Sat.Apr 09, 2016 - Fri.Apr 15, 2016

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Self-driving mining truck stable at 90 km/h; clothoid-based model predictive control

Green Car Congress

A prototype self-driving truck under development by Scania and Swedish research universities has tested successfully at speeds of up to 90 km/h (56 mph). According to the research lead at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, the successful tests are aimed at implementing self-driving Scania trucks in mining operations within a year or two. KTH, Scania, Linköping University, Saab and Autoliv and collaborating in a government-funded project called iQMatic , which is aimed at to develop a fully self-

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All-wheel-drive Tesla electric cars rated more efficient, but how?

Green Car Reports

One of the myriad advantages of electric propulsion, we’re told, is the efficiency of all-wheel drive. The AWD versions of the Tesla Model S, for example, are rated as more efficient than the rear-wheel-drive versions of the car. This flies in the face of 100 years of automotive history, during which vehicles with gasoline or diesel engines.

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Japan updates hydrogen fuel cell targets; 320 stations by 2025, 800,000 vehicles by 2030

Green Car Congress

Japan’s Council for a Strategy for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells, which includes experts from industry, academia, and government, recently issued a revised version of the Strategic Roadmap for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells. Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) established the Council in December 2013; the Strategic Road Map was first published in June 2014.

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GM sees connectivity, autonomy and transport-as-service fundamentally changing automotive industry

Green Car Congress

Three emerging and converging factors—connectivity, autonomy and transport-as-a-service—will fundamentally change the automotive industry over the next few decades, according to Mike Abelson, GM’s VP of Strategy and Global Portfolio Planning. These three factors, said Abelson in a panel talk at the 2016 SAE World Congress in Detroit, are changing how the vehicle interacts with the environment; how the user interacts with the vehicle; and the entire business structure around it.

Connect 183
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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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GM recycles water bottles to make part for Chevy Equinox, coat insulation for the homeless, air filters

Green Car Congress

General Motors is turning its employees’ recycled water bottles into a noise-reducing fabric insulation that covers the Chevrolet Equinox engine. The bottles—collected from five of its Michigan facilities—are also being turned into air filtration components and insulation in coats for the homeless community. Given its drive to zero waste, all of GM’s global facilities recycle their water bottles.

Water 174
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New ACE researchers propose new diesel combustion concept; pathway to >50% BTE without WHR

Green Car Congress

A team at Japan’s New ACE Institute—an industry-funded research initiative founded to develop a new diesel combustion concept—has developed a new diffusion-combustion-based concept with multiple fuel injectors to overcome the trade-offs of thermal efficiency with energy loss and exhaust emissions typical of conventional diesel engines. In a presentation at the 2016 SAE High Efficiency IC Engine Symposium, Noboru Uchida, general manager of research for New ACE, outlined the basic appr

Diesel 174

More Trending

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Volvo Trucks used SuperTruck learnings to boost efficiency, performance in 2017 powertrains; wave piston, turbocompounding, injection

Green Car Congress

Key learnings from Volvo’s SuperTruck ( earlier post ) efforts played a critical role in the design and engineering of Volvo Trucks North America’s recently introduced 2017 powertrain, delivering improved fuel efficiency and performance to customers. ( Earlier post.). The development of several new features, such as the wave piston, turbo compounding and a common rail fuel injection system, was supported by the SuperTruck program, sponsored by the US Department of Energy (DOE).

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IIHS: Speed limit increases in US caused 33,000 deaths over 20 years

Green Car Congress

A new Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) study shows that increases in speed limits over two decades have cost 33,000 lives in the US. In 2013 alone, the increases resulted in 1,900 additional deaths, essentially canceling out the number of lives saved by frontal airbags that year. Charles Farmer, IIHS vice president for research and statistical services and the author of the study, looked at deaths per billion miles traveled by state and roadway type.

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Cal Energy Commission approves ~$9M for DC fast chargers; $12.6M for NGV incentives

Green Car Congress

The California Energy Commission approved nearly $9 million in grants for the installation of DC fast chargers along major state freeways and highways to allow electric vehicle drivers to travel from San Diego to the Oregon border without worrying about running out of energy. The grants went to four companies—Chargepoint Inc.; EV Connect Inc.; NRG EV Services LLC; and Recargo, Inc.

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Toyota and Clemson showcase Gen-Z focused EV concept at SAE World Congress

Green Car Congress

At the 2016 SAE World Congress, Toyota and Clemson University unveiled an innovative, flexible concept called uBox that is intended to appeal to the next generation of car buyers: Gen-Z. Designed, engineered and hand-built by graduate students at Clemson University’s International Center for Automotive Research ( CU-ICAR ), the vehicle is the result of a two-year collaboration with Toyota Motor North America designers and engineers.

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

Brief

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Lexus has sold more than 1M hybrids

Green Car Congress

Lexus International announced it has sold more than 1 million hybrid vehicles worldwide since the RX 400h went on sale in April 2005. As of the end of March 2016, Lexus had sold approximately 1,000,600 hybrid vehicles in 11 years. The hybrid drive system continues to be our core vehicle technology to help reduce CO 2 emissions, while providing a pleasurable driving experience.

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Study: even relatively low levels of air pollution appear to affect a child’s lungs

Green Car Congress

In a paper published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care , researchers report that children exposed to higher levels of air pollution—even if relatively low—including fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) and soot (black carbon), had worse lung function than those living in less polluted areas. By age eight, the lung function of children living within 100 meters of a major roadway was on average 6% lower than that of children living 400 meters or more away.

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New silicon oxycarbide glass/graphene anode material; lightweight, high-capacity and long cycle life

Green Car Congress

Researchers at Kansas State University have developed a new high-performance Li-ion battery anode material combining silicon oxycarbide (SiOC) glass and graphene. The self-standing (i.e., no current collector or binder) anode material comprises molecular precursor-derived SiOC glass particles embedded in a chemically-modified reduced graphene oxide (rGO) matrix.

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Komatsu Europe introduces new 36t hydraulic hybrid excavator; 20% fuel savings

Green Car Congress

Komatsu Europe International has introduced the new HB365LC-3, a 36-tonne hydraulic hybrid excavator. Compared to a standard PC360LC-11 excavator, the new Komatsu Hybrid excavator provides a 20% fuel savings. The HB365LC-3 has the same EU Stage IV SAA6D114E-6 engine (202 kW / 271 HP) as the PC360LC-11, with up to 53kW extra electric power supplied by the Komatsu Hybrid system.

Europe 150
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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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JATO Dynamics: SUVs continue to drive growth in Europe’s big 5 markets

Green Car Congress

The latest figures for Europe’s top 5 markets—Germany, UK, Italy, France and Spain—show further positive results for March 2016. The total for the Big 5 markets surpassed the one million units mark, rising to 1.36 million new cars, up by 5% over March 2015. First quarter registrations advanced 8% to 2.89 million cars, while the March SAAR came in at 11.04 million across the five markets.

SUV 150
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Toshiba launches new opto-isolated IGBT pre-driver IC for inverters for HEVs and EVs

Green Car Congress

Toshiba Corporation’s Storage & Electronic Devices Solutions Company launched the TB9150FNG, an opto-isolated IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor) gate pre-driver IC with various enhanced protective functions for the in-vehicle inverters of electric and hybrid vehicles. Sample shipments have started, with mass production scheduled to start in 2018.

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European Transport Ministers sign Amsterdam Declaration on steps for development and harmonization of connected, autonomous driving in Europe

Green Car Congress

On 14 April, the transport ministers of all 28 EU member states signed the Amsterdam Declaration , laying down agreements on the steps necessary for the development of connected, autonomous driving technology in the EU. The signatories pledge to draw up rules and regulations that will allow autonomous vehicles to be used on the roads. A lack of good cooperation between EU member states could give rise to a jumble of different rules, thereby preventing the large-scale availability of this new tec

Connect 150
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FAA approves Alcohol-to-Jet biofuel

Green Car Congress

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has approved the use of another biofuel for aviation: Alcohol to Jet Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene (ATJ-SPK). ( Earlier post.) In collaboration with the aviation industry, the FAA approves new renewable jet fuel pathways through ASTM International. The FAA’s Continuous Lower Energy, Emissions and Noise (CLEEN) partnership with industry was crucial in completing the necessary steps to support ASTM International approval of this new fuel.

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DOE to offer up to $4.5M for research on methane hydrates

Green Car Congress

The Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) has issued a $4.5-million funding opportunity announcement ( DE-FOA-0001536 ) for projects that focus on fundamental research on methane hydrates. This will include assessing the scale, development, and nature of methane hydrate-bearing geological systems; the role of these systems in the natural environment (including geohazards and potential feedbacks to changing global climate); the potential of these systems for

Gas 150
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Audi summarizes electric driving utilization from 4-year Electric Mobility Showcase; 1.4M km for A1 e-tron and A3 Sportback e-tron

Green Car Congress

Audi gained a wealth of experience from the 1.4 million kilometers (869,919.7 mi) driven as part of the four-year Electric Mobility Showcase in Germany. ( Earlier post.) Ahead of the closing conference in Leipzig today, Audi revealed some of the electric driving results for its two models involved: the A1 e-tron prototype and the production A3 Sportback e-tron.

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BAIC BJEV in strategic cooperation with Dresden University of Technology for lightweighting technology

Green Car Congress

Beijing Electric Vehicle Co., Ltd. (BAIC BJEV), a subsidiary of BAIC, signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Dresden University of Technology (TUD) to create the Sino-German Automotive Light Weighting Technology Joint R&D Center. The two also entered into a letter of intent on the establishment of Sino-German Automotive Light Weighting Technology Engineering Center Co., Ltd.

Universal 150
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TECAT announces first wireless torque sensor model featuring shunt calibration

Green Car Congress

TECAT Performance Systems has introduced the WISER 2030-S, the first version of the company’s wireless torque sensor ( earlier post ) to feature shunt calibration. The new WISER 2030-S will simplify instrumentation verification for users while allowing them to check calibration of the system in the field. The 2030-S is the result of listening to and implementing feedback from our customers.

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Researchers developing solvent-based method for lithium recovery from brine with purity up to 99.9%

Green Car Congress

Researchers in Finland are developing new methods for lithium recovery from natural brine with increasingly effective recovery of lithium and purity of the lithium solution increasing from 95% to 99.9%—difficult and resource-intensive to accomplish using traditional methods. A paper on their studies is published in the journal Hydrometallurgy.

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SAE World Congress technical track on advances in fuel cell vehicle applications

Green Car Congress

The 2016 SAE World Congress is again featuring a technical track (PFL 720) on advances in hydrogen fuel cell vehicle technology, followed by a technical expert panel discussion (PFL 799) on the commercialization of fuel cell vehicles and hydrogen infrastructure. During the PFL 720 sessions at last year’s Congress, Toyota presented a set of four technical papers describing some of the technology innovations used in its production fuel cell hybrid electric vehicle Mirai. ( Earlier post.).

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Study: Combination of active and passive engine-off coasting delivers optimal fuel savings with 48V hybrid systems

Green Car Congress

A study by Germany-based automotive supplier HELLA found that the combination of active and passive engine-off coasting and recuperation using a 48V mild hybrid system shows the best potential to reduce CO 2 emissions for all car segments, with the highest potential in the larger car segments, for both NEDC and WLTP (especially true for real world driving).

Engine 150
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Toyota to deploy 5,000 vehicles with vehicle awareness devices in Ann Arbor; expanding AACVTE

Green Car Congress

Toyota, in partnership with the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI), is working to transform the streets of Ann Arbor, Mich. into the world’s largest operational, real-world deployment of connected vehicles and infrastructure. The Ann Arbor Connected Vehicle Test Environment ( AACVTE ) is a real-world implementation of connected vehicle safety technologies being used by everyday drivers in Ann Arbor and around Southeast Michigan.

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Convergent Science forms Computational Chemistry Consortium

Green Car Congress

CFD software company Convergent Science ( earlier post ) has formed the Computational Chemistry Consortium (C3). The goal of the consortium is to provide the most accurate and comprehensive computation chemistry combustion and emissions models, tools, and mechanisms to the entire scientific community. The consortium is being established in response to requests from several engine manufacturers to facilitate collaboration and reduce redundancy in their efforts to improve chemistry and emissions m

Renewable 150
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Delphi unveils new 48V mild hybrid system; working with two OEMs toward production within 18 months

Green Car Congress

Delphi Automotive PLC unveiled a 48-volt mild-hybrid vehicle solution; the company confirmed it is working with two global automakers and could see production within 18 months. Showcased in a Honda Civic 1.6-liter diesel vehicle at the company’s annual investor update in London, Delphi’s 48-volt, mild hybrid technology uses the 48-volt electrification to minimize the demand on the engine, improving performance while lowering CO 2 emissions by more than 10%.

Hybrid 150
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Toyota launching new telematics car insurance services company in US

Green Car Congress

Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance Co., Ltd. (AD), Toyota Financial Services Corporation (TFS) and Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) announced that their respective US subsidiaries established the jointly owned telematics car insurance services company Toyota Insurance Management Solutions USA, LLC (TIMS), on 1 April. In Southern California, near TFS US headquarters, TIMS will support the development of telematics car insurance services for Toyota customers, as well as new experiences aimed at more fully s

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JBEI team engineers E. coli for one-pot production of bio-jet fuel precursor from ionic-liquid-pretreated biomass

Green Car Congress

A team led by researchers at the DOE’s Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) in Emeryville, CA, has engineered E. coli bacteria for the one-pot production of the monoterpene bio-jet fuel precursor D-limonene from ionic-liquid-pretreated cellulose and switchgrass. A paper on their work is published in the RSC journal Green Chemistry. The ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate is highly effective in deconstructing lignocellulose, but leaves behind residual reagents that are toxic to standard

Engine 150
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RAND: Autonomous vehicles cannot be test-driven enough miles to demonstrate their safety; alternative testing methods needed

Green Car Congress

Autonomous vehicles would have to be driven hundreds of millions of miles and, under some scenarios, hundreds of billions of miles to create enough data to clearly demonstrate their safety, according to a new report from RAND, a non-profit research organization. Under even the most-aggressive test driving assumptions, it would take existing fleets of autonomous vehicles tens and even hundreds of years to log sufficient miles to adequately assess the safety of the vehicles when compared to human-

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Ford launches 10-year project to transform Dearborn campus; sustainability in the built environment; Living Building Challenge

Green Car Congress

Ford Motor Company unveiled its plans to transform its Dearborn facilities into a modern, green and high-tech campus to foster innovation and help drive the company’s transition to an auto and a mobility company. The 10-year transformation of the company’s more than 60-year-old Dearborn facilities will colocate 30,000 employees from 70 buildings today into primarily two locations—a product campus and a world headquarters campus.

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BASF licenses CAM-7 Li-ion cathode materials from CAMX Power LLC

Green Car Congress

BASF and CAMX Power LLC announced that BASF has been granted a license under the intellectual property of CAMX Power LLC (CAMX) relating to the CAMX suite of CAM-7 cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries. ( Earlier post.) CAM-7 is a patented cathode material that harnesses the properties of high-nickel compounds to deliver high energy density with high-power capability.

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HRL to receive $4.3M DARPA award to develop next-generation inertial sensor technology for precise navigation

Green Car Congress

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded HRL Laboratories, LLC, $4.3 million to develop vibration- and shock-tolerant inertial sensor technology that enables future precision navigation system accuracy needs without utilizing GPS. Positioning, navigation, and timing are key to ensuring the location accuracy critical to the success of modern military missions.

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