The expert panel’s projections of achievement of global volumes. HEV = hybrid electric vehicle; PHEV = plug-in hybrid vehicle; FCEV = fuel cell electric vehicle; FPBEV = full performance battery electric vehicle; H2ICV = hydrogen internal combustion vehicle; CEV = city battery electric vehicle; NEV = neighborhood battery electric vehicle.... Read more →

Ford Motor Company has named Susan Cischke Senior Vice President, Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering. She will lead the company’s sustainability efforts going forward and report to Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally. Cischke is charged with establishing a long range sustainability strategy as well as Ford’s environmental and safety... Read more →

Comparison of synthetic BUFF fractions for Sasol and Syntroleum JP-5 products. Click to enlarge. Source: Sasol The Office of the US Secretary of Defense (OSD) has been working on an Assured Fuels Initiative since 2001, the goal of which is to catalyze commercial industry to produce cleaner-burning fuels for the... Read more →

Bavaria’s (Germany) Minister of Environment Dr. Werner Schnappauf and Minister for Economic Affairs Erwin Huber will now each be using a BMW Hydrogen 7 sedan (earlier post) for regular travel. BMW is providing its hydrogen-fueled, internal combustion engine Hydrogen 7 to selected representatives from the fields of politics, economy and... Read more →

Transport for London (TfL) is asking people to think about walking rather than taking the car on short journeys, as it launches its first-ever walking campaign. Research shows that half of all car journeys in outer London are less than two kilometers—a distance that can be easily walked by most... Read more →

Odyne Corporation, a developer of plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) technology for trucks and buses, announced a strategic supplier agreement with EnerSys, the world's largest industrial battery manufacturer. EnerSys will supply Odyne Corporation with Genesis pure lead batteries for its plug-in hybrid electric vehicles as Odyne ramps up production. The... Read more →

The Edison. Tanfield has officially launched its Edison electric van and has secured its first contracts for initial orders of the Edison with Sainsbury’s, TNT, CEVA Logistics and Scottish & Southern Energy. J Sainsbury Plc, a leading UK retailer, has ordered an initial eight Edison electric vans for its Sainsbury’s... Read more →

Houston Metro has put the first 10 of 30 new hybrid buses into service. The remainder of the new hybrid fleet is expected in May. The 40-foot buses are diesel electric hybrids from New Flyer (earlier post), using the GM Allison hybrid drive. Metro expects the buses to post a... Read more →

The proposed congestion charge zone. Click to enlarge. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg chose Earth Day to present a package of 127 initiatives designed to achieve the sustainability goals that he had outlined in December 2006, including reducing carbon emissions by 30% by 2030. As a coastal city, we’re on... Read more →

Preliminary Tank-to-Wheels CO2 emissions, including likely fuel options for China. Click to enlarge. Data: GM GM has begun the process of a Well-to-Wheels evaluation of alternative powertrains and fuels for light duty vehicles in the context of the Chinese market, with an emphasis on those alternative fuels that have the... Read more →

Chevrolet’s consumer website now features a webpage that allows users to see if they are eligible to test drive a Chevrolet Equinox hydrogen fuel cell vehicle in the fall of 2007. Licensed drivers who are US citizens and at least 21 years old are invited to enter their zip code... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board (ARB) has released a draft report on proposed early actions to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions in California, consistent with the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed on September 27, 2006. The Act mandates that California’s greenhouse gas emissions be reduced... Read more →

A significant majority of Californians are concerned about climate change and the state’s reliance on imported energy, and they view clean diesel technology as a positive solution to both problems, according to the results of a recent public opinion poll sponsored by the Diesel Technology Forum (DTF). Some 79% of... Read more →

A Chicago-based start-up, The Electric Vehicle Company, has placed a $79-million order with ZAP for its electric cars, trucks and other vehicles. The Electric Vehicle Company (EVC) was founded with the goal of promoting economical non-polluting electric transportation. EVC is being funded by two hedge funds, Diversified Equity Funding, L.P.... Read more →

Dongfeng Honda announced that it will begin the import and sales of the Civic Hybrid in China through dedicated Dongfeng Honda dealers. The company made the announcement at Auto Shanghai. Among the other vehicles Honda has on display on its stand at the auto show are: FCX Concept, Honda’s new... Read more →

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) has launched a campaign to encourage Toyota to bring its Estima hybrid minivan to the US market. The Estima hybrid currently sells in Japan, but not in the US. Hybrid technology should be giving US consumers fuel-efficient, low-pollution options in all vehicle classes. However,... Read more →

The PSFI of An and DeCicco found a linear progression in efficiency improvement over the past three decades. Click to enlarge. Data: An and DeCicco In the increasing debate over technology strategies and public policies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and begin reducing petroleum dependency, it's useful to analyze past... Read more →

GM Shanghai, GM’s joint venture with SAIC, will begin the production of a hybrid system—a version of the Belt Alternator Starter system used in the Malibu, Aura, and VUE hybrids (earlier post)—in 2008. GM had indicated in 2006 that China would see a BAS implementation in 2008. The Riviera concept.... Read more →

1-butanol is less volatile than ethanol, and butanol-gasoline blends are less volatile than ethanol blends. Adding a fraction of butanol to an ethanol blend brings down the volatility. Click to enlarge. Source: BP New fuel testing results on bio-derived 1-butanol presented by DuPont and BP at the SAE World Congress... Read more →

Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg presented three goals and commitments for a new climate policy in his speech to The Norwegian Labour Party’s national congress with the ultimate goal of making Norway a carbon-neutral country by 2050. The Prime Minister also stressed the correlation between the fight against climate change... Read more →

Interfax-China. China's coal-to-liquids (CTL) industry will produce 50 million tons of output by 2020, according to figures from the Coaltrans China conference—a strong increase from earlier projections. In February 2006, the Chinese government said that it planned to make a major investment of about US$15 billion in coal-to-liquids (CTL) plants... Read more →

US Senator Barack Obama is proposing a National Low Carbon Fuel Standard (NLCFS) based on the California LCFS established by California Governor Schwarzenegger in January 2007. (Earlier post.) Obama’s proposal would require that all transportation fuels sold in the US contain 5% less carbon by 2015 and 10% less carbon... Read more →

Antonov TX6 6-speed automatic transmission. Antonov has entered into an agreement with Eaton Corporation for hydraulic transmission controls for Antonov’s TX6 six-speed automatic transmission (AT) system. Eaton, a world leader in the development of hydraulic valves and solenoids necessary for the selection of gears in automatic transmission systems, will integrate... Read more →

By Jack Rosebro Sustainable development is easy to aspire to, yet hard to define. Many global and Fortune 500 companies have publicly embraced sustainability in one form or another, and some have even incorporated the concept into their core values, often with no clear definition of what a sustainable world... Read more →

Cutaway drawing of the Volt fuel cell variant. Click to enlarge. At the Shanghai Auto Show, GM unveiled a second propulsion system for the Volt concept under the aegis of the E-Flex electric drive family: a hydrogen fuel cell variant that uses GM’s new fifth-generation fuel cell system as its... Read more →

Norfolk Southern Railway has purchased two Railpower (earlier post) RP-series multi-engine, low-emission, fuel-efficient kits to build yard locomotives, for delivery in 2007. The purchase order includes an option for Norfolk Southern to purchase additional units in the future. Under the terms of the purchase order, Norfolk Southern will complete the... Read more →

ECOtality, Inc. has engaged GreenMountain Engineering, LLC, to act as consulting engineers on the Hydratus hydrogen generation project. (Earlier post.) GreenMountain Engineering will work with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and Airboss Aerospace, Inc. in the research, development, and testing of a 5-10 kW... Read more →

The Zeroshift transmission offers better fuel economy than automatic transmissions while preserving ease of driving. Click to enlarge. Source: Zeroshift. Zeroshift, Ltd. launched the second generation of its automated manual transmission (earlier post) at the SAE World Congress. The Zeroshift transmission allows a manual transmission to change gear in zero... Read more →

Imperial College London has launched a new £4.2 million (US$8.4 million) research program to develop both biological and chemical solar-driven processes to develop renewable and cost-effective methods of producing hydrogen which can be used to operate fuel cells. The five-year project aims to develop materials and technologies for the enhanced... Read more →

The Toyota FCHV. Click to enlarge. The Toyota FCHV, Toyota’s fuel cell hybrid vehicle, will begin operation on public roads in and around Central Japan International Airport (Centrair), south of Nagoya. Units of the FCHV-BUS (a fuel cell hybrid bus) that Toyota developed jointly with Hino Motors, Ltd. have been... Read more →

IANS. Neste Oil is considering using jatropha as a feedstock for its NExBTL renewable diesel process. (Earlier post.) “We are continuously looking for ways to expand our raw material base for NExBTL (the second generation bio-diesel developed by Neste), and in this search the non-edible jatropha is very interesting,” said... Read more →

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation will move up the introduction of a next-generation 2.0-liter class diesel engine to the European market. (Earlier post.) Currently under development, the new diesel engine is to go into production at the Kyoto Powertrain Plant in early 2009, one year earlier than scheduled. Following the introduction in... Read more →

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will sponsor a demonstration project for R-152a, a refrigerant for mobile air conditioners with lower global warming potential (GWP) than R-134a. Kristen Taddonio, EPA Strategic Climate Manager, made the announcement during the SAE World Congress in Detroit. R-152a has a GWP of 120 which... Read more →

The US Environmental Protection Agency is proposing new, more stringent exhaust emissions rules for the small spark-ignition engines in lawn and garden equipment and small recreational watercraft. The engines and vehicles covered by this proposal are significant sources of air pollution. They account for about 25% of mobile source hydrocarbon... Read more →

To improve safety and durability, design changes were made during the building of the first validation prototypes of the Tesla Roadster. As a result, the company has downgraded the electric vehicle’s range from 250 miles to “greater than 200.” Changes made to increase the car’s safety and durability increased the... Read more →

A new report from Frost & Sullivan forecasts that sales of Liquefied Petroleum Gas/Compressed Natural Gas vehicles and conversion kits will increase 175% from 2.9 million units in 2006 to 8.0 million units by 2012. The global automotive industry is making emission reduction a top priority and this is leading... Read more →

VeraSun Energy Corporation, the nation’s second-largest ethanol producer, announced plans to build a 110 million gallon per year corn ethanol biorefinery in Reynolds, Indiana (BioTown USA). The biorefinery will be VeraSun’s sixth facility and will increase the its annual production capacity to 670 million gallons upon completion. Currently, VeraSun has... Read more →

US Senators Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Pete Domenici (R-NM) introduced legislation to reduce the use of fossil fuels by improving efficiency in vehicles, buildings, home appliances and industrial equipment. Bingaman and Domenici are chairman and ranking member, respectively, of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. The bill—the Energy Efficiency... Read more →

Nissan plans to introduce a 50-state, Tier 2 Bin 5 diesel engine in the United States for use in the Nissan Maxima in 2010. The passenger car will be powered by an all-new Alliance engine co-developed with its partner Renault. Nissan President and CEO Carlos Ghosn made the announcement during... Read more →

Fleet-wide use of E85 in the United States could increase the number of respiratory-related deaths and hospitalizations, according to a new study by Stanford University professor Mark Jacobson. His findings are published online in the journal Environmental Science & Technology (ES&T). Jacobson combined an air pollution/weather forecast model with future... Read more →

Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide has signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a cooperative joint venture with a major automaker in China for the development and commercialization of hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles, manufacture of gaseous fuel components, and integration of advanced propulsion systems. Subsequently, Quantum’s strategic partner in... Read more →

Although the field is still relatively young, engineering issues concerning plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) received a great deal of exposure at this year’s SAE 2007 World Congress—the theme of which is “Engineering for Global Sustainable Mobility—It’s Up to Us”. The SAE World Congress is primarily a technical conference; marketing... Read more →

Intelligent Energy, the developer of the ENV fuel cell motorcycle (earlier post) and contributors to the Boeing fuel cell airplane (earlier post), has raised more than US$17 million in a recently-completed round of fundraising. The fundraising comprised a number of private placements, followed by an open offer to all existing... Read more →

General Motors Europe today announced its plan to allocate assembly of its next-generation compact cars to four manufacturing plants: Ellesmere Port, U.K.; Bochum, Germany; Trollhättan, Sweden; and Gliwice, Poland. Production of the new vehicle, due to replace the existing Opel Astra range in early 2010, is expected to involve a... Read more →

Sasol Technology and Avantium Technologies have formed a strategic research collaboration to develop new Fischer-Tropsch catalyst technologies to optimize Sasol’s production of liquid fuels from coal or natural gas. Avantium specializes in experimental methodologies that enable scientists to conduct parallel experiments on a very small scale and at a very... Read more →

IAV Automotive Engineering has developed a rear-axle differential with integrated motors that can enable a parallel hybrid powertrain without affecting existing engine/transmission configurations. The system is on display at the SAE World Congress in Detroit. The axle unit incorporates two 30kW motors (one for each wheel) with rated torque of... Read more →

The French post office—La Poste—announced on Monday that it will order 10,000 electric delivery vehicles over the next five years. This week it will invite bids to supply the first 500, for delivery in 2008. La Poste has been testing eight CLEANOVA electric vehicles since 2005. (Earlier post.) Thirty of... Read more →

The Energy Center at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)—one of the two federal institutes of technology in Switzerland—announced the formation of the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels to create draft global standards for sustainable biofuels production and processing. Founding Steering Board members include, among others, the WWF (World Wide... Read more →

Air Liquide is acquiring the German engineering firm Lurgi, which is owned by Global Engineering Alliance (GEA Group AG), for €550 million (US$745 million). With nearly 1,300 employees and total sales of around €850 million in 2006, Lurgi has a large portfolio of technologies in gasification, hydrogen and syngas production,... Read more →

Top 10 holders of oil reserves, according to the survey. Click to enlarge. The world is currently producing more oil annually than it is replacing with new reserves, according to a new survey of global liquids reserves published by Energy Intelligence, a data and information provider for the global energy... Read more →