Green Car Congress

FAW Toyota to Produce Crown Sedans in China...What About the Hybrid?

AFX.  Tianjin FAW Toyota Motor Co, a joint venture between Toyota Motor Co and China First Automotive Works Group Corp (FAW), will begin producing China-made versions of Toyota’s Crown luxury sedans in March.

The Crown is a big Toyota sedan rarely seen outside Japan and the Middle East. In 2001, Toyota introduced a mild-hybrid variant of the car using the Toyota Hybrid System-Mild (THS-M) that delivers an estimated 15% improvement in fuel economy.

The Toyota Hybrid System-Mild consists of:

• A 3 kW belt motor/generator which supplies an additional 56 Nm of low-end torque

• A compact 36V secondary battery (in a 42V power system) for power supply to the motor

• A control unit

Toyota released the THS-M after the first Prius system (THS) but before the release of the current-generation of Prius hybrid powertrain (THS-II).

The Crown mild hybrid has been a mild seller—on the order of thousands rather than tens of thousands.

So the question: will FAW Toyota try the mild-hybrid version of the Crown as well?

Fiat to Produce Dual-Fuel Cars in Iran

After a hiatus of 50 years, Fiat will resume car production in Iran. Beginning in the second half the 2005, the cars produced will be dual-fuel models: CNG and gasoline. In the initial phase more than 100,000 cars are to be manufactured, later increasing to 250,000.

Fiat dubs its dual-fuel model range the “Natural Power” cars: these include versions of the Punto, Doblò, Ducato and Multipla. (Fiat last year announced it would be developing a quad-fuel vehicle for Brazil—earlier post.)

Iran is making a push to implement CNG as a vehicle fuel—as the second-largest holder (behind Russia) of natural gas reserves, it makes economic and political sense. Better to sell the oil and not be dependent on refineries. (The country is also looking to fuels derived from natural gas, such as DME.)

As of 20 December 2004, there were 22,058 NGVs (including 1,207 buses) and 40 refueling stations with 108 stations under construction, according to the Iran Fuel Conservation Organization.  The country will have 100 CNG fueling stations online by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 2005).

Currently, 2,000 buses can be fueled per day in Tehran.  This will increase to 3,000 by late September 2005 and 5,000 by the end of November. The country’s current CNG fueling capacity can serve 36,500 sedan cars and 2,600 buses per day.  (Statistics from IANGV.)

Around 800,000 vehicles were sold in Iran last year, and some industry watchers expect that number to increase by 50% in five years.  (AP) With such a baseline, the Fiat dual-fuel cars rapidly could become a significant presence in the new Iranian fleet.

Normal Eases into Biodiesel Use with B2

Pantagraph.com. By April, some 100 town of Normal, Illinois vehicles will be burning a B2 biodiesel blend.

Mike Hall, Normal public works director, said the city will use about 67,500 gallons of biodiesel annually. Evergreen FS in Bloomington will supply the fuel. About 100 diesel-powered garbage trucks, backhoes and other heavy trucks will burn the fuel about nine months every year. The town’s vehicle fleet numbers about 270.

“The biodiesel gels at higher temperatures. We’ll also be putting on finer fuel filters because the biodiesel tends to act more like detergent and cleans out fuel tanks,” said Hall, noting the filter replacement will be a one-time cost of $2,500.

Hall said fuel filters will probably be replaced more frequently, adding about $8,000 in maintenance costs.

“As a manager of funds, I can’t justify using the fuel based on economics. It’s a policy decision to support individuals in our community and protect the environment,“ said Hall.

Tax credits will clost the gap a bit.

Normal joins a growing list of public entities burning biodiesel. Twenty-one Illinois school districts use the fuel in buses, including Eureka, Olympia, Fieldcrest, Clinton, Tri-Valley, Metamora and Unit 5 in Normal.

B2 is a small start...but it is a start.

GM, Shell to Bring 13 FCVs and Fueling to NYC

GM will provide 13 fuel cell-powered vehicles to the New York City metro area and its partner in the project, Shell Hydrogen, will establish New York State’s first hydrogen service station in the New York City metropolitan area in 2006. 

The duo is the only team bringing fuel cell vehicles and hydrogen refueling to the NYC area under the U.S. Department of Energy's Infrastructure Demonstration and Validation Project.

GM’s New York fuel cell fleet will use and thus test the same next-generation fuel cell power module shown in the Sequel concept vehicle, unveiled a few weeks ago. (Earlier post.)

The new fuel cell power module consists of the fuel cell stack, the hydrogen and air processing subsystems, the cooling system and the high-voltage distribution system. This power module delivers 73 kW of high-voltage power for the electric traction motors, as well as auxiliaries.

The New York fleet is part of a total of 40 vehicles that GM is building under the DOE program. GM will also introduce fleets in California and the Detroit metro area and expand the current Washington D.C. fleet, which today includes six HydroGen3 vehicles.

Shell’s H₂ refueling station is likely to consist of a portable hydrogen-refueling module installed at an existing Shell station. In addition to the New York station, under this program Shell will provide two hydrogen refueling stations in California, and a fourth station will be located somewhere between New York and Washington D.C.

Green Scam

Denver Post. Scams are now hitting the credulous looking to reduce fuel consumption. The MPT SmogBuster Fuel Disc is a quarter-sized piece of plastic that is to be taped or glued to the bottom of your car’s gas tank. The promoter, OceanCity Network of Thousand Oaks, Ca,  says it significantly increases gas mileage and improves air quality.

They don’t say how it works, beyond claiming it sends “holographic frequencies into the gas tank and changes the molecular structure of the gasoline.” The devices retail for $299 each but are discounted for people who persuade others to sell them. Upper-level members have to buy a minimum of 10 SmogBusters for about $1,400.

"It doesn't work," says Dr. Terry Parker, a physics professor at the Colorado School of Mines. Parker and graduate student John Dane of the chemistry department tested the device for 9News.

"It's clear that it’s just a sticker and nothing else," Dane said.

Rats. And I was really looking forward to learning more about the holographic frequency method of molecular conversion.

The good news coming out of this is that there appears to be a growing demand for improved fuel efficiency and reduced emissions. There’s a guaranteed way to achieve that...and it’s not through magic plastic discs.

Shell Exec: We Need to Shift from Oil

Reuters. Lord Oxburgh, the chairman of the Royal Dutch/Shell Group in Britain, said at a Greenpeace conference this week that governments should push society towards a world less dependent on fossil fuel given the potentially “disastrous” consequences of climate change.

[He] added that governments needed to act to make renewable and less environmentally harmful energy sources more economical compared to hydrocarbons.

“Shell is an energy company and I would be very surprised if Shell were doing business in the same way in 30 years time as it is today ... It’s difficult to see why big business should be frightened,” Oxburgh said.

The burning of fossil fuels appeared to be causing global warming, Oxburgh added, and this posed a potentially disastrous risk to the world. He urged governments in developed countries to introduce taxes, regulations or plans such as the European Union trading scheme to increase the cost of emitting carbon dioxide, a gas many scientists tie to global warming.

In doing so, he added, technologies such as biofuel, carbon sequestration, the use of hydrogen as a fuel and wave power would displace the use of oil, gas and coal.

Lord Oxburgh (earlier post) has been outspoken about the need for carbon sequestration and the need to move off of a fossil fuel platform. His point about business is exactly to the point. (Oxburgh, as an interesting coincidence, was a graduate school classmate of Prof. Ken Deffeyes, author of Hubbert's Peak and an upcoming follow-on.)

China Passes US as Japan’s Top Trading Partner

NYT. China surpassed the United States as Japan’s top trading partner for the first time last year, highlighting the growing economic ties between Japan and its rapidly expanding neighbor.

China, including Hong Kong, accounted for 20.1 percent of Japan’s total foreign trade last year, compared with an 18.6 percent share for the United States, according to figures released Wednesday by Japan’s Ministry of Finance. By value, Japan’s trade with China and Hong Kong, including exports and imports, rose to a record high 22.20 trillion yen ($215 billion) in 2004, outstripping the 20.48 trillion yen in trade with its longtime top partner, the United States.

The increase in Japan’s trade with China has been driven in part by China’s surging growth, but even more, economists say, by the expanding use of China as a production base for Japanese cars, computers and electronic gadgets that are then shipped around the world.

GM/Hydrogenics H2 Forklift

Hydrogenics and General Motors of Canada will demonstrate a hydrogen fuel cell-powered Class I forklift as well as refueling of this vehicle at an onsite hydrogen station on 1 Feb. The H₂ forklift project was funded by Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) and the Canadian Transportation Fuel Cell Alliance (CTFCA) .

Currently, industrial vehicles contribute almost 13% of the global total of transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions.

More details to come.

Several other Canadian fuel cell companies—General Hydrogen and Cellex—are also looking to industrial vehicles, specifically forklifts, as  a natural fit for fuel cells.

US Oil Demand Grows at Strongest Rate in 5 Years in 2004

Despite high and volatile prices, U.S. petroleum demand in 2004 grew at its strongest rate in five years, reported the American Petroleum Institute in its 2004 year-end Monthly Statistical Report. The surge in demand resulted partly as a result of strong demand for highway diesel.

Demand for on-highway diesel fuel gave it the single largest percentage gain among the major market segments for petroleum products.  Moreover, with increases in deliveries across all major products, total petroleum deliveries (a key measure of demand) rose 2.3% in 2004, their largest annual increase since 1999.

Other highlights of the report:

• Low-sulfur diesel fuel deliveries jumped nearly 7%, driven by strong economic growth in the industrial sector that propelled increased demand for highway transportation.

• U.S. refinery activity set numerous records in 2004.  Gasoline and distillate fuel oil each reached new production highs, and the average refinery utilization rate edged upwards to the highest annual rate in six years at 92.8% of capacity, according to the API.  Gasoline production of 8.68 million barrels per day was 2.1% higher than in 2003, and distillate output exceeded the previous year’s by nearly 3% at 3.82 million barrels per day.

• The long-term growth in U.S. petroleum imports continued in 2004. The year’s crude oil imports rose 4.0% to exceed 10 million barrels per day for the first time. Refined product imports grew nearly 10% to 2.86 million barrels per day, their highest level in more than 30 years.  Together, imports of crude and products rose about 5% to 12.9 million barrels per day.

• Domestic crude production continued to decline in 2004, falling 3.8% for the year to 5.47 million barrels per day.  Lower 48 output dropped 3.4% to 4.55 million barrels per day, its largest decline since 1999, API reported.  The aftereffects of Hurricane Ivan on offshore facilities represented as much as two-thirds of that decline.  Alaskan production experienced its largest drop since 2000, declining 5.5 percent.

This is not the right direction in which to be moving.

Converting Hybrids to Plug-Ins

The Christian Science Monitor runs a piece on plug-in hybrids. Among the supporters for the concept: James Woolsey, former director of the CIA.

“We’re not talking about electric vehicles, but about plug-in hybrid vehicles that can be topped off with electricity for short trips,” James Woolsey, former director of the Central Intelligence Agency, said last month during the unveiling of a report by the 16-member National Commission on Energy Policy. “The potential in terms of national policy, and in terms of global warming, ought to be focused on by anyone concerned about terrorism or paying over $2 a gallon.”

Other experts are also urging automakers to take a new look.

“We think the transportation fuel sector should be diversified by utilizing more electricity as a fuel—plug-in hybrids that can get 100 miles per gallon and allow you to run on electricity alone for 20 to 30 miles, then shift to the combustion engine,” says Gal Luft, director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, an energy-security think tank in Washington.

But automakers show little interest.

Earlier post on the Prius+ plug-in conversion here.