Sat.Feb 22, 2014 - Fri.Feb 28, 2014

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Tesla outlines scheme for $4-5B battery Gigafactory; announces $1.6B offering

Green Car Congress

'The planned cell output of the Gigafactory in 2020 exceeds 2013 global production by current manufacturers, Tesla said. Click to enlarge. Via a post on its website, Tesla Motors outlined its plan for its future battery “Gigafactory”, projected to require between $4-5 billion in investment from Tesla and its partners by 2020, with a resulting cell capacity of up to 35 GWh/year and pack capacity of up to 50 GWh/y to service a projected 500,000 Tesla electric vehicles per year.

Batteries 299
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Here's Why Electric Cars Will Succeed: Owners Just Adore Them

Green Car Reports

'Imagine you''re a carmaker, and you found you could build a type of vehicle that customers all absolutely adored. Not just liked. Not just said, "Yeah, it''s fine, it does what I need"--but out-and-out loved, cherished, talked about incessantly, and recommended to everyone they met, all the time. Those cars exist today. They''re called electric cars.

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BMW i3 electric car named UK Car of the Year

Green Cars News

'Alternative vehicles are finally making an impact in the UK: and this has been emphasised by an electric car walking away with one of the most prestigious honours available. The BMW i3 electric car has been named as the UK Car of the Year 2014, while also scooping the best super-mini title. Vot[.].

BMW 83
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Study finds 20-25% of EV range lost as psychological safety buffer; driver assistance systems could shrink that buffer

Green Car Congress

'Adaptive control of range resources. Drivers compare the current range situation with their range level reference values, which are driven by certain trait and coping skill variables. As a result, coping strategies are adapted (e.g., drive more economically, do not use EV). This leads to a certain efficiency of range utilization. Source: Franke (2014) Click to enlarge.

Range 294
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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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Magna to introduce lightweight natural gas vehicle concept at Geneva; less than 49 gCO2/km

Green Car Congress

'MILA Blue. Click to enlarge. To showcase its capabilities, global automotive supplier Magna International Inc. will showcase the MILA Blue vehicle concept at the Geneva Motor Show 2014. MILA Blue is a natural-gas powered, A-segment lightweight vehicle that produces less than 49g CO 2 /km. MILA Blue, the seventh concept vehicle in the MILA family , represents a new lightweight design approach.

Concept 290
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M5BAT 5MW storage system integrates multiple battery technologies

Green Car Congress

'The E.ON Energy Research Center at RWTH Aachen University, E.ON electric utility company, battery manufacturers Exide and beta-motion and inverter manufacturer SMA Solar Technology AG (SMA) have joined forces to build the first multi-technology, modular large-scale 5MW battery storage system. The unique feature of the M5BAT (Modular Multimegawatt, Multitechnology Medium-Voltage Battery Storage System) storage system lies in its modular design, which combines different battery technologies for o

Batteries 290

More Trending

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SwRI develops D-EGR demonstrator highlighting fuel-efficient, cost-effective engine; 10% and above fuel economy improvements

Green Car Congress

'Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has built a demonstrator vehicle, based on a 2012 Buick Regal GS, incorporating the latest D-EGR (dedicated EGR) technology ( earlier post ), an outgrowth of SwRI’s HEDGE (High Efficiency Dilute Gasoline Engine) consortium projects ( earlier post ). The vehicle is currently delivering about a ~13% improvement on the FTP and 10% on the HwFET cycles, according to Dr.

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Proterra sells seven battery-electric transit buses to Nashville MTA

Green Car Congress

'US-based Proterra Inc recently announced the sale of seven battery-electric buses and an electric charging station to Nashville Metropolitan Transit Authority (Nashville MTA). The buses are slated to be built at Proterra’s manufacturing facility in Greenville, S.C. and delivered to Nashville this year. The funds for the zero-emission electric buses and the electric charging station are the result of Nashville MTA’s successful application for a federal Clean Fuels grant and local matching funds

Nashville 268
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WSU researcher creates cooking-oil based bio-asphalt

Green Car Congress

'Haifang Wen, assistant professor of Civil Engineering in the Washington State University (WSU) Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, has developed a technology to substitute restaurant cooking oil for the crude oil used traditionally in the production of asphalt, creating a sustainable bioasphalt that looks and handles just like its petroleum-based counterpart.

Oil 255
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Honda begins 2015 Fit production at new plant in Mexico; plant designed exclusively for subcompacts

Green Car Congress

'Honda continued the expansion of its manufacturing operations in North America with the production start of the redesigned 2015 Honda Fit at a new, automobile plant of Honda de Mexico, S.A. de C.V. (HDM). The start-up of the Celaya Plant increases Honda’s annual automobile production capacity in North America to approximately 1.92 million units. In 2013, more than 90% of the Honda and Acura automobiles sold in the US were produced in North America; this is expected to exceed 95% when the Celaya

2015 255
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Faurecia and Accenture partner on products and services for connected and autonomous vehicles

Brief

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Researchers at Berkeley and Argonne labs discover highly active new class of nanocatalysts for fuel cells; more efficient, lower cost

Green Car Congress

'Bar chart showing the specific activities of Pt/C, Pt poly-crystal electrode, IL-encapsulated Pt 3 Ni nanoframes/C, PtNi-Meso-TF, and Pt 3 Ni(111)-Skin electrode, and the corresponding improvement factors vs. Pt/C. Source: Chen et al. Supplementary Materials. Click to enlarge. A team led by researchers at Berkeley and Argonne National Labs have discovered a new class of bimetallic nanocatalysts for fuel cells and water-alkali electrolyzers that are an order of magnitude higher in activity than

Ni-Li 250
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President Obama announces two new public-private manufacturing innovation institutes; new manufacturing innovation institute competition

Green Car Congress

'President Obama announced two new manufacturing innovation institutes led by the Department of Defense supported by a $140-million Federal commitment combined with more than $140 million in non-federal resources: (1) a Detroit-area-headquartered consortium of businesses and universities, with a focus on lightweight and modern metals manufacturing; and (2) a Chicago-headquartered consortium of businesses and universities that will concentrate on digital manufacturing and design technologies.

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Virginia Tech hosting debut student competition to design 3-D printed aircraft, ground vehicles

Green Car Congress

'Virginia Tech will host a university-wide competition for students to design on-demand, remote-controlled 3-D printed aircraft and ground vehicles. The Spring 2014 Additive Manufacturing Grand Challenge launches 4 March and offers $15,000 in cash prizes, including $3,000 for first prize in each of the air and ground vehicle competitions, and $250 for each team that creates a functional vehicle.

Virginia 247
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Nissan introducing smart rearview mirror combining LCD monitor and conventional mirror

Green Car Congress

'Smart rearview mirror. Click to enlarge. Nissan Motor Company, Ltd., has developed what it is calling a “smart” rearview mirror—an LCD monitor that not only provides clear rearward visibility under various conditions, but also allows the driver the ability to switch between the LCD monitor and the traditional rearview mirror, depending on the preference.

Nissan 246
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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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SMR company NuScale Power successfully completes helical coil steam generator testing

Green Car Congress

'NuScale Power, a company developing small modular reactor technology (SMR) (earlier post), recently successfully completed its helical coil steam generator (HCSG) testing activities at the SIET S.p.A. (SIET) facilities in Piacenza, Italy. During that same time period, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) conducted a successful quality assurance (QA) inspection of the testing activities.

Companies 246
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Sandia Labs project team building fuel cell cold ironing system for deployment at Port of Honolulu in 2015

Green Car Congress

'A Sandia National Laboratories project team, including a number of industry partners, is designing and building a cold-ironing fuel cell system that will be deployed in the Port of Honolulu in 2015. The work comes on the heels of last year’s study and analysis that confirmed the viability of hydrogen fuel cells to provide auxiliary power to docked or anchored ships. ( Earlier post.).

Honolulu 246
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Flybrid flywheel KERS to be integrated into a manual gearbox by Lotus-led consortium

Green Car Congress

'The UK’s Technology Strategy Board has awarded Torotrak, in collaboration with lead technology partner Lotus Cars, a grant to develop a new application of the Flybrid KERS (kinetic energy recovery system) technology for integration into a manual gearbox. (Torotrak completed its acquisition of Flybrid in January. Earlier post.). The project is valued at £4.3 million (US$7.2 million) to the consortium members and will be part-funded by the Technology Strategy Board grant, with a value of works un

Grant 240
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22 ARPA-E projects have attracted more than $625M in private-sector investment

Green Car Congress

'To date, 22 ARPA-E (Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy) projects have attracted more than $625 million in private-sector follow-on funding after ARPA-E’s investment of approximately $95 million. In addition, at least 24 ARPA-E project teams have formed new companies to advance their technologies, and more than 16 ARPA-E projects have partnered with other government agencies for further development.

Solar 240
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Researchers use CaO catalyst to produce biodiesel/monoglyceride blend; avoiding waste glycerol

Green Car Congress

'A team led by researchers at the University of Cordoba (Spain) have used a CaO alkaline heterogeneous catalyst to produce what they call a “second-generation biodiesel” blend composed of 2:1 molar mixture of conventional fatty acid methyl esters (FAME, or regular biodiesel) and monoglyceride (MG). The process integrates glycerol—the conventional by-product of the transesterification process used to produce FAME—as MG.

Waste 236
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Hitachi Vehicle Energy’s Li-ion design and R&D ops to be moved into Hitachi Automotive Systems’ operations

Green Car Congress

'Hitachi is transferring and integrating Hitachi Vehicle Energy’s (HVE) design and research & development operations relating to lithium-ion batteries for hybrid electric vehicles and electric vehicles into Hitachi Automotive Systems (HAS) on 1 April. The aim of the move is to optimize synergies involved in the development and design of electric powertrains, while at the same time strengthening the ability to develop technologies for improving battery performance, Hitachi said.

Li-ion 236
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Kaiser Aluminum and Boeing form multi-year closed-loop aerospace aluminum recycling program

Green Car Congress

'Kaiser Aluminum Corporation and Boeing have formed a closed-loop scrap recycling program that is expected to involve approximately 22 million pounds of aluminum during the 2014-2015 production period. This program, the largest aluminum recycle program to date, captures 7XXX and 2XXX aluminum alloy recyclables generated at multiple Boeing facilities during production of commercial aircraft.

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Honda Accord takes Nº 1 spot in US retail sales in 2013

Green Car Congress

'The Honda Accord was the best-selling car with individual car buyers in the US in 2013, according to new-vehicle registration data compiled by Polk. Accord retail sales in 2013 rose 12.2% to 360,089 units, displacing the Toyota Camry, with retail sales of 342,007 units, from the lead spot. Total sales for the Accord in 2013 were 366,678 units; total sales for the Camry were 408,484 units.

2013 236
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Visteon and OpenSynergy ally to accelerate integration of connected services in automotive infotainment

Green Car Congress

'Visteon Corporation, a leading automotive electronics supplier, and OpenSynergy, a specialist in embedded automotive systems, announced a strategic alliance to deliver standards-based infotainment solutions that bridge the gap between open source In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) applications and the closed automotive domain. The partners’ first collaboration incorporates OpenSynergy’s COQOS operating system in Visteon’s OpenAir I1.2 infotainment platform, introducing virtualization technology in V

Connect 236
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New sulfur-rich copolymer electrodes for Li-S batteries exhibit high-capacity, long-life

Green Car Congress

'Cycling performance of Li?S battery from 10% by mass DIB copolymer batteries to 500 cycles with charge (filled circles) and discharge (open circles) capacities, as well as Coulombic efficiency (open triangles). The C-rate capability of the battery is shown in the figure inset. Credit: ACS, Simmonds et al. Click to enlarge. Researchers from the University of Arizona, Seoul National University and the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed sulfur-rich co-polymers

Li-ion 231
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Cool Planet breaks ground on its first biomass-to-renewable gasoline plant

Green Car Congress

'Cool Planet Energy Systems, a technology company producing green fuels and biochar products, broke ground on the company’s first commercial facility in Alexandria, Louisiana, dubbed Project Genesis. Permits have been received to begin earthwork and grading, with construction to immediately follow. The facility is designed to produce 10 million gallons per year of high-octane, renewable gasoline blendstocks, as well as biochar, all made from sustainable wood residues. ( Earlier post.).

Gasoline 231
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High-capacity tungsten disulfide/graphene nanocomposite anodes for Na-ion batteries

Green Car Congress

'A team from the University of Wollongong (Australia) and the University of Technology, Sydney reported the successful synthesis by a simple hydrothermal approach of high-capacity WS 2 (tungsten disulfide)@graphene nanocomposite anodes for sodium-ion batteries. Their paper is published in the RSC journal Chemical Communications. Schematic diagram of the WS2@graphene nanocomposites.

Sodium 231
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Improvement in polymers for aviation

Green Car Congress

'Researchers at the Polymer Technology Group, part of the UPV/EHU’s Department of Polymer Science and Technology and the Institute for Polymer Materials, POLYMAT, in Spain, recently reported the synthesis of high-performance poly(etherimide) (PEI)-based nanocomposites (PNs) with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) via melt mixing. The research aimed to improve the mechanical properties of poly(ether imide).

Polymer 231
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Ford reveals redesigned 2015 Ford Focus with 1.0L EcoBoost engine option

Green Car Congress

'2015 Ford Focus. Click to enlarge. Ford revealed the redesigned 2015 Ford Focus at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the world’s largest exhibition for the mobile industry. The new Focus will make its auto show debut at Geneva next week. In addition to a number of styling and technological advances, the new Focus will offer 1.0-liter EcoBoost engine with a six-speed transmission—surpassing the fuel efficiency of the previous model. ( Earlier post.).

Ford 231
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Volkswagen AG makes $9.2B offer for remaining shares of Scania; common toolkit strategy for commercial vehicles

Green Car Congress

'Volkswagen AG is making a voluntary tender offer worth approximately €6.7 billion (~US$9.2 billion) for all remaining shares (298,910,903) of Scania. Volkswagen has been invested in Scania since 2000 and today indirectly and directly holds a total of 89.2% of the voting rights and 62.6% of the capital of the Swedish commercial vehicles company. The offers works out to approximately €22.26 per share—a premium of 57.0% per Scania A share and 53.3% per Scania B share on the volume-weighted a

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Hyundai showing next-generation fuel cell powertrain at Geneva show with Intrado concept

Green Car Congress

'Hyundai Motor will introduce the Intrado concept at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show next week. Intrado incorporates Hyundai’s next-generation hydrogen fuel cell powertrain, along with advanced lightweight body construction. Intrado (Hyundai says the name is derived from “intrados”—the inner curve of an arch, or, in aviation terms, the curve on the underside of a wing that has an arched airfoil) features a central carbon frame structure constructed using new, patent-pending manufacturing and jo

Hyundai 230
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Qualcomm, Red Bend and QuickPlay sign on to AT&T Drive Studio

Green Car Congress

'AT&T announced that three additional companies—Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., Red Bend, and QuickPlay Media—have signed on to work at the AT&T Drive Studio , a center for innovation and research in the connected car industry. ( Earlier post.). Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated and a world leader in 3G, 4G and next-generation wireless technologies, intends to showcase its newly announced Qualcomm Snapdragon Automotive Solutions for infotainment and tele

Atlanta 230
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UK LowCVP says road transport CO2 reductions require both improved vehicle efficiency and lower carbon fuels; need for advanced liquid fuels

Green Car Congress

'In its response to the UK Department for Transport’s call for evidence on advanced fuels, the LowCVP (Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership) says that delivering the level of CO 2 reductions required from road transport will require both improved vehicle efficiency and reduced carbon intensity of fuels. Advanced liquid fuels—in particular advanced biofuels—will be required to deliver the majority of CO 2 emission reductions from some sections of road transport to 2050.

Carbon 225
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Evonik presenting technical paper on fluid properties and efficiency of hydraulic hybrid vehicles

Green Car Congress

'Oil additives specialists from Evonik will deliver. two presentations during the International Fluid Power Exposition (IFPE), 4-8 March Vegas. Steven Herzog, oil additives OEM liaison manager, will deliver a. presentation titled “The Effects of Fluid Properties on the Efficiency of. Hydraulic Hybrid Vehicles”. Herzog will describe the research program created to test the effects of hydraulic fluid properties on the efficiency of hydraulic hybrid vehicles.

Hybrid 225
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Clariant focusing on wet process technology for lithium-iron phosphate cathode materials for automotive

Green Car Congress

'Clariant, a leader in specialty chemicals, is focusing on its Wet Process Technology to ensure benchmark quality, premium lithium-iron phosphate cathode materials for automotive OEMs and battery manufacturers. ( Earlier post.). Clariant’s Life Power P2 lithium-iron phosphate cathode materials product family is produced at its Candiac (Phostech Lithium) site in Canada.

Canada 225