Sat.Mar 19, 2016 - Fri.Mar 25, 2016

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ORNL team develops better moldable thermoplastic by using lignin; 50% renewable content

Green Car Congress

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have developed a new class of high-performance thermoplastic elastomers for cars and other consumer products by replacing the styrene in ABS (acrylonitrile, butadiene and styrene) with lignin, a brittle, rigid polymer that, with cellulose, forms the woody cell walls of plants. In doing so, they have invented a solvent-free production process that interconnects equal parts of nanoscale lignin dispersed in a synthetic rubber matrix to produce a m

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Tesla Supercharger map fills in more U.S. gaps for electric-car charging

Green Car Reports

Tesla continues to expand its network of Supercharger DC fast-charging stations in the U.S., making it easier for owners to complete longer journeys in their electric cars. The company remains committed to offering a nationwide network of free-to-use fast-charging stations for its customers, and to expanding that network. It has made significant.

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Damen delivers hybrid tugboat to Royal Netherlands Navy; up to 30% lower fuel consumption, 40% fewer emissions

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International shipyard group Damen recently delivered the first of a series of three hybrid tugboats (ASD TUGs 2810 Hybrid) to the Royal Netherlands Navy (RNLN). This 28.67-meter hybrid tug is named Noordzee and is the first standard hybrid tug supplied by Damen that the RNLN will employ. Compared with other tugs, hybrid versions use up to 30% less fuel and produce 40% fewer exhaust emissions.

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LLNL team finds certain graphene metal oxide nanocomposites increase Li-ion capacity and cycling performance

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Material scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have found that certain graphene metal oxide (GMO) nanocomposites increase capacity and improve cycling performance in lithium-ion batteries. The team synthesized and compared the electrochemical performance of three representative graphene metal oxide nanocomposites—Fe 2 O 3 /graphene, SnO 2 /graphene, and TiO 2 /graphene—and found that two of them greatly improved reversible lithium storage capacity.

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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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ETI to launch project to develop Flettner rotor sails for ships; seeking at least 10% improvement in fuel efficiency

Green Car Congress

The Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) in the UK is seeking partners for a new project which it hopes will deliver fuel savings of at least 10% for large shipping vessels. The Flettner Rotor Supply, Install and Commission Project will deliver a full scale demonstrator of Flettner Rotor technology on a large ocean going vessel which the ETI intends to source for the demonstration phase.

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UK EV startup develops prototype for riderless electric bike

Green Car Congress

A crowdfunded London-based EV startup, Sparky Automotive , says it has developed a prototype for a riderless electric bike. Using the same electronic gyroscope technology as the Segway PT, the bike can negotiate traffic lights, road junctions and pedestrian crossings in much the same way as a driverless car—but it much cheaper and less dangerous in a collision than a full size vehicle.

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Chinese researchers develop novel aluminum–graphite dual-ion battery

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A team from the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology (SIAT) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed a novel, environmentally friendly low-cost battery. The new aluminum-graphite dual-ion battery (AGDIB) offers significantly reduced weight, volume, and fabrication cost, as well as higher energy density, in comparison with conventional LIBs.

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CMU study shows autonomous vehicle algorithms can have considerable effect on fuel economy; need for new approaches in testing

Green Car Congress

Autonomous vehicle driving behavior can have a considerable effect on fuel economy. Researchers in the College of Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University have determined that fuel efficiency for self-driving cars—within the bounds of current fuel economy testing—could improve by up to 10% under efficiency-focused control strategies when following another vehicle.

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CCM: slowdown in China Li-ion unit output growth signals shift in market structure toward new energy vehicle applications

Green Car Congress

In 2015, China’s total output of Li-ion batteries increased by 3.13% year-on-year (YoY)—a significant slowdown in the output growth rate from the prior 5 years, according to the National Bureau of Statistics of the People’s Republic of China. CCM , a leading market intelligence provider for China’s agriculture, chemicals, food & ingredients and life science markets, suggests that the reduction in growth rate is a signal that the market structure of Li-ion batteries in China is changing, wi

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Study: LDV roof racks responsible for about 100M gallons of gasoline consumption per year

Green Car Congress

Roof racks on light-duty vehicles in the US were responsible for 0.8‰ (permille, parts per thousand) of light duty vehicle fuel consumption in 2015, corresponding to 100 million gallons of gasoline per year, according to a new study by a duo from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The study is published in the journal Energy Policy.

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

Brief

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Six automated truck platoons to compete in European Truck Platooning Challenge

Green Car Congress

At the end of this month, six automated truck platoons—representing 6 different truck OEMs and their partners—will leave several European cities of origin and drive along public roads, targeting arrival at the APM Terminals, Maasvlakte II, Rotterdam on 6 April. This European Truck Platooning Challenge represents large-scale testing of cross-border automated truck-platooning; its aim is to bring platooning one step closer to implementation.

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Toyota doubles the electric range in the new version of Prius PHEV with 8.8 kWh pack

Green Car Congress

Toyota unveiled the new Prius Prime plug-in hybrid (PHEV) at the 2016 New York International Auto Show. Toyota expects the Prius Prime’s manufacturer-estimated 120 or above MPGe (miles per gallon equivalent) to be the highest MPGe rating of any current plug-in hybrid. It also represents a substantial 26-percent enhancement over its predecessor, the Prius PHV, a result of greater battery capacity and an improved hybrid system.

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Statoil launches Batwind: 1MWh battery storage for pilot offshore wind project

Green Car Congress

A new battery storage solution for offshore wind energy will be piloted in the world’s first floating wind farm, the Hywind pilot park off the coast of Peterhead in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Statoil will install a 1MWh Lithium battery based storage pilot system in late 2018. Hywind Scotland, located 25 km offshore Peterhead, will consist of five floating wind turbines.

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Honda delivers first Clarity Fuel Cell to Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry

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Honda Motor Co., Ltd. delivered the first Clarity Fuel Cell, Honda’s new fuel cell vehicle (FCV) ( earlier post ), to the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). The Clarity Fuel Cell went on sale on 10 March 2016. The Clarity Fuel Cell is a five-passenger sedan-type FCV, realized by making the fuel cell powertrain more compact using original Honda technologies and fitting it entirely under the hood of the car.

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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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Japan researchers develop two new lithium superionic conductors for high-performance solid-state batteries

Green Car Congress

Researchers at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, in collaboration with colleagues from Toyota Motor Corporation, Tokyo Institute of Technology and High Energy Accelerator Research Organization Japan (KEK), have successfully designed and tested novel, high-power all-solid-state batteries with promising results. The scientists synthesized two crystal materials that show great promise as lithium superionic conductors for use as solid electrolytes for Li-ion batteries.

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Toyota and Lexus making automated braking standard on nearly every model and trim level by end of 2017; 4 years ahead of NHTSA/IIHS target

Green Car Congress

Toyota will begin to include the and Lexus Safety System+ and Toyota Safety Sense packages, anchored by automatic emergency braking (AEB), on almost every new vehicle by the end of 2017—four years before the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) 2022 target. ( Earlier post.) Jim Lentz, CEO of Toyota Motor North America. made the announcement at the New York Auto Show.

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Researchers release 40 new varietes of sorghum for use in cooler, more temperate areas

Green Car Congress

Sorghum, first grown more than 6,000 years ago in northeastern Africa, is a drought-resistant, hardy crop with numerous food, feed and fuel applications. Farmers in the southern plains of the United States have been growing this hardy cereal since the 1800s. Researchers recently released 40 varieties of early-flowering sorghum bred for use in cooler, more temperate areas.

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New DOE SBIR awards include H2 contaminants detection, fuel cell and H2 catalysis, and alkaline membrane electrolysis

Green Car Congress

The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced the FY2016 Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) Phase II Release 1 awards , including three projects focused on catalysis for fuel cell and hydrogen production as well as hydrogen contaminants detection. These projects are awarded through the Office of Basic Energy Sciences.

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First minimal synthetic bacterial cell designed and constructed by scientists at Venter Institute and Synthetic Genomics; 473 genes

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Researchers from the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) and Synthetic Genomics, Inc. (SGI) have designed and constructed of the first minimal synthetic bacterial cell, JCVI-syn3.0. Using the first synthetic cell, Mycoplasma mycoides JCVI-syn1.0 (created by this same team in 2010, earlier post ), JCVI-syn3.0 was developed through a design, build, and test process using genes from JCVI-syn1.0.

Design 150
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CARB seeks new $366M vehicle testing and research facility at UC Riverside

Green Car Congress

The California Air Resources Board voted 8-3 to relocate its motor vehicle and engine emissions testing and research facility from El Monte to an 18-acre site at the University of California, Riverside, representing a $366-million investment. The board decided that the site would provide the best opportunity for growth in the coming decades and for collaboration with the world-class air quality research already underway at UC Riverside.

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ABI Research: 6 transformative paradigms driving toward smart, sustainable automotive transportation

Green Car Congress

ABI Research has defined six transformative paradigms for the automotive industry over the next 25 years: the software-defined car; sensors and big data; the connected car; cooperative mobility and the IoT; electrification; and car sharing/driverless cars. While the first three phases are already underway, the latter three will start to drive the market forward within the next 10 years, according to the market research firm.

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Aemetis acquires license from LanzaTech with California exclusive rights for advanced ethanol from biomass including forest and ag wastes

Green Car Congress

Aemetis, Inc. has acquired exclusive rights to LanzaTech’s patented technology for the conversion of agricultural waste, forest waste, dairy waste and construction and demolition waste (CDW) to ethanol in California. The LanzaTech gas-to-ethanol technology enables Aemetis to convert these local California biomass wastes to advanced ethanol. Aemetis is the first licensee of the LanzaTech technology in North America.

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DOT to award up to $60M for projects to develop model sites for advanced transportation and congestion management technologies

Green Car Congress

The US DOT will award up to $60 million to eligible entities to develop model deployment sites for large scale installation and operation of advanced transportation technologies to improve safety, efficiency, system performance, and infrastructure return on investment. ( DTFH6116RA00012 ). DOT expects these model deployments to results in: reduced traffic-related fatalities and injuries; reduced traffic congestion and improved travel time reliability; reduced transportation-related emissions; op

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Refreshed 2017 Acura MDX SUV debuts in New York with Sport Hybrid Powertrain; 26 mpg combined

Green Car Congress

Acura unveiled the restyled and refreshed 2017 MDX luxury SUV at the New York International Auto Show, adding available Sport Hybrid Super Handling-All Wheel Drive (SH-AWD) powertrain technology as a model option. Acura expects the MDX Sport Hybrid will receive EPA fuel economy ratings of 25/26/26 mpg (city/highway/combined) (9.4/9.04/9.04 l/100 km), an estimated 7-mpg city fuel economy rating increase over the (non-hybrid) MDX with SH-AWD.

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BorgWarner’s eGearDrive launches in Geely’s first electric vehicle

Green Car Congress

BorgWarner’s eGearDrive transmission ( earlier post ) will propel the Geely EC7-EV sedan. The Chinese automaker’s first mass-produced electric vehicle is powered by a 96 kW electric motor and features a top speed of 140 km/h (87 mph) and a range of 253 km (157 miles). Specifically designed for the emerging high-volume electric vehicle market, BorgWarner’s eGearDrive transmission features an efficient gear train for extended range and quiet performance, and is available in a wide range of ratios

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Opinion: The Current Oil Price Rally Is Reaching Its Limits

Green Car Congress

by Nick Cunningham of Oilprice.com. Oil prices have climbed by about 50 percent from their February lows, topping $40 per barrel. But the rally could be reaching its limits, at least temporarily, as persistent oversupply and the prospect of new shale production caps any potential price increase. US oil production has steadily lost ground over the past two quarters, with production falling more than a half million barrels per day since hitting a peak at nearly 9.7 million barrels per day (mb/d) i

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Saarbrücken engineers developing networked self-analyzing electric motors

Green Car Congress

Engineers from Saarland University are developing intelligent motor systems that function without the need for additional sensors. By essentially transforming the motor itself into a sensor, the team led by Professor Matthias Nienhaus is creating smart motors that can tell whether they are still running smoothly, can communicate and interact with other motors and can be efficiently controlled.

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Primus Green Energy methanol plant project slated for 2017 in the Marcellus Region

Green Car Congress

Primus Green Energy Inc., a gas-to-liquids (GTL) technology and commercial solutions company that transforms methane and other hydrocarbon gases into methanol and gasoline, plans to develop and deliver its 160MT/day methanol plant to a manufacturing site in the Marcellus shale region. Production from the plant is slated to begin in 2017 for regional distribution, and three additional trains in the following years are expected to increase its capacity to 640MT/day.

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Volkswagen AG and Pivotal partnering on software for networked customers & cars; extreme programming at Digital:Lab in Berlin

Green Car Congress

Volkswagen Group IT uses agile workstyles and intensive cooperation with universities, technology partners and Volkswagen Group departments to develop digital solutions. At the new Volkswagen Digital:Lab in Berlin, the Group is working on this in a strategic partnership with software developer Pivotal. IT experts from Volkswagen and Pivotal are jointly developing innovative software and mobility solutions for networked customers together with specialists from Technical Development and Sales. “ I

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Audi unveils redesigned R18 diesel hybrid Le Mans racer for 2016 season

Green Car Congress

Audi unveiled its redesigned R18 diesel hybrid Le Mans racer for the 2016 World Endurance Championship (WEC) season. Among the new features in the R18 are a more radical aerodynamics concept, including a new safety cell; a Li-ion battery replacing the flywheel energy storage system; and a revised V6 TDI diesel engine. As a result, Audi’s LMP1 sports car is more powerful and more efficient than its predecessor; the new R18 consumes less fuel than any of the generations before it.

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Survey finds German motorists consider PHEVs more attractive and practical than HEVs

Green Car Congress

German drivers now consider plug-in hybrid vehicles to be more attractive and practical than conventional hybrids, according to a survey commissioned by GKN Driveline has revealed. The poll of motorists showed that 75% preferred the idea of plug-ins, with 61.2% agreeing that an electric range of 50 km (31 miles) would meet their daily needs. The independent online survey asked more than 1,000 German motorists for their views on driveline technologies such as hybrids and all-wheel drive as well a

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Honeywell partners with Indian manufacturer to increase supply of low-GWP MAC refrigerant HFO-1234yf

Green Car Congress

Honeywell has entered into a supply agreement and technology license with an Indian manufacturer to produce Honeywell Solstice yf, an automobile refrigerant with a global warming potential of less than 1. Solstice yf, also known as HFO-1234yf, is a next-generation hydrofluoro-olefin (HFO) refrigerant that is a near drop-in replacement for R-134a, a hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) with a global warming potential (GWP) of 1,300, for use in in vehicle air conditioning systems globally.

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Daimler demonstrates autonomous truck platooning; Highway Pilot Connect delivers ~7% lower fuel consumption

Green Car Congress

Daimler Trucks demonstrated the new Highway Pilot Connect system for autonomous truck platooning on the A52 autobahn near Düsseldorf. Three WiFi-connected, autonomously driving trucks operated on the autobahn with authorization for public traffic in a platoon formation. Such a combination can reduce fuel consumption by up to 7% and the road space requirement on motorways by almost half, while improving traffic safety at the same time, Daimler said.

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A123 Systems opening new manufacturing facility in Czech Republic; support for increasing volume of 12V and 48V Li-ion systems

Green Car Congress

Li-ion battery manufacturer A123 Systems is expanding its operations in Europe by opening a new manufacturing facility in the Czech Republic city of Ostrava. The opening of the new facility is the result of a substantial surge in European market demand for low-voltage automotive products, a strategic focus of A123. This European location will establish regional assembly of A123’s advanced 12V Lithium-ion starter battery and next-generation 48V battery and cost effectively support the growing mar