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New Freescale microcontroller and 77 GHz radar transceiver chipset for mainstreaming automotive radar

Freescale Semiconductor has released its new Qorivva MPC577xK microcontroller (MCU) and MRD2001 77 GHz radar transceiver chipset which provide the embedded technology for affordable radar-based advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) solutions with fewer components, helping increase adoption in mainstream vehicles. The Qorivva MPC577xK MCU provides the highest level of digital... Read more →


ArcelorMittal lightweight door. Click to enlarge. ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel and mining company, unveiled its new ultra-lightweight car door solutions. Using steels and technology currently available, ArcelorMittal’s global R&D automotive team has demonstrated that a 27% weight and cost saving can be achieved without compromising safety and structural requirements.... Read more →


Obama climate plan calls for new fuel economy standards for heavy-duty vehicles post-2018; cleaner fuels and investment in advanced fossil energy

Among the transportation-related elements of US President Barack Obama’s new climate action plan, which he is outlining today in a speech at Georgetown University, is the development of new fuel economy standards for heavy-duty vehicles post-2018. In 2011, the Obama Administration finalized the first fuel economy standards for Model Year... Read more →


Volvo Trucks showcasing DME, CNG trucks at ACT Expo

Volvo trucks powered by compressed natural gas (CNG) and dimethyl ether (DME) will be on display this week at the Alternative Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo, North America’s largest alternative fuel and clean vehicle technology conference. Volvo announced 6 June that it would commercialize DME-powered vehicles in 2015 as part of... Read more →


Texas A&M study finds increase in cylinder-to-cylinder variation in diesel transitioning to low-temperature combustion mode

A study by a team at Texas A&M University found that cylinder-to-cylinder variation in a multi-cylinder diesel engine increased substantially when transitioning to a low-temperature combustion (LTC) mode. LTC regimes are seen as a promising low-emissions, fuel-efficient alternatives to conventional diesel combustion. The researchers started the study, reported in the... Read more →


Western Washington CCC hosting workshop on renewable methane and transportation

The Western Washington (state) Clean Cities Coalition is hosting a workshop next month on renewable natural gas (RNG, or biogas) and its potential as a transportation fuel in Washington state. The “Cash Cow” workshop brings together environmental professionals, policymakers, project developers, and agricultural professionals to strategize ways to bring projects... Read more →


DOE and NREL announce Energy Systems Integration Facility

The US Department of Energy (DOE) and its National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) announced the Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF) in Golden, Colorado, as the latest Energy Department user facility and the only one in the nation focused on utility-scale clean energy grid integration. The facility’s first industry partner—Colorado-based Advanced... Read more →


New European R&D project on fuel cell APUs for aviation applications

Zodiac Aerospace is coordinating the new research and development project HYCARUS—HYdrogenCells for AiRborne Usage—which will demonstrate how hydrogen-air Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell system technologies can be used in non-essential applications (NEA) such as galleys, lavatory or crew rest compartment in a large commercial aircraft or secondary power sources... Read more →


Volkswagen Passat TDI sets Guinness World Record for fuel economy around the 48 US states; 78 mpg US

A Volkswagen Passat TDI, produced at the Volkswagen Chattanooga (Tennessee) plant, now has covered 8,122 miles (13,071 km) with record low fuel consumption and within 16 days. The record drive was witnessed by officials of the Guinness World Record Organization. The driver team, hyper-miler Wayne Gerdes of CleanMPG and engineer... Read more →


White House announces new commitments in support of Materials Genome Initiative

The Obama Administration and academic and industry partners announced a series of commitments in support of the Materials Genome Initiative (MGI, earlier post), a public-private endeavor that aims to cut in half the time it takes to develop novel materials that can fuel advanced manufacturing. The MGI, overseen by the... Read more →


U-Mich, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Li-ion battery projects win funding

As part of an ongoing collaboration, seven joint research teams from the University of Michigan (U-M) and Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) have won funding for research projects that explore the potential of nanotechnology in energy and biomedical applications. Two of those are working on promising new technologies for advanced... Read more →


SAE’s Cooperative Research Project (CRP) team has wrapped up its latest study of the low global warming potential refrigerant R-1234yf and concluded again that risks of fire resulting from its use are still very small compared to the risks of a vehicle fire from all causes and well below risks... Read more →


DSM launches the first hydrolysis-resistant Arnite A polyester for dimension-critical auto parts

Royal DSM recently launched Arnite A-X07455, the first high performance PET (polyethylene terephthalate) engineering plastic that is highly resistant to hydrolysis. This breakthrough development opens up opportunities for significant weight and cost benefits over metal in automobile engine compartment applications, according to the company. As a result of continuous engine... Read more →


FedEx adds 1,900 new lightweight composite Reach vans to fleet; 35% fuel efficiency improvement

FedEx Express, a unit of FedEx Corp. has added 1,900 lightweight, composite-body Reach vehicles from Spartan Motors, a division of Utilimaster, to its fleet. The Reach van, with its four-cylinder, 3.0-liter Isuzu diesel engine, demonstrates a 35% fuel efficiency improvement over traditional vehicles in the FedEx Express fleet. The lower-weight... Read more →


Renault supports the deployment of a network of EV charging stations in the Vendée department in France

Renault is supporting the announcement made by the SyDEV (Vendée department association for energy and plant) concerning the plan to deploy 350 charging stations in public areas across 191 municipalities in France between 2014 and 2016. This announcement follows the partnership signed by Renault and the SyDEV in April in... Read more →


ITM Power joins Californian Hydrogen Business Council Hydrogen Energy Storage (HES) Program; power-to-gas

UK-based ITM Power has joined the California Hydrogen Business Council (CHBC) and its participation as a founding member in the CHBC Hydrogen Energy Storage (HES) Program. Geoffrey Budd, ITM Power’s Representative in the USA, has been appointed to the HES Program Committee. The other founding members of the HES Program... Read more →


XL1s ready to roll. Click to enlarge. During a media event in Wolfsburg, Germany, Volkswagen provided a medium dive into details of its two-seater XL1 Super Efficient Vehicle diesel plug-in hybrid (earlier post) as well as some driving time on local roads and highways. The XL1 is aggressively optimized for... Read more →


At the Paris Air Show, Airbus demonstrated a modified A320 fitted with its electric green taxiing system (EGTS), which was developed by EGTS International—a joint venture of Safran and Honeywell. Electric taxiing system. Click to enlarge. One wheel on each main gear is equipped with an electric motor, reduction gearbox... Read more →


Enbridge Pipelines (Athabasca) Inc., a subsidiary of Enbridge Inc., has temporarily shut down all its pipelines in the region of Cheecham, Alberta—including the major Athabasca and Waupisoo pipelines—due to concerns that the region’s heavy rains may have caused a synthetic crude spill from the Line 37 pipeline north of Cheecham.... Read more →


New inexpensive catalyst for conversion of CO2 to CO could help with storage of renewable energy

Researchers at the University of Delaware have developed an inexpensive bismuth−carbon monoxide evolving catalyst (Bi-CMEC) that can be used in conjunction with ionic liquids to convert CO2 to carbon monoxide (CO) using electricity. CO can then be reacted with H2O via the water−gas shift to generate H2, and this CO/H2... Read more →


GE and Rosneft to form joint venture to modernize Russia’s oil and gas infrastructure Downloads

GE and OJSC Rosneft, one of the world’s leading oil companies, signed a strategic agreement to establish a joint venture focused on developing local expertise and technology solutions for the growing oil and gas sector in the Russian Federation. The agreement, which will strengthen both GE and Rosneft manufacturing and... Read more →


Brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) curves for a 5.7L V8, a 3.6L Turbo-DI V6 (both with actual data), and a 2.2L VCR 4-cylinder engine (projected data) from a 2011 report by Envera. All three engine BSFC curves correspond to an engine speed of 2000 rpm.Click to enlarge. The National Energy... Read more →


Ford more than doubles China engine production capacity to 750K units with new $500M Chongqing plant

Ford officially opened a US$500-million new engine plant in Chongqing at its joint venture in China Changan Ford Automobile (CAF). With an initial capacity of 400,000 units, the new Changan Ford Engine Plant (CAFEP) more than doubles Changan Ford’s engine production capacity of 350,000 units, helping to meet rapidly growing... Read more →


SGL Group and Samsung establish joint venture for carbon composite materials

SGL Group and Samsung established a strategic partnership for carbon fiber composite materials with the foundation of a marketing & sales joint venture. The joint venture partners, Samsung Petrochemical and SGL Group, will each hold a 50% share. The primary objective of the cooperation is to develop new industrial and... Read more →


Renault’s hybrid power unit for F1 in 2014 includes a turbocharged, direct-injected 1.6L engine plus two motor generator units for energy recovery and use: the MGU-H (heat) and MGU-K (kinetic). Click to enlarge. At the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget, Renault presented its new power unit designed to the... Read more →


GAZ Group and Gazprom to cooperate on using natural gas as a motor fuel

GAZ Group, part of Basic Element, one of the Russia’s largest diversified industrial groups, and Gazprom have agreed to cooperate on using natural gas as a motor fuel. The goal of cooperation between the companies is to develop and implement gas-engine vehicles of different classes in Russia as well as... Read more →


Nissan ZEOD RC. Click to enlarge. Nissan unveiled the ZEOD RC (Zero Emission On Demand Racing Car)—an electric Le Mans prototype racing car intended to reach speeds of more than 300 km/h (186 mph) at the Le Mans 24 Hours race in 2014, where it will makes its debut. Nissan... Read more →


Probing the effect of CO2 on Li-air batteries

A team of researchers in South Korea found that Li−air battery performance is significantly altered by the presence of CO2. In particular, they reported in a paper published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, they showed that Li2CO3 can be selectively produced as a final discharge product depending... Read more →


Mack to begin production of DME-powered vehicles in 2015

Mack Trucks, part of the Volvo Group, will begin production of dimethyl ether (DME)-powered MACK Pinnacle Axle Back models in 2015. Volvo Trucks had announced earlier this month that it would commercialize dimethyl ether (DME)-powered heavy-duty commercial vehicles in North America, with limited production beginning in 2015. (Earlier post.) The... Read more →


Honda introduces Accord hybrid and plug-in in Japan; hybrid in US in October

Honda Motor Co., Ltd. has introduced the new Accord Hybrid in Japan. Featuring the new Sport Hybrid i-MMD (intelligent Multi-Mode Drive) powertrain, the Accord Hybrid offers fuel economy of 30.0 km/L (70.6 mpg US, 3.33 L/100 km) on the JC08 cycle. The company also introduced the Accord Plug-in Hybrid, with... Read more →


Amyris and Total make second successful demonstration flight with renewable jet fuel

An Airbus A321 aircraft powered by two Snecma CFM56 jet engines flew from Toulouse to Paris using a blend of renewable jet fuel produced by Amyris and Total. This demonstration flight was in support of the French Initiative for Future Aviation Fuels, which seeks to produce and commercialize alternative, renewable... Read more →


Engine compartment of the CrossBlue Coupé plug-in hybrid shows the transverse-mounted 3.0L V6; DSG is to the right, with the power electronics unit mounted above it. Click to enlarge. Volkswagen brought the new CrossBlue Coupé plug-in hybrid sporty mid-size SUV show car, introduced in April at Auto Shanghai 2013 (earlier... Read more →


UMTRI study concludes number of LDVs in the US likely has not yet peaked

A brief study by Dr. Michael Sivak, Director, Sustainable Worldwide Transportation at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) concludes that despite the absolute number of vehicles in the US having reached a maximum in 2008, it is highly likely that—from a long-term perspective—the absolute number of vehicles in... Read more →


The Common Module Family represents a new approach to engineering for the Renault/Nissan Alliance. Click to enlarge. The Renault/Nissan Alliance announced its Common Module Family (CMF) engineering architecture. CMF is not a platform; it can involve several platforms. A platform is a horizontal segmentation; a CMF is a cross-sector concept.... Read more →


The California Air Resources Board (ARB) has stepped up enforcement of its diesel truck regulations to ensure that only vehicles compliant with California’s stringent anti-pollution laws travel across the U.S. border into the state. All trucks transporting cargo originating from, or going to, a regulated port or rail yard in... Read more →


Cumulative natural gas vehicles in use by segment, world markets: 2013-2020. Source: Navigant Research. Click to enlarge. In a new report, Navigant Research forecasts that the number of natural gas vehicles (NGVs) on roads worldwide will reach 34.9 million by 2020. The increase is largely driven due to a combination... Read more →


ECOtality closes $8.2M private placement

ECOtality, Inc. has closed its previously announced private placement of common stock and warrants to certain institutional investors. Gross proceeds from the issuance were $8.2 million and will be used for general corporate and working capital purposes. We are making good progress to advance our Blink Network and monetize our... Read more →


Bosch, GS Yuasa, and Mitsubishi Corporation to set up JV for next generation lithium-ion batteries

Robert Bosch GmbH and the Japanese companies GS Yuasa International Ltd. and Mitsubishi Corporation have agreed to work together on the next generation of high-performance lithium-ion batteries. These batteries are fundamental for future forms of mobility, such as plug-in hybrid or all-electric vehicles. The three companies intend to set up... Read more →


Siemens and LanzaTech sign 10-year agreement to transform steel mill off-gases into bioethanol

Siemens Metals Technologies and LanzaTech, a producer of low-carbon fuels and chemicals from waste gases, have signed a ten-year co-operation agreement to develop and market integrated environmental solutions for the steel industry worldwide. The collaboration will utilize the fermentation technology developed by LanzaTech transforming carbon-rich off-gases generated by the steel... Read more →


Calysta Energy and NatureWorks partner on R&D to transform methane into the lactic acid building block for bioplastics

Calysta Energy and NatureWorks have entered into an exclusive, multi-year collaboration to research and develop a practical production process for fermenting methane into lactic acid, the building block for Ingeo, lactide intermediates and polymers made from renewable materials. If the collaboration results in the successful commercialization of this new technology,... Read more →


Oerlikon Graziano showcasing family of hybrid and EV transmissions at VDI Wissenforum

Transmission specialist Oerlikon Graziano, an Oerlikon Business Unit and part of Oerlikon’s Drive System Segment, will present its family of hybrid and electric transmission systems at VDI Wissenforum. Among the systems to be shown are: A four-speed seamless-shift transaxle. The new eDCT multi-speed transmission provides EVs with greater range while... Read more →


Study finds moderate biofuel blends increase benefits of RCCI in light-duty engines

Preliminary results from a new study by a team from Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the University of Wisconsin suggest that the fuel properties of moderate biofuel blends such as E20 and B20 increase the benefits of the use of Reactivity Controlled Compression Ignition (RCCI). RCCI is a Low... Read more →


IMO selects DNV to investigate potential for LNG-fueled shipping in North American ECA

The IMO (International Maritime Organization) has chosen DNV to gather knowledge about the potential of LNG powered international shipping in the North American Emission Control Area (ECA) and identify the necessary conditions for the successful implementation of LNG as a fuel source in the region. The North American ECA, under... Read more →


EU passenger car registrations down 5.9% in May, 6.8% over 1st 5 months

In May, demand for new passenger cars declined by 5.9% year-on-year in the EU, reaching 1,042,742 units, according to data from the European Association of Automobile Manufacturers (ACEA). In absolute figures, this is the lowest level recorded for a month of May since 1993 when new registrations stood below one... Read more →


Electrochemical performance of the Sn anodes. (a) Galvanostatic charge/discharge voltage profiles at a rate of C/10. (b) Cycling performance of Sn@WF, Al2O3 coated fiber, and Cu current collector at a rate of C/10. The inset illustrates the structure of the wood fiber and Al2O3 coated fiber. Credit: ACS, Zhu et... Read more →


Mascoma announces FDA favorable review of its next-gen bioengineered yeast; improved corn ethanol yield

Mascoma Corporation, a renewable fuels company, announced that the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Veterinary Medicine has completed its scientific review and supports the use of TransFerm Yield+, a bioengineered yeast, as a processing aid in the production of animal feed, which is a by-product of the... Read more →


California and Shenzhen, China, sign agreement to cooperate on fighting climate change

Moving to further strengthen California’s ties with China, California Air Resources Board Chairman Mary Nichols and Director of the Shenzhen Development and Reform Commission Xu Anliang signed a memorandum of understanding in Shenzhen that will expand cooperation at the subnational level to tackle global climate change. Under the new agreement,... Read more →


Speedstart liquid-cooled switched-reluctance motor-generator. Click to enlarge. UK-based Controlled Power Technologies (CPT) has completed more than two years of continuous testing to validate its SpeedStart belt-integrated starter-generator for 1.2 million stop-starts—considered the standard that will be required for a new generation of micro-mild hybrid vehicles. Developed from the outset for... Read more →


New catalysts enable photocatalytic version of water gas shift reaction for H2 production

Researchers at the Univ. Politécnica de Valencia (Spain) have found that noble metal nanoparticles supported on titanium dioxide or cerium dioxide can catalyze the industrially important water gas shift (WGS) reaction for hydrogen production at ambient temperatures using visible light irradiation. An open access paper on their discovery is published... Read more →