Green Car Congress

APRIL 1, 2014

'Accumulated number of xEVs in leading global markets. Annual growth rate over the past three years is more than 100%. Click to enlarge. At the beginning of 2014, there were more than 400,000 electric cars—battery-electric, plug-in hybrid, and range-extended electric vehicles—on the road worldwide, according to an analysis by Zentrums für Sonnenenergie- und Wasserstoff-Forschung Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) in Germany.

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Plug-in 2014 2013 Plug 354

Green Car Reports

APRIL 2, 2014

'If you watched 60 Minutes on Sunday night--perhaps wondering whether the show would target the Tesla Model S electric car--you may have been relieved. The segment, "Fast Cars and Rocket Ships," was nothing less than a laudatory paean to the vision and accomplishments of Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk. MORE: Tesla''s Lithium-Ion Battery Gigafactory.

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Lithium Ion Electric Cars Tesla Engine 167

Green Cars News

APRIL 3, 2014

'Jaguar Land Rover has finished building the UK’s largest rooftop solar panel array at the company’s new Engine Manufacturing Centre in Staffordshire. The facility has been designed with sustainability in mind and has been awarded an ‘Excellent’ rating by BREEAM. The array is made up of more than [.].

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Land Rover Solar Power Powered 69

Green Car Congress

APRIL 3, 2014

'The MQB plug-in hybrid powertrain serves both the A3 e-tron and the Golf GTE. Source: Volkswagen AG. Click to enlarge. The first two mainstream plug-in hybrid electric vehicles from the Volkswagen Group—e.g., not the $845,000 base price plug-in hybrid Porsche 918, earlier post , or even the $100,000 Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid, earlier post —the Golf GTE ( earlier post ) and the A3 e-tron ( earlier post ), are both based on the same MQB (Modularen Querbaukasten, or modular transvers

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Plug-in Plug Hybrid Li-ion 347

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Norway

Green Car Congress

APRIL 1, 2014

'Daimler AG and Evonik Industries AG are restructuring their joint venture activities in the field of electric mobility. Daimler will acquire all of the shares held by Evonik in Li-Tec Battery GmbH (50.1%) and in Deutsche ACCUmotive GmbH & Co. KG (10%). This will make Daimler the sole owner of the two companies. The parties have agreed not to divulge the details of the agreement.

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Li-ion Lithium Ion Companies Buy 319

Green Car Congress

APRIL 3, 2014

'With effect from 3 February 2014, international automotive supplier Continental has taken over full ownership of its former joint venture, Zytek Automotive, based in the UK. It previously had a 50% shareholding in Zytek Automotive. Both companies have agreed not to disclose the price for the acquisition. In future, Zytek Automotive will operate as a part of the Continental Engineering Services (CES) organization in the United Kingdom, embracing CES’ complete service and technology portfolio, an

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Zytek United Kingdom USA Japan 268

Green Car Congress

MARCH 31, 2014

'Ryder System, Inc., a leader in commercial transportation and supply chain management solutions, reports that its fleet of over 500 natural gas vehicles has surpassed 20 million miles (32 million km). The fleet consists of liquefied natural gas and compressed natural gas tractors serving more than 40 customer operations in California, New York, Texas, Arizona, Michigan, Utah, Georgia, and Louisiana.

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Fleet Gas Miles Brazil 268

Green Car Congress

APRIL 2, 2014

'The three-year research project “eRamp”, intended to strengthen and expand Germany and Europe as centers of expertise for the manufacture of power electronics, launched at Infineon Technologies in Dresden. Twenty-six research partners from six countries are participating. Infineon, a global market leader in power semiconductors, is leading the €55-million (US$75.7-million) project.

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Austria Power Powered Slovakia 265

Green Car Congress

MARCH 29, 2014

'With demand for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and zero-emission vehicles rapidly growing in California, the California Air Resources Board announced the immediate formation of a rebate waiting list for up to a total of $5 million of incentive funds. To accommodate expected market growth into the summer, ARB staff also plan to propose expanding the waiting list by an additional $25 million at the Board’s April meeting.

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Clean Cleaning Tax Credit Vehicles 262

Green Car Congress

MARCH 31, 2014

'The US DOE recently awarded $17 million to 17 FY 2014 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II projects to further develop Phase I projects and to produce a prototype or equivalent within two years. The selected 17 awards represent the best of nearly 1,000 ideas submitted for the FY 2012/13 Broad Based Topic Solicitation, DOE said. The selected projects include 6 vehicle-related technologies and 2 hydrogen and fuel cell technologies, as well as new hydropower, heat pump, solar and man

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Exhaust Wind 2014 Motor 261

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Green Car Congress

APRIL 4, 2014

'BMW’s plant in Berlin has begun series production of the battery-electric BMW C evolution maxi-scooter. C evolution in the finish area. Click to enlarge. The C evolution is powered by a drivetrain swing arm with liquid-cooled permanent magnet synchronous motor via a toothed belt and ring gearing. The rated power output is 11 kW (15 hp), with a peak output of 35 kW (47 hp).

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BMW Li-ion Production Lithium Ion 260

Green Car Congress

MARCH 29, 2014

'GM is recalling 656 model year 2014 Cadillac ELR vehicles not equipped with adaptive cruise control and manufactured 26 September 2013 through 14 February 2014, and equipped without Adaptive Cruise Control. (NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V-144; GM’s number for this recall is 14087.). ELRs without Adaptive Cruise Control were built with a calibration that inhibits some Electronic Stability Control (ESC) diagnostics, preventing the system from alerting the driver that the ESC system is partially or fu

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Extended Range Cadillac GM Saturn 259

Green Car Congress

APRIL 4, 2014

'Logistics specialist STEF has been testing an experimental 16 tonne all-electric vehicle under actual operating conditions for Carrefour France. Developed by Renault Trucks on a Midlum vehicle chassis in partnership with PVI and IFP Énergies nouvelle, the truck covered 16,000 km and delivered 600 t of goods. This electric vehicle recorded a drop of 86% in well-to-wheel (WtW) CO 2 emissions compared with its equivalent equipped with an internal combustion engine.

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Range Batteries Battery 2013 257

Green Car Congress

MARCH 31, 2014

'Improvement in fuel consumption in India of a hybrid vehicle over a conventional vehicle. Click to enlarge. In a pair of studies using real-world driving conditions, scientists at the US Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) found that hybrid cars are significantly more fuel-efficient in India and China than they are in the United States due to traffic and driving conditions in those countries.

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India China Hybrid Fuel 252

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Green Car Congress

MARCH 31, 2014

'CO 2 emissions of the C 180 in comparison to its predecessor [t/car]. Source: Mercedes-Benz. Click to enlarge. Over the course of its entire life cycle—from its manufacture through 200,000 kilometer of driving to its recycling—the new Mercedes-Benz C-Class ( earlier post ) produces around 10% fewer CO 2 emissions than its predecessor at the time of its market exit (compared to the time of its launch in 2007 the improvement is much higher, at around 28%).

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Mercedes CO2 2007 MPG 252

Green Car Congress

APRIL 1, 2014

'The Volkswagen Group, which accounted for 79% of the light-duty diesels sold in the US in 2013, reported that TDI diesel sales accounted for 26.6% of its Volkswagen brand sales in the US in March, and 15.5% of Audi sales in the US. Volkswagen Passat TDI sales in March were 4,549, representing 41.2% of sales, and marking the best March and best year-to-date results so far.

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Audi Sale Diesel New York 247

Green Car Congress

APRIL 1, 2014

'USC Viterbi School of Engineering professor Chongwu Zhou and his research team have developed a silicon nanoparticle anode and a sulfur-based cathode with low fabrication cost and high electrode performance for rechargeable lithium-sulfur batteries. The effort builds on their earlier work in developing nanostructured silicon materials for use as high performance lithium-ion battery anodes ( earlier post ), with a focus on developing a cost-effective method for producing Si nanoparticles, which

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Lithium Sulfur Li-ion Lithium Ion Batteries 244

Green Car Congress

APRIL 3, 2014

'Start-up Enogia and IFP Energies nouvelles (IFPEN) are forming a strategic partnership for the joint development and marketing of a range of Rankine technologies to convert heat into electricity. The innovation is based on the use of highly efficient micro-turbines capable of producing 5 to 100 kW of electricity. The aim is to recover waste heat from the exhaust gases of internal combustion engines in both stationary installations (generators, cogeneration installations) and transport, particul

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Waste Transportation Exhaust Gasoline-Electric 239

Green Car Congress

APRIL 1, 2014

'GKN plc, the global engineering group, has acquired Williams Hybrid Power Limited (WHP) from Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited. WHP specializes in the design and manufacture of composite flywheel-based energy storage systems, initially focused on the bus, truck and tram markets. The new business will be called GKN Hybrid Power. GKN and WHP have been working together to validate the use of this technology.

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Energy Storage Hybrid Energy Power 239

Green Car Congress

APRIL 4, 2014

'Poplar vascular tissue showing feruloyl-coenzyme A (CoA) monolignol transferase (FMT) expression. Source: GLBRC. Click to enlarge. Researchers from Michigan State University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison and their colleagues report successfully engineering poplar trees to produce lignin that degrades more easily, thereby lowering the effort and cost to convert wood to biofuel.

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Engine Production Wisconsin Polymer 236

Green Car Congress

MARCH 31, 2014

'Liberty Coach, a company that converts Prevost luxury motor coaches to RVs, has introduced a new communication link that facilitates monitoring of a coach’s lithium-ion battery systems from both inside and outside the vehicle. Liberty uses lithium iron phosphate batteries to reduce the weight of the coach as well as reducing the generator fuel consumption.

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Li-ion Lithium Ion Motor Motors 236

Green Car Congress

MARCH 29, 2014

'Following Tesla’s announcement that it is adding a three-component shield system to the underbody of the Model S ( earlier post ), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA’s) Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has closed the preliminary investigation it opened in November 2013 to examine the potential risks associated with undercarriage strikes on model year 2013 Tesla Model S vehicles. ( Earlier post.).

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Tennessee Tesla 2013 Washington 236

Green Car Congress

APRIL 4, 2014

'VYCON, a designer and manufacturer of flywheel kinetic energy storage systems, has completed delivery of its kinetic energy storage system at the Los Angeles Metro Red Line Westlake/MacArthur Park station. The equipment will be used in Metro’s Wayside Energy Storage Substation-WESS Project , which is funded by a grant of $4.4 million provided by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) under the Transit Investments for Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reduction (TIGGER) Program, part of the American R

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Energy Storage Energy Los Angeles Waste 231

Green Car Congress

APRIL 4, 2014

'Making its North American debut at the New York International Auto Show 2014 will be the updated 2015 BMW X3 Sports Activity Vehicle, which will include the X3 xDrive28d, the first BMW Advanced Diesel X3 model for the US. BMW is also using the show to present the latest version of what it sees as the logical next step towards reducing fuel consumption and emissions in the sports activity vehicle SAV segment: the plug-in hybrid BMW Concept X5 eDrive. ( Earlier post.).

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New York Plug-in Concept Diesel 231

Green Car Congress

APRIL 3, 2014

'New biodiesel rules in the Canadian province of Ontario came into effect on 1 April, and are being phased in over three years. By 2017, the amount of biofuel blended into regular diesel will need to average at least 4%. Greenhouse gases must be reduced by at least 30%, and 70% by 2017, for the biofuel portion of the new blend. Any diesel fuel that is made in whole or in part from renewable or recurring feedstocks can be used.

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Diesel 2017 Renewable Oil 231

Green Car Congress

APRIL 3, 2014

'BASF and Toda Kogyo Corp., one of the industry leaders in the development and manufacture of cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries, are entering exclusive negotiations to form a joint venture for cathode active materials (CAM) based in Japan. The proposed joint venture will focus on the production, marketing and sales of a broad range of cathode materials including NCA (Nickel Cobalt Aluminum Oxide); LMO (Lithium Manganese Oxide); and NCM (Nickel Cobalt Manganese) in Japan.

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Li-ion Nickel Metal Hydride Japan Lithium Ion 231

Green Car Congress

APRIL 1, 2014

'United European Car Carriers, jointly owned by Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha and Wallenius Lines, has signed a contract to construct two Lloyd’s Register (LR) classed dual-fuel LNG pure car and truck carriers (PCTC). Computer-generated image of the new UECC PCTCs. Click to enlarge. The vessels are capable of operating with LNG fuel or heavy fuel oil (HFO) and marine gas oil (MGO), providing greater flexibility and efficiency.

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Fuel Cars Mariner Oil 231

Green Car Congress

MARCH 30, 2014

'Norman Hajjar, Managing Director of Recargo’s driver research division, PlugInsights, is attempting an 18-day, 12,000-mile, battery-powered journey sponsored by the electric vehicle (EV) software and information services company. Hajjar will be driving a stock Tesla Model S sedan and navigating via Recargo’s PlugShare app for locating EV charging stations.

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Miles Florida Gasoline-Electric Washington 231

Green Car Congress

MARCH 30, 2014

'The value of the global three-wheeler market will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13% during 2014-19, according to a recently published report by TechSci Research, “Global Three Wheeler Market Forecast and Opportunities, 2019”. The introduction of CNG/LPG three-wheelers has revived the global three-wheeler market and significantly increased the acceptability of three-wheelers across many countries, especially in developing nations, the report says.

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2019 Global Market Nepal 231

Green Car Congress

APRIL 3, 2014

'Telefonica will provide Machine-To-Machine (M2M) connectivity for the Tesla Model S in Europe. Telefonica and its M2M World Alliance partners will provide connectivity for Model S across multiple countries in Europe, including in Germany and the United Kingdom on Telefonica’s O2 network, in Spain on Movistar, and in the Netherlands on KPN. Telefónica’s global M2M solution—powered by Jasper—will enable connectivity for Tesla’s in-car infotainment telematics including navigation, onli

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Connect Connected United Kingdom Market 230

Green Car Congress

MARCH 31, 2014

'Scanning electron microscope image shows vertical polythiophene nanofiber arrays grown on a metal substrate. The arrays contained either solid fibers or hollow tubes, depending on the diameter of the pores used to grow them. Credit: Virendra Singh. Click to enlarge. A team led by researchers from Georgia Tech have used an electropolymerization process to produce aligned arrays of polymer nanofibers that function as a thermal interface material able to conduct heat 20 times better than the origi

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Polymer Georgia Austin Texas 230

Green Car Congress

MARCH 29, 2014

'Nissan North America, Inc. is recalling approximately 989,701 model year 2013-2014 Altima, LEAF, Pathfinder, and Sentra, model year 2013 NV200 (aka Taxi) and Infiniti JX35 and model year 2014 Infiniti Q50 and QX60 vehicles. There are 29,165 LEAFs involved in the recall. In the affected vehicles, the occupant classification system (OCS) software may incorrectly classify the passenger seat as empty, when it is occupied by an adult.

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Nissan Infinity Taxi 2014 230

Green Car Congress

APRIL 3, 2014

'Plug Power Inc., a provider of fuel cell solutions fr the materials handling industry, has acquired the assets of ReliOn Inc., a developer of hydrogen fuel cell stack technology and fuel cell systems based in Spokane, WA. This acquisition marks Plug Power’s expansion into the stationary back-up fuel cell market, where ReliOn has been successful with customers such as AT&T, Sprint and Verizon.

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Green Car Congress

APRIL 3, 2014

'Teaming with major universities on the West Coast, BASF Corporation has set up a multidisciplinary research institute with an emphasis on new inorganic materials and their applications; biosciences; and related technologies. The California Research Alliance by BASF (CARA) will bring together BASF experts with researchers from widely varied science and engineering disciplines at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley), Stanford University and the University of California, Los Angele

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