Micro sensor motes have been successfully sent into a Canadian heavy oil reservoir through an injection well and retrieved via a production well; the first step towards mapping the structure of heavy oil reservoirs with micro sensor technology. Sensor motes from 5 to 7 mm that came out of the... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has selected a multi-partner team led by Argonne National Laboratory for an award of up to $120 million over five years to establish a new Batteries and Energy Storage Hub. (Earlier post.) The award, based on results, is renewable for another 5 years. The... Read more →

Goals of the DuPont cellulosic biorefinery. Click to enlarge. DuPont broke ground on its cellulosic ethanol facility in Nevada, Iowa—among the first and largest commercial-scale cellulosic biorefineries in the world. DuPont contracted with Fagen, Inc. for the construction. (Earlier post.) Once fully operational, the more than $200-million facility, expected to... Read more →

Hydrogenics Corporation announced that a Hydrogenics electrolysis-based hydrogen fueling station has been officially opened in Turkey; the fueling station is located at Golden Horn, the historic inlet of the Bosphorus straight, and can fuel up to 65 kilograms per day of hydrogen at 350 bar. The station is for both... Read more →

Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA) is supporting the University of Southern California (USC) and the Viterbi School of Engineering as it develops a special campus-wide Smart Grid “Living Laboratory” project including the use of Mitsubishi i-MiEV 100% electric vehicles. The Mitsubishi Motors/USC Electric Vehicle Smart Grid Demonstration Project will... Read more →

Lucintel, a mass transportation consulting and market research firm, forecasts that the global automotive sensors industry will reach approximately $18.8 billion in 2017, reflecting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.3%. The global automotive sensor industry is characterized by increasing electronic content in vehicles, shaping optimistic growth trends for... Read more →

Honda R&D Americas, Inc., has opened an Advanced Design Studio in downtown Los Angeles for the creation of future Honda and Acura automobile and mobility design concepts. The studio, one of three Honda maintains in the Los Angeles area, was previously located in Pasadena, Calif., and is expanding the scope... Read more →

2014 Accord PHEV. Click to enlarge. Although Honda’s presence at the Los Angeles Auto Show was dominated by the debut of the 2013 Civic, the company also announced that the 2014 Accord Plug-In Hybrid, featuring Honda’s new two-motor system (earlier post) earned an EPA-certified 115 MPGe rating and will go... Read more →

FADEC International (a BAE Systems and Sagem jointly-owned venture) has established a joint venture with GE to develop, produce, and support the full-authority digital electronic control (FADEC) for aircraft engines and related specialized technologies. A FADEC—a system consisting of a digital computer, called an engine control unit, and its related... Read more →

Air Products has been awarded a contract with India’s University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES) to build the country’s first solar-powered renewable hydrogen fueling station. Air Products’ hydrogen fueling technology and infrastructure will be part of a mass public transit bus fueling and vehicle demonstration program administered by UPES.... Read more →

The UK Technology Strategy Board, in partnership with the Office for Low Emission Vehicles and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, will invest up to £16.5m (US$26.5-million) in highly innovative collaborative R&D projects within low carbon vehicles that aim to achieve significant cuts in CO2 from road transport. The... Read more →

Singapore will implement a new Carbon Emissions-Based Vehicle Scheme (CEV) on 1 January 2012, providing rebates to qualified new cars, taxis, and imported used cars with low carbon emissions, and imposing an equivalent surcharge on higher emitting vehicles. This new scheme will replace the existing Green Vehicle Rebate (GVR) scheme... Read more →

System components of i-ELOOP, which makes its first production appearance on the Mazda6. Click to enlarge. The 2014 Mazda6 sedan made its North American debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The first version, equipped with a SKYACTIV-G 2.5-liter gasoline engine, goes on sale in January. The SKYACTIV-D-equipped diesel version... Read more →

Audi of America is taking a more aggressive stance with diesel in the US, both in terms of product offerings and in policy. In his press presentation at the Los Angeles Auto Show, Scott Keogh, the president of Audi of America, officially announced the addition of A8, A7, A6, and... Read more →

smart is expanding its portfolio of electrically driven vehicles designed for urban traffic by cooperating with the electric two-wheeler specialist Vectrix. In addition to the smart electric drive and the smart ebike, in 2014 the smart scooter will be launched on the market. With the introduction of the electric scooter,... Read more →

At the Los Angeles Auto Show, Audi showcased its Audi Urban Intelligent Assist (AUIA) research (earlier post), highlighting the technologies and approaches it is taking to make the challenges of navigating the chaotic roadways of the world’s megacities less stressful, safer and more efficient a generation from now. The AUIA... Read more →

2013 RAV4 Click to enlarge. The all-new fourth-generation 2013 RAV4 crossover SUV made its world debut at the 2012 Los Angeles International Auto Show. In redoing the RAV4, Toyota discontinued the optional V6 engine of the previous-generation; the new RAV4 only features Toyota’s 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine, which will produce 176... Read more →

Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. and Suzhou Automobile Research Institute at Tsinghua University have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, in which the two parties have agreed to promote a cooperative effort regarding the research of future automotive technology. Aiming to solidify the strategic joint research efforts between Nissan and Tsinghua University,... Read more →

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Smith Electric Vehicles announced that Smith will open an electric vehicle manufacturing facility in Chicago. Smith said its decision to locate a facility in Chicago was influenced by the Mayor’s innovative voucher system created to accelerate the conversion from diesel to zero-emission, all-electric commercial vehicles,... Read more →

2013 Fiat 500e. Click to enlarge. Fiat unveiled the 2013 Fiat 500e battery-electric version of the Fiat 500 at the Los Angeles Auto Show. A 24 kWh liquid-cooled/heated Li-ion battery powers an 83 kW permanent-magnet, three-phase synchronous drive motor with 147 lb-ft (200 N·m) of torque. With its e-Drive, the... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) has selected 66 research projects to receive a total of $130 million in funding through its “OPEN 2012” program. (Earlier post.) The OPEN 2012 projects will focus on a wide array of technologies, including advanced fuels (13... Read more →

SAIC-GM-Wuling will build a third manufacturing base in Chongqing Municipality to keep pace with the rising demand for its vehicles. The joint venture between GM China, SAIC and Wuling Motors will begin construction of its new facility early next year, pending relevant government approvals. The RMB 6.6 billion (US$1 billion)... Read more →

The Board of Directors of Canada-based Athabasca Oil Corporation has given the go-ahead to the company’s $536-million Hangingstone 1 SAGD (steam-assisted gravity drainage) Project; the company also reaffirmed that its Light Oil Division is on track to meet its year-end production target of 10,000 to 11,000 barrels of oil. Athabasca... Read more →

US imports of Canadian crude oil rose to record levels during the first eight months of 2012, with Canada accounting for a growing share of total gross US imports, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). The United States is importing more crude oil from Canada, even though the... Read more →

UK-based ITM Power has received confirmation of a €3.59-million (US$4.66-million) grant award from a program of the European Union’s Joint Technology Initiatives (JTI). The award is to a consortium for the development of an advanced hydrogen refueling system using ITM Power’s high pressure hydrogen electrolysis technology. ITM Power’s share of... Read more →

OriginOil, Inc., the developer of a process for harvesting algae and cleaning up oil & gas water, announced that its second original equipment manufacturer’s (OEM) agreement will target oil service companies in the Canadian oil sands market. In October, OriginOil announced its first agreement to license the CLEAN-FRAC process with... Read more →

BMW i3 Concept Coupé. Click to enlarge. BMW is unveiling the i3 Concept Coupé study at the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show; the vehicle has been brought out in parallel to the ongoing development process for getting the first battery-electric model from the BMW i brand ready for series production,... Read more →

Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) has developed a new liquefied natural gas storage tank model for marine applications it calls the Lobe-Bundle Tank. The Lobe-Bundle Tank uses ring-shaped plates instead of conventional flat plates to reduce the weight of the tank and building cost significantly. Lobe-Bundle Tank. Click to enlarge. The... Read more →

Map of Arctic Alaska Province (outlined in black) showing boundaries of the platform and fold-and-thrust belt assessment units in red. Source: USGS. Click to enlarge. The US Arctic Alaska Petroleum Province holds mean estimates of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and gas resources of nearly 30 billion barrels of oil, about... Read more →

Smart City San Diego and City of San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders unveiled the completed Smart City San Diego Solar-to-EV Project—a 90kW solar photovoltaic canopy that directly charges up to 5 electric vehicles (EVs) in the San Diego Zoo parking lot. Smart City San Diego is a collaboration that combines... Read more →

The 2014 Chevrolet Spark EV (earlier post), introduced today ahead of the Los Angeles International Auto Show, will be priced under $25,000 with tax incentives. GM expects the Spark EV to have among the best EV battery range in its segment and be the first electric vehicle to offer SAE... Read more →

Canada’s Environment Minister Peter Kent, announced proposed regulations to improve fuel efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of passenger automobiles and light trucks for model years 2017 to 2025. The proposed regulations are aligned with the new United States regulations. (Earlier post.) For model years 2017 to 2025, cars... Read more →

General Motors is accelerating the development of electrified vehicles in China, Jon Lauckner, GM Chief Technology Officer, vice president of Global Research & Development, and president of GM Ventures, said in a presentation at the FISITA 2012 World Automotive Congress in Beijing. In September 2011, GM China opened the Advanced... Read more →

Trend in emissions of air pollutants from transport in EEA-32: PM2.5, CO, SOx, NMVOC, NOx. Source: EEA. Click to enlarge. Transport in Europe is still responsible for damaging levels of air pollutants and a quarter of EU greenhouse gas emissions, despite some progress in reducing the impacts from transport. Many... Read more →

Miami-Dade County in south Florida has placed a follow-on order for 29 Autocar E3 refuse trucks featuring Parker Hannifin’s RunWise series hydraulic hybrid technology. (Earlier post.) Miami-Dade used funding from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to purchase 15 of the vehicles as part of the National Clean Diesel... Read more →

Early next year, the Chevrolet Spark (1LT, 2LT) and Sonic LTZ and RS will integrate Apple’s Siri “Eyes Free” voice recognition technology; GM is the first automaker to implement the technology in production vehicles. Apple had announced in June that it was working with automakers to integrate Siri (which officially... Read more →

A research team from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Korea Electronics Technology Institute (KETI), and Tokyo Institute of Technology has developed a truncated octahedral structure for LiMn2O4 that enables both high power rate performance and long cycle life in a Li-ion cathode material. Spinel-structured lithium manganese oxide... Read more →

Researchers from the Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology (China), applied a consolidated bioprocessing strategy to integrate photosynthetic biomass production and microbial conversion producing ethanol together into the photosynthetic bacterium, Synechocystis sp. PCC6803. The resulting organism can directly convert carbon dioxide to ethanol in one single biological system. A... Read more →

Ford expects the new 1.0-liter EcoBoost-equipped Fiesta (earlier post) will deliver more than 40 mpg (5.88 l/100km). Ford is introducing the new Fiesta at the Los Angeles Auto Show later this week. In addition to its new EcoBoost engine, the Fiesta will offer a new MyFord Touch system with 6.5-inch... Read more →

Using the 30m-telescope of the Institute for Radio Astronomy (IRAM) for astronomical observations in the millimeter range of wavelengths, researchers from France, Spain and Germany have detected for the first time the l-C3H+ hydrocarbon molecule in interstellar space—specifically in the Horsehead Nebula. IRAM-astronomer Jérôme Pety and his team for the... Read more →

Researchers from UC San Diego and Sapphire Energy, Inc. have demonstrated for the first time that genetically engineered marine algae can be just as capable as fresh water algae in producing industrially relevant products such as enzymes or biofuels. The scientists engineered marine algae to produce five different kinds of... Read more →

Transport for New South Wales (Australia) is launching a customer trial of an electronic card (Opal) and ticketing system. Minister for Transport Gladys Berejiklian said the Opal card would launch with a customer trial from 7 December on the Neutral Bay ferry route. It would then be rolled out across... Read more →

Scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) report that cobalt holds promise as an industrial catalyst with potential applications in such energy-related technologies such as the production of biofuels and the reduction of carbon dioxide—if the cobalt is captured in a complex molecule so that it mimics the precious metals... Read more →

Energy crop company Ceres, Inc. announced that its Brazilian subsidiary Ceres Sementes do Brasil Ltda., has signed a sweet sorghum market development agreement with Syngenta. The companies will work together to support the introduction of sweet sorghum as a source of fermentable sugars at Brazil’s 400 or more ethanol mills.... Read more →

Teijin Limited announced today that its ECO CIRCLE Plantfiber bio-polyester has been selected for use in the seats and interior trim surface of the Nissan LEAF, updated on November 20. (Earlier post.) It is the first time for ECO CIRCLE Plantfiber to be used for the interior of a mass-produced... Read more →

A visualization of the broad-spectrum solar energy funnel. Image: Yan Liang. Click to enlarge. Researchers from Peking University in China and MIT are proposing using elastic strain as a viable agent to create an optoelectronic material with a spatially varying bandgap that is tunable for use in photovoltaics, photocatalysis and... Read more →

Among its several North American vehicle debuts at the upcoming Los Angeles Auto Show, Mazda will introduce the 2014 Mazda6 mid-size sedan featuring a new SKYACTIV-G 2.5-liter gasoline engine as well as new-to-market technologies in the Smart City Brake Support (SCBS) system (an automated safety feature designed to mitigate front-end... Read more →

Westport Innovations Inc. is introducing a new on-board liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage solution that supports the use of cold (unsaturated) LNG fuel for large SI-engine vehicles that would have earlier required warm (saturated) LNG. By carrying fuel as cold LNG, the Westport LNG Tank System can increase fuel storage... Read more →

The Peninsula. Qatar University (QU) provided the first public update on the progress of its work on developing sustainable alternative biofuels for aviation on the eve of the UN Climate Change Conference COP-18. The university’s state-backed QR45.5-million (US$12.5 million) biofuel project, in collaboration with Qatar Airways and Qatar Science and... Read more →

The Sail SPRINGO EV. Click to enlarge. At the opening of Auto Guangzhou 2012, Shanghai General Motors launched its first localized new energy vehicle, the Sail SPRINGO EV. The vehicle was developed by Shanghai GM and the Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center (PATAC), making it the first production electric vehicle... Read more →