Alternative Fuels Green Car Advisor Blog on Edmunds' Inside Line

November 20, 2009

California Launches Online Buying Guide That Rates Vehicles by Greenness

The California agency that sets the American standard for automotive emissions today unveiled a much-improved Website that helps consumers choose the least polluting cars on the market.

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Click on art to enlarge.
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The California Air Resources Board Website, using information collected for vehicle certification in the golden state, offers a practical and easy to use system that ranks vehicles according to their emission characteristics and provides tools to compare models.

The site allows visitors to view models by technology/fuel type, smog score, global-warming score and engine family. And there's a very smart tool that, with a click of your mouse, allows you to view all the tax incentives available for a particular model.

Last year, the agency adopted a state regulation requiring automakers to affix the Environmental Performance Label to California showroom models that convey the vehicle's smog and greenhouse-gas emissions. The simply illustrated graphic has two rankings, from one to 10, that depict vehicle emissions. The higher the score, the less polluting it is.

Driveclean.ca.gov puts these same rankings in an online format, making them practical for web research. The Website also provides information about clean-car technology and guides users to consider the emissions of the models they are evaluating.

We salute CARB, once again, for taking another significant step to make the world we live in a healthier place.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett November 20, 2009, 8:15 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Butanol, Coal, Compressed Air, Diesel, Emissions, Ethanol, Flex-Fuel, Fuel Cell, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Hydrogen, LPG, Legislation, Manufacturers, Methanol, Motorcycles, Natural Gas, Oil, Plug-ins and Electric, Solar, Tax Incentives
Technorati Tags:: Alternative Fuels and Vehicles

November 17, 2009

Tickets, Tickets, Get Your Red Hot Tickets to the Bloomberg Cars & Fuels Briefing!

Are you in the LA area with the desire and ability to spend Tuesday, December 1 becoming more enlightened about the automotive and energy industries?

The first five people to send an e-mail to pr@edmunds.com noting the make and model of their vehicle and their age (or age range if preferred) will receive a free ticket to attend the Bloomberg Cars & Fuels Briefing - a day of business and information where a small group of advanced auto and fuels technology industry leaders will gather to strategize on the latest ideas and deals.

Award-winning Bloomberg journalists will lead discussions with pioneers including advanced auto technologies investor Vinod Khosla, Honda energy and environmental stragegy director Robert Bienenfeld, Tesla Motors business development chief Diarmuid O'Connell, plug-in hybrid builder and designer Henrik Fisker and oil expert David Sandalow, the federal Energy Department's assistant secretary for policy and international affairs.

Edmunds.com CEO Jeremy Anwyl and GreenCarAdvisor Senior Editor John O'Dell will also take the stage.

Don't miss a chance to be one 100 guests to hear about the latest in biofuel technology, advanced autos, research on the new automotive customer, and the roles India, China and Korea will play in this rapidly evolving market.

For more information visit the event Website.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell November 17, 2009, 3:25 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Hybrid, Oil, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Bloomberg Cars Fuels Briefing

November 16, 2009

Daimler Debuts Third-Generation Mercedes-Benz Fuel-Cell-Hybrid Bus for Testing

Daimler today debuted its third-generation Mercedes-Benz Citaro fuel-cell-hybrid bus at the site in Hamburg, Germany, where 10 of the buses enter service next year.

In addition, the Hamburger Hochbahn public-transport company will take delivery of 20 Mercedes-Benz B-class fuel-cell cars starting next year.

The buses will take part in large-scale fleet trials scheduled to take place in Hamburg and other European cities as part of a follow-up to real-world hydrogen-vehicle testing in the the European Union from 2003 to the present.

Vehicles participation in the testing "performed outstandingly," Daimler said in a press release distributed Monday, adding that their total operating time exceeded 140,000 hours and the buses covered a total of more than 1.35 million miles.

Daimler said that due to improved fuel-cell components and hybridization with lithium-ion batteries, the latest version of the Citaro fuel-cell-hybrid bus consumes almost 50 percent less hydrogen than the preceding generation.

The operating range of the fuel-cell bus is 155 miles and the fuel-cell drive system is also practically maintenance-free and has a long operating life.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett November 16, 2009, 11:23 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Daimler, Emissions, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Mercedes-Benz
Technorati Tags:: Alternate Fuel

Tennessee Researchers Investigate Potential of Producing Hydrogen From Algae

A team of Tennessee researchers is trying to use algae to produce hydrogen that could be used as automotive fuel.

Despite its energy potential, hydrogen has not taken off as an alternative fuel source because of the expensive, high-energy and sometimes climate-changing processes required to produce it.

The Tennessee team - led by professor Barry Bruce of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville -- wants to use photosynthesis as a clean, efficient and sustainable source of hydrogen.

"We're looking for solutions that already exist in nature," Bruce said. "We're trying to peel back some of the barriers and make them work in the near future."

The team's research, published in last week's issue of Nature Nanotechnology, involves separating a tiny particle used by algae during photosynthesis and coupling it with a platinum catalyst to produce hydrogen when exposed to light.

"Compared to things like converting pharmaceuticals to drugs, this is pretty straightforward," Bruce said.

Bruce's team is not the first to use photosynthetic microorganisms as a hydrogen fuel source, but other researchers have not found a way to efficiently use the reaction at the high temperatures that would exist in a system designed to harness sunlight.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); Scott Doggett November 16, 2009, 10:24 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Emissions, Energy Companies, Hydrogen
Technorati Tags:: Algae

November 13, 2009

Monthly Cost of Nissan Leaf EV Will Equal Fully Loaded Civic and Fuel, Nissan Says

Pricing has not been set yet on Nissan's Leaf electric car (pictured), which will see limited distribution starting late next year, but the automaker's top marketing executive for North America told us today that the monthly cost to the consumer should be equivalent to the monthly cost of a fully loaded Honda Civic plus its fuel.

(Article updated 11/13/09 to correct pricing.)

That means the purchase price (about $28,000) or comparable monthly payment for a high-end Civic plus the cost of the gasoline it would need to cover 1,200 miles (at 30 MPG and $3/gallon, about $120), said Brian Carolin, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Nissan North America.

Although Nissan's global plan is to sell the zero-emissions car without battery and to lease the battery to car buyers at a cost roughly equal to the $120 calculated above, both Carolin and Mark Perry, Nissan's director of product planning and advanced technology strategy for North America, told GreenCarAdvisor that Nissan has not yet decided how to price the package in the U.S.

"We may sell the car and battery together, we may lease it as a package, or we may sell the car and lease the battery," Carolin said. "We just haven't decided yet."

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett November 13, 2009, 1:12 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Batteries, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Honda, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: EV

Energy Dept., USDA Award $24 Million in Biofuels and Bioenergy Research Grants

The U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Energy today announced $24 million in research-and-development grants for biofuels, bioenergy and high-value biobased products.

Of the $24.4 million, the Energy Department plans to invest up to $4.9 million with the USDA contributing up to $19.5 million.

The grant recipients announced today will contribute a minimum of 20 percent of matching funds for R&D projects and 50 percent of matching funds for demonstration projects.

Awardees include:

Gevo, Inc. (Englewood, CO) up to $1,780,862: to develop a yeast fermentation organism that can cost-effectively convert cellulosic-derived sugars into isobutanol, a second generation biofuel/biobased product.
Exelus, Inc. (Livingston, NJ) up to $1,200,000: to develop a biomass-to-gasoline technology that represents a fundamental shift in process chemistry and overall approach to creating biofuels.
Purdue University (West Lafayette, IN) up to $933,883: to develop an analysis of the global impacts of second generation biofuels in the context of other energy technologies and alternative economic and climate change policy options.
University of Minnesota (St. Paul, MN) up to, $2,715,007: to assess the environmental sustainability and capacity of forest-based biofuel feedstocks within the Lake States region.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett November 13, 2009, 8:19 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Emissions
Technorati Tags:: Alternative Fuels and Vehicles

November 12, 2009

Edmunds.com: EPA's Fuel Economy Guide Should Be Based on Cost, Not Mileage

By John O'Dell and Scott Doggett

(Updated 11/13/09 to correct Chevy Aveo monthly fuel figure.)

"Miles per gallon" made sense when all cars drank gas, or diesel, and that was that.

But with the advent of rechargeable electric vehicles, whether all-electric or plug-in hybrid, the fuel-use scene gets quickly blurred.

How many miles per gallon do you assign to a Nissan Leaf, with a lithium-ion battery and no fuel tank or internal combustion engine?

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Edmunds.com proposes the EPA scrap its mileage-based fuel-economy guide, right, for one built on fuel costs.
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And how does a car shopper compare the Leaf, or any of the other all-electric cars heading our way in the next decade, to a gasoline-burning Honda Fit or a Ford Fusion hybrid or, to complicate things even more, compare any of those cars to a Chevrolet Volt or other extended-range plug-in hybrid that uses gasoline and electricity from the commercial power grid.?

Can't be done - unless the consumer's an electrical engineer with a minor in math.

To make it easier and more accurate for consumers to get honest comparative information, Edmunds.com is proposing to the EPA that it replace the mileage-based fuel-economy stickers it's been putting on new cars since 1975 with stickers that display monthly fuel costs.

That's right, replace MPG with MFC.

Then consumers could see that at 1,250 miles a month, a 2010 Toyota Prius would cost, on a national average, $67 a month at the pump, while an electric Mini E would cost $49 a month to "fill" from a 220-volt charger in the consumer's garage; the monthly gasoline bill for a four-cylinder Chevrolet Aveo would be ~~$11~~ $111, and a 2011 Chevrolet Volt - running on gas and electricity - would cost $54.

That's information people can use to make informed decisions.

Edmunds.com - our parent - is submitting its recommendation and rationale in a letter being sent Friday morning to the agency and to the Department of Transportation.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (4); Scott Doggett November 12, 2009, 4:44 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Legislation, Manufacturers, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Department of Transportation

November 11, 2009

Jet Plains: Grasses, Woods and Mustards Hold Key for Aviation Fuels

As we've previously reported, the U.S. military is buying advanced biofuels for testing in jet aircraft.

That's because while green electrons will increasingly replace gasoline as the fuel propelling automobiles, the conventional wisdom is that aviation has nowhere to go but biofuels.

Since our last report on biofuels for jet aircraft -- a subject that interests us because biofuel development for the aircraft industry will likely generate better biofuels for automobiles -- there have been some newsworthy events in the biomass and biograss arenas that may be of interest to you.

In California, Ceres recently announced that it plans to expand an advanced trait development project to increase biomass yields of several energy grasses by as much as 40 percent in coming years, while simultaneously decreasing the use of inputs such as nitrogen fertilizers.

Projections indicate that the Ceres traits alone could displace 1.3 billion barrels of oil and 58 million tons of coal over a 10-year period. And depending on cropping practices, 1.2 million tons of nitrogen fertilizer could be eliminated (about the amount of nitrogen needed for 24 million acres of cotton), among other benefits.

The three-year project is expected to begin next month. Ceres researchers will test its advanced traits in a variety of energy grasses such as switchgrass, sorghum and miscanthus.

Also in California, ViaSpace announced it has applied to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to trademark "Giant King" as a unique brand of grass. The company claims the grass has unique characteristics that give it enormous potential as a leading source of low-carbon renewable energy.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett November 11, 2009, 9:36 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Emissions, Fuel Economy
Technorati Tags:: Alternate Fuel

Opportunity Green 2009: Event's Transportation Panel Sounds Somber Notes

Panelists Say Earth-Friendly Future Won't Come Easy For Private Transportation

Although predominately a business-oriented exploration of environmental practices and processes the Opportunity Green 2009 conference at UCLA this weekend promised transportation geeks a look at ideas of personal mobility in a green future.

We're not sure it followed through, as the program became in part a promotion of the Mini E electric vehicle program - thanks to the event's sponsorship by Mini USA - and in part an examination of the obstacles still in the way of truly green mobility.

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Passer-by eyes Mini E parked on UCLA campus during Opportunity Green conference.
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Thus the opening of the panel entitled "The Next Generation of Transportation," consisted of a somber warning from moderator Dan Neil, the L.A. Times' Pulitzer Prize-winning auto critic.

"I'm sorry," he opined, "but I fear that society cannot magically make the wide, sweeping changes needed in transportation without suffering" the same far-reaching government and corporate grab for control "that we see coming in health care."

Event sponsor Mini, of course, disagreed - the company was there to persuade eco-friendly professionals that parent BMW, a fossil fuel-burning company of global proportions, is finding its inner green machine and that the right answers to our transportation needs are on the way.

Spotlighting the Mini E and offering test drives to the participants of the event, Mini collected input from drivers about their experiences to add to the data its in-house green team will use as it plans the BMW's eco-friendly future.

Neil pointed out in the transportation session that the Mini E is a not-ready-for-prime-time electric car - not with that "beautifully upholstered lithium battery pack in the back seat," taking up room most drivers would want for passengers and cargo.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell November 11, 2009, 5:00 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, BMW, Biofuels, Diesel, Ethanol, Fuel Cell, Hybrid, Hydrogen, MINI, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Opportuity Green 2009 Future Transportation Panel

November 10, 2009

China Approves Methanol as Clean-Burning Alternative to Gasoline

China's ministry for standards has approved nationwide use of methanol as a motor vehicle fuel as the petroleum-guzzling country attempts to curtail its appetite for crude oil.

Methanol, or methyl alcohol - a popular fuel for high-powered drag racing cars in the U.S. - is most commonly produced from natural gas but can be made from coal or wood waste. One of its common names, in fact, is wood alcohol.

The Chinese standard permits it to be mixed with gasoline in blends of up to M85, or 85 percent methanol, 15 percent gasoline.

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Methanol from China in stoppered sample bottles.
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The fuel once was popular as a gasoline alternative in the U.S., but rising prices even as gasoline prices were falling killed interest in methanol in the mid 1990s and it since has been replaced in the U.S. by ethanol.

Methanol also can be produced from coal, which China burns in huge quantities to fuel its power plants.

China is actively encouraging use of alternatives to oil including solar power, hydrogen fuel cells and alternative fuels such as methanol.

It also sees the clean-burning fuel as a way of reducing the killer air pollution in many of its cities.

Geely Holdings, one of the country' largest automakers, already has developed flex-fuel methanol-gasoline systems and Chery Automobile is working on similar systems, according to analysts at IHS Global insight.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell November 10, 2009, 10:50 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Chery, China, Methanol
Technorati Tags:: Alternative Fuels

November 6, 2009

Fisker Receives Danish American Innovation Award for Karma Plug-In Hybrid

It's not often automakers get noticed for doing something good, so we though we'd bring this tidbit about car designer-turned builder Henrik Fisker to your attention as a break from our usual Firday fare.

Fisker showed off his upcoming Karma plug-in hybrid Thursday evening to a crowd of about 200 close friends, and future customers, at an event in Santa Monica highlighted by presentation of the Danish-American Chamber of Commerce's 2009 innovation award to Fisker.

The native of Denmark, now CEO of California-based Fisker Automotive, was honored for "providing outstanding contributions and innovation addressing critical issues" with is work to bring a new line of highly fuel-efficient luxury automobiles to market.

The $88,000 Karma, which initially will be built in Finland while Fisker readies a former GM plant in Delaware for production in 2012 of line of less-expensive, "family-oriented" plug-in hybrid sedans, is slated to begin arriving for customer delivery in mid-2010.

Pictured from left at Thursday evening's award fete are Friis Arne Petersen, Danish Ambassador to the US; Torben Aaskov, President of Danish American Chamber; Fisker; and Johs Worsoe, Executive Vice President of Union Bank, which sponsored the award.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell November 6, 2009, 10:24 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Fisker, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Danish American Chamber of Commerce

November 5, 2009

Leadng Chinese Automaker to Invest $879 Million Into Alternative Power Push

Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp., one of China's largest automakers, said it plans to invest 6 billion yuan ($879 million) in developing alternative-fuel vehicles and related technologies in the next two years.

SAIC's chairman, Hu Maoyuan, said the money would be equally divided among research, product development and component and vehicle manufacturing programs from now though 2011.

The company plans to launch a line of hybrid and all-electric cars in China under the Roewe brand by 2012 and reportedly has begin testing a plug-in hybrid system of its own design.

The effort is part of a drive to fulfill the government's request that 5 percent of all passenger vehicles built in China by 2011 use alternative powertrains and that each Chinese automaker have at least one electric, hybrid or other alternative model in its lineup.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell November 5, 2009, 3:43 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, China, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Alternative Powetrian Research

November 4, 2009

Gas From Trash: North California Landfill Dump Producing 13,000 Gallons a Day

Recycling at work: Trash hauler Waste Management Inc. says it will be able to produce up to 13,000 gallons of liquefied natural gas daily to fuel 300 of its trash trucks using methane gas from decomposing garbage at one of its large Northern California landfill dumps.

The company, which has been involved in waste-to-energy programs for nearly 40 years, has installed a $15.5 million biogas collection and refining system at its Altamont Landfill near Livermore in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The German-made system removes impurities from the methane and chills it to minus 260 degrees Fahrenheit to liquefy it so it can be pumped directly into the trash trucks' tanks.

We can't help but wonder how many gallons a weekly residential curbside garbage can would be good for and whether there's any future in, say, neighborhood waste-to-gas programs? Perhaps a monthly voucher good for your garbage's equivalent of LNG at the local dump pump?

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell November 4, 2009, 9:43 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Natural Gas, Recycling
Technorati Tags:: Biogas

October 20, 2009

Field Narrows to Final 43 in $10 Million Progressive Automotive X Prize Contest

From Gas to Electric, 3-Wheelers to Exotics, Contestants Vie to Build 100 MPG Vehicles

Students from West Philadelphia High School are youngest competitors, but no slouches when it comes to design or performance, as shown by their Alternative category entry, the biodiesel-electric EVX-GT hybrid sports car. The school also has a diesel-electric hybrid Ford Focus in the Conventional class.

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Judges for the Progressive Automotive X Prize contest have winnowed the field in the race for $10 million in prize money for building the best 100 MPG ~~MPH~~ car to the final 43 teams.

The teams will enter a total of 53 vehicles (there are different categories, so multiple entries are possible) in a competition pitting them against one another in a variety of road and safety tests.

All the finalists already have survived two design judging rounds that pared the number of entries from the original 111 teams with 135 vehicles.

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The Progressive Automotive X Prize was launched at last year's New York Auto Show.

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The contest, aimed at inspiring green-car development, was announced more than 18 months ago. It challenges contestants to design, build and operate a commercially viable vehicles that can deliver fuel economy of at least 100 miles per gallon - or the equivalent.

Part of the competition involves presenting a marketing plan to the judges, who will decide if the vehicle has real-world possibilities.

Among them, the final entrants use 14 different fuels including gasoline and electricity, with battery-electric and hybrid-electric the most popular types of powertrains.

In the hybrid-electric category, teams are entering vehicles whose internal combustion engines run on gasoline, diesel biodiesel, ethanol, butanol and compressed natural gas.

There are even three entries that use plain old gasoline as their sole fuel.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (3); John O'Dell October 20, 2009, 3:20 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Butanol, Diesel, Ethanol, Fuel Economy, Fuels & Technologies, Hybrid, Natural Gas, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: 100 MPG Car

October 15, 2009

Vancouver Electric Vehicle Converter Taking Aim at U.S. City Fleet Business

Governments' Clean Fleet Mandates Creating Huge Market for Workhorse EVs

Canadian EV-converter Rapid Electric Vehicles has signed the City of Santa Monica, Caif., as the first U.S. customer for its Ford Escape-based REV 300 ACX electric sport utility.

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REV showed off its Ford Escape conversion at the recent 2009 AltCar Expo in Santa Monica.

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REV, based in Vancouver, British Columbia, makes and installs a conversion package that includes the electric powertrain and power management system that replace the gasoline powertrain in Ford Escape SUVs.

The city selected REV "because they have a high-quality conversion" that can help move it toward its goal of a zero-emissions fleet, fleet superintendent Rick Sikes said in a statement issued by REV.

The company is talking to other U.S. fleets and earlier this month announced a preliminary agreement with the city of Inglewood, Calif.

REV is targeting cities and other government agencies because EVs, though expensive up front, can often save a fleet operation money in the long run due to their reduced maintenance and operating. Most government fleets are required to purchase low-carbon, fuel efficient vehicles and many have federal or state funding to offset the higher purchase cost of electric vehicles.

It's a potentially huge market, with more than 30 million government and commercial fleet vehicles in the U.S.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell October 15, 2009, 11:55 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Ford, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Electric Vehicle Conversions

October 13, 2009

Michelin Awards Environmental Performance in American Le Mans Series

Lowe's Fernandez Acura driven by Adrian Fernandez and Luis Diaz took top green honors in the American Le Mans Series prototype class as winner of the annual Michelin Green X Challenge for finishing highest with the lowest environmental impact.

Gil de Ferran, Simon Pagenaud and their LMP Acura took the checkered flag in the prototype class at this past weekend's American Le Mans Series final at Laguna Seca, but the increasingly important 'green' flag was captured by another team of prototype Acura drivers.

Edmunds.com photo editor Kurt Niebhur was there to take in the race and filed this report for Green Car Advisor on the environmental aspect of the competition.
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Race for the Green

Racing and environmentalism might seem to run on different sides of the track, but the Michelin Green X Challenge just might have something to say about that.

Started in 2008, the Michelin Green X Challenge was formed by the tire maker in conjunction with a major racing series, the American Le Mans Series (ALMS), the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy and the Society of Automotive Engineers International.

As a race within a race, the Green X Challenge awards points to cars - and drivers - based on four different criteria; releasing the least amount of CO2, displacing the least amount of petroleum, excelling in energy efficiency during a race weekend, and last, but by no means least, finishing position.

As testament to the fairness of the rules in both the ALMS and the Green X Challenge, the 2009 Season saw nine different cars from eight different teams representing five different manufacturers. All teams involved ran on E10 ethanol blended gasoline, E85R gasoline blended ethanol, GTL biodiesel or E10 with electric hybrid power.

For the 2009 season, the winners of the Michelin Green X Challenge were the #15 Lowe's Fernandez Acura, driven by Adrian Fernandez and Luis Diaz, in the Prototype category, and the #44 Flying Lizard Porsche, driven by Seth Neiman and Johannes Van Overbeek, in the GT category.

With the success of the Green X Challenge, as well as the focus these days on environmental responsibility, it came as no surprise that Michelin announced it would continue the challenge through the 2010 American Le Mans Series..

Kurt Niebuhr, Photo Editor

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Photo courtesy of ALMS

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell October 13, 2009, 5:15 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Diesel, Ethanol, Hybrid
Technorati Tags:: American Le Mans Series

October 12, 2009

Hydrogen Cars Getting Closer, More Affordable; Lack of Fuel Network Threatens

U.S. Trails Asia, Europe in Providing Hydrogen Fueling Infrastructure, Automakers Warn

Automakers aiming to meet California's revised Zero Emission Vehicles mandate requirements have pushed the fuel-cell electric car much closer to reality than many realize, according to a report by Bloomberg news service.

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Rendering of advanced fuel station near Los Angeles International Airport touts hydrogen as the fuel of tomorrow.
Automakers say that without more such stations, that vision won't be realized.
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Not only is the technology almost ready for prime time, reporter Alan Ohnsman found that automakers such as Toyota, Daimler, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Renault, Nissan and General Motors now believe they can bring fuel cell vehicles to market by 2015 with price premium of just $3,600 over the average price of a comparable midsized gasoline model.

But the technology and price breakthroughs won't mean much if the U.S. government's infrastructure priorities aren't altered to include encouragement of a hydrogen fueling system

If the U.S. doesn't get moving, it will fall behind Europe and Asia - where governments are actively promoting hydrogen fueling - in the race to replace oil as a motor vehicle fuel, GM and others warn.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell October 12, 2009, 10:23 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Daimler, Fuel Cell, General Motors, Honda, Hydrogen, Hyundai, Kia, Nissan, Renault, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Hydrogen Fuel Cell Cars

October 9, 2009

Jetsons Anyone? Micro-Turbines Could Give Maxi Boost to EV Battery Range

By Nick Kurczewski, Contributor

Borrowing from Fifties-era dream machines like GM's Firebird - with a nod to George Jetson's flying car - a Dutch engineering firm is rolling out a jet turbine technology it says will provide a much needed boost for tomorrow's electric vehicles.

The company, Micro Turbine Technology (MTT), is developing extremely small gas turbines to be used as for things as mundane as generating auxiliary cabin power for big-rig trucks and exciting as extending the travel range of electric cars.

MTT's not alone. A similar turbine range-extender system is being developed by an Israeli company, ETV Motors.

An 'electric jet-car' brings up images of wildly futuristic machinery, but cars powered with this technology would have more in common with real-world hybrids such as the Toyota Prius or upcoming Chevrolet Volt.

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Chrysler experimented with turbine power in the early 1960s.

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MTT's powertrain would use the micro-turbine as an on-board generator to supply the cars' batteries with extra energy when needed. The turbine, like the gas-powered engine-generator in a Chevy Volt, would never provide power directly to the driven wheels.

MTT claims its micro-turbine is ideal as a range extender, more efficient than a traditional internal combustion engine-generator thanks to its small volume, low weight and simple design using few moving parts.

One plus is that, unlike failed past attempts at turbine-powered cars and racing machines, the micro turbine being developed by MTT is meant only to complement an electric powertrain.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (2); John O'Dell October 9, 2009, 9:42 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Fuel Economy, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: EV

October 5, 2009

Home-Brewed Ethanol Guru Brings Message To Peterson Auto Museum

Green Living Advocates Ed Begley Jr., Daryl Hannah Converted Cars for Program

By Danny King, Contributor

LOS ANGELES - "It's so easy, even an actor can do it," quipped Daryl Hannah as fellow thespian and environmental activist Ed Begley Jr. installed an alcohol-fuel conversion kit in his Toyota Prius.

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Ethanol proponent David Blume and actress Daryl Hannah look on as Actor Ed Begley Jr., adds a bi-fuel conversion kit to his 2001 Prius.
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The contraption, which costs $367 for a four-cylinder engine and is about the size of a Walkman (remember those?), essentially reprogrammed the computer in Begley's 2001 Prius so that the hybrid car could efficiently use ethanol - a form of alcohol - in addition to unleaded gasoline.

Installation time? Less than 10 minutes - if you don't have on older car, like Hannah's Trans Am, which required a whole new fuel injection system before it could be converted.

The demonstration at the Peterson Automotive Museum was the centerpiece of an event hosted by the International Institute for Ecological Agriculture (IIEA), led by Begley, Hannah and author and IIEA executive director David Blume, who sells the conversion kits on his Web site.

Blume, who wrote the first version of his book "Alcohol Can Be a Gas!" in 1983, has for decades been preaching the virtues of alcohol as a cheaper, more widely available, less-polluting alternative fuel to gasoline.

Ethanol isn't universally attractive, though.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell October 5, 2009, 3:00 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Ethanol
Technorati Tags:: Daryl Hannah

October 2, 2009

GAO Calls for Wider Environmental Reviews, Lower Federal Ethanol Subsidy

Congress should require U.S. EPA to consider more widely the environmental effects of biofuels production when deciding which fuels are eligible under the federal biofuels use mandate, according to congressional investigators.

The suggestion is one part of a wide-ranging Government Accountability Office report released today on increased biofuels production. A 2007 law requires the amount of biofuels in the nation's transportation fuels mix to reach 36 billion gallons by 2022.

"For the environment, many experts believe that increased biofuels production could impair water quality -- by increasing fertilizer runoff and soil erosion -- and also reduce water availability, degrade air and soil quality, and adversely affect wildlife habitat," the report states.

"However, the extent of these effects is uncertain and could be mitigated by such factors as improved crop yields, feedstock selection, use of conservation techniques, and improvements in biorefinery processing," it adds. Future increases in use of cellulosic feedstocks -- such as grasses and crop wastes -- can reduce harmful effects, GAO notes.

The 2007 law that boosted the renewable fuels standard requires biofuels to have lower lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions, by varying degrees, than fossil fuels.

But GAO says Congress should weigh amending that law by requiring EPA to more widely assess the environmental effects of increased production. And EPA should use this wider review to determine which fuels qualify under the standard.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett October 2, 2009, 1:57 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Emissions, Energy Companies, Ethanol, Legislation
Technorati Tags:: Alternate Fuel

September 25, 2009

Conversion Firm AFVTech Developing 600-Horsepower Dedicated CNG Hot Rod

CNG conversion company AFVTech Inc. is developing a dedicated compressed natural gas hot rod (pictured) based on a 1933 Ford Roadster to make a statement.

That statement being "that natural gas can be fun to drive, fast and wrapped up in a package that will turn heads," said AFVTech President Kevin Fern in a statement today.

"We are investing a lot of engineering time in this project, highlighting the technological advancements that we use in the Natural Drive Dedicated EPA Certified CNG retrofit systems," he said.

What might those be, you ask?

Well, the CNG Hot Rod features:

A modified General Motors LS7 7-liter engine producing more than 600 horsepower (it's hand-built by GM's Performance Build Center in Wixom, Michigan; most are installed in the Corvette Z06).
Drive-by-wire engine management system (replaces the traditional mechanical and hydraulic control systems with electronic control systems using electromechanical actuators and human-machine interfaces such as pedal and steering feel emulators).
4-wheel ABS disc brakes with selectable traction control (a good thing, considering how easy it would be to lose control of this steel beast).

Fern promises lots of other features not found in your run-of-the-mill '33 Ford Roadster -- as if he hadn't gotten our attention yet. The vehicle will debut at the AFVI trade show in Las Vegas in May 2010.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett September 25, 2009, 3:59 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Auto Shows, Ford, Natural Gas
Technorati Tags:: 1933 Ford Roadster

Natural Gas Retailer Clean Energy Acquiring Conversion Systems Maker BAF

Natural gas giant Clean Energy Fuels Corp. says it is acquiring BAF Technologies, a major manufacturer of natural gas fuel conversion systems.

BAF, based in Dallas, Texas, largely serves the commercial fleet market, but Clean Energy apparently plans to use its not inconsiderable clout as low-carbon fuels supplier to help BAF break into the passenger vehicle market.

It's a neat deal as the more conversion systems BAF can sell, the more customers there will be for Clean Energy's liquid and compressed natural gas fuels.

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Clean Energy believes that as automakers seek to lower their greenhouse gas emissions, natural gas will become a popular fuel instead of being limited to auto show concepts such as the CNG-electric hybrid from Toyota shown here.

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In its announcement this morning, Clean Energy - co-founded by energy magnate T.Boone Pickins, who remains a major shareholder and frequent spokesman for the publicly-traded company - said it believes domestic automakers "have been remiss in not making NGVs [natural gas vehicles] available in the United States, even though the same companies produce numerous makes and models overseas," where natural gas-powered cars and trucks are commonplace in many countries.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell September 25, 2009, 9:43 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Natural Gas
Technorati Tags:: BAF Technologies

September 22, 2009

Publication Looks at Who's Getting Biofuels Funds Now, and How

In an article published today, Biofuels Digest takes a look at the creative financing sources being used to fund biofuel research and development today.

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Right, mining for coal in Wyoming.
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It notes, for example, that many strategies have been mooted, but one perennial is still popular: Have the cheapest way to make a load of sugar. Simple sugars are the new gold, Biofuels Digest points out. If you can make it fast enough and cheap enough, "customers and their own financing backers will beat a path to your door."

Sometimes, though, you can just be the biggest, baddest sugar project in a local market, even if your technology is not quite ready for the 22nd century. The article goes on to describe a Philippine project that went down just such a road, obtaining $30 million in equity from the Japanese firm Itochu and others.

But nothing is getting funded in bioenergy this year quite as fast and furiously as algae-related ventures. These young companies, the "baby bloomers" as Biofuels Digest calls them, have been landing scads of venture capital and public funding, leaving their brethren in advanced bioenergy scratching their heads in wonder, disbelief, and occasionally a bit of spite.

The publication describes how a government-funded project in Arizona landed $70.5 million based on stimulating green jobs in a depressed region, and as a carbon strategy. Not to mention the promise of fuel, and biochar that can be converted into energy at a higher clip than simply burning biomass.

And then there's the funding source we all know only too well: public-private partnerships. They have been a hallmark of bioenergy projects for quite a while, but perhaps never more importantly than now, when local authorities despair over rising costs of landfills, and bioenergy developers are hard-pressed to raise the benjamins for their projects.

A Canadian partnership between the city of Edmonton, the province of Alberta (home province of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper) and Enerkem shows how it can get done, Biofuels Digest reports, not only for a waste-to-energy project, but an R&D center to boot.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett September 22, 2009, 1:55 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Coal, Emissions, Energy Companies, Fuel Economy
Technorati Tags:: Algae Refining

September 18, 2009

Study: U.S. Subsidies for Fossil Fuels Are More Than Twice Those for Renewables

The vast majority of U.S. federal subsidies for fossil fuels and renewable energy from 2002-2008 supported fossil energy sources that emit high levels of greenhouse gases when used as fuel, according to research released today by the Environmental Law Institute in partnership with the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

Applying a conservative approach, the respected organizations found that the U.S. government provided substantially larger subsidies to fossil fuels than to renewable fuels.

Subsidies to fossil fuels -- a mature, developed industry that has enjoyed government support for many years -- totaled approximately $72 billion over the study period, representing a direct cost to taxpayers.

Over the same period, subsidies for renewable fuels -- a relatively young and developing industry -- totaled $29 billion, the study found. What's more, of the $29 billion, more than half -- $16.8 billion -- went toward corn-based ethanol, the climate effects of which are hotly disputed.

The study also found that most of the largest subsidies to fossil fuels were written into the U.S. Tax Code as permanent provisions. By comparison, many subsidies for renewables were time-limited initiatives implemented through energy bills, with expiration dates that limit their usefulness to the renewables industry.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett September 18, 2009, 1:32 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Emissions, Energy Companies, Ethanol, Legislation, Oil, Plug-ins and Electric, Solar, Tax Incentives
Technorati Tags:: Climate Change

September 14, 2009

Chevron Inks Feedstock Deal With Cellulosic Ethanol Startup Mascoma

The New England biofuels startup Mascoma Corp. said today that it has entered a feedstock deal with Chevron Corp.'s alternative technology arm.

Under terms of the agreement, Houston-based Chevron Technology Ventures will supply Mascoma with lignocellulosic feedstock, including wood chips, switchgrass and agricultural waste. Mascoma plans to use genetically modified bacteria to break down and ferment the hearty biomass into cellulosic ethanol at a demonstration plant in Rome, N.Y.

Chevron -- which already has a research and development alliance with the algal biodiesel maker Solazyme Inc. -- plans to use a thermal process to convert Mascoma's leftover lignin into a liquid petroleum replacement, such as biodiesel or jet fuel, explained Kate Casolaro, a Mascoma spokeswoman.

"People have asked, 'Aren't you using up all of the good stuff?'" Casolaro said. "Actually, lignin is still very energy-rich."

The companies declined to disclose financial details of the feedstock supply deal, which will span two years.

In the meantime, Mascoma plans to hire a new chief executive to begin work on a commercial-scale ethanol refinery in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

Last month, former CEO Bruce Jamerson switched to the role of chairman of Lebanon, N.H.-based Mascoma and its Michigan subsidiary, Frontier Renewable Resources LLC. Jim Flatt, Mascoma's former executive vice president of research, development and operations, will serve as the company's acting president until a CEO is hired.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett September 14, 2009, 5:02 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels
Technorati Tags:: Alt Fuel

2009 Frankfurt Auto Show: Greenest Car Show Begins Previews Tuesday

Hyundai Motors' ix-Metro Hybrid city car is one of several dozen 'green' cars and concepts debuting at Frankfurt show.

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

This week's Frankfurt Auto Show promises to be the greenest major auto show to date - a showcase for fuel efficiency improvements and alternative powertrains that are coming to the forefront as the mainstream auto industry finally begins coming to grips with the need to begin weaning itself - and us - from petroleum.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell September 14, 2009, 1:49 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Audi, Auto Shows, BMW, Citroen, Diesel, Fiat, Ford, Fuel Cell, General Motors, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Hyundai, Kia, Lexus, MINI, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Opel, Peugeot, Plug-ins and Electric, Renault, Toyota, Volkswagen
Technorati Tags:: 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show

September 10, 2009

U.S. Navy Orders 40,000 Gallons of Camelina Jet Biofuel From Sustainable Oils

Montana-based Sustainable Oils reports that it has been awarded a defense contract for 40,000 gallons of camelina-based jet fuel for testing by the U.S. Navy.

Only yesterday the Defense Department tapped Solazyme Inc. to research and develop commercial scale production of an algae-derived biofuel for the Navy.

Sustainable Oils said camelina was selected because it does not compete with food crops, has been proven to reduce carbon emissions by more than 80 percent compared to petroleum jet fuel, and has already been successfully demonstrated in a commercial airline test flight.

In addition, camelina has naturally high oil content, is drought tolerant and requires less fertilizer and herbicides than other biofuels. Studies have shown camelina is an excellent rotation crop with wheat, and it can also grow on marginal land.

Sustainable Oils says it has the largest camelina research program in the nation. It reportedly began in 2005 and has steadily expanded to include more than 140 trials across North America.

In January, Sustainable Oils sourced the camelina for Japan Airlines' historic biojet demonstration flight. That flight's biofuel blend was comprised primarily of camelina.

The upcoming Navy tests are part of a larger effort to test and certify promising biofuels in support of the Navy and Defense Department's strategy to enhance energy security and reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.

Perhaps one day soon biofuels such as these attracting the military's attention will replace petroleum-based car and truck fuels. One can only hope.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett September 10, 2009, 2:45 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Energy Companies
Technorati Tags:: Altenative Fuels

September 8, 2009

India's REVA to Unveil 2 EVs, Charging Technology at Frankfurt Motor Show

Indian automaker REVA announced today that it will debut two plug-in electric vehicles next week at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

The REVA NXR is a four-seat, three-door hatchback family car suitable for urban driving that can be ordered at the show, with production scheduled to commence at the beginning of 2010.

The showcar, REVA's model for 2011, is the REVA NXG (pictured); a sporty two-seater with a targa roof that was designed by Dilip Chhabria of the internationally renowned automotive design company DC Design.

Another world-first for REVA will be the launch of REVive. The technology, which REVA claims has no equal, is intended to address the range-anxiety issue that troubles many an EV owner and prospective EV owner. That would be being stranded after your EV runs out of juice.

As REVA put it in a statement, the technology "acts like an invisible reserve fuel tank. The customer just has to telephone or SMS REVA for an instant remote recharge should they run out of charge."

We're not exactly sure what that means, and a REVA representative was not immediately available to explain; we expect answers next week at the very latest. But both the REVA NXR and the REVA NXG will feature "the REVive telematics technology."

The company said that further details and and pricing announcements will be made at the Frankfurt show. It also said its new Website, Revaglobal.com, will go live when the vehicles are unveiled in Frankfurt.

REVA is the brand of the Reva Electric Car Co., a Bangalore-based company formed as a joint venture between Maini Group of India and AEV LLC of California. It is backed by the U.S. investors Global Environment Fund and Draper Fisher Jurvetson.

REVA claims its vehicles are being sold or test-marketed in 24 countries worldwide. It says it is building a new ultra-low-carbon-vehicle assembly plant in Bangalore, with a capacity of 30,000 units per year.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett September 8, 2009, 2:03 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Auto Shows, Emissions, Fuel Economy, India, India, Plug-ins and Electric, Reva
Technorati Tags:: Auto Show

September 5, 2009

3 Days With Honda's Clarity Helps Bring Hydrogen Debate Into Focus

Extreme cab-forward design of Honda FXC Clarity is possible because there's no engine to stuff under the hood.

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

It felt like I was driving the future, but it seems that I was only driving toward it.

That elusive future was wrapped in a deep burgundy paint job and hummed along on electric power supplied by a suitcase-sized hydrogen fuel cell mounted in what would have been the transmission hump on a standard gasoline or diesel car.

Honda Motor Co. calls the color "star garnet metallic" and the car the FCX Clarity.

The Secretary of Energy, a Nobel laureate with a background in alternative fuels, calls it too much, too soon.

Foes and Pros

Some of the most vociferous proponents of battery-electric cars call fuel cell vehicles like the Clarity a pipe-dream, less efficient and more costly than "pure" electric vehicles and a technology that is simply not worth pursuing when all that research money could be going to perfecting plug-in hybrids and the electric vehicle battery.

Hydrogen proponents say the battery folks forget that you've got to measure energy efficiency over its entire life cycle - from well to the wheels - and not just compare snapshots of how efficiently it is transformed into motive power in the vehicle.

From their perspective, hydrogen is a more efficient fuel than electricity from the grid because the process of turning natural gas (the basic feedstock for hydrogen as well as for nearly a quarter of the electricity generated in the U.S.) to hydrogen is far more efficient than using it to generate electricity; an efficiency that more than makes up, they say, for battery-electric cars' more-efficient use of energy from battery to wheels.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (5); John O'Dell September 5, 2009, 9:53 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Fuel Cell, Honda, Hydrogen, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Electric Cars

September 1, 2009

Clean Cities Initiative Parcels Out $300 Million for Alt Fuel Vehicles, Stations

The federal-private Clean Cities progam is responsible for promoting a lot of alternatively fueled vehicles over the years and this month added to the tally by handing out $300 million in federal grants that will help various government agencies and commercial fleet operators deploy and fuel 9,000 more - mainly commercial trucks and taxis using compressed andliquid natural gas, propane and E85.

The list is long -agencies in 22 states and muillti-state regions received funding, and a little disheartening - it provides for 542 new alt-fuel stations, but that includes only 1 hydrogen fueling station and 210 electric vehicle chargers -most of them in three locales, Chicago and North and South Carolina.

Only about100 of the 9,000-plus alt-fuel vehicles to be subsidized with the grants will be all-elelctric, including at east 56 neighborhood electrics, or NEVs. But more than 1,000 will be trucks and buses (and a few cars) using propane.

Gas-electric hybrids will account for at leat 738 of the vehicles (the totals aren't exact because the grant descriptions don't always specify how many of which type of vehicle will be purchased with the funds.

Still, the main purpose of the program is to clear up the diesel emissions and other exhaust fumes choking many cities, and that's a goal we applaud, long and loudly.

A rundown of grants, provided by the federal Energy Department, shows that more than 1,400 diesel trucks and buses and several hundred gasoline-burning taxis will be replaced by alt-fuel vehicles. Almost half - 651 - will be LNG trucks replacing diesel trucks in several Southern California locations.

Most will use natural gas, but150 gas and diesel trucks in Maryland and 190 diesel school buses in Kentucky will be replaced with hybrid-electric models.

Teh feds say the programs will help displace 38 million gallons of petrolleum annually.

The entire list of grants, and their descriptions,is available here.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); John O'Dell September 1, 2009, 5:25 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Emissions, Ethanol, Hybrid, Hydrogen, LPG, Natural Gas, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Clean CIties Initiative

August 31, 2009

Calif. Gives eTec $8 Million for Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure for San Diego

Arizona-based Electric Transportation Engineering Corp. today announced receipt of $8 million from the government of California to aid in development of an electric-vehicle charging infrastructure for San Diego.

The same company earlier this month landed a $99.8 million grant from the Obama administration to join Nissan in the biggest deployment of EVs - and creation of the largest charging infrastructure - ever undertaken.

The $8 million from the California Energy Commission is among the roughly $15 million in funds the agency is in the process of awarding to EV projects that received federal funds from the U.S. Department of Energy on Aug. 5.

With the two grants and others it expects to get from regional project participants, eTec has pledged to install about 2,550 charging stations in each of five selected markets: the states of Tennessee and Oregon, the cities of San Diego and Seattle, and the Phoenix/Tucson region.

Those approximately 12,750 charging stations will be used to recharge up to 1,000 LEAF EVs that Nissan will provide for each of the five markets, for a total contribution of up to 5,000 EVs.

Whether the zero-emissions vehicles will be donated, leased or sold by the automaker has not been determined, according to a Nissan source familiar with the collaboration.

In a statement released today, eTec said its project will collect and analyze data characterizing vehicle use and charging patterns in diverse topographies and climate conditions; evaluate the effectiveness of charge infrastructure; and conduct trials of various revenue systems for public charge infrastructure.

By testing and analyzing electric vehicle usage and charging patterns in a simulated mature charging environment, eTec hopes the project will foster the expansion of the EV infrastructure and widespread EV use throughout the country.

ETec is a subsidiary of ECOtality, a Scottsdale, Arizona, company that has been involved in every major electric vehicle initiative in North America since the 1990's. ETec is known for its Minit-Charger line of battery fast-charge systems for on-road EVs.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett August 31, 2009, 10:05 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Batteries, Emissions, Legislation, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: California Energy Commission

August 20, 2009

ABC Newscast Captures a Day in the Life of a Top Automotive Spy Photographer

Automakers the world over routinely send their camouflaged prototypes to California's Death Valley to see how the vehicles perform in temperatures that often exceed 120 degrees in the shade.

These vehicles - among them a slew of hybrid, alternative-fuel and plug-in electric vehicles - are typically two to three years from reaching showrooms, hence the practice of automakers to conceal the prototypes' appearance from competing automakers.

It's also in this unforgiving environment, particularly during the hottest summer days, that Brenda Priddy can be found standing or crouching at roadside, snapping pictures of the pre-production models.

The unassuming mom is one of the greatest automotive spy photographers of our time - a member of a legion of specialists whose pics frequently appear here and other Edmunds.com sites and blogs, and in magazines worldwide.

A recent newscast by ABC's "Nightline" did a good job of documenting Priddy hard at work. We encourage you to watch the videotaped report.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett August 20, 2009, 4:54 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Alternative Fuel

August 19, 2009

Massachusetts Moves to Ban All Biofuels Not Made From Waste Feedstocks

The state of Massachusetts announced today that it intends to ban all biofuels not made using waste feedstocks from qualifying under the state's Clean Energy Biofuels Act of 2008.

The state said that the biofuels mandate will begin July 1 of next year and that mandated volumes would be waived in the first year but that "early action credits" will be provided for all gallons of qualified advanced biofuels, which will be applied to second-year mandate obligations.

And, the state said that its Department of Energy Resources, or DOER, will announce by the end of next year whether the second-year biofuels mandate will be set at the 2 percent or 3 percent level.

But in a surprise move, DOER said that it "will only accept applications for biofuels derived from waste feedstocks," and only then if they yield a 50 percent greenhouse-gas reduction threshold.

Under the proposed regulation, Massachusetts will ban the use of all non-waste feedstocks, which include algae, cyanobacteria, jatropha, miscanthus and switchgrass, or oils produced on a harvestable basis by microorganisms, such as employed by Joule Biotechnologies.

Curt Felix, chief executive of Wellfleet, Massachusetts-based biofuels company Plankton Power, said the DOER ruling guts the state's biofuels act and directly opposes the intention of the state's legislature and its governor.

"DOER has made impermissible all but waste restaurant oil as a biofuel feedstock in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for compliance with the law," he said. "The ruling means that algae fuels and other 'non-waste' feedstocks that clearly meet the legal requirements of the biofuels law will not be allowed to be sold as qualifying product."

That's the way we see it, too.

Moreover, DOER's ruling that the emissions from renewable fuels have to be 50 percent cleaner than petroleum's creates an enormously high threshold that would likely disqualify many good biofuels.

And the 50-percent ruling is completely unrealistic. As Felix put it, "Why not require that next year petroleum has to lower its carbon emissions by 50 percent?"

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett August 19, 2009, 12:24 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Emissions, Legislation
Technorati Tags:: Alt Fuel

August 18, 2009

U.S. Firm Says It's Found Cheap, Easy Way to Convert Plastic to Oil

Editor's Note: It has come to our attention that the claims expressed by Moinuddin Sarker might not be rooted in good science, but we are not in a position to disprove them.

Plastic and petroleum fuels come from the same place - crude oil. So with more than 15 million tons of plastic entering the nation's waste stream every year, and with the U.S. importing more than 12 million barrels of oil per day, why not turn some plastic into oil?

That's the question a Connecticut-based startup asked itself - and it intends to provide the answer.

Moinuddin Sarker says that his company, Natural State Research, has developed a way to turn waste plastic into finished oil products for a final cost of less than $1 a gallon.

The process, Sarker said, is as simple as heating up the plastic until it becomes vapor, and then letting it condense back into liquid - the way water droplets condense on the cover of a pot of boiling water.

It works because both plastic and oil are made up of carbon molecules, only plastics' molecules are long chains called polymers. Breaking the bonds in the chains, Sarker said, results in smaller carbon-based molecules - the basis for fuels.

While at least six other companies in the U.S. and abroad are already converting plastic to fuel, Sarker said that the technology that NSR has developed is simpler and cheaper.

The company uses a natural air mix at normal pressures, whereas most other companies depend on processes that use oxygen-free air and high pressures, said Sarker, vice president of research and development at NSR.

Almost any type of plastic can be used, Sarker said, and various types of finished fuels - like gasoline, diesel and jet fuel - would be the result.

Sarker said the company is still tweaking the process, but its plan is to build a pilot facility in the next six months, and by 2011 or 2012 to start commercially licensing or selling the technology, which is currently pending patent approval.

Because each ton of plastic can yield about 8 barrels of oil, U.S. plastic waste could theoretically generate 120 million barrels of oil per year. With U.S. oil consumption at more than 19 million barrels a day, that would amount to reducing 2 percent of annual oil use by, essentially, recycling some of it.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (2); Scott Doggett August 18, 2009, 11:28 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Diesel, India, Oil
Technorati Tags:: Alt Fuel

Rentech to Supply Synthetic Diesel to Airlines' Ground Vehicles at LAX

Eight U.S. airlines will use up to 1.5 million gallons a year of synthetic diesel made from plant waste starting in 2012, the fuel's manufacturer announced today.

Rentech Inc.'s fuel will be used for ground-service transportation at Los Angeles International Airport and be made primarily from urban woody green waste such as yard clippings, the company said.

Using the renewable fuel will be American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, US Airways, Southwest Airlines, Alaska Airlines and UPS Airlines.

Rentech plans to produce the fuel at a new plant in Rialto, California, which is slated to open in 2012.

The Air Transport Association of America, the domestic industry trade group that joined Rentech in announcing the deal, called the purchasing agreement the first of its kind and said it could signal an industrywide move toward using lower-carbon fuels.

"This transaction promises to be the first of many such green-fuel purchase agreements by the commercial aviation industry," said Glenn Tilton, ATA's chairman.

Likewise, Rentech heralded the agreement as a sign of things to come.

"We expect this agreement to serve as a model for future supply relationships at other airports and for other fuels, including Rentech's synthetic jet fuel, which was recently approved for commercial airline use," said D. Hunt Ramsbottom, Rentech's president and CEO.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett August 18, 2009, 10:23 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Diesel
Technorati Tags:: Alaska Airlines

August 17, 2009

Summer of Algae Continues With Major Developments in Calif., New Mexico & U.K.

As the summer of algae continues, start-up Aquentium has announced a 475-acre project in New Mexico, Waxman-Markey climate bill co-sponsor Edward Markey has declared the legislation will generate $1 trillion in private-sector investment, and British Petroleum has plunked down $10 million in green-diesel R&D.

In New Mexico, Aquentium announced today that it has secured 475 acres in New Mexico for the development of an algae bio-fuel production facility. The company is developing green crude, and noted the potential of brackish or salt-water to host algae without disclosing the strains that it will focus on.

In Alameda, California, while touring the Aurora Biofuels laboratory, House Energy Independence and Global Warming Chairman Ed Markey described Aurora's technology as "very exciting," adding that "with a little bit of luck, we'll pass this legislation later this year and create a marketplace for technologies like this."

Unsatisfied with that remark, Markey also predicted: "Our legislation will unleash more than a trillion dollars' worth of private-sector investment." It's wishful thinking, to be sure, but wouldn't it be nice.

And in the United Kingdom, British Petroleum and Martek have agreed to use Martek's core algae technologies as a platform for the production of diesel from microbes.

According to reliable sources, BP will invest $10 million in the research and development of Martek's technologies and will own all intellectual property that results from the R&D. BP's interest in the research being strictly "green" diesel.

For its part, Martek will have an exclusive license to apply the technology in the fields of nutrition, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett August 17, 2009, 11:53 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Legislation
Technorati Tags:: Alt Fuel

August 14, 2009

Expert: Hydrocarbon Biofuels' Promise Tops That of Ethanol and Gasoline

Recent technological advances might put fuel from forest waste, cornstalks, algae and other biomass into commercial production within just a few years, a National Science Foundation program director said in a paper published today.

John Regalbuto, a chemical engineer at the University of Illinois, Chicago, and director of the NSF catalysis and biocatalysis program, wrote in Science (subscription required) that biomass-derived fuels are not far from being part of the energy mix as a replacement for gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.

"If recent technological innovations result in competitive production costs, hydrocarbons rather than ethanol will likely be the dominant biofuel," Regalbuto wrote.

Hydrocarbon fuels can be directly produced from the sugars of woody biomass - forest waste, cornstalks or switchgrass - through microbial fermentation or liquid-phase catalysis, he wrote. They can be produced by pyrolysis or gasification directly from the woody biomass. And they can be produced by converting the lipids of nonfood crops and algae.

"The resulting hydrocarbon biofuels will be drop-in replacements for gasoline, diesel and jet fuel; will give much higher gas mileage than ethanol and will work in existing engines and distribution networks," Regalbuto wrote.

Ethanol, which is produced by breaking biomass into fermentable sugars, is used in the U.S. as an additive to improve combustion, but it does not provide as much energy as traditional gasoline.

"The drawback to using ethanol as a complete replacement for gasoline ... is not only the high cost of its production from cellulose but also its lower energy density," Regalbuto wrote. "Ethanol has two-thirds the energy density of gasoline, and cars running on E85 (85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline) get about 30 percent lower gas mileage."

But the ethanol industry is given heavy government incentives, including a renewable fuels mandate that calls for the use of 15 billion gallons of corn ethanol a year by 2022 and 16 billion gallons of cellulosic biofuels.

But the 16 billion gallons of cellulosic biofuels mandated by the 2007 energy law is not limited to cellulosic ethanol. It "can be met with green gasoline, diesel and jet fuel as well," he wrote.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett August 14, 2009, 10:53 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Ethanol
Technorati Tags:: Alternate Fuel

August 12, 2009

Entrepreneurs Hope to Convert Gulf of Mexico 'Dead Zone' Algae Into Biofuels

Every spring, fertilizer runoff from the U.S. Mississippi River floods into the Gulf of Mexico, causing a massive algae bloom that leads to a giant oxygen-deprived "dead zone" (pictured) where fish cannot survive covering some 6,000-7,000 square miles.

Now, Silicon Valley startup LiveFuels Inc. wants to scoop up the algae - simple sea organisms that thrive on the farmland runoff - and use it to feed fish that could be processed for oil, according to an article in today's Wall Street Journal. The process is already used to produce fish-oil dietary supplements.

The article was published just a month after Exxon Mobil Corp. announced it would partner with Synthetic Genomics Inc. to spend up to $600 million working on developing algae to use in biofuels, while start-ups Sapphire Energy and Solazyme Inc. have raised more than $75 million for their own algae-conversion effort.

But unlike those efforts, LiveFuels doesn't envision harvesting the algae directly. Rather, it wants to go a step up the food chain, using algae to feed fish that could be processed for oil.

"It is too expensive for humans to grow algae, harvest it and get the water out and then convert it into a petroleum-like substitute," LiveFuels Chief Executive Lissa Morgenthaler-Jones told the Journal. It is easier and cheaper to harvest algae's oil the way Mother Nature does it - "which is to use fish," she said.

The fish would gobble up the algae and then be harvested, cooked and pressed to extract fish oil - a method already used to produce omega-3 fatty acid dietary supplements.

LiveFuels, of San Carlos, California, is testing out carp, tilapia and members of the sardine family at a fish farm in Rio Hondo, Texas, near the Mexican border. "We want the couch potato of fish, the kind that just eat and eat," Morgenthaler-Jones said.

Once it figures out a good fish mix, LiveFuels wants to release them in Louisiana bays - more than 11,340 kilograms of fish per acre - to feast on the algae blooms.

"This is the sea equivalent of traveling goats: you have algae, we'll bring the fish," she said, referring to companies that rent out goats to eat up grasses on California hillsides to reduce the danger from wildfires.

The company envisions building caged fish farms in parts of the algae blooms in Louisiana bayous and offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. The algae would provide a free source of food to raise the fish, and natural tidal flows would churn the algae to keep fresh nutrient-rich water flowing through.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett August 12, 2009, 12:07 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels
Technorati Tags:: Alt Fuel

August 5, 2009

Algae-Diesel Maker Signs Preliminary Supply Pact With Major Long-Haul Truck Co.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, the second-largest trucking company, in the country, has signed an agreement that could make it a substantial purchaser of biodiesel from SunEco Energy , which specializes in making fuel from algae oil.

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A SunEco test truck using a 50 percent algae-oil blend.
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The companies executed the preliminary purchase pact after results of tests that mixed the algae oil with petroleum diesel. Trucks driven on mixtures of 20 percent and 50 percent algae oil were found to have reduced emissions by 82%, said closely held SunEco , which is based in Chino, Calif.

J.B. Hunt has almost 3,200 big-rig tractors in use across the country, and weaning them from even 20 percent of their petro-diesel consumption would be a boon to air pollution cleanup efforts.

For Hunt it could also mean lower fuel bills.

SunEco, which entered the biofuels industry a few years, is one of a number of firms developing methods of extracting fuel-grade oil from algae - a rapidly growing acquatic plant material that is relatively rich in oil, doesn't take land away from food crops and isn't particularly water intensive as about 90 percent of the water used to grow the algae is recycled.

Danny King, Contributor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell August 5, 2009, 3:01 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Diesel, Emissions
Technorati Tags:: Algae Diesel

August 4, 2009

DOE to Award More Than $41 Million to Biofuel, Fusion and Smart Grid R&D

Energy Secretary Steven Chu (pictured) announced today that more than $327 million in new funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will go toward scientific research, including more than $41 million to biofuel, fusion and smart-grid research and development.

The biofuels research could directly influence America's dependence on oil by shifting motorists' need for a petroleum-based fuel to a fuel that doesn't produce greenhouse gases and contribute to climate change.

The smart-grid and fusion research could indirect benefit "green" cars by providing a clean source of electricity for electric and hybrid-electric vehicles (most electricity produced in America today is generated by burning coal).

The complete list of award recipients includes:

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, in Berkeley, California: $11 million for fusion energy research; $4 million for new instrumentation at the DOE Joint BioEnergy Institute; and $875,000 for mathematical analysis related to the development of smart-grid technology.

Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, in Princeton, New Jersey: $8.8 million for a variety of initiatives in fusion energy research and $5 million for infrastructure improvements at the laboratory.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory, in Oak Ridge, Tennessee: $5.4 million for equipment at the DOE BioEnergy Science Center; and, $180,000 for fusion energy research.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, in Richland, Washington: $867,000 for mathematical analysis related to the development of a smart grid.

Argonne National Laboratory, in Argonne, Illinois: $5.6 million for improvements at the Advanced Photon Source.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, in Livermore, California: $810,000 for fusion energy research.

Sandia National Laboratories, in Sandia, New Mexico, and Sandia, California: $688,000 for mathematical analysis related to the development of a smart grid; and $75,000 for fusion energy research.

In March, Chu announced $1.2 billion in DOE Office of Science Recovery Act projects. In July, he announced a new Office of Science Early Career Research Program to be funded with $85 million in Recovery Act funds.

With this third and final round of projects, the Obama administration has now approved projects covering the full $1.6 billion that the DOE Office of Science received from Congress under the Recovery Act.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett August 4, 2009, 1:39 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Legislation, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Biofuels Research

August 3, 2009

Chicken-Feather Biodiesel Could Be Cheap Petrol Replacement

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Hard on the heels of a research project at the University of Delaware looking into carbonized chicken feathers as a hydrogen storage medium for fuel cells comes word of a new transportation-related use for chicken feathers.

Researchers at the University of Nevada say they've found that commercial "feather meal" made from ground-up chicken feathers (and sometimes blood and guts) can be an important feedstock for making biodiesel.

The stuff is used now for animal feed and for fertilizer, and is still good for that after the biodiesel's been wrung from it, the researchers said.

The amount of chicken consumed in the U.S. yields enough meal to produce 153 million gallons of biodiesel a year, the researchers say; extended globally, the potential is for close to 600 million gallons a year.

You can read the entire article in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry if a deep dive into the chemistry of it all interests you.

The short form is that chicken feathers contain fat, and fat can be rendered out and turned into biodiesel.

The process should wind up costing abut $1 per gallon of biodiesel, the researchers estimated.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell August 3, 2009, 2:27 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels
Technorati Tags:: Alternative Fuels

July 31, 2009

New Way of Making Membranes Could Reduce Energy Needs of Biofuel Production

Engineers have developed a method for creating high-performance membranes from crystal sieves that could increase the energy efficiency of chemical separations up to 50 times over conventional methods and enable higher production rates.

So say a team of researchers led by chemical engineer Michael Tsapatsis of the University of Minnesota, in an article that appeared in today's issue of Science.

The ability to separate and purify specific molecules in a chemical mixture is essential to chemical manufacturing. Many industrial separations rely on distillation, a process that is easy to design and implement but consumes a lot of energy.

Tsapatsis's team developed a rapid heating treatment to remove structural defects in zeolite membranes that limit their performance, a problem that has plagued the technology for decades.

Rosemarie Wesson of the National Science Foundation said that using membranes rather than energy-intensive processes could increase the energy efficiency of producing renewable biofuels such as ethanol and butanol.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett July 31, 2009, 3:25 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Butanol, Emissions, Ethanol, Fuel Economy
Technorati Tags:: Biofuels

July 29, 2009

GM's Outgoing R&D Chief Says Company's H2 Program Needs More Federal Aid

General Motors, a leader in development of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, may have to curtail its cutting-edge work unless it gets another $50 million to $70 million from the government, GM's outgoing research chief warns.

GM just emerged from a painful bankruptcy restructuring in which it cut 1,100 dealers; shed Pontiac, Hummer and Saturn; and lost thousands more jobs. Yet, through it all, GM maintained its hydrogen research program pretty much intact, even though fuel-cell vehicles are still years away from going on sale.

"The program has not slowed down at all," Larry Burns (pictured), GM's retiring vice president of research, said in an interview with USA Today. "The issue is, going forward, do we have sufficient money to operate at that rate?"

You may recall that Burns is one of the auto industry's most outspoken backers of hydrogen technology. He shepherded the Chevrolet Equinox fuel-cell electric vehicle into existence and has helped lead the charge for development of a national hydrogen fueling system to support widespread use of the zero-emissions vehicles.

Trying to seek federal research dollars, directly or indirectly, comes at a sensitive time for GM. As of last month, the automaker had either accepted or been approved for $49.4 billion in government bailout funds. It has not had direct grants from the government for its hydrogen program.

Now, General Motors is in talks with "government and private entities" about grants or partnerships in hydrogen vehicle research, confirms GM spokesman Alan Adler.

Under Burns, GM has become known for its fuel-cell work. "They have done so much original, groundbreaking work in this area," Catherine Dunwoody, executive director of the California Fuel Cell Partnership, told USA Today.

Burns, 58, says he decided to retire to give the new GM fresh research leadership under Alan Taub, 54, who, he says, will continue with the same direction.

Hydrogen is a zero-emission fuel that emits only water vapor through the tailpipe. But fuel cells are costly, few fueling stations exist, and mass acceptance is considered years away.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu cut $100 million from the $168 million hydrogen research budget to focus instead on battery electric cars, which show more short-term promise. There are moves in Congress to restore hydrogen funding.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett July 29, 2009, 6:00 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Chevrolet, Emissions, Fuel Cell, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Hydrogen
Technorati Tags:: Chevrolet Equniox

July 21, 2009

Kilowatts From Horsepower: System Harvests Electricity From Cars and Trucks

While lots of companies are developing ways to generate electricity for cars, one is trying to generate electricity from them.

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Could our cars and tucks produce energy instead of devouring it?

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New Energy Technologies sees a world in which the kinetic energy in cars and trucks is "harvested" as they brake in front of restaurants and hotels, crawl through drive-in lanes at fast-food restaurants, even pull up to stop signs.

In an ongoing test of the publicly held energy recovery firm's Motion Power "harvester," the Four Season Hotel in Washington's Georgetown district is installing one of the devices to generate electricity as vehicles move move through its front drive.

The device looks a bit like an oversize louvered heating-duct grill installed horizontally in the roadbed.

The "louvers" are actually spring-loaded metal plates that are depressed and released as car tires roll over them. The pumping action of the plates generates electricity which can be fed into the power grid or used locally to power lights and appliances.

You can follow the action of this alternative power genration system on the video illustration, below.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (3); John O'Dell July 21, 2009, 3:00 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels
Technorati Tags:: Alternative Power Generation

July 20, 2009

Edmunds Research: Gas Prices Still Sway Interest in Hybrids and Alternative Fuels

Is Now the Time for A Gas Tax to Help Americans Revolt Against King Petroleum?

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Gasoline burners still rule, but interest in hybrids and diesels is climbing along with summer fuel prices, and an impressive number of shoppers are looking at flex-fuel trucks.

Those are the chief findings of just-completed research into the kinds of vehicles Edmunds.com users are researching these days, and it underscores the close tie between gasoline prices and the "green-ness" of the auto market.

As long as the prices of diesel and hybrid cars and trucks remain significantly higher than those of their conventional gasoline counterparts, the level of interest in the alternative models is likely to stay well below interest in gasoline vehicles.

Tipping Point

But as gas prices rise, the payback for hybrids and diesels drops and interest levels creep back up the charts.

Anything to take away some of that pain at the pump seems to be the mantra of many car shoppers..

That's what David Tompkins. Edmunds' executive director of business solutions, found when he and his team looked at the percentage of Edmunds.com users researching the various type of vehicles over the past 18 months.

Tompkins specified "researching" rather than "browsing" because people researching a vehicle are more likely to be buyers than the people who, in the real estate market, would be called "lookie-loos." It's a key difference that some analysts haven't caught onto yet.

Comparing levels of interest shown by shoppers in June of '09, Tompkins found more than twice as much research into hybrid models than into diesels, 9 percent versus 4 percent.

Electric cars and natural gas vehicles didn't register at all, given that the number for sale in the U.S. is so small, but the data suggests that if there were a number of vehicles available - cars and trucks that didn't need gasoline at all - interest in them would soar with fuel prices.

After all, when gas prices were above $4 a gallon last summer, interest in gas vehicles dropped to 84 percent while 26 percent of shoppers researched hybrids, the only significant alternative in the market at the time.

Hybrids began dropping out the picture as gasoline prices fell and by December accounted for only 4 percent of shopper research on Edmunds.com, while gas-burners were back up to 96 percent.

Now, as gas starts what most analysts believe will be a steady upward climb, research into hybrids is rising, hitting up to 9 percent in June.

Gasoline vehicles fell slightly to 93 percent last month, while 4 percent of research in June was directed at diesel vehicles. (The numbers exceed 100 percent because of overlapping research by shoppers who research more than one type of vehicle when trying to select a fuel or powertrain type).

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); John O'Dell July 20, 2009, 2:00 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Diesel, Ethanol, Flex-Fuel, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Diesels

July 13, 2009

Bamboo Taxis Running on Coconut Biodiesel Make Rounds in Philippine Town

From the files of inhabit.com , the Website that claims "design will save the world," comes this little nugget:

The rice-farming community of Tabontabon, Philippines, has got two taxis consisting mostly of bamboo and run entirely on coconut biodiesel.

According to the community's mayor, who also happens to be the vehicles' owner, the taxis offer residents and visitors alike an alternative to the dangerous, people-piled-on motorcycles that dominate Philippine roads.

The larger of the two taxis seats 20 humans and can run on a gallon of biodiesel for eight hours.

The smaller taxi seats eight passengers, gets about the same fuel economy and has a stereo sound system (that's a big deal in Tabontabon, which has a population of just under 9,000 residents).

A third bamboo taxi is planned, but we cannot promise you that we'll stay on top of this story.

In case you were wondering, this is the same Tabontabon that was controlled by Japanese troops during WWII. A heroic account of U.S. forces taking the town in the face of heavy machine-gun fire makes for compelling bedtime reading.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett July 13, 2009, 6:21 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels
Technorati Tags:: Biodiesel

Texas Firm Developing 'Green Gasoline' Derived From Most Organic Materials

A Texas company is one of several firms reportedly developing a second-generation biofuel that will be compatible with the country's existing oil infrastructure.

The firm, Terrabon, is working on a biofuel it calls "green gasoline," the Houston Chronicle reported last week.

Unlike existing ethanol derived from food stock, the fuel would be nearly identical in structure to gasoline and could be made with nearly any organic material, from sewer sludge to cornstalks.

Scientists at Texas A&M University developed the acid fermentation process, called MixAlco, that Terrabon is now testing. By the end of the summer, Terrabon plans to produce 300 gallons of the green gasoline a day.

Unlike ethanol, Terrabon's fuel and others like it now in development are deemed "infrastructure compatible" - lacking the corrosiveness of ethanol, the fuels can theoretically be stored and pumped at existing gasoline stations.

At least a dozen companies are working on this type of second-generation biofuel, including Wisconsin's Virent Energy Systems (see our June 22 report) and Amyris Biotechnologies, located in Emeryville, California.

"It's definitely the long-term solution," Andy Aden, a biofuels researcher at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, told the Chronicle.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett July 13, 2009, 8:23 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Energy Companies
Technorati Tags:: Alternate Fuel

Hydrogen Fuel Specialist Linde North America Joins Fuel Cell Consortium

The North American arm of one of the world's largest producers of hydrogen and developers of hydrogen fueling stations has joined the California Fuel Cell Partnership , a private-public consortium dedicated to the development of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles.

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A Linde tank truck delivers hydrogen to a station in Berlin, where it is stored as a liquid. It can then, on demand, be compressed and turned into a gaseous fuel or left alone for hydrogen vehicles that use it as a liquid.
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Linde North American brings to the fuel cell partnership what the company calls a "ground-breaking technology" for fast, efficient and safe ways to fuel hydrogen vehicles.

While not the Holy Grail of the hydrogen set - that would be a cheap and energy-free way to make hydrogen gas - Linde N.A.'s technology still could help solve another of the fuel's biggest problems.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell July 13, 2009, 3:01 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Fuel Cell, Hydrogen
Technorati Tags:: Hydrogen Fuel Cells

July 8, 2009

Congress Goes Where Administration Won't; Aims To Restore Hydrogen R&D Funding

In an unusual turn of events, Congress (or at least congressional appropriations committees) is showing more common sense than the White House.

In reviewing the administration's funding requests for the Department of Energy's budget, the House Appropriations Committee has restored $40 million in R&D funding for automotive hydrogen fuel cell technology that Energy Secretary Steven Chu's budget proposal had eliminated.

And the Senate Energy and Water Appropriations subcommittee has said it wants to see the hydrogen and fuel cell research portion of the DOE's budget increased to $190 billion from the $68 million in Chu's budget proposal.

The Senate subcommittee hasn't provided a breakdown of what it wants the additional funding used for, but it is likely that much of it would go for automotive programs.

Chu, you'll recall, eliminated $100 million in funding for automotive-related hydrogen and fuel cell research from his 2010 budget request, remarking that he and his advisors didn't see fuel cell vehicles as a viable transportation alternative in the next decade or so.

By so doing, he essentially picked battery-electric transportation as the "winner" in the effort to find replacements for petroleum-burning engines for the cars and trucks of the future.

But Chu, who said that the lack of a hydrogen fueling infrastructure was a big stumbling block for electrics, forgot (or ignored) battery-electric vehicles' need for a national network of fast-charging stations if they are ever to become more than commuter and city cars relegated to the second slot in the garage.

His recommendation that the budget eliminate automotive-related fuel cell and hydrogen research funding would have left the U.S. trailing well behind the Japanese (and doesn't that sound like a familiar tune) a decade down the road when their ongoing fuel cell R&D -- firmly supported by the government -- results in a generation of Japanese cars that can travel great distances with no emissions and no need to stop and plug in.

We're not anti-battery, mind you.

We think both technologies, when coupled with a plentiful supply of clean energy to fuel generating plants and hydrogen refineries, will be necessary parts of a transportation future that is no longer dependant on oil.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (7); John O'Dell July 8, 2009, 12:26 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Fuel Cell, Hydrogen, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Energy Department Budget

July 3, 2009

A Truly Odd Couple: American Le Mans Series Dates The Nature Conservancy

Nothing says "I really care about the planet" quite like a race car.

By Scott Doggett, Contributor

The American Le Mans Series, contributor of countless tons of greenhouse gases for sport, says it has formed "a relationship" with The Nature Conservancy, a nonprofit organization renowned for its wildlife conservation and environmental regeneration efforts.

"As the Global Leader in Green Racing, the Series believes it is as important to lead with off-track programs as much as it is to lead with on-track innovation that emphasizes energy conservation and sustainability within a highly relevant platform applicable to today's automobile and transportation industries," the race series' organizers said in a press release Thursday.

The relationship has several components: the racing organization, teams and fans can donate money to the conservancy's adopt-an-acre reforestation project in California (which, of course, they could do before the relationship), and they can purchase T-shirts that read "Growing a Greener Tomorrow ... Faster." The shirts will be at American Le Mans Series races and on its Website with a portion of the proceeds going to the conservancy.

As if that weren't innovative enough, the Series says it will soon announce a Green Park program - "a media-driven event" (that usually means that it is being done to attract media coverage) "for each of its race markets."

The program involves planting trees in areas affected by the ALM Series races, specifically a "city park, local children's hospital, track, etc., along with construction of environmentally sustainable playground equipment provided by Lowe's Home Improvement Stores and Michelin."

So in the great American spirit of paying someone else to clean up after you, the race series has taken a page from the playbook of hundreds of other businesses and decided to plant trees in the neighborhoods affected by the emissions it causes.

The series is also promoting use of cleaner fuels and this year is even letting a hybrid race car run.

It's all better than doing nothing.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett July 3, 2009, 12:01 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Diesel, Emissions, Ethanol, Fuel Economy, Opinion
Technorati Tags:: American Le Mans Series

June 25, 2009

In Maine, Former Site of Ethanol Plant to Produce Cellulosic Biobutanol Jet Fuel

In Old Town, Maine, on the former site of an ethanol project that went belly-up last November, a century-old mill continues to produce pulp and paper.

But along with its usual pulp-making business, the mill is doing something unprecedented: Developing technology to produce bio-butanol, a jet fuel, from parts of trees that would otherwise go to waste.

Although production is still two years away, Reuters reports that the reinvention of Maine's Old Town Fuel & Fiber mill is already drawing interest as a potential model for a new wave of biofuel companies that could slash dependence on oil, create jobs and reduce the emissions that lead to global warming.

Loggers, the news service reports, see the mill as a lifeline for their crippled industry. Environmentalists see it as a test of the Obama administration's push for a big expansion in biofuels.

And chemical and oil companies are waiting to see if the mill can do what none has done before by extracting sugars from wood chips into a biofuel that many regard as more efficient than corn-based ethanol as a possible substitute for gasoline.

"There has been a lot of interested parties in what we are doing here," Old Town's president, Dick Arnold, told Reuters. "There have been several oil companies that have been interested in our extract and production of biofuels. There has been a number of chemical companies that have expressed the same desire."

Behind the project is Lynn Tilton, a New York venture capitalist who owns one of the nation's largest helicopter makers. Tilton's Patriarch Partners bought the mill in November, invested about $40 million and shifted its focus to cellulosic bio-butanol.

According to Reuters, Tilton can use bio-butanol in her own helicopter and aircraft businesses but is eyeing a potentially huge market after Congress decreed that the United States must use 21 billion gallons of "advanced" biofuels such as cellulosic ethanols, bio-butanol and "green gasoline" a year by 2022.

The Reuters report is well worth the time it takes to read.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett June 25, 2009, 12:27 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Butanol, Emissions, Energy Companies, Ethanol, Tax Incentives
Technorati Tags:: Alternative Fuel

June 23, 2009

Toyota Repeats Support of Fuel Cell Technology as U.S. Plans to Cut Funding

We expect a lot of blogger activity today on this morning's "announcement" from Toyota that it hopes to roll out an updated fuel cell car by 2015, even though it isn't news.

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Toyota has several Highlander SUVs outfitted with fuel-cell electric drivetrains in testing now.

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Toyota first made that promise five months ago at the Detroit auto show.

The real import of today's announcement at the company's annual shareholder meeting is that it comes just two days before Congress begins considering an Energy Department budget that would eliminate federal funding for automotive fuel cell research and development in the U.S.

So while Toyota - and Honda and South Korea's Hyundai and Germany's Daimler and Volkswagen - all continue pursing development of their fuel cell vehicles, doubtlessly with support from their governments, the Obama Administration wants to give up on the technology. That would leave Ford, GM and Chrysler to go it alone or drop their hydrogen fuel cell development programs after sending billions on them over the past decade.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu says he eliminated $100 million in previous budgets' funding for automotive-related hydrogen research because he and his advisers don't see an immediate return - that it will be a decade or more before there's sufficient hydrogen fueling infrastructure to make the vehicles viable.

The DOE instead will pursue funding development of plug-in electric cars.

We're all for battery-electric and plug-in hybrid cars and trucks, but we think the decision this early in the game to bet the farm on them while ruling out hydrogen fuel cells is short-sighted.

Toyota's reiteration of its commitment to the technology, and Honda's repeated comments that the future will be one in which a number of alternative fuels and powertrains are in play, ought to be seen as a warning sign.

It will be interesting, if Congress acquiesces now and allows the tap for hydrogen fuel cell research funding to be shut off, to listen to the criticism that will be heaped on U.S. automakers a decade or so from now when it becomes apparent that Japan has corned the market on the technology and we're once again left to play catch-up.

John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); John O'Dell June 23, 2009, 10:25 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Fuel Cell, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Fuel Cell Cars

June 17, 2009

Austrian Company AVL Opens Hybrid-Powertrain Center in California

In what seems like a continuing shift of automotive investment away from Michigan and into California, Austrian powertrain engineering firm AVL has opened an alternative-fuels powertrain engineering center in the Orange County city of Lake Forest.

The center will be used for prototype and proof-of-concept work, said Bruce Falls, the center's director of engineering. Anything closer to production will be sent to AVL's larger engineering centers in Plymouth, Michigan or Graz, Austria.

Falls said AVL is looking at bridging the systems-engineering gap between automakers and suppliers, both sides of an equation chasing next-generation propulsion systems.

"We're technology neutral. We're a facilitator. Systems engineering has always been the bottleneck," he said. "We're seeing how refined a concept car can go with mechanical integration, so that it's more than just a show car."

Among the center's features is an all-in-one test bed (pictured) that integrates a chassis tester and wheels-off dynamometer with drive-by-wire wheelslip simulators. The rig can handle any vehicle from a small car to a bus to a Class 8 tractor trailer, Falls said.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett June 17, 2009, 11:51 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Chrysler, Diesel, Emissions, Fuel Cell, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Hydrogen
Technorati Tags:: Alternative Fuel

June 1, 2009

GM Vows Work on Volt, Other Green Technologies, Will Continue in Bankruptcy

Downsizing Won't Kill Automaker's Initiatives, but Demand for Quick Profits Could

As General Motors Corp. begins reshaping itself in a complex, government-assisted bankruptcy process that leaves taxpayers as its major investor, one thing remains clear -- the automaker's future depends on its ability to develop cars that are both fuel-efficient and desirable.

To do so in an era of economic uncertainty marked by sluggish car sales, wildly fluctuating fuel prices and consumer confusion about the best car-buying strategies as we wait for the new generation of advanced technology vehicles to appear is going to require a degree of discipline that so far has been woefully lacking at GM and other domestic auto companies.

So it was heartening to see this morning that GM accompanied its filing for a pre-planned Chapter 11 reorganization with the promise that even as it pares expenses to the bone it would "continue and increase its investment and leadership in fuel economy and advanced propulsion technologies."

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Chevy Volt "extended range EV' is one of the cars on which GM is betting its future.
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The "leadership" claim is a bit much -- marketing never stops.

But the rest of that vow, contained as it was in a statement undoubtedly edited and approved by the Obama administration, shows that GM so far is on the right path, and is pursuing it with government backing.

The Chevrolet Volt, GM's gamble on a potentially game-changing fuel-efficiency technology, will continue on schedule for launch in late 2010, according to this morning's statement.

Additionally, GM said it will continue development of conventional gas-electric hybrid technology, with 14 models due in the market by 2012, and will continue outfitting cars and trucks with flex-fuel systems so that by 2014 a full 65 percent of its vehicles will be capable of using ethanol or other alternative fuels, such as biodiesel.

We know GM also has been working on battery-electric and fuel-cell electric drivetrains and expect that R&D effort to continue as well.

Go Long

There will be many stumbling blocks to be overcome in the GM bankruptcy, but with the purse-string controlling government so far signing off on the automaker's intent to make fuel-efficiency and the development of petroleum-free powertrains a centerpiece of its recovery effort, things are getting off to a good start.

If the Feds succumb, though, to the cult of immediacy that has hamstrung so much of American industry for so long -- the demand by investors and market analysts for ever-increasing growth and profitability at the expense of solid long-term planning -- then all bets are off.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell June 1, 2009, 8:00 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Chevrolet, Diesel, Ethanol, Flex-Fuel, Fuel Cell, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Opinion, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Chevrolet Volt

May 28, 2009

Once Antagonistic, Big Oil Now Warms to Ethanol and Other Biofuel Companies

For decades, the big oil companies and the farm lobby have been fighting about ethanol, with the farmers pushing to produce more of it and the refiners arguing it was a boondoggle that would do little to solve the country's energy problems.

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Right, an ethanol plant in South Dakota.
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So why are technicians for British Petroleum, the giant oil company, now working at an experimental ethanol plant in the old Louisiana oil town of Jennings, helping to make it more efficient?

The erstwhile enemies, it turns out, are gradually learning to get along, as refiners increasingly see a need to get involved in ethanol production, according to a report in Wednesday's New York Times. Ethanol, made chiefly from corn, now represents about 9 percent of the country's market for liquid fuels.

And the percentage is growing year after year because of federal mandates. With the nation's thirst for gasoline, and the ethanol that is blended into it, expected to revive when the economy does, the oil companies want to be in a position to take full advantage.

The interest expressed by big oil companies is coming in the nick of time for small companies that desperately need capital and cannot find it these days in the private markets.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett May 28, 2009, 1:35 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Energy Companies, Ethanol, Oil
Technorati Tags:: Big Oil

Branson's Virgin Galactic Venture Promises Space Flights Powered by Biofuels

Space will be the final frontier for tourists if Sir Richard Branson has his way.

Getting there won't be easy on the wallet - but it won't be so hard on the planet, either, contends the British adventurer and Virgin Group founder, who touched down at Washington's National Press Club recently.

"Very environmentally friendly," Branson said, according to a Greenwire report (subscription required). "The [carbon] cost of us putting someone into space will be less than flying to London and back on a commercial plane."

Five years and $150 million into his Virgin Galactic venture, Branson has a bona fide spaceship to show for it.

Over the past few months, pilots have conducted several test flights of the space-launch vehicle Eve, a model of which is pictured here with Branson. The mother ship is designed to ferry SpaceShipTwo and its two pilots and six astronauts more than 50,000 feet above the Earth's surface.

From the stratosphere, SpaceShipTwo would blast to a sub-orbital altitude of about 360,000 feet using hybrid rockets.

A "whole new era of space travel" may be nigh, boasted Branson, who plans to go boldly where just a few tourists have gone before. SpaceShipTwo is slated for completion by the end of the year, he said, followed by about 18 months of testing. A ticket to ride is $200,000.

Eve's jet engines will run on kerosene initially but are also capable of running on butanol, a biofuel that can be made from algae. SpaceShipTwo's rockets will burn nitrous oxide - but only briefly - as the spaceship would require no fuel for takeoff, re-entry and landing.

Carbon-dioxide emissions per passenger on a Virgin Galactic spaceflight would be about 60 percent of a passenger's carbon footprint on a round-trip flight between New York and London. About 70 percent of a spaceflight's CO2 emissions would come from mother ship Eve, which must carry SpaceShipTwo into the stratosphere.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett May 28, 2009, 9:57 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Butanol, Emissions
Technorati Tags:: Alternative Fuels

Study: Oil Prices Will Return to $110/Barrel in 2015, Possibly Hit $200/Barrel in 2030

Yesterday's-Gas-Price.jpg Most Americans likely expect the price of gasoline to one day reach the record highs we saw last summer. The question is not so much will the price soar again, but rather when will it.

According to the Energy Information Administration's 2009 outlook report released today, oil prices will return to $110 per barrel in 2015 and could go up to $200 per barrel in 2030, depending on supply

You'll recall that the nationwide price for a gallon of regular unleaded topped $4 when the barrel price of oil reached $147. But with taxes on gasoline expected to rise, the per-gallon price of gasoline will likely be significantly higher than $4 when the barrel price of oil revisits $147.

World energy consumption - the driving force behind higher gasoline prices - is forecast to increase by 44 percent from 2006 to 2030, the report says, with almost two-thirds of that coming from developing countries and fossil fuels that continue to dominate energy supply.

Developing countries are projected to increase demand by 73 percent by 2030 in the outlook's base reference case - EIA's analysis under current laws and policies - whereas developed countries will grow by 15 percent, the report says.

Liquids, including biofuels, will reportedly continue to be the primary energy source in the world's transportation sector unless there are "significant technological advances" and despite several policy changes.

Unconventional resources such as oil sands and biofuels will become increasingly competitive, accounting for about 13 percent of the world's liquid supply by 2030, according to the report.

The U.S. in particular will see an increase in biofuels, mostly in advanced cellulosic rather than corn-based ethanol, acting Administrator Howard Gruenspecht said at the report's release event in Washington.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (2); Scott Doggett May 28, 2009, 9:21 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, China, Diesel, Energy Companies, Legislation, Natural Gas, Oil
Technorati Tags:: Biofuels

May 27, 2009

Schwarzenegger: Calif. Committed to H2 Future Regardless of Washington Politics

AS-May-27,-2009.jpg By Scott Doggett, Contributor

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger joined the 2009 Hydrogen Road Tour today at Stop 6 of a 9-day, 28-stop, 1,700-mile road trip, telling a group of reporters at the site of the state's first integrated (H2 and gasoline) station that California remains committed to a future where hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles replace gassy rides regardless of what Washington does.

Speaking at a Shell station in West Los Angeles, Schwarzenegger reminded reporters that the California Air Resources Board, which sets vehicle-emissions standards for the state, recently passed a low-carbon fuel standard - the world's first such standard.

It will, he said, ensure that the cleanest fuels, including hydrogen, will always have a strong market in California.

"And the reason why this is so important is that on the federal level, they [politicians] make decisions based on where the oil price is. That means that sometimes the federal government, when the oil price goes up, they go in the direction of renewable energy and alternate fuels. And when the oil price goes down, they abandon those policies," the "Governator" said, his back to a row of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles made by Daimler, Honda, Toyota, KIA, Volkswagen and Nissan.

"Well we don't do that here in California. We only march in one direction and that is forward. And we're not going to slow down. In 2010, we will have seven new hydrogen refueling stations in California and we will invest another $40 million over the next two years in hydrogen stations."

The governor reminded the automotive press that 20 percent of the new vehicles sold in the United States are sold in California, which is home to 25 million cars and trucks. (Those vehicles, not incidentally, consume 50 million gallons of gasoline and diesel a day and produce 40 percent of the state's greenhouse gases.)

As a result of California's vehicle market share, and that fact that Washington often follows the state's lead regarding tailpipe-emissions regulations, automakers can count on there being a large market for hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles and companies considering investments in an H2-refueling infrastructure can rest assured there will be vehicles requiring the fuel, he said.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (2); Scott Doggett May 27, 2009, 2:13 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Daimler, Diesel, Emissions, Energy Companies, Fuel Cell, General Motors, Honda, Hydrogen, Kia, Legislation, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota, Volkswagen
Technorati Tags:: Biofuels

May 26, 2009

Obama Administration Sparks Battery Gold Rush as States, Firms Vie for $2.4 Billion

By Scott Doggett, Contributor

There's nothing like $2.4 billion in federal grants to attract lots of applicants.

In one of the U.S. government's biggest efforts at shaping industrial policy, the Energy Department has been soliciting applications since mid-March for $2.4 billion in funding aimed at turning America into a battery-manufacturing powerhouse.

At the deadline last week, the department had received 165 applications. Companies vying for the money include General Motors Corp., Dow Chemical Co. and Johnson Controls Inc. Michigan, Kentucky and Massachusetts are among the states weighing in with applications.

When the winners are decided - as soon as the end of July - the Energy Department may anoint Livonia, Mich., or Indianapolis or Glendale, Kentucky, as the future U.S. hub of car batteries.

Given the availability of these funds, and Energy Secretary Stephen Chu's May 7 proposal that more than $100 million be cut from his department's hydrogen program in the 2010 budget the administration is submitting to Congress, you might think the National Hydrogen Association would wonder if funds needed for fuel-cell development are being diverted to electric vehicles.

"That's not the case," Debbi Smith, the trade group's executive vice president told us today. "The recent actions by Secretary Chu are actions that he had to make in a tough fiscal climate, but it is not the opinion of the automakers at all and it's not the opinion of our members here at the National Hydrogen Association or of the U.S. Fuel Cell Council."

Smith noted that there have been statements by various automotive executives that it is "not as though one technology is ready more than the other right now. Batteries are also not ready for prime time."

It's going to take biofuels, batteries and fuel cells - "all three of them, if we're serious about reducing our nation's dependence on oil and if we're serious about reducing greenhouse gases," she said. "It's going to take just about everything we can throw at these huge problems."

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); Scott Doggett May 26, 2009, 1:36 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Batteries, Biofuels, Emissions, Energy Companies, Fuel Cell, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Plug-ins and Electric, Tax Incentives
Technorati Tags:: Electric Car Batteries

Nissan to Get $1.1 Billion in Low-Interest Loan From U.S. to Develop Green Cars

Nissan is likely to receive a low-interest loan topping $1.1 billion from the U.S. government to encourage the manufacture of alternate-fuel and fuel-efficient vehicles in the country, Kyodo News reported Friday.

Citing "unidentified sources close to the matter," the newspaper said access to the loan will likely hasten Nissan's global production plan for electric vehicles.

If true, Nissan would be the first foreign automaker to get such a loan from the U.S. government, which has set aside $25 billion in loans to automakers to support fuel-economy advances and the building of manufacturing facilities in the U.S. to produce low-emission vehicles.

The money is separate from emergency loans provided to General Motors and Chrysler.

Nissan reportedly plans to introduce its gas-electric hybrid vehicles in Japan and the United States in 2010, and Japan's No. 3 automaker (behind Toyota and Honda) has already decided to manufacture the model at its plant in Yokosuka, Japan.

Nissan had reportedly sought a $1.1 billion loan from the state-backed Development Bank of Japan, in addition to already having borrowed half that amount from the Japanese government.

Nissan has been suffering from the global economic slowdown and recently posted its first annual net loss for a decade.

Scott Doggett, Contributor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); Scott Doggett May 26, 2009, 9:13 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Chrysler

Carmakers Spurn Flex-Fuel Bill, Say Every Buck Needed for Advanced Technologies

By Scott Doggett, Contributor

The Detroit 3 and eight other major automakers adamantly oppose a bill in Congress that would force them to produce more flex-fuel vehicles, and their opposition has merit.

At a time when lawmakers and the White House are pressuring America's carmakers to produce vehicles that are fuel efficient and competitively priced, Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman of California has introduced legislation that would create an "open fuel standard" requiring automakers to produce more cars and trucks capable of running on high blends of alternative fuels, assuming the fuels and infrastructure supporting them are available.

Democratic Representative Eliot Engel of New York says that's not enough. He's said that he might introduce legislation that would require half of new U.S. cars and trucks to be flex-fuel capable starting in 2012, with the mandate jumping to 80 percent by 2015 - regardless of fuel availability.

To count as flex-fuel capable, internal combustion engines would need to be able to run on blends of E85 (a fuel mixture containing 85 percent ethanol by volume) or M85 (a methanol fuel mixture), and diesel vehicles would need to be able to operate on biodiesel.

The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, a trade group representing the automakers, contends that adding flex-fuel technology will increase the price of each vehicle by at least $100 to $300.

A high-volume engine such as the one pictured here can be converted to flex-fuel capability for $300 or less, the alliance says. But Alliance President Dave McCurdy noted in a letter to members of Congress last week that a mandate would increase costs dramatically because the technology cannot be applied easily to some powerplants.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett May 26, 2009, 1:59 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Emissions, Ethanol, Flex-Fuel, Fuel Economy, Legislation, Methanol
Technorati Tags:: Alternative Fuels

May 25, 2009

Shell Inserts a Reality Check Into Its Eco-Marathons With 'UrbanConcept' Category

Events Challenge Students to Think About Fuel-Saving Technologies for Future Vehicles

UrbanConcept car (left) from Bulgaria's Technical University overtakes a Prototype vehicle from Spain's IES Marxadella in this month's Eco-marathon Europe.

By Scott Doggett and John O'Dell

Here's something you rarely, if ever, see at a Shell Eco-marathon event: A vehicle with four wheels and a shape vaguely resembling that of a conventional passenger car.

That's because four-wheelers tend to be less fuel efficient than three-wheelers: They are heavier, aerodynamically inferior and suffer more from roll resistance.

As a result, while it's impressive watching torpedo-shaped, fragile lightweight vehicles achieve fabulous mileage as they cruise around a track, one can't but wonder what on earth is the point of it all.

It's not like you'd ever see any of them actually transporting anyone to and from work, for instance, let alone transporting any things such as groceries, passengers or Fido.

In the past, the eco-marathon events has been, as a professor might put it, principally an academic exercise. Indeed, that's what the annual Shell Eco-marathons are all about - encouraging students whose academic careers might focus on automotive technologies to begin thinking about ways to make vehicles ever-more efficient.

Chairman Speaks

In a press conference before the European event earlier this month, Royal Dutch Shell's outgoing chairman, Jeroen van der Veer, said that such thinking is needed now more than ever as the world copes with the need to find ways - by reducing use or perfecting alternatives - of maintaining increased demand for personal mobility in the face of diminishing supplies or petroleum.

That's not to say that Van der Veer, whose company makes its billions mainly in the oil business, has seen the light and is giving up on petroleum: He said he believes it will continue to be the dominant transportation fuel well past the middle of the century.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett May 25, 2009, 3:00 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Fuel Economy
Technorati Tags:: Eco Driving

May 22, 2009

Legislators in Corn States Want to "Think Local, Ignore Global"

All politics is local, which explains why Republican and Democratic legislators in corn states are joining forces to oppose some parts of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposal to measure the "life-cycle emissions" created by the production of a fuel's feedstock (say, corn).

It stands to reason that the EPA must get a better handle on the overall environmental impact of the complex string of related but hard-to-measure events that come into play as more crops are grown for fuel feedstocks. That means studying such things as the increased acreage needed to grow feedstock crops, associated well drilling, mining, transporting and refining the biofuel and how it performs when burned to power vehicles.

It also is reasonable for regulators to get a better understanding of "indirect land use change" (ILUC) that can occur as corn, soy and other crops are cultivated for use as biofuel feedstocks rather than being directed into the traditional food chain.

Environmentalists say the increased use of traditional food crops as biofuels feedstocks can prompt other farmers to plant replacement crops. Too often, environmentalists contend, that new acreage is carved out of native forests and grasslands that now help soak up carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson has said that the National Renewable Fuel Standards proposed earlier this month - including the ILUC proposal - are still subject to peer review and change.

But ethanol industry representatives don't want to wait for the EPA rules. On Thursday, several ethanol industry told members of the House Agriculture Committee that Congress should restrict what the EPA can do when it comes to the ILUC rule.

Brian Jennings, executive vice president of the American Coalition for Ethanol told committee members that the proposed ILUC rule was based on "a controversial and untested theory," and that "ideology is getting ahead of science" as the EPA and the California Air Resources Board craft their low-carbon fuels initiatives.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Greg Johnson May 22, 2009, 12:14 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Emissions, Legislation
Technorati Tags:: Biofuels

Hydrogen Boosters Plan 1,700-mile Road Trip To Showcase Their Technology

It's proving to be a long and winding road to the hydrogen economy.

But the California Air Resources Board, the California Fuel Cell Partnership, the National Hydrogen Association and the U.S. Fuel Cell Council are betting that the 2009 Hydrogen Road Tour, which will stop in 28 cities in the U.S. and Canada, will give motorists an opportunity to see how hydrogen fits into the transportation future.

The 1,700-mile road trip will begin on May 26 in Chula Vista, Calif. and end on June 3 in Vancouver, B.C. The tour will showcase a number of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles from General Motors Corp., Volkswagen Group of America, Daimler and other manufacturers. Though some of the planned events are by invitation, most are open to the public, and some lucky folks will be invited to test drive hydrogen-powered vehicles.

"Fuel cell technology is on the verge of becoming a practical alternative to burning gasoline," said CARB Chairman Mary D. Nichols. "This year's road tour demonstrates how far the industry has come and how near we are to putting these cars in the public's hands."

Given recent budget cuts proposed by the U.S. Department of Energy, the hydrogen sector could use an upbeat road trip to clear its collective head.

On May 7, DoE Secretary Steven Chu proposed that more than $100 million be cut from his department's hydrogen program. The proposed cut in the 2010 federal budget would slash hydrogen fuel cell spending by 59 percent to just $68 million and shift research to stationary power generation from transportation.

Why? "We asked ourselves, 'Is it likely in the next 10 or 15, 20 years that we will convert to a hydrogen car economy?' The answer, we felt, was 'no,'" Chu said in a briefing.

Chu's action marked a dramatic reversal from 2002 when former DoE Secretary Spencer Abraham boasted that "At the Department of Energy, we're not just talking about the hydrogen economy. We're working to make it a reality."

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Greg Johnson May 22, 2009, 9:03 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, General Motors, Hydrogen, Hyundai, Legislation, Mass Transit, Mercedes-Benz, Transportation Alternatives
Technorati Tags:: Battery Electric Vehicles

May 20, 2009

House Climate Bill Would Double DOE Loan Program to Help Automakers Go Green

The House energy and climate bill would double a $25 billion Department of Energy loan program designed to help automakers produce more fuel-efficient cars and trucks.

The provision increasing the DOE pot to $50 billion was tucked into this week's substitute bill after being absent from both House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman's original March draft and Friday's revision.

The substitute, released Monday, was quickly followed by news that President Obama would dramatically ramp up the speed at which carmakers will need to achieve better fleetwide fuel economy.

The DOE program was established in the 2007 Energy Bill to provide loans to automakers and parts suppliers to retool their U.S. plants for making advanced technology vehicles to meet new corporate average fuel economy, or CAFE, standards.

But Congress did not provide funding to back the loans until late last year as Washington scrambled to throw a lifeline to the battered auto industry, and DOE has yet to provide the first batch of loans.

The Energy Department cash is separate from billions of dollars already given by the government to General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC to help keep the two carmakers operating while they undergo sweeping restructuring, downsizing and, in Chrysler's case, bankruptcy.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett May 20, 2009, 3:10 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Chrysler, Emissions, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Legislation, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Chrysler LLC

May 18, 2009

Are Automakers Finally Seeing the Light? Will Government and Greens See it Too?

Auto Industry Lines Up To Praise National Program Idea, Now the Hard Work Begins

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

The auto industry, tired of being seen as the bad guy whenever fuel economy and emissions regulation is on the table, is wasting no time lining up in support of tomorrow's White House announcement on development of a national carbon emissions and fuel efficiency program.

A cynic might think this doesn't bode well for the ultimate result of the rulemaking process that President Obama will outline at a press conference in Washington Tuesday morning: That the auto industry figures it has enough clout left to wring the life out of any effort to significantly improve fuel economy.

But we think it simply shows that an industry on life support and dependent on government largess here and overseas has finally read the writing on the wall and realizes that this is as good as it is ever going to get and that if it doesn't play ball it will have no say in the rules it eventually will have to live by.

Automakers also have been caught in a trap of their own making. They've been fighting California, the national leader in establishing greenhouse gas controls on motor vehicles, insisting that individual states shouldn't be able to set carbon emissions rules and that a national standard is needed.

Now the Obama administration has stepped to the table and said, as the president is wont to: "Okay, let's develop a national rule."

To oppose that would be political suicide.

In that vein, the two lobbying groups representing almost every car maker that does business in the U.S. have jumped on board and are voicing support for the so-called National Program for Autos.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell May 18, 2009, 6:00 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, BMW, Chrysler, Emissions, Ford, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Land Rover, Legislation, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Opinion, Plug-ins and Electric, Porsche, Renault, Subaru, Suzuki, Toyota, Volkswagen
Technorati Tags:: National CAFE Plan

Energy Secretary's Proposal to Cut Hydrogen Fuel Cell R&D Is A Turn for the Worse

By Scott Doggett, Contributor

One week has nearly passed since Energy Secretary Stephen Chu proposed slashing more than $100 million from Uncle Sam's hydrogen research and development program, and all of us should still be mystified and bothered by his proposal.

Chu's rationale for cutting hydrogen funding by 59 percent to just $68 million: It's unlikely that the technology will become significant player during the next two decades.

In other words, Chu's litmus test for funding a technology that might avoid or at least delay the catastrophic effects of global warming is that the technology must be developed within, say, the lifetime of an old house cat.

If Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius applied the same rationale to drug research, she'd propose slashing federal funding for cancer, AIDS and influenza research, because cures for them are probably 20-plus years out. But tossing in the towel on those problems would be nutty, wouldn't it.

And just think where we'd be today if the Wright brothers, Ladislo Biro, Stephen Poplawski, Willis Carrier, Percy Spencer, and the banjo-playing, 3M engineer Richard Drew decided not to invent anything because it'll take too much time. We might never know airplanes, ball-point pens, kitchen blenders, air-conditioning, microwave ovens and, God forbid, Scotch tape.

Other things that took years to invent include: the telephone, the light bulb, the cotton gin, the sewing machine, the personal computer, television, the camera and, lest we forget, the automobile.

Shucks, a whole lot of things that shape the lives we lead today took a long time to develop.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (6); Scott Doggett May 18, 2009, 12:01 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Batteries, Emissions, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Honda, Hydrogen, Legislation, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota, Volkswagen
Technorati Tags:: Battery Electric Vehicles

May 14, 2009

Rentech Announces Plans To Turn Biomass and Treated Sludge Into Fuel

Waste not, want not.

In recent months we've reported on a farm that is turning cow manure into biomethane for its big rigs, another company that wants to turn waste into high-octane gasoline and a third company that hopes to turn a profit by extracting hydrogen from wastewater.

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Rentech's Colorado demonstration plant

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Today we'll fill you in on a proposed plant in Rialto, California, that would turn urban woody green waste and processed sewage sludge into low-carbon synthetic fuels. And, while burning that waste, the plant would generate 35 megawatts of renewable electricity for sale to local electric utility companies.

The plant proposed by Los Angeles-based Rentech Inc. would produce about 600 barrels per day of pure renewable synthetic fuels that would be compatible with existing fuel pipelines and engines.

Rentech executives describe the process as turning low-value biomass into high-value energy and power. Rentech has been operating a demonstration plant in Commerce City, Colorado, that produces 420 gallons a day of synthetic jet and diesel fuel.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Greg Johnson May 14, 2009, 3:00 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Diesel, Emissions, Energy Companies
Technorati Tags:: Biofuels

May 11, 2009

Honda, Toyota and GM Pledge To Continue Hydrogen Fuel Cell R&D

Talk about a disconnect.

When the Obama Administration unveiled its proposed 2010 budget last week, Energy Secretary Stephen Chu had penciled in a proposal to cut more than $100 million from Uncle Sam's hydrogen research and development program.

Chu's rationale for cutting hydrogen funding by 59 percent to just $68 million? It's unlikely that the technology will become significant player during the next two decades.

In contrast, the California Fuel Cell Partnership in February predicted that 4,300 fuel-cell electric vehicles could be traveling California roads by 2014, and that the the hydrogen-powered fleet could grow to about 50,000 vehicles by 2017 as more manufacturers introduce their zero emission vehicles.

What's more, the partnership believes that, by 2017, Californians will be able to fuel their Honda FCX Clarity and other fuel cell vehicles at between 50 and 100 hydrogen refueling stations around the state.

'"Fuel cell vehicles and hydrogen stations are at the cusp of transition into the early commercial market," according to the organization's report that is titled "Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle and Station Deployment Plan: A Strategy for Meeting the Challenge Ahead."

So it's not surprising that the CaFCP, which counts auto manufacturers (including Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co. and General Motors Corp.), energy companies (Shell and Chevron), fuel cell technology companies (Proton Energy Systems) and government agencies (including the DoE, which is a dues-paying member!) on Friday called for Chu to reconsider the proposed budget cut.

"Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles have progressed to the point where some automakers are ready to begin early commercialization," said CaFCP Executive Director Catherine Dunwoody. "Stopping federal investment at this point is like a coach pulling back an Olympic athlete who has trained for years, just as the trials begin. We can't wait for the next round. We're ready to go."

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); Greg Johnson May 11, 2009, 3:13 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Emissions, Fuel Cell, General Motors, Honda, Hydrogen, Legislation, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota, Transportation Alternatives
Technorati Tags:: Fuel Cell

Port of Los Angeles Continues Financial Incentives For Non-Diesel Trucks

The Los Angeles Harbor Commission has approved up to $44.2 million in funding that will be used to help increase the number of alternative fuel trucks operating at the Port of Los Angeles. The funding is part of the port's Clean Truck Incentive Program, which last year helped owners and operators bring 2,200 cleaner vehicles into service at the port.

The 2009 CTIP goal is to add 1,000 additional trucks that are powered by CNG, LNG or lithium-ion battery packs. The port hopes to bring 100 electric-powered trucks into service this year.

In 2012, the port will ban 2003 model year and older trucks from its terminals. The goal is to cut port-related pollution caused by diesel engines by more than 80 percent.

Truck operators can qualify for up to $80,000 in incentives for each LNG or CNG truck purchased. Port terminal operators and concessionaires also can qualify for up to 80 percent of the cost of each electric vehicle purchased for work at the port.

A qualifying LNG truck costs between $160,000 and $190,000. The electric trucks that qualify for incentives cost about $230,000, according to the port, which is now testing two all-electric vehicles at its terminals.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Greg Johnson May 11, 2009, 10:43 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Diesel, Natural Gas, Tax Incentives
Technorati Tags:: Balqon Corp. Port of Los Angeles

May 8, 2009

Alt Fuels Watch: CNG Catches Fire - Saleswise - in One Southern California City

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Is compressed natural gas catching on?

Could T. Boone Pickens -- the oil billionaire who has spent tens of millions of his own dollars promoting natural gas as a transportation fuel and alternative to gasoline -- be on to something?

(Yes, he owns a lot of natural gas and has a vested interest in selling it. That doesn't mean he can't be right.)

Will Honda end up having a last laugh as its limited-production CGN-burning Civic GX -the only factory-built compressed natural gas car still being made -- becomes the car du jour of the trendy set?

It's early days yet, but from the signs and portents department here's one CNG success story from the heart of Southern California that might hold a clue.

The City of Riverside, which owns and operates its own CNG fueling station to serve a municipal fleet of about 100 natural gas vehicles -- from trash trucks to a trio of pre-2005 Chevrolet Cavalier economy cars built by GM as bi-fuel vehicles (natural gas or gasoline) -- says business has boomed in the past year, ever since gasoline prices in the state rose to more than $4 per gallon last summer.

A lot of the additional CNG fuel being pumped at the station is for the city's increasingly large natural gas fleet as well as for the local school district's 41 CNG buses, a trash company's eight CNG refuse trucks and the natural gas vehicles for a number of other public agency fleets.

But fully a third of the nearly 70,000 gallons (actually, gasoline-gallon equivalents, which is how the pumps measure the gas) pumped monthly now is purchased by private customers.

They range from taxi owners to everyday commuters who use CNG vehicles in order to save money on fuel and, in many cases, gain access the region's carpool lanes, which permit single-occupant CNG cars under a state initiative promoting use of the very low-emissions fuel.

Overall, CNG sales at the city's single station are up about 60 percent from 2007 and 16 percent from a year ago, according to figures provided by the city's fleet operations office.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell May 8, 2009, 3:00 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Natural Gas
Technorati Tags:: Alternative Fuels

May 7, 2009

Energy Department Slashes Hydrogen Transportation Funding in Proposed Budget

(Note: Updated 5 p.m. 5/7/09 to include link to Hydrogen and Fuel Cell groups' joint statement.)

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

In a huge blow to backers of fuel-cell electric vehicles, the nation's top energy official said today he sees little promise of the technology becoming a significant player in the nation's transportation system within the next two decades.

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Honda's FCX Clarity, now being tested in Southern California, uses a hydrogen fuel cell to provide electric power.
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As a result, Energy Secretary Stephen Chu is proposing that more than $100 million be cut from the Energy Department hydrogen program in the 2010 budget the administration is submitting to Congress.

The proposed budget slashes hydrogen fuel cell spending by 59 percent to just $68 million and focuses on programs for stationary power generation rather than for transportation.

"We asked ourselves, 'Is it likely in the next 10 or 15, 20 years that we will covert to a hydrogen car economy?' The answer, we felt, was 'no,'" Chu said in a briefing today.

The National Hydrogen Association and the U.S. Fuel Cell Coalition quickly issued a joint statement criticizing the program cuts.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (4); John O'Dell May 7, 2009, 3:49 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Ford, Fuel Cell, General Motors, Honda, Hydrogen, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota, Volkswagen
Technorati Tags:: 2010 Energy Department Budget

Minnesota Airport Buys Wind Generators and Electric Truck, but Doesn't Link Them

Wind Power To Be Used for Safety, Not Truck-Charging

The nation's 12th busiest airport just installed its first wind turbine generators and purchased its first electric-powered utility truck. But the generators won't be supplying power to the truck.

Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport paid about $22,000 for a Cushman Co . electric vehicle to be used mainly by the airport's parking-management staff.

The truck, which can run as far as 55 miles on a charge, will cost about $200 to power over the course of a year, compared to the $818 the airport would spend fueling a Ford Escape Hybrid or the $1,653 it would cost to fuel a Ford F-150 pickup, according to Patrick Hogan, director of public affairs at the airport.

"Eventually, we could have 20 to 30 vehicles if the performance is what we hope it will be," Hogan said.

The truck is part of a broader effort the airport started last year to cut energy with initiatives ranging from using solar energy to power the airport's noise monitors to using more energy-efficient lighting for parking ramps.

Most recently, the airport spent almost $100,000 on 10 wind-powered generators (right) .

While they won't be used to supply power to charge the electric truck, they will be used to supply some of the power to one of the airport's fire stations.

Danny King, Contributor
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Photos courtesy Metropolitan Airport Commission

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell May 7, 2009, 12:15 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Electric Vehicles

May 5, 2009

Backers Say It Is Time For BioButanol To Take Its Place in Energy Lineup

By Greg Johnson, Contributor

It's been four years since David Ramey fueled up his unmodified 1992 Buick Park Avenue with butanol derived from biomass and made a 10,000-mile road trip that took him from Blacklick, Ohio to San Diego and back.

The trip, which included stops along the way to court members of the media and environmental agency personnel, was conceived as a way to prove that "biobutanol" had inherent environmental and fuel-economy benefits over its better-known cousin in the green fuels family, ethanol.

Flash forward to 2009 and biobutanol still isn't getting the respect that Ramey and other proponents say the fuel deserves. Ramey, for example, continues to make demonstration drives - he'll fuel up a vehicle with biobutanol for the Fourth off July parade in nearby Gahanna, Ohio.

"There has been very little funding for biobutanol research over the past 30 years and we are simply in the infancy of this new technology," Ramey wrote in a recent email to Green Car Advisor. "Many are talking about biobutanol but few are producing it."

That situation is about to change, according to biobutanol backers who describe the fuel as a worthy challenger to ethanol. When properly formulated, they say, butanol burns cleaner than ethanol, has a higher energy density, can be transported in existing petroleum-product pipelines and won't hurt seals, gaskets or other parts of internal combustion engines.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Greg Johnson May 5, 2009, 3:00 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Butanol, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Oil, Transportation Alternatives
Technorati Tags:: Biodiesel Adventure

May 4, 2009

Indian EV Companies Ask Federal Government For Sales Incentives Program

Last year, sales of electric vehicles (led by battery-powered scooters) were on a roll in India. But sales stalled as the global economy went into recession and lower gasoline prices further dulled the allure of greener machines.

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A Hero Electric scooter on display at a recent show.
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Mint, an Indian newspaper, is now reporting that the country's vehicle manufacturers have asked the government to offer subsidies of up to 25% to consumers who buy EVs.

"This (industry) has to be seeded by the government by incentivizing people to buy our products," Sohinder Gill, chief executive of Hero Electric, the Hero Group arm that sells electric two-wheelers, told the newspaper.

Gill told the newspaper that India should follow the lead of the U.S., which is offering up to $7,500 in rebates for buyers of electric cars. The United Kingdom last month joined Germany and other countries that also have offered incentives to help counter the relative premium consumers must pay for a green vehicle.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Greg Johnson May 4, 2009, 9:52 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Hybrid, India, India, Legislation, Plug-ins and Electric, Tax Incentives
Technorati Tags:: Electric Car

April 28, 2009

San Diego Unveils Algae Coalition To Advance "Green Gold" Research

algae samples.jpg

Algae cultures that could lead to green oil products are being grown in a UC San Diego laboratory.

They call it "green gold," and its proponents are betting that the light, sweet crude oil that can be extracted from farm-cultivated algae will help the world to cut its dependence upon dirty and increasingly expensive gasoline and diesel fuels that are extracted from fossil fuels.

And, on Tuesday, San Diego -- which envisions itself as the green equivalent of the traditional oil industry's Houston -- unveiled a "broad-scale research effort" to turn that dream into a reality.

Though no dollar figures for financial support were discussed during Tuesday's press event on the UC San Diego campus, the research effort will build upon the creation earlier this year of the San Diego Center for Algae Biotechnology. The center was created to facilitate green fuels research being conducted by 272 scientists at UC San Diego, The Scripps Research Institute and other San Diego universities, research organizations and for-profit companies.

SD-CAB estimates that algal research in San Diego County already generates $16.5 million in payroll and $33 million in overall economic activity. Tuesday's announcement of an even broader research and development effort was made by San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders and UC San Diego Chancellor Marye Anne Fox.

"By sharing and facilitating the interactions of these multiple researchers through this center, we hope to make sustainable algae-based fuel production and carbon-dioxide abatement a reality within the next five to 10 years," Fox said. "This consortium will strengthen our ability to obtain grants and attract resources to the area. Algal biofuels will allow us to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and other economies, and will provide opportunities for a new economy and workforce."

It is a tall order, but San Diego claims to have the R&D nucleus needed to move toward that goal.

The Xconomy blog counts at least nine algal research efforts under way -- including work being done by defense contractors SAIC Corp. and General Atomics (which is better known as the creator of the unmanned Predator aircraft in service in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan).

We wrote about one of those companies (Sapphire Energy) last May, as well as a California Energy Commission grant to another company (albeit, not in San Diego) that is pursuing algal research.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Greg Johnson April 28, 2009, 2:08 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Energy Companies, Hydrogen, Methanol, Oil, Tax Incentives
Technorati Tags:: Algae Refining

April 27, 2009

Honda Still Strong on Hydrogen Fuel Cells, But Eyeing Plug-In Hybrids as Well

As the once-favored hydrogen highway becomes a mere side road on the route to oil independence with the Obama administration's push for rechargeable hybrid powertrains as the new favored alternative to the conventional gasoline engine, hydrogen pioneer Honda Motor Co. says it, too, will begin to pursue the way of the plug.

In an interview with Bloomberg news last week, Honda Motor Co. President Takeo Fukui said his company still sees hydrogen as the best long-term replacement for gasoline in the effort to slash automotive emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases tied to global arming.

Fukui, who is stepping down in June as part of Honda's regular executive shuffle, has in the past has been outspoken in his disdain for plug-in technology, calling it an unnecessary intermediate step form gasoline to pure electric power.

Honda has developed a hydrogen fuel-cell sedan, the FCX Clarity, that it leases to select customers in a Los Angeles-area test program, and isn't planning to abandon the effort.

But, Fukui said in a Bloomberg news wire article published this morning, the automaker also will accommodate the perceived preference of the U.S. government for plug-in hybrid-electric cars and trucks.

Unlike a conventional gas-electric hybrid that charges its batteries from on-board power sources such as regenerative braking, a plug-in hybrid gets its initial charge from the commercial grid, by "plugging in" to a wall socket or a special rapid-charging station

Plug-ins use larger battery pack than a conventional hybrids. They store enough power to permit the vehicle to be driven for an extended amount of time on all-electric drive before the grid charge is depleted and the gas engine kicks in.

Although others, including General Motors, Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai and Volkswagen are developing fuel-cell vehicles, Honda has been the only major automaker championing hydrogen above other technologies and so far has stayed out of the rapidly developing race to bring plug-ins to market.

While federal support of hydrogen development has all-but evaporated in the U.S., the government is providing billions of dollars for battery development programs and for federal tax credits of up to $7,500 for purchasers of plug-ins.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (2); John O'Dell April 27, 2009, 2:01 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Batteries, Emissions, Fisker, Ford, Fuel Cell, General Motors, Honda, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric, Subaru, Tesla, Toyota, Volvo
Technorati Tags:: FCX Clarity

April 21, 2009

Schwarzenegger: California Should Lead the Way on Emissions Standards

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday took to Twitter to drum up support for a cohesive national automotive industry policy that would lead to the design, manufacturing and sale of fuel-efficient vehicles.

When he wasn't sending Tweets, Schwarzenegger was addressing the Society of Automotive Engineers' 2009 World Congress in Detroit.

"With billions of people around the globe entering the car market for the first time and seeking energy-efficient but high-performance and stylish cars and trucks, America has an opportunity that exceeds even what the auto industry saw at its initial expansion in the 20th century," Schwarzenegger told SAE members. "This is an opportunity we must not waste, and as the world leader in innovation, design, marketing and technology, California is here to be the auto industry's partner for this new beginning."

Associated Press reported that the governor "has had conversations with federal officials and wants California to lead the country when it comes to setting low emission standards."

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Greg Johnson April 21, 2009, 4:00 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Hydrogen, Legislation, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: air pollution

Pickens, Wesley Clark Beat Drums for Natural Gas, Ethanol at Annual Alt Fuels Fest

ORLANDO, Fla - A pair of heavy hitters with big plans for alternative fuels kicked off the annnual Alternative Fuels and Vehicles conference here Monday, energy investor and former oilman T. Boone Pickens continuing his campaign to make natural gas the nation's fuel of choice and former Army general and 2004 Democratic presidential hopeful Wesley Clark pushing for greater use of ethanol in gasoline blending.

Pickens' post-breakfast appearance was a repeat of his frequent calls for a much-needed federal energy policy and for inclusion of natural gas, of which the U.S. has a fairly plentiful supply, as a preferred replacement for gasoline and diesel fuels.

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T. Boone Pickens delivered his dual plea for a national energy policy and increased use of natural gas to kick off annual Alternative Fuels and Vehicles conference.

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He's updated his message, however, with a call to quickly convert many of the nation's heavy duty over-the-road cargo trucks - 18-wheelers - to natural gas as a rapid way to shave billions of dollars from the amounts we're sending overseas to buy imported oil.

According to Pickens - who also is predicting that oil will rise to at east $75 a barrel by year's end I(which would likely result in gas prices hitting $3 - $3.25 a gallon) - says that each big rig burning compressed or liquid natural gas would have the same positive environmental impact as converting 325 passenger cars to the clean-burning fuel.

In a press conference before his talk, Pickens - who is heavily invested in natural gas - told reporters that he sees the fuel as the best bridge between the present petroleum-based tranpostation system and one 20 years from now that will be based on electric vehicles - either plug-in battery or hydrogen fuel-cell.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (3); John O'Dell April 21, 2009, 3:00 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Ethanol, Legislation, Natural Gas
Technorati Tags:: Alternative Fuels & Vehicles

April 20, 2009

William Clay Ford II Forecasts Bright Green Future For His Company

Ford mugshot.jpg

To hear Ford Motor Co. Executive Chairman William Clay Ford Jr. tell it, developing the green vehicles that will be needed to break this country's dependence upon foreign oil will be the easy part.

The really tough stuff will involve gaining consensus on such touchy subjects as instituting a new federal gasoline tax and determining which technologies will get the nod as new electric-generating plants are designed, permitted and brought online.

"I actually think that the least disruptive piece will be the car piece," Ford said during a half-hour Q&A during a Fortune magazine green ideas conference on Monday at the Ritz Carlton in Laguna Niguel, Calif. "We can get there relatively easy, but a lot of these other pieces are going to be big issues that we're going to have to solve as a nation."

"One thing that I'm encouraged about is that the [Obama] administration really wants to lead that discussion on a national basis," Ford said. "I am optimistic ... we can't go on with fossil fuel burning the way we are ... it's just not a path that this country wants to go down."

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Greg Johnson April 20, 2009, 9:23 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Batteries, Biofuels, Emissions, Ford, Fuel Cell, Fuel Economy, Green Vehicles, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Plug-ins and Electric, Tax Incentives
Technorati Tags:: Ford Motor Company

Wowza! A Gleaming Green Machine for Grooming Those Greens

A lawnmower like this would rate right up there with a Hemi-powered Challenger or a full-blown Camaro as an object of lust and desire for the menfolk in a big swatch of the country - in states where lawns are measured in acres, not square feet as is the norm in Southern California, where we're from.

But whether a hefty commercial rider-mower, or a big-box home store's 21-inch push-it-yourself model, gasoline lawn mowers are not all that earth-friendly.

The EPA figures that, among other things, filling up gas mowers results in about 17 million (yup, million) gallons of fuel being spilled each year - almost 70 percent more spillage than the Exxon Valdez was responsible for - while a single gas mower is responsible for more annual air pollution than 43 new cars each driven 1,000 miles a month.

(Hear that, emissions regulators? Where's the lawnmower crackdown?)

So imagine our delight, and amazement, when we stumbled upon this baby Sunday afternoon at the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Institute's annual conference in Orlando, Fla.

It's not only big and beefy, it is green - eschewing gasoline for compressed natural gas carried in a pair of side-mounted, polished steel tanks.

There was no one in the booth, so we weren't able to cadge a test ride, but Indiana-based Dixie Chopper claims that in addition to being green, its Xcalibur Eco-Eagle commercial lawn cutter is the world's fastest mower by dint of its ability to execute zero-radius turns (fast in mowing is measured by the time it takes to trim a park or groom a golf course, not the mower's top speed in a straight line - the Xcalibur is rated at 9.2 acres an hour and we bet that means something to many of you.)

The CNG lawn mower, which has a 1-liter engine and cuts a 66-inch swath through a patch of grass - and looks like it could also topple brush and small trees - is the newest in Dixie Chopper's Xcalibur line (the company makes gasoline, diesel and propane models as well). It is getting its world debut at the Alt Fuels fest, which caters to an awful lot of government and commercial fleet operators and usually features trucks, buses and cars that run on stuff other than gasoline.

It's not cheap - no official price available yet but the other models in the line start at $11,700. But CNG costs a lot less than gasoline and runs a lot cleaner, so there are far fewer emissions and less engine maintenance to pay for - major ocnsideratins when you're a cash-strapped city parks department.

It looks like it would do our yard in about two passes.

Wonder how it would do in an eighth-mile against Edmunds' long-term natural gas Honda Civic GX?

NOTE (added April 21): We talked to the guys at the Dixie Chopper booth. The mower's top speed is 15 mph, so looks like the Civic would beat it.

John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (5); John O'Dell April 20, 2009, 5:15 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Natural Gas
Technorati Tags:: AFVI

April 17, 2009

Green Vehicles Showcase for Federal Rulemakers in D.C. Canceled

For want of a nail....

Or, in this case, for want of a car, or two....

The Washington Area New Automobile Dealers Assn. has canceled a green cars show-and-tell it has been planning and promoting for months.

The idea was to get a lot of the real and concept hybrids, EVs and other alternative-fuel, fuel-efficient and low-emissions vehicles into the nation's capital on Monday, assembled in one spot so lawmakers, their staffs and the bureaucrats who actually write most of the rules that regulate the industry could see for themselves what carmakers are doing on the green front.

But in the case of concept studies and future cars such as the Chevrolet Volt, there often are only one or two working models available, and the D.C. dealer group has found that it doesn't rate high enough to overcome other commitments.

"We were unable to get all the cars we think are needed" to provide a realistic overview of what's up on the green front in Detroit, Tokyo, Stuttgart and elsewhere, said Barbara Pomerance, a spokeswoman for the dealer association.

Some of the cars were already committed to displays and shows in other parts of the country, she said, and couldn't be diverted to the Washington event.

So it has been canceled, with plans to reschedule when the showcase can actually be filled.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell April 17, 2009, 12:31 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Green Car Showcase Canceled

April 10, 2009

Feds To Speed Purchase of 17,600 Fuel-Efficient Vehicles From U.S. Automakers

Plan Includes 2,500 Hybrids and $15 million for EVs, CGN Vehicles and Hybrid Buses

Despite giving Chrysler just a month and General Motors Corp. only 60 days to finish figuring out how to save themselves without potentially devastating bankruptcy filings, the Obama administration continues showing its commitment to the U.S. auto industry by agreeing to spend $285 million to purchase 17,600 fuel-efficient vehicles from the domestic three by the end of May.

The federal vehicle purchases will include 2,500 gas-electric hybrid cars that are to be acquired by Wednesday (the same day federal income taxes are due). 2009.chevrolet.malibu hybrid.20234414-E.jpg

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Ford Fusion (top) and Chevrolet Malibu (bottom) hybrids are among the vehicles the federal government will be purchasing in coming weeks.

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In announcing the plan, President Obama said that the Government Services Agency also will spend $15 million on a pilot program to purchase and test an undisclosed number of new alternative fuel vehicles including compressed-natural gas vehicles, electric vehicles and hybrid buses.

The total isn't huge, representing only about 2 percent of last year's U.S. new car sales total and 29 percent of the government's average annual new vehicle purchases, but it will help brighten an otherwise woeful 2009 sales picture for GM, Chrysler and Ford Motor Co., the only carmakers eligible to participate in the plan.

The hybrid purchase marks the largest government order of gas-electric vehicles to date and will benefit both GM and Ford.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell April 10, 2009, 8:40 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Chrysler, Emissions, Ford, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Auto Industry Bailout

April 9, 2009

Nissan Reportedly Will Create Electric-Vehicle Program in Large Chinese City

Add Nissan to the list of automakers (including Chongqing Changan Auto, BYD, Brilliance, Chery, Dongfeng and SAIC) that are intent upon plugging into the rough-and-tumble Chinese market for hybrid-electric and battery-electric cars.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that Nissan is negotiating with China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to create a pilot electric-vehicle program in Wuhan, a city in central China with nine million residents.

The deal is unusual, the Journal reports, because Beijing typically doesn't forge such partnerships with foreign companies. The newspaper reported that the deal, which calls for Nissan to contribute cars and help create a recharging network, could be completed as soon as Friday.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Greg Johnson April 9, 2009, 11:49 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, BYD, Chery, China, China, Dongfeng, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Natural Gas, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Chinese Hybrids

Honda FCX Clarity Wins 2009 World Green Car Title at New York Auto Show

Honda Clariity.jpg

And the winner is: Honda FCX Clarity, the 2009 World Green Car.

The announcement was made this morning at the New York Auto Show. The FCX Clarity beat out the Mitsubishi i-MiEV and the Toyota iQ. The top three finishers were culled from a list of 22 contenders that were nominated by 59 judges in 25 countries.

Here is some of what the judges had to say about the car:

"The FCX Clarity is an utterly real, hydrogen-fueled luxury sedan that provides the amenities people expect in a premium car with 430 km (267 miles) range, fuel consumption of about 3.3 litres/100 km (72 mpg U.S.) equivalent and zero tailpipe emissions. While there is only so much the automotive industry can do when it comes to this technology - governments need to come onboard to help create a true refuelling infrastructure - Honda must be credited for taking a bold step in leasing FCX Clarity to customers in California for $600 (U.S.) per month.There's still a long way to go before fuel-cell cars will become a commercial success, but hats off to Honda for continuing to advance this expensive technology during a time when every cent counts."

To be eligible, vehicles had to be available in at least one major market during 2008. The field included production models and experimental prototypes with near-future applications. Judging criteria included fuel economy, emissions and overall environmental impact.

Here are some links to the Honda FCX Clarity, the Mitsubishi iMiEV and the Toyota iQ.

The previous three green category winners were the BMW 118d (2008), the Mercedes-Benz E320 Bluetec (2007) and the Honda Civic Hybrid (2006).

Greg Johnson, Contributor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Greg Johnson April 9, 2009, 10:37 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Auto Shows, Fuel Cell, Honda, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Mitsubishi, Toyota, Transportation Alternatives
Technorati Tags:: Fuel Efficient Cars

April 8, 2009

American Honda Motor Says It Still Hopes To Close FuelMaker Deal

Don't count Phill out just yet. And the same goes for the Honda Civic GX.

American Honda Motor Co. today said that is still trying to negotiate a sale of FuelMaker Corp., the Toronto-based manufacturer of the Phill-branded natural gas home refueling units that some Civic GX owners use to fill their tanks.

Honda also said that it will keep marketing the GX, currently the only natural gas car being sold in the U.S.

Honda's announcement came several days after an online natural gas industry newsletter reported that FuelMaker had been placed into receivership and seemed to be headed into bankruptcy proceedings.

Honda confirmed that FuelMaker is, indeed, in receivership and that bankruptcy is a possibility.

But the Torrance, Calif.-based automaker also reported that it is in the "final stages" of negotiations with a potential buyer that shares its vision of making natural gas a "viable alternative fuel."

Honda declined to say much more about FuelMaker's fate, citing "the pending finalization of the legal matters involved."

Honda said that it will continue selling the Civic GX through select dealerships in California and New York. The car and the fueling system had become synonymous because Honda had been trying to couple the Phill-branded home refueling unit with the Civic GX as a marketing tool.

No word on whether Honda is again negotiating with Clean Energy, a company co-founded by Texas oilman and natural gas advocate T. Boone Pickens. In September 2008 we reported that Clean Energy had agreed to buy FuelMaker for $17 million. But that deal fell apart less than a month later.

Greg Johnson, Contributor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Greg Johnson April 8, 2009, 4:33 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Honda, Natural Gas
Technorati Tags:: American Honda Motor Co.

April 7, 2009

Online Report Has FuelMaker In Bankruptcy and Heading Toward Liquidation

Has FuelMaker Corp., manufacturer of the Phill-branded home refueling unit that some Civic GX owners use to fill their natural gas tanks, been forced into bankruptcy?

And, if that's the case, what does the news mean for Honda Motor Co.'s natural gas vehicles program in North America?

Honda officials didn't immediately respond to a telephone request on Tuesday for confirmation that Toronto-based FuelMaker is being liquidated.

But NGV Global, an online newsletter published by the International Assn. for Natural Gas Vehicles, earlier today ran a story with this headline: "FuelMaker Declared Bankrupt - Honda Hands to Liquidator." NGV Global reported that FuelMaker "entered into receivership on 2nd April" and that the plan is to "liquidate all assets."

The newsletter also quoted John Lyon, identified as FuelMaker's former president and CEO, as saying:

"FuelMaker management was aware that American Honda was trying to sell its FuelMaker stock and intellectual property to a company that would provide the synergies necessary to move FM to the next step of efficiency and profitability. This was public knowledge. We were shocked to learn this week from a third party (not Honda) that Honda was planning to put FM into bankruptcy and sell the assets."

Last fall, Honda seemed close to brokering a sale of FuelMaker that would have kept Phill-branded home refueling units in the North American marketplace. (At the time, the company was co-owned by Honda and a private trust.)

In September 2008 we reported that Clean Energy, a company co-founded by Texas oilman and natural gas advocate T. Boone Pickins, wanted to buy FuelMaker for $17 million. But within weeks, the deal fell apart.

At the time, we reported that "Honda and FuelMaker were unable to complete their end of a purchase agreement with Clean Energy Fuels Corp." A Honda spokesman also said that the company still wanted to sell FuelMaker "to an appropriate buyer who wants to expand the CNG fueling infrastructure."

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Greg Johnson April 7, 2009, 5:40 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Honda, Natural Gas
Technorati Tags:: Alternative fuels

March 27, 2009

Stop the Presses: National Wildlife Federation Supports GM Bailout Bid

Even when green, politics make for strange bedfellows.

As in the National Wildlife Federation's decision to support General Motors' bid to receive additional federal government bailout funds.

The show of support for GM by the Reston, Virginia-based environmental group with 4 million members came in a March 24 letter that NWF President and Chief Executive Larry Schweiger sent to President Obama's automobile industry task force.

Referring to GM's federal loan "application" in which the automaker pledged to make development of fuel-efficient, low-emission vehicles such as the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid paramount in the future, Schweiger wrote that "when you consider that GM's plan is a critical step in confronting global climate change, then our involvement is not only expected, it is required."

The nation needs "to make investments in companies like GM who will deliver the technologies critical to achieving that clean energy economy," the letter said.

Schweiger reiterated what he said on March 17 when he and GM Chief Executive Rick Wagoner appeared together on behalf of the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, a coalition of companies and environmental groups that are lobbying Congress to establish a cap-and-trade system for controlling carbon-dioxide emissions.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); Greg Johnson March 27, 2009, 6:00 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Fuels & Technologies, General Motors, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Bailout

March 26, 2009

Green Car Proponents Say Government Support for R&D Is Growing in Importance

And you thought it was tough trying to figure out which fuel-efficient car to drive off the dealer lot.

Ichiro Sakai, assistant vice president of American Honda Motor Co., said earlier this week that vehicle manufacturers face similar challenges when it comes to allocating limited R&D dollars among competing (and expensive) green technologies.

"We suffer from market preference," Sakai said during a transportation program sponsored by the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University in Washington.

That's a polite way of saying Honda doesn't want to get too far ahead of the green automobile pack -- only to discover that consumers aren't interested in buying what it has to sell. A case in point: the ongoing debate over whether lower gasoline prices have dulled consumer demand for smaller, fuel-efficient cars.

Honda sees the wisdom of advancing such technologies as pure-electric vehicles and increased use of biofuels. But EE Publishing's ClimateWire (a subscription-only news service) reports that Sakai also told the audience that such market realities as fuel economy regulations force it to concentrate on picking "lots of low-hanging fruit for the future of internal combustion engines."

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Greg Johnson March 26, 2009, 12:24 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Ford, Fuel Cell, Fuel Economy, Honda, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Legislation, Plug-ins and Electric, Tax Incentives
Technorati Tags:: American Honda Motor Co.

Federal Funding Shifting Away From Fuel Cells, Back to Plug-In Hybrids?

You don't need a weatherman to know which way the federal funding for green vehicle technology research has been flowing.

The Clinton administration favored plug-in hybrid electric vehicle research. The Bush administration steered funding to hydrogen fuel-cell research. And who hasn't heard President Obama's repeated pledge to have 1 million plug-in hybrid electric vehicles on American roads by 2015?

But some in Washington, D.C. are cautioning against the anticipated swing of federal funding back to plug-in hybrids at the expense of hydrogen technology research.

"I hope that we will avoid again putting all of our eggs in one technology basket," U.S. Rep. Brian Baird (D, Wash.) said while chairing a Tuesday hearing in Washington, D.C., by the House Subcommittee on Energy and Environment. "While we must be targeted in our federal R&D programs, this single-minded approach ignores the importance of balancing a diverse portfolio with sustained funding for longer-term research."

Subsequent testimony by Steven Chalk suggested that the principal deputy assistant secretary for the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy has taken to heart Obama's 2015 pledge.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Greg Johnson March 26, 2009, 10:10 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, BMW, Batteries, Fuel Cell, Fuels & Technologies, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Legislation, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: BMW

March 25, 2009

Hyundai Motor Co. Introduces All-Electric Car for South Korean Market

Hyundai Motor Co. has been green with envy over the success that competitors Toyota and Honda have had in marketing their fuel-efficient cars to consumers.

South Korea's largest automaker has been playing catch-up as it develops a fleet that eventually will include a mix of conventional and plug-in hybrids, advanced-technology gasoline internal combustion engines and fuel-cell electric vehicles.

And, on Monday, Hyundai unveiled plans to expand that fleet with an all-electric, rechargeable car with a range of about 40 miles (62 kilometers).

"We cannot eliminate any technology. We have to keep them all," Hyundai Vice Chairman Lee Hyun Soon told the Bloomberg news service during an interview on Monday in Hwaseong, near Seoul.

"If your commuting distance is short, maybe you can justify using an electric vehicle," said Lee, who serves as research chief for Hyundai and its Kia Motors Corp. affiliate.

Lee did not say when the battery car will go on sale or which markets initially will be targeted.

Upcoming Kia and Hyundai hybrids, as well as the planned Hyundai electric vehicle, will use lithium batteries manufactured by LG Chem Ltd., South Korea's largest chemical company. LG Chem also is supplying lithium-ion batteries for GM's Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid, which will go on the market in 2010.

Kia on Tuesday introduced its Kia Forte hybrid, which will be the world's first hybrid-liquefied petroleum gas car when it goes on sale in Korea later this year.

Greg Johnson, Contributor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Greg Johnson March 25, 2009, 1:44 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Chevrolet, Fuel Cell, Hybrid, Hyundai, Kia, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Hyundai Electric Vehicle

March 24, 2009

Despite Economy, Kia Sticks to Schedule With Summer Launch of First Hybrid

Sticking to an ambitious green car plan we told you about late last year, Kia Motors is entering the hybrid arena with a mild-hybrid version of its recently introduced Forte sedan (right) , a replacement for the Spectra.

The Kia Forte Hybrid, aimed at the South Korean automaker's home market, is slated to go on sale later this summer.

It combines a 1.6-liter liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) engine with a small electric motor-generator, a continuously variable transmission and what the company says will be the world's first lithium-polymer battery pack.

The gel-based batteries are smaller, lighter and easier to package than solid-cell lithium batteries. South Korea's LG Chem, which recently won the contract to provide lithium-ion batteries for the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid due from General Motors Corp. in late 2010, will provide Kia's batteries.

The automaker said the Forte Hybrid should achieve fuel economy of 41 miles per gallon of liquefied petroleum gas.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell March 24, 2009, 9:34 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Batteries, Hybrid, Hyundai, Kia
Technorati Tags:: Kia Forte Hybrid

March 19, 2009

Congressmen Want 80 Percent of New Vehicles Flex-Fuel Compatible by 2015

Although it contains less energy than gasoline and thus cuts into fuel economy for vehicles that use it, ethanol helps replace gas and that makes it a valuable tool in the national effort to wean ourselves from petroleum-based fuels.

We don't believe it is particularly green, either, but none of this has kept ethanol from being the favored alt fuel of a whole lot of people.

In the latest pro-ethanol move we're aware of, a bipartisan group of congress members has just introduced a bill that would require by 2015 that 80 percent of all new autos and light trucks sold or manufacturers in the U.S. be capable of running on either E85, a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline, or M85, a methanol-gasoline blend in the same proportions.

(Methanol, a close cousin of ethanol, is widely used as a racing fuel, primarily for safety reasons - it is less flammable than gasoline. But is has even less energy content than ethanol.)

The measure, H.R. 1476, would require half of the new cars and light trucks sold or built here in 2012 to be E85 or M85 flex-fuel capable, ratcheting up to 80 percent three years later.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (4); John O'Dell March 19, 2009, 12:07 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Ethanol, Legislation, Methanol
Technorati Tags:: E85

March 11, 2009

AT&T Plans Massive Alt-Fuel and Hybrid Vehicles Buy, Ford Is Big Beneficiary

AT&T says it plans to spend more than half a billion dollars over the next decade purchasing hybrids and alternative fuel vehicles for its corporate fleet.

More than half the 15,000 vehicles the communications giant intends to acquire would be Ford vans - 8,000 of them - that would be converted to compressed natural gas by a so-called "upfitter" that would install the new CNG fuel systems.

The sales would not require any production increase at Ford. "We can meet this demand within our current plans," a spokeswoman for the automaker said.

In all, Reuters news service reported, AT&T is budgeting $565 million on the project, aimed at making its fleet on of the greenest in corporate America.

Ford Motor Co., which would likely be the biggest financial beneficiary of the plan, said in a statement provided to Green Car Advisor today that it "is pleased to support AT&T with their Green Fleet strategy."

A spokeswoman Ford, which has seen sales plummet as the global economy continues to weaken, confirmed that the automaker would not build the CNG vehicles itself but would merely sell AT&T the full-size Econoline vans with 5.4-liter V8 engines prepared with special valves that are compatible with natural gas.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell March 11, 2009, 1:42 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Ford, Hybrid, Natural Gas, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Alternative Fuels

March 4, 2009

Trader Warns That $300 Oil Is Coming Yet Investors Are Shunning Alt Fuels

If you don't like what you see in the rearview mirror -- $145 a barrel oil and gasoline that last July topped $4 a gallon -- then you won't like what commodities trader Kevin Kerr sees up ahead when the global economy eventually gets back into gear.

Oil prices will start accelerating, he warns.

"Any economic recovery results in higher energy prices -- it's elementary," Kerr writes in Dow Jones' MarketWatch.com.

"That means $300 crude oil could be one year away or three years away, but certainly not much more."

In the lessons-not-learned department, Kerr writes, "It's disappointing that during this lull in energy prices, more immediate action isn't being taken to stave off the rapid return of even higher energy prices."

There's been "almost no progress on the march to alternatives," according to Kerr. "The global investment engine has ground to a halt. With oil prices at these levels and the market in tatters, the last place investors want to put their money is in the alternative energy space."

Kerr's observations came just hours before General Motors reported that its February sales tumbled 53 percent from a year earlier. Ford and Toyota sales were down 48 percent and 40 percent, respectively.

Plummeting sales have dried up revenue and that means little to spend on developing vehicles that can use alternative fuels and power plants.

Oil prices, meanwhile, have dipped below $33 twice in the past three months and inventories are nearing record highs.

We're seriously hoping he's overstating things, but Kerr says this is just the lull before a pretty violent storm.

Greg Johnson, Contributor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (3); John O'Dell March 4, 2009, 3:00 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels
Technorati Tags:: Alternative Fuels

February 27, 2009

Lotus Developing 'Omnivore' Engine To Run on Gasoline and a Variety of Alcohols

Illustration of Lotus Engineering's omnivore engine doesn't disclose much about its inner workings.

It's not a particularly lovely beast, but Lotus Engineering says its prototype "omnivore" engine will thrive on all kinds of fuels and that's likely to make it a winner in the world to come -- when petroleum is fading away and biofuels from a variety of sources and in a variety of chemistries are developing to fill the void.

Lotus says the blocky internal combustion engine has the "potential to significantly increase fuel-efficiency" for sustainable alcohol-based fuels (ethanol, methanol. propanol and butanol ) and can also run on gasoline.

The prototype one-cylinder engine will be displayed at the Lotus Cars stand at the Geneva Motor Show next week (media days begin Tuesday and the show opens to the public Thursday for an 11-day run).

Lotus Engineering -- the research and consulting arm of Lotus Cars -- says the engine is a two-stroke, single-cylinder monoblock (the cylinder head and block are one piece) that uses a unique variable compression system and direct fuel injection.

The design can utilize high octane, alcohol-based biofuels better than the four-stroke (intake-combustion-power-exhaust) engines now used in cars and trucks, the company said.

We'll let our engineering gurus explain the precise working of the system in a later posting, but the short version is that Lotus claims the engine design and mechanics permit asymmetric exhaust timing, a continuously variable exhaust opening point and a compression ratio that changes to meet load demands.

Lotus has been deeply involved in alternative energy and powerplant technology for years.

It is collaborating on development of the Omnivore engine with Queen's University of Belfast, in Northern Ireland, and Orbital Corp. Ltd. of Australia, and said the program is being sponsored by Britain's Renewables Materials Link program, which helps fund collaborative industry and scientific segment research into uses of renewable materials for sustainable development.

The Omnivore program is one piece of Lotus' research into the processes involved in operating an engine on mixtures of alcohol-based biofuels and gasoline.

A previously displayed effort was the Lotus Exige 270E Tri-fuel concept (gasoline, ethanol, methanol or any combination of the three) shown a last year's Geneva Motor Show.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell February 27, 2009, 3:00 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Auto Shows, Biofuels, Butanol, Ethanol, Flex-Fuel, Lotus, Methanol
Technorati Tags:: Biofuels

February 26, 2009

New York Cellulosic Plant Begins Producing Ethanol From Wood Chips

Cellulosic ethanol pioneer Mascoma Corp. said Wednesday it has begun producing the alcohol-based fuel from wood chips at its demonstration refinery in New York,

The company, which has benefited from investments by General Motors Corp. and a number of heavyweight venture capital firms specializing in green energy, uses a genetically modified bacteria to break down the usually hard-to-digest cellulose in wood chips and other biomass.

The fermented biomass is used to produce so-called cellulosic ethanol (because it comes from cellulose).

Mascoma' $30 million demonstration refinery in Rome, N.Y., has the capacity to produce up to 200,000 gallons of ethanol a year, and the biofuel is to be used by General Motors in its test car fleet.

Mascoma says it wants to use the same technology in a commercial plant it is planning for Northern Michigan, where chips from nearby lumber mills would provide the necessary biomass.

But the company says its process also can be used to break down the cellulose in other materials, including portions of sugarcane and corn stalks, that are not part of the human food chain.

Mascoma says the 40-million-gallon Michigan plant would cost at least $200 million to build and that it still is attempting to raise the necessary funds.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell February 26, 2009, 5:00 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Ethanol, General Motors
Technorati Tags:: Celllulosic Ethanol

Algae-to-Fuels Project Wins Research Grant From California Energy Commission

(Updated 2/26 to include research grant's value.)

The nitrogen-rich agricultural runoff than can choke the life out of lakes and ponds with thick green algae "blooms" might someday help fuel our cars and trucks.

That's the hope of a California company, QuantumSphere, that has received a $100,000 research grant from the California Energy Commission's Energy Innovations small grant program for a year-long project to develop an algae biogasification process that can turn the aquatic vegetation and other biomass material into methane, hydrogen or other synthetic gases.

Because algae grows so rapidly, is so rich in carbohydrates and needs so little care, it is considered a prime feedstock for biofuels - if a cost-efficient method of breaking it down can be developed.

QuantumSphere, which will use engineered nano-metals as catalysts for turning algae into gases, says the slimy green stuff (it comes in other colors, too) can produce as much as 60 percent of its biomass in the form of oils or carbohydrates.

The oil can be turned into biodiesel and the carbohydrates into alcohols - for ethanol production - or into synthetic gases for fuel or industrial use.

"Our vision for this project was to use this process to take wet algae produced in a place like the Salton Sea in the Imperial Valley of California and convert it into renewable fuels," said Subra Iyer, QuantumSphere's principal technologist.

"The Salton Sea is a place for large amounts of agricultural runoff which sometimes creates large algae blooms. If successful, we envision a large plant" on the shore of the inland sea that could convert large amounts of algae into renewable fuels, he said.

Iyer said the process QuantumSphere plans to use is designed to convert any biomass, including leaves, algae, vegetable waste and corn stalks, into fuel.

The company's plan calls for it to build a small-scale demonstration plant to show the feasibility of its conversion process.

John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell February 26, 2009, 4:00 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Fuels & Technologies
Technorati Tags:: Algae Gasification

February 24, 2009

Associations Team To Push the Boundaries of Biodiesel - and Vehicle Warranties

Diesel-powered cars and trucks are gaining popularity in the U.S., and that's got many people in America's biodiesel industry all excited.

With more diesel vehicles on American roads and concern about global warming at an all-time high, sales of biodiesel in the land of the free ought to be brisk. But they aren't.

The problem, as the producers, brokers, distributors and retailers of biodiesel will tell you, is that automakers are being total party-poopers when it comes to warranty issues.

Never mind the fact that Rudolph Diesel, the inventor of the engine that bears his name, experimented with fuels ranging from powdered coal to peanut oil.

If you use a blend that contains more than 5 percent biodiesel (or less than 95 percent petro-diesel), you can kiss your vehicle warranty good-bye.

Doesn't matter if the higher blend -- say 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent petro-diesel -- was certified to stringent standards. Most automakers will nullify a warranty the moment they learn that a blend higher than B5 has gone into the fuel tank.

The biodiesel industry says it's not right. They say 20 percent biodiesel (B20) or even 100 percent biodiesel (B100) are wonderful fuels that don't do an engine any harm.

And now two of the industry's trade groups are trying to force this issue, pointing to the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act, a 1975 federal statute governing car warranties that prohibits any automaker from voiding a car's warranty based on the type of fuel used in that car.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (2); Scott Doggett February 24, 2009, 12:36 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Diesel, Emissions, Legislation
Technorati Tags:: B100

February 23, 2009

Calif. Dairy Converts Diesel Big Rigs to Run on Biomethane Made From Cow Manure

Three days before Christmas, we joyously reported that Idaho was looking to convert mountains of manure into natural gas for vehicles and homes.

Today, we're delighted to report that Hilarides Dairy of Lindsay, California, has gone a step farther: It's converted two of its diesel 18-wheelers to run on clean-burning biomethane made from the dairy's formidable stockpiles of cow crap.

In addition to curbing the amount of greenhouse gases that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere as the manure decomposed, by producing biomethane from cow waste the dairy is reducing the nation's dependence on foreign fossil fuels.

And the production will "give us some protection from volatile energy prices," said owner Ron Hilarides (pictured). Who'd have thunk so much good could come from cow patties.

The bio-gas making process begins with flushing manure from stalls housing 10,000 cows into a covered lagoon, where bacteria breaks it down. The resulting methane gas is then pumped to a refinery that removes carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide and other impurities.

The purified methane is pressurized - made into compressed natural gas - before being pumped into the 18-wheelers, which are fitted with Cummins engines that have been converted from compression-ignited diesels to spark-ignited methane-burners.

The dairy generates 226,000 cubic feet of bio-gas per day - enough to slash the dairy's diesel consumption by 650 gallons a day, Hilarides said, adding that he intends to convert five pick-up trucks to run on biomethane.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); Scott Doggett February 23, 2009, 12:01 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Diesel, Emissions, Methanol, Natural Gas, Tax Incentives
Technorati Tags:: Biofuel

February 19, 2009

Tata Motors Says Electric and Air-Powered Nano Models Coming

By Nick Kurczewski, Contributor

Tata Motors, the Indian automaker that rocked the industry with its announcement last year of a $2,000 car -- the Nano (left) -- said that work on electric and air-powered versions of the soon-to-debut mini hatchback continues despite the company's woes (Tata reported a $52 million loss for its last quarter).

The work is going on track," Ravi Kant, Tata's managing director, said during a recent press conference in Mumbai.

The Nano will become the world's cheapest car when it goes on sale later this year in India with a base price of roughly $2,000 before taxes and shipping fees.

But price isn't enough to enable Tata to penetrate Western European and, potentially, North American markets. To do that, Tata needs to be able to field super fuel-efficient alternative-energy models of the Nano.

To help speed things up, the company last year acquired a majority stake in Miljo Grenland Innovasjon, a Norwegian company specializing in electric car technology.

Tata also is working with French air-car impresario Guy Negre's MDI Enterprises on a compressed-air engine for the Nano.

A battery-electric Nano, sold as a speed-restricted vehicle suitable for urban centers or gated communities, would help Tata breach Western markets without boosting the price the Spartan little car.

In its present form, the Nano does without airbags, ABS, or electronic stability control -- though Tata Motors representatives have said such items could be fitted. But safety features cost money and low speed vehicles in Europe and the U.S. do not need to meet the same stringent safety standards that apply to regular automobiles.

A compressed air version of the Nano also would likely be a low-speed vehicle. It also is probably a long way off. "Developments are ongoing with MDI, but it remains a very long-term plan," said Kant.

MDI has already developed several small and lightweight vehicles using air power. The system uses high-tech carbon-fiber tanks, which feed carefully measured doses of pressurized air to a piston engine specially adapted to run on air power. The result is a zero-emission vehicle that MDI insists is a viable option to electric vehicles.

Standard models of the Nano will be powered by a tiny 623cc two-cylinder gasoline engine, capable of delivering 32 horsepower and fuel economy of around 50 miles per gallon. A diesel version with a fuel economy increase of 20 percent or more is expected to arrive by the end of this year.

Debasis Ray, spokesman for Tata Motors, confirmed that sales of the conventionally powered Nano will commence sometime before April this year to enable the company to benefit from the global economic meltdown and resulting demand for inexpensive transportation.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell February 19, 2009, 3:00 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, India, Plug-ins and Electric, Tata
Technorati Tags:: Air Car

February 16, 2009

Economic Stimulus Act Contains Good News For Green Car Advocates

(Modified 2/17/09 to reflect amendment to plug-in hybrid credit provision and to correct a typographical error in same section.)

Now that the Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 has passed through Congress and is awaiting the signature of the President who so adamantly has wanted it, we thought we'd revisit, as best we can, the provisions that apply directly to the green car world.

We say "as best we can" because a full and final version of the bill is still hard to find - and we couldn't. The closest we can come is the official White House website , which has the conference committee version that was approved on Thursday, but hasn't updated it to the final version that passed both the Hue and Senate on Friday.

So here's the most accurate info we have as of this morning:

Sales Tax Deduction

There is, of course, a sales tax deduction provision aimed at stimulating new car buying in general.

It would make state sales taxes for new car purchases a federal income tax deduction and it would apply to purchases of hybrids and other fuel-efficient vehicles as well as to purchases of Hummers and Dodge Rams and Lincoln Navigators.

It won't put a lot of money in anyone's pockets, and many automakers say it isn't likely to turn things around dramatically this year, but it will help reduce tax bills for people who've got the wherewithal to buy a new vehicles in the first place and could at least keep a bid situation from getting worse.

Status Quo For Conventional Hybrids

The measure, far as we know, doesn't alter the diminishing tax credits system already in place for conventional hybrids: Up to $3,400 until an automaker sells 60,000 hybirds, then a 50 percent drop each six months until the credit disappears.

Toyota, by dint of its sales lead in the hybrid segment, had used up all of its credits by the end of 2007; Honda's disappeared on Jan. 1; Ford's start dropping at the end of March. GM and Nissan still have full credits available for qualifying models, according to the Department of Energy website that tracks such stuff.

Plug-Ins Win

The bill aims to promote development and sales of plug-in hybrids and some pure EVs, though, by instituting a new tier of tax credits ranging from $2,500 to $7,500 for a vehicle, like the upcoming Chevrolet Volt, with a battery large enough to provide 40 miles of so of all-electric drive on a single charge (the Volt uses an on-board generator to keep things humming along once the initial grid charge is depleted).

The battery pack for an eligible vehicle has to have a capacity of at least at least four kilowatt hours, and the credit increases by $417 for each additional kilowatt hour of capacity after that, topping out at $7,500 for vehicles of 10,000 pounds or less (most cars and light trucks).

For vehicles weighing from 10,001 pounds to 14,000 pounds, the maximum credit is $10,000; it jumps to $12,500 for 14,001- to 26,000-pound vehicles; and tops out at $15,000 for vehicles in excess of 26,000 pounds.

Don't Hold Your Breath, Though

Sorry to say, though, that in most instances, the money for those credits will just be sitting there for the next 23 months.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell February 16, 2009, 3:00 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Fuel Cell, Green Vehicles, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Legislation, Plug-ins and Electric, Tax Incentives
Technorati Tags:: Economic Recovery Reinvestment Act

February 13, 2009

Ethanol Crimes: Alleged Stock Scam in Canada, Slaverylike Conditions in Brazil

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Toronto stock broker George Georgiou with manipulating the market in four stocks, including Hydrogen Hybrid Technologies Inc., "the only commercially viable application of hydrogen in the consumer marketplace today", according to the company's Web site, and Northern Ethanol Inc., which "intends to develop three ethanol plants," according to its Web site.

The other companies were Avicena Group Inc., which offers "cellular regenerative therapies" to people who can't handle aging gracefully; and, Neutron Enterprises Inc., "the leading global provider of Web-based stock market simulations."

The SEC alleges that, from 2004 through September 2008, Georgiou, who controlled the publicly traded stock of each company, manipulated the market to artificially inflate each company's stock price or to create the false appearance of an active and liquid market. Ultimately, he allegedly realized at least $20.9 million in ill-gotten gains from his manipulation schemes. Further proof that a sucker is born every minute.

The complaint alleges that Georgiou's manipulation of Hydrogen Hybrid Technologies relied on "a pump and dump scheme" in which he arranged for the publication of a promotional mailer sent to 7 million addresses across the U.S. Georgiou allegedly coordinated manipulative trading with the publication of the mailer, and ultimately received more than $3.8 million when he dumped his shares into the artificially inflated market.

The complaint also alleges that part of Georgiou's manipulation of Northern Ethanol stock involved the payment of an illegal kickback to a person Georgiou believed was a corrupt registered representative, but who was in reality an undercover FBI agent. Nice!

We couldn't locate a photo of Georgiou, so we went with the SEC logo. We did locate photos of one George Georgiou, a staff photographer for Playboy, but we gather he's not the same GG the SEC snared. Would be interesting if he was. Most SEC complaints are dull as dirt; this complaint is a compelling read.

On a much sadder note, two portraits of slavery conditions and gangland-style field management in Brazil's sugarcane industry have emerged in recent days. We're reporting it because sugarcane is the basis for much of the country's ethanol production.

Germany's Der Spiegel describes in riveting detail the brutal powers of the country's feitor, or field foreman, over hiring, firing, payment and conditions affecting the hundreds of thousands of Brazilians who work the nation's cane plantations. Meanwhile, the Americas Program of the Center for International Policy is reporting on slavelike conditions in its explosive report "Migration and Mechanization in Brazil's Biofuel Cane Fields."

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett February 13, 2009, 10:33 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Ethanol
Technorati Tags:: Ethanol

February 12, 2009

Green Car Advocate Daniel Sperling 'Hopeful' of Clean Transportation Future

Discusses Need for Government Support With Cable TV's Daily Show Host

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Comedian Jon Stewart (and yes, he is a comedian, even if you do get all your news from his program) had green car advocate Daniel Sperling on his Daily Show to discuss government support of alternative fuels and plug-in hybrids.

Sperling -- a member of the California Air Resources Board and head of the Institute of Transportation Studies at UC Davis -- said he believes the day will come when "the vast majority" of the cars on the road will use batteries, fuel-cells and advanced biofuels for power and suggested that it would only take "tens of billions" of dollars to get the ball rolling.

We think it might take a bit more than that, but we just collectively threw $350 billion at Wall Street and have spent nearly $600 billion on the War in Iraq so far (according to the National Priorities Project), so it appears we've got the bucks to throw at problems if we really believe they are problems.

Stewart, of course, lightens things up in his interview, but there's still plenty of food for thought in his 6.5-minute exchange with Sperling.

You can watch it by clicking on the video screen above.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell February 12, 2009, 11:55 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Fuel Cell, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Advanced Biofuels

February 11, 2009

Stimulus Bill Still Has Funds for Plug-Ins, Batteries, Alt Fuels and Mass Transit

There's still a lot of debate to go, and things can change, but billions of dollars of incentive money to promote plug-in hybrids and EV battery development apparently remains in the $790 billion compromise economic stimulus bill that Senate and House leaders have handed over to a joint conference committee.

The bill is slimmed down considerably from the $838-billion measure approved Tuesday by the Senate and a bit smaller than the $$819-billion initially OK'd by the House on January 28.

But it still contains $49.6 billion in transportation infrastructure funds -- money to be used for highways and bridges, mass transit (including rail) and airport improvements.

The measure leaves $7,500 as the top credit plug-in hybrid passenger vehicle purchaser can claim -- and that's for a so-called extended-range (or series) hybrid such as the upcoming Chevrolet Volt, with 40 miles or more of all-electric range. Plug-in trucks for commercial use are eligible for credits of up to $15,000.

The measure expands the total number of plug-ins that will be eligible for tax credits to 500,000 from the 250,000 initially proposed, and provides a 10 percent tax credit, up to a maximum of $4,000, to offset the cost of having an existing hybrid car converted to a plug-in (and the conversion company has to be certified by the feds).

Also still hanging in there is a $2 billion fund for incentives for electric vehicle battery development.

The conference committee has been asked to get a final version of the bill to the floor for a vote in both houses of Congress by Friday.

We'll be reporting on the various green transportation and alternative fuel provisions that survive as the info becomes available.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell February 11, 2009, 3:29 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Batteries, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Economic Stimulus Bill

February 8, 2009

Ford to Launch Electric Cargo Van in U.S. Next Year, With Electric Car in 2011

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Ending almost two months of speculation, Ford Motor Co. confirmed today that it will, indeed, base its first venture into the commercial electric vehicle market on the Ford Transit Connect van (right) that's already a best-seller throughout Europe in its conventional gasoline and diesel versions.

We don't get to do it as often as we'd like, so bear with us a moment: "Toot."

That's the sound of our own horn.

We predicted this back in December, when word first got out that Ford was planning a battery-electric cargo van for the U.S. commercial truck market.

Ford said today it will bring the electric delivery van to market here in partnership with Britain's Smith Electric Vehicles - which already makes its own battery-electric version of the Transit Connect for sale as the Smith Amphere (left) in Europe and just last week confirmed plans to introduce - and begin building - a much larger commercial truck, the Smith Newton, in the U.S. later this year.

The Ford Transit EV, slated to go on sale in 2010, will be the first in what Ford promise will be a family of electric vehicles that will include a battery-electric small car (possibly the Ford Focus) in 2011; and, in 2012, a new generation of Ford's hybrid powertrain in a number of vehicles including a plug-in hybrid (likely the Ford Escape SUV, a plug-in version of which is presently undergoing testing).

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell February 8, 2009, 9:01 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Ford, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Ford Electric Delivery Van

February 6, 2009

IMPCO To Re-Establish Bi-Fuel Conversion Business In U.S. After Long Absence

Company Says Time is Right to Begin Marketing Kits to Add Natural Gas Capability to Conventional Vehicles

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

A California-based company that has played a major role in popularizing bi-fuel cars and tucks in Europe and Latin America is bringing its technology home.

IMPCO Technologies, manufacturer of a bi-fuel conversion system that can enable cars to run on natural gas or propane as well as gasoline, plans to announce this morning that it is establishing a new U.S. automotive division to take advantage of what it sees as a growth market for technologies that can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and dependence on petroleum.

The company's Automotive Alternative Fuels Division initially will concentrate of the fleet market with conversion kits for popular domestic pickup trucks and vans, said Tim Standke, IMPCO's director of automotive operations. The company also will show a converted Chevrolet Impala sedan - a popular government fleet car - at its press conference today.

IMPCO - a subsidiary of Fuel Systems Solutions - could expand its product line into the general passenger vehicle market if demand is there, Standke told Green Car Advisor in an interview earlier this week.

"Our goal is to open up to all markets," he said. "We want to be there, to be ready, when gas prices go up and the demand for alternative fuels grows."

The company already manufactures conversion kits for a wide variety of passenger cars sold in Europe and South America, including vehicles from Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp.

The big drawback to a widespread introduction in the U.S. passenger vehicle market is the cost of testing and certification, Standke said.

It costs about $50,000 to perform the tests needed to obtain federal Environmental Protection Agency certification for a kit for a specific model, he said, and almost $500,000 per model to gain certification from the California Air Resources Board, which requires far more testing than the EPA.

CARB certification is a necessity if the company wants to be able to sell its product in states that use California emissions rules rather than federal standards - the list includes many of the country's most populous states.

The company's system (left) consists of a separate fuel injector rail, a control valve, fuel filter, new fuel lines for the under-the-hood portion of the system, pressure and temperature sensors and an injector control module that works with the vehicle's original engine control computer to permit seamless switching from gasoline to natural gas or propane.

Customers also must purchase pressurized fuel tanks and tank-to-engine bay fuel lines, typically from a licensed IMPCO installer.

The entire system, which is added to the vehicle in parallel with the existing gasoline fuel system, can run from $7,000 to $8,000, with the cost of the fuel tanks and pressurized fuel lines representing more than half the price.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell February 6, 2009, 5:00 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Flex-Fuel, Ford, General Motors, Natural Gas
Technorati Tags:: Alternative Fuels

February 3, 2009

Wal-Mart to Test Hybrids, Alt Fuels In Its Relentless Cost-Cutting Drive

Wal-Mart Stores says it soon will begin testing two new hybrid systems and three alternative fuels in some of its heavy-duty Class 8 trucks - the ones that haul those big Wal-Mart cargo trailers down the highway.

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Trucks like this one with a Peterbilt-Eaton hybrid drive are part of wal-Mart test fleet.

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The company said it will test a diesel-electric hybrid system in the Detroit area. The system, developed by ArvinMeritor, uses the electric motor mostly in low-speed, high-demand situations, such as accelerating from a dead stop while pulling a full trailer.

The diesel engine begins taking over with the electric motor's contribution to propulsion power diminishing as the truck accelerates until it is operating as a conventional diesel truck at highway speeds.

A Peterbilt-Eaton "hybrid assist" system will be used on five trucks in trials Southern California, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston and the Washington-Baltimore area.

Unlike the ArvnMeritor system, it will provide an electric power boost for the internal combustion engine in high-demand situations such as acceleration and hill climbing.

It also will serve as the trucks' auxiliary power unit to keep heating and cooling systems and other electrical components operating when the truck is stopped - eliminating the need to keep the diesel engine running to generate auxiliary power.

The company is hoping the hybrid systems will result in improved fuel economy and reduced fuel costs and emissions.

Finally, Wal-Mart said it will test biodiesel and reclaimed grease fuel (made from cooking grease used in food outlets in Wal Mart stores) in a fleet of 15 trucks at its Buckeye, Az., distribution center; and liquid natural gas in five trucks in the Southern California high-desert area east of Los Angeles County.

For a variety of reasons we're not big Wal-Mart fans, but we've got to applaud the company's efforts to look at alternative fuels and powerplants in its relentless hunt for ways to slash operating costs.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (2); John O'Dell February 3, 2009, 3:50 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Diesel, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, India
Technorati Tags:: Altenative Fuels

ACEEE Dubs Honda Civic GX Greenest Car For 6th Year; Prius In Second Place

GM Gets Three Models on 'Greenest' List and Tops 'Meanest' Ranking With Hummer H2

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

In an anticlimactic repeat, Honda's natural-gas burning Civic GX topped the annual "greenest vehicles" of the year listing being published this morning by the non-profit American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.

It is the 12th year the Washington-based environmental and economic lobbying group has published its Green Book Online, which ranks passenger cars and light trucks for overall environmental impact.

Although the list for the 2009 model year contained no big surprises, it was marked by the reappearance of General Motors Corp., with trio of small cars among the dozen "greenest" vehicles in the market - the Chevrolet Cobalt compact and its Pontiac G5 twin placed eighth overall and the Chevrolet Aveo subcompact finished10th.

The GM cars, which were rated highly for their fuel economy, knocked Ford's Focus off the "greenest" list after its appearance there last year as the only domestic car in the top twelve.

The Ford didn't get a lower score - but the average scores in the top 12 were higher this year than last.

Evolution, Not Revolution

Generally, the 2009 list was marked by continued improvements in the fuel economy and reduced greenhouse gas emissions of scores of vehicles rather than by stellar performances from just one or two models.

Manufacturers are fine-tuning their engines and transmissions, improving materials, and adding emission control technologies, said ACEEE transportation program director Therese Langer.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (2); John O'Dell February 3, 2009, 5:00 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Chevrolet, Daimler, Diesel, Emissions, Flex-Fuel, Ford, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Green Vehicles, Honda, Hummer, Hybrid, Lamborghini, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, Natural Gas, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric, Pontiac, Smart, Subaru, Toyota, Volkswagen
Technorati Tags:: ACEEE Green Book Online

January 30, 2009

'What Auto Industry Collapse?' Electric-Drive Maker UQM Asks As Sales Soar

Company's Strong Year-End Showing Portends Significant Growth For EVs and Hybrids

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

The mainstream auto industry is, well, sucking wind. But at least one company in the advanced powerplant industry says it is doing pretty well, thank you.

As automakers big and little, and truck makers with incredibly fuel-conscious customers strive to boost their vehicles' fuel economy and move away from dependence on conventional internal combustion engines, electric propulsion system maker UQM Technologies has announced a 68 percent hike in its third-quarter revenue.

The company, which started life in the late 1960s as a manufacturer of fiberglass kit cars and dune buggies, isn't making a profit yet. But the strong October-December period that saw it post $2.8 million in revenue ($2.1 million of that from sales of its products) helped it trim its loses by 41 percent.

The showing came as orders for UQM's electric drive systems for battery-electric and hybrid-electric cars and trucks started pouring in, said Bill Rankin, the Colorado-based company's president and chief executive.

Our focus on vehicle electrification seems to be finally paying off," he told Green Car Advisor.

That focus began in the late 1970s, when UQM designed and built its own battery-electric car, the Electrek (right). It sold 75 of them from 1978-82. That led to development of a proprietary permanent magnet electric motor technology and the company's never looked back.

"We are very well positioned to benefit from President Obama's alternative energy push," Rankin said.

Indeed, UQM counts three major automakers with hybrid or electric car projects under development among its clients (one appears to be Chrysler, although the company won't verify that).

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (3); John O'Dell January 30, 2009, 3:00 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Electric Vehicles

January 27, 2009

New Agriculture Secretary Says USDA Will Help Struggling Ethanol Industry

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will help the struggling ethanol industry identify the most efficient ways to produce the alternative fuel so more plants can stay in business, Tom Vilsack said in his first news conference as agriculture secretary.

Vilsack said the USDA should research, develop and promote "best practices" to improve efficiency at corn-based ethanol plants, which have been hit hard by volatile corn prices, followed by a sharp drop in demand for the biofuel, which is more expensive than gasoline.

"We need to make sure that the biofuels industry has the necessary support to survive the recent downturn, while at the same promoting policies that will speed up the development of second- and third-generation feedstocks for those biofuels that have the potential to significantly improve America's energy security and independence," Vilsack said.

His comments came less than a week after Panda Ethanol Inc. filed for bankruptcy for a plant it owns in Texas. VeraSun Energy Corp., the second-largest U.S. ethanol producer, filed for bankruptcy protection in October, and has closed 12 of its 16 plants.

Vilsack emphasized that the USDA needs to speed up work on biofuels made from non-food plant sources, as well as develop wind energy and other renewable sources of power.

The 2008 farm bill has several measures that should be quickly implemented to boost demand for new types of biofuels, he said, including tax credits, grants and loans for converting corn-based plants to use new feedstocks.

Vilsack also vowed that the USDA would be the "national leader in climate change" debate.

"This, of course, will involve conservation, greater efficiency with the energy we have and expanded opportunities in biofuels and renewable energy," Vilsack said, reading from prepared remarks.

President Obama has said he hopes to double renewable-energy production in the U.S.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett January 27, 2009, 11:04 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Energy Companies, Ethanol, Legislation, Tax Incentives
Technorati Tags:: Agriculture Department

January 16, 2009

Ethanol Not Forgotten, but Electricity Captures Center Stage at Detroit Auto Show

GM Still a Big Backer, Even If Not as Publicly as in Past Years

By Dale Buss, Contributor

Of all the contrasts between this year's Detroit auto show and last year's -- most created by the intervening global economic melt-down and resulting car sales crash -- perhaps none is more striking than what happened to ethanol.

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Ethanol-capable vehicles such as GM's flex-fuel Yukon were common at last year's Detroit auto show, not so common this year.
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At the North American International Auto Show here a year ago, ethanol and ethanol-burning vehicles were the belles of the ball. Ethanol was promoted at almost every major automaker's press conferences and cropped up in interview after interview. Ethanol-using vehicles were everywhere.

This year, it's almost impossible to find mention of ethanol anywhere out on the 700,000-square foot auto show floor at Cobo Hall.

The talk has all been of electrification of the transportation system, electric vehicles, batteries for electric vehicles, and ventures to develop and build better batteries.

But ethanol hasn't gone away -- it is just lying low.

At least one automaker remains bullish on the long-term prospects for the fuel, especially the cellulosic variety.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell January 16, 2009, 3:00 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Auto Shows, Biofuels, Ethanol, Flex-Fuel, Ford, General Motors
Technorati Tags:: Cellulosic Ethanol

January 15, 2009

Toyota Plans To Begin Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Vehicle Sales in U.S. by 2015

Hot on the heels of its recent announcement that it is pushing hard to bring plug-in hybrids and more conventional hybrids to market as quickly as possible, Toyota Motor Co. now has put a date on the launch of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles.

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Toyota Highlander fuel-cell vehicle completed a 350- mile trip from Osaka to Tokyo last year without refueling.

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The company's top product planner, Masatami Takimoto, a corporate executive vice president, said in interviews during the Detroit show's media days earlier this week that "limited commercialization" of a Toyota fuel-cell vehicle will begin "in 2015, and maybe sooner."

The program is seen by Toyota as "the beginning of true commercialization" of the fuel-cell vehicles, Takimoto said.

Although it is best for its gas-electric hybrids, especially the Prius, and its (mostly) reliable and fuel-efficient conventional cars, Toyota Motor Corp. has never abandoned the hydrogen fuel cell.

Indeed, the company continues testing models in Japan and in California as a charter member of the California Fuel Cell Partnership and last year announced several improvements that greatly improved reliability and range.

"We think the technology has been achieved," said John Hanson, Toyota's top environmental spokesman in the U.S.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell January 15, 2009, 1:30 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Fuel Cell, Fuels & Technologies, General Motors, Honda, Hydrogen, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles

GM Says Detroit 3 Partnership Great for U.S., but Draws Line on Sharing Technology

By Scott Doggett, Contributor

General Motors, Chrysler and Ford bet on the wrong horses, so to speak, regarding the kind of vehicles they made in recent years. They made ones that, generally speaking, guzzled gas and left the automakers enormously vulnerable to a sudden rise in the price of gasoline.

But American politicians, being the reelection-driven creatures that they are, weren't about to let any of the Detroit automakers go under. GM and Chrysler received bailouts. Ford hasn't asked for funds, but it has submitted a request asking that funds be on hand should they want them.

The pitch American taxpayers have been expected to swallow in exchange for billions in taxpayer dollars is that GM, Chrysler and Ford are doing everything possible now to make cars and trucks that are fuel efficient or don't require gasoline or diesel at all.

If they do this, as they have promised, they'll produce vehicles that people will want to buy, which is good for the U.S. economy, and that are cleaner burning, which is good for the planet.

Whether it's a deal you or I wanted is immaterial now. It will be a good deal for us if the automakers live up to their promise. But an entry on GM's Fastlane Blog Wednesday suggests that GM, Chrysler and Ford won't be doing everything possible to make those wonderful green cars.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (5); Scott Doggett January 15, 2009, 12:01 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Batteries, Chrysler, Emissions, Ford, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Legislation, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Bailout

January 10, 2009

Detroit Auto Show: Dodge EV Concept Gets Real Name, New Color

In what could be a clue as to which of its electric vehicle concepts Chrysler is thinking of moving into its production plan for 2010, the carmaker has given the formerly bumblebee-striped and unimaginatively named Dodge EV a new color scheme, a distinctively Dodge grille and a new moniker.

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Now called the Circuit, Dodge's tangerine-colored electric sports car looks more Mopar than it did in its yellow-and-black days as the plain ol' Dodge EV at the LA auto show.
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The Lotus-based two-seater is now the Dodge Circuit, and it has been repainted a color the marketing geniuses at Dodge are calling "tangoreen" but which looks pretty much like the international orange a lot of Dodge muscle cars have sported over the years.

The rest of the package is the same as was shown with the yellow-and-black version at the LA auto show in November, as far as we can tell from material Dodge gave us in advance of the North American International Auto Show's opening media preview session Sunday, where the Circuit will make its debut.

The basics: a rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack and 200 kilowatt electric motor good for 268 horsepower; top speed a little north of 120 mph; 0-60 in less than 5 seconds, and range between charges of 150-200 miles, depending on how the car is driven.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell January 10, 2009, 9:01 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Chrysler, Dodge, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Detroit Auto Show

Toyota Unwraps EV Concept, Says Plug-Ins, More Hybrids On The Way

Toyota's concept electric vehicle is a light-duty runabout based on Japanese-market iQ commuter car.

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

The battery-electric city car concept Toyota Motor Corp. will unveil Sunday afternoon in Detroit at the North American International Auto Show is confirmation, the automaker said today, of Toyota's intent to begin selling an urban EV by 2010.

In a pre-show statement, Toyota's chief US spokesman also said the automaker, undaunted by the present collapse of auto sales around the globe, intends in the next few years to :

intensify the launch of conventional hybrid models;
push development of plug-in hybrids that can run solely on electric power for extended periods, and ;
use concepts like the city EV to expand its alternative vehicles efforts beyond the hybrid technology it has helped perfect.

Toyota's hybrid push begins Sunday with the 2010 Prius and 2010 Lexus HS250h hybrids being unveiled during the auto show's opening media day.

iQ With Batteries

The EV concept, which hasn't been seen until now, is expected to generate as much buzz as the new hybrids, however.

Photos released today (top, right and below) show the Toyota electric car, the FT-EV Concept, as a tiny two-seater based on the popular Toyota iQ urban commuter car launched last year in Japan.

Toyota says the FT-EV concept is an attempt to examine a car that would fit the needs and lifestyle of an urban dweller who drives no more than 50 miles a day and uses public transit for longer trips.

"Last summer's $4-a-gallon gasoline was no anomaly, it was a brief glimpse of our future" Toyota spokesman Irv Miller said in a statement released with the photos.

"We must address the inevitability of peak oil [the point at which global production begins to decline] by developing vehicles powered by alternatives to liquid-oil fuel, as well as new concepts, like the iQ, that are lighter in weight and smaller in size," said Miller, group vice president for environmental and public affairs at Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell January 10, 2009, 12:00 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Auto Shows, Batteries, Fuel Cell, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Lexus, Natural Gas, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Detroit Auto Show

January 9, 2009

Phoenix CEO Says Fledgling EV Maker Not Hurt By Vehicle Supplier Bankruptcy

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Word that ailing South Korean SUV manufacturer SsangYong Motor has filed for bankruptcy protection in a Seoul court got us wondering how that might affect SsangYong's biggest U.S. customer, electric vehicle maker Phoenix Motorcars.

Phoenix buys its rolling stock - sporty pickups (right) and sport utility vehicles (below) - from SaangYong and then adds the electric drive systems when the vehicles arrive at Phoenix' assembly plant in Southern California..

If the South Korean company stopped making vehicles, it would be bad news for Phoenix.

But the SsangYong bankkruptcy filling sought protection from creditors, not liquidation of the company, and Dan Elliott, Phoenix' chief executive, says that as far as he knows, it will be business as usual.

Phoenix imported 200 SsangYong trucks in the fourth quarter last year and Elliott said he expects the level of business with SsangYong to remain about the same in the first quarter this year.

(EV sales to the public utilities and government agencies required to add alternative technology vehicles to their fleets are a major source of business for Phoneix and aren't affected much by the economic crisis that has made the retail car sales market so ugly.)

Phoenix isn't out of the woods, though.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell January 9, 2009, 3:48 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Phoenix Motorcars, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: EV

January 8, 2009

Corn Ethanol Receives More Federal Aid Than Other Alt-Energy Industries Combined

The corn-based ethanol industry dominates federal programs to support renewable energy, having taken two-thirds of all subsidies for renewable energy sources in 2007, the latest year for which such information is now available.

Corn-based ethanol received $3 billion in subsidies in 2007 -- almost twice as much as solar, wind, geothermal and other biomass combined, according to a report by the Environmental Working Group, which analyzed data from the Energy Information Administration.

Among tax benefits for renewable energy sources, corn-based ethanol received three-quarters of all benefits, the nonprofit group found.

Ethanol industry groups say they support greater investment in all kinds of renewable technologies, including wind and solar, but that it should not come at the expense of ethanol.

"This is an apples-and-oranges comparison, since ethanol does not compete in the power generation sector with wind, solar and geothermal technologies," Renewable Fuels Association spokesman Matt Hartwig said.

The report comes as lawmakers consider what, if any, additional incentives to include for ethanol in the economic stimulus package. Some lawmakers are seeking additional loan guarantees and tax credits for ethanol plants.

In a speech on the economy today, President-elect Barack Obama vowed to double the production of alternative energy in the next three years, but he did not specify which types of energy production he would include.

Environmental Working Group is among dozens of groups that have pressed lawmakers to repeal some of the tax incentives and subsidies for corn-based ethanol. The groups say that ethanol drives up food prices, pollutes waterways and accounts for too much federal spending.

Frankly speaking, we'd like to see some of the subsidies and tax credits diverted from the corn-based ethanol industry to efforts to perfect cellulosic ethanol, a promising biofuel made from wood, grasses or the non-edible parts of plants.

Scott Doggett, Contributor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett January 8, 2009, 2:49 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Energy Companies, Ethanol
Technorati Tags:: Barack Obama

January 2, 2009

Plug In America Plans Jan. 17 'Inaugural Parade West' to Promote EVs, PHEVs

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

(Note:Story updated 1/5/09)

Although it applied early for the honor, Plug In America, the support group for plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles, didn't make the cut when organizers of the Presidential Inaugural Parade were picking participants.

So the organization, whose motto ought to be "never say die" (a good one for backers of battery-electric cars, dontcha think?) , is staging its own, pre-inaugural parade to pull in some publicity for EVs and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs).

The event, dubbed "Inaugural Parade West: Plug In America," will be staged on Jan. 17 - three days before the real parade honoring the swearing-in of the 44th president - in Santa Monica, reports Zan Dubin Scott, who helped start the advocacy group.

Scott said that the parade so far has booked 32 40 electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids for the event, which is scheduled to begin about 9:30 a.m. (at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, in case you are interested in attending, and no, it won't be televised although a clip or two may well show up here and there and the evening news).

Parade "participants" will include Tesla Roadsters, Toyota RAV4 EVs, Vectrix electric motorbikes, Chevy S10 EVs and a variety of Prius plug-in conversions.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell January 2, 2009, 12:02 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Chevrolet, General Motors, Green Vehicles, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: EVs

December 29, 2008

Challenge Bibendum Bows to Economic Crunch, Postponed 'til 2010

Sad news.

Michelin, citing the "depth of the current economic crisis," said today it is cancelling the planned 2009 Challenge Bibendum -- a premier global showcase and test bed for alternative fuels and power train technologies.

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The 2007 Challenge Bibendum was held in Shanghai.

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The biennial green car event, which was to have taken place in Rio de Janeiro in april, will be held over until 2010, the French tire giant said.

In a brief statement, the company said the decision "takes into account the increasing financial constraints of several of Challenge Bibendum's traditional partners. Many will be unable to participate, to the extent that they have done in the past, in an event which illustrates the existence of solutions to the challenges of tomorrow's road mobility."

Michelin said that for 2009 the Challenge Bibendum organizing team will "propose a series of different initiatives to our partners to stimulate ongoing debates on the future of road mobility."

We hate to see the event delayed, even for a year (and even though we weren't going to be able to travel to lovely Rio to witness it first hand), but trust Michelin and partners will do everything possible to stage a bigger and better Challenge in 2010.

John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell December 29, 2008, 4:19 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, France, Green Vehicles
Technorati Tags:: 2009 Challenge Bibendum Postponed

December 27, 2008

Future or Fantasy? We Take a First Ride in MDI's Compressed-Air Car

Luxembourg-based Motor Development International (MDI) is raising the hopes of green-car technology fans, and the eyebrows of skeptics, with its promised line of zero-emission cars powered by compressed air.

Green Car Advisor contributor Nick Kurczewski recently paid a visit to MDI's research and development center in the south of France, and climbed aboard the company's AirPOD city-car, the first North American journalist - he was told - to be treated to a ride in one of the low speed city cars.

Here's his report.

First Ride: MDI's Air Car

The goal of the trip was to to see first-hand if an air-powered car has real market potential, or whether the idea is just a lot of hot air, impractical for everyday use.

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Never camera-shy, correspondent Nick Kurczewski poses in rear-facing passenger seat of MDI's AirPOD compressed-air car.
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The technology seems feasible. MDI is developing several small and lightweight vehicles, but the basic blueprint is the same and involves the use of refillable, on-board, high-tech, carbon-fiber, pressurized air tanks (built by the European aerospace firm EADS), and a piston engine specially adapted to run on air power.

The pressurized tanks store compressed air that runs the engine, which in turn sends power to the driven wheels.

Behind the Wheel

There have been quite a few reports about the air cars, including ours last October, but little in the way of in-the-car impressions. So Green Car Advisor arranged to visit MDI's R&D faciltiy to bring our audience the experience of air-powered motoring - albeit from the passenger seat.

We were given a ride in a prototype of MDI's four-seat AirPOD. Driving was denied us because the vehicle isn't finished - refinements are still being made on an almost daily basis - and MDI decided it wasn't ready for a journalist to get behind the wheel.

Not that there is a wheel to get behind. Controling the car is done with a joystick that's mounted to the right of the single front seat.

Push forward to accelerate. Pull back to stop. Move the stick left or right to turn. It's as simple as that.

The driver enters the car via the huge glass windshield, which hinges upwards for easy access. There are no foot pedals, and in this prototype, no dashboard or instruments, although MDI is working on a simple digital display for things like speed and remaining range.

The MDI AirPOD, seen from the front, with the company's air compressor station to the left.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (7); John O'Dell December 27, 2008, 2:00 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels
Technorati Tags:: Air Car

December 26, 2008

Researchers Say Laundry Soap and Beans Could Hold Key to Cellulosic Ethnol

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Okay, so what do your family car, a box of laundry detergent, the beans you're eating because you can't afford anything else in this economy and that Christmas tree you now have to get rid of have in common?

Well, if researchers at Pennsylvania State University are successful, the last three items could be combined to make fuel for the first.

A Penn State research team is genetically modifying woody plants for use in biofuels by adding a bean-based protein that makes them vulnerable to the enzymes used in laundry detergents.

Woody plants use a material called lignin to help form a tough outer layer that shields their soft cellulose insides from beetles and other pests. The lignin also gives the plants rigidity so they can grow upright.

But it also makes it hard to break them down and extract the cellulose for use in making cellulosic ethanol. That's the big reason we use easy-to-extract starches from corn for most ethanol production in the United States.

But the university says that two researchers, John Carlson and Ming Tien, have developed a way to introduce a protein that makes it easier to break down the lignin and extract the cellulose from woody plants and trees.

Right now, a lot of research is centered on using expensive, genetically engineered fungus and bacteria to do the work.

"There is lots of energy-rich cellulose locked away in wood," molecular geneticist Carlson said in an interview with the university newspaper.

"But separating this energy from the wood to make ethanol is a costly process requiring high amounts of heat and caustic chemicals. Moreover, fungal enzymes that attack lignin are not yet widely available, still in the development stage, and not very efficient in breaking up lignin."

Another approach is to reduce the amount of lignin in the plants, but that, scoffed biochemist Tien, is "like trying to engineer boneless chicken. It just doesn't make sense" because the plants would have no structure to keep them upright while growing.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell December 26, 2008, 3:00 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Ethanol, Fuels & Technologies
Technorati Tags:: Cellulosic Ethanol

December 24, 2008

First Wall Street, Then Automakers, Now U.S. Ethanol Industry Wants a Bailout

"Enough already!"

That ought to be Washington's response to the Renewable Fuels Association's request this month for $1 billion in financial aid to struggling ethanol producers so they can finance current operations.

But wait, there's more. The RFA -- the ethanol industry's lobby -- has also suggested to the incoming administration that it create a $50-billion federal loan guarantee program to finance investment in the ethanol producers' expansion.

And furthermore, the RFA has told Obama & Co. that any automaker that receives federal aid should be required to only produce vehicles that can run on any gas-ethanol blend up to 85 percent ethanol, beginning with the 2010 model season.

Now, if the struggling U.S. ethanol producers were producing cellulosic ethanol, which holds promise as a truly "green" product, that would be one thing. But the struggling ethanol producers the RFA is talking about are, with few exceptions, folks who only produce corn ethanol.

Here's the deal with corn ethanol: So many research papers have been written on how un-green corn ethanol truly is that people who cover green-car news could do nothing but report on those studies and still they wouldn't have time to report on all of them.

Reporting on unfavorable corn-ethanol studies is like covering crime in Los Angeles. Sometimes there are so many fatal drive-by shootings and other unnatural deaths in the County of Angels during an eight-hour shift that a crime reporter simply can't get to them all.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); Scott Doggett December 24, 2008, 1:06 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Ethanol
Technorati Tags:: Bailout

December 23, 2008

Beverly Hills Liposuction Doctor Powered His SUV Using His Patients' 'Spare Tires'

Liposuctioning unwanted blubber out of pampered Los Angelenos may not seem like a dream job, but it has its perks. Free fuel is one of them, according to a recent article in Forbes magazine .

For a time, Beverly Hills doctor C. Alan Bittner (pictured) turned the fat he removed from patients into biodiesel that fueled his Ford SUV and his girlfriend's Lincoln Navigator.

Fat -- whether animal or vegetable -- contains triglycerides that can be extracted and turned into diesel. Poultry companies such as Tyson are looking into powering their trucks on chicken schmaltz, and biofuel start-ups such as Nova Biosource are mixing beef tallow and pig lard with more palatable sources such as soybean oil, according to Forbes.

Mike Shook of Agri Process Innovations, a builder of biodiesel plants, says this year's batch of U.S. biodiesel was likely more than half animal-derived since the price of soybeans soared.

A gallon of grease will get you about a gallon of fuel, and drivers can get about the same amount of mileage from fat fuel as they do from regular diesel, according to Jenna Higgins of the National Biodiesel Board. Animal fats need to undergo an additional step to get rid of free fatty acids not present in vegetable oils, but otherwise, there's no difference, she told Forbes.

Greenies like the fact that waste, such as coffee grounds and french-fry grease, can be turned into power.

"The vast majority of my patients request that I use their fat for fuel -- and I have more fat than I can use," Bittner wrote on lipodiesel.com, which is no longer online. "Not only do they get to lose their love handles or chubby belly but they get to take part in saving the Earth."

Using fat to fuel cars might be environmentally friendly, but it's definitely illegal in California to use human medical waste to power vehicles, and Bittner is being investigated by the state's public health department.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (2); Scott Doggett December 23, 2008, 7:11 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Diesel
Technorati Tags:: Alternative Fuel

Burbank to Test World's First Hydrogen Fuel-Cell, Plug-In Electric Hybrid Bus

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

California's support of hydrogen as a transportation fuel - sometimes derided as an expensive pipe dream - has its moments.

We'll see one in the spring as the city of Burbank, Ca., home to comic Jay Leno's Tonight Show among other show biz attractions, starts operating the world's first plug-in hybrid bus that uses a hydrogen fuel-cell to augment its rechargable batteries.

Proterra, the Colorado-based developer and builder of the revolutionary zero-emissions hydrogen plug-in bus, claims that it can travel 250 miles on its grid-charged batteries and a tank of hydrogen before needing to be recharged, delivering twice the fuel economy of a diesel bus.

The big, blue, bug-eyed bus is made of lightweight composite materials and uses automotive fuel cells rather than larger cells developed specifically for hydrogen buses. The advantage, according to Proterra, is that the smaller 50 kilowatt (67 horsepower) fuel cells are much cheaper, reducing the initial cost of the bus as well as lifetime operating costs - a critical factor in these days of rapidly diminishing local government funding.

The bus also features a fast-charging system that enables its batteries to be fully recharged in just 6 minutes - less time than most drivers need for bathroom or coffee breaks.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (2); John O'Dell December 23, 2008, 3:00 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Fuel Cell, Hydrogen, Transportation Alternatives
Technorati Tags:: Burbank Bus

December 22, 2008

All Ethanol-Based Biofuels More Harmful to Humans Than Fossil Fuels, Study Finds

Cellulosic ethanol, which people from President-elect Barack Obama to struggling farmers from his home state view a promising biofuel, is actually worse than much-criticized corn ethanol because cellulosic ethanol results in more air pollution, requires more land to produce and causes more harm to wildlife, a major study has found.

The energy alternatives "that are good are not the ones that people have been talking about the most. And some options that have been proposed are just downright awful," said Mark Z. Jacobson, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University, in a paper that reviewed and ranked major proposed energy-related solutions to global warming, air-pollution mortality and energy security.

"Ethanol-based biofuels will actually cause more harm to human health, wildlife, water supply and land use than current fossil fuels," he said, adding that ethanol may also emit more global-warming pollutants than fossil fuels, according to the latest scientific studies.

Jacobson has conducted the first quantitative, scientific evaluation of the proposed major energy-related solutions by assessing not only their potential for delivering energy for electricity and vehicles, but also their impacts on global warming, human health, energy security, water supply, space requirements, wildlife, water pollution, reliability and sustainability.

His findings indicate that the options that are getting the most attention are between 25 to 1,000 times more polluting than the best available options. His findings were published in this month's issue of Energy & Environmental Science.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (2); Scott Doggett December 22, 2008, 1:31 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Coal, Diesel, Emissions, Energy Companies, Ethanol, Flex-Fuel, Fuel Cell, Hydrogen, Oil, Plug-ins and Electric, Solar
Technorati Tags:: Alternative Fuel

Economic Downturn Will Test Obama's Vision for an Energy-Efficient Auto Industry

President-elect Barack Obama leveled a stern warning at General Motors and Chrysler last week after the federal government promised them billions to help them survive: "The auto companies must not squander this chance to reform bad management practices."

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President-elect Obama on next week's cover of Time.
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Once he takes office, the bailout will give him a tool to prod the industry to change, but it will also test his resolve as he pushes it in new directions.

Obama, after all, has been thinking out loud about the future of the American automobile industry for years, well before his presidential campaign began. He co-sponsored two bills in 2006, during his second year as a U.S. senator -- one to raise fuel economy standards, and the other to encourage the use of alternative fuels.

His writings and speeches on the auto industry suggest a keen interest in finding ways, including new technology, to improve the fuel efficiency of the cars and trucks that Americans drive.

But with Detroit in a fragile financial state, it is unclear how many compromises he will have to make in pursuing his agenda for the auto industry, as he juggles other priorities such as providing a stimulus program for the broader economy, The New York Times reported Sunday. The United Automobile Workers union, which backed Obama, will want a say in the changes he envisions for the automakers.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); Scott Doggett December 22, 2008, 1:01 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Chrysler, Emissions, Ford, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Legislation, Tax Incentives
Technorati Tags:: Bailout

December 18, 2008

U.S. Military in Iraq Realizes Army's Dependence on Oil Cost Soldiers Their Lives

At the height of the violence in Iraq, the most dangerous thing for an American soldier to do in the lawless province of Anbar was drive in a fuel convoy.

There were urgent requests for vehicles with better armor to withstand improvised explosive devices (IED), but what if soldiers from supply units never had to travel on a road laden with IEDs in the first place?

Dan Nolan realized that if the military could reduce its fuel consumption, fewer convoys would be exposed to possible ambush in Iraq, and lives would be saved, according to a report published today by Climate Wire (subscription required).

As an adviser to Army General Tommy Franks at the U.S. Central Command and chief of the power task force at the Fort Belvoir, Virginia-based Rapid Equipping Force -- a think tank for military innovation -- the 26-year Army veteran knew what he had to do. He set out to make American bases in Iraq more energy efficient.

The idea grew into a program to markedly cut the amount of fuel the military burns in diesel generators powering air-conditioners in Iraq's smoldering heat by spraying insulating foam on tents and barracks in forward operating bases. Eventually, all U.S. military bases at home and abroad will become energy independent through the use of renewable energy and highly efficient insulated tents and buildings, Nolan hopes.

A program that was started to minimize battlefield casualties may end up boosting the role of renewables in society as a whole, changing the country's energy model and helping to shrink the military's vast carbon footprint.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett December 18, 2008, 12:13 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Fuel Economy, Oil
Technorati Tags:: Energy Efficient

December 16, 2008

Batteries? Who Needs Batteries When You've Got Rubber Bands?

We're not quite sure just how green it all was. The fumes from the hot glue, for instance, probably didn't do much for the environment or the air the students were breathing.

But when we run out of oil, can't generate electricity and don't have an infrastructure to make hydrogen fuel available, it's nice to know that mechanical engineering grads from at least one major U.S. university will be able to keep us on the road with alternative fuel cars that require nothing more than rubber bands and mouse traps.

The "batteries not required" competition was staged earier this month as part of a freshman engineering course at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland.

Students had to build "cars" that could navigate an 11-foot slalom course that required a gentle "S" turn through two sets of gates.

The catch - they couldn't touch the cars while they were navigating the course and couldn't use radio controlled servo motors, electric drive, or mechanicals of any kind except six rubber bands, for propulsion, and mouse traps, for ... well, steering input, maybe, and after that your guess is good as (and probably better than) mine.

The university sent out a link to a short and quite entertaining film of this year's event, and we were so impressed with what the students were able to do (and even with what those who failed at least had the gumption to try) that we wrote up this item just as an excuse to share it with you.

Have fun.

And you can read the Johns Hopkins Gazette for a longer, serious article about the competition.

John O'Dell, Senior Editor

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Photo courtesy Johns Hopkins University

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); John O'Dell December 16, 2008, 3:53 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels
Technorati Tags:: Batteries Not Required

Rally Driver Circumnavigates Earth in Sport Ute Powered by Waste Vegetable Oil

If you've been thinking of circumnavigating the globe in a donated diesel Toyota Land Cruiser, fueling it with biodiesel you make from waste vegetable oil you collect from bewildered but friendly people along the way, just so you can tell your friends you were the first person to do it -- and to make a green statement -- forget about it. It's been done.

Shusei Yamada (pictured), a Japanese photojournalist and rally driver, ended his round-the-world romp the first of this month in Vancouver, 360 days after setting out from Tokyo. He appeared no worse for wear.

The same could not be said for the Land Cruiser, which racked up 29,734 miles from start to finish. Yamada, who gave interviews along the way, often described the sport ute as the only biodiesel vehicle that can refine its own fuel from waste oil. Judging by the photo, the biodiesel fuel processing plant that filled the cargo bay was no Mickey Mouse production.

For further information -- like, how many people donated waste vegetable oil to Yamada (779) and how much waste vegetable oil did they donate (6,504 liters) -- check out the Biodiesel Adventure Website.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett December 16, 2008, 1:53 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Diesel, Emissions, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Biodiesel

December 15, 2008

GM Says Chevy Equinox Fuel Cell Electric Test Vehicles Are Nearing 500,000th Mile

Despite financial woes that threaten the automaker's survival, General Motors is continuing research on a fuel-cell electric vehicle, announcing that sometime this week one of the 100 Chevy Equinox FCEVs being driven in Los Angeles, New York and Washington, D.C., as part of Chevrolet's Project Driveway will drive the 500,000th zero-emissions mile of the real-world test program.

"This is a huge accomplishment, because we learn something about our vehicles, the hydrogen infrastructure and consumer acceptance of fuel-cell vehicles with every mile driven," Mary Beth Stanek, director of GM Fuel Cell Commercialization, said in a statement.

Fuel-cell cars and SUVs convert hydrogen and oxygen to electricity through an onboard electro-chemical reaction. The electricity is then used to power the vehicles' drive motors.

Stanek said candid feedback on "everything from the way the vehicle looks to technical input on brake 'feel' and performance to fueling experiences" has led to the resolution of several hundred customer issues.

The program has also provided Stanek and others associated with the Equinox with insight into how these vehicles are being used under real-world driving conditions, she said.

"We've been able to use these experiences to extend fuel-cell stack life and improve the regenerative braking system, which has already benefited our two-mode hybrid vehicles since it's the same brake system used on the Saturn Vue, Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon two-mode hybrids," she said.

No automaker is saying that it expects to make FCEVs available for purchase this side of 2020, but without programs such as Project Driveway they likely would never appear in a showroom.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett December 15, 2008, 2:20 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Batteries, Chevrolet, Emissions, Fuel Cell, General Motors, Hydrogen
Technorati Tags:: Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell

December 11, 2008

Jimmy Carter's Advice to Obama on Energy Policy: Act Before Honeymoon's Over

Almost three decades later, Jimmy Carter recalls how tough it was trying to get Americans to kick their oil habit even when soaring gas prices and record-long lines at the pump remained fresh memories.

"It was like gnawing on a rock," the former president said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) published today.

Now President-elect Barack Obama is heading to Washington with a set of energy goals as ambitious as Carter's back in late 1970s.

From one president to the next, Carter offered this advice: Try to inspire Americans to see the virtue in making energy sacrifices. Get energy legislation to Congress during the presidential honeymoon. And stick with it.

"I think he can prevail if he does it early and with a great deal of dedication and enthusiasm -- and with tenacity," Carter said.

History isn't tilted in Obama's favor, the Journal noted. Presidents all the way back to Richard Nixon -- whose "Project Independence" promised to make America independent from foreign oil by 1980 -- were thwarted by short attention spans and gyrations in the energy market. President Ford set a similar target for 1985.

Today, as in the Carter era, Americans remain by far the world's biggest per-capita consumers of oil. About 70 percent of it is imported, compared with just over a third in 1981.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett December 11, 2008, 5:07 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Energy Companies, Ethanol, Fuel Economy
Technorati Tags:: Barack Obama

World Green Car of the Year Organization Posts List of 2009 Candidates

The World Car of the Year organization has announced the initial slate of candidates for 2009 World Green Car of the Year.

Launched three years ago, the title has been awarded in the past to the BMW 118d (2008), the Mercedes-Benz E320 Bluetec (2007) and the Honda Civic Hybrid (2006).

The 2009 candidates must be new and on sale by December 31.

The list includes the Audi Q7 3.0 TDI (pictured), BMW 335d BluePerformance, Chevrolet Tahoe/GMC Yukon hybrids, Citroen C1, Fiat Palio Weekend Electric, Fiat Siena Tetrafuel model, Honda FCX Clarity. Go to Edmunds.com's Inside Line to view more candidates.

The organization includes working automotive journalists from around the globe, including regular Inside Line contributors Matt Davis, Hormazd Sorabjee, Peter Nunn and Peter Lyon.

The top 10 finalists will be announced in January, with the winner revealed in April at the 2009 New York Auto Show.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett December 11, 2008, 1:33 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Audi, Auto Shows, BMW, Chevrolet, Citroen, Diesel, Emissions, Fiat, Flex-Fuel, Fuel Cell, Fuel Economy, Honda, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Mercedes-Benz, Natural Gas, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Audi Q7 3.0 TDI

'Dry Water' Methane Hydrates Hold Promise of Pipeline-Free Natural Gas for Vehicles

By Scott Doggett, Contributor

Chemists at the University of Liverpool have reportedly developed a way of converting methane gas into a powder form, effectively creating methane hydrates (pictured), in order to make it more transportable.

The material, made from a mixture of silica and water, can soak up large quantities of methane (natural gas) molecules. It looks and acts like a fine white powder, which the chemists say might be used to power clean vehicles, according to a statement issued by the university.

Andy Cooper, a chemistry professor at the university, said that due to its gaseous state at room temperature, methane is difficult to transport from its source.

"Many natural gas reserves are geographically remote and can only be extracted via pipelines, so there is a need to look for other ways to transport the gas," he said in the statement. As a result, methane gas hydrate could be used as a way of containing methane gas for transportation from the source to market.

The disadvantage of methane gas hydrate for industry use is that it is formed at a very slow rate when methane reacts with water under pressure, he said.

"To counteract these difficulties, we used a method to break water up into tiny droplets to increase the surface area in contact with the gas," Cooper said. The chemists did this by mixing water with a special form of silica that stops the water droplets from coalescing.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett December 11, 2008, 11:08 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Emissions, Energy Companies, Natural Gas
Technorati Tags:: Emissions

December 9, 2008

Automotive Bailout Talks Heat Up Over States' Desire to Regulate Tailpipe Emissions

greenhouse gases.jpg Congressional Democrats crafting an auto industry bailout are pushing to include language requiring carmakers to drop their legal challenge to an attempt by more than a dozen states to regulate climate-changing emissions from motor vehicles.

A Democratic draft bill would require that Detroit carmakers who receive a portion of the bailout to drop their lawsuit against state efforts to enforce greenhouse-gas tailpipe restrictions on cars and trucks. The bill would prevent the carmakers from participating in "any legal challenge (existing or contemplated) to state laws concerning greenhouse-gas emission standards."

Longtime supporters of California's request for a waiver from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to enforce such restrictions, which when granted would permit other state's to adopt California's car-emissions rules, are promoting the provision. Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer of California, who heads the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, is among them.

One of the reasons the auto industry is in trouble is their fight against the waiver, Boxer told reporters Monday. Meeting California's tougher-than-federal emissions standards is in the automakers' best interests, she said.

But Republicans and auto industry supporters say the provision is unnecessary and counterproductive.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); Scott Doggett December 9, 2008, 11:52 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Chrysler, Courts, Emissions, Ford, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Hybrid, Legislation, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers

Some Forecast $1-a-Gallon Gas in U.S. as Demand for Fossil Fuel Continues to Fall

$1 Gas.jpg The U.S. Department of Energy said Monday that pump prices are headed toward five-year lows nationally, and some analysts believe the slide might not end before gasoline drops to $1 a gallon or less.

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Are signs like this one on the horizon? Some analysts think so.
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So says an article in today's Los Angeles Times.

"I don't see any reason why $1 gasoline isn't possible, and $25-a-barrel oil is not out of the question," Phil Flynn, vice president and senior market analyst for the Alaron Trading Corp. in Chicago, told the newspaper. "I don't think the downside is over. There is a lot of surplus oil out there."

But Fadel Gheit, senior energy analyst for Oppenheimer and Co., is one of the analysts saying that oil won't stay down, even if the historic price drop isn't quite over yet.

Gheit said that "some of the same clowns who were predicting $200-a-barrel oil a few months ago are in the crowd predicting $25 a barrel. But just as we believed that oil above $100 was not sustainable by market fundamentals, oil below $30 isn't sustainable either."

He noted that even in the midst of a global recession, the world is still using 80 million barrels of oil a day.

The Times article is well worth reading and comes just a few days after Geoffrey Styles, managing director of an energy and environmental strategy consulting firm, gave some historical context to gasoline prices in his Energy Outlook blog.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett December 9, 2008, 10:47 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Emissions, Energy Companies, Fuel Economy, Legislation
Technorati Tags:: Alternative Fuels

Swiss School Teacher Becomes First Person to Circumnavigate Earth in a Solar Car

A 36-year-old Swiss school teacher has driven 32,000 miles through 38 countries in 17 months in a sunlight-powered car to become the first person to circumnavigate the globe in a solar vehicle.

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Louis Palmer is congratulated by Yvo de Boer, head of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change.
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Louis Palmer's voyage concluded Monday with him pulling up to a building in Poznan, Poland, where officials from nearly 200 countries were attending the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change in the hope of drafting on a new treaty to address global warming.

His three-wheeled, zero-emissions "Solar Taxi" was propelled by an electric motor, which received power from six square meters of solar cells. The cells converted sunlight to electricity. Power was stored in a molten salt battery.

The 1,100-pound, aluminum and fiberglass vehicle did not require any fossil fuel during the journey, which began on July 3, 2007.

Palmer made the journey to demonstrate that solar is a viable transportation technology. On Monday, he said the car "ran like a Swiss watch," breaking down only twice. He described the car as "ecological, economical and absolutely reliable."

The two-seat Solar Taxi can reach 55 miles per hour and has a range of 185 miles.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (3); Scott Doggett December 9, 2008, 8:42 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Batteries, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Plug-ins and Electric, Solar
Technorati Tags:: Alternative Fuel

December 8, 2008

New Gas Tax to Boost Fuel Efficiency a 'Mistake,' Obama Says, Favoring Incentives

President-elect Barack Obama opposes boosting taxes on gasoline to keep consumers away from gas-guzzlers and to raise funds for alternative energy programs.

"Putting additional burdens on American families right now I think is a mistake," Obama said during a "Meet the Press" interview with Tom Brokaw that aired Sunday, citing the current jobs and housing woes.

"What we have to do long-term is make sure that we have an energy strategy that focuses on fuel-efficient cars, that focuses on providing incentives for fuel-efficient cars. Same applies to buildings," Obama added, noting he plans to make building efficiency part of an upcoming stimulus plan.

Brokaw asked the president-elect about bumping gasoline back to $4 per gallon to fund alternative energy and to signal to consumers that the days of filling the tank cheaply are gone.

Some energy experts, including New York Times columnist Tom Friedman, support a gasoline price "floor" to keep drivers and automakers away from SUVs and similar vehicles, and to prevent new technologies from being undercut by falling energy prices.

Gasoline prices have dropped sharply in recent weeks and months, and Sunday the national average was $1.73 per gallon, far below the peak average of more than $4.11 per gallon last July.

Obama supports higher investments in alternative fuels and vehicle technologies, incentives for fuel-efficient cars and increasing the corporate average fuel economy standards for cars and trucks.

Click Video to watch the videotaped interview. Or, read the entire transcript of the show, or go to the next page to read just the portion that pertains to the automotive industry.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett December 8, 2008, 11:37 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Chrysler, Emissions, Ford, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Hybrid, Legislation, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Bailout

Canada to Permit Low-Speed EVs on Roads Throughout Country's Largest Province

Ontario, Canada's largest province by population and second largest province by size, will soon permit low-speed electric vehicles equipped on public roads.

The zero-emissions vehicles can be driven on public roads under rules to be released this winter, the Canadian government announced on Friday.

The decision follows the recent release of a study by the National Research Council Canada, which found that low-speed electric vehicles can be driven safely on public roads as long as they include a number of additional safety requirements (headlights and seat belts among them) and obey road restrictions.

In Canada and neighboring U.S.A., low-speed vehicles are defined by authorities as motorized vehicles that can go at least 1.2 miles at 20 miles per hour and have a top speed of 25 mph on a level paved road. They are not required to meet crash-test conditions.

To date, at least 43 U.S. states and the District of Columbia allow low-speed vehicles to be used on roads with speeds not exceeding 35 mph. At least 13 states require that the vehicles be electric. In Canada, all of the vehicles must be powered by an electric motor.

In Canada, currently available low-speed vehicles are designed only for use in controlled environments such as parks and college campuses because they do not meet federal passenger car safety requirements.

In case you were wondering: Ontario, its flag shown above, is the second-largest Canadian province after Quebec. Nunavut and the Northwest Territories encompass larger areas but are not provinces.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); Scott Doggett December 8, 2008, 10:11 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Batteries, Emissions, Legislation, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Canada

December 5, 2008

Carbon Tax Could Reduce Use of Food Crops For Ethanol, Federal Study Says

Foes of increased use of corn or other food-chain crops in the production of ethanol should be pushing hard for a federal carbon emissions tax.

A new study by a government panel led by the departments of Energy and Agriculture, says a carbon "cost" of $25 per ton emitted would cause a drop in the amount of corn acreage being cultivated for biofuels.

Another way to cut back on the use of corn, the report said, would be to establish nationwide soil sustainability standards. The net result would be to push biofuel feedstock growers into using non-food crops that don't deplete the soil as much as do corn, soybeans and other food crops.

In all, the biofuel feedstocks report from the federal Biomass Research and Development Board, considered eight scenarios for increasing domestic biofuels production. The report is an outgrowth of the National Biofuels Action Plan published in October.

Among the study's key findings, according to an analysis by Greenwire, a subscription-only environmental issues news service, is that a 3-billion-gallons-a-year increase in corn-based biofuels production in 2016 - to 15 billion gallons from the 12 billion gallon baseline set in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 - would require a 3.6 percent increase in corn production with an accompanying 4.6 percent increase in corn prices.

That boost is far less than the corn price jumps over the past that have triggered debate over ethanol's role in food cost increases over the past two years, Greenwire reported.

The study says that the price of soybeans, which compete with corn for land, would increase in that scenario by 3.2 percent, while other major crop prices would rise by less than 1 percent.

The government's analysis also found that if biofuels production rose to 16 billion gallons by 2016 based on today's technologies, land planted for corn would increase by 4.1 percent, with non-ethanol corn use falling by 5.2 percent and corn exports falling 7.7 percent.

A carbon tax - or higher costs of water, fossil fuel-derived fertilizers and other products and services needed to grow corn -- could reduce the pressure to plant more acreage of corn for ethanol and encourage instead planting of non-food crops, such as switchgrass, and use of agricultural waste materials such as corn stalks, to produce ethanol distilled from cellulose rather than from corn starch, the study suggests.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell December 5, 2008, 5:04 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Emissions, Ethanol
Technorati Tags:: Biofuels

It's Detroit's Invaluable Green Automotive Technologies That Are at Stake, Congress

A lot has been written in recent days about the job losses and economic damage that would result if Washington chooses not to offer the General Motors, Ford and Chrysler financial aid.

James E. Malackowski, president of a merchant bank specializing in intellectual property financial products and services in Chicago, says there's something else at stake.

In an opinion piece published in The Detroit News this week, Malackowski states that the value of the automakers' green technologies is great and would likely be lost to the U.S. if they went out of business.

"There is far more at stake in this debate than just the future of Detroit and the U.S. auto industry," he wrote. "The fate of vital green and energy intellectual properties is at risk, too. When it comes to the Big 3, it's the technology, Congress."

The piece is well worth the time it takes to read it. It can be viewed by clicking on DetNews.com or by going to the next page.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); Scott Doggett December 5, 2008, 2:41 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Batteries, Chrysler, Emissions, Ford, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Legislation
Technorati Tags:: Chrysler

Cellulosic Ethanol Producers, Braced for a Race, Now Entering the Starting Gate

Beam by beam, a plant that will churn out millions of gallons of cellulosic ethanol a year is now rising in Georgia. Its owner, Range Fuels, is vying to be the first business in the industry to claim a commercial plant.

Close on its tail, a handful of other companies--from corn ethanol veterans to startups backed by big-name investors--are pushing ahead with plans to manufacture non-food-based biofuel using everything from corncobs and wheat straw to waste wood and landfill trash, the subscription news service ClimateWire reported today.

The transition of cellulosic ethanol technologies from a lab-bench promise to a mass-production process has been moving quickly. These businesses are in the vanguard of an industry that is now driving the next generation of biofuels to the market.

Whether they can do this and make money is what everyone wants to know. The next three years will bring answers, based on the number of large-scale plants in the works.

"We are moving as prudently and with as much urgency as possible," David Aldous, the recently named CEO of Range Fuels and a former executive vice president of Royal Dutch Shell PLC, told ClimateWire. Aldous said that the plant, which will use heat, pressure and a chemical catalyst to convert wood into fuel, should be ready by late next year.

These pacesetters are assisted by a federal mandate that guarantees an initial baseline market--36 billion gallons of biofuels by 2022, only 15 of which can come from corn-based ethanol, a number that industry is a few years away from hitting.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (2); Scott Doggett December 5, 2008, 10:18 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Emissions, Energy Companies, Ethanol, Green Vehicles
Technorati Tags:: BlueFire Ethanol

December 4, 2008

Battery Makers Say Washington Must Do More to Help U.S. Electric-Car Industry

Unless Washington raises a new manufacturing backbone for green vehicles, a panel of battery makers said Wednesday, Americans had better get used to seeing this label on their low-emissions cars: "Not made in the U.S.A."

That's because the credit tap has run dry in America and many of the parts American automakers are buying for use in tomorrow's ultra-fuel-efficient and alternative-fuel cars and trucks are manufactured abroad.

Speaking at an Electric Drive Transportation Association conference in Washington, D.C., the panelists said the automakers will continue to buy parts from abroad--up to 90 percent of the parts they need, according to one estimate--as long as there's no low-cost way to make them in America.

And though their emphasis was on the energy storage systems that will power hybrids and electric vehicles, the problem doesn't end there. It runs through the entire supply chain, the panelists said.

Take the scenario of Michael Andrew, government affairs director for Johnson Controls-Saft, a joint venture between U.S.-based Johnson Controls Inc. and French battery maker Saft.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (3); Scott Doggett December 4, 2008, 11:52 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Batteries, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Legislation, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Battery Makers

USDA Offers Loan Guarantees for Non-Corn Biofuels, Up to $250 Million Per Project

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is seeking to support up to four advanced biofuel projects with up to $250 million in loan guarantees per project.

The USDA defines advanced biofuels as fuels that do not use corn as a feedstock.

The program provides loan guarantees for the development, construction and retrofitting of viable commercial-scale biorefineries producing advanced biofuels. Preference will be given to projects where first-of-a-kind technology will be deployed on a commercial scale.

Applications will be accepted through the remainder of this month for loan guarantees first half of Fiscal Year 2009. Applications must be submitted between March 1, 2009, and April 30, 2009, for the second half of the fiscal year.

In a statement explaining the program, the USDA states that cellulosic ethanol production--a key next-generation biofuel--may be produced from switch grass, corn stover, forest waste, fast-growing trees, woodchips, canola, algae and other plant material rather than from the edible part of crops such as corn.

"These energy crops require further research and development, but they represent a key long-term component to a sustainable biofuels industry," the statement says. Clearly, someone at the USDA is keenly aware of the plethora of studies that have come out against ethanol production the past year.

The loan guarantees are available under the Biorefinery Assistance Program, authorized by the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (also known as "the farm bill").

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett December 4, 2008, 10:28 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Energy Companies, Ethanol, Fuel Economy, Legislation
Technorati Tags:: Biofuel

Plug-In Electric Vehicle Proponent Proposes Automakers Pre-Sell PHEVs and EVs

Spend more than a few minutes speaking with Felix Kramer about electric cars and very quickly you wonder if he might be a genius who's ahead of his time.

Like Better Place CEO Shai Agassi, Kramer (right) isn't afraid to think big when it comes to plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and straight electric vehicles. And this week Kramer--founder of the California Cars Initiative, a Silicon Valley-based nonprofit organization that promote 100+ miles-per-gallon PHEVs--proferred a really big idea.

In emails sent to autowriters and at an electric-drive-transportation conference in Washington, D.C., he proposed that automakers be encouraged to accept $10,000-per-vehicle deposits on highway-capable PHEVs and EVs fitted, naturally, with at least 4-kilowatt battery packs to qualify for existing tax credits.

In return, the automakers would be obligated to deliver the vehicles as soon as possible but no later than Dec. 31, 2012. The sooner the carmakers issue preliminary specifications and maximum prices for the vehicles, the sooner they become eligible to collect prepayments.

What's more, any automaker that wants to receive federal loan guarantees beginning in January 2009 must commit by the end of this year to have at least one eligible plug-in vehicle for sale by the end of 2010 in volumes greater than 10,000.

There's a lot more to Kramer's plan than that, including this nugget: "We aim to enlist five million pre-purchasers. At an average of $10,000, this will generate $50 billion for carmakers. Buyers will get the money back in less than a year via tax credits. Credits for deposits made by 4/15/09 can be counted for the 2008 tax year."

It's a compelling proposal. It can be read in its entirety at CalCars.org or on the next page.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (2); Scott Doggett December 4, 2008, 12:10 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Batteries, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Legislation, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Better Place CEO Shai Agassi

December 3, 2008

Energy Department Awards $15 Million to Develop Advanced Vehicle Technologies

The U.S. Department of Energy today selected six alternative vehicle technology research projects to receive up to about $15 million for the technology advancement for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and for more efficient body designs for heavy vehicles.

The awards are not part of the $25 billion in low interest loans for advanced technology vehicles manufacturing that the Bush administration favors using to bail out failing U.S. auto manufacturers, the Energy Department said in a statement. The investment will be made over three years, subject to appropriations from Congress, and will be matched by private sector contributions for a total of about $29 million.

About half of the awards will go to three projects focusing on improving the battery performance and lowering the cost of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. The Energy Department awarded investments to 3M Co., based in St. Paul, Minnesota.; FMC Corp. in Charlotte, North Carolina; and BASF Catalyst LLC in Iselin, New Jersey, and Elyria, Ohio.

Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. combined will receive about $6 million to develop thermoelectric heating and cooling systems in cars--a technology particularly useful for plug-in hybrid vehicles, as it can run even when the engine is turned off.

The rest of the Energy Department's investment will go to Navistar International Corp., based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, to demonstrate and market a tractor-trailer and tire combination that will reduce fuel consumption of heavy vehicles by at least 15 percent.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett December 3, 2008, 4:30 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Batteries, Emissions, Ford, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Alternative Fuel

Automakers, DOE Award Battery Technology Development Contract to Celgard

The U.S. Department of Energy and a consortium made up of General Motors, Ford and Chrysler today announced the award of a $2.3 million contract for battery technology development to Celgard , a global supplier of material for lithium-ion batteries that is located in Charlotte, N.C.

Battery separators are electronically insulating membranes that prevent the battery from overheating and increase battery power and capacity. The more advanced the separators, the better they are able to perform these functions.

Celgard was given the 18-month contract to advance lithium-ion battery separator technology for hybrid-electric and plug-in hybrid-electric vehicle applications. The work is totally in keeping with the mission of the United States Advanced Battery Consortium, which is to develop electrochemical energy storage technologies that support the commercialization of fuel cell, hybrid and electric vehicles.

The Energy Department is involved in the work because its overarching mission is to advance America's national, economic and energy security. Transportation technologies that reduce the nation's use of imported oil is seen as increasing America's energy security.

Plus, the department has identified electrochemical energy storage as a critical enabling technology for advanced, fuel-efficient, light- and heavy-duty vehicles. By supporting that research and development, the department supports the U.S. automotive industry, which it views as important to the economic security of the country.

Scott Doggett, Contributor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett December 3, 2008, 11:47 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Batteries, Chrysler, Emissions, Energy Companies, Ford, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Battery

DuPont CEO Proposes Detroit 3 Collaborate on 75-MPG Butanol 'Car of the Future'

The chief executive of chemical giant DuPont has called on America's major automakers to band together to create a butanol-powered, highly fuel-efficient "car of the future" within the next two years.

The endeavor could be called the Detroit Project, DuPont Chairman and CEO Chad Holliday (left) said in an address before the Detroit Economic Club on Tuesday, and would be led by General Motors, Ford and Chrysler in a collaboration akin to the atomic-bomb-making Manhattan Project of World War II.

The car that Holliday proposed would be powered with butanol, which is a solvent and biofuel made by DuPont. At 85 percent strength, butanol can be used in cars designed for gasoline without any change to the engine (unlike 85 percent ethanol) and it contains more energy than ethanol and almost as much as gasoline. It can also be used as a blended additive to diesel fuel to reduce soot emissions

"This is a unique time in history," Holliday said. "It just seems like this is the one window when you can pull something like this off."

The project would require $5 billion in seed money, he said, which could be raised by selling U.S. bonds similar to the way the government raised money for the war effort during the 1940s. The project would yield a strong return on investment, he said, and calling upon citizens to invest in the effort would "build some national pride around the project."

While the Detroit 3 would comprise the core of the project, other companies would bring "a different mindset and different answers" to it. He named Intel, Microsoft, Dell, Boeing and Google as possible collaborators, adding that he had not approached any of them with his idea.

Scott Doggett, Contributor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (4); Scott Doggett December 3, 2008, 10:06 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Diesel, Emissions, Energy Companies, Ethanol, Fuel Economy, Legislation
Technorati Tags:: Alternative Fuel

Hawaii Governor Unveils Plan to Create EV Recharging Network for Islands by 2012

Hawaii's governor has unveiled a plan to create an alternative transportation system for the islands based on plug-in electric vehicles with swappable batteries and a battery-recharging network.

The plan put forth by Republican Governor Linda Lingle calls for creating a public-private partnership with Better Place to create 70,000 to 100,000 recharging points that would support the zero-emissions vehicles expected to be available after 2011. Hawaii's biggest utility, Hawaiian Electric, will aid in the rollout.

Lingle said the arrangement with Better Place of Palo Alto, California, will "help Hawaii get off its extreme oil addiction," which costs the state $7 billion a year.

The plan, which is the brainchild of Better Place CEO and former software executive Shai Agassi, is intended to overcome the major hurdles to electric vehicles: slow battery recharging and limited availability. The latter challenge is particularly daunting, and Better Place has yet to line up financing for the $75 million to $100 million needed for the Hawaii venture.

Tuesday's announcement follows earlier Better Place endorsements from Israel, Denmark, Australia, Renault-Nissan and a coalition of Northern California localities supporting the idea. The California company plans test deployments of vehicles in 2009 and broad commercial sales in 2012.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett December 3, 2008, 9:19 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Batteries, Emissions, Energy Companies, Fuel Economy, Fuels & Technologies, Hybrid, Legislation, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Better Place

December 2, 2008

Chrysler CEO, Seeking $7 Billion From Congress, Has Big Plans for Electric Vehicles

Chrysler today submitted a plan requested by Congress detailing its business case for receiving government funding as part of a bailout for the struggling auto industry.

The Chrysler Viability Plan.pdf seems to some of us to paint a picture of a corporation that's struck an iceberg and may soon reach its final resting place, deep under water, despite the valiant efforts of its captain.

The captain would, of course, be Robert Nardelli (left), chairman and CEO of Chrysler, author of the company's viability plan. If he manages to get the $7 billion he says the company needs by the end of this month, he seems to feel he might just keep the thing afloat.

"The company believes this request is the least costly alternative considering the options we face," he writes in the last paragraph of the plan. "It provides the least detrimental effect on human capital and the stimulus necessary to prevent further economic decline, if not outright economic depression."

Reads like an obituary, which of course we hope it's not. That "human capital" to which he refers are people. The detriment: their sudden unemployment, their wounded self-esteem, fears, perhaps, of being out on the street with few prospects.

But if he gets his money--actually, he states that he would work for free--as well as $8.5 billion in low cost loans Chrysler is seeking from the Department of the Energy, he wrote that we can all expect green things to come from Chrysler.

They are: introducing the company's first full-function electric-drive model by 2010; making 50 percent of the Chrysler product line flex-fuel capable by 2012; and, producing 500,000 electric vehicles by 2013.

Scott Doggett, Contributor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett December 2, 2008, 5:41 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Chrysler, Emissions, Flex-Fuel, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Legislation, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Chrysler

GM Survival Plan Calls for More Green Vehicles, $18 Billion in Government Aid

The viability plan General Motors submitted to Congress today called for $18 billion in taxpayer aid and a dramatic shift in the company's U.S. portfolio, with 22 of 24 new vehicle launches in 2009-2012 being more fuel-efficient cars and crossovers.

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CEO Rick Wagoner. Better days ahead?
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And, yes, the plan calls for GM to cease all corporate aircraft operations, effective immediately.

After stating that over the past 15 years it "spent over $103 billion on retiree healthcare and pension expense, crowding out investment otherwise made in quality, safety, fuel efficiency and innovation," GM said it will substantially change its product mix over the next four years and "launch predominately high-mileage, energy-efficient cars and crossovers."

The plan includes introducing to the U.S. market the smallest 4-passenger vehicle, achieving higher fuel economy than the 2-passenger Smart Fortwo, which is the most fuel-efficient non-hybrid vehicle currently sold in America.

The plan for 2009 includes seven new vehicle launches in the United States, all of which will be either car or crossover models.

The plan also calls for making most of GM's vehicles flex-fuel capable by 2012--hopefully, the "flex" fuels will be greener by then, too--and it calls for GM to offer 15 hybrid models by then.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (5); Scott Doggett December 2, 2008, 4:24 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Emissions, Flex-Fuel, Fuel Cell, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Legislation, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Chevy Volt

Clearing Forests for Biofuel Said to Hurt Climate, Reduce Plant and Animal Diversity

Palm oil plantations--a principal source of biodiesel worldwide--reduce plant and animal diversity, and do little to reduce carbon emissions, according to a major international study .

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Palms stand where rainforest stood.
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Tropical forests are increasingly cleared to make way for palm oil crops, leading to a reduction in habitats for many rare species, scientists from seven nations concluded in a report published this week in the journal Conservation Biology (subscription required).

The problem is most acute in Malaysia and Indonesia, which produce about 85 percent of the world's palm oil.

Palm oil is a common vegetable oil, and is now regarded as a major source of biodiesel, however the researchers question whether it really offers environmental benefits over conventional fossil fuels.

Clearing land to start plantations involves burning huge tracts of forest, a process that produces large amounts of greenhouse gasses, including carbon dioxide. The researchers estimate at least 75 years of biofuel production is needed from the plantations to offset the amount of carbon dioxide produced by this burning.

Indeed, the lead author of the study, Finn Danielsen of Denmark's Nordic Agency for Development and Ecology, said it would take 75 to 93 years to see any benefits to the climate from biofuel plantations on converted tropical forestlands.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett December 2, 2008, 2:17 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Emissions, Energy Companies, Fuel Economy
Technorati Tags:: Biodiesel

Ford Stresses Its Need to Make More Fuel-Efficient Vehicles in Plan to Congress

By Scott Doggett, Contributor

In its effort to receive Congressional aid, Ford Motor Co. today submitted a business plan to the Senate Banking Committee that stressed the automaker's need to bring more fuel-efficient vehicles to market.

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Ford CEO Alan Mulally hopes to make a better impression on Congress this week.
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But in the 19-page plan, which Ford hopes will move Congress to give the automaker a "stand-by line of credit" in the amount of up to $9 billion at a low interest rate and a 10-year term, America's No. 2 carmaker also asked the lawmakers to:

Prohibit states from creating corporate fuel economy standards that are tougher than the federal standards, which California and more than a dozen other states propose;
consider tax incentives for consumers to trade in older vehicles and move to more fuel-efficient vehicles;
consider continuing rewarding automakers with tax credits from money they spend on research and development.

To obtain a "balanced portfolio"--one that isn't so heavily weighed to SUVs and pickup trucks--Ford said it plans to deliver six new small- and medium-sized vehicles to the U.S. over the next four years. This, Ford said, will enable its car and crossover product segment mix to increase from 48 percent to 60 percent and result in volume and share growth.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); Scott Doggett December 2, 2008, 12:48 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Batteries, Biofuels, Emissions, Ethanol, Ford, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Legislation, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: CEO Alan Mulally

November 26, 2008

'08 Impala CNG Conversion System Approved by EPA

An Arizona startup that grew out of an auto shop specializing in natural gas vehicle repair said it has received federal EPA certification for a kit that converts the 2008 Chevrolet Impala from gasoline to cleaner, cheaper compressed natural gas.

Prices to convert the car -- kit plus labor -- should run from $11,500 to $13,000, said John Mitton, managing partner of Phoenix-based Natural Drive LLC.

The system works on the LS, LT and LTZ "civilian" models and the 9C1 and 9C3 police models and on both the 3.5-liter and 3.9-liter V6 engines.

The conversion system for the '08 Impala is available through a network of independent installers in states where it meets applicable emissions equipment rules. That rules out California and 10 other states that use California's emissions standards and require such equipment to be certified by the California Air Resources Board as well as the EPA.

Mitton said he expects to have CARB certification for the 2009 Impala conversion system, but not until about the middle of next year. It can cost up to $250,000 to pay for the various test procedures that must be done to obtain the state's stamp of approval, he said.

The system, which includes high-pressure fuel tanks, fuel lines and fuel injectors as well as a reprogrammed powertrain control module, is aimed primarily at government and private business fleet operators but also is available to individuals who can foot the bill.

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A 2008 Chevrolet Impala converted to run on natural gas displays a CNG logo.

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It qualifies for a $2,500 federal income tax credit, which helps cut the total cost, and various states also offer incentives (click here for a list) for CNG conversions: Oklahoma and Colorado are at the top of the list, providing a state income tax credit of half the total cost.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell November 26, 2008, 3:00 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Chevrolet, Natural Gas, Tax Incentives
Technorati Tags:: CNG

November 25, 2008

U.S. Military to Purchase Thousands of Electric Vehicles for Use on Bases

Aiming to save fuel and advance alternative-energy plans, the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force intend to buy thousands of battery-powered, 35-mile-an-hour electric cars and light trucks to provide on-base transport.

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The Columbia ParCar Mega is one of the EVs the military is looking to buy.
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The Army plans to order the street-legal neighborhood electric vehicles from E-Z-Go, Native American Biofuels International and other electric-car makers, the Army Times reported today. E-Z-Go, which is a subsidiary of defense giant Textron, makes golf carts that are listed online at about $1,300 each.

Paul Bollinger, deputy assistant Army secretary for energy and partnerships, said that the first NEV will be delivered to Fort Belvoir, Virginia, by Dec. 15.

Eight hundred of the zero-emissions vehicles will be delivered next year and 4,000 over the next three years, Bollinger said, adding that ultimately the Army will purchase "at least 10,000 vehicles overall."

Each electric vehicle will use an average of about $400 in electricity per year, compared to the roughly $2,400 in fuel needed to run a gas-powered car, Bollinger said, citing General Services Administration figures. The initial 4,000 EVs will save 11.5 million gallons of fuel per year, he said.

The Army's plan has persuaded its sister services to place orders, but no figures for them were immediately available, the Army Times reported.

The Army hopes to inspire a broader market for electric cars and has been telling automakers about its plans, Bollinger said.

"Chevy is looking at making the Volt... We don't need something that big or expensive, but we might need something that powerful. So in the future, if they are able to make it, that is great," he said.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett November 25, 2008, 9:25 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Chevrolet, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Alternative Energy

Mini Reportedly Contemplating a U.S. Version of its Mini Cooper Diesel

When BMW's Mini unit launched its Mini Cooper D - as in diesel - last summer, we wished, oh how we wished, the company would bring it to the States.

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Right-hand drive version of the Mini Cooper D is at home in Great Britain.
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That didn't look possible then, but now AutoblogGreen is reporting that a Mini diesel just might be in the works for us after all.

A year ago, demand for Minis, diesel and gas, had the factory in Oxford, England, running full time and there was no extra capacity to build more Minis for the U.S. There also was the little problem of getting a clean enough diesel system to pass tough U.S. emissions standards.

It seems, though, that the global economic crunch as slowed sales, and thus production, of Minis and the Oxford factory now has some unused capacity.

Additionally, Mini is working a U.S.-spec version of the Mini Cooper D engine. It would use special catalysts and a lean NOx trap, like the now delayed Honda diesel and the VW Jetta TDI, rather than a urea injection system as is used on larger BMWs and Mercedes-Benzes.

No launch date for the U.S. diesel Mini - with gas prices so low and diesel fuel still relatively high here, there's no big economic reason to rush one over.

Still, the Euro-spec Mini D delivers about 50 miles per gallon (U.S.) and putts along quite nicely with a 120 mph top speed from a 110-horsepower engine that delivers 177 pound-feet of torque.

So bring it on, please.

John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (2); John O'Dell November 25, 2008, 3:02 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, BMW, Diesel, MINI
Technorati Tags:: Diesel Mini

November 24, 2008

Major LNG Plant Opens in California Desert to Fuel Trucks at Nation's Busiest Ports

California's first large-scale liquefied natural gas plant opened for business today. Its operator is hoping to profit by supplying LNG fuel to a new generation of long-haul trucks which use the clean-burning fuel to satisfy state and local demands to slash diesel-based air pollution on major freight corridors running out of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

The plant, located 125 miles east of Los Angeles in the Mojave Desert community of Boron, is owned by Clean Energy Fuels Corp., a natural gas supply firm co-founded by Texas oil billionaire-turned clean energy proponent T. Boone Pickens.

It presently can produce up to 160,000 gallons of LNG per day and has the potential to liquefy 240,000 gallons a day if demand increases.

The facility takes natural gas from a major pipeline and liquefies it for fuel. It includes a 1.5-million-gallon storage tank that will serve as a major regional source of LNG.

Clean Energy plans to use fuel from the Mojave plant at LNG truck stops it is building in the area serving the two big L.A.-area ports, the nation's busiest ocean freight facilities.

A clean truck program for the ports calls for up to 8,000 new LNG trucks, and as many clean diesel trucks, to move goods in and out of the docks.

John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell November 24, 2008, 4:22 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Natural Gas
Technorati Tags:: Clean Energy Fuels LNG Plant

Universal Studios To Replace Gas-Powered Golf Carts With Solar-Electric Hybrids

Universal Studios Hollywood announced today that it intends to replace its fleet of 300 gas-powered golf carts with plug-in solar-electric hybrid vehicles.

The vehicles' powertrain includes an electric motor, a solar panel atop the passenger compartment and a lead-acid battery -- the oldest type of rechargeable battery available, but a good choice for this application due to its low cost and its ability to supply high surge currents.

Cruise Car Inc. of Sarasota, Florida, will supply the $8,000 zero-emissions vehicles, each of which can travel about 50 miles with a fully charged battery, company spokesman Adam Sulimirski told Green Car Advisor.

It only takes a few hours to top off the battery using a 110-volt outlet -- fully depleting the battery will shorten its lifespan -- and just parking or using the vehicle in the sun will generate enough electricity for up to 7 miles' use each day, he said.

"Green is all about doing the right thing," Larry Kurzwell, president and CEO of Universal Studio Hollywood, said in a statement. "This is the right thing to do."

Cruise Car is a major maker of solar-electric vehicles with more than 50 models in its product line and distribution on four continents. Many of the models can be legally driven on public roads in most states.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); Scott Doggett November 24, 2008, 12:27 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Batteries, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Legislation, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Battery

November 20, 2008

California Mayors Join Forces to Promote Electric Vehicles in S.F. Bay Area

The mayors of three of California's largest cities launched an initiative today they say will make the San Francisco Bay Area and the famed Silicon Valley into the electric vehicle capital of the country.

If fully realized, the nine-step plan outlined by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums would require billions of dollars of private and public investment in infrastructure to support the deployment and use of EVs in the region.

Several automakers have said they intend to begin marketing battery-electric and plug-in hybrid cars in California by 2012.

In conjunction with the mayors' announcement, Northern California-based EV infrastructure developer Better Place said it will enter the U.S. market to support the Bay Area initiative.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell November 20, 2008, 3:03 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Better Place

EV Charger Maker Says Statewide Retail System Underway In California

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Electric vehicle charger manufacturer Coulomb Technologies said this morning that it has begun marketing retail chargers that will be installed next year in major cities and along major highway routes in California.

The program could help jump-start the market for rechargeable electric vehicles by providing convenient charging sites for travelers and for apartment dwellers and others without access to private garages with electrical connections.

The company is anticipating a growing market for commercial EV charging stationl for plug-in hybrids and battery-electric vehicles as California ramps up its much-revised Zero Emissions Vehicles mandate and continues to push for enforcement of a statewide initiative to force automakers to lower the greenhouse as emissions of cars and trucks sold within the state.

Coulomb CEO Richard Lowenthal said his year-old start-up markets its Smartlet Networked Charging Stations to companies that are building alternative fueling stations and has 40 installations scheduled for the first quarter of 2009.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell November 20, 2008, 8:34 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Coulomb Technologies

November 19, 2008

2008 LA Auto Show: Totoya Camry CNG Hybrid Concept

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

CNG hasn't caught on with automakers - Honda's the only company presently selling a natural gas car - but Toyota thinks things could change and wants to be ready if they do.

Thus was born the CNG-electric Camry Hybrid Concept (right) being unveiled today at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

Toyota actually spilled the beans two months ago when it announced that it would show the concept car at the LA event, which opens to the public Friday and runs through Nov. 30.

But the company is providing a few previously withheld technical details with today's official unveiling.

The numbers

Under its hood, the CNG Hybrid Camry carries a 2.4-liter, 4-cylinder engine and Toyota's patented "hybrid synergy drive" electric powerplant and drive system. The whole thing has a combined power output equal to 170 horsepower

Toyota says the concept would get almost the same EPA mileage rating as the conventional gasoline-electric Camry Hybrid, coming in at 32 miles per gallon in the city cycle, 34 mpg on the highway and 33 mpg overall, versus 33 mpg city, 34 highway and 34 overall for the regular hybrid model.

In testimony to the fuel saving prowess of a hybrid system, the non-hybrid Honda Civic GX natural gas car is EPA-rated at 28 mpg overall, 15 percent less than the larger and heavier Camry CNG Hybrid.

The Camry CNG Hybrid Concept started with a standard Camry Hybrid then stripped off its gasoline fuel storage and delivery system and replaced it with a system suitable for compressed natural gas.

That included a pair of 4-gallon cylindrical fuel tanks installed in the car's spare tire well (right) , and special fuel lines, injectors and engine control software to handle the pressurized gas (it usually is delivered at 3,600 psi).

Because it is a show car, the vehicle's exterior also got some attention, including a custom front fascia and front bumper cover that eliminates the grill opening, and a custom rear bumper that conceals the tail pipe and otherwise visible part of the exhaust system.

The CNG hybrid concept is shod with 19" Bridgestone run-flat tires - to make up for loss of the spare tire - and the car was lowered and its sides emblazoned "Compressed Natural Gas Hybrid" graphics.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell November 19, 2008, 8:00 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Auto Shows, Fuels & Technologies, Honda, Hybrid, Natural Gas, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Compressed Natural Gas Car

2008 LA Auto Show: Kia Unveils Borrego Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Prototype

Kia Motors Corp.'s $105-million fuel cell electric vehicle program took a major technological step forward today with the global unveiling of the Borrego FCEV prototype at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

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Right and below, the Borrego FCEV prototype is fitted with Kia's fourth-generation fuel-cell powerplant.
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The Borrego FCEV contains Kia's fourth-generation fuel-cell powerplant, which like those before it produces electricity from hydrogen and oxygen in an on-board electro-chemical process.

But the latest generation achieves 154 horsepower--or 47 more ponies than generation 3 for a 44 percent power boost.

Other improvements include an all-new 450-volt Supercapacitor to lift performance, a greatly extended driving range, and sub-freezing starting capability for cold-weather operation.

The Borrego FCEV's powerplant, located under the center floor, propels the vehicle to a top speed of 100 miles per hour while boasting a claimed best-in-class system efficiency of 62 percent.

Despite a dry weight of 4,960 pounds, the Borrego FCEV can reach 60 miles per hour in a reasonable 12.8 seconds. And, with its 202-liter hydrogen storage tank, the crossover has a range of about 426 miles--or 176 more miles than Gen 3.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (2); Scott Doggett November 19, 2008, 3:01 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Auto Shows, Emissions, Fuel Cell, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Kia
Technorati Tags:: Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle

November 17, 2008

2009 Honda Civic GX Joins List of Alt-Fuel Cars Eligible for $3,000 California Rebate

Fueling Alternatives, California's alternative fuel vehicle rebate program, has added the 2009 Honda Civic GX compressed natural gas car to its list of vehicles that are eligible for a $3,000 rebate under the state-funded program.

The 2009 model joins the 2007 and 2008 Civic GX, as well as the BAF conversions for the 2007 Ford Crown Victoria, Lincoln Town Car and Mercury Grand Marquis, as eligible for $3,000 rebates.

Eleven other models are eligible for smaller rebates and two models--the 2008 Honda FCX Clarity hydrogen-powered fuel-cell sedan and the all-electric 2008 Tesla Roadster--are eligible for $5,000 rebates.

Additionally, the 2009 Civic GX might qualify for a $4,000 federal new-energy tax credit. The 2005-2008 Civic GX models meet the Internal Revenue Service criteria for that tax credit, but the IRS has not yet extended the tax credit to the 2009 model.

The Civic GX is fueled by compressed natural gas for nearly zero emissions. It is fuel-economy rated for 24 miles per gallon equivalent in the city and 36 mpg equivalent on the highway by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The vehicle's suggested starting price is $25,090.

More information about the Civic GX can be found at Edmund's Inside Line Website, where Green Car Advisor Senior Editor John O'Dell has been reviewing a 2007 model on a regular basis for many months, and at Honda's Website for the U.S.

Fueling Alternatives is funded by the California Air Resources Board and administered by the California Center for Sustainable Energy. A total of $1.8 million was appropriated and directed toward vehicle incentive rebates to promote the use and production of alternative fuel vehicles.

Rebates of up to $5,000 are available for California residents who purchase or lease new eligible alternative-fuel vehicles between May 24, 2007, and March 31, 2009, or until funding runs out. For more information, go to Fueling Alternatives' Website.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett November 17, 2008, 7:46 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Emissions, Ford, Fuel Cell, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Honda, Hydrogen, Legislation, Lincoln, Mercury, Natural Gas, Plug-ins and Electric, Tax Incentives, Tesla
Technorati Tags:: 2008 Honda FCX Clarity

November 10, 2008

Plug-In Hybrid Maker Opens Michigan R&D Center to Cherry-Pick Laid-Off Talent

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Fisker Automotive, developer of an $80,000 plug-in hybrid sports sedan promised for the fourth quarter of 2009, said it has opened an engineering and development center in Pontiac, Mich.

The Southern California-based company, a venture-capital funded company founded by Fisker Coachbuild and Quantum Technologies Worldwide, said the 34,000-square-foot facility will be home to "up to" 200 engineering and designers working on development and production of the company's first vehicle, the Fisker Karma (right).

Fisker's headquarters will remain in Irvine, Calif. and production of the car, as previously announced, will be done in Finland, the company said.

Privately-owned Fisker is stepping in to fill a void being created as the traditional U.S. auto industry undergoes massive shrinkage, a seemingly bottomless slide in sales and subsequently catastrophic financial losses

Layoffs of tens of thousands of auto industry workers in and around Detroit, and the impact carmakers' retrenching has had on components and service suppliers, have created a buyers' market for independents such as Fisker looking to supply vehicles that mainstream automakers can't, or won't.

"The available talent, supplier base and infrastructure in Michigan will help us reach our production goal," said Bernhard Koehler, Fisker Automotive's chief operating officer.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell November 10, 2008, 4:23 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Fisker, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Fisker Automotive

November 7, 2008

Waxman Power Play Could Have Huge Impact on Mileage, Emissions Standards

By Scott Doggett, Contributor

For years, members of Congress have been saying we needed to have more aggressive fuel-economy standards. And for years--32 to be precise--Detroit's automakers have lobbied aggressively to prevent that from happening.

The person the car companies have routinely turned to to fight their battles in Washington is Democratic Representative John Dingell of Michigan (right), the longest serving current member of the House and second-longest serving member in our nation's history.

For more than half a century, Dingell has fought virtually every regulation the automakers have opposed, from seatbelts and airbags to tailpipe emissions and fuel-efficiency standards. His position as chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce has given him enormous influence over such matters.

For nearly as long as Dingell has been in office, critics have charged that elected officials such as him are far too beholden to large corporate interests to regulate them in a socially responsible manner.

One of those critics is Democratic Representative Henry Waxman of California, who has been as strong advocate of fuel-efficiency standards and legislation curbing greenhouse-gas emissions. And this week Waxman stated his intentions to replace Dingell as chairman of the Commerce Committee in a power play the chairmen of the Detroit 3 can only dread.

On Wednesday, Waxman (left) released the following statement:

"When the new Congress starts in January, we will face unprecedented opportunities and challenges. The public expects Congress and President-elect Obama to work together to find solutions to the nation's most pressing problems. But the issues we will confront are immensely difficult. We will need the very best leadership in Congress and our committees to succeed.

"That is why after long thought I have decided to seek the chairmanship of the Committee on Energy and Commerce. Some of the most important challenges we face--energy, climate change, and health care--are under the jurisdiction of the Commerce Committee. In large measure, our success as Congress will depend on how the Commerce Committee performs.

"Enacting comprehensive energy, climate, and health care reform will not be easy. But my record shows that I have the skill and ability to build consensus and deliver legislation that improves the lives of all Americans."

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); Scott Doggett November 7, 2008, 4:37 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Chrysler, Diesel, Emissions, Ethanol, Ford, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Hybrid, Legislation, Natural Gas, Oil, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: CAFE

Tax Credits for Leanest Hybrids Axed Despite Recognized Importance of the Cars

By Scott Doggett, Contributor

In Washington's infinite wisdom, the tax incentives that have bolstered U.S. sales of the most fuel-efficient hybrids are gone or soon will be at a time when experts agree the vehicles could play an important role in reducing America's addiction to foreign oil and in stopping global warming.

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Honda's 42-mpg 2008 Civic Hybrid; its tax break ends next month.
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Tax incentives tied to Toyota's 2005-2008 model-year Prius, which gets a phenomenal EPA-rated 48 miles per gallon in the city, 45 mpg on the highway and 46 combined, expired in October 2007.

That same month saw the tax credit for the 2007-2008 Toyota Camry Hybrid vanish, despite the fact that model gets an EPA-rated 34 mpg combined.

And soon we'll witness another mystery: In the final minutes of next month, as people around the world usher out the old year and celebrate the new, the U.S. tax incentive for the 2006-2008 Honda Civic Hybrid (42 mpg combined!) will dissolve at the stroke of midnight.

But the strangeness won't end there.

Beginning next spring, Honda will offer a hybrid achieving a claimed 60 mpg. What tax break will Uncle Sam provide buyers of this gas-sipper, the 2010 Honda Insight? None whatsoever.

None, as in the 2,200 fewer taxpayer dollars than he's offering buyers of the 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid right now, despite the fact that big ol' honkin' SUV achieves only 21 mpg combined.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (3); Scott Doggett November 7, 2008, 3:01 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Chevrolet, Emissions, Ford, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Honda, Hybrid, Legislation, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mercury, Nissan, Opinion, Saturn, Tax Incentives, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: 2007-08 Nissan Altima Hybrid

BMW Says More than 9,000 Are Interested In Leasing Electric Mini E

Recession? What recession?

That's what the leasing team for BMW's upcoming Mini EV must be thinking.

Since announcing the car 21 days ago, BMW says that more than 9,000 people have expressed interest in leasing one - at the rather hefty price of $850 a month.

The scramble should be interesting as BMW has said it will only released 500 of the Mini E models, as the battery-electric car is being called.

Actual lease applications won't be available until the middle of the month - and then only to people in certain areas of California, New York and New Jersey where electric vehicle recharging infrastructure exists.

The 9,000-plus "hand-raisers" expressed interest in the Mini E lease program by signing up for information on the Mini web site.

The 2-seat car looks like a standard Mini with the rear seat removed to make room for the batteries. Range is estimated at about 150 miles on a single charge.

Mini Es also will sport special paint jobs and decals identifying them as electric cars.

The lease price, which will cover all maintenance, is only $29 a month less than the lease price of a $77,000 BMW 750i sedan.

John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell November 7, 2008, 1:40 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, BMW, MINI, Solar
Technorati Tags:: Mini E Lease Program

November 6, 2008

Researcher Famous for Anticancer Drug May Have Discovered Diesel-Making Fungi

A research team led by a Montana State University professor has found a fungus that produces a new type of diesel fuel, which they say holds great promise.

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An electron microscope's view of Gliocladium roseum, a plant fungus that produces a chemical very close to diesel oil.
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Calling the fungus' output "myco-diesel," Gary Strobel and his collaborators describe their initial observations in the November issue of Microbiology.

The discovery may offer an alternative to fossil fuels, said Strobel, MSU professor of plant sciences and plant pathology. The find is even bigger, he said, than his 1993 discovery of fungus that contained the anticancer drug Paclitaxel (or, commonly, Taxol).

Strobel, who travels the world looking for exotic plants that may contain beneficial microbes, found the diesel-producing fungus in a Patagonia rainforest. Strobel visited the rainforest in 2002 and collected a variety of specimens, including the branches from an ancient family of trees known as "ulmo."

When he and his collaborators examined the branches, they found fungus growing inside. They continued to investigate and discovered that the fungus, Gliocladium roseum, was producing gases.

Further testing showed that the fungus, when exposed to low amounts of oxygen, was producing a number of compounds normally associated with diesel fuel, which is obtained from crude oil.

"These are the first organisms that have been found that make many of the ingredients of diesel," Strobel said. "This is a major discovery."

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett November 6, 2008, 10:03 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Diesel, Emissions, Ethanol, Fuel Economy
Technorati Tags:: Alternative Fuel

Business, Environmental Groups Waste No Time Lobbying Obama on Energy Policy

In case Afghanastan, Iraq, formation of a transition team and coping with a national recession weren't concerns enough for Barack Obama on election day plus one, several of the country's biggest business lobbies held their hands out Wednesday for policy largesse from the President-elect.

The National Assn. of Manufacturers, U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Business Industry Political Action Committee all urged Obama to see things their way in making energy independence and economic stimulus his top domestic priorities.

The GOP-friendly business organizations were joined by a major green investment coalition that called on Obama to pursue environmentally friendly policies.

The manufacturing industry group, according to a report by the subscription-only E&E News, which specializes in energy and environmental issues, called on Obama to abandon federal mandates for use of alternative fuels and instead expand domestic production of fuel from oil shale.

The trade group also asked in an open letter to Obama, that his the administration support incentives for energy production from coal as well as development of carbon capture and storage technologies to reduce coal's environmentally damaging impacts.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell November 6, 2008, 3:01 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Coal, Oil
Technorati Tags:: Business Agenda

November 5, 2008

CEO of Pickens-Run Company Pledges To Help California Despite Measure's Defeat

Clean Energy Fuels Corp., the company founded and controlled through majority stock interest by Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens, issued a press release today following the defeat of a California ballot measure that would have resulted in rebates for natural-gas-powered vehicles at great taxpayers' expense .

Here is the press release in its entirety:

California voters yesterday turned down Proposition 10. Named The California Renewable Energy and Clean Alternative Fuels Initiative, the measure was a $5-billion, first-in-the-nation public investment to provide funds for a wide variety of clean energy projects across the state, including consumer incentives for clean alternative vehicle fuels and the construction of renewable energy generation facilities, such as solar and wind power plants.

"Everyone talks about reducing the use of imported oil, lowering greenhouse gas emissions and cleaning the air through the use of alternative energy resources, and California's voters considered supporting these critical goals in a meaningful way," said Andrew J. Littlefair, President and CEO, Clean Energy. "The passage of Prop 10 would have provided an important funding mechanism to rapidly turn these goals into a reality throughout the state.

"We supported the initiative, and while Prop 10 may have served as a catalyst to accelerate our growth, its failure does not reduce our opportunities. We believe our core business is strong and pledge to continue to help California and the nation meet our critical goals of reducing imported oil while increasing the use of clean, alternative energy for the health and welfare of all our citizens," Littlefair noted.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett November 5, 2008, 10:31 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Coal, Diesel, Emissions, Energy Companies, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Legislation, Natural Gas, Oil
Technorati Tags:: California

Calif. Sends Pickens Packing; Alt-Fuel Initiative Crushed Despite Bankroll Behind It

Perhaps with all the talk we've been hearing lately pitting the middle class against the upper class -- the 95 percent against the 5 percent -- a ballot initiative bankrolled by a Texas billionaire didn't have a snowball's chance in Houston Tuesday.

Or perhaps all the recent talk of the economy taking a flying leap into Great Depression Land got voters to focus on the bottom line, which in this case said: "Fiscal Impact: State cost of about $10 billion over 30 years to repay bonds."

Whatever it was, millions of Californians went to the polls Tuesday and an overwhelming majority of them voted no on a statewide ballot initiative that would have benefited very few of them while throwing a tremendous amount of money behind an automotive fuel that isn't particularly green and would have made T. Boone Pickens even more filthy rich than the 80-year-old oil tycoon already is.

With 85.2 percent of the precincts reporting at the time this was typed, 60.2 percent of the voters voted against Proposition 10 while 39.8 percent in favor of it.

This lopsided defeat occurred despite the fact that Pickens and others -- all with very deep pockets who stood to gain handsomely had the natural-gas initiative passed -- spent at least $23 million backing it, in large part with television commercials that flooded living rooms throughout the state in recent weeks.

Conversely, Prop 10's opposition, cleverly named the No On Prop 10 campaign, raised so little money that it wasn't able to pay for a single TV commercial. The No people were outspent 179.9 dollars to 1. And still they prevailed?!

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett November 5, 2008, 2:40 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Emissions, Energy Companies, Fuel Economy, Legislation, Natural Gas, Opinion
Technorati Tags:: Alternative Fuel