Green Car Congress

JANUARY 11, 2016

Hard on the heels of the reveal of the production Volt EV at CES 2016 in Las Vegas earlier post ), Chevrolet used the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit to release additional details on the battery and drivetrain of the new BEV. Engineers developed the Bolt EV’s propulsion system to offer more than an estimated 200 miles (based on GM estimates) and a sporty driving experience. The Bolt EV’s drive system uses a single high capacity electric motor to propel the car.

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2016 Chevrolet Las Vegas Batteries 239

Green Car Reports

JANUARY 13, 2016

The 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV has received largely positive reviews for the production version unveiled last week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. And as the first affordable 200-mile electric car, expected to go on sale before the end of this year, it will likely reset consumer expectations of what an electric car can be. But having a. Green Auto Show CES Combined Charging Standard (CCS) DC Rapid Charging Fast Charging charging infrastructure plug-in cars

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2016 Las Vegas 2017 Chevrolet 105

National Green Transportation

JANUARY 12, 2016

On Tuesday, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) rejected the 2 Liter diesel car recall plan submitted by the Volkswagen Group of America. This plan is Volkswagen's attempt to fix the Dieselgate problem, in which the VW

2016 64

2016 Transportation America California 64

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 13, 2016

In a demonstration of its ongoing development of advanced alternative powertrains, Audi unveiled the new h-tron quattro fuel cell concept vehicle at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS). Like its production-bound sibling the e-tron quattro battery-electric vehicle, the h-tron concept is based on Audi’s second-generation modular longitudinal platform (MLB evo, earlier post ).

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2016 Detroit Audi SUV 215

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 12, 2016

At the 2016 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), Toyota is displaying a research vehicle based on the Mirai fuel cell vehicle which is equipped with satellite communications technology from Kymeta , a US-based company that is the world's leader in flat-panel antenna technology. Toyota is working to enhance its connected technologies, including a plan to install a Data Communication Module into a broader range of its vehicles. Earlier post.)

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2016 Toyota Vehicles 2013 195

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 12, 2016

Lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC) is one of the more promising chemistries for better lithium batteries, especially for electric vehicle applications, but scientists have been struggling to get higher capacity out of them.

2016 195

2016 Li-ion Lithium Ion Batteries 195

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 11, 2016

British Columbia—based Powertech Labs ’ hydrogen fueling station, located onsite at the company’s headquarters, has increased the number of vehicles that it services. The station, the only 70 MPa fast-fill hydrogen fueling station in Canada, currently meets the fueling needs for Mercedes-Benz and Hyundai fuel cell electric vehicles, with a total of 9 vehicles using the station.

2016 195

2016 Hydrogen North America 2001 195

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 15, 2016

US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced a proposed 10-year, nearly $4-billion investment to accelerate the development and adoption of safe vehicle automation through real-world pilot projects. Secretary Foxx made the announcement at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

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2016 Obama Detroit 2013 183

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 14, 2016

Alphabet Energy is commercializing low-cost, efficient thermoelectric materials for power generation leveraging technology initially developed at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Earlier post.). The company has now announced characterization from the Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Techniques IPM of heat flow and thermal resistance (in air) of the Alphabet Energy PowerCard , the company’s core thermoelectric device for power generation.

2016 183

2016 Fuel Economy Economy Waste 183

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 9, 2016

A new report, “ Automated Vehicle Crash Rate Comparison Using Naturalistic Data ,” performed by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute and commissioned by Google, shows that the crash rates for self-driving cars are lower than the national crash rate of conventional cars. Results show that when data is adjusted for unreported crashes and take into account accident severity, the national crash rate for conventional vehicles is higher than the crash rate of self-driving cars.

2016 183

2016 Virginia Google Miles 183

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 13, 2016

At the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), Mercedes-Benz introduced the 10th generation of its E-Class. The new sedans feature the world premiere of a number of technical innovations including additional driver assistance, infotainment and control systems. The new E-Class will come with a choice of two engines at market launch: the E 200 with a four-cylinder gasoline engine and the E 220 d with an all-new four-cylinder diesel engine.

2016 174

2016 PHEV Mercedes MPG 174

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 12, 2016

Lexus brought the all-wheel drive hydrogen fuel cell LF-FC flagship concept, unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show in October 2015 ( earlier post ), to the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit for its North American premiere. In his speech about the newly revealed Lexus LC 500 production model, Toyota Motor Corporation President and Lexus Chief Branding Officer Akio Toyoda said that the company is committed to having a fuel cell car in the Lexus lineup around 2020.

2016 174

2016 Detroit Lexus Concept 174

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 12, 2016

Consumers expect to use cars differently—showing particular interest in self-enabling vehicles—though they don’t necessarily want to own one in the traditional sense, according to the results of IBM’s automotive consumer study, presented at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit. This presents opportunities for automakers to apply analytics and cognitive capabilities to develop new vehicle options. “

2016 174

2016 Personal Vehicles IDEA 174

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 11, 2016

At the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), Ford announced FordPass—an ambitious new customer service product that incorporates software services and apps, human agents and storefronts—intended to support the company’s strategic transformation into an auto and a mobility company. With FordPass, Ford says it aims to do for car owners what iTunes did for music fans, especially in terms of reimaging the relationship between automaker and consumer.

2016 174

2016 Companies San Francisco Ford 174

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 12, 2016

SM3 Z.E. known in other markets as Fluence Z.E.), Renault Samsung Motors’ (RSM) battery-electric sedan, is Korea’s most popular EV. Total sales of the SM3 Z.E., which launched in Korea in November 2013, have reached 1,767 units; of those, 1,043 units were sold in 2015. Today, one out of three EVs in the country is an SM3 Z.E.

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2016 Taxi 2015 2013 163

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 11, 2016

Global Bioenergies and LanzaTech have signed a new collaboration agreement to broaden the feedstock flexibility of Global Bioenergies’ renewable isobutene process and the product-portfolio of LanzaTech’s carbon capture technology. Earlier post.). Global Bioenergies has developed a process in which a microorganism can produce isobutene from renewable feedstock via the fermentation of sugars.

2016 163

2016 Renewable Global Waste 163

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 15, 2016

PSA Peugeot Citroën announced that the initial results obtained by the Peugeot 208 and Peugeot 508 in tests organized by the technical committee led by the French Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy comply with regulations and are aligned with homologated data.

2016 150

2016 Diesel 2017 Water 150

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 15, 2016

The US Department of Energy (DOE) selected two companies—X-energy and Southern Company—for a combined $12 million in awards ($6 million each) to develop further advanced nuclear reactor designs. These awards, with a multi-year cost share of up to $80 million for both companies, will support work to address key technical challenges to the design, construction, and operation of next-generation nuclear reactors.

2016 150

2016 Design Idaho Companies 150

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 15, 2016

The Renault-Nissan Alliance posted a brief noting that China is poised to become the top electric vehicle market in the world by 2020. In 2014, China registered 75,000 EV sales, giving it a global market share of 25%. In the first quarter of 2015, it registered nearly double that number. Brief

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2016 2020 Market 2014 150

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 15, 2016

Researchers at the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) have used data from Spiritmonitor.de —a free web service that allows users to track their fuel consumption by entering odometer readings and the amount of fuel added during fill-ups—to calculate the divergence between official fuel consumption values in Europe and real-world performance.

2016 150

2016 Fuel Economy Europe Economy 150

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 15, 2016

The 2017 Hyundai Elantra—Hyundai’s best-selling model in the US— launches this month with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Both smartphone integrations will be available on the 2017 Elantra’s seven-inch Display Audio touchscreen system with rearview camera and Hyundai’s eight-inch touchscreen navigation system with voice texting, access to music stored on the phone and third-party audio apps.

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2016 2017 Auto Hyundai 150

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 15, 2016

Researchers at the University of Delaware, with a colleague at the Beijing University of Chemical Technology, have developed a composite catalyst—nickel nanoparticles supported on nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes—that exhibits hydrogen oxidation activity in alkaline electrolyte similar to platinum-group metals. An open access paper on their work is published in the journal Nature Communications.

2016 150

2016 Low Cost Delaware Fuel 150

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 15, 2016

Mammoet, the world’s largest service provider specializing in engineered heavy lifting and transport will use cleaner-burning Shell gas-to-liquids (GTL) fuel to power all its cranes and trucks in the Netherlands. The switch is expected to reduce emissions and help improve local air quality as well as lowering noise levels compared with conventional diesel. Shell GTL Fuel is an alternative fuel for use in diesel engines, which can lower local emissions (e.g.

2016 150

2016 Netherlands Cleaner Diesel 150

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 14, 2016

Over the next few years (exact timing is unannounced) Volkswagen’s e-Golf battery-electric vehicle will receive a boost in range due to planned and anticipated improvements to its batteries ( earlier post ) as well as some of the advanced HMI (human-machine interface), device and connectivity technologies showcased at CES 2016 in the e-Golf Touch concept. The exact technology slate for the US is also unannounced.).

2016 150

2016 Connect Connected Range 150

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 14, 2016

Despite the lowest gasoline prices in Europe in 5 years, Toyota Motor Europe’s (TME) sales of hybrid vehicles continued their 5-year increase to reach 209,000 units for the full year 2015, up 17% year-on-year. Sales of Toyota and Lexus-branded hybrid vehicles now represent 24% of the group’s sales on the continent, up from 20% a year ago. In Western Europe only, sales of hybrid represent a third of total sales. Overall sales of Toyota and Lexus vehicles were 874,000 units in 2015, a drop of 1.5%

2016 150

2016 2015 Europe Sale 150

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 14, 2016

Sales of new passenger cars and LCVs in Russia decreased by 457% in December 2015, with a 35.7% drop for the entire year, according to figures released by The Automobile Manufacturers Committee of the Association of European Businesses (AEB) in Russia. The Association of European Businesses is an independent non-commercial organization representing and promoting the interests of European companies conducting business in and with the Russian Federation.

2016 150

2016 Russia 2015 Sale 150

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 14, 2016

A new comparative study by researchers at the Department of Energy’s BioEnergy Science Center (BESC), based at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, finds the natural abilities of unconventional bacteria could help boost the efficiency of cellulosic biofuel production. A team of researchers from five institutions analyzed the ability of six microorganisms to solubilize potential bioenergy feedstocks such as switchgrass that have evolved strong defenses against biological and chemical attack.

2016 150

2016 Davis Georgia Production 150

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 14, 2016

Researchers with the US Department of Energy (DOE)’s Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) have developed a “high-gravity” one-pot process for producing ethanol from cellulosic biomass that gives unprecedented yields while minimizing water use and waste disposal. High gravity” means high biomass loading—the higher the biomass loading, the lower the costs for converting it to fuels.

2016 150

2016 Waste Water Fuel 150

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 14, 2016

The California Energy Commission has awarded a $681,693 grant (Agreement EPC- 15-015) to Andromeda Power, LLC to develop a smart, fast-charging system for electric vehicles. The system will enhance the integration of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) into the electricity grid using real time monitors and controls efficiently to enable automated demand response.

2016 150

2016 Grid Grant California 150

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 14, 2016

Engineering firm Ricardo has published a white paper— Key Enablers for the Fully Autonomous Vehicle —highlighting the technologies and development processes that are needed to develop commercially feasible self-driving cars that meet consumer expectations while also achieving compliance with likely future transport regulations.

2016 150

2016 Boston Consulting Group Fusion Boston 150

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 13, 2016

Stanford researchers have developed a fast and reversible thermoresponsive polymer switching (TRPS) material that can be incorporated inside batteries to prevent thermal runaway. Batteries with the material can shut down under abnormal conditions such as overheating and shorting, and then can resume their normal function without performance compromise.

2016 150

2016 Li-ion Polymer Lithium Ion 150

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 13, 2016

Engineers at Northwestern University have created a new way to print three-dimensional metallic objects using powder-based liquid inks. While current methods rely on vast metal powder beds and expensive lasers or electron beams, Northwestern’s new technique uses liquid inks and common furnaces, resulting in a cheaper, faster, and more uniform process.

2016 150

2016 Polymer Green 2015 150

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 13, 2016

PwC’s Autofacts group estimates sales of pure electric, plug-in mild and full hybrids will grow 433% to 2.2 million units by 2021, driven by a number of factors, including regulatory pressure. While alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs)—including hybrids and pure electric—are gaining consumer acceptance in the European Union (EU), even in the face of decreased fuel prices, these reduced emission offerings are still a comparatively low%age of overall vehicle sales in this critical market.

2016 150

2016 Europe Sale Netherlands 150

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 13, 2016

Cypress Semiconductor Corp.is expanding its automotive portfolio to help enable manufacturers to bring high tech automotive systems historically available only in luxury models to mainstream vehicles. The portfolio leverages a wide range of differentiated products that includes microcontrollers (MCUs), power management ICs (PMICs), memories and touch-sensing solutions.

2016 150

2016 Available Connect Connected 150

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 12, 2016

The California Air Resources Board (ARB) is rejecting. VW’s submitted recall plan for 2-liter diesel passenger vehicles sold in California between 2009 and 2015 which were sold with the software defeat devices. It also notified VW of violations of California air quality regulations associated with the company’s use of a defeat device in those cars. This rejection only applies to VW’s diesel 2.0L vehicles, not 3.0L vehicles. The submission of the recall plan for 3.0L

2016 150

2016 Diesel California EPA 150

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 12, 2016

Electrovaya announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Litarion GmbH, has received a purchase order for about US$16 million to supply 40 Ah Lithium Ion cells (Litacell-LC40) to a US-based company. The purchase order is for a period of 14 months, the deliveries have started and the first payment received. The period of this contract is until January 2017. The order was received through Targray, an Advanced Materials supplier in the Alternate Power and Energy space.

2016 150

2016 Li-ion Lithium Ion 2017 150

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 12, 2016

Ford and IBM are working together on a pilot platform that allows research scientists to look at tiny bits of data—10 or 15 seconds worth at a time—to spot patterns, correlations and trends, and to write code to make more efficient transportation decisions. The platform, called the Ford Smart Mobility Experimentation Platform, underpins the Dynamic Shuttle pilot program now in operation on the company’s Dearborn campus ( earlier post ).

2016 150

2016 Legal Insight Ford 150