Reported US Hybrid Sales Up 5.2% Year on Year in June; 3% New Vehicle Market Share for the Month
3 July 2009
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| Hybrid new vehicle market share by month. Click to enlarge. |
Reported sales of hybrids in the US increased 5.2% by volume in June 2009 year-on-year to 26,205 units, representing 3% of new vehicles sold—marking the highest monthly new vehicle share since April 2008, and the fourth straight month of increasing share. For the first half of 2009, hybrids held a 2.6% new vehicle share.
Hybrids significantly outperformed the total light-duty vehicle market, which dropped 27.7% by volume to 859,847 units, according to figures from Autodata. The SAAR (seasonally adjusted annual rate) in June was 9.69 million—lower than May’s 9.91 million.
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House Subcommittee Advances Bill to Restart Natural Gas Vehicle R&D Program at DOE; $150M in Appropriations
3 July 2009
The US House Committee on Science and Technology’s Subcommittee on Energy and Environment recently approved H.R. 1622, which will restart a natural gas vehicle (NGV) R&D program at the Department of Energy (DOE). DOE and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory had earlier led the Next Generation Natural Gas Vehicles (NGNGV) program to develop advanced, commercially viable, medium- and heavy-duty NGVs.
H.R. 1622 directs the Secretary of Energy to: (1) conduct a five-year program of natural gas vehicle research, development, and demonstration; and (2) coordinate with the natural gas vehicle industry and with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding streamlined certification of natural gas conversion systems to federal certification requirements and in-use emission standards.
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Sweden, Volvo Group and Partners to Invest $26M in Powercell Sweden AB to Advance Volvo Fuel Cell APU Work
2 July 2009
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| Powercell Sweden power generation unit. Click to enlarge. |
The Swedish Energy Agency and the Volvo Group, in partnership with international corporations Midroc and OCAS, are investing SEK 200 million (US$26 million) to accelerate Volvo’s introduction of fuel cell APUs (auxiliary power units) into the market.
The Volvo Group, through its company Volvo Technology Transfer, will receive investment from the companies Midroc New Technology and OCAS, as well as from the Swedish Energy Agency. The parties will make a joint investment of SEK 200 million in Powercell Sweden AB in Gothenburg. Powercell Sweden is currently owned by Volvo Technology Transfer but following the investment, Volvo will be a minority owner.
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Renault-Nissan Alliance and EDF to Test 100 Units of Production EV Models in Paris Region in 2010; New Partnership in Lombardy
2 July 2009
The Renault-Nissan Alliance and EDF are planning a large-scale electric vehicle test in the Paris region. For one year from September 2010, consumers, professionals and local government employees will try out 100 electric Renault-Nissan Alliance passenger cars and light commercial vehicles.
The Renault-Nissan Alliance plans to use the full-scale trial to test the usage and performance of their future electric vehicles. The vehicles in the trial will be identical to the series-production models scheduled for launch at the start of 2011.
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Victoria Launches Australia’s First Trial of Hybrid-Electric Buses; Series and Parallel
2 July 2009
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| The Grenda parallel hybrid (top) and the Ventura series hybrid (bottom). Click to enlarge. |
The government of the state of Victoria has launched Australia’s first hybrid-electric bus trial. The A$500,000 trial (US$398,000) in Melbourne, which will involve buses on two outer suburban routes, will assess the viability of both parallel- and series-hybrid buses in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the public transport sector.
The Victorian government partnered with the Commonwealth government to fund the trial, which is being conducted with Grenda Corporation (parallel hybrid) and Ventura Buses (series hybrid).
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£30M Fund for Low Carbon Buses in the UK; New GM-Allison Hybrid Buses in London
2 July 2009
The UK Government is establishing a £30 million fund (US$49 million) to encourage the purchase of low carbon emission buses (LCEB). The fund is part of the Department for Transport’s wider strategy to encourage a shift to low carbon transport and improve air quality in UK cities.
A Low Carbon Emission Bus (LCEB) is a bus that is able to achieve the LCEB target for Greenhouse Gas Emissions, which is equivalent to a 30% reduction in its Greenhouse Gas Emissions compared to a current Euro 3 diesel bus of the same total passenger capacity. These buses will all meet the latest air quality standards, delivering at least Euro V EU emission standards.
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US EPA Proposes New Emissions Rules for Category 3 Marine Diesel Engines, Tighter Fuel Sulfur Restrictions; Harmonization with International Standards
1 July 2009
As the next steps in a strategy to cut harmful emissions from ocean-going vessels, the US Environmental Protection Agency is proposing new engine emissions and fuel standards for large marine diesel engines on US-flagged ships that would harmonize with international standards.
The proposed rulemaking follows on a proposal last March by the United States and Canada to designate thousands of miles of the two countries’ coasts as an Emission Control Area (ECA). (Earlier post.) The International Maritime Organization (IMO), a United Nations agency, begins consideration of the ECA plan this month, which would result in more stringent standards for large ships operating within 200 nautical miles of the coasts of Canada and the United States.
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Bosch: Electrification is Coming, But Combustion Engines to Dominate for Another 20 Years
1 July 2009
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| In the long run, the large variety of drivetrain concepts will give way
to electric drive. Source: Bosch. Click to enlarge. |
While full electric powertrains (battery and fuel cell) will at some point become pervasive in light-duty vehicles, the dominance of the internal-combustion engine will remain unchallenged over the next twenty years, according to Robert Bosch GmbH executives at their annual International Automotive Press Briefing in Boxberg, Germany. This is due in part to important technological challenges to powertrain electrification that must first be overcome and in part to ongoing efficiency improvements in combustion engine technology.
As a supplier, Bosch is active in both areas, said Dr. Bernd Bohr, chairman of the Bosch Automotive Group. Bosch is working hard to get the electric drive of the future readied for large-scale series production, while also doing its utmost to further improve the internal-combustion engine for decades to come, Bohr said. The company is investing €3 billion (US$ 4.25 billion) in R&D in the automotive technology sector in 2009.
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Study Finds Carbon in Frozen Soils 2X Prior Estimates; Permafrost Melt Poses Major Climate Change Threat
1 July 2009
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| Carbon pools in the northern circumpolar permafrost region. Source: CSIRO. Click to enlarge. |
New research shows that the amount of carbon stored in frozen soils in the Arctic and boreal regions of the world is more than double previous estimates and could, if emitted as carbon dioxide and methane, lead to a significant increase in global temperatures by the end of this century. The new estimate is more than 1.5 trillion tons of frozen carbon, about twice as much carbon as contained in the atmosphere.
In a paper published in the latest edition of the AGU journal Global Biogeochemical Cycles, an international team of researchers from the US, Australia, Canada, Sweden and Russia say that the frozen high-latitude soils have the potential to release vast quantities of carbon and methane into the atmosphere and subsequently influence carbon-climate feedbacks.
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EPA Grants California Vehicle GHG Regulations Waiver
30 June 2009
The US Environmental Agency (EPA) has granted California’s waiver request enabling the state to enforce its greenhouse gas emissions standards (Pavley I) for new motor vehicles, beginning with the current model year. According to evidence submitted by California during the waiver process, an EPA official said, automakers are currently already in compliance with the MY2009 Pavley requirement, and are tracking to compliance for 2010.
In September 2004 the California Air Resources Board (ARB) passed regulations to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) from new passenger vehicles starting in 2009. These regulations were authorized by the 2002 legislation Assembly Bill 1493 (Pavley). California requested from EPA the waiver required for implementation of the Pavley regulations in December 2005. The request was subsequently denied in December 2007.
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BAF Technologies Begins Converting 600 AT&T Vehicles To CNG in 2009
30 June 2009
Dallas-based BAF Technologies has begun converting 600 AT&T Ford E-Series vans to dedicated CNG technology in 2009. This is part of AT&T’s plan to invest up to $565 million to deploy more than 15,000 alternative-fuel vehicles over the next 10 years. AT&T expects to spend an estimated $350 million to purchase about 8,000 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles and approximately $215 million to begin replacing its passenger cars with alternative-fuel models, beginning with hybrids. (Earlier post.)
The converted vehicles will utilize the BAF CalComp System, a proprietary CNG fuel system certified by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the California Air Resources Board (ARB). CNG vehicles are expected to emit approximately 25% less greenhouse gas emissions than those traditionally powered by gasoline.
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