Green Car Congress

AUGUST 4, 2015

The BMW Group Technology Office, together with Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), have launched an 18-month pilot of the BMW i ChargeForward Program in the San Francisco Bay Area. The program is now issuing calls to participating BMW i3 drivers in the Bay Area to request the interruption of the charging of their EVs for one hour. Working with a group of nearly 100 BMW i3 drivers, selected from approximately 400 applicants, BMW i ChargeForward will demonstrate how intelligent management of

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BMW Grid Power Grid Mini E 280

Creative Greenius

AUGUST 7, 2015

Wednesday, August 19 at 7pm South Bay 350 Climate Action Group comes to San Pedro for its first ever general membership meeting in the L.A. Harbor. We’ve been working with the San Pedro and Wilmington communities as well as Carson, Torrance and many other cities. Join us and find out about our active campaigns, and how you can get involved and take climate action. .

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Climate Change Climate Environment 163

Green Car Reports

AUGUST 4, 2015

With yesterday's release of final EPA rules for reducing carbon emissions from power plants, the stage is set for a major battle over how--and even whether--any carbon emissions in the U.S. may be limited. Meanwhile, there's Norway. As Ola Elvestuen, a member of Parliament there as well as Chair of the Standing Committee on Energy and the.

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Norway Carbon Emissions EPA 131

National Green Transportation

AUGUST 6, 2015

On Wednesday, Audi announced American pricing for the 2016 Audi A3 Sportback e-tron plug-in hybrid. While that car name is a mouthfull, it is important as the first-ever plug-in vehicle from Audi to be sold.

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Audi Plug-in Plug 2016 52

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Green Car Congress

AUGUST 4, 2015

The Chevrolet Volt’s all-new second-generation Voltec extended-range electric propulsion system ( earlier post ) delivers 53 miles (85 km) of all-electric range, based on EPA testing. That is nearly a 40% improvement over the first-generation Volt, and a 6% boost over the projected 50-mile (80 km) AER estimated at the new Volt’s unveiling in January. ( Earlier post.).

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Volt Chevrolet EPA All-Electric 269

Green Car Congress

AUGUST 5, 2015

The UK’s Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) is leading a 3-year, £2.78-million (US$4.34-million) UK-based collaboration—SeaGas—to produce bio-methane from seaweed through anaerobic digestion (AD). The project launched in July 2015 and consists of six partners including The Crown Estate, the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS), Queen’s University Belfast and Newcastle University.

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Mariner Universal Waste Grid 256

Green Car Congress

AUGUST 6, 2015

A consortium of 16 automobile manufacturers, automotive suppliers and public partners has launched the Ko-HAF (Kooperatives hochautomatisiertes Fahren, Cooperative Highly Automated Driving) project in Germany. Ko-HAF, which is targeting highly automated driving at higher speeds, has a total budget of €36.3 million (US$40 million) and is expected to run until November 2018.

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Germany Automobile Manufacturer Concept Audi 230

Green Car Congress

AUGUST 1, 2015

The US Department of Energy (DOE) issued a funding opportunity announcement ( DE-FOA-0001313 ) to support the research, development, and demonstration of advanced nuclear reactor concepts. The announcement represents an early step in increasing investment in nuclear advanced reactor technologies, the DOE said. DOE will partner with industry to fund up to two awards of approximately $6.0 million each in FY 2015.

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2015 Concept 2016 Energy 223

Green Car Congress

AUGUST 7, 2015

Greenhouse gasses (GHG) emission savings due to final renewable energy consumption in electricity; cooling/heating; and transport sectors rose at a compound annual growth rate of 8.8% from 2009 to 2012, confirming renewables’ potential in climate change mitigation, according to a new report by the Joint Research Centre (JRC), the European Commission’s in-house science service.

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Renewable Transportation Emissions Climate Change 221

Green Car Congress

AUGUST 1, 2015

The Volkswagen Group nominated the first 44 suppliers who will be collaborating with the Group on a new common strategic level under the joint FAST initiative. Among the 44 is LG Electronics for the supply of high-voltage batteries. ( Earlier post.). Volkswagen Group Procurement is responding to the challenges currently facing the automotive industry by working together with its suppliers under the “Future Automotive Supply Tracks” initiative (or FAST for short) and will implement technical inno

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Batteries Battery 2016 Future 221

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Green Car Congress

AUGUST 7, 2015

Researchers at Argonne National Laboratory have identified a new material to catalyze the conversion of CO 2 via hydrogenation to methanol (CH 3 OH): size-selected Cu 4 clusters—clusters of four copper atoms each, called tetramers—supported on Al 2 O 3 thin films. In a study published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society , the team measured catalytic activity under near-atmospheric reaction conditions with a low CO 2 partial pressure, and investigated the oxidation state o

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Conversion CO2 Carbon Hydrogen 220

Green Car Congress

AUGUST 3, 2015

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released the final Clean Power Plan (CPP). The rules establish the first national standards to limit CO 2 emissions from fossil-fuel-fired power plants, with a target of a 32% reduction against a 2005 baseline by 2030. The 32% reduction target is 9% more aggressive than in the draft proposal of the CPP released in 2014. ( Earlier post.).

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EPA Clean Cleaning Power 216

Green Car Congress

AUGUST 7, 2015

Ford Motor Company was the winner of the 3 rd annual Altair Enlighten Award for its use of various lightweight materials to minimize weight of the 2015 Ford F-150. The Enlighten Award is the automotive industry’s first award program created specifically to acknowledge innovation in vehicle weight reduction. Ford’s entry, one of 17 nominations that competed for the award, was selected as the winner for taking 700 pounds (318 kg) off of the Ford F-150 while improving its performance, safety, and e

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F-150 Ford 2015 Cadillac 214

Green Car Congress

AUGUST 4, 2015

EPA’s newly released voluminous final Clean Power Plan rule ( earlier post ) has established the first national standards to limit CO 2 emissions from fossil-fuel-fired power plants (Electric Generating Units, EGUs), with a target of a 32% reduction against a 2005 baseline by 2030. The plan calls for each US state to establish a plan to meet the targeted reductions.

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EPA Carbon Clean Cleaning 214

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Green Car Congress

AUGUST 5, 2015

A team of researchers at MIT and Tsinghua University has developed a high-rate, high-capacity and long-lived anode for Li-ion batteries comprising a yolk-shell nanocomposite of aluminum core (30 nm in diameter) and TiO 2 shell (~3 nm in thickness), with a tunable interspace (Al@TiO 2 , or ATO). In an open access paper in the journal Nature Communications , they reported that the Al yolk-shell anode achieved a 10 C charge/discharge rate with reversible capacity exceeding 650 mAh g −1 after 500 cy

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Li-ion MIT Batteries Battery 207

Green Car Congress

AUGUST 4, 2015

A team at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology has developed a novel solid-state Li-O 2 battery with an integrated electrolyte and cathode structure with the aim of addressing two critical issues limiting the performance of conventional solid-state Li-air batteries: high internal resistance and limited three-phase boundaries (the interface of the electrode, electrolyte, and O 2 ).

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Batteries Battery 2015 Carbon 203

Green Car Congress

AUGUST 3, 2015

In the second quarter of 2015, total alternative fuel vehicle registrations in the EU increased (+17.4%), totalling 143,595, according to figures from the ACEA. Of these, electric vehicle (EV) registrations—Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) + Plug‐in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) + Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs)—significantly grew (+53.0%), rising from 18,024 units in Q2 2014 to 27,575 units in Q2 2015.

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Alternative Fuels 2015 Norway France 203

Green Car Congress

AUGUST 5, 2015

US prices for the 2016 A3 Sportback e-tron plug-in hybrid electric vehicle ( earlier post )—the first of many Audi e-tron models destined to come to the US—will begin at $37,900. Purchasing customers may qualify for applicable state and federal incentives and tax credits. The first electrified Audi sold in the US, the A3 Sportback e-tron will launch at dealerships nationwide in October.

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Audi PHEV 2016 Tax Credit 197

Green Car Congress

AUGUST 5, 2015

Researchers at the Institut Laue Langevin (ILL), a leading international research center for neutron science and technology, and their colleagues have elucidated the structure and dynamics of the solid superionic conductor Li 4 C 60 using neutron scattering. Their paper is published in the journal Physical Review B. When atoms of alkali-metals such as lithium (Li) are added to cage-like Buckminsterfullerene molecules (C 60 buckyballs), the buckyballs undergo polymerization, forming long chains t

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Li-ion Lithium Ion Batteries Battery 197

Green Car Congress

AUGUST 5, 2015

Johnson Controls is expanding the production of advanced batteries for Start-Stop vehicles amid growing demand for better fuel economy and more sustainable technologies. The company will increase its existing Absorbent Glass Mat (AGM) battery capacity in its Toledo, Ohio plant, bringing the overall invested amount to $130 million since the start of production for this technology in the US in 2012.

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F-150 Lead Acid Fuel Economy Batteries 197

Green Car Congress

AUGUST 4, 2015

The average fuel economy (window-sticker value) of new vehicles sold in the US in July was 25.4 mpg (9.25 l/100 km)—unchanged from that in June, consistent with the increased market share of vehicle in the middle of the fuel-economy spectrum (such as crossovers), according to the latest monthly report from Dr. Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI).

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Fuel Economy Economy Fuel MPG 197

Green Car Congress

AUGUST 3, 2015

The 5-year-old MINI Connected app is undergoing a major relaunch , with the new version available to download from mid-August. The new MINI Connected will simplify the App’s menu interfaces and offer MINI drivers a console to display a range of information and driving related functions. New and updated features include: MINI Streetwise, the new central feature of the MINI Connected app; the basic functions Status, Apps and Profile; Online Search; Sports Instruments and Force Meter; and Calendar.

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Connect Connected Personal Google 197

Green Car Congress

AUGUST 3, 2015

AUDI AG, the BMW Group and Daimler AG have agreed with Nokia Corporation that they will acquire its mapping and location services business HERE. The acquisition is intended to secure the long term availability of HERE’s products and services as an open, independent and value-creating platform for cloud-based maps and other mobility services accessible to all customers from the automotive industry and other sectors.

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Audi BMW Automobile Manufacturer Connect 197

Green Car Congress

AUGUST 3, 2015

A team at Zhejiang University (China) has developed a high-performance lithium ion battery anode material consisting of free-standing and binder-free 3D porous carbon coated MoS 2 /nitrogen-doped graphene (C-MoS 2 /N-G). As an anode for lithium ion batteries, the C-MoS 2 /N-G electrode delivers a high first discharge capacity of 1600 mAh g −1 and maintains 900 mAh g −1 after 500 cycles at a current density of 200 mA g −1.

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Li-ion Lithium Ion 2015 Carbon 197

Green Car Congress

AUGUST 7, 2015

Gross inputs to US refineries exceeded 17 million barrels per day (b/d) in each of the past four weeks, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA)—a level not previously reached since EIA began publishing weekly data in 1990. The rolling four-week average of US gross refinery inputs has been above the previous five-year range (2010-14) every week so far this year.

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Gasoline 2014 Louisiana Oil 188

Green Car Congress

AUGUST 7, 2015

Allison Transmission Holdings Inc. and the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority (TheRide) have dedicated the first of 60 new buses equipped with Allison’s new fuel-saving xFE automatic transmission. ( Earlier post.) advances in fuel economy technology. The new fully automatic bus transmission has demonstrated improvements up to 7%. The new buses are part of TheRide’s Five-Year Transit Improvement Program to implement new and expanded services, while also replacing older buses in the agency’s

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Fuel Economy Economy Fuel Convert 188

Green Car Congress

AUGUST 7, 2015

Nissan will delay its return to the LM P1 class of the FIA World Endurance Championship and instead focus on technical issues that challenged its race team during the Le Mans 24 Hours in June. Issues with the kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) meant that the Nissan GT-R LM NISMO ( earlier post ) had to run at the Le Mans 24 Hours on engine power alone.

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Nissan Gasoline-Electric Gasoline Engine 188

Green Car Congress

AUGUST 7, 2015

Exxon Mobil Corporation executed two agreements to obtain horizontal development rights in 48,000 acres in the core of the Midland Basin. The two agreements include an acquisition and farm-in adjoining XTO’s existing acreage position in Martin and Midland Counties, providing rights to all intervals within the basin. The acreage will be operated by ExxonMobil’s subsidiary XTO Energy Inc.

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Cleveland 2014 Corporation Oil 188

Green Car Congress

AUGUST 7, 2015

by Nick Cunningham of Oilprice.com. Many oil companies had trimmed their budgets heading into 2015 to deal with lower oil prices. But the rebound in April and May to $60 per barrel from the mid-$40s suggested that the severe drop was merely temporary. But the collapse of prices in July—owing to the Iran nuclear deal, an ongoing production surplus, and economic and financial concerns in Greece and China—have darkened the mood.

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Oil Saudi Arabia Supplies Oil Prices 188

Green Car Congress

AUGUST 6, 2015

While there are a number of efforts underway exploring the use of sustainable, natural rubber alternatives for use in tires ( earlier post , earlier post , earlier post ), cars use a great deal of rubber for non-tire applications as well; the Ford Fiesta, for example, contains about 3 kg of the material, excluding the tires. Ford Motor Company is thus investigating alternative sustainable sources of rubber for automotive use in these non-tire applications.

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Ford Vehicles 2000 Ohio 188

Green Car Congress

AUGUST 6, 2015

Volkswagen’s new North American Engineering and Planning Center, located in Chattanooga, centralizes Volkswagen’s research and development, and product planning efforts in the American South. This new entity joins the production, purchasing and sales efforts currently operating in the North American Region. Headed by Dr. Matthias Erb, the NA Engineering and Planning Center serves as a high-level research and development facility and houses product-related functions such as product engineering, i

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Engine 2016 Purchase America 188

Green Car Congress

AUGUST 6, 2015

Headquartered in Saitama Prefecture, Japan, Honda Access manufactures accessories for Honda’s cars, motorcycles and other items globally, designing up to 300 accessories for each Honda car model for local buyers based on the requirements such as driver intention, climate and road surface conditions in different traffic conditions. To maximize customization efficiency, the company opted for a Stratasys Objet Eden500V 3D printer in 2013, with the objective to accelerate the product development cyc

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Honda Motorcycles Japan 2013 188

Green Car Congress

AUGUST 6, 2015

Camber Ridge, LLC is partnering with Teton Capital, LLC to launch a new $60-million state-of-the-art facility for vehicle tire characterization, which will begin operations in 2016. The facility aims to offer all the advantages of testing real tires on real surfaces, but with the precision, environmental control and repeatability of a laboratory environment.

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Miles North Carolina Charlotte MPH 188

Green Car Congress

AUGUST 6, 2015

by Nick Cunningham of Oilprice.com. A flood of bearish news has pushed down oil prices to their lowest levels in months, with WTI nearing $45 per barrel and Brent flirting with sub-$50 territory. With a bear market back, there is pessimism throughout the oil markets. Goldman Sachs is even predicting oil stays at $50 through 2020, a profoundly grim view of the state of oil supplies.

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