Sat.May 06, 2017 - Fri.May 12, 2017

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ICCT study examines current & projected use of heavy fuel oil in Arctic shipping; growth in BC emissions points to need for policies

Green Car Congress

A new study by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) estimates heavy fuel oil (HFO) use, HFO carriage, the use and carriage of other fuels, black carbon (BC) emissions, and emissions of other air and climate pollutants for the year 2015, with projections to 2020 and 2025. According to the report, potentially large increases in BC emissions may occur in the Arctic, further exacerbating warming, if ships are diverted from the Panama and Suez canals to take advantage of shorter r

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California to test electric-car 'point of purchase' rebate for electric cars

Green Car Reports

It's clear that incentives to buy specific cars work best when they can be applied directly at the time of sale. That's why purchase rebates are widely preferred by electric-car advocates to tax credits, which may take up to 15 months to be usable, depending on the timing of the purchase and tax filing. While the federal electric-car incentive is.

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What to Know Before Opting for a Full-Service Lease

Green Fleet Magazine

A full-service lease provides many added benefits beyond traditional lease options. Growing in popularity, there are situations where it may not be the ideal option as well as some common misperceptions.

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50 years on from the Road Safety Act, drink driving shows worrying rise

Green Cars News

It’s fifty years to the day (10 May 1967) since a blood alcohol limit was first introduced for drivers in the UK, yet government figures suggest drink

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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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155 businesses and industry groups send letter of support for California LCFS in current and possibly more stringent future forms

Green Car Congress

As California policymakers consider options to extend the state’s landmark climate change laws to 2030 and beyond, 155 businesses and industry groups sent a letter to California Governor Jerry Brown, Senate President pro Tempore Kevin de León, and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon in support of the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS)—in its current form and also in its potentially more stringent future state.

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Solar panels, EV chargers required in new homes in Fremont, CA

Green Car Reports

Half a century ago, the General Motors assembly plant was the largest employer in Fremont, California, and the town was known for its dragstrip. Today, that plant makes Tesla electric cars and Fremont is a part of the San Francisco Bay Area's Silicon Valley, creating advanced technology for the world. The city has now taken another step into the.

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DOE: China alone accounted for 42% of global plug-in vehicle sales in 2016

Green Car Congress

About 756,000 plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) were sold in the world in 2016, with 95% of those sales in China, Europe, the United States, Japan, and Canada, according to figures compiled by the US Department of Energy (DOE). China alone accounted for 42% of sales (316,800 units). China’s 2016 PEV sales grew by 53% from 2015’s 207,000 units—most of which were all-electric vehicles (EV) (244,400 units, or 77%).

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IAV develops new close-coupled diesel exhaust gas aftertreatment system for improved emissions reduction

Green Car Congress

IAV has developed a particularly closed-coupled diesel exhaust gas aftertreatment (EAT) system. The design allows the diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC) and particular filter/selective catalytic reduction (DPF/SCR) units to reach optimum working temperature more quickly which, even when driving in the low-load range, significantly cuts emissions. Under the EU6 standard, diesel engines are still allowed to emit up to 80 mg NO x /km milligrams of nitrogen oxides per kilometer—not only under the

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Study finds fleet switch from PFI to GDI engines will result in net reduction in global warming

Green Car Congress

A new study quantifying emissions from a fleet of gasoline direct injection (GDI) engines and port fuel injection (PFI) engines finds that the measured decrease in CO 2 emissions from GDIs is much greater than the potential climate forcing associated with higher black carbon emissions from GDI engines. Thus, the researchers concluded, switching from PFI to GDI vehicles will likely lead to a reduction in net global warming.

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Audi puts steel back in the new A8

Green Car Congress

The new Audi A8, scheduled for release in 2018, features a multi-material body structure ( earlier post ) consisting of more than 40% steel. That’s a marked turnaround from the all-aluminum body-in-white which Audi developed for the A8 in 1994, in which steel was essentially used for the B-pillars alone, and accounted for about 8% of the body structure.

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

Brief

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TM4 and Cummins jointly developing range-extended electric plug-in powertrain for Class 7/8 buses

Green Car Congress

TM4 and Cummins are jointly developing a plug-in hybrid powertrain for Class 7/8 transit buses that can reduce fuel consumption by at least 50% compared to conventional hybrid buses. The project aims to provide transit authorities with a flexible, more efficient drivetrain and a longer range zero-tailpipe-emission capability for inner-city routes. The range-extended electric drive system comprises a gen-set (Cummins’ Euro 2019 B4.5 diesel engine coupled with TM4’s LSG130 electric generator); an

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NVIDIA and Toyota collaborate to accelerate market introduction of autonomous cars; new Volta GPU architecture

Green Car Congress

NVIDIA is collaborating with Toyota to deliver artificial intelligence hardware and software technologies that will enhance the capabilities of autonomous driving systems planned for market introduction within the next few years. Toyota will use the NVIDIA DRIVE PX AI car computer platform ( earlier post ) to power advanced autonomous driving systems planned for market introduction.

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Wrightspeed partners with AxleTech on heavy-duty electric drive

Green Car Congress

Wrightspeed Inc., a developer and manufacturer of heavy-duty range-extended electric vehicle (REV) powertrains ( earlier post ), has partnered with AxleTech International, a leading manufacturer of heavy-duty specialty drivetrain systems. The partnership integrates decades of axle engineering experience into Wrightspeed’s electrification technology to meet growing demand from the company’s customers and partners, including Mack Trucks and New Zealand Bus (NZB).

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Argonne, NREL, Gevo to develop predictive octane blending model for isobutanol and gasoline

Green Car Congress

Gevo has been selected to collaborate with Argonne National Laboratory and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) received funding to develop a predictive octane blending model for isobutanol and gasoline blendstocks for oxygenated blending (BOBs). While it is known that isobutanol increases octane when blended into BOBs, the effect is non-linear, and dependent on a BOB’s properties.

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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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California Energy Commission awards more than $36M to clean transportation projects

Green Car Congress

The California Energy Commission awarded more than $24 million in grants today for clean energy freight transportation projects in Los Angeles and Long Beach and more than $12 million for other clean transportation projects. The South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) and Long Beach Harbor Department received $10 million each and the Los Angeles Harbor Department received $4.5 million to conduct field demonstrations of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and cargo handling equipment tha

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Brookhaven team identifies active sites on catalysts for converting CO2 to methanol

Green Car Congress

Chemists from the US Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory and their collaborators have definitively identified the active sites of a catalyst commonly used for making methanol from CO 2. The results, published in the journal Science , resolve a longstanding debate about exactly which catalytic components take part in the chemical reactions—and thus which should be the focus of efforts to boost performance.

Convert 170
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Yara and Kongsberg partner to build world’s first autonomous electric container feeder ship; moving goods from roads to ships

Green Car Congress

Global fertilizer company Yara and technology group Kongsberg are parterning to build the first autonomous, electric container feeder ship. Container feeder ships collect shipping containers from different ports and transport them to central container terminals, at which they are loaded onto larger container ships or onto rail. Named YARA Birkeland after Yara’s founder Kristian Birkeland, the vesselwill will reduce diesel-powered truck haulage by some 40,000 journeys a year, the partners estimat

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DOE awards $3.9M to 13 projects using high performance computing in manufacturing; Ford, LanzaTech

Green Car Congress

The US Department of Energy is awarding nearly $3.9 million for 13 projects designed to stimulate the use of high performance supercomputing in US manufacturing. The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Advanced Manufacturing Office’s High Performance Computing for Manufacturing (HPC4Mfg) program enables innovation in US manufacturing through the adoption of high performance computing (HPC) to advance applied science and technology relevant to manufacturing. ( Earlier post.).

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NREL licenses Li-ion battery technology to Forge Nano; enhanced safety, durability, and lifetime

Green Car Congress

The US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has entered into an exclusive license agreement with Forge Nano to commercialize NREL’s patented battery materials and systems capable of operating safely in high-stress environments. A particular feature of the technology is the encapsulation of materials with solid electrolyte coatings that can be designed to meet the increasingly demanding needs of any battery application.

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Visedo and TECO partner on heavy vehicle electric motors

Green Car Congress

Finnish manufacturer of electric drivetrains for heavy vehicles Visedo has signed a supply and purchase agreement with Asia’s largest electric motor producer TECO Electric & Machinery Company. Under the agreement, Visedo will benefit from TECO’s significant production capacity and ability to service major tender projects worldwide and particularly in Asia.

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Groupe PSA and partners launch GridMotion; reducing electric vehicle usage cost with smart charging

Green Car Congress

Groupe PSA, Direct Energie, Enel, Nuvve, Proxiserve and the Technical University of Denmark have launched the GridMotion project with the aim of evaluating possible savings achieved by real-life electric vehicle (EV) users through the implementation of smart charging and discharging strategies for EVs. An electric vehicle driver’s electricity bill could be reduced, with no impact on transportation use, by shifting charging times from periods when electricity prices are higher to periods when ele

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Alberta Innovates & NRCan awarding $26.2M to three oil sands clean tech projects; industry kicking in $43.3M

Green Car Congress

Alberta Innovates has teamed up with Natural Resources (NRCan) and industry partners to take three clean oil sands technologies to commercial demonstration. This announcement is a result of NRCan’s Oil and Gas Clean Tech Program. NRCan is contributing $21 million and Alberta Innovates is investing $5.2 million, for a total of $26.2 million over two years.

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Continental counting on positive decision on automated driving from Germany’s Bundesrat

Green Car Congress

Continental is eagerly awaiting today’s decision by the Germany’s Bundesrat regarding changes to the German Road Traffic Act. This would make Germany one of the first countries in the world to obtain a legal framework for the introduction of highly and fully automated vehicles. Further technological development depends on a modern legal framework. —Kurt Lehmann, Corporate Technology Officer (CTO) at Continental. 33 years after the first electronic brake system was introduced, this change i

Legal 150
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Cross-border car2go rentals up 80% in Q1 2017 to 33,000 journeys

Green Car Congress

An increasing number of travelers are using free-floating carsharing from car2go. In the first quarter of 2017, the number of cross-border rentals increased by 80% to 33,000 journeys. This figure includes both business travel as well as tourist visits in European car2go locations. The sharing of vehicles in Germany by customers from other European locations is popular.

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Motiv Power Systems to power 13 electric school buses in California pilot

Green Car Congress

MotivPower Systems, in partnership with Type-A school bus manufacturer Trans Tech, is bringing electric school buses to the Sacramento, California region. A $7.5-million grant from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) will support the building of 13 battery-electric school buses as part of the Sacramento Regional Zero-Emission School Bus Deployment Project.

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Fraunhofer IAF develops first monolithically integrated GaN half bridge for voltage converters for e-mobility

Green Car Congress

Half-bridge circuits are the centerpiece of many voltage converters. Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Solid State Physics IAF has now produced and demonstrated the world’s first monolithically integrated GaN half bridge for the important 600 volt class. In power electronics components, this is the standard volt class for grid-connected electrical devices, ranging from tablets and washing machines to e-bikes and electric cars.

Convert 150
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BorgWarner supplies clutch for Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid

Green Car Congress

BorgWarner supplies its sprag one-way clutch for the 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid, the first FCA US LLC mass-produced plug-in hybrid electric vehicle and the industry’s first PHEV minivan. ( Earlier post.) Depending on driving mode, BorgWarner’s one-way clutch enables the secondary motor to generate electricity or work with the traction-drive motor to transfer torque through the differential to the front wheels.

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REG expanding footprint at 75M gallon renewable diesel refinery in Geismar

Green Car Congress

Renewable Energy Group will acquire approximately 82 acres of land at its Geismar, Louisiana biorefinery from Lion Copolymer. REG has agreed to purchase the land it has leased for its Geismar operations, as well as more than 61 adjacent acres, which the company plans to improve and utilize to support existing production capacity and future expansion opportunities.

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Proterra launches new diagnostic tool and cold weather package for improved operational efficiency of battery-electric buses

Green Car Congress

Electric bus manufacturer Proterra has introduced the Proterra Diagnostic Tool and the Proterra Cold Weather Package to its growing suite of products and services. The Diagnostic Tool is the only diagnostic platform that allows technicians to access all vehicle systems in one place, with one intuitive interface. . A simple dashboard displays the vehicle’s functional layout, enabling users to monitor operation levels, see faults and resolve many issues directly through the interface without physi

Climate 150
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Volkswagen Group to invest approximately €10B in powertrain technologies over the next five years; targeting Nº 1 in e-mobility by 2022

Green Car Congress

The Volkswagen Group has invested some €3 billion (US$3.3 billion) in alternative drive technologies over the past five years and will triple this amount in the course of the next five years, said Matthias Müller, CEO of Volkswagen AG, at the Group’s Annual General Meeting in Hanover. “ The future is electric. We intend to be the Nº 1 in e-mobility by 2025 ,” said Müller at the meeting.

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Praj cellulosic ethanol demo plant running in India; commercial projects coming

Green Car Congress

Nitin Gadkari, India’s Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping, recently inaugurated Praj’s cellulosic ethanol demonstration plant near Pune, India. The plant is India’s first integrated bio-refinery, built to showcase Praj’s proprietary process technology to produce ethanol from agricultural waste. The demonstration plant has the capacity to produce 1 million liters (264,000 gallons US) of ethanol annually from a variety of biomass such as rice and wheat straw, cotton stalks, sugarca

India 150
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Energy companies partner with RMI and Grid Singularity to launch global blockchain initiative for energy

Green Car Congress

Centrica plc, Elia, Engie, Royal Dutch Shell plc, Sempra Energy, SP Group, Statoil ASA, Stedin, TWL (Technical Works Ludwigshafen AG), and Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) have joined forces to support the Energy Web Foundation (EWF), a non-profit organization the mission of which is to accelerate the commercial deployment of blockchain technology in the energy sector.

Grid 150
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Karsan unveiling “Buy America” CNG bus at UTIP World Global Transport Summit

Green Car Congress

Turkey-based Karsan will introduce its first “Buy America” compliant vehicle at the upcoming UITP World Global Transport Summit, 15-17 May at Palais des Congrès de Montréal, QC Canada. Having successfully completed Altoona testing, the 40' (12m), CNG-powered vehicle is currently completing FMVSS/CMVSS certification and will be ready for sale before the end of 2017.

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2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee qualifies for Japan’s Eco-Car tax tncentive

Green Car Congress

The 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee mid-size SUV has become the second gasoline-driven, US-made, US-brand vehicle to qualify for Japan’s Eco-Car tax break. The 2016 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk was first. Jeep is Japan’s top-selling US vehicle brand; sales hit a record high of 9,388 in 2016—a 31.7% jump, year-over-year. Equipped with versions of the award-winning Pentastar V-6 engine, the 2017 Grand Cherokee and its predecessor met the strict fuel-efficiency and emissions standards allowing them to be

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