Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 7, 2016

UPS has introduced its first eBike in the US. This new electrically-assisted tricycle began delivering packages in Portland, Oregon, on 21 November 21. UPS anticipates this eBike prototype could become a component of its delivery capabilities in some other cities across the country. UPS eBike with UPS Chairman and CEO David Abney. Click to enlarge. The deployment of the eBike is part of UPS’s ongoing commitment to reduce carbon emissions as city populations and e-commerce grow, and traffic, nois

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Green Car Reports

DECEMBER 5, 2016

Twenty years ago today, the very first GM EV1 electric cars were delivered to 40 lessees in California in a blaze of publicity. Since then, plug-in electric vehicles have seen more than their share of ups and downs. That first EV1 was a high-tech two-seater created specifically to meet California's then-current zero-emission vehicle rules.

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Green Cars News

DECEMBER 8, 2016

The Mercedes E350d All-Terrain has one clear mission and that’s to dismount the Audi A6 Allroad from its position as the one and only premium soft-roa.

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Mercedes Audi 42

Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 8, 2016

The Government of Canada is investing up to $1.9 million from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) in Vancouver-based Nano One to support the development of advanced battery technology for electric vehicles. Nano One produces low-cost high-performance energy storage materials for batteries as well as a wide range of advanced nanostructured composite materials.

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Lithium Ion Batteries Battery Canada 273

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Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 6, 2016

Chevrolet’s first nine-speed automatic transmission makes its debut in the 2017 Malibu and will be available in the 2017 Cruze Diesel and 2018 Equinox, with another Chevrolet model to follow by the end of 2017. The new, General Motors-developed Hydra-Matic 9T50 nine-speed is paired with the available 2.0L Turbo engine in the Malibu, contributing to an EPA-estimated 33 mpg highway (7.12 l/100 km)—a 3% increase over the 2016 model with the eight-speed automatic.

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Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 4, 2016

In the UK, CNG Fuels launched its renewable biomethane fuel, the most cost-effective and lowest-carbon alternative to diesel for heavy goods vehicles (HGVs). The fuel is 35%-40% cheaper than diesel, and emits 70% less CO 2 on a well-to-wheel basis. It therefore offers fleet operators the chance to significantly reduce running costs and emissions. Retailers Waitrose, John Lewis and Argos, as well as hauler Brit European, have already committed to using the new biomethane fuel for their long-dista

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Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 9, 2016

Cummins Westport’s ISB6.7 G, a 6.7 liter midrange, factory-built natural gas engine is now fully available as a production engine for shuttle bus, medium duty truck, and vocational applications in North America. ( Earlier post.) As previously announced, the engine has been available for school bus applications since May 2016 from Thomas Built Buses.

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Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 5, 2016

Members of the Marine Algae Industrialization Consortium (MAGIC), led by Duke University in North Carolina, have published an open-access paper in the journal Oceanography presenting the large-scale industrial cultivation of marine microalgae (ICMM) as an answer to pressing global energy, food and climate security issues. Underpinned by numerous prior research papers through MAGIC’s predecessor, the Cornell Marine Algae Biofuels Consortium, the ICMM approach delivers a series of co-products: liq

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Mariner Climate Energy Global 237

Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 6, 2016

At an event at its Salt Lake City headquarters last week, startup Nikola Motor Company (NMC) unveiled the first public prototype of its Nikola One Class 8 hydrogen fuel cell range-extended electric truck, as well as renderings of the Nikola Two Class 8 day cab version. The company also announced its plan for a network of 364 hydrogen fueling stations across the US and Canada (Nikola is bundling fuel with the truck), and unveiled a 107 kWh battery pack for the Nikola Zero UTV along with a busines

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Fuel Motor Motors Motoring 236

Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 6, 2016

Audi is the first manufacturer to launch Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) technology in the US, with the deployment of Traffic Light Information in select 2017 Audi A4, Q7 and allroad models in Las Vegas. ( Earlier post.). “The launch of this technology is another in a long list of firsts for Audi that have positioned us as the industry leader in connectivity solutions V2I applications and services like Traffic Light Information are essential components as we continue to move toward an autonomous

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Las Vegas Audi Light Nevada 225

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Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 5, 2016

A study by a team from UC Davis for the California Air Resources Board (ARB) has found that the state could produce 14 bcf (billion cubic feet) per year of renewable natural gas (RNG) (biomethane) by the 2020s, meeting roughly 85% of current natural gas use in transport California at LCFS (Low Carbon Fuel Standard) credits of $120 per metric ton of CO 2.

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Gas Renewable California Transportation 224

Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 9, 2016

Renault Pro+ will present the all-electric New KANGOO Z.E. on 13 January at the 2017 European Motor Show in Brussels, Belgium. Renault Pro+ will equip the latest KANGOO Z.E. with a new motor/battery package that will increase the model’s driving range by more than 50%, from 170 km to 270 km (106 miles to 168 miles) NEDC. That is equivalent of 200 km (124 miles) in real conditions, Renault said.

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Range Electric Electrical Belgium 221

Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 5, 2016

Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have developed a novel electrode for lithium-sulfur batteries that improves cyclic stability and rate capability significantly. In a paper published in the ACS journal Nano Letters , they report using polypyrrole-MnO 2 coaxial nanotubes to encapsulate sulfur. MnO 2 restrains the shuttle effect of polysulfides greatly through chemisorption and the polypyrrole serves as conductive frameworks.

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Lithium Sulfur Batteries Battery Austin 221

Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 8, 2016

Following the world premiere of the V8-powered LC 500 at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in January 2016, Lexus introduced its hybrid variant, the new LC 500h. ( Earlier post.) The LC is a new flagship 2+2 performance coupe for Lexus’ global model range, and will go on sale in the US in Spring 2017. The LC 500h is the first model to feature the new Multi Stage Hybrid system. ( Earlier post.

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Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 9, 2016

Honeywell’s Transportation Systems Forecast projects that turbocharged vehicles will acount for 48% of annual global sales by 2021, up 9 percentage points from 2016. This annual sales estimate, combining both passenger and commercial vehicles, would add more than 232 million turbocharged vehicles globally between 2017 and 2021—an increase of 35% from today.

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Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 5, 2016

The Volkswagen Group officially launched its new mobility services company MOIA. Volkswagen Group CEO Matthias Müller previewed the formation of the new business unit during a presentation of the Group’s new strategic plan—TOGETHER - Strategy 2025—in Wolfsburg in June. ( Earlier post.). “MOIA will help us gain a deeper understanding of new forms of mobility and how to make them even more attractive in future, to offer a much broader scope than at present and to tailor these services to suit very

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Companies Automobile Transportation 2017 218

Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 6, 2016

In Japan, Toyota Motor Corporation unveiled new advanced engines and transmissions and further evolved hybrid systems based on the Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA). Toyota intends to deploy these new powertrain units in a rapidly broadening range of vehicle models, starting in 2017. The new units will feature in 60% or more of vehicles sold annually in Japan, United States, Europe and China in 2021, reducing CO 2 emissions in those markets by 15% or more.

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Toyota Hybrid Engine 2017 214

Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 9, 2016

A team at the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, Germany, and collaborators at ETH Zurich and the University of Cambridge, have developed a system that enables time-delayed photocatalytic hydrogen generation—essentially, an artificial photosynthesis system that can operate in the dark. A paper on their work is published in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition.

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Hydrogen Polymer Solar Production 214

Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 5, 2016

Nissan Motor has introduced Intelligent Vehicle Towing (IVT), a fully automated vehicle towing system, at its Oppama Plant. The IVT system uses a modified Nissan LEAF autonomously to tow trollies carrying finished vehicles between designated loading and unloading points at the plant. Unlike conventional automatic guided vehicle systems for transporting parts, which often require the installation of rails or extensive use of magnetic tape, this system does not need any special infrastructure to o

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Nissan Vehicles Electric Cars Cars 209

Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 9, 2016

Following “smart ready to park+” and “smart ready to drop”, “smart ready to rent” is the next mobility service from Daimler’s smart brand intended to make urban life easier and meet the mobility requirements of town-dwellers. With “smart ready to rent”, the full smart model range—and next year also the new smart electric drive models—can be flexibly rented from dealers.

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Dealers Europe All-Electric Vehicles 207

Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 8, 2016

Continental has developed a new AdBlue dosing system for selective catalytic reduction aftertreatment that the company says will help diesels meet real driving emissions (RDE) testing. The main components of the AdBlue system are the injector, a tank flange module, which includes the pump, as well as its own electronic control unit. This electronic control unit, which is coupled with the engine control unit, not only controls the injector, but also regulates the pump pressure and diagnoses the f

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Diesel Exhaust Water Emissions 207

Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 5, 2016

Wireless power transfer company WiTricity announced Tunable Matching Network (TMN) technology, which allows the wireless charging system automatically to optimize energy transfer between the ground and vehicle in a wide range of real-world operating conditions including parking misalignment, differing vehicle ground clearance and varying battery voltage conditions.

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Vehicles Electric Vehicles Power Powered 207

Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 9, 2016

Dongfeng Honda Automobile Co., Ltd., a Honda automobile production and sales joint venture in China, plans to build a third automobile production plant to meet increasing demand from the continuously growing automobile market in China. Dongfeng Honda plans to build the third plant on a 1.2 million-square-meter plot acquired by the company, located approximately 8 km southeast of the company’s first plant within Wuhan Economic & Technological Development District.

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Honda China Automobile Building 204

Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 7, 2016

Samsung SDI and luxury EV startup Lucid Motors have entered a strategic partnership for battery cell supply. Samsung SDI will be a major supplier of lithium-ion cells for Lucid’s first vehicle, an electric executive sedan scheduled to begin production in late 2018. Samsung SDI and Lucid have collaborated to develop next-generation cylindrical cells that are able to exceed current performance benchmarks in areas such as energy density, power, calendar life and safety.

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Lithium Ion Motor Motors Motoring 204

Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 4, 2016

BP has sanctioned the $9-billion Mad Dog Phase 2 project in the United States, despite the current low oil price environment. Mad Dog Phase 2 will develop resources in the central area of the giant Mad Dog field through a subsea development linked to a new floating production platform with the capacity to produce up to 140,000 gross barrels of crude oil per day from up to 14 production wells.

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Mexico Oil Chevron Oil Prices 204

Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 4, 2016

The first Honda Clarity Fuel Cell vehicles arrived in Europe last week. The first six vehicles will be based with customers in London and Copenhagen as part of the Hydrogen for Innovative Vehicles ( HyFIVE ) demonstration project, partly funded by the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking ( FCHJU ). Honda has always been one of the leaders in the field of hydrogen fuel cell technology, with over 30 years of research and development behind us.

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Honda Europe Fuel Vehicles 204

Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 8, 2016

Global Automakers, the trade association representing the US divisions of 12 international automakers (Aston Martin, Ferrari, Honda, Hyundai, Isuzu, Kia, Maserati, McLaren, Nissan, Subaru, Suzuki and Toyota), has called on the EPA either to withdraw its proposed determination on MY 2022-2025 light duty vehicle greenhouse gas standards or to extend the comment period.

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EPA Fuel Economy Standards Aston Martin 203

Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 3, 2016

The first 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid ( earlier post ) rolled off the line at the FCA US Windsor Assembly Plant (Ont.) on 1 December. The launch of the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid marks another milestone for the Windsor plant as it is the first electric vehicle to be built on its assembly line. The nearly 5,900 employees at Windsor Assembly are bringing more than 33 years of minivan production knowledge and expertise to the launch of the Pacifica Hybrid.

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Chrysler Li-ion Hybrid Lithium Ion 203

Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 9, 2016

The average fuel economy (window-sticker value) of new vehicles sold in the US in November was 24.9 mpg (9.44 l/100 km)—unchanged from the revised value for October, according to the monthly report from Dr. Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle at University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI). The value for November 2016 is up by 4.8 mpg since October 2007 (the first month of their monitoring), but down 0.6 mpg from the revised peak of 25.5 mpg reached in August of 2014.

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Fuel Economy Vehicles Fuel Economy 200

Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 7, 2016

Daimler is becoming a new member of the MIT CSAIL Alliance Program. MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory ( CSAIL ) is the largest research laboratory at MIT and one of the world’s most important centers of information technology research. With 1,000 members and more than 100 principal investigators coming from eight departments, CSAIL includes approximately 50 research groups organized into three focus areas: artificial intelligence, systems and theory.

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Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 5, 2016

US driving topped 2.4 trillion miles in the first nine months of 2016, an increase of 3.0% compared to the same period last year, lengthening a series of consecutive monthly increases that started in April 2014, according to preliminary new data released by the US Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The new data, published in FHWA’s latest “ Traffic Volume Trends ” report—a monthly estimate of US road travel—show that more than 265.5 billion

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Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 5, 2016

Toyota Motor Corporation will partner with five Japanese power companies—Tohoku Electric Power Co., Ltd.; TEPCO Energy Partner, Inc.; Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc.; Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc.; and Shikoku Electric Power Company, Inc. to offer the new PHV Connected Power Service. This service will provide customers of the new Prius PHV with various benefits depending on the distance driven in EV-mode as well as the amount of home charging.

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Prius Toyota Electric Electrical 200

Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 7, 2016

Researchers from Augmented Optics Ltd. and the University of Surrey, in collaboration with the University of Bristol, have developed new, crosslinked gel-matrix polymer electrolytes exhibiting measured capacitance values more than 100 times those of conventional electrolytes. The new gel electrolytes are compatible with all normal production electrodes.

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Batteries Battery Polymer Energy 197

Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 6, 2016

At CES 2017, Honda will showcase what it calls a future technology path toward a redefined mobility experience. The exhibit will include the NeuV, a concept automated EV commuter vehicle equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) called the “emotion engine” that creates new possibilities for human interaction and new value for customers. The emotion engine is the focus of a joint research project with Softbank Corporation that Honda announced in July 2016 to apply the AI technology in mobility p

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