Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 1, 2013

Researchers at startup Liox Power, a California-based company developing rechargeable Li-air batteries, have demonstrated for the first time the operation of a lithium-air battery with a Li anode in a straight-chain alkyl amide electrolyte solvent (N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMA)/lithium nitrate (LiNO 3 )). A Li?O 2 cell containing this electrolyte composition cycled for more than 2000 h (>80 cycles) at a current density of 0.1 mA/cm 2 , retaining >95% capacity and a consistent charging profile.

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Li-ion Lithium Air Batteries Battery 353

Green Car Reports

JANUARY 29, 2013

He has his eyes on space, and is changing the world of automobiles with his Tesla electric cars--but now Elon Musk is offering a hand to Boeing, too. The Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] CEO tweeted Saturday that he was in talks with the chief engineer of Boeing's Dreamliner 787 aircraft, currently grounded after a series of problems. Reuters reports that.

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Green Cars News

JANUARY 29, 2013

Tuesday, 29 January, 2013. The Green Piece Column. Could 2013 be the year when electric cars become much more affordable? With a number of lower priced models on the way as well as mature vehicle offerings slashing their prices, it sure looks like the market could be about to expand to a whole new audience. [.].

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Affordable 2013 Green Electric Cars 65

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 30, 2013

Li-ion battery maker A123 Systems LLC, a newly formed, wholly owned subsidiary of Wanxiang America Corporation, has acquired substantially all of the non-government business assets of bankrupt A123 Systems, Inc. Included in the acquisition, which has received approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), are A123’s automotive, grid and commercial business assets, including technology, products, customer contracts and U.S. facilities in Michigan, Massachusetts an

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Green Car Congress

JANUARY 31, 2013

Thirteen major US employers and eight stakeholder groups have joined the US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) new Workplace Charging Challenge to help expand access to workplace charging stations for American workers across the country. In a speech at the Washington Auto Show, Energy Secretary Chu outlined the new initiative, which aims to expand the availability of workplace charging, increasing the convenience of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) and providing drivers with more options.

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San Diego Companies Charging Google 309

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 26, 2013

China is the world’s largest truck market. Click to enlarge. AB Volvo has signed an agreement with the Chinese vehicle manufacturer Dongfeng Motor Group Company Limited (DFG) to acquire 45% of a new subsidiary of DFG, Dongfeng Commercial Vehicles (DFCV), which will include the major part of DFG’s medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles business. Completion of the transaction will make the Volvo Group the world’s largest manufacturer of heavy-duty trucks with a combined annual volume (2011) of

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Volvo Commercial Manufacturer Vehicles 294

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 30, 2013

Researchers from the University of Strathclyde and the University of St. Andrews have demonstrated that ammonia can be synthesized directly from air (instead of N 2 ) and H 2 O (instead of H 2 ) under a mild condition (room temperature, one atmosphere) with supplied electricity which can be obtained from renewable resources such as solar, wind or marine.

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Water 2010 Energy Storage Mariner 268

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 28, 2013

The waste heat generated by everyday activities in metropolitan areas—which is distinct from the urban heat island effect—alters the character of the jet stream and other major atmospheric systems, affecting temperatures across thousands of miles, significantly warming some areas and cooling others, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Climate Change.

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Waste Miles Climate Change North America 262

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 1, 2013

Nissan plans to triple the current electric vehicle quick-charging infrastructure in the United States with the addition of at least 500 quick-charging stations in the next 18 months, including the greater Washington DC area’s first fast-charge network. Nissan outlined the strategy at the Washington Auto Show. Nissan has been working on accelerating a European quick-charging network since 2011. ( Earlier post.

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Nissan Charging Washington Fort Worth 261

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 28, 2013

The eNterop project, the goal of which is to to ensure the smooth interoperation of plug-in vehicles (PEVs) and charging points from different manufacturers, recently had its kick-off meeting in Berlin. Funding for the €4.6-million (US$6.2-million) project is split 50/50 between the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi) and industry parters: Continental, Fraunhofer, TU Dortmund, BMW, VW, Daimler, RWE, and Siemens.

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Green Car Congress

JANUARY 31, 2013

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed the 2013 percentage standards for four fuel categories that are part of the agency’s Renewable Fuel Standard program (RFS2). The proposal comes shortly after the DC Circuit Court vacated the EPA’s 2012 cellulosic biofuels standard for the RFS. ( Earlier post.). The cellulosic biofuel standard for 2012—vacated by the court for being too high given the reality in the market—was 8.65 million gallons. ( Earlier post.

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2013 EPA Standards 2012 257

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 1, 2013

Balqon Corporation, a developer of electric vehicles, drive systems and lithium battery storage devices, announced delivery and installation of a Li-ion HIQAP 1000 Ah, 48-volt battery system into the Island Pilot Yacht powered by DSE Hybrid solar electric drive. The lithium iron phosphate HIQAP battery system is designed to be a direct replacement of lead acid batteries in transportation and energy storage applications.

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Li-ion Hybrid Lead Acid Florida 253

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 28, 2013

Daimler AG, Ford Motor Company and Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., have signed a three-way agreement for the joint development of a common fuel cell system to speed up availability of zero-emission technology and significantly reduce investment costs. The goal of the collaboration is to develop jointly a common fuel cell electric vehicle system while reducing investment costs associated with the engineering of the technology.

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Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 1, 2013

The US Department of Energy (DOE) released the EV Everywhere Grand Challenge Blueprint , which describes plug-in vehicle (PEV) technology and deployment barriers, and provides an outline for DOE’s technical and deployment goals for electric vehicles to 2022. DOE will pursue these targets in cooperation with a host of public and private partners. President Obama announced the DOE “Clean Energy Grand Challenge” in March 2012 with the goal of enabling US companies to be the first in the world to pr

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Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 1, 2013

According to a new binding agreement, Daimler AG will invest in BAIC Motor, the passenger car unit of BAIC Group. Daimler’s investment will take place through the issuance of new shares corresponding to a 12% stake in BAIC Motor. This move comes ahead of an intention by BAIC Motor to launch an initial public offering (IPO) in the future. Daimler’s shareholding in BAIC Motor is subject to the approval by the relevant authorities.

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Motor Motors Motoring Mercedes 247

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 31, 2013

A prototype vehicle on the track from the Visio.M project. Click to enlarge. In Germany, the Visio.M consortium is developing a mobility concept for an efficient electric vehicle, making the design as light as possible while still delivering the best possible safety protection. Participants in the Visio.M consortium are, in addition to the automotive companies BMW AG (lead manager) and Daimler AG, the Technische Universität München (TUM) as a scientific partner, and Autoliv BV & Co.

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Light Carbon Fiber Germany Carbon 246

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 28, 2013

The European Commission has chosen Graphene as one of Europe’s first 10-year, €1 billion (US$1.34 billion) Future Emerging Technology (FET) flagships. The mission of Graphene is to take graphene and related layered materials from academic laboratories to society, revolutionize multiple industries and create economic growth and new jobs in Europe. Graphene has been subject to a scientific explosion since the groundbreaking experiments on the novel material less than ten years ago, recognized by t

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Future Europe Personal 2013 246

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 27, 2013

The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled this week in a case (#12-1139) brought by the American Petroleum Institute (API) against the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ( earlier post ), and vacated the 2012 cellulosic biofuel RFS standard while affirming the 2012 advanced biofuel standard. API had filed the lawsuit with the DC Circuit Court challenging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for what API called “unachievable” requirements for use of cellulos

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2012 Standards DC EPA 244

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 1, 2013

A team from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) reports that use of a blended electrolyte, consisting of a carbonate solvent and an ionic liquid, improves the cycle lives of Li–O 2 batteries remarkably through a synergistic effect from both components. The paper is published in the journal ChemSusChem. Among the challenges facing the commercialization of high energy density Li-air batteries is poor cycle life.

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Batteries Battery Carbon 2013 236

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 26, 2013

The Technical University Eindhoven (TU/e) in The Netherlands will begin an e-bike and e-scooter trial on 4 February; for six months, the university will make free electric bikes and scooters available to employees who live between 7-20 kilometers (4-12 miles) from campus. The €10,000 (US$13,500) trial is one of the ways the university seeks to promote alternative transportation to campus.

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Netherlands Universal MPH 2013 236

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 1, 2013

The National Transportation Safety Board released the seventh update on its investigation into the 7 January fire aboard a Japan Airlines Boeing 787 at Logan International Airport in Boston. The auxiliary power unit battery, manufactured by GS Yuasa, was the original battery delivered with the airplane on 20 December 2012. It comprises eight individual cells.

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Batteries Battery Seattle 2012 231

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 31, 2013

The 2013 SAE International High Octane Fuels Symposium (HOFS) this week in Washington, DC, explored the pros and the cons of high octane fuels, with a particular focus on using ethanol as the source of the octane improvement. The “ obvious driver ” for the consideration of a high octane fuel (HOF), said Prof. John Heywood, one of the speakers, is that higher octane fuels would lead to higher compression ratios which would lead to more efficient engines and reduced fuel consumption.

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Fuel International 2013 Parts 231

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 30, 2013

The National Transportation Safety Board released the sixth update on its investigation into the 7 January fire aboard a Japan Airlines Boeing 787 at Logan International Airport in Boston. The examination of the damaged battery continues. The work has transitioned from macroscopic to microscopic examinations and into chemical and elemental analysis of the areas of internal short circuiting and thermal damage.

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Li-ion Batteries Battery Seattle 231

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 29, 2013

In December, new commercial vehicle registrations continued the downward trend which prevailed throughout 2012, amounting to 125,825 units, according to the European Association of Automobile Manufacturers (ACEA). Demand reached its lowest level since October 2009, at -23.4%, with downturns in major markets ranging from -15.5% in the UK to -20.3% in Italy, -21.3% in France, -24.7% in Germany and -34.2% in Spain.

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2012 Commercial Spain Italy 231

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 31, 2013

Novozymes is acquiring Iogen Bio-Products, the industrial enzyme business of Ottawa-based Iogen Corporation for C$67.5 million (US$67.4 million) and potential earn-out payments of up to C$12.5 million. The deal provides Novozymes with all commercial rights to Iogen Bio-Products’ existing product portfolio, pipeline, facilities and know-how. Novozymes acquires all of Iogen Corporation’s industrial enzyme business.

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Corporation Industrial Industry 2013 225

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 30, 2013

Writing in International Journal of Vehicle Autonomous Systems , Matthew Best of Loughborough University (UK) explored the optimization of a vehicle’s standard brake, acceleration and steering control inputs in the context of avoiding collisions. He devised a computer simulation that allows all those parameters to be optimized concurrently during a safety maneuver and showed how speed reduction and swapping lanes might be carried out by an autonomous vehicle.

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Vehicles MPH 2012 Universal 225

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 29, 2013

Transport researchers at the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) are testing a highly automated form of searching for available parking spaces in Braunschweig—i.e., automated valet parking. In so doing, DLR is completing another step in putting its Application Platform for Intelligent Mobility (Anwendungsplattform Intelligente Mobilität; AIM) into operational service.

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Transportation Future Concept Installation 225

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 29, 2013

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a new Funding Opportunity Announcement ( DE-FOA-0000836 ) for up to $6 million for projects that will develop and demonstrate supply chain technologies to deliver commercial-scale lignocellulosic biomass feedstocks affordably to biorefineries across the country. DOE’s updated Billion Ton Study ( earlier post ) finds that sustainable biofuels could displace approximately one-third of America’s current transportation petroleum use.

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Green Car Congress

JANUARY 28, 2013

The US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) recently received four fuel cell hybrid vehicles—advanced (FCHV-adv) ( earlier post )—on loan from Toyota through a two-year Cooperative Research and Development Agreement. These vehicles will help NREL enhance its research related to hydrogen fueling infrastructure, renewable hydrogen production, and vehicle performance.

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Hydrogen Toyota Hybrid Fuel 225

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 28, 2013

Shell US Gas & Power LLC (Shell), a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc, and Southern Liquefaction Company, LLC, a Kinder Morgan company and unit of El Paso Pipeline Partners, L.P. (NYSE: EPB), intend to form a limited liability company to develop a natural gas liquefaction plant in two phases at Southern LNG Company, LLC’s (Southern LNG) existing Elba Island LNG Terminal, near Savannah, Ga.

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El Paso United States 2012 Gas 225

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 28, 2013

CCS infrastructure for six key CO 2 emission prices. Sources are red and sinks are blue. The amount of CO 2 captured (as a proportion of the maximum capturable amount) at each source is depicted by the dark wedges. Wedges for the sinks depict the amount of CO 2 stored (as a proportion of total reservoir capacity). The width of the pipeline network (green lines) is proportional to CO 2 flow; the largest CO 2 flow is approximately 36 MtCO 2 / yr for the $155/tCO 2 scenario (pipeline leaving the At

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Oil-Sands Oil Emissions Tax 225

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 26, 2013

With the help of a CALSTART grant directed to Washington state by US Senator Patty Murray, Ben Franklin Transit is working with Southern California-based Complete Coach Works (CCW) to develop an all-electric remanufactured transit bus that has the capability of going more than 100 miles. The Zero Emission Propulsion System ( ZEPS ) bus will be powered by a 213 kWh Li-ion phosphate battery pack mated with a 90 kW (180 kW peak) motor that develops 650 N·m (479 lb-ft) of torque continuous, 2

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Li-ion Batteries Battery Electric 225

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 31, 2013

General Motors will invest $200 million into its Global Powertrain Engineering Headquarters to build a new 138,000 sq.-ft. test wing, which is expected to be completed during the second half of 2014. The plan is part of GM’s previously announced commitment to invest $1.5 billion in its North American facilities in 2013. The expansion will enable the company to consolidate work being done at four locations remote to the Pontiac campus, helping to reduce development timing for GM’s next-generation

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GM Engine 2014 Sustainable Transportation 218

Green Car Congress

JANUARY 31, 2013

Sinochem Group signed a definitive agreement with Pioneer Natural Resources Company whereby Sinochem Petroleum USA LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sinochem Group, will purchase a 40% undivided interest in approximately 207,000 net oil and natural gas leasehold acres held by Pioneer in the southern Midland Basin Wolfcamp play, part of the larger Permian Basin.

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