« August 2009 | Main | October 2009 »

South Korean EV Company to Open Two Production and Distribution Facilities in Pennsylvania

South Korea-based CT&T Co. Ltd., intends to open two production and distribution facilities in Pennsylvania. (Earlier post.) Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell made the announcement at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. CT&T makes low- and mid-speed, short-distance neighborhood electric vehicles that pass crash tests required for regular passenger cars. The vehicles... Read more →


Basic components of the Garric engine. Click to enlarge. A pair of Florida entrepreneurs, Rick Ivas and Gary Kelley, are developing the concept of the Garric engine: a rotary, variable compression ratio engine promising a combination of high power and torque and low fuel consumption. With a 3.8-inch piston bore... Read more →


PHEV battery pack in V70 demonstrator without damage after a full scale rear crash test. Click to enlarge. Volvo Car Corporation is postponing its plans to produce a full hybrid based on a diesel engine and instead will introduce a series-produced plug-in diesel hybrid (PHEV) in Europe as early as... Read more →


The Ford Figo. Click to enlarge. Ford Motor Company President and CEO Alan Mulally revealed the new Ford Figo, the anticipated new car to be produced in India and targeted at the India and export market. Ford said that Mulally’s visit for the reveal underscores the strategic importance of India... Read more →


Significant climate anomalies 2008/2009. Source: Climate Change Compendium. Click to enlarge. A UN review of some 400 major scientific contributions to Earth systems and climate science released through peer-reviewed literature or from research institutions over the last three years, has found that the pace and scale of climate change may... Read more →


Asphaltenes—sometimes called the “cholesterol of petroleum” due to the way they clog pipelines—are a poorly understood fraction of petroleum. But with asphaltene-rich sources such as oil sands and heavy oils gaining importance, researchers are focusing more on a molecular-level understanding of the complex material, according to the cover story in... Read more →


ZENN Motor Changes Strategy to Sell EEstor-based Electric Drive Rather Than Its Own EVs

ZENN Motor Company Inc. (ZMC) has decided to switch its business strategy from selling electric vehicles to distributing an electric drivetrain powered by EEStor, once the EEstor EESU units are available. The EESU is a high-power-density multi-layered barium titanate ceramic ultracapacitor that the companies say is expected to provide energy... Read more →


A123 Systems Closes First Day of Trading with Market Value of Almost $2B

Li-ion battery maker A123 Systems went public today in a widely anticipated IPO. Initially priced at $13.50/share, the company opened trading on the NASDAQ this morning at $17.00, and closed at $20.29, resulting in a market value of $1,964,396,640 at the end of the day. Share volume on day one... Read more →


Solazyme Wins Navy Contract to Provide 100% Algal Based Jet Fuel for Compatibility Testing

The US Department of Defense has selected Solazyme, Inc. to provide 1,500 gallons of 100% algae derived jet fuel for testing and certification by the US Navy. Earlier this month, Solazyme was awarded a separate Navy contract to provide R&D and delivery of more than 20,000 gallons of renewable algae... Read more →


Commerce Secretary Releases Draft Smart Grid Interoperability Plan; Plug-in Vehicle Standards One of the Priorities

US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke released the draft of an accelerated plan for Smart Grid interoperability. Produced by the Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the approximately 90-page document identifies about 80 initial interoperability standards and 14 priority action plans that address the most important gaps in... Read more →


Auto Industry Weighs in Against Murkowski Amendment that Delays EPA Regulation of Stationary Source CO2 Emissions

The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (AAM) and the Association of International Automobile Manufacturers (AIAM) have sent a joint letter to US Senator Diane Feinstein, opposing an amendment to an appropriations act that would prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency from spending money on regulating carbon dioxide from stationary sources under the... Read more →


LS9 modifies the ACP pathway in bacteria to produce renewable hydrocarbon fuels and chemicals with optimized properties. Source: LS9. Click to enlarge. LS9 Company, a synthetic biology company producing renewable fuels and chemicals directly by fermentation, has successfully completed a $25 million round of funding. Participating investors included CTTV Investments... Read more →


Clean Energy to Acquire BAF Technologies, Natural Gas Vehicle Technology and Conversion Company

Clean Energy Fuels Corp. has signed a purchase and sale agreement to acquire BAF Technologies, Inc., the leading provider of natural gas vehicle systems and conversions in the United States. The acquisition will close upon each party meeting certain closing conditions. The purchase price payable at the closing of the... Read more →


The new REVA NXG introduced at IAA, due for production in 2011, features a Li-ion phosphate pack. Click to enlarge. General Motors India and Reva Electric Car Company (REVA) have entered into a collaboration agreement to develop electric vehicles for the Indian market. The partnership will develop car platforms, electric... Read more →


Specific capacities of two TiO2-FGS (functionalized graphene sheets) hybrids at different charge / discharge rates compared to control TiO2. Credit: ACS, Wang 2009. Click to enlarge. Researchers at the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have found that adding graphene—sheets made up of single carbon atoms—to titanium... Read more →


Catalytic Hydrogenation of Carbon Dioxide to Formic Acid

Researchers at the University of Tokyo have developed a new catalyst for the catalytic hydrogenation of carbon dioxide to formic acid with the best reported performance to date. A paper on their work appeared online 23 September in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. Formic acid is an important... Read more →


California High Speed Rail Authority Votes to Include $4.5B for High-Speed Train Projects In State’ Federal Stimulus Funding Application

The California High-Speed Rail Authority Board unanimously approved an application for more than $4.5 billion in federal stimulus funding for engineering, design and construction on the state’s high-speed train system (earlier post)—generating an investment of $9.1 billion when state matching funds are added. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to formally... Read more →


The U3-X. The two seat pads and the foot rests fold into the body of the device when not in use. Click to enlarge. Honda has unveiled the U3-X, a compact Li-ion-powered experimental personal mobility device that fits between the rider’s legs and provides free movement in all directions just... Read more →


Spray stratified GDi. Click to enlarge. Delphi is highlighting new developments in the area of fuel injection systems, ignition, valve train and ancillary systems for improving fuel consumption and lowering CO2 emissions from spark ignition engines without what it calls the cost and risk of different technologies. The new systems... Read more →


US Senators Introduce Legislation to Prohibit Inclusion of Indirect Land Use Change Effects in Implementing the RFS for 1 Year

US Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA), Ben Nelson (D-NE) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced legislation that would prevent the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from going ahead with regulations that would include indirect land use change (ILUC) effects in implementing the renewable fuel standard. Earlier in the year, 12 senators led by... Read more →


Census Bureau 2008 American Community Survey Data Shows Slight Changes in Commuting, Vehicle Ownership

The US Census Bureau released the latest American Community Survey (ACS) data, providing a statistical portrait of the characteristics of the nation’s population in 2008. According to the new snapshot, the percentage of US workers who drove alone to work decreased slightly between 2007 and 2008 from 76.1% in 2007... Read more →


GM Voltage Hosting Webchat with Brian Wynne, President, Electric Drive Transportation Association

Brian Wynne, President of the Electric Drive Transportation Association (EDTA) will participate in a webchat hosted by GM’s Voltage site, on Thursday at 2 p.m. EDT. In a post on the Voltage site today, Wynne notes that: Companies are going about the challenge [of electrification] in different ways: some are... Read more →


Rasmussen Poll Finds GM, Ford, Toyota Are Top for Planned Purchases in US

According to a recent Rasmussen survey, GM edges out Ford and Toyota as the vehicle Americans definitely plan to buy next. Toyota is the one most buyers are willing to at least consider. Rasmussen Reports asked Americans to pick among the eight most popular car manufacturers and Mercedes-Benz. Results form... Read more →


Toyota Concerned About Market Viability of Plug-ins, Sees Clear Path to Commercialization of Fuel Cell Technology in 2015

Based on its 15 years of experience with advanced battery technology and the now-mainstream Prius, Toyota has key unanswered questions regarding market acceptance of plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles and who the target buyers—in numbers sufficient to meet California ZEV mandates—might be, according to Michael O’Brien, Toyota’s US corporate manager... Read more →


Omnitek Peru has driven a natural gas powered heavy-duty commercial truck to a record altitude of 4,814 meters (15,800 feet) over the Ticlio Pass high in the Peruvian Andes, the highest paved road in the world. The high-altitude record setting drive concluded a series of tests tailored to set the... Read more →


by Jack Rosebro The cell charger array constructed at the Dahn laboratory, Department of Physics and Atmospheric Science, Dalhousie University. The Keithley 2750 and 2000 devices are high-precision voltmeters, and the Keithley 220 devices are programmable current sources. The thermostats are controlled temperature chambers that house the electrochemical cells under... Read more →


Researchers identified five major flow regimes of bubbly, slug, churn, wispy-annular, and annular flow, and a postdryout regime of inverted-annular flow. Garimella 2009. Click to enlarge. Researchers at Purdue University have determined precisely how fluid boils in microchannels, and as a result have created formulas and models that will help... Read more →


Airlines Present Climate Change Proposals at UN Forum; 50% Absolute Cut In Emissions by 2050 Compared to 2005

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) presented its proposals for December’s climate change talks to the UN Secretary General’s Summit on Climate Change in New York. The forum took place in the run-up to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) meeting in Copenhagen this December. The aviation... Read more →


Protonex Awarded $2.0M Contract to Further Develop Liquid-Fueled SOFC Power Systems

Protonex Technology Corporation has received a $2.0 million contract award from the US Army to build, test and deliver solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) power systems operating on high-performance liquid fuels. This 12-month contract builds upon a prior program with the US Army and will focus on system integration and... Read more →


SolarCity and Rabobank Developing EV Fast Charging Corridor in California

SolarCity and Rabobank, N.A. are partnering to create a solar-power enhanced, EV fast-charge corridor along Highway 101 in California. When complete, the corridor will include four Tesla fast chargers loacated at Rabobank locations between San Francisco and Los Angeles (Salinas, Atascadero, Santa Maria and Goleta). A fifth in San Luis... Read more →


DOE Announces $528.7M Conditional Loan for Fisker Automotive for PHEVs

The US Department of Energy is awarding a $528.7-million conditional loan to Fisker Automotive for the development of two lines of plug-in hybrids—the Karma and the new Project Nina vehicle—by 2016. This is the fourth conditional loan commitment the Department of Energy has entered into under the Advanced Technology Vehicles... Read more →


The VTES unit (inset) and installed in the AVL VW Passat demonstrator. in Click to enlarge. Controlled Power Technologies’ VTES (Variable Torque Enhancement System) electric supercharger (earlier post) is being incorporated in a project by engine developer AVL (earlier post) and will also feature in the Ricardo-led £3 million (US$5-million)... Read more →


Continental Selects Maxwell Ultracaps for Voltage Stabilization System to Support Stop-Start

Continental AG, has selected Maxwell Technologies’ BOOSTCAP ultracapacitors as the energy storage element of a voltage stabilization system (VSS) it has developed for automobiles. The VSS stabilizes the auto’s electrical system and supports stop-start functionality for improved fuel efficiency and reduced emissions. Continental has advised the company to prepare for... Read more →


EPA Finalizes Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued the Final Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases Rule. The rule requires reporting of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from large sources and suppliers in the United States, and is intended to collect accurate and timely emissions data to inform future policy decisions. Under... Read more →


Dassault’s SVE to Combine with Dow Kokam in Li-ion Battery Partnership for EVs

Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault (Dassault) and Dow Kokam LLC have signed an agreement that outlines the intention to combine the business activities of Dassault’s Société de Vehicles Electriques (SVE) unit with Dow Kokam, making Dassault a minority owner of Dow Kokam, a joint venture between Dow Chemical and Townsend Kokam... Read more →


Chemetall Lithium Awarded €5.7M to Set Up Pilot Li-ion Battery Recycling Plant

The German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety recently awarded €5.7 million (US$8.4 million) to Chemetall Lithium, a unit of Rockwood Holdings Inc., to set up a pilot plant for the recycling of lithium-ion batteries. Chemetall will provide additional funds to bring the total investment above... Read more →


US DOT Awards $100M in Recovery Act Funds to 43 Transit Projects to Reduce Energy Consumption and Greenhouse Gas Emissions

The US Department of Transportation (DOT) is awarding $100 million in Economic Recovery Act funding to 43 transit agencies for projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions from both vehicles and facilities. The 43 winning proposals were submitted by transit agencies from across the country as part of... Read more →


Study: Cash-for-Clunkers Programs Should Use Fuel Economy Rather Than Age to Maximize GHG Reductions

A study by researchers at UC Davis suggests that a properly designed vehicle scrappage (i.e., “Cash for Clunkers”) program could maximize greenhouse gas emissions savings by using fuel-economy based eligibility requirements rather than age-based requirements. The study presents a program framework that, at a minimum, ensures a program that offsets... Read more →


Researchers used coupled enzymes for the WGS reaction at ambient temperature. Source: ACS. Click to enlarge. A team of researchers from the UK and US have developed a coupled bacterial enzyme-based catalyst for the important water-gas shift reaction (WGS) for the production of hydrogen from syngas. A paper on the... Read more →


Rice University to Collaborate with nanoAlberta on Oil Sands Research

Rice University President David Leebron and Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in Edmonton, Alberta outlining a research collaboration between nanoAlberta, part of Alberta Advanced Education and Technology, and Rice’s Richard E. Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology. The collaboration will tackle issues surrounding the... Read more →


American Ceramic Society Awards Technical Achievement Award to A123Systems

The American Ceramic Society awarded A123Systems the Corporate Technical Achievement Award for developing breakthrough ceramics that enable new technologies such as stable, high-power, rechargeable batteries that are safer and more powerful than earlier lithium-ion rechargeable varieties. A123Systems develops and sells nanophosphate lithium-ion batteries. A123 co-founder, Dr. Yet-Ming Chiang (Professor of... Read more →


Coulomb Technologies to Demonstrate Level 2 SAE J1772 Fast Charge of Tesla

Coulomb Technologies will demonstrate a Level 2 SAE J1772 fast charge of an electric Tesla Roadster on 23 September in Arizona, following a meeting of the Tucson Regional Clean Cities Coalition. The demonstration is sponsored by the Pima Association of Governments (PAG)’s Clean Cities Program, the City of Tucson, and... Read more →


Three of the NHTSA scenarios for penetration of technologies for passenger cars for MY 2016. Shown are slow growth (3%), the preferred proposed alternative, and the maximum potential. Data: Preliminary Regulatory Impact Analysis. Click to enlarge. On 15 Sep, NHTSA and the US EPA proposed a joint rulemaking on fuel... Read more →


Energy Density vs. Power Density for the 18650HP1 Click to enlarge. Li-ion start-up Imara Corporation (earlier post) announced that its first 18650 high-power lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide cells are now available. Imara is providing battery cells to customers in the power tool, outdoor power equipment and transportation markets. The... Read more →


Hong Kong Government to Buy 10 i-MiEV EVs

Nikkei. The Hong Kong government will buy 10 i-MiEV electric vehicles from Mitsubishi Motors Corp., according to the environment secretary. Edward Yau told reporters the months-long test drive of the iMiEV, a lithium-ion battery-powered four-seater that gives out roughly 63 horsepower with a top speed of 130 kilometers per hour,... Read more →


New Audi A3 1.6 TDI Models Reach 99 gCO2/km Mark; Start-stop and Energy Recovery

Audi’s new A3 1.6 TDI diesel models (A3 and A3 Sportback) have dropped below the 100 g/km mark, emitting 99 grams of CO2/km (159 g/mile), corresponding to fuel consumption of 3.8 liters of diesel per 100 km (61.9 US mpg US). The four-cylinder TDI engine delivers 77 kW (105 hp)... Read more →


All-new, 7-seat Ford C-MAX. Click to enlarge. Ford will launch the all-new, 7-seat C-MAX, introduced this past week at the Frankfurt Motor Show, in North America in late 2011 as a “whitespace” vehicle. (Earlier post.) C-MAX is the first of a new generation of Ford global C-cars scheduled for introduction... Read more →