Green Car Congress

APRIL 25, 2013

'Volvo Car’s flywheel KERS system. Click to enlarge. Results of Volvo Car Group’s testing of kinetic flywheel technology on public roads during 2012 show that the flywheel technology combined with a four-cylinder turbo engine has the potential to reduce fuel consumption by up to 25% compared with a six-cylinder turbo engine at a comparable performance level, according to Derek Crabb, Vice President Powertrain Engineering at Volvo Car Group. ( Earlier post.).

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Volvo Carbon Fiber Fuel Cars 354

Green Car Reports

APRIL 23, 2013

'Most advocates and industry analysts expect lithium-ion batteries to dominate electric-car energy storage for the rest of this decade. But is Silicon Valley startup carmaker Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] planning to add a new type of battery to increase the range of its electric cars? The high-end 2013 Tesla Model S with an 85-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion.

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Lithium Ion Electric Cars Future Batteries 164

DIY Electric Car

APRIL 25, 2013

'Despite the cost of the thing, my experience of two small shorts while wiring up the pack - 7.2v only - has scared me sufficiently that I don''t want any unfused cabling where it could possibly short out the pack. At the same time, fusing 100 cells would take days and my usage is likely to be only 30% of real pack capacity, so I can probably stay away from both ends.

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National Green Transportation

APRIL 22, 2013

'GreenTech Automotive, a start-up company in the electric car manufacturing space, is teaming up with JAC Motors, a leading Chinese automaker. The two companies announced on Monday a plan to start manufacturing a five-passenger electric car at.

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North America Electric Cars For Sale America 92

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Norway

Green Car Congress

APRIL 26, 2013

'Volkswagen’s view of powertrain technologies to minimize greenhouse gas emissions. Source: Prof. Dr. Jürgen Leohold, Executive Director Volkswagen Group Research. Click to enlarge. At the International Vienna Motor Symposium Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG, gave a forecast of future drive system technologies.

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Plug-in Diesel Plug Hybrid 345

Green Car Reports

APRIL 20, 2013

'Speeding is big business. There''s no money to be made from it as an individual of course, unless you subscribe to the theory "time is money". But the U.S. Census Bureau estimates 100,000 Americans are ticketed for speeding every day, at an average cost of $150 per ticket--$5.5 billion a year in revenue. There''ll only ever be one "first" speeding.

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Electric Cars Cars Cost Of Electric 161

National Green Transportation

APRIL 22, 2013

'GreenTech Automotive, a start-up company in the electric car manufacturing space, is teaming up with JAC Motors, a leading Chinese automaker. The two companies announced on Monday a plan to start manufacturing a five-passenger electric car at.

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North America Electric Cars For Sale America 65

Green Car Congress

APRIL 24, 2013

'American Honda Motor Co., Inc. will create the Honda Smart Home US, a showcase that demonstrates Honda’s vision for sustainable, zero-carbon living and personal mobility, including the use of solar power to charge a Honda Fit EV battery electric vehicle. The site is on the campus of the University of California, Davis; the building process will be documented and shared through the Honda Smart Home US website.

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Honda Ford Davis Grid 341

Green Car Reports

APRIL 23, 2013

'We''ve already asked whether the Tesla Model S sells more units than the equivalent BMW, Audi or Mercedes--and now Nissan is outselling regular vehicles with its Leaf. Not Corollas or Ford Focus countrywide, of course--but apparently every other Nissan vehicle in March, in Portland, Oregon. With Jukes, Sentras, Versas and other affordable vehicles.

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Portland Nissan Oregon Electric Cars 156

Green Cars News

APRIL 24, 2013

'It’s been confirmed.75g/km is the new 100g/km CO2 …for the London Congestion Charge… as the Mayor of the city, Boris Johnson commits to changes to exemptions that should deter drivers of diesel cars out of the capital. The new Ultra Low Emission (ULED) system of exemptions gives drivers of the lowest emission vehicles the right [.].

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London Diesel Charging CO2 77

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Green Car Congress

APRIL 25, 2013

'Stanford / SLAC’s new lithium-polysulfide flow battery design compared to conventional “redox” flow batteries. The new flow battery uses only one tank and pump and uses a simple coating instead of an expensive membrane to separate the anode and cathode. (Credit: Greg Stewart/SLAC). Click to enlarge. Researchers from the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University have designed a new lithium/polysulfide (Li/PS) semi-liquid (flow) battery for large

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Energy Storage Li-ion Energy Batteries 312

Green Car Congress

APRIL 24, 2013

'Toyota European Design & Development (ED2) and creative designer Jean-Marie Massaud have unveiled the Toyota ME.WE concept car. The Toyota ME.WE has been conceived as an electric car with integrated wheel motors (as the Toyota i-ROAD), and with batteries located under the floor (like the Toyota iQ EV). Without traditional packaging constraints, the interior is devoted entirely to the needs of its five passengers and their possessions.

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Toyota Concept Renewable Motor 306

Green Car Congress

APRIL 25, 2013

'Researchers at MIT are proposing using a variation on pumped hydroelectric systems for storage of electricity produced by offshore wind farms. The key to this Ocean Renewable Energy Storage (ORES) system is the placement of 30-meter-diameter hollow concrete spheres on the seafloor under the wind turbines. These structures would serve both as anchors to moor the floating turbines and as a means of storing the energy they produce.

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MIT Energy Storage Renewable Energy 296

Green Car Congress

APRIL 22, 2013

'Forecast by LDV scenario (millions). Source: IEE. Click to enlarge. Under its most conservative of scenarios, more than 5 million light-duty electric-drive vehicles will be on the road in the US by 2035, according to a new forecast by IEE , an institue of the Edison Foundation. According to the report, “ Forecast of On-Road Electric Transportation in the US (2010-2035) ”, this figure could increase to as high as 30 million EVs depending on advances in battery technology.

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Oil Prices Vehicles 2012 Light 294

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Guyana

Green Car Congress

APRIL 25, 2013

'Rennovia, Inc., a privately held company that develops novel catalysts and processes for the cost-advantaged production of chemical products from renewable feedstocks, has successfully demonstrated production of hexamethylenediamine (HMD) from widely available, renewable feedstocks. Coupled with Rennovia’s previously announced renewable adipic acid, this enables for the first time the production of 100% bio-based nylon-6,6 from monomers derived from bio-renewable feedstocks using chemical catal

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Renewable Production Polymer Global 286

Green Car Congress

APRIL 23, 2013

'Clockwise from upper left: ESS enclosure, power control unit and ultracapacitor modules. Source: TIGGER, Tri-Met. Click to enlarge. Maxwell Technologies, Inc. is supplying ultracapacitors for an energy-saving braking energy recuperation system that American Maglev Technology (AMT), is installing on light rail vehicles operated by the Portland, Oregon area’s Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District (TriMet).

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Light Energy Supplies Energy Storage 286

Green Car Congress

APRIL 26, 2013

'Fiesta eWheelDrive. Click to enlarge. At Ford’s Lommel Proving Ground in Belgium, Ford Motor Company and Schaeffler demonstrated the Fiesta-based eWheelDrive car. ( Earlier post.) Powered by independent electric motors in each of the rear wheels, eWheelDrive technology could lead to improvements in urban mobility and parking by enabling smaller, more agile cars, Ford said.

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Ford Cars Belgium Personal 278

Green Car Congress

APRIL 23, 2013

'UPS plans to purchase approximately 700 liquefied natural gas (LNG) trucks and to build four refueling stations by the end of 2014. Once completed, the LNG private fleet will be one of the most extensive in the US. An initial investment of more than $18 million to build fueling stations will be supported by the purchase of the 700 LNG tractors and continued expansion of the natural gas fleet in the US.

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Las Vegas Purchase 2014 Building 273

Green Car Congress

APRIL 25, 2013

'Honda Automoveis do Brasil Ltda. (HAB), the Honda automobile production and sales subsidiary in Brazil, will build a wind farm in the city of Xangri-lá in Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost state in Brazil—approximately 1,000 km (621 miles) south of HAB’s automobile production plant in Sumaré, São Paulo. Equipped with nine wind power turbine units, the wind farm is expected to generate approximately 85,000 MWh of electricity per year, equivalent to HAB’s annual electricity needs for auto

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Brazil Wind Honda Building 268

Green Car Congress

APRIL 26, 2013

'Left: Structure of original TF motor. Right: new TF motor. -32% is the relative reduction in axial length compared to a conventional motor. Takizawa et al. Click to enlarge. Honda has proposed and is developing a Transverse Flux motor (TF motor) in order to shorten the axial length of the motor for hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs). At the 2013 SAE World Congress, Honda engineers described their progress in improving the new type of three-dimensional magnetic circuit motor.

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Honda Motor Motors Motoring 265

Green Car Congress

APRIL 23, 2013

'BMW Group and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) launched the joint Future Mobility Research Lab, the first for BMW Group in Southeast Asia. This new research facility will study and develop key areas relating to future transportation, which includes advanced battery materials for electric vehicles, human-machine interfaces, and mobility patterns and concepts.

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Asia BMW Future Concept 262

Green Car Congress

APRIL 20, 2013

'Crude oil imports from the top five foreign suppliers to the United States—which in 2012 were Canada, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Venezuela, and Iraq, in that order—accounted for almost 72% of total US net crude oil imports, the highest proportion since 1997, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). The import share of the top five suppliers increased by 8 percentage points over the past three years despite a decline in total US import volumes as the United States redu

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Saudi Arabia Oil Iraq Venezuela 262

Green Car Congress

APRIL 23, 2013

'Experian Automotive released findings from an analysis of the US hybrid vehicle segment showing that market share of hybrid vehicles has increased by 40.9% since 2011, going from 2.2% in 2011 to 3.1% in 2012. While hybrid vehicles still only make up slightly more than 1% of the total vehicles in operation, the segment has witnessed steady market share growth over the past several quarters, the information services company said.

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2012 Hybrid Market Financing 253

Green Car Congress

APRIL 26, 2013

'The Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) has released an update to a 2005 paper published in the Electricity Journal that explored the beneficial externalities associated with using geothermal power instead of fossil fuels by comparing emissions levels of different fuel sources. The 2005 paper found roughly 1.6 cents/kWh of unrecognized value in the market price of geothermal power.

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Energy 2005 Coal Pollution 252

Green Car Congress

APRIL 26, 2013

'Sinopec, China’s top oil refiner, announced the success of the first test flight powered by the company’s newly developed drop-in aviation biofuel product. ( Earlier post.). An Airbus A320 owned by China Eastern Airlines completed an 85-minute flight using a 50% blend of Sinopec’s aviation biofuel, made from hydrotreated palm oil and recycled cooking oil feedstocks and produced by Sinopec Zhenhai Refining and Chemical Company.

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Oil Waste China Fuel 252

Green Car Congress

APRIL 23, 2013

'Hydrocarbons produced by cells expressing the synthetic alkane pathway (CEDDEC) or the cyanobacterial alkane pathway (AR and AD from N. punctiforme) without modifications to the fatty acid pool. n = 6 biological replicates; error bars represent SE of mean. Howard et al. Click to enlarge. A team from the University of Exeter (UK), with support from Shell Technology Centre Thorton, has modified strains of E. coli bacteria to produce “petroleum-replica” hydrocarbons in the diesel range.

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Diesel Engine Production Range 252

Green Car Congress

APRIL 26, 2013

'New diesel car registrations increased by 24.3% in the US from 2010 through 2012, according to data compiled for the Diesel Technology Forum by R.L. Polk and Company. The national registration information includes data for all types of passenger vehicles—cars, SUVs, pickup trucks and vans—in all 50 states and the District of Columbia from 1 January 2010 through 31 December 2012.

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2010 District of Columbia 2012 Diesel 247

Green Car Congress

APRIL 20, 2013

'China automaker JAC (Jianghuai Automobile Co) will sign a cooperation agreement on the export of 2,000 battery electric vehicles with US-based GreenTech Automotive Corp. (GTA) to develop the US electric vehicle market. In February 2013, a sample EV was sent to the US for testing and performance inspections. JAC’s third-generation electric vehicles have overall upgraded driver modules and improved total battery energy, range, maximum speed, acceleration, climbing performance and operation stabil

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China Market Auto Industry Chinese 247

Green Car Congress

APRIL 22, 2013

'Simulation of CO 2 savings using ECOnnect decoupleable AWD system. Source: ZF. Click to enlarge. ZF has developed an all-wheel drive system for front-transverse installation in passenger cars that, through an automatic decoupling function, can reduce fuel consumption by up to 5% in comparison with conventional all-wheel drives, according to the company.

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Fuel Congress Fuel Economy Cars 246

Green Car Congress

APRIL 21, 2013

'General Motors discussed its future plans in China during a press conference in conjunction with the start of Auto Shanghai 2013. GM and its joint ventures are launching 17 new and upgraded models in China this year, including the Chevrolet Cruze hatchback; the new Wuling Sunshine; two new Jiefang light-duty trucks, the S230 and F330; and the Insignia Sports Tourer, Zafira Tourer and Astra GTC from Opel.

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China GM Dealers Cadillac 246

Green Car Congress

APRIL 25, 2013

'The US Department of the Interior will offer more than 21 million acres offshore Texas for oil and gas exploration and development in a lease sale that will include all available unleased areas in the Western Gulf of Mexico Planning Area. Proposed Lease Sale 233, scheduled to take place in New Orleans in August, will be the third offshore auction under the Administration’s Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2012-2017 (Five Year Program).

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Oil Texas Obama Gas 240

Green Car Congress

APRIL 23, 2013

'The SAE International Cooperative Research Project (CRP1234-4) team, formed last year to perform an updated engineering safety analysis of the low global warming potential (GWP) R-1234yf refrigerant ( earlier post ), met during the SAE World Congress in Detroit. The team includes European, North American and Asian OEMs including Chrysler/Fiat, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar Land Rover, Mazda, PSA, Renault and Toyota.

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Land Rover United Kingdom Climate Change Mazda 239

Green Car Congress

APRIL 25, 2013

'The Emgrand EC7-EV at Auto Shanghai. Click to enlarge. Geely Automobile Group and Detroit Electric Inc. have entered into a strategic partnership to co-develop battery-electric vehicles and related electric drive systems for the China market. Under the terms of the partnership, the first EV model—the Emgrand EC7-EV, based on Geely’s Emgrand EC7—will go on sale in 2014.

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Detroit China Electric Electrical 236

Green Car Congress

APRIL 24, 2013

'The 2014 Chevrolet Spark EV ( earlier post ) now carries a combined city/highway EPA-estimated range of 82 miles when fully charged and an EPA-estimated combined city/highway 119 MPGe fuel economy equivalent (28 kWh/100 miles), making it one of the most fuel-efficient EVs assessed by the EPA. By comparison, the 2013 Scion iQ EV is EPA-rated at 121 MPGe; the Honda Fit EV at 118 MPGe; the Fiat 500e at 116 MPGe; the i-MiEV at 112 MPGe; the Ford Focus Electric at 105 MPGe; and the smart fortwo elec

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EPA Chevrolet Miles i-MiEV 236