Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 24, 2012

Power density. The 6.2L LT1 is almost 40 lbs lighter (and more compact) than the 4.4L BMW Twin Turbo V8, and is expected to deliver more power and comparable torque. Click to enlarge. When the all-new 2014 Chevrolet Corvette arrives late next year, it will be powered by a new 6.2L V-8 delivering an estimated 450 hp (335 kW) and 450 lb-ft (610 N·m ) of torque (610 Nm) and helping to produce 0-60 times of less than four seconds.

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Green Car Reports

OCTOBER 24, 2012

There's no denying that the Ford Model T is one of the most important cars of all time. It jump-started the auto industry as we now know it. But Tesla is looking to change the automotive industry, and the new 2012 Model S just might be the most important new car since the Model T. Let's start with the obvious: Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] is a U.S.

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Electric Cars are for Girls

OCTOBER 24, 2012

Interview with Don Otto about his electric bicycle conversion, how much it cost, and how long it took to put it together.

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DIY Electric Car

OCTOBER 21, 2012

Bought most of the bits for the conversion in December 2010. They shipped in and I took delivery in May 2011. July 2012: Embarrassing mess. Wasted $$ in battery connectors made of tinned steel and copper mesh. Good lesson: make sure I post online any questions at least a week before I have to make a decision. Eventually bought good ones and a vacuum pump for the brakes from. www.evworks.com.au/.

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Motor Motors Motoring 2012 100

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Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 22, 2012

ABB launched the Terra Smart Connect Duo , the first 22 kW AC & DC fast charging station tested and proven to successfully support the Daimler smart electric drive and Renault Zoe using AC charging, as well as with CHAdeMO cars such as the publicly announced Nissan EV200, Mitsubishi Outlander, Citroen Berlingo and Peugeot Partner. Terra SC Duo Charge Station.

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Green Car Reports

OCTOBER 25, 2012

Tesla Motors is facing a formidable opponent it may not have sufficiently appreciated: the auto dealers of America, and their state associations. Tesla, you may remember, is selling its electric cars online, not through franchised, independently owned dealers, and delivering them directly to buyers from the factory. In doing so, Tesla Motors.

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Dealers Store Auto Tesla 150

Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 24, 2012

PSA Peugeot Citroën and General Motors confirmed important steps toward the execution of their Global Strategic Alliance. ( earlier post ) This alliance is structured around two main pillars: the sharing of vehicle platforms, components and modules; and the creation of a global purchasing joint venture for the sourcing of commodities, components and other goods and services from suppliers with combined annual purchasing volumes of approximately $125 billion.

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Purchase Global Vehicles GM 322

Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 23, 2012

As another step toward autonomous driving systems, Volvo Car Corporation is demonstrating a new traffic jam assistance system. The new system, whereby the car automatically follows the vehicle in front in slow-moving queues up to 50 km/h (31 mph), will be ready for production in 2014. The traffic jam assistance function is an evolution of the current Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane Keeping Aid technology, which was introduced in the all-new Volvo V40 earlier in 2012.

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Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 23, 2012

Trunk lid inner panel is the first use of GM process for magnesium sheet metal. Click to enlarge. General Motors is testing an industry-first thermal-forming process and proprietary corrosion resistance treatment for lightweight magnesium sheet metal that will allow increased use of the high-strength alternative to steel and aluminum. Magnesium weighs 33% less than aluminum, 60% less than titanium, and 75% less than steel.

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GM Industrial Industry Fuel Economy 296

Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 26, 2012

VX Cycle block diagram. Source: Expansion Energy. Click to enlarge. Dresser-Rand—among the largest suppliers of rotating equipment solutions to the worldwide oil, gas, petrochemical, and process industries—has entered into a definitive agreement with Expansion Energy LLC under which Dresser-Rand is granted a worldwide exclusive (for capacities up to 100,000 gallons per day) license to Expansion Energy’s proprietary VX Cycle technology for the small-scale production of Liquefied Natur

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Energy Production Gas Fuel 268

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Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 26, 2012

According to independent test results in full cell Li-ion batteries (LIBs), California Lithium Battery’s (CalBattery) new GEN3 silicon-graphene composite anode materials, used with advanced cathode and electrolyte materials, show an energy density of 525 Wh/kg and specific anode capacity of 1,250 mAh/g. Earlier this year, CalBattery entered into a Work for Others (WFO) program with Argonne National Laboratory to commercialize an advanced Li-ion battery combining ANL’s Si-graphene anode materials

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Li-ion Los Angeles Batteries Battery 268

Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 25, 2012

Fuel mass flow comparison shows Pinnacle engine ahead at just about all points in the map. Click to enlarge. A 110cc pre-production prototype of a Pinnace Engine 4-stroke opposed piston scooter engine ( earlier post ) showed approximately a 27% improvement in fuel consumption across different scooter cycles compared to a conventional benchmark engine in dynamometer and simulation testing by FEV.

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Engine Fuel Fuel Economy Production 262

Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 23, 2012

The BMW Group is showcasing developments from BMW ConnectedDrive at the ITS World Congress this week in Vienna under the slogan “BMW Urban Mobility”. BMW ConnectedDrive is the BMW Group’s definition of Intelligent Traffic Systems (ITS); the BMW stand at the Congress presents App- and vehicle-based routing functions, safety systems and solutions for mobility on two wheels.

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Congress BMW Connect Connected 261

Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 24, 2012

Pathways for cultivating and processing algae to fuels and their products. Each row details a processing step or process option. Different combinations of cultivation and processing options have resulted in more than 60 different proposed pathways for producing algal biofuels. Source: NRC. Click to enlarge. Scaling up the production of algal biofuels to meet at least 5%—approximately 39 billion liters—of US transportation fuel needs would place unsustainable demands on energy, water,

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Production Water Fuel Emissions 257

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Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 22, 2012

The United States and the European Union (EU) have been working together under a 2009 implementation agreement to develop coordinated research programs to foster international connected vehicle technology and international harmonization of the technology and standards necessary for broad deployment of connected vehicle systems. To highlight the progress of this bilateral effort, the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) and the European Commission Directorate General for Communication Networks

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Connect Connected Standards Vehicles 257

Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 24, 2012

Strategies for characterizing the complex butanol-forming routes by metabolic engineering coupled with system-level metabolic flux and mass balance analyses. Jang et al. Click to enlarge. Using a systems metabolic engineering approach, researchers in Korea have improved the butanol production performance of Clostridium acetobutylicum, one of the best known butanol-producing bacteria.

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Engine Production Climate Change Carbon 252

Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 24, 2012

At the 2012 São Paulo International Motor Show in Brazil, Volkswagen presented the world premiere of a newly developed compact SUV concept: the Taigun. Technically, the Taigun resembles the very contemporary New Small Family by Volkswagen, which it would round out in an upward direction if it were to be produced. If it were to become a production car, Volkswagen noted, it would not only be offered in South America, but around the world.

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Concept SUV South America Downsizing 247

Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 22, 2012

Hubject GmbH , a joint venture formed by BMW Group, Bosch, Daimler, EnBW, RWE and Siemens earlier this year, and eighteen other companies have formed the “eMobility ICT Interoperability Interest Group”—an international interest group to promote harmonized electromobility data standards. These would support, for example, integrated charging infrastructures and the easier provision of supplementary services.

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Standards International France BMW 246

Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 22, 2012

ERTOC 7.5-tonne demonstrator. Click to enlarge. The Efficient and Reliable Transportation of Consignments ( ERTOC ) project, a two-year research collaboration between Ricardo, GS1 UK, Unipart Logistics, IRIS Technology and Coventry University, has delivered a viable prototype demonstrator. The goal of ERTOC was to develop a standards-based open-architecture data hub to enable freight users and operators to make more informed choices based on the efficiency and increased awareness of the true fin

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CO2 Ireland Transportation Fleet 246

Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 24, 2012

Thomas Built Buses will further expand its alternative-powered product offerings with the addition of a compressed natural gas (CNG)-fueled Saf-T-Liner C2 school bus. The company plans to utilize the Cummins Westport ISB6.7 G, a mid-range 6.7 liter natural gas engine, currently in development and expected to be available in 2015. The ISB6.7 G engine will be based on the Cummins ISB6.7 diesel engine and will use Cummins Westport’s proven, spark-ignited, stoichiometric-cooled exhaust gas recircula

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North America Fuel Gas-Electric 2015 244

Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 22, 2012

DENSO has developed the world’s largest projection-size TFT LCD Head-up Display (HUD). HUD technology projects important information such as vehicle speed, onto the windshield so drivers can obtain critical information while keeping their eyes on the road. DENSO plans to introduce the new larger-display HUD to the global market in the 2015 timeframe.

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2015 Market Austria Congress 240

Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 21, 2012

Guangxi Yuchai Machinery Company Limited (GYMCL), the main operating subsidiary of China Yuchai International Limited, has entered into a new joint venture with Guangxi Skylink Software Technology Co., Ltd to design, develop, manage and market an electronic operations management platform. The platform offers radio-frequency identification capabilities and will enable the owners and operators of vehicles remotely to monitor engine performance and pinpoint vehicle location through GPS tracking.

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China Engine Chinese Supplies 240

Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 26, 2012

Electric vehicle charging networks Source London and Source East have entered a roaming agreement enabling the members (annual £10 fee) of each to use the other’s charge points free of charge and have access to around 940 charge points throughout London and the east of England. Source London, a consortium of 50 public and private partners, has 810 charge points throughout the Capital with plans to increase that to 1,300 in 2013.

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London Carbon Charging Recharge 239

Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 26, 2012

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Tommy P. Beaudreau released the final details for an oil and gas lease sale that will offer more than 20 million acres offshore and will make available all unleased areas in the Western Gulf of Mexico Planning Area. ( Earlier post.). Western Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 229, which will be held on 28 November 2012, in New Orleans, will build on two major Gulf of Mexico lease sales in the past year—a 21

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Oil Gas Obama Mexico 236

Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 25, 2012

POET-DSM Advanced Biofuels ( earlier post ) has contracted with ANDRITZ, through its US subsidiary ANDRITZ Inc., to supply a two-step biomass treatment process for the Project LIBERTY commercial-scale cellulosic bio-ethanol plant under construction in Emmetsburg, Iowa ( earlier post ). . The ANDRITZ technology uses a two-stage process that includes a vertical reactor, an interstage washer and then the continuous steam explosion (Advanced SteamEx process) to draw out available sugars from the ce

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Iowa 2013 Commercial Renewable 231

Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 25, 2012

General Motors will invest $450 million between 2013 and 2015 to expand its Rosario Automotive Complex to build an all-new global Chevrolet vehicle, Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson said Wednesday. Akerson was joined by Argentina President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner; GM South America President Jaime Ardila; and GM Argentina President Isela Costantini.

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Argentina GM South America Chevrolet 231

Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 23, 2012

Siemens and Streetline, Inc. have launched a smart parking project in the City of Braunschweig, Germany. The project is locally-led by BELLIS, a public-private partnership from Siemens AG and the Braunschweiger Versorgungs AG & Co. KG. The advanced parking technology monitors parking space availability, distributes real-time parking information to Streetline’s free “ Parker ” smartphone app, and tracks parking patterns and habits to help City officials better manage parking throughout the City.

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Germany Los Angeles Indianapolis Austria 231

Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 23, 2012

Siemens is researching technologies that would allow waste heat from vehicles and industrial facilities to be used efficiently. To date, exhaust gas has generally only been used if it was hundreds of degrees Celsius hot. For example, the gas turbines in natural gas power plants produce exhaust gas that is used to generate steam for the operation of a steam turbine.

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Exhaust Waste Industrial Industry 231

Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 22, 2012

The first international “Science Award Electrochemistry” from BASF and Volkswagen ( earlier post ) goes to Dr. Naoaki Yabuuchi, Tokyo University of Science, Institute for Science and Technology, Tokyo, Japan. The jury of experts from BASF, Volkswagen and representatives from the world of science selected Yabuuchi for results of his research on different battery technologies.

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Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 21, 2012

A binder-free silicon nanoparticles/graphene electrode exhibits a high capacity, a superior rate capability, and strong cycle life. Credit Zhou et al. Click to enlarge. A team at the Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), Chinese Academy of Sciences reports a new method to construct binder-free silicon/graphene electrode materials for Li-ion batteries with high capacity, superior rate capability and strong cycle life.

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Li-ion Lithium Ion Energy Storage Low Cost 231

Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 20, 2012

Biorefinery company Biodico has signed a new agreement with the US Navy for the development and evaluation of advanced biofuels and bioenergy. The goal of the collaboration—which is partially supported by grants from the California Energy Commission—is to develop jointly renewable fuel and energy technologies that are appropriate for use at US Naval and DoD facilities worldwide.

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Renewable Fuel Grant California 231

Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 25, 2012

GM Korea plans to begin production of the battery-electric Chevrolet Spark minicar in 2013; the vehicle will be sold domestically as well as exported, including to the US. In October last year, GM said that the Spark EV would feature a battery pack from A123 Systems ( earlier post ), which has since entered a Chapter 11 restructuring and is seeking to sell off its automotive business. ( Earlier post.

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GM 2013 Chevrolet Extended Range 225

Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 25, 2012

A team from Stanford University led by Prof. Yi Cui has demonstrated a new type of safe, fast, inexpensive, long-life aqueous electrolyte battery targeted an grid-scale storage. The new battery, described in a paper published in the journal Nature Communications , relies on the insertion of potassium ions into a copper hexacyanoferrate (CuHCF) cathode and a novel activated carbon/polypyrrole hybrid anode (PPy/AC).

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Grid Energy Storage Batteries Battery 225

Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 25, 2012

New car registrations in the EU, 1990-2011. Source: ACEA. Click to enlarge. Addressing manufacturing overcapacity stemming from the more than 20% drop in total industry vehicle demand across Western Europe since 2007, Ford this week has outlined a series of cost efficiency actions including the planned closure of three European facilities: its Genk Plant (Belgium); a vehicle assembly plant in Southampton (UK), which builds the current Transit; and stamping and tooling operations in Dagenham (UK)

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