April, 2013

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Volvo Cars’ tests of flywheel technology confirm fuel savings of up to 25%

Green Car Congress

'Volvo Car’s flywheel KERS system. Click to enlarge. Results of Volvo Car Group’s testing of kinetic flywheel technology on public roads during 2012 show that the flywheel technology combined with a four-cylinder turbo engine has the potential to reduce fuel consumption by up to 25% compared with a six-cylinder turbo engine at a comparable performance level, according to Derek Crabb, Vice President Powertrain Engineering at Volvo Car Group. ( Earlier post.).

Volvo 354
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Worst Thing About The Tesla Model S? Driving Anything Else Afterwards

Green Car Reports

'If early ownership experiences are to believed, there''s not a lot wrong with driving a Tesla Model S. The performance is great, it''s luxurious, quiet, has a great electric range. but there''s still one thing that bugs owners. One thing they wish wasn''t part of the Model S ownership experience. Yep, that''s right--driving other cars. Model S owners.

Tesla 167
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GreenTech Automotive plans to build electric car for sale in North America

National Green Transportation

'GreenTech Automotive, a start-up company in the electric car manufacturing space, is teaming up with JAC Motors, a leading Chinese automaker. The two companies announced on Monday a plan to start manufacturing a five-passenger electric car at.

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Toyota reveals Me.We electric car concept made with bamboo

Green Cars News

'Revealing what it dubs an ‘anti-crisis’ car, Toyota’s new battery-powered concept is nothing if not visionary. Developed in association with French designer, Jean-Marie Massaud, the new Me.We electric car is designed to address the economic, human and environmental challenges transport currently faces. Essentially that makes this supermini concept a ‘anti-excess’ vehicle, focused on paring down [.].

Concept 82
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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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Winterkorn says Volkswagen developing 10-speed DCT and high-performance diesel; plug-in hybrids offer great potential

Green Car Congress

'Volkswagen’s view of powertrain technologies to minimize greenhouse gas emissions. Source: Prof. Dr. Jürgen Leohold, Executive Director Volkswagen Group Research. Click to enlarge. At the International Vienna Motor Symposium Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG, gave a forecast of future drive system technologies.

Plug-in 345
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Honda and Ford separately launching smart home demos

Green Car Congress

'American Honda Motor Co., Inc. will create the Honda Smart Home US, a showcase that demonstrates Honda’s vision for sustainable, zero-carbon living and personal mobility, including the use of solar power to charge a Honda Fit EV battery electric vehicle. The site is on the campus of the University of California, Davis; the building process will be documented and shared through the Honda Smart Home US website.

Honda 341

More Trending

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Virginia Tech team develops process for high-yield production of hydrogen from xylose under mild conditions

Green Car Congress

Flow of the new process; enzymes are in red. Credit: Martín del Campo et al. Click to enlarge. A team of Virginia Tech researchers, led by Dr. Y.H. Percival Zhang, has developed a process to convert xylose—the second-most abundant sugar in plants—into hydrogen with approaching 100% of the theoretical yield. The findings of their study, published in the journal Angewandte Chemie, International Edition , suggest that cell-free biosystems could produce hydrogen from biomass xylose at lo

Virginia 331
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Fudan University team develops superfast charging Li-ion battery cathode

Green Car Congress

'Researchers at Fudan University with colleagues at the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight have developed a LiMn 2 O4 material for a Li-ion battery cathode that exhibits superfast charging capabilities. Their paper is published in the ACS journal Nano Letters. It is known that from the nature there are a lot of materials rich in facets. Each different facet has different numbers of atoms and effects.

Li-ion 312
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NHTSA survey finds 660,000 drivers while driving at any given daylight moment using cell phones or electronic devices

Green Car Congress

'The US Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released new survey results that show that Americans continue to use electronic devices while driving, despite warnings that it causes their own driving to deteriorate and can lead to crashes, injuries and even death. The new data are being released at the start of National Distracted Driving Awareness Month.

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New lithium polysulfide flow battery for large-scale energy storage

Green Car Congress

'Stanford / SLAC’s new lithium-polysulfide flow battery design compared to conventional “redox” flow batteries. The new flow battery uses only one tank and pump and uses a simple coating instead of an expensive membrane to separate the anode and cathode. (Credit: Greg Stewart/SLAC). Click to enlarge. Researchers from the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University have designed a new lithium/polysulfide (Li/PS) semi-liquid (flow) battery for large

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

Brief

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Toyota Europe Q1 hybrid sales up 82.3% for 20% of total sales; Auris Hybrid the leader

Green Car Congress

'Toyota Motor Europe (TME) posted 2013 first quarter sales of 197,309 Toyota and Lexus vehicles in Europe. During that period, Toyota and Lexus full hybrid sales reached 38,673, up 82.3% from the same period last year. Full hybrid models now constitute around 20% of total Toyota and Lexus sales in the first quarter, doubling from the same period in 2012.

Toyota 311
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Toyota unveils ME.WE concept EV

Green Car Congress

'Toyota European Design & Development (ED2) and creative designer Jean-Marie Massaud have unveiled the Toyota ME.WE concept car. The Toyota ME.WE has been conceived as an electric car with integrated wheel motors (as the Toyota i-ROAD), and with batteries located under the floor (like the Toyota iQ EV). Without traditional packaging constraints, the interior is devoted entirely to the needs of its five passengers and their possessions.

Toyota 306
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MIT researchers propose subsea version of pumped hydro for renewable energy storage

Green Car Congress

'Researchers at MIT are proposing using a variation on pumped hydroelectric systems for storage of electricity produced by offshore wind farms. The key to this Ocean Renewable Energy Storage (ORES) system is the placement of 30-meter-diameter hollow concrete spheres on the seafloor under the wind turbines. These structures would serve both as anchors to moor the floating turbines and as a means of storing the energy they produce.

MIT 296
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Honda details development of powertrain components for Accord plug-in hybrid

Green Car Congress

'At SAE World Congress in Detroit, Honda engineers presented several papers on the development of the new Accord plug-in hybrid, describing work on the new gasoline engine (which will also be featured in the coming full hybrid version of the Accord), and the development of the new two-motor system. Through the end of March, Honda has sold 45 units of the new plug-in, which went on limited sale earlier this year.

Honda 296
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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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Former president of Shell Oil calls for aggressive action on alternative fuels to break oil monopoly on transportation

Green Car Congress

'John Hofmeister, former President of Shell Oil Company and founder and CEO of Citizens for Affordable Energy (CFAE), is joining the Fuel Freedom Foundation (FFF) Advisory Board. Fuel Freedom is a non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to opening the fuel market to allow alternative fuels such as ethanol, methanol, natural gas and electricity fairly to compete with gasoline at the pump.

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IEE forecasts electric-drive LDVs could constitute between 2 to 12% of US vehicle stock by 2035

Green Car Congress

'Forecast by LDV scenario (millions). Source: IEE. Click to enlarge. Under its most conservative of scenarios, more than 5 million light-duty electric-drive vehicles will be on the road in the US by 2035, according to a new forecast by IEE , an institue of the Edison Foundation. According to the report, “ Forecast of On-Road Electric Transportation in the US (2010-2035) ”, this figure could increase to as high as 30 million EVs depending on advances in battery technology.

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Capstone Receives order for 34 microturbines for Denver RTD electric bus fleet

Green Car Congress

'Capstone Turbine. Corporation has received an order for thirty-four liquid fuel C30 microturbines for use in DesignLine’s Eco Saver IV range extended electric buses. The buses are expected to be delivered to Denver Regional Transportation District (RTD) later this year. The new Denver RTD buses will operate on the 16 th Street Mall in downtown Denver.

Denver 294
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Johnson Controls presents 48-volt battery demonstration module at Hannover Messe

Green Car Congress

'Johnson Controls is premiering its new 48-volt Micro Hybrid battery demonstration module ( earlier post ) in Europe at the Hannover Messe. A 48-volt Li-ion battery would be used in vehicles in conjunction with a 12-volt lead-acid starter battery. This enables greater energy and power efficiency while keeping overall system costs to a minimum, Johnson Controls says.

Volt 287
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Detroit Electric unveils SP:01 two-seat electric sports car; 190-mile range on NEDC; V2H feature

Green Car Congress

'Detroit Electric SP:01. Click to enlarge. Detroit Electric unveiled the SP:01, a limited-edition, two-seat battery-electric sports car. With a top speed of 155 mph (249 km/h) and a 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) time of 3.7 seconds (the same acceleration time as the Tesla Roadster), the SP:01 claims the mantle of the fastest pure-electric production car. The new SP:01 was launched under the brand’s mantra of ‘Pure Electric Excitement’ and was revealed at Detroit Electric’s new headquarters in the Fisher

Detroit 287
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ES&T editorial calls Keystone XL a “pipeline to nowhere”

Green Car Congress

'Editor-in Chief of the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology Dr. Jerald Schnoor, also a professor in the departments of civil & environmental engineering and occupational & environmental health at the University of Iowa, has written an editorial for the journal in which he calls the Keystone XL pipeline a “ pipeline to nowhere ”. Use of coal, oil, and natural gas has to stop (in that order).

Oil-Sands 286
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Rennovia demonstrates production of HMD from renewable feedstocks; enabling production of 100% renewable nylon-6,6

Green Car Congress

'Rennovia, Inc., a privately held company that develops novel catalysts and processes for the cost-advantaged production of chemical products from renewable feedstocks, has successfully demonstrated production of hexamethylenediamine (HMD) from widely available, renewable feedstocks. Coupled with Rennovia’s previously announced renewable adipic acid, this enables for the first time the production of 100% bio-based nylon-6,6 from monomers derived from bio-renewable feedstocks using chemical catal

Renewable 286
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Maxwell supplying ultracapacitors for light rail braking energy recuperation system; 2.8% energy savings

Green Car Congress

'Clockwise from upper left: ESS enclosure, power control unit and ultracapacitor modules. Source: TIGGER, Tri-Met. Click to enlarge. Maxwell Technologies, Inc. is supplying ultracapacitors for an energy-saving braking energy recuperation system that American Maglev Technology (AMT), is installing on light rail vehicles operated by the Portland, Oregon area’s Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District (TriMet).

Light 286
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EPA says methane emissions from natural gas production have dropped 36% from 2007-2011

Green Car Congress

'In its recently released Inventory of US Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990 – 2011 ( earlier post ), the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported that methane (CH 4 ) emissions from the field production of natural gas have declined by 36% from 2007 to 2011 (from 83.1 to 53.4 Tg CO 2 eq), after having increased by 43% from 1990 through 2006.

2007 285
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Ford unveils 1.5L EcoBoost engine in new Mondeo in China

Green Car Congress

'Ford unveiled the new, fifth-generation global Mondeo in China, the first Ford to be equipped with the new 1.5-liter EcoBoost engine. The new 3-cylinder, 1.5L EcoBoost is the fifth and latest member to join Ford’s global family of EcoBoost engines, which includes a 1.0-liter three-cylinder, 1.6- and 2.0-liter four-cylinders, and two 3.5-liter V6 variants.

Engine 281
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Ford and Schaeffler demonstrate Fiesta-based e-WheelDrive car; follow-up research project in the works

Green Car Congress

'Fiesta eWheelDrive. Click to enlarge. At Ford’s Lommel Proving Ground in Belgium, Ford Motor Company and Schaeffler demonstrated the Fiesta-based eWheelDrive car. ( Earlier post.) Powered by independent electric motors in each of the rear wheels, eWheelDrive technology could lead to improvements in urban mobility and parking by enabling smaller, more agile cars, Ford said.

Ford 278
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GE unveils LNG In A Box system

Green Car Congress

'GE Oil & Gas introduced the LNG In A Box system, a small-scale, plug-and-play, re-deployable liquefied natural gas (LNG) fueling solution based on proven technology that can help accelerate the use of natural gas as a cost-effective, cleaner transportation fuel. The world’s first commercial application of the LNG In A Box system will be for LNG fueling stations in Europe to be delivered by Luxembourg-based LNG firm Gasfin through its operating company AIR-LNG, GE announced at the 17 th Internat

Slovenia 278
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Navigant forecasts modest growth in global e-bike market through 2020; China slowing

Green Car Congress

'In a new report , Navigant Research forecasts that the global market for e-bicycles will grow at a modest rate of 3.1% CAGR (compound annual growth rate) from 31 million in 2013 to nearly 38 million in 2020. North America, Western Europe, and Latin America will show signs of faster growth (9.7%, 9.1%, and 14.4% CAGR, respectively), the market research firm anticipates.

2020 278
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GM begins manufacturing Spark EV electric motor in Baltimore

Green Car Congress

'General Motors has begun manufacturing the electric motor for the Spark EV at its Baltimore Operations plant in White Marsh, Md. ( Earlier post.). The heart of the Spark EV’s propulsion system is the GM-designed, oil-cooled, permanent magnet motor. Putting more than half a million road miles on development versions of the Spark EV enabled engineers to optimize the performance of the motor by using a specifically designed bar-wound copper stator and unique rotor configuration.

Baltimore 275
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B&W, DOE sign cooperative agreement for small modular reactor funding

Green Car Congress

'Babcock & Wilcox subsidiary Babcock & Wilcox mPower and the US Department of Energy (DOE) signed a Cooperative Agreement for funding made available through DOE’s Small Modular Reactor (SMR) Licensing Technical Support Program for the development and licensing of B&W’s mPower technology. ( Earlier post.). The B&W mPower reactor is an advanced integral pressurized water reactor designed to generate 180 MW of electricity.

Tennessee 275
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UPS to purchase ~700 LNG trucks, build 4 refueling stations by end of 2014

Green Car Congress

'UPS plans to purchase approximately 700 liquefied natural gas (LNG) trucks and to build four refueling stations by the end of 2014. Once completed, the LNG private fleet will be one of the most extensive in the US. An initial investment of more than $18 million to build fueling stations will be supported by the purchase of the 700 LNG tractors and continued expansion of the natural gas fleet in the US.

Las Vegas 273
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Honda to build wind farm to cover 100% of electricity needs of Brazil plant

Green Car Congress

'Honda Automoveis do Brasil Ltda. (HAB), the Honda automobile production and sales subsidiary in Brazil, will build a wind farm in the city of Xangri-lá in Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost state in Brazil—approximately 1,000 km (621 miles) south of HAB’s automobile production plant in Sumaré, São Paulo. Equipped with nine wind power turbine units, the wind farm is expected to generate approximately 85,000 MWh of electricity per year, equivalent to HAB’s annual electricity needs for auto

Brazil 268
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XG Sciences launches graphene-stabilized silicon anode materials for Li-ion batteries

Green Car Congress

'XG Sciences, Inc. (XGS), a manufacturer of graphene platelets, has launched silicon anode materials for Li-ion batteries, with immediate availability. The new anode material is produced through proprietary manufacturing processes and uses the company’s xGnP graphene nanoplatelets to stabilize silicon particles in a nano-engineered composite structure.

Li-ion 268
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Frost & Sullivan sees Europe emerging as strong regional market for medium- and heavy-duty natural gas vehicles

Green Car Congress

'Europe is set to emerge as a strong regional market for medium- to heavy-duty natural gas (NG) commercial vehicles, populated by several competitors on both OEM and supplier sides, according to a new analysis by Frost & Sullivan. Driven by energy price volatility, tightening emission norms, and the shale gas revolution in the US, the market for NG vehicles is gaining considerable momentum.

Europe 268
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EIA: US energy-related CO2 emissions in 2012 lowest since 1994; reflects drop in coal use

Green Car Congress

'US energy-related CO 2 emissions in 2012 were the lowest since 1994, at 5.3 billion metric tons of CO 2 , according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). With the exception of 2010, emissions have declined every year since 2007. The largest drop in emissions in 2012 came from coal, which is used almost exclusively for electricity generation.

Coal 265