The US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s (EERE) Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) intends to issue a Funding Opportunity Announcement (DE-FOA-0001097) entitled “Alternative Fuel and Advanced Vehicle Deployment Initiatives”. The estimated $4.5 million in funding will go to projects that will create and implement high... Read more →

Axens, Total and IFPEN have introduced Atol, a technology for profitable production of polymer-grade bio-ethylene via the dehydration of ethanol (C2H6O). (Earlier post.) About 99% of ethylene (C2H4) is currently produced by steam cracking of naphtha. The bio-ethylene produced can be integrated in existing downstream polymerization installations such as polyethylene... Read more →

The 2015 Audi A3 earned the IIHS TOP SAFETY PICK+ award, due to good performance in five crashworthiness tests and an advanced rating for front crash prevention. The A3 was completely redesigned for 2015 and is now a sedan instead of a wagon like its predecessor. It’s the first Audi... Read more →

Bio-isobutanol company Gevo, Inc. is transitioning its Luverne plant to the production of both isobutanol and ethanol. Gevo said that its decision—announced during its 4Q 2013 earnings call—to transition to the simultaneous production of both products is a direct result of (1) the steady progress made in executing its flexible... Read more →

NVIDIA launched a new platform to the support the development of a new generation of applications that employ computer vision, image processing and real-time data processing in a range of industries including automotive. The NVIDIA Jetson TK1 Developer Kit offers performance of 326 gigaflops—nearly three times more than any similar... Read more →

In September 2013, China’s net imports of petroleum and other liquids exceeded those of the United States on a monthly basis, making it the largest net importer of crude oil and other liquids in the world, according to figures from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). The rise in China’s... Read more →

Solazyme, Inc., a renewable oil and bioproducts company, is entering into the oil and gas drilling fluids additive market. Building upon its proprietary platform of high performance, sustainable Tailored oils, Solazyme has introduced Encapso, the first encapsulated biodegradable lubricant for drilling fluids designed to deliver high-grade lubricant precisely at the... Read more →

Comparison of power loss and fuel consumption among BD, HVO and iso-HVO. Source: Kim et al. Click to enlarge. Researchers in South Korea from SK Innovation and Chungbuk National University compared the engine and emissions performance of 16 different blends of petro-diesel, biodiesel (BD), hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO, i.e., drop-in... Read more →

Selective catalytic reduction is a technically feasible, cost-effective way to achieve the limits on nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from ships mandated by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) for 2016, according to a study released by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT). The study undercuts arguments in favor of a... Read more →

PSA Peugeot Citroën plans to use IBM Big Data and Analytics and IBM MobileFirst solutions to launch new customized services for connected vehicles. The two companies are working together to integrate the massive amounts of data from cars, phones, traffic signals, lights and other sources and analyze it in real-time... Read more →

The Honda Smart Home US integrates a number of technologies, and is managed by Honda’s Home Energy Management System (HEMS). Click to enlarge. Honda marked the opening of Honda Smart Home US, showcasing technologies that enable zero net energy living and transportation, including Honda’s home energy management system (HEMS), a... Read more →

The University of Michigan is proceeding to the construction phase of a new $6.5-million facility (earlier post) for testing connected and automated vehicles; the facility, the schematic design of which was recently approved by the university’s the Board of Regents, is part of the U-M’s Mobility Transformation Center (MTC) (earlier... Read more →

Sample vehicle wiring harness. Click to enlarge. Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) has developed a world-first technology for recycling the copper contained in wiring harnesses, in collaboration with Yazaki Corporation (Yazaki), Toyota Tsusho Corporation (Toyota Tsusho), and eight other companies. The newly-developed technology produces copper with a purity of 99.96%. Roughly... Read more →

Magna Exteriors, an operating unit of Magna International, has been awarded new business to supply painted automotive body panels made from carbon fiber composite material for two 2016 model-year vehicles. Magna Exteriors has successfully advanced its capabilities to now produce class-A carbon fiber composite body panels at the production rates... Read more →

The World Health Organization now estimates that in 2012 around 7 million people died—one in eight (12.5%) of total global deaths—as a result of air pollution exposure. This new estimate more than doubles previous estimates and confirms that air pollution is now the world’s largest single environmental health risk, according... Read more →

Wärtsilä has introduced a new four-stroke, dual-fuel engine, the 46DF medium-speed engine. Compared to any other alternative currently available on the market its specific fuel consumption is lower, output is higher, and lifecycle costs are attractive, according to the company. The Wärtsilä 46DF extends Wärtsilä’s dual-fuel engine family by covering... Read more →

Scaled-down model of prismatic pressure vessel. Click to enlarge. Professors Pål G. Bergan and Daejun Chang and of Ocean Systems Engineering at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have developed a box-type, large-size pressure vessel for the storage and transportation of liquids such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG),... Read more →

Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc. has teamed up with Waste Services of the Bluegrass to generate power from local landfill waste, marking the region’s first business-to-business landfill gas to energy initiative. Toyota estimates the locally-generated landfill gas will supply enough power each year for the production of 10,000 vehicles. As... Read more →

To support the impending roll-out of hydrogen fueling infrastructure and Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEV), SAE International’s Fuel Cell Standards Taskforce has completed two technical standards: SAE J2601, “Fueling Protocols for Light Duty Gaseous Hydrogen Surface Vehicles”; and SAE J2799, “Hydrogen Surface Vehicle to Station Hardware and Software”. The standards... Read more →

A team led by researchers at Western University in Ontario, Canada, has optimized a continuous flow process for synthesis of solketal, an alternative to methyl tert-butyl ether as an oxygenated gasoline fuel additive, from glycerol, a byproduct of biodiesel production. A paper on their work is published in the journal... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has conditionally authorized Jordan Cove Energy Project, L.P. (Jordan Cove) to export domestically produced liquefied natural gas (LNG) to countries that do not have a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States, from the Jordan Cove LNG Terminal in Coos Bay, Oregon. This... Read more →

A team of researchers at the University of Delaware has discovered a “sticky” conductive material that may eliminate the need for binders in Li-ion battery electrodes. Bingqing Wei, professor of mechanical engineering and doctoral student Zeyuan Cao recently discovered that fragmented carbon nanotube macrofilms (FCNT) can serve as adhesive conductors,... Read more →

GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, has invested approximately $63 million in UK-based fuel-cell manufacturer Intelligent Energy Holdings plc. The investment takes the form of a new issue of 15,129,468 Ordinary Shares to GIC, representing 10% of the company’s enlarged issued ordinary share capital immediately following the placing of shares to... Read more →

Velocys plc, a developer of smaller-scale microchannel gas-to-liquids (GTL) technology, has entered a joint venture (JV) with Waste Management, NRG Energy (NRG), and Ventech Engineers International (Ventech) to develop gas-to-liquids (GTL) plants in the United States and other select geographies. The JV will pursue the development of multiple plants utilizing... Read more →

A123 Systems LLC, a developer and manufacturer of advanced Nanophosphate lithium iron phosphate batteries and systems, is selling its grid storage business and other assets related to energy storage for telecom and IT data storage applications to NEC Corporation for approximately $100 million. A123, which is retaining its all of... Read more →

a) SEM image of a VA-NCCF array grown on a piece of Si wafer. (b) TEM image of an individual VA-NCCF. (c) The sketch of Li2O2 grown on a coral-like carbon fiber. Credit: ACS, Shui et al. Click to enlarge. Researchers at Case Western Reserve University and Kent State University... Read more →

Researchers from Iowa State University report on a techno-economic analysis of drop-in hydrocarbon biofuels produced by the catalytic pyrolysis of microalgae remnant—the part of algae left over after lipids extraction—in a paper in the journal Fuel. The study, which compares partial mechanical drying and thermal drying scenarios with subsequent energy... Read more →

Canadian marine transportation company Groupe Desgagnés and Valero’s Canadian Operations have formed a joint venture, Transport Maritime Saint-Laurent Inc., that has acquired two Panamax-class ships. These ships will serve to transport, among others, crude oil from Valero’s Montreal East Terminal to its Jean Gaulin refinery in Lévis, on the south... Read more →

The Aberdeen (Scotland) city council has taken delivery of four of the 10 hydrogen buses ordered from Belgian firm Van Hool and to be operated by FirstGroup and Stagecoach as part of the Aberdeen Hydrogen Bus Project. The others are due to be delivered in the coming weeks; in total,... Read more →

Conditions of fracture and debonding. The shaded regions demonstrate the safe regimes of operation as a function of top shell thickness and bottom core size with state of charge. Credit: ACS, Stournara et al. Click to enlarge. A team from Brown University and General Motors Global Research and Development has... Read more →

To boost the take-up of alternative fuels in transport, EU countries will have to ensure that enough refueling and recharging stations are available to enable cars, trucks and ships using alternative fuels—such as natural gas and electricity—to move freely on EU roads and waterways, under an informal agreement reached by... Read more →

Industry data supplied by Ford Motor Company and Del Webb, part of the multi-brand homebuilder PulteGroup, show that the baby boomer segment (ages 55 to 64), which comprised the growing market for large homes and made minivans and big SUVs vogue are now shifting to still lavish, but smaller homes... Read more →

Crazy Diamond Performance (CDP) has expanded its development on Class 6 heavy duty engines to include a 7.4L supercharged CNG engine; the new engine will join the naturally aspirated 6.9L in the CDP Torquemaster family. Both engines have been designed from the ground up for heavy-duty applications up to class... Read more →

Chrysler’s new 2015 Chrysler 200 mid-size sedan features a segment-first nine-speed automatic transmission and the choice of two engines: the 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 which produces 295 horsepower (218 kW) and 262 lb-ft (355 N·m) of torque; and the new Tigershark 2.4-liter MultiAir2 four-cylinder engine which produces 184 horsepower (137 kW),... Read more →

The EA288 2.0-liter diesel, prominently showing the closely attached exhaust aftertreatment system. Click to enlarge. The Volkswagen Group’s new 2.0-liter TDI diesel (EA288) will eventually replace all the 2.0-liter TDI Clean Diesel engines fitted in Audi and Volkswagen TDI Clean Diesel models, and as such, is a strategically important engine.... Read more →

Valero Renewable Fuels Company, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Valero Energy Corporation, has purchased a corn ethanol plant in Mount Vernon, Ind. from Aventine Renewable Energy-Mt. Vernon, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Aventine Renewable Energy Holdings, Inc. The plant has an annual production capacity of 110 million gallons... Read more →

Bosch has launched a new generation of inertial sensors. The SMI7xy sensor platform is designed specifically for use in active and passive safety systems and in driver assistance systems. These new sensors are very robust and take up very little room, as they are supplied in a compact BGA housing... Read more →

The Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) has awarded BlackPak, Inc., a private technology company developing innovative packaging solutions for natural gas fuel sources, a $4.6-million cooperative agreement for the development of its natural gas fuel tank technology under ARPA-E’s Methane Opportunities for Vehicular Energy (MOVE) Program. Under the... Read more →

Siluria Technologies, the developer of novel bio-templated catalysts for the economic direct conversion of methane (CH4) to ethylene (C2H4) (earlier post), unveiled a development unit for producing liquid fuels from natural gas based on Siluria’s proprietary oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) and ethylene-to-liquid (ETL) technologies. Together, Siluria’s OCM and ETL... Read more →

Following the January decision by the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals to deny rehearing en banc in the litigation regarding California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and Growth Energy are petitioning the US Supreme Court for certiorari to make a final determination relating to... Read more →

Cenovus Energy Inc. received approval from the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) for its 100%-owned Grand Rapids thermal oil sands project. The proposed project is located approximately 300 kilometers (186 miles) north of Edmonton, within the company's Greater Pelican Region in northern Alberta. Grand Rapids is expected to have production capacity... Read more →

Staff of the California Air Resources Board (ARB) has posted its calculation of the average 2012 annual carbon intensity of crudes supplied to California refineries. The average value is 11.36 gCO2/MJ, calculated by weighting the carbon intensity value for each crude by the volume supplied to California refineries during 2012.... Read more →

2nd-generation Dual Mode (DM II) plug-in hybrid system of the Qin. Click to enlarge. BYD’s second-generation Dual-Mode, plug-in hybrid electric sedan Qin has posted a second month of strong sales in February. Trends in March now make it “China’s Best-Selling Electric Vehicle” according to China’s National Passenger Car Association. In... Read more →

Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announced that the latest oil and gas lease sales for federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico garnered $872,143,771 million in high bids on 329 tracts covering 1,707,358 acres. The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) offered nearly 40 million... Read more →

BMW has awarded ENGEL Austria another contract to supply system solutions to BMW’s Leipzig factory, where ENGEL duo injection moulding machines are used to manufacture car body shell components for the BMW i3 electric vehicle. The latest order includes two large-scale ENGEL duo machines with 40,000 kN clamping force integrated... Read more →

Researchers at University West in Sweden have started using nanoparticles in the heat-insulating surface layer that protects aircraft engines from heat. In tests, this increased the service life of the coating by 300%. The new layer could be used in both aircraft engines and gas turbines within two years. To... Read more →

Johnson Controls and Fraunhofer Gesellschaft have signed a collaboration agreement to develop the next generation of more energy efficient, cost-effective cooling systems for vehicle batteries. The scope of the work will initially focus on 48V Micro Hybrid battery technology, which is designed to deliver strong fuel and emissions efficiency, and... Read more →

Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide recently delivered several pre-production units of an advanced CNG fuel storage and delivery system, including the control software for the fuel system and engine, to ZHRO Solutions LLC as part of an on-going development agreement between the two companies. These systems are coupled with ZHRO’s... Read more →

Adding calcium atoms (orange spheres) between graphene planes (blue honeycomb) creates a superconducting material called CaC6. A study at SLAC has shown for the first time that graphene is a key player in this superconductivity: Electrons scatter back and forth between the graphene and calcium layers, interact with natural vibrations... Read more →

Johnson Matthey Davy Technologies Ltd. (JM Davy), a global provider of advanced process technologies and Rennovia, Inc., a development stage company which develops catalysts and processes for the cost-advantaged production of chemical products from renewable feedstocks, are collaborating to develop, demonstrate and commercialize catalytic process technologies for the production of... Read more →