Green Car Congress

JUNE 22, 2016

Sweden inaugurated a test stretch of electric road on the E16 in Sandviken, thus becoming one of the first countries to conduct tests with electric power for heavy transports on public roads. The test stretch on the E16 is two kilometers long. The technology is similar to light rail, with contact lines 5.4 meters over the roadway. The truck has a pantograph on the roof that feeds 750 VDC to the truck’s hybrid electric system.

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Green Car Reports

JUNE 21, 2016

Sometimes, when tucking in for the evening, you can't help but wonder: did I really make the right choice? Could I have done better? Even now, could I still do better? This is the question I ask myself, each evening, when I park my 2015 Nissan Leaf in the garage next to my wife’s 2006 Toyota Prius. Given that both vehicles are now driven.

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Prius Nissan Toyota Emissions 116

National Green Transportation

JUNE 22, 2016

History was made on Wednesday evening as the Solar Impulse 2, piloted by Bertrand Piccard, completed the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean with a solar powered electric airplane. Piccard left JFK International Airport at 2:30 AM EDT.

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 24, 2016

At the 2016 International VDI Congress “Drivetrain for Vehicles” in Friedrichshafen, Germany, John Fuller, Director of Concepts & IP for Torotrak Group, presented and discussed the company’s latest advances to optimize its full-toroidal variator technology for the light vehicle market as applied in continuously variable transmissions (CVTs). Torotrak’s main drive CVTs combine its full toroidal traction drive variator with other conventional transmission components.

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Vehicles Electric Vehicles Fuel Economy Low Cost 225

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 24, 2016

Strem Chemicals, a manufacturer and distributor of specialty chemicals founded in 1964, has licensed 23 separate pieces of intellectual property for next-generation battery materials from Argonne. Strem will manufacture and distribute nine resulting battery solvents and additives via its extensive marketing and global distribution networks. The materials were all invented at Argonne’s Electrochemical Energy Storage Center and scaled at Argonne’s Materials Engineering Research Facility (MERF).

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Batteries Battery Energy Storage Market 218

Green Car Congress

JUNE 21, 2016

BMW i announced a home stationary energy storage system solution integrating its BMW i3 vehicle battery at EVS 29 in Montréal. The system utilizes BMW i3 high-voltage batteries and can be expanded to incorporate second-life batteries as they become available in the market. This strategy will extend the useful life of the battery for the owner, even beyond in-vehicle use, BMW said.

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BMW Energy Storage Batteries Battery 210

Green Car Congress

JUNE 23, 2016

Ricardo is exploring the value proposition for applications of its novel split-cycle combustion engine ( earlier post ). In a poster-session paper presented at CIMAC Congress 2016 in Finland, Ricardo described the use of this split-cycle concept in high- and medium-speed engines for power generation to achieve efficiencies of 60% from units of 1–30 MW mechanical output.

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 20, 2016

The United States Advanced Battery Consortium LLC (USABC), a collaborative organization of FCA US LLC, Ford Motor Company and General Motors, awarded a $4-million contract to SiNode Systems Inc. for development of advanced anode materials for automotive lithium-ion battery applications. The competitively bid contract award is 50% cost share-funded by the US Department of Energy (DOE).

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Batteries Battery Li-ion Lithium Ion 186

Green Car Congress

JUNE 22, 2016

Sainsbury’s has become the first company to introduce a refrigerated delivery truck cooled by a liquid nitrogen powered engine ( earlier post ), which will eliminate all emissions associated with refrigeration. Supplied by cooling technology specialist Dearman and its partners, the zero-emission cooling unit replaces the traditional diesel engine used to chill the vehicle and will significantly cut emissions.

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Engine Diesel Emissions Cleaner 170

Green Car Congress

JUNE 21, 2016

PG&E announced a Joint Proposal with labor and leading environmental organizations that would increase investment in energy efficiency, renewables and storage beyond current state mandates while phasing out PG&E’s production of nuclear power in California by 2025 with the retirement of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant—California’s last operating nuclear power generation station.

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 18, 2016

NASA will test new propulsion technology using an experimental airplane now designated the X-57 and nicknamed “Maxwell.” The X-57 features 14 electric motors turning propellers, all of them integrated into a uniquely-designed wing. NASA researchers ultimately envision a nine-passenger aircraft with a 500 kW power system in 2019. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden highlighted the agency’s first X-plane designation in a decade during his keynote speech Friday in Washington at the American Institute

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 24, 2016

The Department of Energy (DOE) announced $68.4 million ( DE-FOA-0001584 , DE-FOA-0001450 ) for cost-shared research and development (R&D) projects that will help to secure the safe and permanent storage of CO 2 during carbon capture and storage (CCS) operations. Funding is subject to the availability of appropriations. DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy, under two funding opportunity announcements (FOA), seeks cost-shared projects that will determine the feasibility of developing onshore and/or offsh

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 24, 2016

Chemists from the Universities of Basel and Zurich have reproduced one of the crucial phases of natural photosynthesis using artificial molecules. Their results have been published by the journal Angewandte Chemie (international edition). Green plants are able to temporarily store electric charges after the absorption of sunlight by using a molecular charge accumulator.

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 24, 2016

Among the changes in its Model Year 2017 line-up, Volkswagen of America is dropping the Jetta Hybrid. ( Earlier post.) VW sold 227 units of the hybrid in the US from Jan-May of this year, down 0.9% year-on-year, according to figures from hybridcars.com. The decision to drop the model leaves Volkswagen of America without a hybrid offering at present.

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 24, 2016

US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced that Columbus, OH has been selected as the winner of the US Department of Transportation’s Smart City Challenge. ( Earlier post.) As winner of the Challenge, Columbus will receive up to $40 million from US DOT and up to $10 million from Paul G. Allen’s Vulcan Inc. to supplement the $90 million that the city has already raised from other private partners to carry out its plan.

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 24, 2016

German automaker Borgward received Plus X Awards for its BX7 plug-in hybrid series SUV in the categories of Design, High Quality, Ergonomics, and Functionality. The BX7 was also issued a seal of quality as SUV of the Year 2016/2017. The Plus X Award for innovation was presented for the 13 th time in 2016. The award honors manufacturers of products that are exceptionally innovative and forward-looking in terms of technology, sportiness, and lifestyle aspects.

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 24, 2016

A team at the University of Maryland have synthesized a mixed conducting nanocomposite sulfur electrode that consists of different nanoparticles with distinct properties of lithium storage capability, mechanical reinforcement, and ionic and electronic conductivities. As described in a paper published in the ACS journal Nano Letters , the new nanocomposite serves as a mechanically robust and mixed conductive (ionic and electronic conductive) sulfur electrode for all-solid-state lithium–sulfur bat

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 24, 2016

With news reports speculating about the final terms of a settlement deal in the Volkswagen clean diesel litigation in the US, Elizabeth Cabraser, Court-appointed Lead Counsel for the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee, released a statement regarding the settlement negotiations. This settlement will provide substantial benefits to both consumers and the environment—providing car owners and lessees fair value for their vehicles, while also removing environmentally-harmful vehicles from the road.

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 23, 2016

General Motors, the Office of Naval Research and the US Naval Research Laboratory are cooperating to incorporate automotive hydrogen fuel cell systems into the next generation of Navy unmanned undersea vehicles, or UUVs. Under the ONR’s Innovative Naval Prototype program for Large Displacement UUVs (LDUUV), energy is a core technology in the Navy’s goals for vehicles with more than 60-days endurance.

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 23, 2016

Researchers at Stanford University, with colleagues in China, have developed a tandem solar cell consisting of an approximately 700-nm-thick nanoporous Mo-doped bismuth vanadate (BiVO 4 ) (Mo:BiVO 4 ) layer on an engineered Si nanocone substrate. The nanocone/Mo:BiVO 4 assembly is in turn combined with a solar cell made of perovskite. When placed in water, the device immediately began splitting water at a solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency of 6.2%—matching the theoretical maximum rate

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 23, 2016

The Volkswagen Group will begin equipping the Group’s new TSI and TFSI gasoline direct injection engines with gasoline particulate filters (GPF). This initiative, announced by Group CEO Matthias Müller at the Group’s annual general meeting, will begin with the 1.4 liter TSI engine in the new VW Tiguan and the Audi A5 in June 2017. This will reduce particulate emissions from the direct injection gasoline engines by up to 90%.

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Gasoline Engine 2017 Mercedes 150

Green Car Congress

JUNE 23, 2016

Chinese truck and utility vehicle manufacturer Beijing Foton has launched the China Internet Super Truck Global Innovation Alliance and showcased the Auman EST (Energy Super Truck) at an event in Athens, Greece. The Internet super truck project is a collaboration that brings together Foton Motor Group, Cummins, and Daimler AG and aims at building Internet-driven super trucks that are green, efficient, safe, and intelligent through the integration of global resources, the effective use of new ene

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 23, 2016

Toyota has launched the Toyota Biodiversity and Sustainability Learning Center “Cheewa Panavet” at the Toyota Ban Pho Plant in Thailand. Cheewa Panavet is a combination of three Thai words, Cheewa (life), Pana (forest), and Vet (habitat). The learning center represents Toyota’s commitment to the environment as it adds a greater learning element to the Toyota Biotope, a habitat of living organisms spanning over 96,000 square meters.

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 23, 2016

Westport Fuel Systems Inc. announced that Volvo Car will launch the BiFuel version of its new V90 station wagon. This vehicle is based on the same engine technology as the Volvo V60 sports wagon which recently won second place in the Best Environmental Car in Sweden - company car category. The engine can run on either compressed natural gas (CNG)/biomethane or gasoline.

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 23, 2016

The US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Fuel Cell Technologies Office has issued a request for information (RFI) ( DE-FOA-0001555 ) to obtain feedback from stakeholders regarding the construction and benefits of a National Hydrogen Technology Showcase and Training (HyTeST) station. The facility would serve as a tool for research and development, testing, safety and demonstration training, and outreach for community and commercial early adopters, including station developers, owners, code officials

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 23, 2016

Following the United Kingdom, Denmark, Germany and Belgium, Norway is the 5 th European country to start selling the fuel cell sedan. Uno-X Hydrogen, a newly established joint-venture that plans to establish a 20-station hydrogen network by 2020 in Norway, is the first customer in that country to take ownership of the Toyota Mirai. Uno-X Hydrogen relies on renewable energy to produce hydrogen.

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 23, 2016

by David Yager for Oilprice.com. The impact of rising oil prices on North American light tight oil (LTO) production is said to be a “Catch 22”, the title of Joseph Heller’s popular 1961 novel set in WWII. The premise was you could get out of the army if you were crazy but you weren’t crazy to try to get out of the army. So this avenue to escape the war didn’t work for the book’s main character John Yossarian.

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Oil Prices Oil Oil-Sands Price 150

Green Car Congress

JUNE 23, 2016

The Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Brisbane, Australia, have collaborated on bioenergy and microbial biotechnology in the past. Now they are formalizing their relationship to enhance their bioenergy research, promote education, and develop industry around and viable bioenergy solutions in their respective countries—with special emphasis on adaptive bioprocesses.

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Universal Australia Emissions Carbon 150

Green Car Congress

JUNE 23, 2016

Australia-based Southern Oil and JJ Richards & Sons, joint venture partners in the Northern Oil Refinery at Yarwun, Australia, are building a new $5.3-million dollar biocrude and biofuel laboratory in central Queensland on the site of the recently announced Northern Oil Advanced Biofuels Pilot Plant. The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) announced this week it would provide $2.37 million in funding to help develop and construct the laboratory.

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 22, 2016

Despite the well-known dangers of distracted driving, the number of California drivers who use mobile devices while they drive is on the rise. In a study conducted by the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) in April 2016, at least 12.8% of California drivers were observed using a mobile device during the day, up from 9.2% in 2015 and eclipsing the previous high of 10.8% in 2013.

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 22, 2016

by Paul N. Blumberg, PhD. No one who follows automotive news and technology trends can be unaware of the intense research and experimentation taking place related to vehicles that drive themselves, i.e., “Autonomous Vehicles.” Among other potential benefits, these vehicles offer the promise of increased safety on the nation’s roadways and personal mobility to those who are not able or do not wish to drive themselves.

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Vehicles Michigan 2015 Engine 150

Green Car Congress

JUNE 22, 2016

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) announced its forecasts for the FY2016 full-year (April 1, 2016 to March 31, 2017). The announcement on the FY2016 forecasts were put on hold to assess the future impact from the improper testing of fuel consumption announced in April. ( Earlier post.). On 17 June, MMC submitted a report on the investigation results as well as preventative measures to Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism concerning the improper conduct in fuel economy testin

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 22, 2016

Verizon Communications Inc. signed an agreement to purchase Telogis, Inc. to add best-in-class Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) technology and services—specifically in the connected vehicle and mobile enterprise management sectors—as well as expanded distribution relationships to its Verizon Telematics subsidiary. Telogis is a global, cloud-based Mobile Enterprise Management (MEM) software company focusing on vehicle telematics.

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Green Car Congress

JUNE 22, 2016

Borgward Group AG, the reincarnated German automaker developing a line of plug-in hybrid SUVs ( earlier post ), has formed a long-term strategic partnership with the Augsburg-based company KUKA Roboter AG, the world’s leading supplier of robotic systems. The cooperation with Industry 4.0 pioneer KUKA is another milestone for Borgward in its endeavor to create a state-of-the-art production system.

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