GE Global Research is in a $13-million research partnership with Ballard Power Systems, A123 Systems and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to develop a lightweight, battery-dominant zero-emissions hybrid fuel-cell bus. The FTA, through the Northeast Advanced Vehicle Consortium, is contributing almost $7 million toward the project. (Earlier post.) The project... Read more →

Pre-tax operations losses. Click to enlarge. Ford Motor Company posted a third-quarter net loss of $5.8 billion, its largest since 1992. Excluding special items such as employee buyouts and the write down of the value of certain facilities ahead of plant closures, Ford posted a net loss from continuing operations... Read more →

Ikona Gear International, a developer of compact, lightweight, gearing systems, announced it has developed a frictionless continuously variable transmission clutch (CVT Clutch) initially for use in the automotive industry. In addition, the company has developed a frictionless CVT Differential. Both technologies offer potential energy savings in automotive and industrial applications... Read more →

The Yomiuri Shimbun reports that Toyota and Nippon Oil will work with Petronas, the Malaysian oil company, to develop palm-oil biodiesel for import to Japan or for sale to other overseas markets. The companies reportedly will start collaborative research next year and intend to begin test production in Malaysia in... Read more →

Nikkei. A research group at the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology reports that it has developed a new fuel-cell electrode catalyst that uses molybdenum and nickel as its chief materials rather than platinum. The team found that with the new catalyst used in the anode, the power generation of... Read more →

Journal Gazette. ForeverGreen Enterprises, a startup company developing a plasma-based waste gasification system designed to produce hydrogen, wants to add the production of Fischer-Tropsch (F-T) diesel fuel to a $100-million plant it is planning to build in Indiana. ForeverGreen’s Progressive Molecular Dissociation process uses the plasma to produce a syngas... Read more →

Heading out to Beijing. In an event designed to demonstrate the global potential of its diesel platforms, Mercedes-Benz is sending thirty-six Mercedes-Benz E-Class diesels—thirty-three E 320 CDIs and three E 320 BLUETECs—on a long-distance journey of more than 13,600 kilometers (8,452 miles) to Beijing, where the fleet is scheduled to... Read more →

Veridian CEO Angemeer with the Prius (solar module displayed) and smart meter. Hymotion, a developer of plug-in hybrid technology, announced the two-phased conversion of a Prius into a plug-in hybrid for Veridian Corporation, a large Ontario-based utility company. Phase one was the basic conversion of the Prius using Hymotion’s battery... Read more →

Electro Energy (EEEI), a developer and manufacturer of advanced rechargeable batteries, will receive $1 million from the 2007 budget of the US Department of Defense (DOD) for continued development of its bipolar wafer-cell Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) battery for advanced military aircraft applications. Michael Reed, Electro Energy’s CEO and President,... Read more →

Separate papers in the scientific journals Science and Nature this week describe two novel extremophile microbial communities: one that lives on methane (methanotrophs) and so functions as a methane sink, the other that uses the decomposition of water (H2O) by radioactive decay of uranium, thorium, and potassium as a source... Read more →

Brazilian bus company Viação Itaim Paulista (VIP) has begun powering a fleet of 1,880 buses in São Paulo, South America’s largest city, with a blend of 30% biodiesel, 8% ethanol and 62% petroleum diesel. The fuel was developed as part of joint effort between B100—a company created by VIP to... Read more →

Japan’s Nidec Corporation has signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the acquisition of Valeo’s in-car Electrical Motors & Actuators business. The Motors & Actuators business produces engine cooling-fan systems and electric motors of more than 50 watts applied in a variety of systems: ventilation, power steering, ABS, seat adjustment, sunroofs,... Read more →

Simplified NExBTL chemistry. Click to enlarge. Neste Oil, Helsinki City Transport (HKL), and the Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council (YTV) have signed a letter of understanding covering extensive trial use of Neste Oil’s second-generation NExBTL renewable synthetic diesel to power buses and waste disposal trucks across Greater Helsinki. Neste Oil’s refinery-based... Read more →

The European Commission has presented its Energy Efficiency Action Plan, which calls for actions to make energy appliances, buildings, transport and energy generation more efficient. It proposes stringent new energy efficiency standards, promotion of energy services, and specific financing mechanisms to support more energy efficient products. The Commission will also... Read more →

Greenland’s low coastal regions (blue) lost three times as much ice per year from excess melting and icebergs than the high-elevation interior (orange/red) gained from excess snowfall. Click to enlarge. Credit: Scott Luthcke, NASA Goddard For the first time, NASA scientists have analyzed data from direct, detailed satellite measurements to... Read more →

2007 Civic GX. American Honda Motor announced the availability of the natural-gas-fueled 2007 Honda Civic GX for the New York State market. The Civic GX will be on sale at five Honda dealers on Long Island and fourteen additional dealers throughout the state, marking the first time the Civic GX... Read more →

Chevron Technology Ventures LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chevron Corp., has become a member of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO). Chevron Technology Ventures has recently announced strategic collaborations with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (earlier post) and with the University of California Davis (earlier post) to research and develop next-generation... Read more →

Air Products forecasts sharp growth in the demand for hydrogen for refineries given regulatory demands for cleaner fuels and growth in heavier and synthetic crudes. Click to enlarge. Source: Air Products. Air Products, the leading global hydrogen supplier, announced that its hydrogen production facility at ExxonMobil Oil Corporation’s Joliet Refinery... Read more →

O2Diesel Corporation, a provider of ethanol-blended diesel fuels (e-diesel) for centrally fueled fleets, has entered into an agreement with Ben Franklin Transit (BFT) in Richland, Washington, to begin testing a blend of its O2Diesel e-diesel in combination with a B20 biodiesel blend in 20 transit buses. The new fuel is... Read more →

Raser Technologies, a technology licensing company established to develop and license advanced electric motor, controller and related technologies, announced that it plans to unveil a new more powerful electric motor design for electric and hybrid-electric vehicles next week at the 22nd Electric Vehicle Symposium (EVS-22) held October 23-28, 2006 in... Read more →

Cummins Inc. and Beijing-based Beiqi Foton Motor Company (Beiqi Foton) are forming a 50/50 joint venture company—Beijing Foton Cummins Engine Company Limited (BFCEC)—to produce two types of Cummins light-duty, high-performance diesel engines in Beijing. The engines primarily will be used in light-duty commercial trucks, pickup trucks, multipurpose and sport utility... Read more →

Velocys microchannels vs. conventional process technology. Click to enlarge. The US Congress has approved $1.3 million in FY 2007 funding for the further development of a synthetic fuels project by Velocys, a subsidiary of Battelle Memorial Institute. This project, which is being conducted in conjunction with the US Army National... Read more →

ExxonMobil Chemical’s affiliate in Japan, Tonen Chemical Corporation (TCC), will feature its microporous film lithium-ion battery (LIB) separators designed for hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) applications at the upcoming 22nd International Battery, Hybrid and Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Symposium & Exposition (EVS 22), Yokohama, October 23-28. TCC expects that its advanced... Read more →

by Jack Rosebro Cover of Vattenfall’s “Curbing Climate Change” proposal. Speaking in Stockholm today at “Pathways to Sustainable European Energy Systems,” the inaugural project conference of the Alliance for Global Sustainability, Vattenfall CEO Lars Josefsson proposed a worldwide, adaptive carbon reduction burden-sharing framework to be implemented over the next 100... Read more →

NOx, BSN (Bosch Smoke Number), brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC), and thermal efficiency for diesel, GTL, GTL-diesel 50-50 blend, and GTL with advanced injection timing. Click to enlarge. In a comparative study of Gas-to-Liquids (GTL) diesel and conventional Ultra Low-Sulfur Diesel (ULSD) (and blends), researchers at the University of Birmingham... Read more →

by Rafael Seidl German news magazine Der Spiegel reports that researchers at the University of Stuttgart (Germany) have succeeded—at least in computer simulations—in stabilizing active drag reduction for the airfoils of commercial airliners. They claim their approach could lead to fuel economy gains of 10-15%. For a major carrier such... Read more →

Four in five U.S. adults (80%) strongly or somewhat agree that national and state governments are not doing enough to promote production of biofuels, according to a new survey released today by the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO). The survey, conducted by Harris Interactive(R), also found that 82% of adults say... Read more →

Odyne’s basic series plug-in hybrid design is modular and scalable. Click to enlarge. Odyne Corporation, a Long Island (NY)-based plug-in hybrid electric propulsion system design firm and manufacturer, has acquired Technology Integration Group, Inc., in a merger transaction concurrent with the closing of a $3.1 million private placement. Odyne has... Read more →

Total 2007 models, models with >30 mpg highway, and percentage of total for the top six automakers. Click to enlarge. General Motors used the release of the 2007 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Fuel Economy Guide to point out that it “leads the industry with more vehicles that achieve 30 mpg,... Read more →

Effective 26 September, the Portland (Oregon) Water Bureau switched its fleet of diesel-powered vehicles to B99—a fuel more than 99% bio-diesel. The 84-vehicle diesel fleet is the largest in the country running on B99, according to Portland Commissioner Randy Leonard. In the winter months, the Bureau will modify the percentage... Read more →

INEOS Enterprises, a leading global manufacturer of refined petroleum products and basic, intermediate and speciality chemicals, plans to grow its biodiesel business across Europe significantly. The first step in its strategy is to achieve at least 2 million tonnes (about 604 million gallons US) biodiesel output by 2012, with some... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today released the 2007 Fuel Economy Guide. Hybrid vehicles continue to lead the government’s fuel economy ratings. The MY 2007 fuel economy estimates are based on the same test methods that have been used in recent years.... Read more →

Tesla Motors was named a recipient of the Global Green USA Product/Industrial Design Award for its work in developing the Tesla Roadster (earlier post), an all-electric, lithium-ion battery-powered sports car. Global Green USA is the US affiliate of Green Cross International, founded by Mikhail Gorbachev in 1993. The focus of... Read more →

Infineon Technologies is demonstrating a transmission starter kit platform that provides the most precise control in the industry and includes all key integrated circuit (IC) content for next-generation, wide gear ratio automatic transmissions. The platform is a complete transmission control unit, supporting 5-, 6- and 7-speed gearing designs, based on... Read more →

La Fabril, one of the largest producers of palm-oil biodiesel and currently the largest exporter of biodiesel into the United States, is producing palm-oil biodiesel that has a sub-zero Celsius cloud point. Unlike the conventional palm-oil biodiesel produced by La Fabril which has a cloud point above 13º C, the... Read more →

In its November 2006 issue, Popular Mechanics tackles an assessment of the prospects for a functioning hydrogen economy, with a primary focus being its use in transportation. The article, “The Truth About Hydrogen,” identifies four primary hurdles to the development and wide-spread deployment of hydrogen as an energy solution: production,... Read more →

REGI US and Reg Technologies announced earlier in October that a preliminary series of tests have been successfully completed on the prototype 125hp RadMax rotary engine. The company also has a 42hp prototype engine. Engineers at the company had made important modifications and tests over the last 90 days pertaining... Read more →

Soot particles from the exhaust of diesel trucks constitute a major contributor to the alarmingly high rates of asthma symptoms among school-aged children in the South Bronx, according to the results of a five-year study by researchers at New York University’s School of Medicine and Robert F. Wagner Graduate School... Read more →

As of 5 October 2006, Underwriters Laboratories suspended the authorization to use UL Markings (Listing or Recognition) on components for fuel dispensing devices that specifically reference compatibility with alcohol-blended fuels that contain greater than 15% alcohol—e.g., E85. Fuel dispenser components as they relate to use with traditional fuel blends (e.g.,... Read more →

In order to more efficiently reduce greenhouse gas emissions, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and New York Gov. George E. Pataki have agreed to explore ways to link California’s future greenhouse gas emission credit market and the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states’ Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) upcoming market. RGGI is a... Read more →

There are currently 62 operational and planned hydrogen stations in the US and Canada. Click to enlarge. Source: National Hydrogen Association. Proton Energy Systems, a subsidiary of Distributed Energy Systems Corp., will install a hydrogen-fueling system in the New York City metropolitan area—the city’s first such—as prime contractor to Shell... Read more →

The Federal Transit Administration last week announced $49 million in federal grants for research into multiple aspects of commercializing hydrogen fuel-cell buses. The FTA selected three non-profit organizations from around the country to receive a share of the funds and to manage the programs: the Center for Transportation and the... Read more →

Kyocera announced that it has achieved a new world record of 18.5% energy conversion efficiency for a 15cm x 15cm multicrystalline silicon solar cell. The achievement represents the latest in a series of advances by Kyocera, which in 1985 became the first manufacturer to commercialize multicrystalline silicon solar cell technology.... Read more →

Nuvera Fuel Cells has been awarded a $4.875-million grant from the Federal Transit Authority (FTA) through the Northeast Advanced Vehicle Consortium (NAVC) for a hydrogen fuel-cell bus and refueling demonstration project at Logan International Airport. This project will be the first fuel-cell bus demonstration in Massachusetts and is part of... Read more →

Degussa AG, the global specialty chemicals company, has established a professorship for Applied Materials Sciences for Energy Storage and Conversion at Münster University (Germany) in collaboration with Chemetall GmbH and Volkswagen AG. Their goal is to establish an internationally competitive research program on energy storage in large-volume lithium-ion batteries with... Read more →

Infineon Technologies AG has introduced the first two members of its new family of electronic power modules designed for hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) motor drive systems. The new HybridPACK1 and HybridPACK2 power modules reduce the cost and complexity of HEV inverter system design by using up to 30% less semiconductor... Read more →

Ford Motor Company has selected Delphi Corp to provide the battery pack systems and thermal management systems for the coming 2008 Ford Fusion Hybrid and Mercury Milan Hybrid vehicles. Delphi announced that it will also provide hybrid vehicle electronics for several other yet-to-be announced vehicle customers. Delphi has had more... Read more →

Comparison of 40% soy-foam properties to desired automotive properties from Ford’s work in 2005. Click to enlarge. Scientists at Ford’s Research and Innovation Center have formulated the chemistry to replace 40% of the standard petroleum-based polyol—one of the many ingredients used to create the polyurethane foams used in vehicles for... Read more →

by Jack Rosebro The two phases of the Mongstad CCS project. Click to enlarge. Marking the removal of the final bureaucratic barrier to the construction of the world’s largest full-scale CO2 capture-and-storage (CCS) facility, Norway’s Ministry of the Environment has issued a carbon dioxide emission permit to Norwegian energy company... Read more →

Growth in UK market size for climate change action over the next 5 years. Click to enlarge. New research commissioned by Shell Springboard concludes that the challenge of tackling climate change could create a market of up to £30 billion (US$56 billion) for British business over the next ten years.... Read more →