Green Car Congress Blog
greencarcongress.com
Report: Toyota To Halt Output Of Sai, Lexus Hybrids On Looming Recall
The Nikkei reports that Toyota Motor Corp. will suspend domestic production of its Sai and Lexus HS250h hybrids, which are to be recalled for faulty brakes, at the end of the week.
Japan?s top automaker intends to submit plans for a recall of the Prius hybrid to the Transport Ministry...
Coulomb Technologies Introduces New Open Billing System for ChargePoint Networked Plug-in Charging Stations; No Subscription Required
Coulomb Technologies has introduced a new, open Flex Billing system; beginning in July, users of ChargePoint Networked Charging Stations will no longer need a subscription to the ChargePoint Network. Owners of the charging stations (Hosts), including utilities, retailers, municipalities and...
GM Announces B20 Capability For 2011 Duramax 6.6L Turbo Diesel
GM? new lineup of heavy-duty diesel pickups will have B20 biodiesel capability.
To make the Duramax 6.6L and its fuel system compatible with B20, GM upgraded some seals and gasket materials to withstand the ester content of biodiesel and included an upgraded fuel filter that includes a...
ORNL Researchers Modify Plug-in Hybrid Electric Traction Drive Power Electronics to Function as On-Board Charger; Mobile Power Generation and V2G Support as Well
| The approach for hybrids using multiple inverters and motors (left) and a single inverter and motor (right). Additional components are shown in red. Each INV/CONV functions as a switch leg while splitting the current among the 6 switches. Source: Su. Click to enlarge. |
Researchers at the...
Mercedes Vito All-Electric Taxi Prototype Launches in London
Eco City Vehicles PLC (ECV), a developer and supplier of eco-friendly commercial vehicles and the London licensed taxi, launched an all-electric prototype of the London-licensed Mercedes Vito taxi, developed by a consortium of companies including ECV?s manufacturing partner Penso, Mercedes Benz UK...
AFE to Use Plasma Gasification of Waste in 25MW Power Project in Milwaukee
Alliance Federated Energy (AFE) last week announced the development of ?Project Apollo,? a $225-million, 25MW energy project located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Project Apollo plans to utilize Westinghouse Plasma Corp.?s (WPC) plasma gasification technology to process municipal and industrial wastes...
EDF Video Targets Fleet Reductions in CO2
The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) has introduced a new video, titled The Power of Scale, that outlines a few simple steps?such as rightsizing vehicles, reducing idling, planning an efficient route, and removing excess cargo?to guide companies with vehicle fleets in cutting costs and CO2...
India to Contribute Formally to IPCC Process
SciDev.net. The Indian Network for Climate Change Assessment (INCCA), formed in October 2009, will now contribute formally to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This marks the first institutional level involvement of Indian scientists with the IPCC; up to now, Indian scientists...
BASF and Embrapa?s Cultivance Soybeans Receive Approval for Commercial Cultivation in Brazil
Embrapa, the Brazilian Agricultural Research Cooperation, and BASF?s jointly developed herbicide-tolerant soybeans were green-lighted on 10 December 10 by CTNBio,the Brazilian Biosafety Technical Commission. Cultivance is the first genetically modified crop developed in Brazil, from laboratory to...
Recent Hybrid Braking Complaints Highlight Regenerative Braking Design Issues
| Comparison of regenerative/hydraulic (friction) braking ratios under normal braking. Left: 2001-2003 Toyota Prius (THS). Right: 2004-2009 Toyota Prius (THS-II). Source: Toyota Motor Company. Click to enlarge. |
by Jack Rosebro
Recent brake feel and application issues in Ford and Toyota...
Report: Toyota Will Also Recall Sai, Lexus HS250h
The Nikkei reports that Toyota Motor Corp. will begin recalling its Sai and Lexus HS250h hybrids, which use the same braking system as the company’s Prius hybrid, by the end of this month.
The company is believed to have decided to recall the latest model of its Prius due to concerns...
Better Place Opens First EV Demonstration Center; Dor Alon to Deploy Battery Switch Stations in Israel
Better Place announced the grand opening of the company?s first electric vehicle (EV) battery switch demonstration center in Israel. (Earlier post.)
The company marked the occasion by announcing the signing of 92 corporate fleet owners to date as well as a partnership with Dor Alon, one of...
Smith Electric Vehicles and Proton Power Sign MoU for Developing Commercial Electric Vehicle With Fuel Cell Range Extender; First Prototype at Hannover Fair 2010
Proton Power Systems recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Smith Electric Vehicles, the commercial electric vehicle division of The Tanfield Group Plc. Under the MoU both parties will collaborate to build and market a battery-powered commercial vehicle, equipped with a Proton...
Pratt & Whitney Offers PW4000 94-inch Upgrade Package; 1% Reduction in Fuel Burn
Pratt & Whitney will offer an Advantage Performance Upgrade package for the PW4000 94-inch family of aircraft engines that will deliver a 1% fuel burn reduction and improve engine durability. Other benefits of the package include lower greenhouse gas emissions, lower gas exhaust temperature and...
Southern California Governments Rejects Federal Ethanol Funding
LA Times. The Southern California Assn. of Governments rejected $11 million in federal stimulus money targeted to build 55 ethanol fueling stations across Southern California, saying it had policy concerns about ethanol as an alternative to gasoline.
Corn-based ethanol causes more harm than...
Mitsubishi Heavy Signs MOU with PBMR Pty on Development of Small-size Nuclear Power Generation Plant
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (Pty) Ltd (PBMR Pty) of the Republic of South Africa to study the area of collaboration in the development of the helium-cooled, High Temperature Reactor (HTR) Pebble Bed Modular...
Improving Life Cycle Assessment of US Grid Electricity
| Results of GIS statistical analysis for CO2: (a) eGrid subregion emissions factors (kg CO2/kWh), (b) average emissions factor for each district (kg CO2/kWh), (c) coefficient of variation of CO2 emissions factor by district, and (d) difference between eGrid subregion emissions factor and US... |
Nissan Enters into EV Partnership with City of Houston
Nissan is entering into an agreement with the City of Houston to advance zero-emission mobility in the city by promoting the development of an electric-vehicle charging network and policies to support widespread adoptions of electric cars.
The announcement, made at the Houston stop of the...
Pew Environment Report Says Melting Arctic Could Cost a Minimum of $2.4 Trillion by 2050
Rapid melting of the Arctic region could carry a minimum global cost of US$2.4 trillion by 2050, according to a new report, ?An Initial Estimate of the Cost of Lost Climate Services Due to Changes in the Arctic Cryosphere?, released by the Pew Environment Group.
We estimate that on an...
Volvo Group Enters Academic Partnership with Pennsylvania State University
The Volvo Group has chosenPennsylvania State University to be the first North American member of Volvo?s Academic Partner Program, which was launched globally in 2009 for research cooperation with selected universities.
Cooperation in Volvo?s Academic Partner Program encompasses research in...
ORNL Researchers Find Thermochemical Exhaust Heat Recuperation In Internal Combustion Engines Could Provide Substantial Boosts in Second-Law Efficiency
| Schematic of the conceptual ideal piston engine used for the TCR study. The outer control volume (CV0) encloses the entire system. The upper inner control volume (CV1) contains the combustion chamber and piston. The lower inner control volume (CV2) contains the reformer and intercooler. When... |
ZeaChem Achieves Industrial-Level Fermentation Results from Biorefining Process
ZeaChem Inc., a developer of biorefineries for the conversion of renewable biomass into fuels and chemicals, has achieved successful process scaling for its fermentation of acetic acid, an intermediate in the ZeaChem process, from 0.5 liter (lab-scale) to 5,000 liters.
ZeaChem?s process...
LG Chem to Supply Li-ion Batteries to Changan
Korea Times. LG Chem will supply lithium-ion batteries to China’s Chongqing Changan Auto for application in hybrids, beginning in the second half of this year.
Chongqing Changan, which has already introduced a hybrid van dubbed “CV11” last year in China, plans to sell a...
Ford Chennai Plant Begins Production of Ford Figo and New 1.2L Engine; New Flexible Engine Manufacturing Facility
| The first production Ford Figo was driven off the line Friday, 5 Feb. at Ford?s expanded Chennai Integrated Manufacturing Plant by Tom Chackalackal, vice president of manufacturing, Ford India. Click to enlarge. |
Ford has begun production of its the new Ford Figo (earlier post) and its new...
European Researchers Developing Multifunctional Structural Composite Material That Can Double as Energy Storage
Researchers from Imperial College London and their European partners, including Volvo Car Corporation, are developing a prototype multifunctional structural composite material composed of carbon fibers and a polymer resin which can store and discharge electrical energy and which is also strong...
smart fortwo cdi Brings Emissions Down to 86 gCO2/km
Engineers at smart have shaved another 2 gCO2/km from the smart fortwo cdi, bringing emissions down to 86 g/km (3.3 L/100km or 71.3 mpg US) in the manual ?softip? mode.
The measures taken included an improvement in the vehicle?s aerodynamics. A reduction in ride height by seven...
Mercedes-Benz Introducing More BlueTec EEV trucks
In extending its truck range, Mercedes-Benz will be gradually introducing EEV versions in certain output classes of the Mercedes-Benz Actros, Axor and Atego up to July 2010. BlueTec EEV is already part of the extended specification for the Mercedes-Benz Econic from January 2010.
EEV (Enhanced...
Greenergy Brazil JV to Source and Sell Brazilian Sugarcane Bioethanol
Greenergy International Ltd, one of the largest fuel suppliers in the UK, has entered into a joint venture with Bauche Group (30%), a leading expert in the sugarcane industry, to source and sell Brazilian bioethanol. The new business, Greenergy Brazil headquartered in Sao Paulo, has been...
US House Subcommittee Examines Geoengineering Strategies and Hazards
The US House Committee on Science and Technology?s Energy and Environment Subcommittee held a hearing to examine the scientific basis and engineering challenges of geoengineering, a term that encompasses a wide range of strategies to deliberately alter the Earth?s climate systems for the purpose...