Comparison of the rate performance of CNT@TiO2, TiO2-free CNT, and CNT-free TiO2 sample between voltage limits of 0.01-3 V. Shaded areas represent the capacity contribution from TiO2 or CNT in the nanocables. Credit: ACS, Cao et al. Click to enlarge. Researchers in China and Germany have coated carbon nanotubes (CNT)... Read more →

FNA. In a meeting between Head of Iranian Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IDRO) Seyed Majid Hedayat and Deputy Brazilian Science and Technology Minister Czar Gadella in Tehran, Gadella said that Brazil is ready to cooperate with Iran in sugarcane ethanol and other fields of technology, including oil, gas, nanotechnology,... Read more →

CCTV reports that the Haw Tai Motor Plant, China’s largest Euro-5 diesel engine plant, has gone into production in Inner Mongolia. Initial capacity for the plant, which is a subsidiary of Haw Tai Automobile, is 300,000 units in its first phase, with planned production to reach 1 million units. It’s... Read more →

In an exclusive interview with the UK Guardian’s Observer, UK climate secretary Ed Miliband declared a “battle” against the “siren voices” who denied global warming was real or caused by humans, or that there was a need to cut carbon emissions to tackle it. “It’s right that there’s rigour applied... Read more →

Aker Wade Power Technologies (earlier post) announced that Jon Bereisa has accepted a position on its Board of Advisors. Bereisa led GM’s EV1 project as chief engineer. He was responsible for the technology development and production design of the EV1 electric traction system, power inverter, battery pack and charger. Bereisa... Read more →

ClipperCreek, Inc’s TS and CS product lines have been CE Certified and are ready for introduction into the European Union in 2010. The ClipperCreek EVSE (electric vehicle supply equipment) is also UL-Listed. The TS line represents EVSEs specifically designed for use with the Tesla Roadster. The TS line is UL-listed... Read more →

Decadal warming rates arising from (i) greenhouse gases and aerosols alone (black); (ii) that obtained including the stratospheric water decline after 2000 (red); and (iii) including both the stratospheric water vapor decline after 2000 and the increase in the 1980s and 1990s (cyan). Credit: Solomon et al., Science. Click to... Read more →

Leaders from DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol (DDCE), University of Tennessee and Genera Energy cut the ribbon on a cellulosic ethanol demonstration facility in Vonore, Tenn. The 74,000-square-foot plant has started producing ethanol and will deliver low-cost, fully-integrated technology for commercial production of ethanol from agricultural residue and bioenergy crops, including... Read more →

As part of the Obama Administration’s commitment to restarting the US nuclear industry, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced the formation of a Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future to provide recommendations for developing a safe, long-term solution to managing used nuclear fuel and nuclear waste. The Commission is... Read more →

Tesla Motors, Inc. on Friday announced that it had filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed initial public offering of its common stock. The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the offering have not yet been... Read more →

President Barack Obama announced that the Federal Government will reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 28% by 2020. On 5 October 2009, President Obama signed Executive Order 13514 on Federal Sustainability, setting measurable environmental performance goals for Federal Agencies. Each Federal Agency was required to submit a 2020 GHG... Read more →

Attitudes towards measures to reduce car emissions. Source: DfT. Click to enlarge. A new UK Department for Transport (DfT) report on public attitudes to climate change in the context of transport finds that a majority of respondents from amongst the general public understand that transport emissions contribute to climate change... Read more →

Balqon Corporation, an emerging developer and manufacturer of heavy-duty electric vehicles for Class 7 and Class 8 applications, has successfully completed cold weather testing on its lithium-ion battery powered electric tractor, the Nautilus XE20. (Earlier post.) Our demonstration of the performance of the Nautilus XE20 in actual warehouse applications at... Read more →

Cougar Energy Limited and a company associated with Australia Petroleum Ltd. have executed a terms sheet for a proposed 50:50 joint venture for the conversion of underground coal gasification (UCG) syngas to methane. The Queensland Methane Joint Venture will undertake: the assessment of the underground coal gasification (UCG) potential of... Read more →

An new study from the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at Oxford University suggests that best way to reduce transport greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the short term is a “drastic downscaling of both size and weight” of conventional gasoline and diesel cars. The study editor Sir David... Read more →

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has certified the entire family of heavy-duty diesel engines made by Detroit Diesel Corporation (DDC), a Daimler Company—DD13, DD15, and DD16 engines with SCR technology— as being in compliance with the EPA 2010 emissions standard, which took effect at the start of this year.... Read more →

Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (BGE), a subsidiary of Constellation Energy, has launched a multiyear plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) demonstration project using GridPoint’s smart charging software (earlier post). Fielding five converted Toyota Priuses and a Ford Escape, and deploying electric vehicle management technology from GridPoint, BGE will investigate when... Read more →

California demand for gasoline in October 2009 decreased 0.4% and diesel declined 11.1% compared to October 2008, according to figures released by Betty T. Yee, Chairwoman of the Board of Equalization (BOE). Through October 2009 California gasoline consumption had declined 1.3% compared to January through October of 2008. In October... Read more →

Prototype of a Bladon Micro-Jet engine. Click to enlarge. A consortium led by micro gas turbine company Bladon Jets recently secured investment from the UK Technology Strategy Board to develop an Ultra Lightweight Range Extender (ULRE) for next-generation electric vehicles. Total project cost is £2,206,784, with the TSB providing £1,103,392... Read more →

Motor Authority. During this week’s 2010 Ferrari Formula One presentation, Ferrari CEO Luca di Montezelmo announced that a prototype road-going hybrid Ferrari 599 will be displayed at the Geneva Motor Show in March, and that a hybrid iteration of the 599 coupe is scheduled for production. Italian auto magazine Quattroruote... Read more →

Electric vehicle maker THINK released its first US EV-Ready Cities Index. The top four cities included first-ranked Los Angeles and second-ranked San Francisco with Chicago and New York tied for third. The THINK EV-Ready Cities Index was presented by THINK CEO Richard Canny at the Electric Drive Transportation Association Annual... Read more →

US Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced that the Department of Energy has closed a $1.4 billion loan agreement with Nissan North America, Inc. The loan will support the modification of Nissan’s Smyrna, Tenn., manufacturing plant to produce the all-electric Nissan LEAF and the lithium-ion battery packs to power them.... Read more →

QuantumSphere, Inc., a developer of advanced catalyst materials, high-performance electrode systems, and related process chemistries for portable power and clean-tech applications (earlier post), has introduced its nano-enhanced emissions technologies (NEET)—high-performance nano metal catalyst dispersions designed for a wide variety of emission control devices. QuantumSphere’s NEET formulation has demonstrated a measured... Read more →

The Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E) of the US Department of Energy has received 583 concept papers in response to its second Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) released 7 December 2009. (Earlier post.) More specifically, 248 proposals were received in the Innovative Materials & Processes for Advanced Carbon Capture... Read more →

At the Washington Auto Show, Novozymes, in partnership with US-based advanced biofuel manufacturer Fiberight, demonstrated two flex-fuel vehicles—a Chevy HHR and a Ford F150—running on E85, with the ethanol produced from government office waste paper and waste cardboard. Novozymes’ multi-year research and development efforts have resulted in an enzyme cocktail... Read more →

Public concern about global warming has dropped sharply since the fall of 2008, according to the results of a national survey released today by researchers at Yale and George Mason universities. The survey found: Only 50% of Americans now say they are “somewhat” or “very worried” about global warming, a... Read more →

Canadian Natural Resources Limited, together with North West Upgrading Inc. (NWU), has submitted a joint proposal to the Alberta Government to construct and operate a bitumen refinery near Redwater, Alberta. Phase 1 of the proposed facility includes a one-step conversion process of 50,000 bbl/d of bitumen to finished products and... Read more →

New NASA-led research shows that the melt season for Arctic sea ice has lengthened by an average of 20 days over the span of 28 years, or 6.4 days per decade. The finding stems from scientists’ work to compile the first comprehensive record of melt onset and freeze-up dates—the “melt... Read more →

The 2.0-liter, 4-cylinder GTDi engine. Click to enlarge. Volvo Car Corporation is introducing an all-new four-cylinder 2-liter GTDi (Gasoline Turbocharged Direct Injection) engine in the Volvo S80, V70 and XC60. With new Volvo-developed turbocharging technology, direct injection and twin variable camshafts, the new Euro-5 gasoline engine—the 2.0 GTDi—produces 203 hp... Read more →

Electron micrograph shows rod-shaped E. coli secreting oil droplets containing biodiesel fuel, along with fatty acids and alcohol. (Image by Jonathan Remis, JBEI) Click to enlarge. A collaboration led by researchers with the US Department of Energy’s Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) has developed a microbe that can produce an advanced... Read more →

A new hybrid ranking—the Hybrid Scorecard—for consumers released by the Union of Concerned Scientists finds that while many automakers are selling hybrid vehicles with significantly enhanced environmental performance and fuel economy at a reasonable cost, they too often inflate prices by including what UCS deems unnecessary luxury features, such as... Read more →

Remy HVH windings have a shorter end turn space than conventional round wires and are well-suited to liquid cooling. Source: Remy. Click to enlarge. Remy International, Inc. is supplying Daimler with HVH (High Voltage Hairpin) electric motors for the two-mode hybrid transmissions used in the 2010 Mercedes-Benz ML450 Hybrid (earlier... Read more →

Remy International, Inc. has reached a long term agreement with Allison Transmission to continue supplying Remy electric motors for the GM-Allison Hybrid EP40 and EP50 systems through the end of 2014. Remy will continue to supply Allison with the stator housing assembly and two rotor assemblies for the EP40 and... Read more →

In a talk at the opening plenary of the Electric Drive Transportation Association (EDTA) conference in Washington, DC, former New York Governor George Pataki called for a 40% market penetration of electric drive vehicles in the US by the end of the decade. Asserting that the over-reliance of transportation on... Read more →

Altech-Eco Corporation has obtained Certificates of Conformity (COC) from the EPA for its new dedicated and bi-fuel 2010 Ford Focus compressed natural gas (CNG) conversion systems. Altech-Eco’s EPA approved Dedicated 2010 CNG Ford Focus conversion system converts the Focus to run exclusively on CNG, and the system includes a manufacturer... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded 24 million hours of supercomputing time to investigate materials for developing lithium air batteries, capable of powering a car for 500 miles on a single charge. (Earlier post.) The 24 million hours are part of a total of approximately 1.6 billion supercomputing... Read more →

US import levels of crude and products in 2009 lagged prior year levels, with full-year 2009 imports of 11.7 million barrels per day, down 9.2%, according to figures from the American Petroleum Institute (API). For full-year 2009, crude oil production was up 7% over the prior year, averaging 5.3 million... Read more →

Renault is launching a range of eco2 models for its business customers in France. Renault eco² vehicles meet all three of the following criteria: CO2 emissions of less than 140 g/km or powered by biofuel; Production in an ISO 14001 certified plant; and 95% recoverable at end-of-life with at least... Read more →

ACAL Energy will bring a model hydrogen fuel cell system using its platinum-free liquid cathode, FlowCath, to FC EXPO 2010 in Tokyo in March. (Earlier post.) The FlowCath powered module demonstrates a practical product prototype which could be commercialized in less than two years. The prototype, says ACAL, is considerably... Read more →

Contour plots showing electronic density of states in HMAs created from zinc selenide by the addition of (a) 3.125% oxygen atoms, and (b) 6.25% oxygen. The zinc and selenium atoms are shown in light blue and orange. Oxygen atoms (dark blue) are surrounded by high electronic density regions. Source: Junqiao... Read more →

Electric vehicle manufacturer THINK announced that it will work with AeroVironment, Inc. (AV), a leading developer and supplier of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, to pursue demonstration and commercial projects using AV’s level III fast-charge system and the THINK City electric vehicle to jump-start the development of fast-charge infrastructure in the... Read more →

General Motors and Spyker Cars NV today confirmed that they have reached a binding agreement on the purchase of Saab Automobile AB. As part of the agreement, Spyker intends to form a new company, Saab Spyker Automobiles, which will carry the Saab brand forward. The sale will be subject to... Read more →

General Motors will invest approximately $246 million in the Baltimore Transmission plant to construct a high volume electric drive manufacturing facility that will in 2013 produce US designed and manufactured global rear-drive electric motors, a core technology for hybrids and electric vehicles. (Earlier post.) The plant will be the first... Read more →

by Bill Cooke The 3.2L EBDI engine. Click to enlarge. Engineering firm Ricardo and Growth Energy, a trade association promoting the use of ethanol fuel, are collaborating on two demonstrator vehicles incorporating Ricardo’s Ethanol Boosted Direct Injection (EBDI) engine technology (earlier post) showing that even for larger vehicles extreme optimization... Read more →

Sun Catalytix Corporation, a company that is developing catalysts that use intermittent renewable energy, including solar and wind energy, to split water (H2O) into storable hydrogen and oxygen—a process that mimics photosynthesis—has signed a contract for more than $4 million in federal funding from the US Department of Energy’s (DOE)... Read more →

Carbon Sciences, Inc., the developer of a biocatalytic process to transform CO2 into low-carbon hydrocarbons (C1 to C3) for subsequent upgrading into higher-carbon fuels such as gasoline and jet fuel (earlier post), said it has developed certain process technologies that will allow for the direct production of gasoline, shorten the... Read more →

An electric traction motor (right) and stator (left) at the GM Powertrain Engineering Development Center Friday, 15 January 2010 in Pontiac, Michigan. (Photo by John F. Martin for General Motors) Click to enlarge. Noting that power electronics and electric machine technology as well as battery technology will be core to... Read more →

The Electric Drive Transportation Association (EDTA) outlined an action plan for Congress and the Obama Administration to build on their commitment to electric vehicle technology and accelerate the growth of hybrid, plug-in, battery and fuel cell vehicles in the US. In its 2010 Electric Drive Action Plan for Energy Security,... Read more →

In February, Volvo Trucks will be starting field tests of methane-diesel engines in commercial operation together with a number of Swedish customers. The trucks involved are two Volvo 7-liter models, the Volvo FL and Volvo FE. The solution is based on Volvo’s proven Euro-5 diesel engines. When the engines are... Read more →

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a new national air quality standard for nitrogen dioxide (NO2). (Earlier post.) The new one-hour standard for NO2 is set at a level of 100 parts per billion (ppb). This level defines the maximum allowable concentration anywhere in an area. EPA also is... Read more →