From Washington DC as I return from an LED lighting retrofit at the giraffe house in the Maryland Zoo , a project site visit to the waterways of Maryland’s oyster restoration efforts , and meetings with elected officials, nonprofit organizations and potential EcoMedia advertisers. . MORE

Kohn and Seon-Woo Kim are faculty members at the University of Maryland where the organisms were first discovered. The US Patent and Trademark Office has issued patent Nº 9,193,979 for ethanol-tolerant microorganisms that convert cellulosic biomass to ethanol. Inventors Richard A. Earlier post.) The patent describes using the microorganisms to produce ethanol from crop or waste biomass like food waste, crop residues (e.g. corn stalks), algae, or leaves. MORE

California incentives Pricing plug-in cars Prices Maryland Chevy Spark Spark EV compliance car Oregon The suggested retail price of the 2015 Chevrolet Spark EV electric car will be cut by $1,650, to $25,995, GM announced today. Chevrolet''s chief global marketing officer, Tim Mahoney, announced the price cut today in a luncheon speech at the Washington Automotive Press Association. Mahoney also said Chevy will offer the Spark EV electric minicar on. MORE

The US Department of the Interior (DOI) will offer nearly 80,000 acres offshore Maryland for commercial wind energy development in a 19 August 2014 competitive lease sale. Offshore Maryland lease areas. Bluewater Wind Maryland, LLC. Maryland Offshore Wind, LLC. MORE

If you live in the US state of Maryland you might want to keep your eyes peeled for a host of hybrid trucks that have just been deployed in the state. The Maryland Energy Administration teamed with the US Department of Energy and Daimler Trucks North America to bring 143 heavy duty Freightliner hybrid electric [.]. Green cars Hybrid cars Latest news green trucks heavy duty trucks hybrid trucks Maryland Maryland Energy Administration MORE

Today on Green Car Reports: Toyota demonstrates a new combustion engine that generates electricity directly, California and Maryland boost their electric-car incentive programs, and new Scion small cars are in the works. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Toyota''s new Free Piston Engine Linear Generator can generate electricity directly MORE

Researchers at the University of Maryland have developed a nanocomposite material of amorphous, porous FePO 4 nanoparticles electrically wired by single-wall carbon nanotubes as a potential cathode material for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). Systematic diagram for the nanocomposite of SWNT?amorphous amorphous porous FePO 4. nanoparticles. Right. cycling stability at 50 mA/g. Credit: ACS, Liu et al. Click to enlarge. MORE

The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (Auto Alliance) is strongly supporting the passage of Maryland’s SB 1234 , a bill that would require the State of Maryland to purchase zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) for state fleets. Maryland is one of nine states that has adopted California’s ZEV Mandate. While the mandate requires that 15% of all vehicles sold in the state by 2025 be ZEV, as of today less than one percent (0.65%) of vehicles sold in Maryland meet that standard. MORE

Last week, barely minutes before it adjourned, the Maryland House of Representatives passed a bill authorizing Tesla Motors to sell its electric cars from up to four stores in the state. Politics sales dealers Tesla Motors New car sales state laws Maryland MORE

The team of the University of Maryland is the winner of the 2012 Hydrogen Student Design Contest, announced on Sunday by the US Department of Energy at the Young Scientist Symposium of the World Hydrogen Energy Conference 2012 in Toronto, Canada. A panel of 16 judges from industry, government and national laboratories awarded the team of the University of Maryland 91% of available points, declaring it the Grand Prize winner. MORE

Green Connecticut Maryland New Jersey New York plug-in carsWhen it first went on sale, the Kia Soul EV electric car was only available at select dealers in California. But Kia later followed up on a promise to expand sales when it determined that there was significant interest. Earlier this year, Kia announced the expansion of sales to Oregon, Washington, Georgia, Texas, and Hawaii. DON'T MISS: 2016 Kia. MORE

California and Maryland Spark EV owners may also qualify for a $2,500 California state rebate or $2,300 Maryland excise tax exemption. Additional Chevrolet bonus cash is also available: $1,000 in California, $1,200 in Maryland, and $3,500 in Oregon. MORE

Electrochemical performance of the Sn anodes. (a) a) Galvanostatic charge/discharge voltage profiles at a rate of C/10. (b) b) Cycling performance of Sn@WF, Al 2 O 3 coated fiber, and Cu current collector at a rate of C/10. MORE

The electric Fit will be available at selected locations in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maryland, New York, and New Jersey later this month. Honda has confirmed the five East Coast locations in which its 2013 Honda Fit EV will be leased, joining the West Coast markets of California and Oregon. MORE

The fuel cells, based upon patented technology developed by professor Eric Wachsman, director of the University of Maryland Energy Research Center (UMERC) in the A. University of Maryland Professor Eric Wachsman describes how solid oxide fuel cells work. MORE

University of Maryland (UMD) and US Army Research Lab (ARL) researchers are spearheading a public-private sector collaboration to further develop a lithium-ion battery that would be safer to operate and less costly to dispose of than those currently available on the market. MORE

University of Maryland, College Park: Garnet Electrolyte Based Safe, Lithium-Sulfur Energy Storage. NASA’s Game Changing Development (GCD) program has selected two proposals for Phase II awards targeted toward developing new energy storage technologies to replace the battery systems currently used by America’s space program. Addressing several high priority challenges, NASA is making significant investments to achieve safe and affordable deep space exploration. MORE

On April 7, the Maryland General Assembly passed HB 1345 (via Charged EVs), which now awaits the signature of Governor Martin O''Malley. Government incentives are a major perk of electric-car ownership, and two states have now ensured that more people are encouraged to drive zero-emission vehicles. The bill--introduced by Delegate Brian K MORE

The Maryland Transit Administration is now in line to receive $97,845,148 to invest in 172 40-foot advanced clean diesel buses after receiving approval from the Maryland’s Board of Public Works. The Maryland Transit Administration contracted a price of $556,774 per bus New Flyer Industries, plus additional costs for services such as training. MORE

Fuel cell designer and manufacturer Ballard Power Systems, with founding partners University of Maryland (UMD) and US Department of Defense Army Research Laboratory (ARL), has launched a new center of excellence for the advancement of fuel processing technology. The new center—named FuelWorks—will be located at the University of Maryland in College Park. MORE

Now, the small Maryland city of Hyattsville, a suburb of Washington, D.C., police Chevy Police car plug-in cars Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) Maryland Drive Electric WeekUsing electric cars as police vehicles has some distinct advantages. Among them are near-silent operation, maximum acceleration from 0 rpm, and a novelty factor that can lead to friendly, beneficial interactions between officers and citizens. has a 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV. MORE

metropolitan area is one of three key markets for the roll-out for the current wave of electric cars and yesterday residents of Maryland were given a whole new set of incentives to go electric. The Washington D.C. Democratic Governor Martin O'Malley signed two historic bills into state law to give residents an additional $2,000 excise motor MORE

Advertising Videos Chevy Dealership plug-in cars MarylandAh, local car-dealer ads on television. You've likely seen them, usually during the local ad minute on national shows, often late at night or in the cheaper slots. They're mostly formulaic, but each one mixes several elements for its own unique blend of attention-grabbing pitch. DON'T MISS: This family has 2 Chevy Bolt EV electric cars, uses no. MORE

When my son scored a coveted civil engineering summer internship in Silver Spring, Maryland, the chance for an electric-car road trip from our Boston-area home presented itself. Sure, I could have done the sensible thing and taken my trusty 2006 Toyota Prius, but where would be the adventure in that? Instead, I seized the chance to take my 84-mile MORE

The US Department of Agriculture has provided $16,893 to Advanced Biofuels USA , a Maryland-based 501(c)(3) non-profit educational organization, for a feasibility study of producing bio-jetfuel from energy beets grown on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. The study will look at the technical and economic aspects of a project being developed by the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES), Purdue University, and Maryland small businesses. MORE

Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley released the state’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act Plan with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 25% by 2020 from a 2006 baseline. Key programs in the plan include: Maryland Clean Cars Program: This program directly regulates carbon dioxide emissions from motor vehicles. EmPOWER Maryland: This program is designed to reduce both Maryland’s per capita total electricity consumption and peak load demand by 15% by 2015. MORE

XL Hybrids ( earlier post ) announced the successful installation of its XL3 Hybrid Electric Drive System in Prince George’s County, Maryland cargo vans. The upfitted hybrid vans are part of the County’s Sustainable Energy Program, which aims to reduce government fleet vehicle petroleum consumption by 20%. With more than four thousand fleet vehicles in our County, we are continuously identifying opportunities to make an impact on the overall sustainability goals. MORE

Now, that motor is officially in production at the company''s Baltimore Operations plant in White Marsh, Maryland--along with the associated final-drive unit--fulfilling a promise originally made in January 2010 Eighteen months ago, GM announced that it would build the electric motor for its upcoming Chevrolet Spark EV electric car in the U.S. MORE

Funding for the research comes from the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy Office of Basic Energy Sciences, the Maryland Technology Development Corporation, and the Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the University of Maryland. MORE

But according to scientists at the University of Maryland, that’s where we’re going wrong in the race to produce cleaner forms of transport. "There Fuel Cells hydrogen research SOFCs University of MarylandWhen we think of fuel cells, most people automatically think of hydrogen as the fuel of choice. "There is a problem in the perception of the public and policy makers, and in [.]. MORE

The other seven states—Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont—account for more than 135,000 vehicles. Maryland provides another example, having provided $1 million for new charging infrastructure, as well as financial incentives for consumers. Maryland expanded a tax credit for vehicle purchase and leasing and converted a tax credit for charging equipment to a rebate. MORE

The University of Maryland (UMD) Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research (IBBR) has been award ed a $1.1million US Department of Energy (DOE) grant to elucidate the mechanism of rust pathogenesis in poplar in an effort to engineer durable resistance for this important, second-generation biofuel crop. Initial seed funding was also provided by the University Maryland Strategic Partnership: MPowering the State. MORE

Chevrolet will start selling the Spark EV in Maryland this spring, the electric mini-car’s first entry into the East Coast market. Spark EV is priced as low as $17,845, after federal and Maryland tax credits, and it features a locally sourced electric motor and drive unit, manufactured at General Motors’ Baltimore Operations facility in White Marsh, Md. MORE

The National Science Foundation has selected a project by researchers at the University of Maryland and their partners from Genovation Cars ( earlier post ) for a $438,418 GOALI (Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry) award to develop a novel hybrid energy storage system for electric vehicles. James Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland, with Steven Rogers, president and CTO of Genovation Cars. MORE

Credit: Maryland NanoCenter Click to enlarge. Engineers at the University of Maryland have created a solid-state Li-ion battery that is made entirely out of one material. Chunsheng Wang, a professor in the University of Maryland’s Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and his team have made a single material that incorporates the properties of both electrodes (cathode and anode) and electrolyte. MORE

Researchers at the University of Maryland have designed a flexible lithium-ion conducting ceramic textile featuring fast lithium-ion conductors, good electrochemical stability, and scalable processing approaches to device integration for solid-state lithium metal batteries. MORE

The Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) with the US Department of Energy (DOE) and Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) has launched the deployment of 143 heavy-duty Freightliner hybrid electric and Freightliner Custom Chassis hybrid hydraulic trucks under the Maryland Hybrid Truck Initiative ( MHTI ). MORE

General Motors said today that it will begin selling its 2015 Chevrolet Spark EV in the state of Maryland this spring, the first East Coast state in which the electric minicar will be available. The Spark EV has a connection to the state: Both its 105-kilowatt (140-horsepower) electric motor and its drive unit are manufactured at a GM plant in MORE

The Maryland General Assembly has reversed a ban on direct sales by Tesla, which displays its cars in Tesla Store and "gallery" facilities it operates. Green Maryland Politics Tesla Motors dealers dealerships plug-in cars state laws Well, add one more to the list of states where Tesla Motors can legally sell its electric cars--and do so without having to use franchised dealers. MORE

Researchers at the University of Maryland have improved the cycle life of silicon/carbon matrix-composite electrodes by 300%, even at mass loadings, solely by the chemical tailoring of the interface between the silicon and the carbon with atomic oxygen. MORE

The US Department of Energy (DOE) Fuel Cell Technologies Office (FCTO) is hosting a Ride-and-Learn at the 232 nd Electrochemical Society (ECS) fall meeting next week at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in Maryland. The Ride-and-Learn is open to all ECS attendees, first come, first served. DOE is also providing an update on hydrogen and fuel cell cars at the Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell Plenary Session. MORE

From Washington DC as I return from an LED lighting retrofit at the giraffe house in the Maryland Zoo , a project site visit to the waterways of Maryland’s oyster restoration efforts , and meetings with elected officials, nonprofit organizations and potential EcoMedia advertisers. . MORE

California incentives plug-in cars charging Maryland eVgo charging networkCharging an electric car is already much cheaper than paying for gasoline, but free charging can be even more attractive. Tesla offers its free network of Supercharger DC fast-charging stations and Level 2 AC stations, and Nissan has offered free charging as a promotion to drive showroom traffic. Now, Ford is jumping on the free-charging bandwagon. MORE