Sat.Dec 24, 2011 - Fri.Dec 30, 2011

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IBM and University of Guadalajara create Smarter Cities Exploration Center; transportation pilot seeks to reduce commuting time in city by 15%

Green Car Congress

IBM and the University of Guadalajara (UdeG) in Mexico have created a Smarter Cities Exploration Center. Supported by technical and intellectual guidance of IBM’s global research lab experts, the Center will be the first of its kind in Latin America, tasked with the mission to design solutions to tackle infrastructure challenges faced by Guadalajara—Mexico’s second-largest city—and other cities around the world.

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Congress Actually Ends Taxpayer Funding Of Ethanol Subsidies

Green Car Reports

When the U.S. Congress adjourned for the holidays on Friday, December 23, its departure sealed the fate of subsidized ethanol production. During its session, the Congress did not renew a tax break for U.S. production of corn-based ethanol that had become increasingly unpopular across a wide area of the political spectrum. The tax credit amounted.

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Happy New Year! The DVD Release.

Revenge of the Electric Car

After opening a great theatrical run with so many great events, we're proud to announce that "Revenge of the Electric Car" releases on DVD on January 24th, 2012! We've jammed the DVD with all sorts of special features, including a 35-minute panel discussion after the premiere screening at the Tribeca Film Festival this year- with Chris Paine, Dan Neil, Carlos Ghosn, Elon Musk, and moderated by David Duchovny.

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Honda Goldwing Conversion

DIY Electric Car

I am doing an electrical conversion of an 88 Honda Goldwing. I wll try to post here frequent enough to show progress and share useful information. Attached Thumbnails.

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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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Nikkei reports Mitsubishi Motors to release electric light truck in FY12

Green Car Congress

The Nikkei reported that Mitsubishi Motors Corp. has started developing an electric light truck—its third electric vehicle—with a fiscal 2012 launch in mind. The new EV reportedly will be targeted at farmers, contractors and others who use light trucks for their work—applications in which limited range is less of an issue. The electric light truck will allow users to recharge its battery off normal household power outlets.

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First Fast-Charging Station On West Coast Electric Highway: Work Starts

Green Car Reports

While dreams of a "Hydrogen Highway" along the West Coast have languished, the states of Washington and Oregon are moving ahead on plans to make Interstate-5 the first "electric highway" in the nation. Yesterday, a small ground-breaking ceremony took place in the Sehome Village Shopping Center in Bellingham, Washington, for the first of a network.

More Trending

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Stripped Bike

DIY Electric Car

This is after I stripped the bike and preparing for the EV. Attached Thumbnails.

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Toyota launches Aqua compact hybrid in Japan; targeting 12,000 units per month in sales

Green Car Congress

The Aqua hybrid. Click to enlarge. Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) launched the Aqua gasoline-electric compact hybrid—to be marketed as the Prius c in the US—in Japan. The Aqua features a small 1.5-liter Toyota Hybrid System II (THS II) with reduction gear, which achieves fuel efficiency of 35.4 km/L (83.3 mpg US, 2.8 L/100km) under the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism’s (MLIT’s) JC08 test cycle and 40.0 km/L (94 mpg US, 2.5 L/100km) under the MLIT 10-1

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Can China's Power Industry Raise Interest In Electric Cars?

Green Car Reports

China's car market is one of the fastest-growing in the world, and the implications of that are huge for the car industry. They're huge for the environment too. With the sort of air quality that Los Angeles was experiencing back in the 1970s, cities like Beijing are keen to get people into zero-emissions vehicles. The issue is getting potential.

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EU looking to relax electric bicycle laws, says naysayers full of innacuracies

National Green Transportation

A large number of (gasoline powered) car trips are 3 miles or less, and could be avoided with adequate bicycles and bicycling infrastructure. Recognizing this fact the European TwoWheel Retailers Association is looking to relax EU rules governing.

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

Brief

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Renewable energy boosts UK economy by £2.5bn

Green Cars News

Energy Secretary Chris Huhne has revealed that the UK economy has benefited from renewable energy by the tune of £2.5bn so far in this financial year. This came as the UK published an update on progress to source 15% of all energy from renewable sources by 2020. Latest research from DECC shows that almost £2.5bn [.].

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Pike Research survey finds strong fundamental US consumer interest in EVs; price remains a significant barrier

Green Car Congress

To assess consumer demand, preferences, and price sensitivity for plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) and electric vehicle charging infrastructure, Pike Research conducted a web-based survey of 1,051 US consumers in the fall of 2011 using a nationally representative and demographically balanced sample. The survey found that, based on Americans’ driving and commute patterns, PEVs should be a strong fit for a large number of consumers.

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Electric Drag Racing Now Embraced By The IHRA

Green Car Reports

When it comes to drag racing in the United States, the National Hot Rod Association, or NHRA, is the 800-pound gorilla that dominates the sport. The IHRA, or International Hot Rod Association, is merely the 600-pound gorilla that sanctions events at tracks not affiliated with the NHRA, although in Canada, it's closer to the 800-pound gorilla as.

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EU looking to relax electric bicycle laws, says naysayers full of innacuracies

National Green Transportation

A large number of (gasoline powered) car trips are 3 miles or less, and could be avoided with adequate bicycles and bicycling infrastructure. Recognizing this fact the European TwoWheel Retailers Association is looking to relax EU rules governing.

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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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Volkswagen aims for cleaner plants by 2018

Green Cars News

Car giant, Volkswagen has set itself an ambitious target of making its plants more sustainable by cutting their environmental impact by 25 per cent by 2018. The car maker’s factories must reduce their energy consumption, waste volumes, air-borne emissions, water consumption and carbon dioxide emissions to meet the target which will compare performance in 2010 [.].

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Nebraska provides TransCanada with map identifying Sandhills Regions to be avoided in designing alternative route for Keystone XL pipeline

Green Car Congress

The Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ) has released a map of the areas that it considers to be Nebraska Sandhills, based on an analysis of a variety of existing data. NDEQ is conveying this to TransCanada for reference as the company develops a proposed new route for the Nebraska portion of the Keystone XL pipeline. NDEQ Director Mike Linder said this was an important step resulting from legislation which was passed in November relating to the development of an alternative route

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Truck Stop Natural Gas May Spur On Alt-Fuel Car Adoption

Green Car Reports

Natural gas has forever been a "nearly" fuel. While offering several advantages over gasoline or diesel, such as low cost of refueling, HOV-lane stickers in California and cleaner running, the disadvantages are even greater. One of those has been the availability of natural gas, limiting its suitability for longer trips, where access to a natural.

Gas 112
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Battelle-R&D Magazine forecast predicts 5.2% growth in 2012 global R&D spending to $1.4+T, largely driven by Asian economies; US companies and tech providers to boost energy R&D spending by 23.1% to $6.7B

Green Car Congress

Global R&D spending 2011. Size of circle reflects the relative amount of annual R&D spending by the country noted. Source: 2012 Global R&D Funding Forecast. Click to enlarge. The Battelle-R&D Magazine annual Global R&D Funding Forecast concludes that global research and development (R&D) spending will grow by about 5.2% in 2012 to more than $1.4 trillion.

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Ford targeting 30% reduction in water used per vehicle by 2015

Green Car Congress

Ford plans to cut the amount of water used to make each vehicle 30% globally by 2015, compared with the amount of water used per vehicle in 2009. If Ford meets the 30% goal, the amount of water used to make a vehicle will have dropped from 9.5 m 3 (2,510 gallons US) in 2000 to approximately 3.5 m 3 (925 gallons US) in 2015. Ford is also developing year-over-year efficiency targets as part of its annual environmental business planning process and has established a cross-functional team spanning s

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DOE report finds some materials for EVs and other clean energy technologies at risk of supply disruptions in the short term; risks decreasing in medium- and long-term

Green Car Congress

Materials in clean energy technologies and components. Source: DOE. Click to enlarge. Several clean energy technologies—including electric vehicles, wind turbines, PV thin films and fluorescent lighting—use materials at risk of supply disruptions in the short term, with risks generally decreasing in the medium- and long-terms, according to the newly released 2011 Critical Materials Strategy report from the US Department of Energy (DOE).

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Volkswagen targets reducing environmental impact of its plants by 25% by 2018

Green Car Congress

As part of its “Think Blue. Factory.” Initiative, the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand has set targets to reduce for the environmental impact of all Volkswagen plants by 25% values by 2018. This applies especially to energy consumption, waste volumes, airborne emissions, water consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. On the basis of annual values for 2010, future carbon dioxide emissions, waste volumes, energy consumption in megawatt-hours per vehicle produced and overall water consumption for p

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EPA finalizes 2012 Renewable Fuel Standards; cellulosic biofuels category comes in at 0.006%

Green Car Congress

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized the 2012 percentage standards for four fuel categories that are part of the agency’s Renewable Fuel Standard program (RFS2). ( Earlier post.) The final 2012 overall volumes and standards are: Biomass-based diesel (1.0 billion gallons; 0.91%). Advanced biofuels (2.0 billion gallons; 1.21%). Cellulosic biofuels (8.65 million gallons; 0.006%).

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OSU researchers working to improve CFD software for simulation and evaluation of turbomachinery

Green Car Congress

Simulations of pulsing vortex generating jets, a type of flow control device, created on Ohio Supercomputer Center systems. Vorticity iso-surfaces are colored by velocity magnitude. Credit: Chen/OSU. Click to enlarge. Researchers at the Ohio State University led by Dr. Jen-Ping Chen are working to improve the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software that engineers use to simulate and evaluate the operation of turbomachinery.

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Ground breaks on Washington West Coast Electric Highway

Green Car Congress

Officials from the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT); Bellingham, Wash. Mayor Dan Pike; and local businesses including Starbucks and REI, celebrated the ground breaking of the state’s first DC fast charger and its segment of the West Coast Electric Highway. ( Earlier post.) The state’s first public DC fast-charging station is located in the Bellingham’s Sehome Village Shopping Center.

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BP joins GE, Google Ventures, ConocoPhillips, and NRG Energy in biomass-to-gasoline startup CoolPlanet’s C Round

Green Car Congress

CoolPlanet BioFuels, Inc., a start-up company developing a technology that converts low-grade biomass into high-grade fuels, including gasoline, and carbon that can be sequestered ( earlier post ) announced that BP Technology Ventures has made an investment in the company’s C Round of financing. CoolPlanet’s renewable gasoline is chemically indistinguishable from gasoline derived from and can only be detected by radiocarbon isotope analysis.

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Ballard signs LOI to provide hydrogen fuel cell modules to power 25 buses in Sao Pãulo, Brazil

Green Car Congress

Ballard Power Systems has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with The City of Sao Pãulo, Brazil for 25 FCvelocity-HD6 fuel cell modules to power 25 buses in that city. Delivery of the modules is planned for 2012. A final agreement with The City of Sao Pãulo is now in negotiation. Earlier in December, Ballard signed an equipment supply agreement with Van Hool NV, Europe’s fourth largest bus manufacturer, for 21 FCvelocity-HD6 fuel cell power modules. ( Earlier post.).

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Federal Judge rules California Low Carbon Fuel Standard violates Commerce Clause of US Constitution

Green Car Congress

Federal District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill, Eastern District of California, ruled on Thursday that the State of California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) program is in violation of the Commerce Clause of the US Constitution and issued an injunction prohibiting its enforcement. ( Earlier post.) The LCFS intends to reduce, on a full-fuel lifecycle basis, the carbon intensity (CI) of transportation fuels (measured in gCO 2 e/MJ) used in California by an average of 10% by the year 2020. ( Earlier

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New Chrysler 300 Luxury Series sedan mates 8-speed automatic to V6 Pentastar; up to 17% improvement in fuel economy

Green Car Congress

Designed to be the most fuel-efficient Chrysler flagship sedan yet, the new 2012 Chrysler 300 Luxury Series combines an eight-speed automatic transmission with the 292 hp (218 kW) 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 engine to deliver 31 mpg US highway (7.6 L/100 km). The new model delivers up to a 17% fuel economy improvement compared with the previous generation six-cylinder Chrysler 300 AWD models equipped with 5-speed transmissions.

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New microscopy technique monitors ion transfer at the nanoscale; a tool to improve fuel cells or metal-air batteries

Green Car Congress

Visualization of platinum coating in fuel cells. The red areas show high ion transfer activity, the turquoise-green elevations represent the nanoparticles. The picture shows that ion transfer is not uniform all over the coating. Picture: Sergei Kalinin Click to enlarge. A new microscopy technique devised by an international research team involving University of Heidelberg (Germany) mathematician Dr.

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GE Transportation expands locomotive diesel engine remanufacturing facility; demand increasing in part from compliance requirements for EPA Tier 3 standards

Green Car Congress

GE Transportation, the world’s leading maker of rail, mining and transportation-related products, plans to establish a new production facility in Grove City, Pa. in order to meet accelerating demand for remanufacturing services. ?GE Evolution Series locomotive engines in production at Grove City plant. Click to enlarge. The company will invest approximately $35 million to build capacity at a new diesel engine remanufacturing plant.

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Li-S company Sion Power raises $ 50M

Green Car Congress

Lithium-sulfur battery company Sion Power recently reported to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it raised $50 million in equity sold to undisclosed investors. Lithium-Sulfur Batteries. Lithium-Sulfur batteries (LSBs) use a lithium metal anode and a soluble polysulfide cathode. Lithium ions are stripped from the anode during discharge and form lithium polysulfides in the cathode.

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Oil wholesalers in Japan testing fixed-fee EV charging services at their affiliated fuel stations

Green Car Congress

JX Nippon Oil, Idemitsu Kosan Co, Cosmo Oil Co. and Showa Shell Sekiyu KK are collaborating to test a fixed-fee EV charging service at 27 of their affiliated gas stations in Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefecture during the first quarter of 2012. The four partners have created the “ EV Service Station Network ”; members will be able to charge their plug-in vehicles at stations affiliated with any of the four members.

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MHI delivers large-capacity Li-ion energy storage system for advanced microgrid study and verification testing at Shimizu Corp.

Green Car Congress

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., (MHI) has delivered a large-capacity Li-ion battery energy storage system to the Shimizu Institute of Technology in Tokyo. The institute, a technology arm of Shimizu Corporation, a major Japanese construction firm, is presently conducting advanced studies, including verification testing, into various technological areas, including microgrids, which are a localized power management system, and smart BEMS (building and energy management system).

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California ARB soliciting research suggestions for FY 2012-2013 plan; sustainable communities, behavior, pollutant exposure, air pollution science, GHG targets

Green Car Congress

The California Air Resources Board (ARB) is soliciting research suggestions for the Fiscal Year 2012-2013 Annual Research Plan in the form of brief conceptual descriptions that address specified research gaps and support the Board’s ongoing regulatory and policy priorities. The deadline to submit research concepts is 31 January 2012. Proposed research should address policy-relevant knowledge gaps important to ARB’s mission and must clearly delineate potential benefits to the State of California.

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