The 2007 Altima At the New York International Auto Show, Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn introduced the all-new 2007 Altima. The new fourth-generation Altima, which utilizes the all-new Nissan-Renault “D” platform, is the basis for the hybrid Altima sedan that will be introduced next year. The new 2007 Altima offers Nissan’s... Read more →

The current Greenline BAS hybrid powertrain. Click to enlarge. GM will have its Saturn Aura Greenline Hybrid sedan on sale by the end of 2006, according to Jill Lajdziak, Saturn’s general manager. Saturn introduced the Aura hybrid during the New York International Auto Show. (Earlier post.) The Aura uses the... Read more →

The top-end Lexus 600h L: The “exclamation point” to the brand. Toyota’s Lexus division introduced its new flagship at the New York International Auto Show today: the 2008 Lexus LS 600h L. This hybrid version of the recently-introduced LS 460 (earlier post) combines a new 5.0-liter gasoline direct-injection V8 with... Read more →

Rentech, Inc., the developer of a Fischer-Tropsch process for the production of synthetic fuels, has priced concurrent public offerings of 16 million shares of common stock and $50-million (aggregate) in convertible senior notes due 2013. The company expects net proceeds from the offerings to be approximately $96.4 million—$111.2 million if... Read more →

The International Energy Agency has increased its forecasted global demand for oil. Based on receiving detailed 2004 data, the agency lifted the baseline from which it calculates increases in demand by 310,000 barrels per day. The increase came not from China but from the Middle East and other Asian Pacific... Read more →

The Nihon Keizai Shimbun reports that Tokyo Gas Co. plans to promote the use of subcompact cars capable of running on both standard gasoline and natural gas in an effort to expand the use of natural gas as an automotive fuel. Japan’s CNG fleet numbered only some 27,000 vehicles at... Read more →

Ragone plot showing relative position of Axion e3 Supercells Axion Power International, the developer of what it calls a lead-acid battery-supercapacitor hybrid energy storage cell, has received a US Patent (No. 7,006,346) for its Positive Electrode of an Electric Double Layer Capacity Technology. Where conventional lead-acid batteries use lead-based electrodes... Read more →

The 2007 Saturn Aura At the New York Auto Show, GM is unveiling the all-new 2007 Saturn Aura mid-size sedan, based on last year’s concept car of the same name. Uplevel models of the Aura will feature GM’s first application of a new six-speed automatic transmission mated with the 3.6L... Read more →

Projected regional summer gasoline prices. In its just-released Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), the US Energy Information Administration predicts summer gasoline prices in the US will average $2.62 per gallon—$0.25 per gallon higher than last year’s average of $2.37 per gallon. The agency expects summer diesel prices of $2.62 per gallon... Read more →

GreenFuel’s emissions-to-biofuels cycle GreenFuel Technologies Corporation, developer of algae-based bioreactor systems that scrub CO2 from flue gases and produce biomass for conversion to biofuel as a byproduct, has closed a $6.835-million Series B-1 Preferred round of funding with Polaris Venture Partners. The new funding is a follow-on to $11 million... Read more →

The new generation E-Class When Mercedes-Benz introduces its new generation E-Class range of luxury sedans at the new York International Auto Show this week, it will be with six engines out of the range of 10 that are new or further enhanced for power and fuel economy. The new engines... Read more →

PlugPower grid-parallel CHP system platform. Interros, a major Russian investment firm, and Norilsk Nickel, the world’s largest producer of nickel and palladium, have agreed to make a $217 million cash investment in Plug Power, a provider of stationary PEM fuel-cell systems and systems for on-site hydrogen generation. The investment is... Read more →

A two-day World Economic Forum roundtable in São Paolo, Brazil, on the role of Latin America in the global economy focused in part on the role of biofuels and energy security in Latin America—and more specifically, on the role of Brazilian ethanol. Jose Goldemberg, Secretary for the Environment, Government of... Read more →

The Missouri House of Representatives has passed the Missouri Renewable Fuel Standard (MoRFS—HB 1270), a bill requiring all gasoline sold in Missouri beginning 1 January 2008 to contain at least 10% agriculturally-derived ethanol (E10), unless specifically exempted. The bill permits the sale of blends lower than E10 or unblended gasoline... Read more →

The UK’s AutoExpress reports that Toyota’s fuel economy target for the upcoming next-generation Prius is 40 kilometers/liter (2.5 l/100km, or 94 mpg US), and that the automaker is striving to have the new Prius on the road as early as 2008. According to a Toyota engineer quoted by the publication,... Read more →

By Jack Rosebro Nissan advertisement, 2002 It’s fun to read about the gee-whiz technology of tomorrow, to buy and drive the latest set of wheels while rationalizing the purchase in terms of sustainability. It’s a lot less exciting, of course, to forgo the new hybrid, and the natural resources consumed... Read more →

Goodyear Engineered Products has introduced the first alternative-fuel dispensing hose verified by Underwriters Laboratories (UL). The company now offers a complete line of hose, including Goodyear Flexsteel, Ambassador, BC Gasoline and BC Marina, to meet growing demand for biodiesel and E85 fuels. According to the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) there... Read more →

Quickshift robotized gearbox. Click to enlarge. Renault is combining its Quickshift five-speed robotized gearbox with the 1.5 dCi 85hp diesel engine (earlier post) in a version of the Modus—the first application of this transmission in a Renault diesel passenger car. (Renault uses a version of the Quickshift in diesel-powered light... Read more →

Frost & Sullivan has awarded its Automotive Powertrain Entrepreneurial Company of the Year Award for 2006 to Drivetrain Innovations (DTI), a Dutch start-up with five patented flywheel-based drivetrain technologies that can be applied in hybrid vehicles. DTI’s five technologies—zero inertia drivetrain (ZI), hybrid-electric ZI (E-ZI), impulse shift transmission (IST), hybrid-electric... Read more →

CleanFUEL USA, a US-based provider of alternative fuel and refueling infrastructure and engine systems to fleet management programs, is investing US$5 million $5 million in India to set up 160 outlets in mainly Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Punjab by 2008 to satisfy rising demand for autogas (liquefied... Read more →

Xinhua. China has been building expressways at a frenetic pace. From 2001 to 2005 it added 24,000 new kilometers—4,800 kilometers/year. That total length of new expressways in China roughly equals the combined length of all expressways in Canada and Germany—the number three and four countries for expressway length—combined. China’s expressways... Read more →

Petrobras—Brazil’s state-controlled oil company—and Mitsui—Japan’s second-largest trading company—will sign an agreement on Monday (10 April) to promote and to sell Brazilian sugar-cane ethanol in world markets. This agreement follows the May 2005 memorandum signed by Petrobras, Mitsui and Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) to study how to expand Brazil’s exports... Read more →

Science Research Subcommittee Chairman Bob Inglis (R-SC) introduced legislation called the H-Prize Act of 2006 (H.R. 5143) last Thursday in the U.S. House of Representatives. The monetary H-Prize is intended to attract the best and brightest minds to attack technological and commercial market obstacles in moving to a hydrogen economy.... Read more →

Corn and soybean plantings. The rising costs of fuel and fertilizer are leading US farmers to switch from corn to less input-intensive crops such as soybeans in 2006, according to the Prospective Plantings report recently released by the US Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). Dry conditions also... Read more →

SVO delivery truck. Great Lakes Brewing Company (GLBC) in Northeast Ohio has modified a beer delivery truck to run on recycled straight vegetable oil (SVO) (or waste vegetable oil—WVO). The heavy-duty truck joins GLBC’s “Fatty Wagon” shuttle, which operates on SVO and shuttles patrons to and from Cleveland Indians home... Read more →

Changes by sector in Canadian GHG emissions, 1990-2003. Transportation accounts for the second and third largest increases. Canadian Press. Canada’s Environment Minister Rona Ambrose says that it is impossible for Canada to reach its Kyoto target, and that Canada must set more realistic targets for cutting greenhouse gases. Citing unpublished... Read more →

Greentomatocars in London. Greentomatocars has opened as the first all-hybrid private-hire car operation in London. The Hammersmith-based company has an all-Prius fleet and has begun a pilot operation in west London which it plans to roll out across the capital by the summer. Toyota Fleet supplied the first five Prius... Read more →

The F-Cell police vehicle. DaimlerChrysler has delivered the world’s first fuel-cell–powered police vehicle to the Wayne State University Police Department in Detroit. The Mercedes F-Cell will serve as a supervisor’s vehicle on and in the immediate vicinity of the campus. The Wayne State Police Department A-class F-Cell vehicle will be... Read more →

The first 3.6-liter diesel comes off the line. Ford’s Dagenham Diesel Centre in the UK has developed and begun manufacturing of a new high-end twin-turbo 3.6-liter V8 diesel engine. Ford will announced vehicle applications for the new engine later this year along with further technical details. The company invested more... Read more →

Components of the RunWise hydraulic hybrid system. Parker Hannifin Corp. has introduced a new hydraulic hybrid drive system targeted at heavy-duty vehicles that do a lot of stop-and-go driving such as public buses, delivery and waste trucks. The company unveiled the RunWise hydraulic system on Thursday at the Waste Expo... Read more →

The US Department of Energy will release later this month a three-year, $52.5-million solicitation to support research to assist in overcoming the scientific challenges associated with the production, use and storage of hydrogen. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman announced the solicitation while addressing the 2006 SAE World Congress. Areas supported will... Read more →

Fine-T concept. Toyota is bringing its Fine-T fuel cell hybrid in-wheel motor concept car to the New York Auto Show next week. The concept made its world premier at the 2005 Tokyo Motor Show as the Fine-X. (Earlier post.) The Fine-T is powered by a new downsized, high-performance Toyota fuel-cell... Read more →

EnergyCS has delivered the first Toyota Prius sedan retrofitted with plug-in hybrid technology to California’s South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) for testing and evaluation. EnergyCS and Clean-Tech formed a joint venture—EDrive—in 2005 to manufacture and market the retrofit, which will initially be installed and serviced by Clean-Tech. This... Read more →

Citrus waste can be converted into ethanol feedstock. Source: Bill Widmer, USDA ARS Scientists at the US Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) are developing a process to derive sugars from citrus waste (i.e., the peels) which will then serve as the feedstock for ethanol production. In Florida alone,... Read more →

EEI bi-polar design Electro Energy (EEI), a developer of bi-polar wafer-cell technology for NiMH and Li-ion and associated systems, has closed on the purchase of significant battery manufacturing assets formerly owned by Energizer Power Systems located in Alachua, Florida, near Gainesville. Concurrently, the company finalized an $11 million private placement... Read more →

Hy-Drive Technologies has sold 20 of its on-board hydrogen generating systems (HGS) to Canadian-based Mining Technologies International Inc. (MTI), as the initial order under a longer-term supply agreement. MTI is a leading manufacturer of mining equipment including trucks, loaders, underground utility vehicles as well as drilling equipment. The two companies... Read more →

In 2007, Detroit Diesel will launch three re-developed engines—its two heavy-duty engines, the Series 60 and MBE 4000, and medium-duty MBE 900—certified to meet EPA 2007 requirements. These regulations call for, among other things, a reduction in emissions of oxides of nitrogen to 1.1 g/bhp-hr (more than a 50% reduction... Read more →

Arizona officials are working to modify state motor fuel laws to allow for the sale of E85 (85% ethanol, 15% gasoline fuel blend). In the 1990s, the state adopted rules that restricted the forms of transportation fuels that were eligible to be sold in Maricopa County (the greater Phoenix area)... Read more →

The 2007 Durango Dodge introduced the new, redesigned 2007 Durango at the Dallas Auto Show. The 2007 Durango, which offers HEMI MDS and E85 options, will be configured to be Chrysler Group’s first production hybrid system: the Dodge Durango Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV). Available in 2008, the Durango HEV will... Read more →

Two utility companies, ComEd and PECO, have added more Ford Escape hybrids to their vehicle fleets. Each utility is a unit of Exelon Corporation. Northern Illinois utility company Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) has added 35 new Escape hybrids to its fleet. This brings ComEd’s total number of Ford Escape Hybrids to... Read more →

The Glow Plug Integrated Pressure Sensor. Siemens VDO and Federal Mogul Corp. have co-developed a new Glow Plug Integrated Pressure Sensor (GPPS) to provide realtime feedback to optimize the combustion process in light-, medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, thereby lowering fuel consumption and emissions. The GPPS is integrated into the glow... Read more →

International Truck and Engine Corporation and Environmental Solutions Worldwide (ESW) are launching a new proprietary diesel engine catalyst-enabling technology, targeted at the school bus retrofit market. The new product is an engine exhaust tube designed to be installed as a direct replacement to the existing Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) factory... Read more →

Gasoline Direct Injection Siemens VDO highlighted its work on gasoline direct injection (GDI) systems at the SAE World Congress in Detroit. Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) offers a more efficient, cleaner combustion solution by directly injecting the fuel into the combustion chamber near peak pressure to better utilize the gasoline. Automakers... Read more →

Aggregate sales of hybrid light-duty vehicles climbed in March to a total of 17,861 units, up 7.5% from 16,619 in March 2005. Total light-duty vehicle sales in the US dropped 2.9% for the same period. (Although total sales of passenger cars and light trucks both declined year-on-year, light trucks increased... Read more →

The European Commission (EC) advanced formal proceedings against four European Union (EU) member states on Tuesday for failing to meet EU requirements under the biofuels directive. The EU has set a target of 5.75% biofuel use in fuel consumption by 2010 with an intermediate reference value of 2% in 2005.... Read more →

The StARS unit. Valeo’s micro-hybrid Starter-Alternator Reversible System (StARS) has won the 2006 PACE (Premier Automotive Suppliers' Contribution to Excellence) Award in the European Products category. The award, co-sponsored by Automotive News, Microsoft, SAP and the Transportation Research Center, was presented to Valeo at a ceremony held in conjunction with... Read more →

Nikkei. Japanese sales of new automobiles, excluding minivehicles, fell 0.7% to 3.913 million units in fiscal 2005, marking their third straight year of decline and the lowest total in the last 10 years. New car sales missed the 4 million mark for the second year in a row, according to... Read more →

Zytek’s prototype diesel-electric plug-in series hybrid. Lithium Technology Corporation is providing three lithium-ion battery systems via its wholly-owned German subsidiary GAIA Akkumulatorenwerke GmbH, to UK-based Zytek Systems for use in a diesel-electric plug-in series hybrid prototype of a four-door smart forfour. The car is Zytek’s entry in the Energy Saving... Read more →

Biodiesel and ethanol connections at the Motiva terminal. Click to enlarge. Distribution Drive, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Earth Biofuels announced that terminal-blended biodiesel is now available to their customers in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Tanker trucks can now load biodiesel fully blended with petrodiesel at the Motiva Enterprises terminal in... Read more →

Energy flow for a modern mid-size sedan. Rolling resistance consumes about one-third of the mechanical energy output from the engine to the wheels. Two divisions of the National Academies—the Transportation Research Board and the Board on Energy and Environmental Systems—have issued a special report examining the contribution of tires to... Read more →