NXP Semiconductors N.V. (earlier post) and Delphi Automotive PLC have extended their long-term relationship in automotive electronics by making NXP one of Delphi’s strategic core suppliers. This agreement encompasses a variety of automotive semiconductor applications including infotainment and networking solutions. Under this agreement, Delphi has selected NXP’s SAF775x family, the... Read more →

Imperial Innovations Group plc announced that its portfolio company Nexeon, a developer of silicon anode materials for Li-ion batteries (earlier post), has signed a strategic partnership agreement with German chemical company Wacker Chemie AG, through which Wacker has taken a strategic stake in Nexeon. The partnership will involve the two... Read more →

VePoint’s VPID integrated inverter and DC/DC converter. Click to enlarge. The Siemens Drive Technologies Division has signed a cooperation agreement with Semikron International in order to intensify future collaboration between the two in power electronics for electric vehicles. Under the agreement, Siemens has taken over the fully owned Semikron subsidiary... Read more →

Researchers from The University of Texas at Arlington are developing a new process for photoelectrosynthesis of methanol—the conversion of carbon dioxide to methanol using sunlight and hybrid CuO–Cu2O semiconductor nanorod arrays. Solar photoelectrosynthesis of methanol was driven on hybrid CuO–Cu2O semiconductor nanorod arrays for the first time at potentials 800... Read more →

IBM and NXP Semiconductors N.V. announced the first results of a smarter traffic pilot conducted in the Dutch city of Eindhoven. The trial demonstrated how the connected car automatically shares braking, acceleration and location data that can be analyzed by the central traffic authority to identify and resolve road network... Read more →

Transocean Ltd. announced that the ultra-deepwater drillship Dhirubhai Deepwater KG1 has set a new world record for the deepest water depth by an offshore drilling rig of 10,385 feet (3,165 meters) of water while working for ONGC off the East coast of India. This surpasses Transocean’s prior world record of... Read more →

Total US petroleum deliveries (a measure of demand) were down 1.7% for January against the same month a year ago to just under 18 million barrels per day—the lowest level for the month in 18 years, according to figures from the American Petroleum Institute (API). The January numbers reprise last... Read more →

KW Express LLC, a partnership between Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. (KMP) and Watco Companies L.L.C., has entered into a long-term agreement with Mercuria Energy Trading Company Inc., to construct a 210,000 barrel per day (bpd) crude-by-rail project at the Greens Port Industrial Park on the Houston Ship Channel. The... Read more →

In a study published in the journal Energy Economics, MIT researchers have found that a fuel economy standard is at least six to fourteen times less cost effective than a fuel tax when targeting an identical reduction in cumulative gasoline use (20% by 2050). The researchers also found that a... Read more →

The XL1. Click to enlarge. Volkswagen has confirmed that its XL1 Super Efficient Vehicle, featuring fuel consumption of 0.9 l/100 km (approx. 261 mpg US), will go into limited production at the company’s Osnabrück factory in Germany. The plug-in diesel-electric hybrid, which Volkswagen will showcase at the Geneva show, can... Read more →

A3 e-tron. Click to enlarge. Audi will showcase the A3 e-tron plug-in hybrid at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show. The Audi A3 e-tron delivers 150 kW (204 hp) of system power and 350 nm (258 lb-ft) of system torque; projected fuel consumption is 1.5 liters per 100 km (157 mpg... Read more →

As part of an ongoing effort to improve commercial scale algae biofuel production, a group of scientists, led by crude oil producer Sapphire Energy, Inc., completed a collaborative study which identified the morphology, ultrastructure, and life history of A. protococcarum, one of the most difficult to manage algae parasites. Their... Read more →

Estonia has become the world’s first country to launch a nationwide fast-charging network for electric vehicles, using technology provided by ABB. The network of 165 web-connected direct current (DC) fast chargers, supplied and built by ABB, officially opened on Wednesday. The network. Click to enlarge. The chargers are installed in... Read more →

ROUSH CleanTech is introducing new autogas (liquefied petroleum gas, LPG) fuel systems for Ford F-59, F-53 and E-450 stripped chassis. ROUSH is the first Ford Qualified Vehicle Modifier (QVM) to offer fuel systems for these platforms. The Ford F-59 commercial step van chassis and the Ford E-450 stripped chassis adapt... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board (ARB) will hold a public workshop on 11 March to discuss proposals for several regulations and regulation amendments related to on-road heavy-duty vehicles. At this workshop, staff will be soliciting input on proposals multiple proposals: a new regulation to harmonize with GHG emissions standards for... Read more →

SolarCity and American Honda Motor Co., Inc., are partnering to make solar power more affordable and available to Honda and Acura customers in the US, providing a cleaner source of electricity at a lower cost than utility-supplied power. The partnership establishes an investment fund to finance $65 million in solar... Read more →

For the fourth quarter of 2012, Tesla Motors reported total revenues of $306 million, a 500% increase over Q3. The company delivered approximately 2,400 Model S vehicles. Non-GAAP net loss for the quarter was just under $75 million; GAAP net loss was $90 million. With ongoing implementation of production and... Read more →

ConocoPhillips has entered into a set of agreements with PetroChina Company Ltd. (PetroChina) whereby PetroChina will acquire an interest in two Western Australia exploration assets and establish a Joint Study Agreement (JSA) for unconventional resource development in Sichuan Basin in China. Under these agreements, which still require government and partner... Read more →

Chromatin, Inc. and Aemetis, Inc., an advanced fuels and renewable chemicals company, have entered into a multi-year agreement to source locally-grown grain sorghum. Under the agreement, Chromatin will engage local growers to plant its hybrid grain sorghum on up to 30,000 acres, and Aemetis will use that sorghum in its... Read more →

Cabot Corp. has introduced LITX200, a new conductive additive for high power lithium-ion battery applications. The lithium-ion battery market continues to evolve as high power and high capacity cells are increasingly utilized in a variety of applications such as electronics, electric vehicles, grid control and renewable energy. High energy density... Read more →

Renault has won the “Versatile 4-seater electric vehicle” and “Compact electric sedan” contracts in a new call for bids launched by Union des Groupements d’Achats Publics (UGAP, a public procurement group) in France. 2,000 Renault ZOE (earlier post) and 100 Renault Fluence Z.E. (earlier post) vehicles will be ordered over... Read more →

SMILE FC System Corporation, a joint venture between Intelligent Energy and Suzuki Motor Corporation, has established a ready-to-scale production plant for its fuel cell systems in Yokohama, Japan. The production line marks the successful transfer of proven semi-automated production technology, developed and utilized by Intelligent Energy. This represents the next... Read more →

35 kW free-piston linear generator module. Click to enlarge. Researchers at the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) Institute of Vehicle Concepts in Stuttgart have developed a demonstrator multi-fuel free-piston linear generator (FPLG, or Freikolbenlineargenerator, FKLG in German) as a range extender for electric vehicles. The... Read more →

Under a new contract, Ricardo will collaborate with Weichai Power—one of China’s leading engine manufacturers for the commercial vehicle, off-highway, marine and power generation markets—on a pre-concept study for the new family of engines of configurations ranging from in-line 6-cylinder to V16 variants intended for power generation applications of 1-3... Read more →

Emissions from motor vehicles, coal-burning and cooking contributed to the dense smogs in Beijing in January, according to research results issued by the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The three factors made up 50% of the contributions to the five heavy smogs last month, according to the research of the “haze’s... Read more →

At the SAE 2013 Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Technology Symposium in Anaheim this week, Owen Thunes, Senior Project Engineer, Zero Emissions Research Group at Nissan, provided an updated overview of the company’s development efforts on the upcoming FF (Front-engine, Front-wheel drive) hybrid system. As background, in 2010, Nissan introduced the... Read more →

Geely Holding, majority owner of Volvo Car Corporation and Geely will establish a Research and Development Center in Gothenburg, Sweden. The Center will develop a new modular architecture and set of components for future C-segment cars, addressing the needs of both Volvo Cars and Geely. The Center will be run... Read more →

The UK government will invest £37 million (US$57 million) for home and on-street charging and for new charge points for people parking plug-in vehicles at railway stations. The government will provide 75% of the cost of installing new charge points. This can be claimed by: people installing chargepoints where they... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) released a report they commissioned by investigators at the University of California, Davis that looks at how to distinguish health effects caused by different types of fine and ultrafine airborne particulate matter (PM) from different sources. This is... Read more →

Volvo Dynamic Steering. Click to enlarge. Volvo Trucks is introducing Volvo Dynamic Steering, which combines conventional hydraulic power-steering with an electronically-regulated electric motor fitted to the steering gear. The result is precise steering that gives a truck driver a safer and more comfortable working environment. An electronically-controlled electric motor attached... Read more →

EmberClear Corp. subsidiary EmberClear GTL MS Inc. has completed the technical feasibility study for a natural gas to liquids project in Natchez, Mississippi. If the project proceeds it will be capable of producing 4,000 tons of methanol per day or 14,000 barrels of gasoline per day. This project’s proximity to... Read more →

2013 TS030 Hybrid. Click to enlarge. Toyota Racing unveiled the revised TS030 Hybrid car which will run in the Le Mans 24 Hours and the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) this season. The TS030 made its debut in the WEC in 2012, and notched up three victories in six races.... Read more →

Algal technology company OriginOil, Inc. has launched a separate licensing group to address the growing number of potential commercial applications for its Solids out of Solution technology outside the oil and gas industry. By licensing these secondary market opportunities, the company intends to sharpen its focus on the commercial deployment... Read more →

Researchers at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum have determined how green algae can produce hydrogen in the dark; their paper appears in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. Green algae of the type Chlamydomonas can use light energy for the production of molecular hydrogen (H2). However, Chlamydomonas only forms hydrogen under stress, says... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board (ARB) will conduct a public hearing in June to consider adopting amendments to the Clean Fuels Outlet (CFO) Regulation with the intention of ensuring an adequate hydrogen refueling infrastructure to support the introduction and growth of hydrogen-fueled vehicles. In January 2012, the Board adopted the... Read more →

The Renault-Nissan Alliance has expanded its presence in Silicon Valley with the opening of a new advanced research center initially specializing in autonomous driving and connected cars. The opening of Nissan Research Center Silicon Valley (NRC-SV) is part of Nissan's global strategy to expand and localize its R&D function in... Read more →

Peugeot and Total will showcase the 208 HYbrid FE (Fun and Efficient) concept vehicle at the Geneva motor show. The hybrid, optimized for fuel efficiency accelerates from 0 to 62 mph in 8 seconds, and has very low CO2 emissions of 49 g/km. The concept—based on the Peugeot 208—features Peugeot... Read more →

Peugeot 2008 HYbrid Air. The energy tank can be seen in the central tunnel, and the low-pressure tank at the rear. Click to enlarge. Like its group partner Citroën (earlier post), Peugeot will display an application of the new Hybrid Air technology (earlier post)—the 2008 HYbrid Air—at the upcoming Geneva... Read more →

Built on Nissan’s lightweight V platform, the new Note combines a long wheelbase and short overhangs to create a sporty, agile look. Click to enlarge. The new Nissan Note will make its world debut in European specification at the Geneva Motor Show on 5 March. The B-segment offering will feature... Read more →

Voltage curves of the first discharge−charge cycle, K−O2 battery (0.5 M KPF6 in DME) at a current density of 0.16 mA/cm2. The dash lines indicate the calculated thermodynamic potentials for the batteries. Credit: ACS, Ren and Wu. Click to enlarge. Researchers at Ohio State University (OSU) have demonstrated the concept... Read more →

Chromatin, Inc., a provider of innovative crop breeding technology, sorghum seed products and feedstocks, and Pacific Ethanol, Inc. have entered into a multi-year agreement to produce, deliver and use locally grown sorghum in the production of ethanol. The agreement covers up to 30,000 acres of Chromatin sorghum to be grown... Read more →

Structure of door panels. Click to enlarge. Honda Motor Co., Ltd. has developed a technology to join steel and aluminum and applied it to enable adoption of aluminum for an outer door panel, which has conventionally been made of steel. Honda will adopt this technology first to the North American... Read more →

Researchers from MIT and the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research have devised a way to boost significantly isobutanol production in yeast by engineering isobutanol synthesis to take place entirely within mitochondria. They showed that targeting metabolic pathways to mitochondria can increase production compared with overexpression of the enzymes involved in... Read more →

DENSO Corporation has developed a new pedestrian collision detection sensor for the Pop-up Hood. The new sensor more precisely detects head-on collisions between vehicles and pedestrians, enabling the Pop-up Hood to operate more accurately. Pedestrian collision detection sensor. Click to enlarge. The Pop-up Hood is designed to reduce pedestrian head... Read more →

Researchers at the US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have developed a new biologically inspired catalyst that is the first iron-based catalyst that converts hydrogen directly to electricity. The catalyst could support the achievement of more affordable fuel cells. The team developed a molecular complex of... Read more →

A team from Rice University and the Houston Fire Department EMS has found a direct correlation between out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA) and levels of air pollution and ozone. The research, based on a massive data set unique to Houston, was published this month in the American Heart Association journal Circulation.... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E) has issued a funding opportunity announcement (DE-FOA-0000869) for about $20 million for the development of transformational electrochemical energy storage technologies intended to accelerate widespread electric vehicle adoption by significantly improving driving range, cost, and reliability. ARPA-E anticipates... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a funding opportunity announcement (DE-FOA-0000784) for up to $13 million to support the development of advanced coal gasification systems. DOE anticipates making 5 awards under the FOA. There will be three (3) Areas of Interest (AOIs) under the FOA. The first two—Coal... Read more →

Flowchart of the MSG process. Source: Western Hydrogen. Click to enlarge. A consortium led by Canada-based Western Hydrogen Ltd. will receive a $C1.5-million investment from Sustainable Development Technology Canada to support the development and commercialization of a new hydrogen manufacturing technology called Molten Salt Catalyzed Gasification (MSG), originally developed at... Read more →

Mercedes-AMG and Cigarette Racing launched the latest development of their cooperation at the Miami International Boat Show (14-18 February 2013). Numerous components from the SLS AMG Coupé Electric Drive (earlier post) have been integrated in the design of the “Cigarette AMG Electric Drive Concept” engineering design. The high-performance drive fitted... Read more →