Schematic of a CO2ECBM pilot project depicting the injection and production wells. Source: Advanced Resources International Unmineable coal seams—seams too deep or too thin to be mined economically—are one of the main types of geological formations targeted for the sequestration of captured CO2. Using coal seams for CO2 storage also... Read more →

The chassis of a PPM-50 light rail car with flywheel and 2.0-liter engine visible. Click to enlarge. The new rail franchisee for the UK West Midlands will introduce two hybrid light railcars equipped with a flywheel energy store to capture braking energy for use in acceleration. The UK Department for... Read more →

Gulf Times. Qatar, the site of Oryx GTL, the world’s largest gas-to-liquids project, has no plans to use GTL fuel in the local market. “No, we are not planning to take GTL on a massive commercial scale in Qatar now. It is expensive now. Also, it cannot be used alone.... Read more →

The Nikkei reports that Toyota Motor Corp. plans to release a new dedicated hybrid car by 2009, with an initial sales target of 100,000 units annually worldwide. It will be Toyota’s second such hybrid-only vehicle after the Prius. Currently, Toyota uses hybrid technology in seven models, not all of which... Read more →

Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide has entered into definitive agreements with certain of its existing institutional investors as well as new institutional investors for an aggregate private placement of $18.75 million of common stock. Quantum will sell a total of 12.5 million shares at $1.50 per share, representing a discount... Read more →

Brazil’s Braskem has produced its first polyethylene made from sugarcane ethanol. The polymer was certified to contain 100% renewable raw materials. The project is now in technical and economic specification process and the startup of green polyethylene production on an industrial scale is expected in late 2009. The new unit... Read more →

Global livestock density, in livestock units/sq km. Source: GLiPHA (Global Livestock Production and Health Atlas). The University of Georgia (UGA) and Mexico’s livestock industry have formed a new research partnership to share expertise in generating fuels from livestock waste materials. Funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID),... Read more →

72% of responding cities use alternative fuels and/or use hybrid-electric technology in their fleets. Click to enlarge. Source: USCM According to a new survey released by the Mayors Climate Protection Center during The US Conference of Mayors’ (USCM) 75th anniversary meeting this weekend, mayors are acting on many fronts to... Read more →

Trägerkreises Erdgasfahrzeuge reports a sharp increase in natural gas vehicle registrations in Germany. According to data from the Kraftfahrt-Bundesamtes (KBA), registrations of passenger car natural gas vehicles (NGVs) reached 1,047 in May 2006, up 82.4% from the 574 registrations in May 2006. From May to June 2007, passenger car NGV... Read more →

Schematic of the chilled ammonia capture system. Click to enlarge. Source: EPRI, Alstom. Alstom has signed two development contracts for its chilled ammonia-based CO2 capture technology, one with E.ON for a power plant in Sweden, and one with Statoil for the Mongstad refinery in Norway. In March, Alstom and American... Read more →

The scope of the Clean Sky JTI. Click to enlarge. At the Paris Air Show, European Science and Research Commissioner Janez Potočnik launched the Clean Sky Joint Technology Initiative. The Clean Sky JTI is a major public/private partnership to develop technology by 2015 that can reduce aviation CO2 emissions by... Read more →

The Wall Street Journal reports that Archer-Daniels-Midland Co., the US’s largest ethanol producer, is preparing to enter the sugarcane ethanol business in Brazil. ADM is exploring different entry strategies, from greenfield development to acquisitions, according to ADM executives. Read more →

ZAP is launching a new development program for a second higher-performance electric vehicle, which will have a targeted price of $30,000. ZAP says the technology for the new vehicle is similar to that of its electric crossover ZAP-X, announced earlier this year (earlier post), but will be available sooner. The... Read more →

The CAFE component of the Senate energy bill raises average fuel economy for new vehicles by 10 mpg in 10 years. Click to enlarge. The Senate late last night passed the energy bill by a Yea-Nea vote of 65-27, including a compromise version (SA 1792) of CAFE legislation that increases... Read more →

Hybrid electric vehicles have saved close to 230 million gallons—5.5 million barrels— of fuel in the United States since their introduction in 1999, according to a recent analysis conducted by the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). To estimate the total fuel saved by hybrid electric vehicles,... Read more →

UK Transport Secretary Douglas Alexander launched a public consultation on an environmental reporting system for biofuels and a package of measures to complement the reporting requirement. The consultation is a key part of work on the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO), which targets a 2.5% renewable fuel component in 2008/9,... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board (ARB) on Thursday approved three early action measures to address climate change emissions as set forth in the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32). (Earlier post.) The early actions include three specific greenhouse gas control rules that are to be adopted and... Read more →

Nikkei. Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., the maker of Subaru cars, will introduce a diesel-powered Impreza in Europe in 2008. The company plans to release at least one new Subaru a year in the European market between now and fiscal 2010 using its new boxer turbodiesel engine (earlier post). Subaru will... Read more →

The Oregon Senate today approved House Bill 2210, creating a renewable fuels standard for the state. The bill now goes to Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski for signing into law. Oregon will join the 22 states that already have a combination of retailer incentives, processor incentives or both for renewable fuels.... Read more →

Azure Dynamics Corporation has selected Maxwell’s BOOSTCAP 390-volt heavy transportation ultracapacitor module (HTM) as the energy storage and power delivery component for its latest hybrid shuttle bus powertrain. (Earlier post.) The HTM 390 incorporates integrated balancing and monitoring capabilities and highly efficient internal cooling to enable it to sustain a... Read more →

Hydro will participate in the development of a European test center for the capture of CO2 at Mongstad in southwest Norway. (Earlier post.) Other partners in the project are the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, Statoil, Norske Shell, Dong Energy Generation and Vattenfall. The cooperation agreement regulates the planning... Read more →

A map of counties EPA projects would be in violation of tougher ozone rules. Click to enlarge. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed that US air quality standards for ground-level ozone be strengthened by tightening the standards for the first time since 1997. The new proposal recommends an... Read more →

Genencor, a division of Danisco A/S, is introducing a new enzyme product that increases the throughput and the value of distiller’s dried grain with solubles (DDGS), which is produced as a by-product of the corn ethanol process and used as a component in formulating animal feed. The new enzyme blend—Maxaliq... Read more →

The Chrysler Group announced a broad set of new initiatives targeted specifically at improving the fuel efficiency of future Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge vehicles. Included in the announcement is the addition of a 2009 Jeep Grand Cherokee BLUETEC Tier 2 Bin 5 compliant diesel. Chrysler outlined a number of new... Read more →

Bayer CropScience AG and Monsanto Company, two of the leading global agro-companies, have entered into a series of long-term business and licensing agreements related to key enabling agricultural technologies. Bayer CropScience will grant Monsanto a royalty bearing, non-exclusive license for its LibertyLink herbicide tolerance technology for use in corn and... Read more →

The Mégane E85. Click to enlarge. Renault has introduced its first bioethanol (E85) flex-fuel cars on the European market: the Mégane Hatch and Sport Tourer. The French release for the E85 versions of Mégane Hatch and Mégane Sport Tourer is scheduled for late June 2007, although dealers have already begun... Read more →

The Pajero TR4 Flex. Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) and local production and sales company MMC Automotores do Brasil Ltda (MMCB) have developed the first full-feature four-wheel drive flex-fuel vehicle (FFV) to be released in the Brazilian market. The Pajero TR4 Flex, featuring a 2.0-liter engine capable on running on blends... Read more →

Chicago Tribune. Tesla has raised the price of its all-electric Roadster by $6,000. Darryl Siry, vice president of sales and marketing for Tesla Motors, said the price has gone up because the Roadster is based on the Lotus Elise. Weakness in the value of the dollar versus the pound has... Read more →

Enova Systems has entered into a partnership with a major unnamed Asia-based OEM to integrate and to test its proprietary Post Transmission Parallel Hybrid system. The system is targeted for integration and/or retrofit into North American delivered 2008 model year vehicles. We are excited about the possibility to be the... Read more →

Diversa Corporation and Celunol Corp. have completed their previously-announced merger transaction (earlier post) to create Verenium Corporation. Verenium owns a growing portfolio of specialty enzyme products and unique technical and operational capabilities designed to enable the production of low-cost, biomass-derived sugars for a multitude of major industrial applications. The most... Read more →

In action on the Senate energy bill earlier this week, the number of total amendments reached about 200 on Tuesday, including a very detailed amendment on an energy tax package (SA 1704) that would offset support for renewable energy by new taxes imposed on oil and gas production. The alterative... Read more →

Thank you to all of our readers and legitimate commenters. Due to an increase in disruptive behavior in the comments section, including spoofing, authentication will now be mandatory to post comments on GCC. As an initial step, you’ll soon need to have a TypeKey identity to post a comment on... Read more →

The BP Foundation has awarded a five-year, $7.5 million grant to Stanford University’s Program on Energy and Sustainable Development to support research on modern energy markets. The gift follows the BP Foundation’s initial grant of $1.8 million over three years, which was pledged in 2004 in support of the program.... Read more →

Engineers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have developed a two-stage process for converting biomass-derived sugar into 2,5-dimethylfuran (DMF), a liquid transportation fuel with 40% greater energy density than ethanol. The work by Professor James Dumesic and his research team, reported in the 21 June issue of the journal Nature, leverages... Read more →

TIAX has been issued two US patents for its Cel-X battery control technology. Cel-X is a low-cost, high-performance hardware and software system designed to improve the safety, capacity, and pack life of lithium-ion batteries through a non-dissipative approach to regulating state of charge. Compared to the nickel-metal hydride batteries currently... Read more →

NearBio has established a free registry—NEEDBIO—that links local US consumer demand for biodiesel with suppliers serving their area. NearBio is the developer of the first alternative fuel locator tailored for mobile devices and author of the daily-updated and geo-coded NearBio biodiesel location database. (Earlier post) NEEDBIO tracks several key attributes... Read more →

Chemists at the University of Buffalo (UB) have identified what they say is a central mechanism responsible for the action of enzymes. The research, reported in a paper selected as a “2007 Hot Article” by the journal Biochemistry, provides insight into why catalysis is so complex and may help pave... Read more →

The Norwegian public transport company AS Oslo Sporveier will put 18 new Scania ethanol buses into service in Oslo in March 2008. The Scania ethanol bus uses 95% ethanol with 5% ignition improver in a modified diesel engine. To use the E95 blend in the diesel engine, Scania raises the... Read more →

Flexcar, a car-sharing company, has partnered with TerraPass, a personal carbon offset company, to create a new type of membership—the Green Membership—to allow its members to balance the emissions from their Flexcar usage. The option costs $9.95 per year in addition to the regular $35 annual Flexcar membership fee, and... Read more →

Enova Systems confirmed that it has received and begun delivering a production order for 300 electric drive systems from Smith Electric Vehicles, a division of The Tanfield Group Plc (TAN). Enova has worked in partnership with Tanfield for almost a year, developing high performance electric drive train components for Smith... Read more →

Eni S.p.A. will build a production facility using UOP’s “Ecofining” technology to produce diesel fuel from the catalytic hydroprocessing of vegetable oils. The facility, to be located in Livorno, Italy, will process 6,500 barrels per day of vegetable oils to supply European refineries with a high-cetane renewable diesel fuel. It... Read more →

Global CO2 emissions from fossil fuel use by region (not including cement production). Click to enlarge. A preliminary estimate by The Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (Milieu- en Natuurplanbureau, MNP) concludes that China’s CO2 emissions in 2006 surpassed those of the USA by 8%, rising to 6,200 megatonnes. This includes CO2... Read more →

SA 1628 would have established a coal-derived fuel standard with minimum levels of coal-derived transportation fuels required annually. Click to enlarge. In debate on the energy bill, the US Senate on Tuesday rejected an amendment (SA 1628) that had been proposed on Monday that would have established mandatory levels of... Read more →

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty announced the establishment of a new C$650-million (US$612 million) fund which will be available to companies looking to invest in the development of clean cars, clean fuels, and clean technologies and products. Separately, he announced greenhouse gas reduction targets of 80% from a 1990 baseline by... Read more →

Lunar Energy RTT Turbine. One of the different technology options available for tidal in-stream energy conversion (TISEC). Click to enlarge. Pacific Gas and Electric Company today signed an agreement with the City and County of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Energy Company to conduct the most comprehensive study yet... Read more →

RTGs at one of TSI’s terminals. As an indicator of scale, the “boxes” at right are stacked shipping containers. Click to enlarge. Terminal Systems Inc. (TSI), the largest port terminal operator in Canada, and Railpower Technologies Corp. have completed the preliminary testing of Railpower’s first ECO Crane diesel hybrid power... Read more →

A new national association called The American Biofuels Council (ABC) has formed to advance the uses of alternative fuels and other products derived from biomass derivatives, by promoting research, development and education on the use of biofuels. ABC says that tt will bring information to consumers, enterprises and local governments,... Read more →

The Earth’s climate is in “imminent peril” of the initiation of dynamical and thermodynamical processes on the West Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets that will result in a situation out of humanity’s control, such that devastating sea-level rise will inevitably occur, according to a open-access paper by six leading US... Read more →

UQM has developed and is taking orders for a new 150 kW (200 hp) peak power proprietary permanent magnet propulsion system. The new propulsion system is suitable for high performance automotive applications and heavy-duty commercial and military vehicles. The propulsion system has a continuous power rating of 100 kW (143... Read more →

Car sharing is gradually gaining popularity in Japanese cities, according to Japan for Sustainability. Mazda Car Rental Corp. began expanding its car sharing business throughout Japan in July 2006, following a relaxation of restrictions on unattended service centers. The company plans further expansion of the service throughout Japan. In Kanazawa... Read more →