Metabolix, Inc., a bioscience company focused on developing sustainable solutions for plastics, chemicals and energy, has completed a field trial of tobacco genetically engineered to express polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) bio-based polymers. Metabolix obtained the necessary permits from the US Department of Agriculture Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to perform an... Read more →

Regal Resources Limited, an Australia-based developer of an Underground Coal to Liquids (UCTL) process to convert low rank brown/coal lignite into hydrocarbon and gas products (earlier post), has signed a Farm-In Agreement with Greenpower Energy Limited through its wholly owned subsidiary MOL Gippsland Pty Ltd (MOL). The objective of the... Read more →

Rendering of the Gen 2 series plug-in hybrid powertrain under development. Source: ALTe. Click to enlarge. A Bloomfield, Michigan startup is developing light- and medium-duty series plug-in hybrid electric vehicle powertrain systems—initially as conversions, but ultimately extending to an OEM basis. ALTe, LLC has initially targeted fleet applications—specifically, the New... Read more →

General Motors developed its Two-Mode Hybrid powertrain control system using Model-Based Design software from The Mathworks. Using math and simulation-based tools, GM designed the powertrain prototype within 9 months, shaving 24 months off the expected development time. The complex control system is currently in production in the GMC Sierra Hybrid,... Read more →

Synthesis Energy Systems’ (SES) 95%-owned Hai Hua joint venture project in Shandong Province, China, has completed a successful commercial-scale gasification demonstration, converting lignite coal from the Inner Mongolia region of China to syngas. (Earlier post.) Lignite and sub-bituminous coals are abundant in many regions of the world and are typically... Read more →

A team at China’s Southeast University in Nanjing is developing a process to improve the thermal stability and heating value of bio-oil produced using catalytic fast pyrolysis. A paper on their work was published online in the ACS journal Energy & Fuels on 19 October. Schematic diagram of the fluidized-bed... Read more →

Hempstead Town, New York with support from National Grid, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) and several clean energy organizations launched Long Island’s first hydrogen fuel station. The station offers blended hydrogen/compressed natural gas (HCNG) and compressed natural gas in addition... Read more →

Normalized well-to-wake GHG emissions for low-, baseline- and high-emission cases for jet fuel pathways under different land use change scenarios. From Hileman et al. Click to enlarge. A joint MIT/RAND study of the near-term commercial feasibility of alternative jet fuels has concluded that three types of alternative jet fuels may... Read more →

Reuters. South Korea-based SK Energy said it has been chosen as a supplier of lithium-ion batteries for a hybrid electric vehicle project for Daimler commercial vehicle subsidiary Mitsubishi Fuso; Daimler holds 85% of Fuso. The project would go through two years of development, SK said in a statement, without disclosing... Read more →

There has been a sharp decline over the past year in the percentage of Americans who say there is solid evidence that global temperatures are rising—from 71% in 2008 to 57% in 2009. And fewer also see global warming as a very serious problem—35% today, down from 44% in April... Read more →

Artist’s rendering of a GE Frame-7 gas turbine, similar to the units that GE Oil & Gas is supplying for the Gorgon project. Click to enlarge. GE Oil & Gas has been awarded a competitive bid, worth more than $400 Million, to deploy advanced liquefied natural gas (LNG) technology for... Read more →

An analysis of sediment cores from an Arctic lake indicates that biological and chemical changes occurring there are unprecedented over the past 200,000 years and likely are the result of human-caused climate change, according to a new study led by the University of Colorado at Boulder. A paper on the... Read more →

Syntec Biofuel Inc. will apply to change its name to Synthenol, Inc. in order to differentiate itself from a conventional biofuel business. Syntec Biofuel’s technology is based on the catalytic conversion of syngas, generated from biomass, natural gas or coal, to produce not only ethanol but methanol and other high... Read more →

Thirteen scientists and land use experts conclude in a new paper that an important but fixable error in legal accounting rules used to measure compliance with carbon limits for bioenergy could undermine efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by encouraging deforestation. Their paper is published in the 23 Oct. issue... Read more →

Air Products has signed a long-term supply contract with Monsanto Company to build a new world-scale hydrogen production plant to be located at Monsanto’s Luling, Louisiana Roundup facility. The new hydrogen plant is scheduled to be on-stream in January 2012. Air Products will build a steam methane reformer (SMR) producing... Read more →

Historical trends of (A) ΣPCDD/F, (B) ΣPCB, and (C) ΣDDT in sediment from Lake Oberaar and from low-altitude lakes in Switzerland, normalized relative to their maximum historical peaks. The “second peak” for Lake Oberaar supports the hypothesis of pollutant release from melting. Credit: ACS, Bogdal et al. Click to enlarge.... Read more →

Bannon Automotive, LLC, will invest $26.6 million to open a plug-in electric vehicle manufacturing facility in Onondaga County. Bannon will use technology based on that developed by REVA Electric Car Company Private, Ltd., (RECC) to build REVA’s NXR model (earlier post), which was recently introduced to the public at the... Read more →

Better Place Israel signed an agreement with Jerusalem Mayor, Nir Barkat to begin the deployment of a charging infrastructure for electrical cars in Jerusalem. Several charge spots have already been placed at the entrance to the city as part of the pilot that will take place next year. According to... Read more →

Western Lithium Canada Corporation and Rocky Mountain Resources Corp. have entered into a non-binding letter of intent pursuant to which Western Lithium proposes to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Rocky Mountain. Rocky Mountain’s primary asset is the Gibellini development stage vanadium project in Nevada. Vanadium has the potential... Read more →

Cereplast, Inc., manufacturer of proprietary bio-based sustainable plastics, has been developing a breakthrough technology to transform algae into bioplastics and intends to launch a new family of algae-based resins that will complement the company’s existing line of Compostables & Hybrid resins. Cereplast algae-based resins could replace 50% or more of... Read more →

Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide, Inc. has introduced a fuel-efficient, high-performance diesel hybrid electric powertrain, “Q-Force”. In 2007, the US Army awarded Quantum a $4.88-million contract (earlier post) to develop a diesel hybrid electric version of its Alternative Mobility Vehicle (AMV) “Aggressor.” (Earlier post.) The proprietary 4-wheel drivetrain can be... Read more →

Volkswagen Group research directors, Dr.-Ing. Franz-Josef Paefgen and Prof. Dr. Jürgen Leohold, together with Stanford’s Prof. James Plummer, Dean of the School of Engineering, will inaugurate the new Volkswagen Automotive Innovation Lab (VAIL) on the Stanford University campus at a dedication ceremony this coming Saturday. The successes of Stanley and... Read more →

Fueled by compressed natural gas (CNG), the Lucas Oil/Lessman Streamliner hisett an official speed record for a CNG vehicle of 323 mph through the measured mile at the Bonneville Salt Flats in early October. With an official timed speed by the Southern California Timing Association at the 2009 World Finals... Read more →

ACAL Energy has achieved peak power levels of 1.5 kW from its fuel cell system using its patented liquid cathode technology, FlowCath. (Earlier post.) The FlowCath demonstrator system had delivered 600W sustained earlier in the year. ACAL Energy’s FlowCath technology replaces up to 90% of the platinum catalyst in a... Read more →

The Business of Plugging In conference in Detroit this week marked a serious effort by utilities; automakers and suppliers; academia; government agencies; and financiers to instigate the necessary granular discussions required to lay an integrated foundation to develop a full ecosystem—products, services, policies, supply chain and consumer demand—for the successful... Read more →

New registrations of natural gas-powered passenger vehicles (OEM and retrofit) represented 7.4% of total passenger car registrations in Italy from January-July 2009, according to figures from NGVA Europe and ACEA (the European Automobile Manufacturers Association). Natural gas vehicle registrations in Italy reached a cumulative total of 99,192 units Jan-July according... Read more →

The e-Zone Electric Vehicle (EV) will be one of the vehicle types CT&T will produce for the US market. Source: CT&T United. Click to enlarge. South Korea-based electric vehicle maker CT&T outlined the company’s expansion efforts during a press briefing at the Tokyo Motor Show and announced $400-million, 38,000-units in... Read more →

At the Tokyo Motor Show, Suzuki introduced its concept Burgman Fuel-Cell Scooter, based on technologies from the Crosscage concept motorcycle that it displayed at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show (earlier post), thereby realizing a more practical and accessible fuel-cell bike. Burgman Fuel-Cell Scooter. Click to enlarge. The air-cooled PEM fuel... Read more →

Powertrain of the Mercedes-Benz Concept BlueZERO E-CELL, introduced in January 2009 in Detroit. Click to enlarge. Mercedes-Benz is further expanding its center of excellence for compact vehicles by enlarging its Rastatt plant with an investment of €600 million (US$902 million). The first vehicles of the successor generation to the current... Read more →

Better Place and DSB, Denmark’s state-owned passenger rail company, signed an agreement to provide Danes with door-to-door, sustainable transportation by combining passenger rail and electric car service. The agreement contains two main elements. The first is the creation of infrastructure to charge EVs at a number of train stations, and... Read more →

Dynario, fuel cartridge and consumer device. Click to enlarge. Toshiba Corporation launched its first direct methanol fuel-cell product: Dynario, an external power source that delivers power to mobile digital consumer products. (Earlier post.) Dynario’s performance is optimized by its hybrid structure, which uses a lithium-ion battery charged by the fuel... Read more →

Health and other non-climate damages by life-cycle component for different combinations of fuels and light-duty automobiles in 2005 (top) and 2030 (bottom). Damages are expressed in cents per VMT (2007 USD). Source: “Hidden Costs of Energy”. Click to enlarge. A new report from the National Research Council examines and, when... Read more →

The Nissan LEAF all-electric car will make its North American debut in Los Angeles on 13 Nov. The Los Angeles showing will be the first time people in the United States will be able to see the five-passenger, five-door, gasoline-free car, which is embarking on a nationwide tour. The Nissan... Read more →

Volkswagen’s new 1.2L TSI engine, introduced earlier this year (earlier post) is now available for the Polo, Golf and Golf Plus. The four-cylinder, turbocharged 77 kW (103 hp) TSI engine offers its maximum torque of 175 N·m (129 lb-ft) at a low engine speed of 1,500 rpm. The continued development... Read more →

Guardian. New cars bought through the UK’s scrappage incentive scheme, which began in May, emit on average 10.9% less CO2 (16 g/km) than the average new car, according to figures released by the car manufacturers’ trade association SMMT. Scrappage buyers were also three times more likely than average to buy... Read more →

An autonomous road train as envisioned by SARTRE. Click to enlarge. The new EU project SARTRE (Safe Road Trains for the Environment) project will develop and test technology for vehicles that can drive themselves in long road trains on motorways. This technology has the potential to improve traffic flow and... Read more →

UK soft drinks retailer AG Barr is using a Smith Newton electric truck for delivery to retail outlets across London. The 10 tonne Smith Newton truck is cutting operating costs as well as the retailer’s carbon footprint. AG Barr Newton. Click to enlarge. A spokesman for AG Barr said: “We... Read more →

Ford Motor Company and the University of Michigan are working together on a project to accelerate the development of future hybrid vehicles. Researchers are analyzing data from 2,500 road trips to determine how internal electronic vehicle controls could be tweaked to further improve fuel efficiency and fun-to-drive attributes. Working with... Read more →

Of the eleven competing energy storage technologies analyzed in a recent report from Pike Research, the cleantech industry analyst firm forecasts that Li-ion batteries will be the fastest growing category for the Stationary Utility Energy Storage (SUES) sector, growing to a $1.1 billion worldwide business by 2018. Current stationary energy... Read more →

The Department of Energy (DOE) recently awarded The University of Texas at El Paso grants totaling nearly $1.3 million for research to improve the efficiency of engines and creating technologies for detecting, capturing and storing carbon emissions. Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering Chintalapalle V. Ramana, Ph.D., and Associate Professor of... Read more →

EdeniQ, a California-based company working to commercialize next-generation biofuels (earlier post), licensed technology from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) for hydrolyzing cellulose fibers to release their sugar for the production of cellulosic ethanol. The license agreement caps a two-year research and development program at WPI’s Life Sciences and Bioengineering Center (LSBC)... Read more →

Carlos Ghosn, President and CEO, Nissan Motor Co. Ltd., announced at the 41st Tokyo Motor Show that Infiniti plans to introduce an electric vehicle—one that will be true to the Infiniti brand’s promise of “Inspired Performance.” Ghosn stated that a concept is being developed for a stylish, compact, high performance... Read more →

Declaring an urgent imperative to prepare for the use of electricity as a crucial transportation fuel in the future, the US’ electric utilities collectively pledged to move forward aggressively to create the infrastructure to support the full-scale commercialization and deployment of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs). The pledge represents a culmination... Read more →

TPE331 turboprop engine. Click to enlarge. Honeywell has completed initial testing of renewable jet fuel on its TPE331 turboprop engine, its TFE731 turbofan engine and a commercial Auxiliary Power Unit, with performance and fuel economy results comparable to typical aviation fuels. Honeywell is part of a consortium of aviation companies,... Read more →

Cellulosic ethanol and specialty enzyme company Verenium Corporation has entered into an agreement with Value Prior to Pulping (VPP), an organization created by the Agenda 2020 Technology Alliance, a special project of the American Forest and Paper Association, and CleanTech Partners, Inc., to test the effectiveness of Verenium’s C5 technology... Read more →

Probabilities at different price points for at lest some chance of purchase. Source: Curtin et al. (2009) Click to enlarge. A newly released University of Michigan study found widespread consumer interest in buying plug-in hybrid electric vehicles; however, the cost of the cars is much more influential than environmental and... Read more →

The US Department of the Interior (DOI) is offering additional opportunities for energy companies to conduct oil shale research, development and demonstration (RD&D) projects on public lands in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. (Earlier post.) Energy companies will have 60 days after publication of a Federal Register notice to submit applications... Read more →

Cyclone Power Technologies Inc. and Robotic Technology Inc. (RTI) have entered into a Teaming Agreement to advance the development and commercialization of Cyclone’s vegetative biomass-to-power engine system as it can be applied to advanced robotic platforms. (Earlier post.) Cyclone’s prototype biomass-to-power generator is a self-contained, compact system that utilizes the... Read more →

The Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE recently announced the selection of 43 teams—representing 18 states, 10 countries and 6 fuel types—to advance into the performance and safety testing phase of the $10-million prize purse competition. The 43 teams and their locations. Click to enlarge. Teams that have passed this most... Read more →

A side effect of cleaning up diesel exhaust can be a drop in fuel efficiency and a need to do diagnostics of whether the systems are operating in their design states. A partnership led by researchers at Michigan Technological University is addressing those issues in a three-year, $2.8 million project... Read more →