 tape. The material system aims to help improve compliance with stringent energy and emissions regulations.

Energy 264
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Lexus unveils new UX crossover with new hybrid system; first use of GA-C; new TNGA powertrain elements

Green Car Congress

Lexus hosted the world premiere of the new UX crossover at the 2018 Geneva Motor show. The UX marks a series of technical innovations, including the first use of the new global architecture platform GA-C, which delivers fundamental high structural rigidity and a low center of gravity, thus securing excellent ride quality and stability. New powertrains are also deployed for the first time: a new 2.0-liter gasoline engine that reaps the performance and fuel economy benefits of high thermal efficie

Lexus 262
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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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New TNGA Dynamic Force 2.0L engine for 2019 Corolla Hatchback smaller, more powerful than 1.8L

Green Car Congress

At the New York International Auto Show this week, Toyota will stage the premiere of the new 2019 Corolla Hatchback. The all-new TNGA-based powertrain features the 2.0-liter Dynamic-Force direct-injection inline four-cylinder engine (M20A-FKS) ( earlier post ) with gains in power, fuel efficiency, and cleaner emissions. Physically, the engine is smaller and lighter than its 1.8-liter four-cylinder predecessor, which helps to lower Corolla Hatchback’s center of gravity and benefits its overall ba

2019 261
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Volkswagen Millerized 1.5 TSI ACT BlueMotion gasoline engine offers diesel-like fuel economy; derivatives may be applied in hybrid systems

Green Car Congress

Volkswagen has developed and deployed a gasoline engine that offers diesel-like fuel economy but is significantly cheaper to buy. Currently applied in the new Golf and Golf Variant ( earlier post ), the 1.5 TSI ACT BlueMotion delivers 96 kW / 130 PS with combined fuel consumption of 4.8 l/100 km (49 mpg US). The NEDC extra-urban figure drops as low as 4.0 l/100 km/h (59 mpg US).

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Toyota, Nissan, Honda and 8 others form Japan H2 Mobility to accelerate deployment of hydrogen stations in Japan

Green Car Congress

Eleven companies, including automakers Toyota Motor, Nissan Motor, and Honda Motor, have jointly formed Japan H2 Mobility, LLC (JHyM), aimed at the full-fledged development of hydrogen stations for fuel cell vehicles (FCV) in Japan. The newly formed JHyM will foster the deployment of hydrogen stations throughout Japan under the guidance of the Japanese Central Government’s Ministerial Council on Renewable Energy, Hydrogen and Related Issues (“Basic Hydrogen Strategy” published in December).

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ULEMCo delivers first hydrogen dual fuel road sweeper to Aberdeen City Council

Green Car Congress

UK-based ULEMCo—a spin-out from Revolve Technologies focused on conversions of diesel vehicles to hydrogen dual fuel operation—has collaborated with Aberdeen City Council (ACC) to deliver the first hydrogen dual fuel road sweeper. The vehicles will use hydrogen fuel for around a third of the energy used to drive and operate the vehicles.

Hydrogen 255
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Toyota, Aisin and Denso investing $2.8B in new company to develop fully-integrated, production-quality software for automated driving

Green Car Congress

Toyota will establish a new company in Tokyo in the latter part of this month named Toyota Research Institute-Advanced Development (TRI-AD) that will accelerate its efforts in advanced development for automated driving. To enable the new efforts at TRI-AD, Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC), Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd. (Aisin), and Denso Corporation (Denso) have concluded a memorandum of understanding on joint development of fully-integrated, production-quality software for automated driving.

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Researchers develop overarching model of NOx formation in combustion

Green Car Congress

Researchers from the US Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory and the Technical University of Denmark have synthesized more than a decade’s worth of combustion studies to create a new overarching model of how nitrogen oxides are produced. Even though the chemical processes that govern formation and destruction of NO x in combustion processes has been the subject of extensive research over the last four decades, there are still unresolved issues that may limit the accuracy of enginee

Pollution 250
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NREL team discovers enzyme domains that significantly improve breakdown of cellulose

Green Car Congress

By studying and comparing the workhorse cellulose-degrading enzymes (cellobiohydrolases) of two fungi, researchers from the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have pinpointed regions on these enzymes that can be targeted via genetic engineering to help break down cellulose faster. A newly published open-access paper in Nature Communications describes NREL’s long-running study of the fungal CBHs—enzymes that use hydrolysis as their main chemistry to degrade cell

2005 247
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Bosch opts to outsource battery cells rather than to manufacture; disbanding internal efforts, selling Seeo

Green Car Congress

Although Bosch intends to lead the mass market for electromobility that will emerge after 2020, the company has decided that the means to achieving that strategic end does not include manufacturing of the battery cells. Bosch announced that while it will rely on its systems expertise and the development and manufacture of key components of the electrical powertrain, such as the electric motor, power electronics, and battery systems, it will continue to outsource the cells needed to make those ba

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DOE to issue $3M FOA for High-Performance Computing for Materials; focus on severe, complex environments

Green Car Congress

The Department of Energy announced a funding opportunity totaling $3 million to support projects between US industry and DOE national laboratories related to improving materials in severe or complex environments through the new High Performance Computing for Materials in Applied Energy Technologies ( HPC4Mtls ) Program. ( Earlier post.). The call for proposals is the first solicitation under the newly instituted HPC4Mtls Program.

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Porsche to invest more than $7.4B in electromobility by 2022

Green Car Congress

Porsche will invest more than €6 billion (US$7.4 billion) in electromobility by 2022. The money will be spent on derivatives of the Mission E ( earlier post ), hybridization and electrification of the current model range, as well as on developing a charging infrastructure and smart mobility. Plans for derivatives of the Mission E are also under way: last week at the Geneva show, Porsche presented a production-ready concept study of the Mission E Cross Turismo. ( Earlier post.

Porsche 247
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Faurecia gaining market momentum with hemp-based biomaterial NAFILean

Green Car Congress

As Faurecia’s NAFILean (natural fiber for injection) lightweight hemp-based biomaterials are increasingly adopted by OEMs, the company has developed new figures showing the significant energy and environmental benefits of the biomaterials. NAFILean integrates a natural, hemp-based fiber with polypropylene and allows for complex shapes and architectures along with weight reduction.

Market 246
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Scania testing engines running on untreated biogas and landfill gas

Green Car Congress

In collaboration with Linköping-based energy recovery specialists Tekniska verken, Scania Engines is currently testing one of its engines using raw gas, biogas that is untreated—i.e., not cleaned or upgraded to remove wastewater, CO 2 and other particles, as happens with the production of compressed natural gas for vehicle fuels. Instead, the raw gas is taken directly from the digestion chambers as fuel for the Scania engine, to see how it performs over 600 hours of tests.

Gas 246
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JATO: new car CO2 emissions rise for the first time in a decade in Europe; diesel down, gasoline up, SUVs up

Green Car Congress

Average CO 2 emissions generated by new cars in Europe increased during 2017—the first rise in 10 years— according to a new analysis by JATO Dynamics. Covering 23 European markets, the study found that average CO 2 emissions increased by 0.3 g/km in 2017, finishing at 118.1 g/km. This rise in average CO 2 emissions correlates with a decrease in demand for diesel cars across Europe—which produce lower CO 2 emissions than gasoline cars—and the rising popularity of SUVs, whi

Gasoline 244
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Mercedes-Benz unveiling diesel plug-in hybrid preproduction models at Geneva show

Green Car Congress

At the Geneva Motor Show this week, Mercedes-Benz is unveiling two new preproduction models that combine the new OM 654 four-cylinder diesel engine with the latest-generation 9G-TRONIC 9-speed hybrid transmission. Like the S 560 e (combined fuel consumption 2.1 l/100 km (112 mpg US), combined CO 2 emissions 49 g/km) ( earlier post ), the C- and E-Class plug-in diesel hybrids will use third-generation hybrid technology.

Plug-in 244
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Neste-led project verified 50% methane emission reduction at palm oil mills using belt filter press

Green Car Congress

Crude palm oil is one of the more than ten renewable raw materials that Neste uses to produce a range of renewable products, including renewable diesel. Palm oil represents approximately 20% of Neste’s renewable raw material usage annually. Neste has been exploring ways to contribute to improving palm oil industry’s environmental performance, particularly how to further reduce greenhouse gas emission from palm oil production.

Oil 244
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SEAT to introduce 500 km MEB-based EV, Leon PHEV in 2020

Green Car Congress

SEAT, a member of the Volkswagen Group, will introduce its first fully electric vehicle in 2020. Built on the Volkswagen Group’s MEB platform, the new EV will feature a range of 500 km (311 miles). The EV launch comes as part of a product offensive, in which SEAT will launch one new car every six months until 2020. The first two vehicles will be the SEAT Tarraco and the CUPRA Ateca, which are going on sale at the end of 2018.

2020 239
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Volkswagen unveils third-generation Touareg SUV in China; plug-in hybrid drive this year

Green Car Congress

Volkswagen held the world premiere of its new, third-generation Touareg SUV in China—its largest market. Worldwide sales of the previous two generations amount to nearly one million units; the largest markets for the new Touareg—which serves as a technology flagship for the automaker—are China, Europe and Russia. Volkswagen will be offering the Touareg with a new plug-in hybrid drive (270 kW/367 PS system power) in China initially.

Plug-in 236
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Hitachi, Mitsubishi Motors and ENGIE testing plug-in vehicles as renewable energy storage for office buildings

Green Car Congress

Hitachi Europe Ltd., Mitsubishi Motors and ENGIE are partnered in a project to explore the potential for electric vehicles to act as a means of energy storage for an office building. For this demonstration, the consortium linked Hitachi’s vehicle-to-everything (V2X) charger to ENGIE’s office building in Zaandam, The Netherlands. Hitachi’s V2X Charger is the first recharger that not only recharges an electric car but can also discharge the energy back into the building/grid providing different fl

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Ballard range-extender fuel cell module to power hybrid UPS delivery van trial program in California

Green Car Congress

Ballard Power Systems has signed a contract with CALSTART for a Ballard 30 kW FCveloCity-MD fuel cell module to be used in a trial and development program involving UPS Class-6 delivery vans operating in California’s South Coast Air Basin, including much of the Greater Los Angeles area. Funding for the project is being provided by the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) as part of its efforts to reduce harmful air pollution.

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Lightning Systems’ battery-electric Ford Transit on schedule for March deliveries; fuel cell range extender option

Green Car Congress

Lightning Systems, a global developer of efficiency and emissions improvement solutions for fleets, announced that it is on schedule for March deliveries of its new battery-electric LightningElectric conversion system for Ford Transit. The LightningElectric conversion package for Ford Transit was announced last September as part of Ford Motor Company’s eQVM program.( Earlier post.

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