Cumulative Nissan LEAF sales in the US hit the 50,000 mark this month, with the delivery of a black LEAF SL in Dallas, Texas. Dallas—and the state of Texas—have become hot growth markets for LEAF. So far in 2014, LEAF sales in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex have grown by about... Read more →

A study by European researchers has found that two-stroke (2S) scooters, although constituting a small fraction of the fleet, can dominate urban vehicular pollution through organic aerosol and aromatic emission factors up to thousands of times higher than from other vehicle classes. The study by the team led by researchers... Read more →

Renault and LG Chem signed an MOU to develop the next-generation of Li-ion batteries for longer-range electric vehicles (EV), reportedly with an eye to doubling current range (e.g., from about 90 miles to about 180.) LG Chem already supplies batteries to Renault. In 2012, Renault signed a three-way agreement with... Read more →

Ford announced that its new 2015 F-150 (earlier post) 2015 Ford F-150 features more than 100 new Ford patents and/or patent applications, making this vehicle a benchmark for new technologies in Ford’s history, and its most patented truck. The scope of these innovations includes every part of the truck—body, exterior,... Read more →

A discussion paper published by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) asserts “with a high degree of reliability that it is misleading to claim that people’s exposure to diesel engines of road motor vehicles is the cause of increased risk of lung cancer.” According to the review by... Read more →

The US Environmental Protection Agency today notified Exide Technologies of federal violations at its Vernon, Calif. lead-acid battery recycling facility. EPA’s investigation, prompted by community concerns as well as ongoing investigations by state and local agencies, found that Exide violated the Clean Air Act’s lead emissions standards on more than... Read more →

Deaths from outdoor air pollution by region in 2005 and 2010. From 2005 to 2010, the death rate rose by 4% worldwide, by 5% in China and by 12% in India. OECD. Click to enlarge. Outdoor air pollution kills some 3.5 million people across the world every year, and causes... Read more →

The Lancaster County (Pennsylvania) Solid Waste Management Authority (LCSWMA) held a dedication and grand opening of its $4.8-million compressed natural gas (CNG) project. LCSWMA’s CNG project includes 14 new Peterbilt transfer trucks with Cummins-Westport ISX 12L CNG engines, costing around $2.2 million total. LCSWMA purchased the fleet in 2013 and... Read more →

Ministers of transport from around the world called for more international co-operation to create transport systems for the needs of a changing world in a declaration agreed today at their Annual Summit in Leipzig, Germany. Noting the impact of megatrends like demographic change, digitalization, shifting trade flows and climate change,... Read more →

ExxonMobil Exploration Argentina, jointly with Gas y Petróleo del Neuquén, has discovered oil and gas in an unconventional shale well in Neuquén Province of Argentina. Located in the liquids-rich area of the Vaca Muerta play, the Bajo del Choique X-2 well was drilled to a total measured depth of approximately... Read more →

Stop/start technology will be standard on the 2015 Impala base 2.5-liter ECOTEC engine, an addition that improves the vehicle’s city fuel economy by nearly 5%, or one mile per gallon. The Impala comes standard with a four-cylinder engine, which currently accounts for more than 30% of Impala retail sales. For... Read more →

Neste Oil will launch a low-sulfur marine bunker fuel compliant with the requirements of the EU’s Sulphur Directive. EU’s Sulphur Directive is due to come into force in 2015 and will require the sulfur content of bunker fuel to be reduced from 1% to 0.1% in the Baltic, the North... Read more →

Researchers at MIT and Stanford University have developed new battery technology for the conversion of low-temperature waste heat into electricity in cases where temperature differences are less than 100 degrees Celsius. Their approach is based on a phenomenon called the thermogalvanic effect—the dependence of electrode potential on temperature—and is described... Read more →

The MEC uses syntrophic cooperation within a bacterial consortium (red and green) in the anode chamber to ferment ethanol from glycerol and to remove inhibiting H2. Credit: ACS, Speers et al. Click to enlarge. Researchers at Michigan State University have developed a microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) which will allow biodiesel... Read more →

The Energy Department announced up to $2 million to develop the domestic supply chain for hydrogen and fuel cell technologies and to study the competitiveness of US hydrogen and fuel cell system and component manufacturing. (DE-FOA-0000854) (Earlier post.) This funding will support projects that focus on scaling-up the production of... Read more →

The staff of the California Air Resources Board (ARB) staff has posted three new Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) fuel pathway applications to the LCFS public comments website: one for corn ethanol (from Heartland Corn Products in Minnesota) and one ARB staff-developed pathway (with two scenarios) for the production of... Read more →

BYD Microelectronics (BME), a division of the global BYD Company Ltd., announced that the Multi-channel, Current Transducers in BYD Electric Cars have reached an operational milestone of more than 130,000,000 miles in the last five years. The EVs have operated for more than 400,000 miles each and the BLX9 (the... Read more →

The UK’s Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership (LowCVP) is inviting organisations that have made a real difference in the area of low carbon transport to apply for the Low Carbon Champions Awards. There are seven categories, covering areas ranging from cars to innovations, and the winners will be announced at a... Read more →

Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation and Air Water Plant & Engineering Inc. (AWP), a subsidiary of Air Water Inc. which holds the top share of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) tank truck market in Japan, will establish a new joint venture, Hitachi High-Tech AW Cryo, Inc. (HTAW) to operate a manufacturing and... Read more →

Renewable Energy Group, Inc. (REG) has reached an agreement with Tyson Foods, Inc. to acquire Tyson’s 50% ownership position in Dynamic Fuels, LLC. Completion of the transaction with Tyson Foods, which is contingent upon the closing of REG’s December 2013 announced agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets of... Read more →

Heavy-duty trucks, buses and coaches would use less fuel and emit lower amounts of carbon dioxide under a strategy adopted by the European Commission. Such heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs) are responsible for around a quarter of CO2 emissions from road transport in the EU. Without action, HDV emissions in 2030-2050 are... Read more →

A two-year study commissioned by Airbus and partners including Virgin Australia in 2012 into the practicability of using Australia’s mallee trees to make biofuels suitable for powering passenger jets (earlier post) has reported encouraging results. The sustainability and life-cycle analysis covered the growing and harvesting of the mallee tree and... Read more →

The new Gen4 unit. Click to enlarge. Intelligent Energy introduced its Gen4 air-cooled fuel cell power unit, designed for easy integration into two-wheel and four-wheel vehicles, at the 2014 JSAE (Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan) Annual Congress in Yokohama. The technology has been developed in collaboration with the Suzuki... Read more →

The new Ford F-650/F-750 medium-duty truck lineup with 6.7-liter Power Stroke V8 turbo diesel (earlier post) will feature three engine power ratings, including best-in-class standard diesel horsepower and torque, and no vocational limits on top ratings. Multiple ratings provide customers with the flexibility to scale engine power to work applications... Read more →

Based on growing employee demand, General Motors has installed 401 electric vehicle charging stations at its US production and business facilities; nearly 160 of these are at various manufacturing facilities. More than 20% of the stations use electricity generated from solar canopies to help charge employee vehicles. The majority of... Read more →

Calysta Energy, Inc., a company using methane as a feedstock for engineered organisms to produce liquid hydrocarbon fuels and high value chemicals that are cost-effective, scalable and reduce environmental impact (earlier post), has acquired acquired BioProtein A/S. Combining its proprietary BioGPS technology platform with technology from BioProtein, Calysta intends to... Read more →

Bakken crude is similar to other North American light, sweet crudes and does not pose a greater risk to transport by rail than other transportation fuels, according to a study recently completed by Turner, Mason & Company for the North Dakota Petroleum Council (NDPC). The data also showed that Bakken... Read more →

The first of Hyundai’s Tucson Fuel Cell CUVs arrived in Southern California; first retail sales are expected in the next few weeks. Under the Hyundai leasing program, approved lessees can drive Hyundai’s next-generation Tucson Fuel Cell for $499 per month, including unlimited free hydrogen refueling and “At Your Service” valet... Read more →

Petrobras has completed the formation test on well 1-SPS-98 (1-BRSA-1063-SPS), informally known as Sagitário, located in ultra-deep waters of the Santos Basin pre-salt. The results obtained confirmed the discovery announced to the market on 25 February 2013, when the well was still in the drilling phase. The test has revealed... Read more →

NEI Corporation, a nanotech materials company (earlier post), is developing a lithium-ion battery in which the electrolytes are dissolved in water instead of an organic solvent. Such an aqueous-based lithium-ion battery has the potential to eliminate the risks associated with conventional lithium-ion batteries, in which the organic solvents are highly... Read more →

National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS), the company resurrecting the Saab brand (earlier post), has halted production of its vehicles (currently at 6 units per day) while it sorts through financing issues and aligns its strategy with new OEM partners. NEVS also cut back on its hired consultants. The company said... Read more →

Dresser-Rand will showcase its Guascor biogas engines—with ratings from 140 to 1240 kW—to visitors attending the Water Institute of Southern Africa (WISA) Biennial Conference & Exhibition 2014. The SFGLD engine series was specifically developed to work with a variety of gases, including natural gas, biogas from landfill, sewage, or anaerobic... Read more →

Royal DSM is extending globally its portfolio of UV-stabilized grades of its glass-fiber-reinforced Akulon polyamide 6 for exterior automotive parts that require very good surface quality even when unpainted. The company will unveil these new grades at the JSAE Automotive Engineering Exposition, taking place on 21-23 May in Yokohama, Japan.... Read more →

In a new report, Navigant Research estimates that nearly 84.1 million new light-duty vehicles (LDVs) will be sold globally in 2014, putting more than 1.2 billion vehicles on the world’s roads. The company forecasts that annual LDV sales will grow to 126.9 million in 2035, representing a compound annual growth... Read more →

Toyota intends to leverage the benefits of high frequency and high efficiency of SiC power semiconductors to enable PCU downsizing of 80%. Click to enlarge. Toyota Motor Corporation, in collaboration with Denso Corporation (Denso) and Toyota Central R&D Labs., Inc. (Toyota CRDL), has developed a silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductor... Read more →

Freescale Semiconductor is collaborating with Neusoft Corporation and Green Hills Software to establish a comprehensive Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) ecosystem designed to speed and to simplify the creation of next-generation automotive vision applications. As ADAS vision systems grow to encompass a greater portion of vehicle braking and steering systems,... Read more →

Eight Japanese automakers and one automobile research institute—Suzuki Motor; Daihatsu Motor; Toyota Motor; Nissan Motor; Fuji Heavy Industries; Honda R&D; Mazda Moto; Mitsubishi Motors; and Japan Automobile Research Institute (JARI)—have jointly established the Research Association of Automotive Internal Combustion Engines (AICE). AICE’s president is Keiji Otsu, Managing Officer, Honda R&D.... Read more →

Fourteen years after the launch in the UK of the first-generation Prius, Toyota has sold its 100,000th hybrid there. Sister brand Lexus is closing in on 50,000 UK sales, achieved since the debut there of the RX 400h in 2005. The 6-digit honor went to an Auris Hybrid Touring Sports... Read more →

Honda Aircraft Company revealed the first production HondaJet at the European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (EBACE) in Geneva, Switzerland. (Earlier post.) The company also shared its progress in preparation for HondaJet entry into service. First production jet with new color scheme. Click to enlarge. The HondaJet Over-The-Wing Engine Mount... Read more →

Microstructure of RGM electrode. (a) Schematic illustration of the preparation process of RGM nanostructure foam. SEM images of (b–c) as-grown GM foam (d) Lightly loaded RGM, and (e) heavily loaded RGM. Source: UCR. Click to enlarge. Researchers at the University of California, Riverside have developed a novel nanometer scale ruthenium... Read more →

In 2013, GM reduced the energy-intensity per vehicle manufactured 3.5% from 2012, down to an average 2.22 MW/vehicle from 2.30 MW, according to the company’s just released 2013 sustainability report. GM has set a target of 1.97 MW/vehicle for 2020, a reduction of 20% from the 2010 baseline of 2.47... Read more →

VIA Motors, a privately held plug-in electric vehicle development and manufacturing company, has acquired Prodigy Engineering, an electric vehicle design, engineering and prototyping company. Prodigy has been under contract with VIA to prototype new vehicle models for the company’s expanding portfolio. The acquisition included an exclusive license to advanced Lithium-ion... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) will award a total of $7 million to six projects to develop lightweight, compact, and inexpensive advanced hydrogen storage systems that will enable longer driving ranges and help make fuel cell systems competitive for different platforms and sizes of vehicles. Materia of Pasadena, California... Read more →

France-based Bolloré Group launched the BlueIndy electric car sharing advice in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Mayor of Indianapolis chose to align this event with the opening of the Electric Drive Transportation Association (EDTA) conference. EDTA usually holds its yearly conference in Washington, DC, but this year chose Indianapolis, renowned city in... Read more →

Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2014 LEAF vehicles manufactured 28 February 2014, through 12 March 2014. The front structural member assembly may be missing welds, which could reduce the structural integrity of the vehicle if the vehicle is involved in a crash. Up to 211... Read more →

The Volvo Group, in collaboration with the Swedish Transport Administration, will study the potential for building electrified roads on which city buses can be charged inductively at the same time as the bus is in operation (dynamic charging). A 300- to 500-meter electric road may be built for test operations... Read more →

Navistar, Inc. and Swift Transportation announced a joint pilot program designed to maximize fuel economy. Navistar developed a specification for the International ProStar tractor that the company expects to deliver industry-leading fuel economy results. Swift will pilot test the specification, which pairs the ProStar with the Cummins ISX15 and the... Read more →

A duo at the University of Stuttgart (Germany) is proposing an approach for the conversion of natural gas at gas-transport-constrained fields to easily transportable, high-octane liquid products. A paper describing their work is published in the ACS journal Energy & Fuels. For remote small-/medium-sized natural gas fields, transport via pipeline... Read more →

According to the most recent greenhouse gas emissions inventory from the California Air Resources Board (ARB), the state’s total greenhouse gas emissions rose 1.7% in 2012 from 2011 to 459 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MMTCO2e). According to ARB, the increase was driven primarily by strong economic growth in... Read more →

A new review article in the journal Science highlights emerging opportunities to increase the transformation of lignin to value-added products—i.e., lignin valorization. The resulting roadmap uses the integration of genetic engineering with analytical chemistry tools to tailor the structure of lignin and its isolation so it can be used for... Read more →