Green Car Congress

MAY 13, 2016

The BMW Group sold 4,504 battery-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles around the world in April. The top three markets for these vehicles were the US, Scandinavia and the UK. Global sales of the all-electric BMW i3 increased 50.7% compared with the same month last year (1,854), with overall sales for BMW i up 29.4% on the month (2,181). Six months after market launch of the BMW X5 xDrive 40e plug-in hybrid, nearly 10% of all BMW X5s sold in April were the electrified version, with a total of 1,1

BMW 212

BMW PHEV Plug-in Automobile 212

Green Car Reports

MAY 10, 2016

When Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk said two years ago that the electric-car maker planned to be building half a million cars a year by the end of 2020, it seemed an ambitious stretch goal. When he said on last week's quarterly earnings call that the company was pulling that goal two years ahead to 2018, you can almost hear the gasps. That means that.

2018 106

2018 Building Tesla Motors Tesla 106

Green Car Congress

MAY 12, 2016

With faster upshifts than a dual-clutch transmission (DCT) and a wider overall gear ratio spread to optimize performance and efficiency, the all-new available GM Hydra-Matic 10-speed automatic transmission sets a new performance standard in the 2017 Camaro ZL1. The transmission is an all-new design—and the first application in a car—with a wider, 7.39 overall gear ratio spread, that enables the ZL1’s supercharged engine to remain at optimal engine speeds during upshifts.

GM 210

GM 2018 Auto Convert 210

Green Car Congress

MAY 8, 2016

A new report on fuel cell vehicles from IHS Automotive forecasts that global production of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) will reach more than 70,000 vehicles annually by 2027, as more automotive OEMs bring FCEVs to market. However,this will only represent less than 0.1% of all vehicles produced, according to IHS Automotive forecasts. IHS expects that during the next 11 years, the number of available FCEV models will jump to 17 from the current three (Toyota Mirai, Hyundai ix35/Tuc

Hydrogen 210

Hydrogen Vehicles Fuel Production 210

Advertisement

emissions global warming Norway climate change carbon dioxide youtube lighting

Norway

Green Car Congress

MAY 10, 2016

The US Department of Energy (DOE’s) Argonne National Laboratory is releasing an updated version of its AFLEET tool to reflect the latest advances in alternative fuels and advanced vehicle technologies and updated emissions data. Sponsored by the DOE Clean Cities program, AFLEET (Alternative Fuel Life-Cycle Environmental and Economic Transportation Tool) is a free, publicly-available tool that provides users with a roadmap for assessing which types of vehicles and fuels are right for them.

Alternative Fuels 195

Alternative Fuels Fuel Chicago Vehicles 195

Green Car Congress

MAY 9, 2016

France-based energy major Total has filed a friendly tender offer on all of the issued and outstanding shares in the capital of advanced battery maker Saft with the French Financial Markets Authority (Autorité des Marchés Financiers, AMF). The proposed offer will target all of Saft’s issued and outstanding shares at a price of €36.50 per share, ex-dividend of €0.85 per share, valuing Saft’s equity at €950 million (US$1.1 billion).

Batteries 195

Batteries Battery Electrical Storage Price 195

Green Car Congress

MAY 10, 2016

Nissan and multinational power company Enel will launch the first major vehicle-to-grid (V2G) trial carried out in the UK. The partners will install and connect 100 V2G units at locations agreed upon by private and fleet owners of the Nissan LEAF and e-NV200 electric van. By giving Nissan electric vehicle owners the ability to plug their vehicles into the V2G system, owners will have the flexibility and power to sell stored energy from their vehicle battery back to the National Grid.

Nissan 190

Nissan Grid Denmark Climate Change 190

Green Car Congress

MAY 13, 2016

Pregnant women, children and those with medical conditions in The Gambia—one of Africa’s smallest, poorest countries—may have better access to healthcare through an expansion of a Ford Smart Mobility pilot program. Ford has equipped 50 motorcycles serving Riders for Health with sensor technology so the medical services group can collect a variety of data, including mapping coordinates, to improve the delivery of medical services and supplies—particularly in remote areas of the

Gambia 174

Gambia Motorcycles Ford Kits 174

Green Car Congress

MAY 13, 2016

US Representatives Bill Flores (R-TX), Peter Welch (D-VT), Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and Jim Costa (D-CA) have introduced legislation— H.R. 5180 —that would cap the maximum volume of ethanol blended into the transportation fuel supply at 9.7% of projected gasoline demand as determined by the Energy Information Administration (EIA). It also requires EPA to meet its statutory deadlines in setting annual RFS volumes.

Gasoline 174

Gasoline EPA Supplies Transportation 174

Green Car Congress

MAY 12, 2016

More than 80% of people living in urban areas that monitor air pollution are exposed to air quality levels that exceed World Health Organization (WHO) limits, according to the organization. While all regions of the world are affected, populations in low-income cities are the most impacted. According to the latest urban air quality database , 98% of cities in low- and middle income countries with more than 100 000 inhabitants do not meet WHO air quality guidelines.

Pollution 174

Pollution Asia 2008 2013 174

Advertisement

Brief

Connect

Green Car Congress

MAY 9, 2016

Air pollution legislation to control fossil fuel emissions and the associated acid rain has worked—perhaps leading to the need for sulfur fertilizers for crop production. A University of Illinois study drawing from over 20 years of data shows that sulfur levels in Midwest watersheds and rivers have steadily declined, so much so that farmers may soon need to consider applying sulfur.

Pollution 174

Pollution Illinois Coal Water 174

Green Car Congress

MAY 9, 2016

Kreisel Electric, an Austrian developer and manufacturer of high-performance battery packs for electric mobility and stationary energy storage systems, is expanding its production capacity to 800,000 kWh per year with the construction of a new battery plant. The 6,276 m 2 factory will be equipped with a fully automated production line. Kreisel says that it leverages assembly and thermal management techniques to deliver 20% more usable capacity available in comparison to the products of its main

Li-ion 174

Li-ion Batteries Battery Taxi 174

Green Car Congress

MAY 13, 2016

LG International Corp., the trading arm of South Korea’s LG Group, has signed a tentative deal with the Iranian government to cooperate in developing electric vehicles and the requisite infrastructure, according to media reports. LG International will oversee the project jointly with the Iranian government. Other LG entities—including LG Electronics, LG Chem and LG Innotek—will lead efforts to develop electric motors, batteries and key auto parts, the company said, according to a rep

Iran 163

Iran 2018 International Auto 163

Green Car Congress

MAY 13, 2016

Using a new methodology, researchers in Japan—including colleagues from Nissan subsidiary Nissan Arc Ltd., a materials analysis and research center—have developed a heterostructure model of the atomic structure of silicon monoxide (SiO). The heterostructure model well explains the distinctive structure and properties of the material, which could play an important role in boosting the capacity of Li-ion batteries.

Li-ion 163

Li-ion Nissan Insight Batteries 163

Advertisement

Oil

Guyana

Green Car Congress

MAY 11, 2016

Building on its introduction of over-the-air (OTA) programming for its proprietary engines, International Trucks is now the first truck OEM to offer OTA programming for Cummins engines. Over-the-air programming, available through the nine-pin International LINK device, enables drivers or fleet managers to utilize a mobile interface to initiate engine programming at the customer’s facility over a safe, secure Wi-Fi Connection.

International 163

International Engine Fleet Dealers 163

Green Car Congress

MAY 9, 2016

Axion Power International, a leader in carbon battery technology and energy storage, has resumed negotiations with LCB International, Inc. a BVI investment company, towards a refined and simplified technology licensing agreement to take Axion Power’s patented PbC (lead-carbon) technology ( earlier post ) to China. The new meetings are renewing prior discussions about the joint effort to commercialize the PbC Technology and to meet with other potential joint venture partners in China, said Axion

China 163

China Lead Acid Power Powered 163

Green Car Congress

MAY 9, 2016

Semcon has developed a smart and inexpensive motor prototype that can be easily fitted to any bike. The units costs less than €100 (US$114) to assemble and can easily be transferred between bikes. The needs and wishes of the typical cyclist are what got us started. The benefits of the electrified bike are obvious, but existing solutions are expensive and complex.

Low Cost 163

Low Cost Motor Motors Motoring 163

Green Car Congress

MAY 13, 2016

Audi’s latest version of its piloted driving research car, the Audi A7 concept “Jack,” has not only learned how to autonomously perform all of its driving maneuvers on the expressway, it has also learned how to show consideration for other road users. Jack exhibits a driving style that is adaptive to the given situation, safe and especially interactive, Audi says.

Audi 150

Audi Concept 2016 Future 150

Green Car Congress

MAY 13, 2016

RMX Technologies and the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have signed an exclusive licensing agreement for a new technology that significantly reduces the time and energy needed in the production of carbon fiber. Combing these benefits with a low-cost precursor currently in development, the result can be a carbon fiber product that is 40% less expensive to manufacture than current commercial products.

Carbon Fiber 150

Carbon Fiber Carbon Energy Production 150

Green Car Congress

MAY 13, 2016

Flux Power Holdings, a developer of advanced lithium batteries for industrial applications including electric forklifts, delivered a custom-developed, 72-volt battery pack to power electric aviation ground support equipment (GSE), initially baggage/cargo tractors. Averest , a leading distributor of industrial batteries and chargers for aviation ground support equipment organized the pilot opportunity for Flux.

Los Angeles 150

Los Angeles Lithium Ion Power Powered 150

Green Car Congress

MAY 13, 2016

Led by strong growth in Spain and Italy, new car registrations in Europe’s Big 5 markets grew by 8.6% to 958,400 units in April 2016, according to the latest figures from JATO Dyanmics. After the UK’s traditional volume peak in March, which saw registrations rise to 1.36 million, April produced further gains across the top five European markets with SUVs driving higher volume and counting for 24.4% and 24.9% of April’s and YTD’s totals respectively.

SUV 150

SUV Market Spain Italy 150

Green Car Congress

MAY 12, 2016

Wellbores drilled to extract oil and gas can be significantly reinforced with a small amount of modified graphene nanoribbons added to a polymer and microwaved, according to Rice University researchers. The Rice labs of chemist James Tour and civil and environmental engineer Rouzbeh Shahsavari combined the nanoribbons with an oil-based thermoset polymer intended to make wells more stable and cut production costs.

Oil 150

Oil Gas Polymer Plug-in 150

Green Car Congress

MAY 12, 2016

Following an MMC share issue, Nissan Motor will take a 34% equity stake in Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) for ¥237 billion (US$2.17 billion). The two companies have signed a Basic Agreement to form a strategic alliance, extending an existing partnership under which the two companies have jointly collaborated for the past five years. The investment and alliance comes as MMC struggles to deal with the aftermath of its recently revealed fuel consumption testing cheating in Japan with mini-cars

Mitsubishi 150

Mitsubishi Nissan Motor Motors 150

Green Car Congress

MAY 12, 2016

Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have developed a model for how diesel engines autoignite. Understanding the fundamental processes that produce autoignition can lead to designs that improve engine efficiency and reduce emissions by optimizing the timing and location of ignition. Sandia postdoctoral researcher Layal Hakim, working with mentors and Sandia principal investigators Guilhem Lacaze and Joe Oefelein, designed and implemented an optimized chemical model that describes autoigni

Design 150

Design Engine Diesel Insight 150

Green Car Congress

MAY 12, 2016

In June, Scania, part of Volkswagen Truck & Bus GmbH, will begin delivering 51 hybrid Scania Citywide buses to Madrid. These complete buses feature cost-saving and emission-reducing hybrid technology that meets the EU suburban and short distance Class II regulations. The City of Madrid recently enforced tough temporary measures to tackle pollution, including limiting speed limits and banning passenger car access to the city center if NO x levels exceed acceptable levels.

Hybrid 150

Hybrid DC Lithium Ion Gas-Electric 150

Green Car Congress

MAY 12, 2016

Air Canada announced that Canada’s Biojet Supply Chain Initiative (CBSCI) will be held at Montréal-Trudeau Airport. It is a three-year collaborative project with 14 stakeholder organizations to introduce 400,000 liters of sustainable aviation biofuel (biojet) into a shared fuel system. Previous Air Canada biofuel flights used biojet that was segregated from regular jet fuel and loaded separately into an aircraft via tanker truck.

Canada 150

Canada Supplies Universal Massachusetts 150

Green Car Congress

MAY 12, 2016

The Auto/Steel Partnership ( announced that the Hemming of Thin Gauge Advanced High-Strength Steel (AHSS) project achieved a 30% weight savings using thinner gauge AHSS for automotive closure panels. Hemming is a forming operation which is used in the automotive industry to join two sheet metal panels together. During the process, the flange of the outer panel is bent over the inner one.

Corporation 150

Corporation Auto Parts Industrial 150

Green Car Congress

MAY 12, 2016

Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., the manufacturer of Subaru vehicles, will change its company name to Subaru Corporation with effect from 1 April 2017 (tentatively). Implementation of the name change is subject to shareholder approval for amendments to the company’s Articles of Incorporation at the 85 t h General Meeting of Shareholders scheduled for 28 June 2016.

Corporation 150

Corporation Industrial Industry Companies 150

Green Car Congress

MAY 11, 2016

ITM Power officially launched its first public-access hydrogen refueling station in London at the National Physical Laboratory, Teddington. The station was opened to the public by Andrew Jones MP, Transport Minister at Department for Transport, and was supported by the automotive OEMs Hyundai, Toyota, Honda and Renault partner Symbio FCell. The station is the first of three UK stations to be deployed as part of the pan-European HyFive project, which was funded by the European Fuel Cell and Hydro

London 150

London Hydrogen Honda Fleet 150

Green Car Congress

MAY 11, 2016

The Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) has selected Pennsylvania State University as the lead institution to establish the University Coalition for Fossil Energy Research. The Coalition will bring together a multi-disciplinary team of researchers from participating universities to address the fundamental research challenges that impede advancement of fossil energy-based technologies.

Universal 150

Universal Tulsa Energy Pennsylvania 150

Green Car Congress

MAY 11, 2016

Infineon Technologies AG is presenting its latest power module family for hybrid and electric vehicles—HybridPACK Double Sided Cooling (DSC)—at the PCIM 2016 tradeshow. The new power modules have extremely small dimensions of only 42 mm x 42.4 mm x 4.77 mm. They target HEV applications such as main inverters and generators with a typical power range of 40 to 50 kW.

Power 150

Power Powered Electric Vehicles Hybrid 150

Green Car Congress

MAY 11, 2016

Automotive Grade Linux (AGL), a collaborative open source project developing a common, Linux-based software stack for the connected car, announced that Movimento; Oracle; Qualcomm Innovation Center, Inc.; Texas Instruments; UIEvolution; and VeriSilicon have joined Automotive Grade Linux. Movimento, UIEvolution and VeriSilicon have also joined The Linux Foundation.

Texas 150

Texas Japan 2016 Connect 150

Green Car Congress

MAY 11, 2016

The Consortium for Algal Biofuel Commercialization (CAB-Comm), led by the University of California, San Diego, has released its final report , detailing the accomplishments and contributions achieved in its six years of operation. CAB-Comm was established in 2010 through a competitive award from the Energy Department’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) to conduct research to enable commercial viability of algae-based biofuels. ( Earlier post.

Commercial 150

Commercial San Diego Universal Nebraska 150

Green Car Congress

MAY 11, 2016

PSA Group and Dongfeng Motors (DFM) have deepened their strategic partnership with the signing of a new agreement to design an electric version of the Common Modular Platform (CMP), which they have been developing jointly since April 2015. This future electric platform (e-CMP) will deliver a worldwide offering of all-electric, high-performance B and C segment vehicles for the Peugeot, Citroën, DS and Dongfeng brands from 2019.

2019 150

2019 Design Global Motor 150