Volkswagen has joined the Model Fuels Consortium II (MFC-II) (earlier post)—the first German automaker to do so. The initial phase of the Model Fuels Consortium was launched four years ago by Reaction Design to enable the design of cleaner-burning, more-efficient engines and fuels. Volkswagen is particularly interested in [...]
US-based lithium-ion battery producer EnerDel will supply the advanced battery systems at the heart of a new project, based in Tsukuba City, Japan, combining electric vehicles (EVs), stationary grid storage, solar power and a rapid charging infrastructure a in a real-world operating environment. The project involves more than a [...]
The Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) adopted by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) earlier this year (earlier post) requires a 10% reduction in the average greenhouse gas (GHG) emission intensity of the state’s transportation fuels by 2020.
The regulation also levies the calculation of Indirect Land Use Change [...]
Mazda Motor Corporation delivered one Mazda Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid vehicle (earlier post) to the Yamaguchi prefectural government in western Japan. Mazda’s Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid features a unique hybrid system and a hydrogen rotary engine (RE) that burns hydrogen as a fuel.
Mazda [...]ISO has published an updated, improved edition of an International Standard providing safety specifications for electrically propelled road vehicles. The two-part ISO 6469 will help manufacturers to design fail-safe electrically propelled vehicles, as well as provide a framework for the information they need to make available for safety personnel [...]
A team of researchers from Zhejiang University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed a nanostructured tin oxide (SnO2) thin film material for use as an electrode in a lithium-ion battery. The material showed a reversible Li storage capacity of 524 mAh g-1 after 50 cycles.
A paper on their [...]
Canada-based environmental NGO Pollution Probe has released a comprehensive Primer on Automobile Fuel Efficiency and Emissions, produced in partnership with the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA). The 112-page document, the latest in a series of environmental primers from Pollution probe, tackles vehicle energy use and emissions; current and emerging automotive technology; [...]
A coalition of 16 national hydrogen associations from around the world recently issued a joint statement addressed to Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework on Climate Change, asserting that hydrogen technologies could help to curb global greenhouse gas emissions. The statement highlights benefits to [...]
A consortium led by BP-Eni 50:50 joint venture VICO has signed a production sharing contract (PSC) with the Government of Indonesia for the exploration and development of coalbed methane (CBM) resources on the Sanga-Sanga block in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. VICO has been producing conventional gas resources from the Sanga-Sanga [...]
All 2010 Chevrolet and GMC V-8 powered trucks now feature variable valve timing (VVT), a technology that enables continuous control of valve opening and closing that result in better engine breathing, fewer emissions and improved fuel economy.
The addition of VVT to the 4.8L and 5.3L truck V-8s completes the [...]
Air Products recently announced a long-term hydrogen supply contract with ExxonMobil’s (Esso) Rotterdam refinery in The Netherlands and will build a new world-scale hydrogen production plant to serve that refinery and additional customers in the region, including Shell.
The plant will feature technology advancements to maximize facility energy [...]
Automotive lithium-ion battery maker EnerDel will be using a portion of its recent federal stimulus grant to purchase eight AeroVironment (AV) advanced electric vehicle power cycling and test systems.
The addition of AV’s 170 kW ABC-170CE cyclers and its 250 kW AV-900 heavy-duty cyclers will expand the advanced battery testing [...]
BP and DuPont have formed Kingston Research Ltd, which will focus on the commercialization of advanced biofuel technology—specifically biobutanol—at a £25-million (US$41-million) purpose-built development and demonstration facility at BP’s Saltend site, near Hull.
Kingston Research will construct a facility to scale-up technology to manufacture biobutanol from renewable feedstocks. The [...]
Capstone Turbine Corporation is introducing a prototype range-extended electric supercar using one of its 30 kW C30 microturbines as the generator unit. The CMT-380, currently in the design and test phase, is being developed in partnership with Electronic Arts [...]
The HyBoost project (earlier post), a two-year collaborative research program led by Ricardo in partnership with Controlled Power Technologies, the European Advanced Lead Acid Battery Consortium, Ford, Imperial College London, and Valeo, aims to demonstrate a very cost-effective, ultra-efficient gasoline engine in a C-segment passenger car.
The vehicle is [...]
Ford is introducing its 2011 Mustang with a new 3.7-liter, dual-overhead-camshaft (DOHC) 24-valve V-6 using Twin Independent Variable Camshaft Timing (Ti-VCT), also featured in the 2.0L EcoBoost engine announced in July (earlier post). The new V6 can produce 305 hp [...]
Scania and Vale Soluções em Energia S.A. (VSE) have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on the development of new technology for ethanol- and gas-powered industrial engines for the Brazilian market.
VSE is planning to develop and manufacture a series of single-speed engines for stationary operation using Scania’s basic [...]
Members of the European Parliament last week approved regulations that will require replacement tires for cars as well as light- and heavy-duty vehicles (C1, C2, and C3 tires) to carry energy efficiency labels as of 1 November 2012. The new label does not have to be mounted on the [...]
by Jack Rosebro
With little more than a week left before the 15th Congress of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) convenes in Copenhagen, and following months of increasing doubt that international agreement can be realized on a binding emissions reduction plan to replace the Kyoto Protocol, many [...]
A new study by an international team of researchers using Comparative Risk Assessment methods to estimate the health effects of alternative urban land transport scenarios for two settings—London, UK, and Delhi, India—concluded that although uncertainties remain, climate change mitigation in transport should benefit public health substantially.
The study, one of six [...]
The Nikkei reports that Nissan Motor Co. has nearly completed development of a lithium-ion battery using a lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide cathode (NMC). The new system, which will reportedly offer almost double the capacity of Nissan/AESC’s current manganese spinel cell, is supposedly slated for deployment in electric vehicles [...]
Tackling climate change by reducing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse emissions will have major direct health benefits in addition to reducing the risk of climate change, especially in low-income countries, according to a series of six papers on “Health and Climate Change” published 25 November in the British [...]
The EU’s Clean Sky Joint Technology Initiative (JTI) (earlier post) has launched its second call for proposals (SP1-JTI-CS-2009-02). The €8.4-million (US$12.5-million) call covers a total of 24 topics. Depending on the nature of the participant, the funding will be between 50% and 75% of the Topic maximum [...]
An analysis of sales- and activity-weighted fuel efficiency for new jet aircraft from [...]
Canadian Pacific and Natural Resources Canada have partnered on a biodiesel fuel pilot project under the National Renewable Diesel Demonstration Initiative. The project is the first time biodiesel will be used in Canadian cold-weather rail service.
The Government of Canada has announced its intent to regulate an average five percent [...]
Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide Inc. will acquire in a stock-for-stock exchange all of the outstanding common shares of Schneider Power, a Canada-based wind and solar power generation company. Quantum, an advanced propulsion systems, energy storage technology, and alternative fuel vehicle company, provides the Q-drive system to Fisker. The [...]
At the China International Industry Fair held earlier in November in Shanghai, SAIC Group displayed six models of new energy vehicles, which will serve the Expo 2010. Of those models, two made their premiere at the Fair. The models were the Shenchi Brand 4-seat battery-electric car; the Shenchi Brand [...]
Siemens has demonstrated in the lab a new magnetic method to harvest algae for use as feedstock in biogas plants.
The researchers put magnetite particles in the water with the algae. The algae enclose these iron oxide particles, which are only a few micrometers in size. The resulting mixture of algae [...]
Transport emissions could double their current relative net contribution to global warming by 2100, according to a new study by researchers at the Oslo-based Centre for International Climate and Environment Research (CICERO) in Norway.
The study’s results, presented in the journal Atmospheric Environment, are part of the EU-funded [...]
Taiwan-based Delta Group, the world’s largest provider of switching power supplies and DC brushless fans, as well as a major supplier of power management solutions, components, visual displays, industrial automation, networking [...]
Volkswagen will be investing a total of €2.3 billion (US$3.4 billion) in new products and manufacturing capacity expansion in Brazil between 2009 and 2014.
We will enjoy significant growth in Brazil this year and win market share. Our target is to sell one million vehicles per year in [...]
Mazda Motor Corporation will provide three Mazda Demios (Mazda2s) for conversion to EVs for a project in collaboration with Itochu Corporation and other companies in conjunction with Tsukuba City to test a low-carbon transport system which uses clean energy. The Tsukuba [...]
The Philippine Department of Energy has been conducting fuel economy runs since 2002 promoting fuel economy consciousness and consumer empowerment by obtaining data on actual fuel consumption of passenger vehicles based on the actual driving conditions employing fuel efficiency measures and techniques.
The First DOE E10 Fuel Economy Run, to [...]
The Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain, as represented by the Bahrain Airport Company (BAC), has selected Cavotec to supply and integrate a range of environmentally friendly ground service equipment for remote aircraft aprons at Bahrain International Airport, in a deal worth approximately €30 million (US$45 million).
With 18 of [...]
UK-based Elektromotive has appointed The PluginCompany to install networks of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations across Belgium and Luxembourg. Pilot schemes will see the installation of 20 Elektrobay units in the two countries by the end of this year, ahead of further planned rollouts during 2010.
[...]Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) and Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) jointly delivered four units of the electric vehicle i-MiEV to the Principality of Monaco on 15 November.
The Principality of Monaco, proactively seeking ways to combat environmental issues and to replace domestic transportation with low-CO2-emitting electric vehicles, signed a Memorandum of [...]
Researchers at the University of New Mexico found in a study of the catalytic conversion of Camelina Sativa oil to biodiesel through both conventional heating and microwave radiation that the microwave-heating method consumed less than 10% of the energy to achieve the same yield as the conventional heating method. A [...]
The California Energy Commission staff will conduct a public workshop on 15 December to discuss three grant solicitations to be funded by the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Program (Program). The solicitations will focus on biomethane production, medium- and heavy-duty advanced vehicle technology, and alternative and renewable fuel infrastructure. [...]
by Jack Rosebro
A team of 26 climate scientists from Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States have published the “Copenhagen Diagnosis”, an interim synthesis report on developments in climate change science from mid-2006 to the present day. The report points out that many key [...]
The California Energy Commission has awarded a $1-million grant to UC Riverside’s College of Engineering-Center for Environmental Research and Technology (CE-CERT) to build a process demonstration unit (PDU) [...]
Generac Power Systems, Inc., a leading manufacturer of standby and portable power generation equipment and Fiat Powertrain Technologies (FPT) have formed a strategic partnership. Beginning in 2010, FPT will supply Generac with a wide range of industrial diesel engines for use in gensets with outputs ranging from 60 to [...]
Purdue University will operate a new federally funded facility to test aircraft engines and develop alternative fuels. The National Test Facility for Fuels and Propulsion is funded with a $1.35 million grant from the US Air Force and will be housed in the Niswonger Aviation Technology Building at the [...]
Automotive lithium-ion battery maker EnerDel is entering the utility-scale energy storage market, supplying batteries for one of the 16 new smart grid regional demonstration projects recently awarded funding by the US DOE. (Earlier post.) EnerDel will build the batteries for five 1MW power systems that will be used by [...]
The US Department of Energy is awarding $620 million for projects around the country to demonstrate advanced Smart Grid technologies and integrated systems. These 32 demonstration projects, which include large-scale energy storage, smart meters, distribution and transmission system monitoring devices, plug-in vehicles, and a range of other smart technologies, [...]
A group of researchers at the City College of New York is developing a new way to generate power for planes and road vehicles based on short, flexible piezoelectric cantilever beams which convert the kinetic energy of motion into electricity. They presented their concept at the 62nd Annual [...]
Ford Motor Company is teaming with the University of Detroit Mercy (UDM) to retrain its traditional automotive engineers, providing them with the skills and expertise to develop the next generation of advanced electric and hybrid vehicles.
As vehicle electrification plans expand, the automotive industry’s need for electric vehicle-savvy engineers also [...]
Showa Denko K.K. (SDK) will develop next-generation liquid electrolytes for lithium ion batteries (LIBs) using a new and stable fluorinated electrolyte salt (Li2B12FxH12-x), aiming to soon commercialize the liquid electrolytes for use in large LIBs for vehicles.
The new electrolyte salt, which can replace conventional electrolyte salts, was developed [...]
Australia’s Syngas Limited has engaged Rentech to provide Fischer-Tropsch fuels production preliminary engineering services for Syngas’ proposed commercial scale coal and biomass to liquids (CBTL) fuels facility in Southern Australia, known as the Clinton Project. This [...]
Antonov Plc, the UK-based transmission technology specialist, has been awarded, in partnership with Jaguar and MIRA, a project by the UK Government’s Technology Strategy Board to develop a high efficiency 2-speed transmission suitable for use in electric vehicles. The project will run for one year with Antonov as [...]
Koenigsegg Group AB has terminated the agreement for its proposed purchase of GM’s Saab. GM President and CEO Fritz Henderson confirmed the Koenigsegg move today.
We’re obviously very disappointed with the decision to pull out of the Saab purchase. Many have worked tirelessly over the past several months to create [...]
The total number of diesel retrofit devices (for both on-road and off-road diesel engines) sold in the US (including California) by Manufacturers of Emission Controls Association (MECA) member companies in 2008 was 31,283, according to the latest MECA annual survey.
Of this total, approximately 39% were diesel oxidation catalysts and [...]
Nissan North America, Inc. (NNA) has leased an X-TRAIL Fuel Cell Vehicle (FCV) to Sacramento (California) Coca-Cola Bottling Co., Inc. Nissan, which began development of fuel cell vehicle technology in 1996, has previously used FCVs in demonstration fleets in Japan [...]
Kyodo. Toyota Motor Corp. has received about 14,000 orders for its new Sai hybrid-only luxury compact sedan, one month after its introduction. (Earlier post.) The monthly sales target for Japan is 3,000 units.
The Sai, based on the platform also used for the Lexus HS 250h (earlier post), [...]
The Clean Sky Joint Undertaking (JU) is now flying solo. On 19 November, the European Commission granted the greening aeronautics initiative administrative and operational autonomy, so that it can implement its own budget and execute its own work plan from now on. The Clean Sky Joint Undertaking manages the [...]
Energy crop company Ceres, Inc. is working with CHOREN, a Biomass-to-Liquids (BTL) technology company, to optimize energy crops for thermochemical conversion to advanced low-carbon biofuels. The two-year bioenergy project is funded in part by a grant from the US Department of Energy. The thermochemical process does not require [...]
The Volvo Group has introduced a new online service—“Commute Greener”— which helps commuters become more environmentally aware. The service is accessed through a mobile phone or a web site on the internet and the program calculates how much carbon dioxide is emitted when using different modes of [...]
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, North Sea Petroleum and Spring Associates have established the SkyEnergy consortium to advance the production of biokerosene (renewable jet fuel). The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) will advise the consortium in relation to ecological aspects. KLM just completed a demonstration flight using a 50:50 [...]
Building on its experience in the research and development of advanced energy management concepts—including the engineering of kinetic energy recovery systems (KERS) for motorsport—Ricardo has devised Kinergy, a high-speed, hermetically-sealed flywheel energy storage system [...]
A study by researchers at Oklahoma State University concluded that of four perennial grasses that could be grown as dedicated biofuel feedstock crops—bermudagrass, flaccidgrass, switchgrass, and weeping lovegrass—switchgrass is the most efficient in terms of dry biomass per dollar cost.
An earlier US Department of Energy (DOE) and Department of [...]
SiGNa Chemistry, Inc., a developer of stabilized reactive metals for safer, more efficient industrial chemistry, announced the successful design, assembly, and initial testing of its H300 [...]
The US Department of Energy has selected Clemson University to receive up to $45 million under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for a wind energy test facility that will enhance the performance, durability, and reliability of utility-scale wind turbines.
Wind turbine sizes have increased with each new generation of [...]
GM Europe is launching the Chevrolet Spark (earlier post), providing more detail on the all-new mini car prior to its going on sale in Europe in the first quarter of 2010. The mini-car (A car) segment is the fastest [...]
UOP LLC used its renewable jet fuel process technology (earlier post) to convert oil from camelina, an inedible plant, to renewable jet fuel for a biofuel demonstration flight by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. (Earlier post.)
The flight, which took place today at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, is the [...]
Regulations on the development of “new energy” vehicles have been submitted to China’s State Council for approval and are expected to be officially in effect in March 2010, according to a report in Gasgoo citing the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
Earlier this year, China’s Ministry of Industry and [...]
Scientists at the Carnegie Institution have found for the first time that high pressure can be used to make a unique hydrogen-storage material. [...]
South Korean scientists from KAIST University and LG Chem have engineered a strain of E. coli to produce polylactic acid (PLA) and its copolymers through direct fermentation. Until now PLA has been produced in a two-step fermentation and chemical process of polymerization, which is both complex and expensive.
The [...]
The completion of a high-quality sequence of the maize (corn) genome was announced in the cover story of the 20 November issue of Science. This new maize sequence provides significant refinements over the draft sequence that was announced in February 2008, including the elimination of redundancy and improvements in [...]
Based on preliminary reports from the State Highway Agencies, total vehicle miles traveled on all roads and streets in the US increased by 2.5% (5.8 billion vehicle miles) for September 2009 as compared with September 2008, according to the latest Traffic Volume Trends report from the US Federal Highway Administration. [...]
University of California San Diego researchers have developed a method to enhance the [...]
The California Air Resources Board (ARB) has published a report evaluating the potential electromagnetic interference on certain portable devices such as cell phones, global positioning systems (GPS) and ankle monitoring bracelets due to automotive reflective glazing as required under the “Cool Car” regulation . (Earlier post.)
The results indicate [...]
Air pollution may pose an important but largely overlooked health concern for people living near smaller regional airports, according to a new study published in the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology.
In the new study, Suzanne Paulson and colleagues note that scientists have known for years [...]
With the Canadian energy industry seeking diversification from the US and potential greenhouse gsa regulations, the Globe and Mail reports that commercial backing is growing for Enbridge Inc.’s stalled Northern Gateway pipelines project.
The Northern Gateway Project. Click to enlarge.The Northern Gateway is a [...]
Engineers at the University of Dayton Research Institute (UDRI) have developed a solid-state, rechargeable lithium-air battery. When fully developed, the battery could exceed specific energies of 1,000 Wh/kg in practical applications, the researchers wrote [...]
India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) will implement rainwater harvesting in all the existing ONGC residential complexes across India. ONGC has made it mandatory to implement the system in all future projects also.
The objective of the scheme is to replenish the ground water table which is slowly [...]
At the recent Annual Winter Conference of the American Nuclear Society in Washington, and simultaneously at the “Powering Toward 2020” conference in London, England, Hyperion Power Generation Inc. revealed the design for the first version of its Hyperion Power Module (HPM), a small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) that it [...]
For the fifth consecutive year, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is reporting an increase in new vehicle fuel efficiency with a corresponding decrease in average carbon dioxide emissions for new [...]
Researchers from Delft University of Technology have engineered the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae to increase ethanol yield from biomass waste by eliminating production of glycerol (glycerol production is essential to reoxidize NADH produced in biosynthetic processes), reoxidizing NADH instead by the reduction of acetic acid to ethanol. A paper on [...]
Valero Energy Corporation intends to permanently shut down its Delaware City, Delaware refinery due to financial losses caused by very poor economic conditions, significant capital spending requirements and high operating costs.
Valero Delaware City Refinery. Click to enlarge.The Valero Delaware City Refinery, acquired [...]
Particles released by car brake pads have been shown to harm lung cells in vitro. Researchers writing in BioMed Central’s open access journal Particle and Fibre Toxicology found that heavy braking, as in an emergency stop, caused the most damage, but normal breaking and even close proximity to a [...]
A new study released today by the Northeast States Center for a Clean Air Future (NESCCAF) and the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) found that fuel consumption of Class 8 trucks and the resultant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions can be reduced up to 50% with the adoption of [...]
Total has signed a research agreement with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to develop new stationary batteries that are designed to enable the storage of solar power. This agreement valued at $4 million over five years is part of the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI), which Total joined as [...]
Silicon Valley Power (SVP), the Santa Clara, CA, municipal electric utility, has selected the light-weight 3M Aluminum Conductor Composite Reinforced (3M ACCR) to boost transmission capacity on an existing line without having to enlarge the towers or the right of way. This is SVP’s second installation of ACCR. [...]
Denmark’s Prince Joachim inaugurated the Inbicon biomass biorefinery in Kalundborg, Denmark, where ethanol will be produced from straw. In addition to bioethanol, the plant will also produce lignin biopellets and C5 molasses. The biopellets can be used as fuel at CPH plants, and the C5 molasses can be used [...]
Volvo Trucks North America’s D11 and D13 engines have been certified by the US Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board as meeting upcoming 2010 diesel emissions standards, the most stringent in the world.
Volvo is the first truck manufacturer to have its heavy-duty diesel engines certified [...]
The international automotive supplier Continental AG has opened its new Asia Headquarters and R&D Center in Shanghai’s Yangpu district, China. The Center aims to provide increased localization and advanced technical support to customers in the Chinese market.
Continental Automotive Tech Center Jiading, the other technical center in Shanghai, focuses on [...]
The California Air Resources Board unveiled its revamped website, Driveclean.ca.gov, which helps consumers choose the least polluting cars on the market. The new website, using information collected for vehicle certification in California, offers a practical system that ranks vehicles according to their emission characteristics and provides tools to compare [...]
ZeaChem Inc. has begun construction of its semi-works scale facility. The facility will have capacity to produce 250,000 gallons of biofuel per year. ZeaChem’s process combines the outputs of two traditional ethanol production pathways (fermentation of sugars and gasification of biomass) into a third catalytically-driven step—hydrogenation—to produce ethanol. ([...]
by Jack Rosebro
A view of Russian gas flaring based on satellite observations. Source: US NOAA and the World Bank-led Global Gas Flaring Reduction Partnership. (Video) Click to enlarge.The Russian government has ordered oil companies to take steps to capture up to 95% of the natural [...]
The US Department of Energy (DOE), through its Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity (AVTA) at Idaho National Laboratory (INL), has completed 1 million miles of plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) testing.
The AVTA’s testing of PHEVs demonstrates [...]
The diesel-powered E350 BlueTEC and hydrogen fuel-cell-powered F-Cell will be making their North American debuts at the 2009 Los Angeles Auto Show. Mercedes-Benz will also introduce its first hybrid SUV, the two-mode ML450 HYBRID, to the West Coast.
The E350 BlueTEC (earlier post) is powered by a 3.0-liter V6 [...]
Embraer, General Electric, and Amyris Biotechnologies, a synthetic biology company focused on developing renewable hydrocarbon biofuels (earlier post) signed [...]
The Opel Corsa is receiving a complete re-make for 2010, with major engineering changes, re-vamped powertrain line-up, chassis improvements and steering recalibration to give the Corsa better performance and greater fuel economy as well as comfort, handling and driving dynamics. The Corsa, which accounts for some 30% of Opel/Vauxhall [...]
