Sat.Jun 16, 2012 - Fri.Jun 22, 2012

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Audi R18 e-tron quattro hybrid with flywheel energy system wins Le Mans; first hybrid win there

Green Car Congress

The R18 e-tron quattro hybrids at work. Click to enlarge. Marking the first victory of a hybrid vehicle at Le Mans, the Audi R18 e-tron quattro ( earlier post ), equipped with Williams Hybrid Power’s (WHP) electromechanical hybrid flywheel system, took the top two spots at the 80 th running of the endurance race over the weeken. The win was Audi’s 11 th Le Mans victory.

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2012 Tesla Model S: EPA Range Of 265 Miles, 89 MPGe Efficiency

Green Car Reports

Friday will be a big day for startup electric carmaker Tesla Motors. On that day, it will deliver its first 2012 Model S luxury sport sedans to retail customers in a big webcast event at its Fremont, California, assembly plant. But a couple of days beforehand, the EPA has issued the eagerly awaited range and efficiency numbers for the high-end.

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Electric Cars for Sale Now

Electric Cars are for Girls

A look at electric cars for sale in the US right now like the Nissan Leaf, the Chevy Volt, and the Tesla Roadster.

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EESTOR continues to disappoint ZENN with ultracapacitor promises

National Green Transportation

There was a time when ZENN and EESTOR were going to save the world. EESTOR had developed what the company called a ground-breaking ultracapacitor that would run rings around lithium-anything battery chemistries, charge instantly, and allow the.

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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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Honda to begin reuse of rare earth metals extracted from used NiMH batteries before year end; targeting extraction from motors and Li-ion batteries as well

Green Car Congress

Flow of the reuse of rare earth metals Honda is striving to achieve. Click to enlarge. Honda Motor Co., Ltd., which has been extracting rare earth metals from used nickel-metal hydride batteries at the plant of Japan Metals & Chemicals Co., Ltd. from April of this year, plans to begin reusing the extracted metals before the end of 2012. Honda will pursue the recycling of precious resources by reusing extracted rare earth metals not only for nickel-metal hydride batteries, but also for use in a w

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2012 Tesla Model S Electric-Car Deliveries To Start Today

Green Car Reports

They said it couldn't be done, but it looks like Tesla Motors has indeed pulled it off. If all goes to plan, at 3:30 pm Pacific today, CEO Elon Musk and other Tesla executives will hand over the keys of a new 2012 Tesla Model S to the first retail buyer to take delivery of the all-electric luxury sport sedan. The ceremony, which Tesla will webcast.

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More Trending

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EESTOR continues to disappoint ZENN with ultracapacitor promises

National Green Transportation

There was a time when ZENN and EESTOR were going to save the world. EESTOR had developed what the company called a ground-breaking ultracapacitor that would run rings around lithium-anything battery chemistries, charge instantly, and allow the.

ZENN 58
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ITF analysis finds that societal costs for electric cars and vans range from €7K to €12K more than fossil-fueled equivalents

Green Car Congress

Sample consumer and societal break-even curves for BEVs, with data points for a compact diesel for comparison. Source: Philippe Crist — Discussion Paper 2012-03. Click to enlarge. Electric passenger cars currently cost €4K to €5K (US$5,079 to $6,349) more to their owners than an equivalent fossil fuel car over the vehicle’s lifetime, according to the latest policy brief from the International Transport Forum (ITF), an intergovernmental organization with 54 member countries at the OECD.

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2012 Nissan Leaf Limo Stretches Electric Car Reality

Green Car Reports

Last year we told you about a Missouri coachbuilder with the grand plan: turn a humble 2012 Nissan Leaf into a stretch limousine. Now, some ten months after we first brought you the story, we can bring you evidence that the Imperial Coach Builders of Springfield, MO made good its promise with what it claims is the world’s first electric.

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Report: Clean diesel vehicles to outpace hybrid cars

Green Cars News

Clean diesel vehicles (such as the Volkswagen Golf Clean Diesel, pictured) are in demand – with sales set to increase from 9.1million in 2012 to 12.1million annually by 2018. That’s the verdict of a new report by Pike Research, which suggests that rising fuel prices and strong regulations on fuel economy will stimulate demand and [.].

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

Brief

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Heatsink replaced

Honda S2000 EV Conversion

I got some time yesterday and installed a new heat sink that I think will be more efficient while driving. I mentioned before the old heat sink below has the fins parallel with the controller, but the air while driving is perpendicular to the fins. Here is the new heat sink attached to the controller. You can see the mill work done so the bolts are recessed now and touch the thicker base of the heat sink.

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Federal Mogul develops advanced aluminum piston for high-performance light-duty diesel engines

Green Car Congress

Federal-Mogul’s DuraBowl technology strengthens the crown of a piston, improving the aluminum’s strength where it is most needed. Click to enlarge. Federal-Mogul Corporation has. developed an aluminium piston that meets the higher strength and thermal performance. demands of very high-power diesel engines. BMW is the first to use the piston in its triple-turbo 3.0-liter diesel (N57D30S1) engine applied in the M550d xDrive, with a specific power output of 93 kW/liter (124 bhp/liter).

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Are Electric-Car Batteries Already at $250 Per kWh? Analyst Says Yes

Green Car Reports

How expensive are electric car battery packs? It’s a topic of much discussion among electric car fans, and a closely guarded secret within the auto industry, but now an industry analyst has suggested that improved technology and economies of scale has lowed electric car battery pack costs to just $250 per kilowatt-hour of energy stored.

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Germany plans 50 hydrogen fuel stations by 2015

Green Cars News

Germany has agreed a major new cross-industry partnership which will see the country take the lead in hydrogen refuelling infrastructure. It might sound like a small start, with plans to install around 50 public filling stations by 2015 across Germany, but it will make the country a leading force in the development of a hydrogen [.].

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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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Sevcon PCpak to Millipak - getting the connection

DIY Electric Car

for the benefit of all. I purchased a SEVCON millipak controller and PCpak software. To get connected with it took some experimentation because the pdf documentation says very little. I got connected and this is the proceedure: 1) set your USB serial port to an open port and use 115.2K bps baud, 8 bits, 1 stop bit. 2) connect 2 12 volt batteries in series to make about 25VDC across terminals B- and B+ of the controller. 3) put a single pin into the pin 1 of the molex 16 pin connector on port B o

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Cellulosic ethanol from oil palm empty fruit bunch

Green Car Congress

Researchers from Malaysia and Japan report on an efficient method of producing the cellulosic ethanol from oil palm waste in the Pertanika Journal of Tropical Agricultural Science. Researchers first separated glucose from cellulose in the plant matter, and then used it as a substrate for ethanol production. Oil palm empty fruit bunch is an abundant biomass waste, with 15 million tonnes generated annually by palm oil mills in Malaysia alone.

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Electric Car For Less Than $20,000? Tata Thinks It's Possible

Green Car Reports

Electric cars have not one, but two monkeys on their back. Range anxiety, and price. Whether you believe each is truly a problem will depend on your own circumstances, but there's no doubting that consumers used to inexpensive cars and hundreds of miles on a fill may be a little wary of the modern breed of EVs. Price in particular is a sticking.

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Free tax rides for Londoners in a Nissan LEAF

Green Cars News

Fancy getting around London for free this weekend and without emitting any harmful emissions too? Then sign up for a ride in a Nissan LEAF taxi (pictured). This weekend (June 23 and June 24), professional taxi drivers will swap their usual vehicles for the Nissan LEAF and will offer free taxi rides. All someone who [.].

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Pike Research forecasts clean diesels to represent more than 12% of global light-duty vehicle sales by 2018; outpacing hybrids in North America

Green Car Congress

Annual clean diesel ldv sales by region, world markets: 2012-2018. Source: Pike Research. Click to enlarge. A new report from Pike Research finds that rising fuel prices and stronger fuel economy regulations will stimulate increasing demand for clean diesel vehicles in markets around the world, and forecasts sales of these vehicles will increase from 9.1 million in 2012 to 12.1 million annually by 2018, representing 12.4% of all LDV sales by the end of that period.

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EPA rating for 85 kWh Tesla Model S: 89 MPGe, 265-mile range

Green Car Congress

The EPA has rated the Tesla Model S luxury EV equipped with the 85 kWh pack at 89 MPGe combined (88 MPGe city, 90 MPGe highway), with a range per charge of 265 miles. Tesla is offering a choice of three battery pack configurations on the Model S: 40, 60, and 85 kWH packs, along with an 85 kWh pack performance model. The numbers for the other packs have not been released, according to Tesla.

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Air Canada to conduct biofuel flight from Toronto to Mexico City

Green Car Congress

Air Canada is operating its first flight with biofuel today to highlight the airline's commitment to the environment. Flight AC991 from Toronto to Mexico City is expected to generate at least 40% fewer emissions by using jet fuel derived from recycled cooking oil and through other fuel-saving measures, making it the most environmentally-friendly flight ever flown by Air Canada.

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Ford cuts manufacturing energy use 22% in 6 years; targeting additional 25% Drop by 2016

Green Car Congress

Ford has reduced the amount of energy required to produce each vehicle in its manufacturing facilities by 22% in the last six years. The company also announced plans to reduce usage another 25% on a per-vehicle basis by 2016. Other successful initiatives—highlighted in Ford’s 13th annual Sustainability Report—include reductions in water use, waste-to-landfill and CO 2 emissions as well as improvements in vehicle fuel economy and safety.

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GM adds 100th landfill-free facility

Green Car Congress

GM recently added its 100 th landfill-free facility: a parts distribution center in Lansing, Mich. GM’s landfill-free roster includes more than half of its global manufacturing facilities. In its landfill-free efforts, GM first reduces waste and then focuses on recycling and reuse. In 2011, it recycled or reused 2.6 million metric tons at its facilities worldwide—equivalent to more than 38 million trash bags, or more than a month’s worth of trash for every resident in New York City.

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ABB, KredEx and Estonia’s Ministry of Economic Affairs deploy first of 200 web-managed DC fast chargers in Estonia

Green Car Congress

Power and automation technology group ABB, KredEx and the Ministry of Economic Affairs of Estonia, announced the first public installation of an ABB Terra 51 DC fast charging station for electric vehicles in Estonia. The fast charger is located at the Innovation Center in Tallinn and is the first of 200 chargers that will be installed at multiple locations throughout the country comprising the first nationwide network of DC fast chargers.

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KAIST team shows direct recovery of methane from hydrates using CO2 or CO2/N2 mixture

Green Car Congress

Researchers at the KAIST Graduate School of EEWS (Earth, Environment, Water and Sustainability) in South Korea have demonstrated the direct recovery of methane from massive methane hydrates (MHs), artificial MH-bearing clays, and natural MH-bearing sediments using either CO 2 or a CO 2 /N 2 gas mixture (20?mol?% of CO 2 and 80?mol?% of N 2 , reproducing flue gas from a power plant) for methane replacement in complex marine systems.

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Bio-isobutanol patent struggle: US District Court denies Butamax’s motion for preliminary injunction against Gevo

Green Car Congress

The US District Court of Delaware has denied the Motion for Preliminary Injunction sought by Butamax Advanced Biofuels, LLC (Butamax)—the biobutanol joint venture between BP and DuPont—against biobutanol company Gevo. (Case 1:11-cv-00054-SLR) This decision replaces a previous order enjoining Gevo from selling to new customers. Gevo for now is clear to to sell in any market, to any customer, in any region, it said.

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KLM flying Amsterdam to Rio with biojet blend

Green Car Congress

KLM is operating the longest biofuel flight undertaken yet as flight KL705 departs from Amsterdam with a Boeing 777-200 and flies to the Rio+20 sustainable development conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (about 9,500 km or 5,900 miles). The aircraft is partly flying on sustainable fuel made from used cooking oil, supplied by SkyNRG, the company KLM founded in 2009 with North Sea Group and Spring Associates.

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NRC report concludes hydraulic fracturing poses low risk for causing earthquakes, but risks are higher for wastewater injection wells; CCS impact undetermined

Green Car Congress

Schematic diagram of a shale gas well following hydraulic fracture treatment, with the relative depths of local water wells shown for scale. Formation depths and horizontal well length varies; numbers shown are approximate length and depth averages in North America. The upper right inset shows the fractures (yellow) created during hydraulic fracture treatment in stages.

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NREL researchers report on two approaches to upgrading biomass pyrolysis oil for hydrocarbon fuels

Green Car Congress

At last month’s World Renewable Energy Forum 2012 in Denver, Colorado, researchers from the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory presented papers on two different approaches to upgrade pyrolysis oils to hydrocarbon fuels or fuel intermediates. Fast pyrolysis—the rapid heating of biomass to intermediate temperatures (400-600 °C) in the absence of oxygen and the rapid cooling of the resulting vapors to bio-oil—is an efficient method to convert all fractions of biomass, including lig

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Hertz Italy Launches smart fortwo Electric Vehicle in Rome for Italo-NTV train customers

Green Car Congress

The Hertz Corporation in partnership with Italo-NTV, the first European private high-speed railway operator, will offer Italo customers the ability to rent smart fortwo electric drives from the Hertz locations at the Rome Tiburtina and Rome Ostiense train stations. These electric vehicles can be booked from €8 (US$10) per hour through the website [link] using the special Italo discount code, and will be powered at charging units provided by Enel, Italy’s largest electric utility.

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EUCAR calls for targeted support for automotive initiatives in €80B Horizon 2020 program; targeting €5B budget

Green Car Congress

The European Council for Automotive R&D ( EUCAR ) is calling for a number of priority automotive research and innovation (R&I) initiatives in Europe’s Horizon 2020 program to support competitive and sustainable road transport and for these initiatives to be supported by a substantial €5-billion budget. Horizon 2020 is the EU’s proposed €80-billion (US$100-billion) Framework Programme for Research & Innovation from 2014-2020.

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Hyundai Heavy begins exporting LNG engine

Green Car Congress

Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), the world’s biggest shipbuilder and a leading marine engine manufacturer, has begun exporting the gas engine Hyundai HiMSEN H35/40GV after completing test runs. The new gas engine runs on liquefied natural gas rather than heavy crude oil and has a maximum power output of 13,000 bhp (9,694 kW). Test run of Hyundai Heavy’s Gas Engine HiMSEN H35/40GV.

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American Le Mans exploring natural gas for Prototype Challenge Class

Green Car Congress

Prototype Challenge racers at Long Beach. Click to enlarge. The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA), sanctioning body for the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón, has entered into an agreement with Jackson, Mich.-based Patrick Racing to research and develop natural gas as an alternative fuel for the Series’ Prototype Challenge (PC) cars.

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Japan will begin test drilling for oil and gas off Niigata coast in 2013

Green Car Congress

Nikkei. Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) will begin test drilling for oil and natural gas in the Sea of Japan off the coast of Niigata Prefecture in April 2013. METI hopes to discover Japan’s largest reserves of these resources—possibly the size of intermediate oil fields in the Middle East, according to METI. Commercialization could begin as early as 2023.

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