Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 27, 2018

Driveline engineering consultancy Drive System Design (DSD) has partnered with software specialists Altair and FluiDyna to develop and enhance FluiDyna’s computer modeling technique, nanoFluidX , that significantly improves the analysis of lubrication flow. nanoFluidX utilizes a Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) methodology and increases the accuracy of analysis while reducing the simulation time from weeks to just a few days, when compared to traditional methods.

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Range Oil Design MPH 285

Green Car Reports

FEBRUARY 27, 2018

The idea of a Ford F-Series hybrid pickup truck has now been around since August 2011, but its maker now expects to launch such a truck sometime during 2020. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Boston-based XL Hybrids unveiled both a Ford F-250 Super Duty pickup fitted with its XLH hybrid system and an F-150 light-duty pickup with its XLP plug-in hybrid.

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F-150 Plug-in Hybrid Ford 123

Green Car Congress

MARCH 1, 2018

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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Hydrogen Germany Europe Fuel 284

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 26, 2018

Toyota Motor Corporation has developed a new continuously variable transmission (CVT) featuring a launch gear; a new 6-speed manual transmission; a new 2.0-liter engine with 40% thermal efficiency (41% in hybrid applications); a new 2.0-liter hybrid system; and new 4WD systems—one for gasoline-engined cars, one for hybrids—based on the Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA).

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Green Car Congress

MARCH 2, 2018

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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Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 24, 2018

Researchers from Shinshu University in Japan have developed a method to suppress the growth of lithium dendrites in Li-S and Li-air batteries. As reported in a paper in the RSC journal Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics , they used magnesium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)amide [Mg(TFSA) 2 ] as an electrolyte additive to suppress the growth of Li dendrites, leveraging the occurrence of an alloying reaction between the initially substrate-deposited Mg and the subsequently deposited Li.

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Li-ion Batteries Battery Standards 252

Green Car Congress

MARCH 1, 2018

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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Environment Hydrogen Industrial Industry 247

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 26, 2018

In collaboration with the Berlin-based start-up XAIN , Porsche is currently testing blockchain applications directly in vehicles—making Porsche the first automobile manufacturer to implement and successfully test blockchain in a car. Transactions based on this technology are both secure and can be processed far more quickly than anything that has come before.

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Porsche Cars Connect Connected 247

Green Car Congress

MARCH 2, 2018

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.

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Oil Emissions Malaysia Indonesia 244

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 27, 2018

XL Hybrids will display three fleet-ready, electrified pickup truck solutions at NTEA’s Work Truck Show next week in Indianapolis. XL is unveiling the industry’s first XLH hybrid-electric F-250 pickup in its booth, while also displaying an XLP plug-in hybrid-electric F-150. Both trucks in XL’s booth will be displayed on vehicle lifts so attendees can step under the trucks and see how easily XL systems integrate with the Ford trucks.

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F-150 Hybrid 2018 Ford 239

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Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 26, 2018

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded the University of Illinois a $10.6-million, five-year grant to transform two of the most productive crops in the US into sustainable sources of biodiesel and biojet fuel. The new research project Renewable Oil Generated with Ultra-productive Energycane (ROGUE) kicked off on 25 February with a team meeting held in conjunction with the 2018 Genomic Sciences Program Annual Principal Investigator Meeting in Tysons, Virginia.

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Oil Illinois Fuel Engine 239

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 28, 2018

Responding to fleet market demand for complete, body-ready chassis, Motiv Power Systems is introducing the EPIC (Electric Powered Intelligent Chassis) all-electric family of chassis for 2018. Debuting at Ford’s booth and based on the E-450, F-59, and F-53 platforms, the EPIC all-electric chassis are production-line ready, drop-in replacements for the equivalent ICE chassis and are available for a wide range of medium-duty body applications including walk-in vans, box trucks, school buses, shuttl

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Green Car Congress

MARCH 2, 2018

Maven is now offering its first all-electric fleet of cars for use in the gig economy; 20 Chevrolet Bolt EVs are available for freelance drivers in Austin, Texas to earn money on their own schedules. Maven is working with Austin Energy, the Austin Transportation Department, and Rocky Mountain Institute to create infrastructure solutions leading to an all-electric future.

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Green Car Congress

MARCH 2, 2018

Jaguar unveiled its first all-electric production vehicle, the I-PACE. The I-PACE has a 90kWh Lithium-ion battery and offers sports car performance of 0-100 km/h in 4.8 seconds along with a 480 km range (298 miles) (WLTP cycle) and 0-80% charging time of 40 minutes with a 100 kW DC fast charger. Home charging with an AC wall box (7kW) will achieve the same state of charge in just over ten hours.

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Green Car Congress

MARCH 1, 2018

Harley-Davidson, Inc. has made an equity investment in Alta Motors , a leader and innovator in lightweight electric vehicles; the two companies will collaborate on electric motorcycle technology and new product development. Harley-Davidson has already announced the planned launch of its first electric motorcycle, informed by Project LiveWire. That motorcycle is on track for release in 2019.

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Electric Motorcycles Motorcycles Motor Motors 210

Green Car Congress

MARCH 1, 2018

The new Mercedes-Benz A-Class ( earlier post ) is already set up for private car sharing: Mercedes me allows the new compact car to be shared with friends and family members. Operation is simple and secure using the Mercedes me app Car Sharing. According to the German Car Sharing Association, more than 1.7 million people in Germany are registered with providers such as market leader car2go.

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Mercedes Cars Germany Available 210

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 28, 2018

New Flyer of America Inc., the US subsidiary of New Flyer Industries Inc., the largest transit bus and motor coach manufacturer and parts distributor in North America, has commissioned the Xcelsior CHARGE Bus Simulator at New Flyer of America’s Vehicle Innovation Center (VIC), an innovation lab dedicated to advancing bus technology. The simulator, designed and installed by FAAC Incorporated using a 180-degree screen display and 4K projection system, is one of the first to use full-scale original

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Electric Electrical North America Maintenance 210

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 28, 2018

Audi unveiled the eighth generation of its successful A6 full-size sedan; all engines feature Audi’s 48V mild-hybrid (MHEV) system ( earlier post ) as standard equipment. In Audi’s new mild-hybrid technology, a belt alternator starter (BAS) works together with a lithium-ion battery. The Audi A6 can coast between 55 and 160 km/h (34.2 and 99.4 mph). The start-stop function kicks in at speeds up to 22 km/h (13.7 mph); the engine is restarted from standstill predictively.

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Audi Standards Hybrid MPH 210

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 27, 2018

Global levels of the hydrocarbons ethane and propane in the atmosphere have been underestimated by more than 50%, according to a new study by a team of scientists from Europe and the US. When ethane and propane—the most abundant non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHC) in the atmosphere—mix with nitrogen oxides from vehicles and power plants they form tropospheric ozone—a key component of smog and directly linked to increases in mortality.

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Emissions Global Ozone 2011 210

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 27, 2018

The UK automotive industry warned that the current anti-diesel agenda combined with the ongoing slow take-up of electric vehicles could mean industry misses its next round of CO 2 targets in 2021, with negative consequences for the UK’s own climate change goals. The warning came as a new report published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) confirmed that the fleet average CO 2 of newly registered cars rose for the first time in 2017, despite vehicles becoming ever more effic

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2017 Auto Industry Diesel CO2 210

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 27, 2018

Researchers at the University of York (UK), with colleagues from the University of Leeds, University of Cambridge and Université Aix-Marseille in France, have identified more than 20 members of an uncharacterized family of lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs) ( earlier post ) by investigating the digestive proteome of Thermobia domestica —the firebrat, a small hexapod related to the silverfish.

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Universal Davis France Industrial 210

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 26, 2018

The European Commission (EC) has launched the fifth of six European Innovation Council (EIC) Horizon Prizes, on Innovative batteries for eVehicles, worth €10 million (US$12.3 million). The EIC Horizon Prizes are part of the first phase of the European Innovation Council under Horizon 2020, the EU’s Research and Innovation Framework Programme. The prize will be awarded for the development of a prototype battery that can power an electric vehicle with similar performance in terms of range and char

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Batteries Battery Lithium Ion Europe 210

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 26, 2018

In new research by an international collaboration jointly led by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientist Brandon Wood and Mirjana Dimitrievska of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the team discovered why substituting one boron atom for one carbon atom in a key battery electrolyte material made lithium ions move even faster, which is attractive for a more robust solid-state battery.

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Carbon Lithium Ion Batteries Battery 210

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 25, 2018

Researchers at Wuhan University of Science and Technology in China have proposed a control method based on a speed loop structure-variable sliding mode controller (SMC) for interior permanent magnet synchronous motors in electric vehicles. The method combines maximum torque per ampere with a vector control strategy. In an open access paper on their work is published in the journal Advances In Mechanical Engineering , the team reports that their method can improve motor performance with more stab

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Universal Motor Motors Motoring 210

Green Car Congress

MARCH 2, 2018

Aerotec, a Brazilian Private Equity fund, will invest £3.75 million (US$5.2 million) in Li-Sulfur battery company OXIS Energy. The investment is Aerotec’s first international venture. Established in 2005, OXIS Energy has developed, and continues to advance, an innovative Lithium Sulfur (Li-S) battery chemistry. With considerably higher energy density, OXIS’ batteries are lighter, safer and as they do not comprise any rare earth metals, OXIS Energy battery systems are more eco-friendly than curre

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Brazil Li-ion Companies Energy 199

Green Car Congress

MARCH 2, 2018

An international research team has developed a new single-atom electrocatalyst that efficiently converts CO 2 to carbon monoxide (CO). Their findings were published in the RSC journal Energy & Environmental Science. They used Ni single atoms dispersed into graphene nanosheets, without Ni nanoparticles involved, as active sites for the electrocatalytic CO 2 reduction reaction (CO 2 RR) to CO.

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Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 28, 2018

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., a part of the US$19-billion Mahindra Group, and LG Chem, Korea’s leading manufacturer of advanced batteries, are collaborating in the field of advanced Li-ion battery technology. Under this collaboration, LG Chem will develop a unique cell exclusively for India application and will also supply Li-ion cells based on NMC (nickel-manganese-cobalt) chemistry with high energy density.

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Li-ion India Batteries Battery 199

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 27, 2018

In a highly anticipated decision, the German Federal Administrative Court (Bundesverwaltungsgericht) in Leipzig has ruled that cities can ban highly polluting diesel cars if necessary to achieve NO 2 emission limits. The verdict of the Bundesverwaltungsgericht—one of the five German federal supreme courts and the court of last resort for administrative law—came in an appeal brought by two German states (North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Württemberg) against lower court decisions that

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Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 27, 2018

Daimler AG is intensifying its cooperation with the Israeli start-up Anagog Ltd. Daimler has participated in a financing round together with MizMaa Ventures, a venture capital company located in California. Based in Tel Aviv, Anagog has developed software which provides on-device mobility status detection, with cloud-based processing power, deep learning and an insightful analytics platform.

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Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 26, 2018

Ontario is taking the next steps in exploring the potential of Hydrail (hydrogen-powered rail technology) as an alternative to conventional electric trains. Kathryn McGarry, Minister of Transportation, released the province’s detailed Hydrogen Rail (Hydrail) Feasibility Study , which found that it would be feasible to build and operate electrified rail service on GO Transit and the UP Express using hydrogen-powered trains at a cost comparable to conventional electrification using overhead wires.

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Green Car Reports

FEBRUARY 26, 2018

The first generation of mass-priced electric cars with ranges of 60 to 90 miles simply didn't have enough range to be used outside predictable daily commute duties and local errands around town. Sure, four-fifths of vehicles in the U.S. cover less than 40 miles a day—but that other fifth matters a lot when paying $30,000-plus for a new.

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Electric Cars 2018 Nissan Cars 121

Green Car Reports

FEBRUARY 26, 2018

It's been a topic of discussion for years: What will happen when a carmaker reaches the cap on U.S. sales of electric cars that qualify for the full federal tax credit of $7,500? That number is 200,000; after the rest of that calendar quarter and the one following, the credit is halved for a further two quarters. Rough calculations indicate that.

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Green Car Reports

MARCH 1, 2018

The idea of adding noise-makers to vehicles that are "too quiet" didn't exist until the first hybrid-electric cars hit the market in 2000. Within a few years, however, organizations representing the blind began to raise alarms that cars operating at low speeds solely on electric power couldn't be heard by pedestrians who also couldn't see them.

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Green Car Reports

MARCH 1, 2018

Total sales by Jaguar Land Rover are a fraction of those by its rivals Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz. Arguably, that has required the British luxury maker to be more agile and more creative to compete. While Audi has discussed its plans for an all-electric crossover utility version for more than two years now, Jaguar's electric-car plans only broke.

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Land Rover 2019 Audi Miles 108