Hydrogen Green Car Advisor Blog on Edmunds' Inside Line

June 26, 2009

Despite Slow Start, Japan Wants to Promote Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles

Effort Comes as U.S. Plans to Drop Federal Funding For Fuel Cell Car Research

toyota.fchv.430.jpg Japan's Internal Affairs Ministry, dismayed that its goal of having 50,000 hydrogen fuel cell cars on the roads by the spring of 2011 isn't going to be achieved, has called for new measures to promote use of the vehicles.

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A Toyota Highlander fuel-cell vehicle.
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The government, which set the present goal back in 2001, also is expected to release a new target, given that here were only 42 fuel-cell electric vehicles in operation in Japan at the end of the 2008 fiscal year last March.

Already in place, as of April, is an exemption for fuel cell vehicles and other "new-generation" cars and trucks, from Japan's expensive vehicle weight and new-vehicle purchase taxes.

The Japanese government has invested the equivalent of $205 million in fuel cell development in the past five years, and Japanese automakers Toyota and Honda are among the industry leaders in the technology.

Honda's FCX Clarity (left) is the world's only purpose-built hydrogen fuel cell car.

It is a terribly expensive vehicle now (estimates of Honda's investment to build 200 of the cars range from $500,000 to $2 million per vehicle) because its body panels are all unique, requiring costly new tooling, and its power system is pretty much hand-built.

But Honda insiders say the car could be made affordable if there were sufficient demand to foster growth of a supplier industry to make fuel cells, batteries and other specialized components in volume.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell June 26, 2009, 12:27 PM
Categories:: Fuel Cell, Honda, Hydrogen, Japan, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Fuel Cell Vehicles

June 25, 2009

Researchers' Hydrogen Storage Solution Is No Feather-Brained Idea

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

It's pretty clear by now that one of the main obstacles to commercializing fuel-cell electric vehicles is the lack of a hydrogen fueling infrastructure.

A little more range from a tank of the hydrogen gas that fuel cells require to produce electricity also would be nice.

How to store the gas, which has an extremely low density, is one of the stumbling blocks, but researchers at the University of Delaware think they're on the way to developing a solution.

The secret is chicken feathers. Carbonized chicken feathers to be exact.

Seems the fluffy stuff is made of keratin, a protein that forms microscopic tubes riddled with pores when heated just right - tubes that are the optimum size for storing hydrogen gas.

A 20 gallon tank filled with hydrogen gas pumped in at the ambient temperature and pressure would hold enough of the stuff to propel a car about one mile, said Richard Wool, a chemical engineering professor at the university.

It's that low-density problem: at room temperature the volume of hydrogen containing the same amount of energy as a gallon of gasoline is 40 times that of the gas.

Most fuel-cell electric cars being tested today are getting the equivalent of 50 to 80 miles a gallon (a kilogram of hydrogen gas has the energy equivalent of a gallon of gasoline) but carry their fuel in pressured tanks to avoid having to tow around box-car sized external tanks of unpressurized fuel.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell June 25, 2009, 1:45 AM
Categories:: Fuel Cell, Hydrogen
Technorati Tags:: Fuel Cell Electric Cars

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 12, 2009

H2 Minus $ is an Equation Hydrogen Car Backers Say is Wrong Answer for Proposed Energy Department Budget

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Like every other alternative fuel, hydrogen has its fans and foes, its pluses and minuses, its ups and, recently, its downs.

After being the favored ground transportation fuel of the future for most of the last eight years as the Bush administration pushed development of hydrogen fuel cells for automotive use, nature's most abundant - albeit hard to isolate - element has been cast aside by the Obama administration.

The new president's Nobel-winning energy secretary, Steven Chu, has proposed in his 2010 departmental budget to eliminate funding for automotive hydrogen programs - that's $100 million - and instead to focus hydrogen research on fuel cells to generate power for homes, businesses and other stationary power users.

For transportation, his choice of fuel research programs to back is no surprise, he's long been a supporter of biofuels and electric cars.

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Honda says its FCX Clarity (below, right) is production-ready, lacking only a fueling infrastructure and lower-priced components that can only come with increased production of such cars.
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That's got the hydrogen car crowd - and we confess to a great fondness for fuel cell vehicles ourselves - up in arms and questioning the validity of Chu's apparent decision to "pick winners" by concentrating DOE research finding on biofuels and battery-electric, or plug-in, cars while announcing that his team doesn't see any short-term chance for hydrogen to emerge as a widely available and used fuel.

But Chu, powerful as he is sitting atop the nation's official energy policy agency and operating with the endorsement and backing of the president, isn't all-powerful. He has to answer to Congress, and Congress is subject to lobbying.

So the pressure politics have begun.

Short-Sighted?

With DOE budget hearings about to start, the chairman of the Senate's energy and Water Appropriations Committee - the committee that sits in judgment over the energy Department budget - has come out swinging.

A fan of hydrogen, Sen. Byron Dorgan recently called the DOE's budget recommendation to eliminate automotive hydrogen research funding "a very short-sighted recommendation." Hydrogen and fuel cells "are part of this country's future," said the North Dakota Democrat.

Backing Dorgan in support of restoring at lest some hydrogen programs funding for automotive research are automakers with huge investments in the technology.

They include Toyota and Honda, no slouches when it comes to making informed choices about technologies, as well as Daimler and our own General Motors Corp.

(We say "our own" because as part of the taxpaying public, we now share ownership of the faltering car company with the rest of America.)

Unlikely Allies

GM, in case you've been living in a cave or up in space for the past few weeks, is in bankruptcy now and the government, as its majority owner, has a rather big stake in the company's survival and future success.

Granted, GM hasn't been all that great at picking the proper trends and technologies as it looked to the future.

But this time the General is on the same team as Toyota and Honda rather than turning up its nose and sniffing that the Japanese car companies don't know what they are talking about.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (2); John O'Dell June 12, 2009, 5:15 AM
Categories:: Biofuels, Daimler, Ford, Fuel Cell, General Motors, Honda, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Opinion, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: DOE Budget

June 11, 2009

Mazda Seeking Alliances to Help Develop Hybrids, EVs and other Fuel-Saving Technologies

Mazda Motor Corp., already in a partnership with part-owner Ford Motor Co. to develop a hybrid vehicle, says it is looking at more alliances, with Ford and others, to develop electric cars and other "electric devices" that will help boost fuel economy.

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Mazda, seeking to boost its overall fuel efficiency, recently began commercial leases of this hydrogen-powered Premacy vant in Japan.
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Those devices could run the gamut from electric power steering, brake and climate systems to hybrid, hydrogen and fully battery-electric drive systems for cars and SUVs.

Ford, which once controlled Mazda, now holds a 13.8 percent stake in the company. The two already share some vehicle platforms (such as the Mazda 3 and Ford's European Focus) and Mazda's president said Wednesday that they intend to continue to develop shared vehicle platforms.

The company announced in April that it would develop a new Mazda hybrid as it seeks to increase its overall fleet fuel economy by 30 percent in the next six years.

To accelerate development of fuel efficiency technologies, the company now is considering multiple alliances, Mazda Senior Managing Director Seita Kanai said at a Wednesday press conference in Japan.

John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell June 11, 2009, 11:57 AM
Categories:: Ford, Fuel Cell, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Mazda, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Mazda Hybrid

June 4, 2009

GM Reiterates Continued Investment in Fuel Efficiency and Clean Emissions

Work on Hydrogen Fuel Cells Also Will Continue Despite Company's Bankruptcy

They've said that they don't expect their financial woes to adversely impact their company's various fuel efficiency and clean emissions initiatives, and now that General Motors Corp. is officially bankrupt they're saying it again.

Specifically, in an interview on National Public Radio (which we missed but was picked up by AutoblogGreen) GM's chief financial officer, Ray Young, said that the automaker believes gas prices will rise, that consumers will "demand" more fuel efficient and greener vehicles and that GM is "going to make that commitment [and] make that investment..."

But wait! That's not all!

GM's chief executive, Fritz Henderson, told NPR that the company will continue its research and development work on hydrogen fuel cells, even though it now believes that commercialization of fuel-cell electric cars is "far away."

Having driven GM's fuel cell Equinox (above) and Honda's FCX Clarity, we don't doubt Henderson's contention that hydrogen fuel cells can work in the family auto.

We just hope he's wrong about commercialization being a thing of the distant future (although we must admit that it is a dimming hope as the federal government seems to have turned away from hydrogen to concentrate its R&D funds on plug-in hybrids and battery-electric cars).

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); John O'Dell June 4, 2009, 5:47 PM
Categories:: Fuel Cell, General Motors, Hydrogen
Technorati Tags:: Fuel Cells

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 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

May 22, 2009

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

VW Says Fuel Cells Still Very Much In Its Future, Adds 16 Cars to U.S. Test Fleet

VW has brought 16 Chinese-market Passat Lingyu fuel cell sedans to U.S. for intensive testing.

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

While the rest of the world was listening to President Obama outline his industry-supported plan to require that passenger cars and light trucks sold in the U.S. achieve average fuel economy of 35.5 miles per gallon and a 30 percent reduction in CO2 emissions by 2016, I was putting around an industrial section of California's capital in a car that gets the equivalent of about twice that, with no CO2 from the tailpipe.

It was one of Volkswagen's previous-generation Chinese-market Passat Lingyu sedans, outfitted with a fuel-cell electric drive that gets its juice by converting hydrogen and oxygen to electricity in an on-board electro-chemical power plant called a fuel cell stack.

The German automaker, mostly noted in green car circles for its clean diesel (turbo direct injection, or TDI) technology, has brought 16 of the hydrogen-electric cars to the California Fuel Cell Partnership facility in West Sacramento for a bout of prolonged testing.

Down, Not Dead

That VW is doing the testing is heartening. The company is one of a handful of major automakers insisting that fuel cell development must continue even though the Obama administration's energy budget proposal has let the air out of the hydrogen balloon by slashing program funding 60% and diverting most of the $100 million thus saved to battery electric vehicle programs.

(Energy Secretary Stephen Chu, you might recall, justified the hydrogen program cuts by pronouncing that fuel cells aren't going to be viable mass market automotive technology within the next 15 to 20 years and that government funding needs to go to programs that could come on line more rapidly.)

I asked several VW representatives why, other than to keep flying the fuel- cell electric vehicle (FCEV) flag, they'd scheduled Tuesday's event as there seemed to be no newsworthy reason for it - the cars aren't new, their fuel cell systems are a generation behind those being tested by the company in Germany and there were no other VW announcements during the day.

"Because," I was told, "the cars are here" and VW wanted to make sure the handful of U.S. journalists who cover green car technology knew about them and about the fuel cell partnership - which is celebrating its 10th anniversary next week - and its continuing commitment to hydrogen technology.

Obstacles Abound

That's all well and good - we're fans even though we know that in order for FCEVs to be viable, fuel cell stack durability has to be improved; costs must be halved and then halved again; the hydrogen to make them work will have to be made with clean electricity, which we don't have much of yet; and a tremendously expensive national effort will be required to install a fueling infrastructure to keep the vehicles rolling.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell May 20, 2009, 3:01 AM
Categories:: Emissions, Fuel Cell, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Plug-ins and Electric, Volkswagen
Technorati Tags:: California Fuel Cell Partnership

May 18, 2009

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 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

May 8, 2009

Toyota Losing Money but Vows To Continue Environmental R&D Efforts

Toyota reported its first financial loss in decades and is forecasting another hefty loss for this year, but the still world's largest automaker is protecting product development and R&D that pertains to small cars and advanced technologies, particularly those related to the environment and energy.

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Toyota says it won't abandon advanced vehicles such as this electric car concept.

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"We will maintain a high level of R&D in areas we consider indispensable to our future -- advanced, cutting-edge technologies in environment, energy and safety," Takahiko Ijichi, Toyota Motor Corp. senior managing director, said in a conference call Friday morning with analysts and media.

Ijichi said Toyota will continue work to cut costs in its development and production of compact vehicles and hybrids. The next-generation Toyota Corolla will be a model for such cost-cutting, he said. And lessons learned on the Corolla, which initially launches in Japan followed by the U.S. and Europe, will be transferred to all other Toyota and Lexus models.

He said Toyota is continuing cost reduction of its hybrid systems. He noted that size and weight reductions of the new third-generation Toyota Prius reduced costs by 30 percent compared with the second-generation model. Toyota has said it plans to introduce as many as 10 new hybrid models by 2010 and a battery-electric city car by 2012.

Not only will Toyota keep spending on green initiatives, it intends to accelerate development next-generation technologies in environment, energy and safety, with environmental goals topping its priorities list, Ijichi said.

Its goals include the commercialization of plug-in hybrids, mass-production of small battery-electric electric vehicles and the development of next-generation alternative fuel vehicles including fuel-cell electric cars and vehicles use biofuels.

Michelle Krebs, Editor, AutoObserver.com

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell May 8, 2009, 8:12 AM
Categories:: Biofuels, Fuel Cell, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Fuel Cell Electric Cars

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 (3); 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

April 30, 2009

Chrysler's Green Programs Likely To Survive Bankruptcy, Fiat Alliance

Company Can't Afford To Drop EV and Plug-in Development If It Hopes for a Future

Chrysler green prototypes include plug-in hybrid Jeeps and Town & Country van and Dodge Circuit EV.

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Some quick thoughts on what Chrysler's bankruptcy and reorganization may mean for the company's green initiatives.

Chrysler is going to continue to be run largely by government dictate as it wends its way though bankruptcy -- the Obama administration will be selecting new board members and the Feds will be providing much of the company's working capital -- and the government has made it clear time and again that it wants carmakers to concentrate on fuel-efficiency.

So if Chrysler is to have a post-bankruptcy future, then building cleaner, more fuel-efficient vehicles that help us kick our oil dependency has got to be part of it, as it must for all automakers.

A large part of that effort, now that Chrysler will be teamed with and ultimately controlled by Italy's Fiat, will be in development of fuel-efficient gasoline and, possibly, diesel engines for Chrysler's U.S. cars and trucks using Fiat technology.

So we can look for smaller, lighter vehicles to be added to the lineup of the company that made its bones with hulking pickups, gas-guzzling Hemi V8 muscle cars and hefty family hauling minivans. And we can surely expect some of Chrysler's more egregiously fuel-inefficient vehicles to disappear.

A Chrysler version of Fiat's popular and tiny 500 subcompact might not make a big hit in a U.S. still worried about the safety aspects of small cars sharing the road with all those Hummers and Expeditions and Rams, but Fiat has other, larger cars, especially in its Alfa Romeo brand, that might transition well in the U.S.

In his press conference today, President Obama skipped over the impact the restructuring will have on Chrysler's green initiatives except to say that Fiat already has agreed to transfer "billions" of dollars worth of "cutting-edge technology" to Chrysler so it can build "new fuel-efficient cars and engines in America."

But Chrysler also may have some technology of its own to bring to the table.

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Chrysler recently showed this 200C EV electric car concept.
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Skeptics believe Chrysler's green programs, particularly the electric and plug-in hybrid-electric prototype vehicles it has shown off in the past year, are vaporware.

But Green Car Advisor spoke with a few Chrysler insiders this morning and they said that there have been no signs that work on those technologies is being dropped or even diminished.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); John O'Dell April 30, 2009, 10:33 AM
Categories:: Chrysler, Fiat, Fuel Cell, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Chrysler Bankruptcy

April 29, 2009

Mercedes To Begin Limited Production of B-Class Fuel Cell Vehicles

German Car Maker Also Rolling Out Battery-Electric Smart Cars This Year

Mercedes-Benz has been at the forefront of fuel-cell vehicle development and now says that it plans to begin producing a small number of its B-Class cars (left)outfitted with the hydrogen-to-electricity systems.

The B-Class fuel-cell electric vehicles would begin rolling out in Europe by the end of the year, apparently for testing in the real world, the automaker told reporters during a program held in Germany this week to show off a student-built experimental fuel cell car, the F-Cell Roadster (more about that at InsideLine).

During the program, Mercedes executives also reiterated that the first of the company's previously announced battery-electric Smart cars would be in production by the end of the year.

The Smarts (right) are to be used in an EV test program in Berlin next year.

While Mercedes doesn't sell the B-Class in the U.S., the company has said it is considering bringing the small hatchback over here. At the recent Washington D.C. auto show it showed a B-Class flex-fuel vehicle that could use either gasoline or compressed natural gas.

We'll probably be hearing more about fuel cells, battery-electric cars and natural gas vehicles in coming months as all three are alternative fuels being pushed for use in California - a sizeable player in the U.S. new car market - under a just-approved low carbon fuels standard that aims to help cut the state's greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the carbon content of fuels used for transportation.

Student-built F-Cell Roadster on the road in Germany.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell April 29, 2009, 3:38 PM
Categories:: Fuel Cell, Hydrogen, Mercedes-Benz, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: B-Class

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 23, 2009

GM and SAIC Expand Partnership in China to Include Fuel Cell Vehicles

AutomotiveWorld.com reports that General Motors Corp. and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. Group (SAIC) have extended their partnership to include the launch of SAIC's Shanghai Brand Fuel Cell Vehicle, which is powered by GM's latest fourth-generation fuel cell propulsion technology.

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SAIC will use the same fuel cell system that powers GM's fuel-cell electric Equinox.

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The report says that the SAIC vehicle will use the same GM-developed 700 bar (10,000 psi) high-pressure hydrogen fuel cell system used in the Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell. The ten fuel cell vehicles to be built will be used by GM and SAIC to shuttle guests to and from the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai.

AutomotiveWorld quotes GM Group Vice President and Asia Pacific President Nick Reilly as saying that the vehicles "will be featured in the most extensive fuel cell demonstration program ever conducted in China.This follows the government's call for the creation of a sustainable transportation system."

Reilly also is quoted as saying that the partnership is "in line with our overall strategy of in China, with China, for China."

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.

Early in 2008, Chevrolet launched a test fleet of about 100 hydrogen-powered Equinox Fuel Cell vehicles that are on the road in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Southern California.The fleet is part of "Project Driveway," which GM bills as "the first large-scale market test of fuel cell vehicles with real drivers in the real world."

Greg Johnson, Contributor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Greg Johnson April 23, 2009, 2:45 AM
Categories:: China, China, Fuel Cell, General Motors, Hydrogen, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Chevrolet Equinox

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

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

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

California Increases Number of Hydrogen Fueling Stations in LA and San Francisco

The California Air Resources Board has awarded $1.7 million each to Mebtahi Station Services, the San Francisco Airport, Shell Hydrogen and UCLA to help cover their respective costs of building hydrogen refueling stations.

The competitive bidding process for the awards began in December 2008 when the board asked for proposals to help build out the state's "Hydrogen Highway Network."

The grants provided by the California legislature and distributed by CARB are part of the state's ongoing bid to encourage the use of alternative fuels. The new stations are clustered in Los Angeles and San Francisco and will "double the amount of hydrogen available to the public," according to CARB.

Mebtahi Station Services will add hydrogen fuel to an existing Chevron Station near the corner of Western Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway in Harbor City.

The San Francisco Airport will build a hydrogen refueling facility at the Millbrae Avenue exit on Highway 101. The station will service passenger cars and vehicles operated by local transit agencies.

Shell Hydrogen will add hydrogen refueling equipment at an existing gasoline station on Jamboree Road in Newport Beach.

UCLA will build a hydrogen fueling station at a transit facility at the corner of Veteran and Kinross Avenues in Westwood.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Greg Johnson April 8, 2009, 5:22 PM
Categories:: Energy Companies, Hydrogen, Mass Transit, Transportation Alternatives
Technorati Tags:: Alternative Fuels

April 6, 2009

BMW Gives Petersen Automotive Museum a Hydrogen-Powered Loaner

BMW has loaned a pair of 2008 Hydrogen 7 vehicles to the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. One car will remain in service as an on-the-road demonstration vehicle. The other will go on display inside the museum.

The Petersen's Alternative Power Exhibit also features a hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle, a coal- and wood-burning truck, a steam-powered car from the 1970s, a General Motors EV-1 and a 1963 Chrysler Turbine car.

Last year, researchers at Argonnne National Laboratory put BMW's hydrogen-burning V12 engine to the test and found that it -- as BMW had been claiming -- produces little more in the way of tailpipe emissions than water vapor.

Argonne's scientists found that the Hydrogen 7's exhaust stream is one of the cleanest in the industry, surpassing even the "Super Ultra-Low Emission Vehicle (or SULEV) that is now the cleanest rating.

BMW has placed about 100 of the 7 Series sedans with celebrities, politicians and opinion-leaders to help raise awareness about its hydrogen fuel initiative.

Greg Johnson, Contributor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Greg Johnson April 6, 2009, 3:42 PM
Categories:: BMW, Hydrogen
Technorati Tags:: Alternative Fuels

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

Mazda Launches Japanese Lease Program for Hydrogen-Electric Hybrid

A year after road testing began, Mazda has launched commercial leasing in Japan of its hydrogen-electric Premacy hybrid delivery van.

The exteded-range system uses a hydrogen-fueled Mazda rotary engine to generate power for a 110 kilowatt electric drive motor. Electrical energy is stored in a lithium-ion battery pack while the hydrogen fuel for the internal combustion engine-generator is stored in a 5,000 psi high-pressure tank.

Mazda says the hydrogen-electric series hybrid system (similar to the gasoline-electric system used in the upcoming Chevrolet Volt) gives the 5-seat van a range of 125 miles on a tank of fuel.

The automaker has been developing hydrogen-burining rotary engine technology since 1991 and last year began testing hydrogen-rotary RX8 sports cars. The hydrogen-electric Premacy van, introduced at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show, is the first to use engine in a series hybrid setup.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell March 25, 2009, 8:26 AM
Categories:: Hybrid, Hydrogen, Japan, Mazda, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Hydrogen Electric Hybrid

March 20, 2009

Obama Uses Leno Show To Pitch Green Autos Portion of Economic Recovery Plan

Obama and Leno - 250.JPG One more note on Obama talking green during his California visit, this from his appearance last night on The Tonight Show.

Host and noted car buff Jay Leno reminded the president that General Motors was testing hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles and that he (Leno) was one of the people who have been driving one.

To which the president replied that he believes vehicles like the Chevrolet Equinox Fuel-Cell Electric Vehicle represent the future of the auto industry.

"That's where we're going to win back manufacturing," Obama said. "But right now we're behind. These batteries are being made in Japan - just like wind power is being made in Europe. We need to bring that here, and that's part of what my budget and part of what our Recovery Act is all about."

For more on the president's auto-related remarks in his exchange with Leno, check the post by Edmunds' AutoObserver Editor Michelle Krebs.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell March 20, 2009, 9:12 AM
Categories:: Fuel Cell, General Motors, Hydrogen
Technorati Tags:: Fuel Cell Cars

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 12, 2009

Green Car Advocate Daniel Sperling 'Hopeful' of Clean Transportation Future

Discusses Need for Government Support With Cable TV's Daily Show Host

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Daniel Sperling

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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

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

January 9, 2009

Detroit Auto Show Forecast: Gloomy, But With Flurries of Green

(Note: Article updated after initial posting to include Lexus hybrid)

The upcoming North American International Auto Show in snowy Detroit - media preview days begin Sunday and the show opens to the public on Jan. 17 - is likely to be a pretty glum affair, what with the auto industry imploding and the prospect of many people really being interested in buying a new car right now ranking right up there with being interested in having wisdom teeth pulled sans anesthesia.

But carmakers are trying, and what most are trying hardest with is fuel efficiency and alternatives to the thirsty, greenhouse-gas spewing cars and trucks of the past.

Oh, there will be speedsters and factory-built hot rods on display at the show - Ford Motor Co., for example, will unveil the 540-horsepower 2010 Shelby GT500 Mustang and Audi will be showing a 525-horsepower, V10-version of its exotic R8 sports car.

But most attention will be focused on advanced technology cars such as the 2010 Prius hybrid (right) and the battery-electric city car concept that Toyota will show, Honda's Prius-fighting 2009 Insight hybrid and concepts such as the all-electric, plug-in hybrid and fuel -cell electric trio, collectively called Concept Zero, that Mercedes-Benz will unveil.

Beyond the cars, the show's media preview will spotlight industry executives who will be delivering news about their companies' green futures.

Most notably, Toyota is expected to outline its hybrid and electric-vehicle strategies for the next few years and Ford is expected to discuss its plans for a stable of future EVs, starting with a commercial truck it plans to launch in 2010.

Green Car Advsior, along with Edmunds Auto Observer, Edmunds Inside Line and Edmunds.com, will be covering the show 's media days and bringing you timely reports, but we thought we'd also offer a preview today of the major green vehicles that will be displayed and discussed.

Green Preview

So, by manufacturer, here they are:

Audi
Volkswagen's upscale stablemate is expected to announce plans for its upcoming U.S. diesel lineup. So far, the company has said it will launch a 3-liter diesel version of its Q7 SUV (right) later this year and has broached the possibility of a diesel A4. We'll know more after Audi's Sunday afternoon press conference.

BMW
The pride of Bavaria will discuss the X5 and 3-Series diesels it plans to bring to the U.S., perhaps supplying us with some performance and fuel economy numbers as well as a marketing time-line.

Chevrolet
Nothing big here, unless the General decides to announce the upcoming Volt plug-in hybrid's pricing and/or the battery suppliers.

The Chevy vehicle that gets officially introduced at the show is the redesigned 2010 Equinox crossover (right), which will come with a new six-speed automatic and a fuel-efficient, direct-injection four-banger expected to deliver 182 horsepower (almost as much as the '08 model's base V6) and highway fuel economy of 30 miles per gallon.

Chrysler
The company has three brands that it has tied together for car show purposes with a trio of concept electric vehicles.

Chrysler EV trio - 300.JPG Those to be displayed in Detroit are further refined versions of the Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep EVs originally unveiled last September and first shown publicly at the Los Angeles International Auto Show in November.

By brand, they are the Chrysler EV, an extended-range electric version of the town and Country minivan; the Jeep EV, a gas-electric Wrangler; and the Dodge EV, a Lotus-based, bumblebee-striped battery-electric sports car that would look great in the garage next to an electric Tesla Roadster.

Chrysler has said that it will bring one of the cars to market in 2010, but hasn't said which or in what kind of numbers. Maybe that's what we'll hear at the show.

Fisker
The nascent plug-in-hybrid company headed by, and named for, noted auto designer Henrik Fisker (BMW, Aston Martin, Fisker Coachbuild), will show the production version of it first proposed vehicle, the Fisker Karma sports sedan (right) that it unveiled to great interest at last year's Detroit show. Fisker also will unveil a new version - a convertible, we suspect - caled the Karma S.

Like the Chevy Volt, the Karma uses an on-board internal combustion engine to generate power to keep its electric motors turning the wheels.

Ford
We expect a discussion of the company's electric vehicle strategy, perhaps with a teaser glimpse or two of potential future offerings and a look at the commercial truck the company has said it will launch in 2010.

Honda
The news here will be the unveiling of the production version 2009 Insight hybrid (right), a sub $20,000, five-seater Honda hopes will finally, finally, pump its hybrid sales up into Prius territory.

We're expected to hear a lot of technical detail and, perhaps, even a firmer price for the car, which looks in pictures a bit like the Prius it's designed to battle.

Lexus
Toyota's luxury unit will reveal its first stand-alone hybrid model, a small car that is based off the upcoming 2010 Prius.

Although it is not unusual - its pretty common, even - for photos of new models to leak out before their official unveiling, the best we've been able to come up with for the new Lexus hybrid is this rendering (left) published in a Japanese auto magazine a few months ago.

Mercedes-Benz
The covers will come off a trio of EV concepts from Daimler's luxe brand. All use the same swoopy, sport wagon-ish body (below right) - a design that also shows where Mercedes is heading with the compact B-Class replacement due in 2010 and, perhaps, headed for the U.S.

The so-called Concept Zero family consists of the E-Cell, a battery-electric with a range of about 60 miles; the E-Cell Plus, a plug-in hybrid that uses a 3-cylinder gas engine-generator to extend the range of its batteries when the initial charge is depleted (think Chevy Volt), and the F-Cell, which uses a hydrogen fuel-cell to produce electricity on-board by combining hydrogen and oxygen in the fuel-cell stack. Range is about 125 miles. Mercedes says the E-Cell Plus can go almost 400 miles on an overnight battery charge and a tank of gas.

Toyota
The company whose name has become synonymous with 'hybrid" is introducing the redesigned 2010 Prius at the show, but photos of the car leaked out weeks ago and you've got to believe that anyone who's interested has already seen it. What will be news, of course, are the specifications and performance numbers.

The other biggie on the product front from Toyota will be the unveiling of a concept electric vehicle, probably called the FT-EV if the company's previous auto show naming practices prevail (that would stand for "future technology-electric vehicle").

The car, believed to be built on a current Toyota subcompact chassis, is the company's effort to give us a look at what a Toyota-built battery-electric EV for short-range urban driving might look like if the company does, as it has said it would, put an EV into its retail fleet in 2012.

Not The End

And, of course - Detroit being Detroit - there likely will be a surprise or two. So consider this list a starter, not a definitive catalog.

China's BYD, for instance, will be there with the plug-in-hybrid (left) it launched in its home market a few weeks ago, beating the big boys like GM and Toyota to the punch by a matter of, oh, a year or two. Who knows what the company - whose name is an acronym for Build Your Dreams and whose future is being backed by investment whiz Warren Buffett - will do next? We might find out as the Detroit show rolls along.

We'll be back when media days begin on Sunday to keep you up-to-date.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (3); John O'Dell January 9, 2009, 3:00 AM
Categories:: Audi, Auto Shows, BMW, BYD, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Daimler, Dodge, Emissions, Fisker, Ford, Fuel Cell, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Green Vehicles, Honda, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Jeep, Mercedes-Benz, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Detroit Auto Show

December 23, 2008

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

California Agency Seeks Bids to Build Fuel Stations for Hydrogen Highway Network

Most automakers say hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are least a decade away from mass production, but that isn't stopping California from soliciting bids to build fuel stations for a hydrogen-highway network.

Some of you will no doubt recall that last April the California Air Resources Board, or CARB, amended its zero-emission-vehicles mandate to require automakers selling cars and trucks in the state to make available for sale in California no fewer than 7,500 fuel-cell electric vehicles between 2012 and 2015.

That despite the fact that there are only 26 hydrogen stations in the state and not many more on the drawing boards. Additionally, not all of the slightly more than two dozen stations that do exist are open to the general public.

California is a huge market for many automakers, but without more hydrogen fuel stations the manufacturers aren't keen to mass produce hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Likewise, fuel companies aren't keen to invest in the fuel stations until the vehicles are being mass produced.

But this past Friday, CARB issued a statement announcing it was soliciting "competitive bids from experienced and qualified teams to design, secure permits, build, maintain and operate hydrogen refueling stations to serve as part of California's Hydrogen Highway Network."

CARB will provide up to 70 percent of the cost for the design, construction, maintenance and operation of each hydrogen station. The contractor will be on the hook for making the stations operational by June 30, 2010, and keep them operational for at least three years.

The stations will be open to the public and serve both fuel cell electric and hydrogen internal combustion engine vehicles.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has been a vocal proponent of the infrastructure since he signed an executive order in 2004 creating a public and private partnership to build a hydrogen highway in California by 2010. A fan of U.S. automobiles and a big believer in American ingenuity, he is pictured here driving a Cadillac.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett December 22, 2008, 1:15 AM
Categories:: Cadillac, Emissions, Energy Companies, Fuel Cell, General Motors, Hydrogen, Legislation
Technorati Tags:: Cadillac

December 17, 2008

Our Turn: Edmunds Field Tests Honda FCX Clarity Fuel-Cell Sedan

Honda FCX Clarity.jpg Honda took its sweet time, but finally delivered an FCX Clarity fuel-cell sedan to Edmunds.com's garage for a multi-day field test (we did one of the first test drives a year ago, but that was only good for about two hours of seat time).

Features Editor Joanne Helperin, who writes for our sister blog, Strategies for Smart Car Buyers, took the futuristic car out to the test track Tuesday and in a piece posted this morning talks about driving the hydrogen-fueled Clarity in real-world conditions around town and on Southern California's freeway system.

If you're a cutting-edge trendsetter, very eco-conscious, or simply love Hondas, and if you can afford a $600-a-month, two-year lease and happen to live in Santa Monica, Torrance or Irvine, California, you must read Helperin's piece. From front to rear visibility, from the corn-based fabric on the seats to the host of techno-goodies, she provides insights you'd expect from someone who takes test drives for a living.

On the other hand, if you just want to know what it's like driving a vehicle that emits nothing but water vapor from the tailpipe and gets the equivalent of 74 miles per gallon, you must read Helperin's observations, too. Can Honda dampen the high-pitched whine the FCX Clarity lets out every time the accelerator is depressed? Helperin has her doubts.

So jump on over and give it a read. Then come back for more Green Car Advisor.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell December 17, 2008, 4:30 AM
Categories:: Fuel Cell, Fuels & Technologies, Honda, Hydrogen
Technorati Tags:: FCX Clarity

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 12, 2008

Mercedes-Benz To Unveil Three Electric-Drive Vehicles at Detroit Show Next Month

Mercedes-Benz will unveil a small family of BlueZero electric-drive concept vehicles at next month's 2009 Detroit Auto Show, and the official images of one of them have already been leaked on several German Web sites.

The least complicated of the three concepts is the BlueZero E-Cell, a pure-electric plug-in model featuring a 100-kilowatt motor with 236 pound-feet of torque and a lithium-ion battery pack. The range is said to be just over 60 miles on a two-hour charge.

An extended-range companion is the BlueZero E-Cell Plus, a gas-electric hybrid that adds a turbocharged three-cylinder engine from the Smart stable as an onboard generator to boost range to nearly 375 miles.

The third model is the BlueZero F-Cell, which uses a hydrogen fuel cell to deliver 136 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque, with zero emissions.

Slightly more information can be found about these vehicles at our sister site, Edmunds' Inside Line.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett December 12, 2008, 1:27 PM
Categories:: Auto Shows, Batteries, Emissions, Fuel Cell, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Mercedes-Benz, Plug-ins and Electric, Smart
Technorati Tags:: BlueZero E-Cell

December 11, 2008

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

December 2, 2008

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

Electricity Generated by Ocean Currents Hold Promise for Hydrogen Cars, EVs

By Scott Doggett, Contributor

Hydrogen is the most common element in the universe and is often hailed as the automotive fuel of the future, due to its environmentally friendly emissions: a dribble of water and a little heat.

However, the pure hydrogen needed to power fuel-cell vehicles doesn't occur naturally. It has to be manufactured using a process that requires an extraordinary amount of electricity.

Scientists at the University of Michigan say they have invented a device that can harness enough energy from slow-moving rivers and ocean currents to power for the entire world.

The technology can generate electricity in water flowing at a rate of less than one knot (about one mile an hour), meaning it could operate on most waterways and sea beds around the globe.

Existing technologies that use water power--relying on the action of waves, tides or faster currents created by dams--are far more limited in where they can be used, and also cause greater obstructions when they are built in rivers or the sea.

Turbines and water mills need an average current of five or six knots to operate efficiently, while most of Earth's currents are slower than three knots. The new device, which has been inspired by the way fish swim, consists of a system of cylinders positioned horizontal to the water flow and attached to springs.

As water flows past, the cylinder creates vortices, which push and pull the cylinder up and down. The mechanical energy in the vibrations is then converted into electricity.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (2); Scott Doggett December 2, 2008, 8:31 AM
Categories:: Emissions, Energy Companies, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Electric Vehicle

November 23, 2008

Extreme-Testing VW's Fuel Cell Hybrids on the Mean Streets of 30°04N, 118°25W

By Scott Doggett, Contributor

Volkswagen's first extreme-conditions test of a fuel-cell vehicle was held in the dead of winter on a high mountain pass in southern Switzerland famous for catastrophic auto accidents caused by brake failures and for small-plane crashes resulting from unscheduled contact with alps.

The chilling test was conducted seven short years ago.

Last weekend, the wagen volks of Wolfsburg allowed a gaggle of auto writers to put two fuel-cell electric vehicles through an extreme-conditions test at latitude 34(degrees)04N, longitude 118(degrees)25W. A place called Beverly. Hills, that is. Swimming pools, movie stars.

In perfect bikini weather, the writers test drove the FCHVs there during brunch--a four-hour span when moms and nannies in sport utility vehicles rule the roads. One of the vehicles was a Touran HyMotion minivan (above), the other a Passat Lingyu sedan (see jump).

A fuel cell SUV--the Tiguan HyMotion--was to undergo testing as well but was a no-show. At least for now it escaped close scrutiny while rolling on Sunset Boulevard, where fender-benders are as common as tummy tucks, but alas the Touran HyMotion and Passat Lingyu did not.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (2); Scott Doggett November 23, 2008, 1:29 AM
Categories:: Batteries, China, Emissions, Fuel Cell, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Plug-ins and Electric, Volkswagen
Technorati Tags:: Alternative Fuel

November 20, 2008

2008 LA Auto Show: Honda Brightens Day 1 with FC Sport Concept

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

We were expecting, maybe, that Honda might juice up its press conference at the LA Auto Show with an updated concept version of the hybrid sports coupe the company's been teasing us with.

But no, boring old Honda pulled the covers off the same CR-Z concept it first rolled out at the 2007 Tokyo show.

Then the company found excitement, knocking our socks off by rolling out an all-new design study -- a fuel cell sports car concept called, back in boring old Honda mode, the FC Sport.

On a more mundane plane, Honda also rolled out the Insight Hybrid concept (which, we're told, is pretty much a giveaway off what the production model will look like) that it first showed at the Paris auto show last month.

The Insight (right), which resurrects the name given Honda's first hybrid, will debut next year in the U.S. as a five-passenger compact that slots into the lineup beneath the Civic and Civic Hybrid and will be priced, the company suggests, a few thousand dollars less than the base Toyota Prius.

Unlike hybrid-centric Toyota, though, Honda thinks of hybrids as an interim step to a brave new world of silent, zero-emissions electric cars that produce their own juice by blending hydrogen and oxygen in a fuel cell stack.

That's what the FC Sport Concept is all about.

We're not naive enough to think we'll ever see a Honda that looks quite like it - with or without a fuel-cell electric powertrain - but we do think that developing the concept shows Honda still believes fuel cells have a future. (Indeed, the company in July began leasing its limited-production FCX Clarity fuel-cell sedan to select customers in the Southern California.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell November 20, 2008, 3:00 AM
Categories:: Auto Shows, Fuel Cell, Fuels & Technologies, Honda, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Honda FC Sport

November 19, 2008

2008 LA Auto Show: Hyundai Gets Blue About Green With New Fuel Efficiency Plan

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Hyundai Motor Co., itching for the same level of respect U.S. consumers give fuel-economy leaders Toyota and Honda, is beginning to roll out a broad family of efficient new green cars aimed at making it the nation's gas mileage leader by 2015.

Borrowing a page from German's Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen, Hyundai has chose to make its green cars Blue -calling its fuel-efficiency initiative the Hyundai Blue Drive.

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Cutaway shows architecture for Hyundai's Blue Drive hybrid system, with flat, rear-mounted battery pack and 4-cylinder gas engine and electric motor drivingfron wheels.
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The South Korean carmaker, which previously had pledged to have a U.S. retail fleet with average fuel economy of 35 miles per gallon five years before that standard will be mandated, said in a press conference at the Los Angeles Auto Show today that it will achieve the goal with a mix of conventional and plug-in hybrids, advanced-technology gasoline internal combustion engines and, in select states, fuel-cell electric vehicles.

As a first step, Hyundai officials said, the company will introduce fuel-efficient "Blue" editions of its gasoline-fueled Accent and Elantra compacts in 2009.

The cars will use low rolling-resistance tires, aerodynamic bodywork, higher gearing and specially tuned engines to achieve better mileage and lower tailpipe emissions that present models of the same cars.

A similar "Blue Motion" line was launched by Volkswagen in 2006. Mercedes-Benz followed with its "Blue Efficiency" effort early this year.

Hyundai Hybrid

The Blues will be followed in 2010 by a gasoline-electric hybrid model of the Sonata midsize sedan (below, left) designed expressly for the North American market.

2009.hyundai.sonata.20212832-396x249.jpg Hyundai said its "full hybrid" Sonata - capable of a limited amount of all-electric travel - is jumping past the lithium-ion battery technology that American, Europe and Japanese automakers are racing to perfect and instead says it will go with a lithium polymer technology for its various battery-dependent models.

Plug-in versions that use larger, grid-rechargeable battery packs for longer all-electric range, will follow at an unspecified pace, company executives said.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell November 19, 2008, 1:55 PM
Categories:: Auto Shows, Fuel Cell, Green Vehicles, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Hyundai, Kia, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Hyundai Blue Drive Program

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

Kia Motors' Ambitious Green Plans Include Plug-In Hybird and Fuel Cell Vehicles

By James Riswick, Edmunds.com

Kia Motors is making gradual progress towards a greener future, although commercialization of its technologies remains a few years off.

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Kia Sportage FCEV is carmaker's third-generation fuel-cell electric vehicle.
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At the heart of the company's environmentally friendly initiative is an R&D facility, located near Seoul, created to develop green technologies for Kia and its parent company, Hyundai Motor.

I journeyed late last month to South Korea to sample Kia's latest green prototypes at another Hyundai-Kia R&D facility, located in Namyang and home to a full proving ground.

Kia presently has two generations of its hybrid technology in prototype vehicles: the original, a Kia Rio Hybrid, and the second a Kia C'eed Hybrid based on the popular Kia five-door hatchback solid in Europe.

Both vehicles showcase a Honda-style "mild" hybrid powertrain featuring auto engine stop, regenerative braking and electric boost when accelerating. They cannot accelerate solely under electric power, as can vehicles with "full" hybrid systems such as Toyota's.

The first Kia hybrid will show up in 2009 in the next-generation Spectra for the Korean market.

It will use a battery-electric system as described above, coupled to an internal combustion engine fuelled by liquid propane, which is readily available throughout the domestic market.

The first Kia hybrid for the U.S. will arrive in 2010 as a part of the completely redesigned 2011 Kia Optima lineup. It is uncertain how much the company's hybrid technology will evolve by then, but whatever technological advancements emerge will be shared with the Hyundai Sonata.

Kia officials say the company will not be producing a dedicated hybrid model, as they view hybrid technology as only a temporary step in the evolution of alternative powerplants for the personal auto.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell November 10, 2008, 3:01 AM
Categories:: Fuel Cell, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Kia, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Kia Kuel Cell electric Vehicle

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

October 24, 2008

Federal Agencies Setting Poor Example on Flex-Fuel Use Says Watchdog Agency

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

In yet another example of why it is foolish to install the roof before the walls are up, a government report finds that while federal agencies are meeting a mandate to buy and lease mostly flex-fuel vehicles these days, they rarely put anything but gasoline in the tanks.

That, of course, defeats the concept of using alternative fuels to boost our energy security - something you'd think federal agencies would be concerned about.

The problem is that alt fuel availability is pretty limited except in the midwest corn belt, where most of the nation's ethanol pumps are grouped.

Nationally, there are about 117,000 conventional gas stations but only 5,731 private and public alternative fuel stations.

That stunningly small total, compiled by the Energy Department, includes stations dispensing one or more of the various alt fuels: bio-diesel, compressed natural gas, electricity, ethanol, hydrogen, liquid natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas, or LPG, which accounts for 2,141 stations, or 37 percent of the total.

While Detroit loves to make flex-fuel vehicles - automakers get extra credits for them than help them meet federal fuel economy requirements even though the cars and trucks aren't being used to help lower petroleum consumption - fuel companies are loathe to spend the money to install alt fueling pumps.

Additionally, ethanol, the most common alternative fuel after LPG, is corrosive and must be shipped by tanker truck, so moving it from the refineries to areas with large populations of flex-fuel vehicles gets to be an uneconomical proposition.

Limited availability of non-petroleum fuels means that it is not likely that government agencies can comply with mandates to boost alt-fuels use and reduce petroleum-based fuel use over the next several years, the Government Accountability Agency said in its just-released report.

The GAO complained that while agencies made sure they met the mandate that 75 percent of their new-vehicle fleets be flex-fuel compatible by the end of fiscal 2007, many - including the Energy Department, which ought to have known better - never ensured that the vehicles used alternative fuels.

Investigators said 2006 data indicate that the agencies primarily relied on gasoline, and that while they failed to file reports for 2007, there was no reason to believe things have changed.

The watchdog agency also said it found "persistent data problems" that made it doubt the accuracy of government agency reports showing that about half have achieved the goal of using 10 percent more alternative fuel than in 2006 while two-third have achieved the goal of lowering gasoline and diesel usage by 2 percent.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell October 24, 2008, 3:01 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Ethanol, Flex-Fuel, Hydrogen, Natural Gas, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Alternative Fuel

October 15, 2008

Mazda RX-8 Hydrogen Rotary Engine Validation Vehicle Takes to Norwegian Roads

Mazda Motor Corp. today introduced an RX-8 Hydrogen RE validation vehicle to Norway's public roads in collaboration with the Norwegian national hydrogen project, or HyNor.

This marks the first time that a Mazda hydrogen rotary vehicle has been put into regular use on public roads outside Japan.

Initially, only one hydrogen RX-8 validation vehicle will be put in use in Norway, but the number will rise to 30 under commercial lease contracts beginning in fiscal year 2009.

The sole hydrogen RX-8 RE (rotary engine) was delivered in advance so that Mazda and HyNor, a national project that aims to establish a clean energy transport system based on hydrogen fuel, can jointly assess its driving performance in Norway.

HyNor includes a hydrogen energy infrastructure -- think filling stations -- under construction along a 360-mile route from Oslo to Stavanger.

Said Akihiro Kashiwagi, Mazda's program manager in charge of hydrogen rotary engine development: "Up to now, real world use of Mazda's hydrogen rotary vehicles has been limited to Japan. Participation in the HyNor project marks our advancement to the next stage."

Kashiwagi said Mazda will use the project's data to further develop hydrogen vehicles.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); Scott Doggett October 15, 2008, 7:12 AM
Categories:: Emissions, Fuel Economy, Hydrogen, Mazda
Technorati Tags:: Akihiro Kashiwagi

October 10, 2008

New Material Could Speed Development of Fuel Cell Vehicles, Researchers Say

Right, pillared graphene.

Greek researchers say they have designed a new material that almost meets the U.S. Department of Energy 2010 goals for hydrogen storage and could help eliminate a key roadblock to practical hydrogen-powered vehicles.

Their study on a way of safely storing hydrogen, an explosive gas, appeared in Wednesday's issue of American Chemical Society's monthly Journal Nano Letters.

Georgios K. Dimitrakakis, Emmanuel Tylianakis and George E. Froudakis wrote that scientists hope to use carbon nanotubes -- tiny cylinders of carbon -- as miniature storage tanks for hydrogen in the next generation of fuel cell vehicles.

In the new study, the researchers used computer modeling to design a unique hydrogen-storage structure consisting of parallel graphene sheets -- layers of carbon just one atom thick -- stabilized by vertical columns of carbon cylinders. They also added lithium ions to the material's design to enhance its storage capacity.

The scientists' calculations showed that their so-called "pillared graphene" could theoretically store up to 41 grams of hydrogen per liter, almost matching the Energy Department's target of 45 grams of hydrogen per liter for transportation applications.

But, the researchers noted, "experimentalists are challenged to fabricate this material and validate its storage capacity."

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); Scott Doggett October 10, 2008, 7:32 AM
Categories:: Emissions, Fuel Cell, Fuel Economy, Hydrogen
Technorati Tags:: American Chemical Society

October 9, 2008

Mazda Says It Will Begin Mass Producing Hydrogen Rotary Engines as Early as 2013

Right, Mazda's RX-8 Hydrogen RE.

By Scott Doggett, Contributor

Mazda doesn't get nearly the attention of Japan's Big 3, but it's hard to believe the automaker would remain No. 4 if its work on hydrogen-powered vehicles continues as it has.

And now the company known for extensive use of the Felix Wankel engine (think rotary) is gunning to become famous for hydrogen hybrid rotary engines.

Speaking to the British publication Autocar Wednesday, Mazda CEO for Europe James Muir said the automaker "will do the hydrogen rotary engine, but it won't be in production for at least five years."

That's significant, because while many automakers are working on hydrogen vehicles, most are focusing on running hydrogen through a fuel cell to generate electricity for an electric motor.

Very few carmakers -- Mazda among them -- are burning hydrogen in an internal combustion engine. And that's something Mazda has been doing for a while with success.

Indeed, it has been four years to the month since the Japanese government granted Mazda approval to road test modified RX-8 sports cars that can run on gasoline and hydrogen with the flick of a switch.

With that approval, Mazda built a test fleet of more than 30 hydrogen-fueled rotary RX-8 Hydrogen RE (rotary engine) sports cars and drove the heck out of them.

The result of all that testing: The engine "proved ideal for burning hydrogen as the intake area of a rotary engine stays relatively cool in temperature, reducing the tendency for engine backfire -- a significant challenge in conventional engines."

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (3); Scott Doggett October 9, 2008, 8:43 AM
Categories:: Batteries, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Mazda
Technorati Tags:: Mazda Hydrogen Rotary Engine

October 6, 2008

Fuel Co-Ops Proposed To Speed Hydrogen Highway and Fuel-Cell Car Development

People are paying a lot of attention to battery-electric car technology these days, what with all the promotion for the Chevrolet Volt and the megawatts of info about new hybrids and EV programs being generated by the Paris Auto Show.

But though batteries seem to be in the ascendancy, still lurking as a contender to replace gasoline, diesel and other carbon-based liquids as a clean, green and zero-emissions fuel is hydrogen.

3.29hydrogen.jpg

Even as they get ready to launch a variety of hybrid and battery-electric vehicles, Toyota, Honda, Ford, GM, Volkswagen, Daimler, Hyundai and several other major automakers all are deep into development of fuel-cell electric cars.

They use hydrogen to produce the electricity that powers their drive motors, carrying the compressed gas in on-board storage tanks that can be rapidly refilled, eliminating the often-lengthy recharging stops a battery-electric vehicle would have to make.

Honda, with the FCX Clarity fuel-cell sedan lease program in Los Angeles, and GM, with its Equinox fuel cell SUV lend-lease program in California, New York and Washington, D.C., have shown that the technology is nearly market-ready: The big issue with the vehicles themselves is cost of what now are custom, virtually hand-made fuel cell systems and associated electronic controls.

Volume sales could cure that problem fairly rapidly, though, as a supply chain would grow and economies of scale would bring costs down out of the stratosphere.

Still missing, though, is any meaningful national effort -- by government or private enterprise -- to step up to the plate with a way to produce hydrogen from renewable resources and to get it into easily and readily available dispensing stations.

GM, which has done more than any other company to explore the challenges facing a national hydrogen fuel infrastructure, says it would cost at least $10 billion - possibly as much as $24 billion -- for a base system of 12,000 stations that would serve the 100 largest metropolitan areas of the nation and reach 70 percent of the driving public.

Add billons more to stretch to a nationwide system that would enable the owners of one of tomorrow's fuel-cell cars to drive any-and-everywhere they could have driven in one of today's internal combustion vehicles.

Green Car Advisor reader Greg Blencoe - who admittedly has an agenda as chief executive of a start-up hydrogen pipeline company - has offered a suggestion for getting things moving.

We were intrigued when we read it and think that it that merits discussion.

So with his permission, we're posting Blencoe's call for a system of hydrogen fueling station cooperatives, a suggestion that would have those committed to the technology pay for it, and perhaps benefit from being early backers.

By way of disclosure, Blencoe is CEO of Hydrogen Discoveries Inc., a start-up in Oak Ridge, Tenn., that is using a technology licensed from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where his father - the company's chief scientist - was a research scientist for 23 years.

The company claims to have developed a polymer-metal pipeline technology that is cheaper and more efficient that the carbon steel material and building processes now used for hydrogen pipelines.

Here's his idea.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); John O'Dell October 6, 2008, 3:03 AM
Categories:: Hydrogen
Technorati Tags:: Hydrogen Discoveries

September 29, 2008

Visitor Finds AltCar Expo Enlightning, Alternative Transportation Still In Its Infancy

AltCar Expo 2008 closed its doors Saturday evening, ending from what by all accounts was another successful effort to showcase alternative transporation or fuels technologies to mainstream consumers.

We brought you a couple of pre-event reports and now are taking advantage of the goods nature of one of our colleagues, Edmunds New Product Manager Dori Merifield, to bring us a wrap-up report from the eyes - and pen - of one of those interested consumers.

Dori is an member of Edmund's corporate Green Team, helping to make sure the company is an environmentally responsible corporate citizen, and is an active environmental advocate in her own right.

She spent much of Saturday at AltCar, listening to the various symposia, examining displays and vehicles and talking to expo-goers and exhibitors about the event and the products.

Here's her report:

Thousands of people visited AltCar Expo over the weekend, many hoping to find an efficient but viable alternative to their present cars and trucks.

The Santa Monica Civic Auditorium was filled with vehicles large and small that ran on a variety of alternative fuels - electricity, natural gas, hydrogen, biodiesel and even compressed air.

AltCar visitor examines Hybrid Technologies' Mini Cooper EV conversion.

There were also lots of conversion companies on hand hoping to persuade people of the wisdom of converting existing cars to a plug-in electric vehicles.

At one symposium, UC Davis Professor Andy Frank - father of the plug-in - explained why using electric cars to help reduce our oil consumption is so important: "Oil production is going to peak this year or next - after that supply will decrease and the cost will only increase."

Peter Ward, of the California Energy Commission staff, said the bigger problem is that 38 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in California come from transportation (a lot of that is from buses, delivery trucks and other commercial vehicles) and that the state is the third largest consumer of gasoline in the world.

Frank believes the solution is to convert existing cars to alternative energy.

Most cars on the road aren't new, he said, "so if only 10 percent of new cars are hybrid or electric, we're only replacing 1% of all the cars on the road each year. We simply don't have 50 years to make this change."

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); John O'Dell September 29, 2008, 1:49 PM
Categories:: Auto Shows, Fuel Cell, General Motors, Green Vehicles, Honda, Hybrid, Hydrogen, MINI, Miles, Natural Gas, Plug-ins and Electric

September 26, 2008

Alternative Vehicles Showcase AltCar Expo Opens With a Screech

The parking lot of the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium was jammed with environmentally friendly vehicles during lunch hour Thursday, but the sounds and smells were more suited for a darkened stretch of road in the San Fernando Valley on a Friday night as the screech of spinning tires and the smell of burning rubber wafted over us.

"Short of putting grippier tires on it, there's not a lot you can do," said Owen Emry, senior firmware engineer of electric drivetrain maker AC Propulsion, as reporters unaccustomed to the added torque of the electric vehicles to be featured at AltCar Expo 2008 regularly broke loose the tires of the cars they were sampling.

About a dozen of the 100 or so vehicles being featured at the public event from 10 a.m.to 5 p.m. today and Friday were were on display to the media Thursday as advanced-technology car-, truck- and drivetrain makers prepared to show off their products and prototypes.

AltCar, which is in its third year and is one of the nation's premier showcases for alternatives to the conventional gasoline-burning automobile

The previewed vehicles ranged from a battery-powered, three-wheeled, stand-up people mover -- think Segway with a front wheel and handlebars -- used for security and events management to a Porsche Boxster retrofitted to run on tanks filled with compressed air.

The vehicle makers will pitch their goods to the 10,000 people estimated to show up for the event, which will also include a panel on climate change and a symposium on the future of mass transit.

"Fuel costs are going up, and if we look at production resources, they're finite," said Glenn Bell, chief executive officer of AirFuelAuto.

The Fremont, California-based company's Boxster is powered by air compressed to 2,200 pounds per square inch, or about 50 times a typical car tire's air pressure. It allows the two-seat convertible to run at 65 miles per hour for about 50 miles.

The event takes place this year under U.S. economic conditions that may either help or hinder the development and financing of such vehicles.

While rising gas prices shorten the amount of time it takes to earn back the extra cost of such vehicles through fuel savings, Wall Street's financial crisis and a possible $700 billion government bail out may shrink federal funding and tax breaks that most alternative vehicle backers insist are critical to getting their products into the mainstream.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell September 26, 2008, 6:01 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Auto Shows, Fuel Cell, Fuel Economy, Hydrogen, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: AltCar Expo 2008

September 23, 2008

AltCar Expo 2008 to Showcase Alternative Vehicles, Tech and Climate Panels

Unlike most of the vehicles there, it won't be running, but a production model of General Motors Corp.'s Volt series hybrid car (left) will be on hand for viewing at AltCar Expo 2008 this weekend in Santa Monica, Calif.

The two-day event, now in its third year, is one of the nation's premier showcases for alternatives to the conventional gasoline-burning automobile.

Organizers say more than 100 vehicles - cars, trucks, scooters and 'cycles with natural gas, battery-electric, hydrogen fuel-cell electric, compressed air, biodiesel, flex-fuel and hybrid propulsion systems - will be on hand, several available for test drives.

The expo, to be held Friday and Saturday at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, drew more than 10,000 attendees last year.

In addition to the vehicle displays, the event features numerous displays by alternative energy providers and proponents; a series of seminars addressing climate change and transportation and energy trends and featuring panelists from government, industry and advocacy groups.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell September 23, 2008, 3:02 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Audi, Auto Shows, BMW, Biofuels, Diesel, Ethanol, Flex-Fuel, Fuel Cell, Fuels & Technologies, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Motorcycles, Natural Gas, Plug-ins and Electric, Solar, Transportation Alternatives
Technorati Tags:: AltCar Expo 2008

September 15, 2008

Honda's R&D Chief Says Automaker Prefers Fuel Cells to Batteries for EVs

We opined last week that Honda was skipping at least the initial heat of the battery electric vehicle race to concentrate on its hybrid and fuel-cell electric programs.

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Honda believes fuel-cell electric cars such as its FCX Clarity will be marketable before battery-electric vehicles can make the grade.

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Now comes word, via Bloomberg News, that the automaker also is bowing out of the plug-in hybrid contest.

Batteries just aren't advanced enough to make rechargeable gasoline-electric vehicles sensible replacements for gasoline-only cars, Honda research chief Masaaki Kato said in a recent interview with the business news service.

"For battery-powered vehicles to become more widespread, more popular in the market, we feel battery technology needs to advance further,'' Kato said. "We just don't see it providing the type of driving performance you get with a gasoline-powered vehicle.''

Honda's reticence flys in the face of aggressive moves by General Motors Corp, with its promised Volt plug-in sedan, due in fleets in small numbers toward the end of next year and scheduled for mass production at the end of 2010, and Toyota Motor Corp., which is developing a plug-in Prius hybrid for fleet use and has scheduled a late 2009 introduction (no word on when or if the car will be made available in the retail market).

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell September 15, 2008, 2:40 PM
Categories:: Batteries, Fuel Cell, Fuels & Technologies, General Motors, Honda, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: FCX Clarity

September 3, 2008

Mazda Said to Be Developing Hybrid System Very Similar to the Chevy Volt's

By Scott Doggett, Contributor
and John O'Dell, Senior Editor

General Motors has reaped a ton of publicity from its Chevrolet Volt, a car with a grid-charged battery pack that will power an electric motor and an on-board gasoline engine that will generate electricity to keep the electric motor running and recharge the batteries when the initial plug-in charge is depleted.

Often missed in all the high-voltage buzz is that Ford Motor Co. showed a concept car with essentially the same system during the same January 2007 Detroit Auto Show at which the Volt took its bows.

Now comes word that Ford's Japanese subsidiary, Mazda, is putting its zoom into development of a Volt competitor of its own.

The British blog autocar says it has "learned that Mazda engineers are hard at work trying to develop a rival to the Chevrolet Volt -- a car which uses a petrol engine to charge a battery pack which powers the wheels via an electric motor."

High-ranking sources at Mazda, autocar reports, "say that trials are currently underway in Japan, with a prototype that uses a rotary engine to charge the battery pack. The tests are sufficiently advanced that Mazda has a working prototype in a Mazda 5 MPV bodyshell. Company bosses are said to be keen to put this system into production but no firm decisions will be made until the cost of batteries is reduced.

"In the meantime the company will concentrate on simpler green technologies. The first stop-start Mazda will go on sale in Japan next year and the system is expected to be rolled out globally on a variety of models."

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett September 3, 2008, 3:01 AM
Categories:: Auto Shows, Batteries, Chevrolet, Diesel, Flex-Fuel, Ford, Fuel Cell, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Mazda, Plug-ins and Electric, Volvo
Technorati Tags:: Chevrolet Volt

September 2, 2008

Chrysler Testing Green Vehicles, Says Progress 'Substantial' Toward Electrification

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Chrysler co-president Jim Press, the carmaker's self-described "demand" man charged with developing a product line people actually want to buy, says that despite its image, the company isn't stuck in the performance-car track and is well on the way to launching a full slate of "green" vehicles.

In addition to gas-electric hybrid models of the Chrysler Aspen (left) and Dodge Durango SUVs just hitting dealer showrooms and a hybrid Dodge Ram pickup due next year, Chrysler engineers are testing a trio of hybrid and all-electric models with componments that are "near" market-ready, Press said.

Speaking to a group of automotive journalists and industry insiders in Los Angeles today, Press -- former head of Toyota's ultra-successful U.S. sales and marketing operation -- said that while a slimmed-down Chrysler will not abandon the Hemi V8s, hulking trucks and off-road vehicles it is known for, it is also looking at ways to boost fuel economy and, eventually, offer plug-in hybrid and battery-electric versions of many of its models.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell September 2, 2008, 2:35 PM
Categories:: Batteries, Chrysler, Daimler, Dodge, Fuel Cell, Fuels & Technologies, Hydrogen, Jeep, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Chrysler Green Vehicles

August 28, 2008

Hydrogen Highway Gets An Extension

We complain, a lot, that there aren't enough hydrogen stations around to make use of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, even in test programs, very practical.

So we owe it to the alternative fuel's biggest backer, the National Hydrogen Assn., to note that two new stations were opened this month during the just-completed Hydrogen Road Tour '08 program, and that a third new one is scheduled to open next week.

They will bring to 70 the total stock of operating hydrogen fuel stations in North America - 9 in Canada and 61 in the U.S., with 28 of those in just one state, California.

First to open was dedicated Aug. 11 in Billerica, Mass. (it is also the first hydrogen station in the entire state), followed by a station in Rolla, Mo., at the Missouri University of Science and Technology.

The third new facility is slated to open Sept. 4 on the campus of Humboldt State University in Humboldt, Calif.

The hydrogen association lists stations - one list for those in operation, another for 41 that are planned but not yet open -- in an online hydrogen fuel station database and you can click here to see it and to see how many more milestones need to be added to the hydrogen highway that politicians like to talk about before it its truly a transcontinental road.

John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell August 28, 2008, 3:01 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Fuel Cell, Hydrogen
Technorati Tags:: Hydrogen Highway

August 25, 2008

First Look: How To Fill A Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Car

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

If the though of driving around with tanks of hydrogen pressurized to 5,000 pounds per square inch makes you nervous, consider this: Fire fighters routinely enter burning buildings with 4,500 psi air tanks strapped to their backs.

With those words of assurance, GM hydrogen specialist Alex Karos led us out to the fuel-cell Equinox for our first refueling lesson.

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GM's Alex Karos, center, explains working of hydrogen fuel nozzle while Edmunds editors Chris Walton (left) and Brian Moody (back to camera) look on.

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Yup, I've driven and blogged about the Chevrolet Equniox fuel-cell electric vehicle several times in the past year, even wrote our first-drive review of it for Inside Line. But I'd never actually pumped any of its hydrogen fuel.

Well, General Motors finally has a few Equinoxes (Equinoxii? Equinii?) in its long-term media fleet and has loaned one to the crew at Edmunds for the next week.

So you'll be reading a lot more about it in up coming reviews from staffers for both Edmunds.com and Edmunds Inside Line. We here at Green Car Advisor will provide links to the pieces as they appear so you'll not miss 'em.

Still A Gas

But while you're waiting, we though we'd try to give you a feel for a fueling process that could someday replace topping off the tank with a gas other than gasoline.

Right now it's a bit more difficult - requiring a greater degree of dexterity than pulling into your local service station for a tank of regular unleaded.

We did, actually, pull into a local service station, a Shell station on the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Federal Way in West Los Angeles. Shell recently installed a hydrogen pump there as part of program, backed by the feds, to help get people used to the idea of hydrogen as a fuel for passenger cars.

There are two big islands at the station, one with a bunch of gas pumps, the other with a gas pump and the new one labeled "Shell Hydrogen."

There were 10 of us from Edmunds gathered there the other morning, all aiming to drive the Equinox while we have it and all required to go through the brief fueling lesson so we could fill it up ourselves while out there on the road.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (4); John O'Dell August 25, 2008, 3:05 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Fuel Cell, Fuels & Technologies, General Motors, Green Vehicles, Hydrogen
Technorati Tags:: Equinox Fuel Cell Vehicle

Hydrogen Car Tour's Promoters Hope Finish Line Is Just the Start

As the nine cars crossed the Hydrogen Road Tour "finish line" Saturday in the shadow of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, promoters of the 13-day, 31-city event piped in Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger" - theme song of "Rocky III" -as many in the audience of about 150 people waved mini checkered flags.

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Daimler's A-Class mercedes-Benz fuel cell car on display at Road Tour finale.

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The image they hoped to convey, of course, was the hydrogen, like actor Sylvester Stallone's fictional fighter, Rocky, is a winner.

It remains to be seen, though, whether the hydrogen fuel-cell technology promoted by the tour has a chance of knocking gas-electric hybrids out of contention as the dominant alternative to fossil fuel-powered engines.

General Motors, Honda, Toyota and Nissan were among automakers showing off their hydrogen fuel-cell cars by featuring them in the tour, which began in Portland, Maine, on Aug. 11 and ended Saturday at the California Science Center in Los Angeles.The tour was backed by the U.S. Energy and Transportation departments, the National Hydrogen Association and the California Fuel Cell Partnership.

Fully fueled, such cars, which produce electricity through an electro-chemical process in the fuel cell stack and limit tailpipe emissions to mere drops of water, have traveling ranges that vary from 100 miles for Daimler's Mercedes-Benz F-Cell to about 270 miles for Honda's FCX Clarity.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); John O'Dell August 25, 2008, 2:30 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, BMW, Daimler, Ford, Fuel Cell, Fuels & Technologies, General Motors, Green Vehicles, Honda, Hydrogen, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Electric Cars

August 21, 2008

Ohio State Researchers Say Cheap New Catalyst Could Hasten Hydrogen Fuel

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

It sometimes looks like the automotive future is all about batteries, but there's still a lot of research into hydrogen,with a potential breakthrough just announced at an American Chemical Society meeting this week.

Researchers at Ohio State University say they've developed a new catalyst that can convert ethanol - and possibly other biofuels - to hydrogen at far less cost than possible with present methods and materials.

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Producing and distribution hydrogen fuel -- there are only 63 pumps in the entire country -- is one of major impediments to development of fuel-cell electric cars.
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The catalyst could make it possible for individual fuel stations to produce hydrogen on site, eliminating the need for costly pipeline or other national distribution systems and hastening the day when fuel-cell electric vehicles could become a viable part of the nation's transportation pool.

Umit Ozkan, the chemical and biomolecular engineering professor who developed the catalyst, said it costs about 26 cents an ounce to produce - while rhodium, the precious metal now used in most catalytic systems, costs about $9,000 an ounce.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (4); John O'Dell August 21, 2008, 12:50 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Fuels & Technologies, Hydrogen
Technorati Tags:: Hydrogen Fuel Research

August 19, 2008

Ford Reports Its Fleet of Fuel Cell Test Vehicles Has Exceeded Expectations

Ford Motor Co. announced today that its 30 fuel-cell test vehicles have exceeded the expectations of the company's hydrogen research engineers by accumulating more than 865,000 real world miles without significant maintenance issues since the fleet's launch three years ago.

Encouraged by the program's success, Ford said it recently reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy to extend its three-year-old hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle program for up to 24 months, until the next-generation system is ready for deployment in the 2010 timeframe.

Ford was one of the first automakers to launch a fleet of hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles in 2005, after unveiling a prototype in late 2003. Its Focus Fuel Cell fleet partners include government agencies across the U.S. and in Canada, Germany and Iceland, where cold climate testing is expected to result in significant performance improvements on the next generation.

Additional Ford hydrogen projects have included a fleet of 20 hydrogen internal combustion engine buses, the Fusion Hydrogen 999 that set a land speed record in 2007, a Fuel Cell Explorer and a Plug-in Hybrid Edge that uses a fuel cell-powered HySeries Drive.

A hydrogen fuel cell vehicle produces electricity through an electro-chemical process in the fuel cell stack. Its only tailpipe emissions are drops of water. Fuel cell vehicles hold the promise of decreasing the amount of carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to global warming by replacing vehicles that run on fossil fuels.

According to Ford's global fuel cell team, the first-generation fuel-cell vehicles worked much better than originally expected with virtually no degradation in performance. In light of that success, the Department of Energy, which shares the test program's operating cost with Ford, agreed to extend the program.

Scott Doggett, Contributor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); Scott Doggett August 19, 2008, 3:47 PM
Categories:: Emissions, Ford, Fuel Cell, Fuel Economy, Fuels & Technologies, Hydrogen

August 15, 2008

Feds, Automakers Renew Vow To Make Hydrogen the Fuel of the Future

In case you've been wondering, major automakers and the lame-duck Bush Administration have reaffirmed their joint commitment to hydrogen fuel and to getting fuel-cell electric and other hydrogen-using vehicles into the retail market by 2018.

The happy group renewed its vows during a hydrogen technology showcase Thursday in Washington.

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A pair of Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell electric Vehicles are shown in rendering of a hydrogen fuel station being installed near los Angeles International Airport.

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"With continued investment, hydrogen holds the potential to help fundamentally change the way we power our vehicles and reduce greenhouse gas emissions," Bud Albright, an Energy Department undersecretary, said in remarks delivered during the public showcase.

The Energy Department, Transportation Department, nine automakers with prototype hydrogen-using vehicles and a number of fuel companies and other hydrogen advocates are in the midst of a cross-country tour to promote hydrogen as the logical successor to oil for fueling cars and trucks.

The manufacturers in "Hydrogen Road Tour '08" are BMW, Daimler, Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp., Honda Motor Co., Hyundai-Kia, Nissan Motor Co., Toyota Motor Co. and Volkswagen AG.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); John O'Dell August 15, 2008, 4:49 PM
Categories:: BMW, Daimler, Ford, Fuel Cell, Fuels & Technologies, General Motors, Honda, Hydrogen, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Toyota, Volkswagen
Technorati Tags:: Electric Vehicles

August 12, 2008

Hydrogen Road Tour Itinerary Now Available.

You asked for it (well, a few of you did), so here 'tis: The official map of the Hydrogen Road Tour '08.

Cilck on the map for a larger version.

Or click here and you'll be directed to an interactive version on the road tour's website.

Then click on any city shown and you'll see the complete itinerary for that area.

And if it passes anywhere near you, we urge you to go, see for yourself.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell August 12, 2008, 5:50 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Hydrogen
Technorati Tags:: Hydrogen Road Tour

August 11, 2008

Rush to Fuel-Efficient Vehicles Recedes, Edmunds.com Research Suggests

Large-SUV segment: Could reports of its death have been greatly exaggerated?

The run-up in gas prices from April through June spooked American car buyers into a manic rush to find the most fuel-efficient vehicles they could and to dump their gas guzzlers.

So new-car buyers nearly abandoned the large-SUV and pickup-truck segments, grew lukewarm about crossovers even compared with the first quarter, sought out small cars, pushed OEMs' subcompact-car manufacturing capacity to the max, and completely sucked up supplies of Prius and of some other hybrids. All the while, overall sales tanked.

So automakers made some of the most precipitous and significant decisions ever about production cutbacks and segment reallocations. Each of Detroit's Big Three and even Toyota moved quickly and massively to slash pickup and SUV production and goose small-car output as much as they could.

But the latest Edmunds.com data indicate that the industry may well have rushed into these moves too soon, perhaps overreacting -- along with the news media and other entities -- to how American consumers plainly were responding to skyrocketing gasoline prices.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (6); Scott Doggett August 11, 2008, 7:15 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Emissions, Ethanol, Flex-Fuel, Fuel Cell, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Natural Gas, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: CAFE

Hydrogen Road Tour Begins Today: Good Luck Finding Fuel

Honda's FCX Clarity fuel-cell electric car (right) is one of 10 vehicles traveling 'cross country in Hydrogen Road Tour '08.

Ever wonder what a hydrogen fuel cell really looks like, or how a fuel-cell electric vehicle handles? Itching to try that hydrogen-burning BMW 7-Series that so far has been piloted publicly only by high profile business, entertainment and political people?

(Article modified at 6:45 a.m, Pacific Daylight Time)

Your chance of laying eyes, or hands, on a vehicle using what many still believe will be the fuel of the future increases beginning today as a coalition of hydrogen backers launch a 13-day, 18-state, 31-city, cross-country tour to boost interest in hydrogen vehicles.

We wish them well. And we hope everyone who has a chance stops by, takes a look - or a drive - and becomes a hydrogen missionary.

But there's a sad note to what is being billed as the "Hydrogen Road Tour '08."

At times, ~~Mostly,~~ the vehicles will be trucked rather than driven to locations very near their various destinations on diesel or gasoline-burning commercial carriers. After being off-loaded, they'll be driven under their own power just a few short miles to the venues.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (9); John O'Dell August 11, 2008, 2:45 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, BMW, Daimler, Fuels & Technologies, General Motors, Honda, Hydrogen, Hyundai, Kia, Nissan, Toyota, Volkswagen
Technorati Tags:: California Fuel Cell Partnershp

August 8, 2008

London Mayor Spikes Order for 60 Prototype Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Vehicles

A hydrogen fuel-cell bus already in the fleet of big red buses serving London tanks up at a BP hydrogen station.

London's new mayor, intent on undoing some of his predecessor's most expensive anti-congestion plans, has tossed up a roadblock that is likely to further slow progress on the snail-paced development of a global hydrogen vehicle infrastructure.

Boris Johnson, who replaced Ken Livingstone earlier this year as Lord Mayor of England's capital city, canceled an order Livingstone had placed for 60 hydrogen vehicles, according to a report by analysts in the London office of Boston-based Global Insight economic consulting.

It would have been England's largest hydrogen transport project and one of the biggest anywhere. It also likely would have boosted interest in hydrogen vehicles and demand for hydrogen fueling stations by including a variety of cars, trucks and even motorcycles and scooters, all using hydrogen fuel cells to power emissions-free electric drive systems.

Johnson said he still will accept the 10 hydrogen buses his predecessor had ordered as additions to the city's growing test fleet of fuel-cell electric buses.

But one of his spokesmen told a major London newspaper that Johnson had decided the 60 smaller prototype fuel-cell electric vehicles would not help stimulate the market in hydrogen transportation.

Ironically, Johnson just a few weeks earlier told a group of London school children that hydrogen is the alternative fuel of the future.

The hydrogen buses alone, however, will cost the city about $20 million ($1.92 million or £1 million each), and Johnson apparently doesn't have enough faith in the future to spend that much or more on the 60 smaller vehicles.

John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell August 8, 2008, 5:06 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Emissions, Fuel Cell, Fuels & Technologies, Hydrogen
Technorati Tags:: Boris Johnson

August 6, 2008

Nissan Shows New Hybrid, EV Systems and More at Advanced Tech Fest

Nissan packaged its new electric vehicle ssytem in a Cube compact van for testing, but is planning a more conventional sedan for production.

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

OPPAMA, Japan -- Much of the rest of the auto industry seems to be slowing down, but Nissan Motor Co., hoping to ride the green wave to growth in the U.S. and globally, is pumping billions into environmental initiatives that executives say could propel the company to the top tier of automakers in a just a few years.

In pursuit of that goal, Carlos Ghosn, Nissan's charismatic chief, already has committed the company to zero-emissions leadership by 2012.

Nissan this year has announced plans for a rear-wheel-drive hybrid and a battery-powered electric car by 2010; has formed a partnership with electronics giant NEC to develop a new generation of powerful lithium-ion batteries for hybrids and EVs; is helping develop a rapid charging system for electric cars that could recharge battery packs in as little as 10 minutes; and continues development work to commercialize hydrogen fuel cells for automotive use.

It showed off many of those technologies for the first time in a seminar this week at its research and development facilities in this port city southwest of Toyko.

The company isn't alone. As fuel prices have soared globally and international concerns about energy independence grows, most automakers have begun or stepped up efforts to bring alternative fuel and alternative power plant cars and trucks to market.

But Nissan is a standout for its push for battery EVs and its determination to make the technology -- promising in the late 1990s but long-since abandoned by most -- viable once again.

On Wednesday (Tuesday night in the U.S.) Nissan let a group of journalists try out prototypes of its 2010 EV and hybrid powertrains and showed us the technology behind the advanced lithium-ion batteries that will make them go.

Minoru Shinohara (right), Nissan's senior vice president of technology development, told Green Car Advisor that the company sees a business advantage in EVs and intends to be the industry leader in affordable, mass market zero emission cars that use batteries to power electric motors.

Nissan also wants to be a leader in providing the batteries and the battery-charging infrastructure that will make EVs work, he said.

While others champion the gas-electric hybrid and the plug-in hybrid with limited all-electric range, Nissan's faith in the all-electric vehicle is based on its belief that people all over the world are moving out of suburbia and back into cities as they try to minimize commutes and economize on fuel.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell August 6, 2008, 11:27 AM
Categories:: Batteries, Fuel Cell, Fuels & Technologies, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Electric Vehicles

August 5, 2008

GM's R&D Chief Says Volt Battery Pack Will Be Guaranteed 10 Years, 150,000 Miles

Larry Burns, as GM's vice president of R&D and strategic planning, is the General's pointman on developing vehicles that meet the demands of the marketplace and turn a hefty profit.

Design News emailed Burns a bunch of questions for a profile piece the magazine will publish next month, but it chose to post the questions and answers online today. Odder things have no doubt happened, but nothing jumps to mind.

Here, then, are some of Burns' more remarkable comments:

The VP confirms GM's plans to be "selling Chevrolet Volt to real customers in 2010."

In response to being asked if a final version of the Volt's battery -- versions based on a nano-phosphate cathode, manganese spinel chemistry or something else -- has been chosen, Burns says no.

"We continue to work on the battery with our two development partnerships, one involving LG Chem and Compact Power and the other involving A123 Systems and Continental," he said.

But, he said, GM has "confirmed the capability of our selected cell chemistry in terms of safety, range, recharge time, power density and energy density."

Although the battery version remains undecided, Burns said its "development is on track."

But, Burns admitted that "one of the important challenges remaining is proving ten-year, 150,000-mile life when we're developing the battery over a three-year timeframe. Obviously, we'll protect the customer in this regard with our warranty, but we still need to prove out the required durability."

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett August 5, 2008, 7:33 PM
Categories:: Batteries, Chevrolet, Emissions, Fuel Cell, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Chevrolet

Ballot Measure Would Ban Most SUVs, Sports Cars From Swiss Roads

America's auto-emissions regulators have nothing on the youth brigade of the Swiss Green Party.

The youth have obtained the 100,000 signatures needed to put a measure before Switzerland's voters that would ban passenger vehicles that have a curb weight of more than 4,820 pounds, emit more than 250 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer, or have front ends deemed dangerous to pedestrians.

The measure would also ban diesel cars lacking particle filters. Non-compliant cars registered before the measure goes into law would be fitted with a governor limiting them to 62 miles per hour.

The measure, which is viewed as moderate by its proponents, would remove all but the most fuel efficient models from Swiss roads. The forbidden list contains 785 models. In Porsche's lineup, for instance, all but the Boxster and Cayman fitted with 2.7-liter engines would be barred.

Lots of Mercedes-Benzes, BMWs and Audis would be history, as would every Ferrari, Maserati and Lamborghini. Not all automakers would suffer. Lotus's entire lineup, for example, would be compliant.

The vote has not been scheduled and could be a couple of years away. Also, more than 90 percent of initiatives presented to Swiss voters since 1848 have been rejected. But "moderates" can hope.

Scott Doggett, Contributor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); Scott Doggett August 5, 2008, 11:22 AM
Categories:: Audi, BMW, Diesel, Emissions, Ferarri, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Lamborghini, Legislation, Lotus, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, Plug-ins and Electric, Porsche, Volkswagen
Technorati Tags:: Audi

Honda Delivers FCX Clarity Fuel Cell Vehicle to Actress Jamie Lee Curtis, Husband

Honda Motor Co. today announced that its second FCX Clarity customer -- actress Jamie Lee Curtis and actor-filmmaker-composer Christopher Guest -- took delivery of the vehicle last Thursday.

The couple are the second of 200 customers who will begin leasing the vehicle in the U.S. or Japan over the next three years.

"I really wasn't expecting it to be so luxurious," the effervescent Curtis said of the next-generation, hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicle. "I love the interior layout, design and access to controls."

Curtis (a scream queen best known for her roles in Halloween, The Fog, Prom Night and Terror Train) and Guest (the unforgettable Nigel Tufnel in the 1984 "rockumentary" film This Is Spinal Tap) live in Santa Monica, California. They have owned alternative fuel and hybrid vehicles, and a strong advocates of a greener lifestyle.

Ron Yerxa and Annette Ballester of Santa Monica took delivery of the first FCX Clarity on July 25.

Honda made significant advances with this generation of FCX Clarity over its previous one. They include a 25 percent increase in combined fuel economy to 74 miles per gallon equivalent and a greater than 30 percent increase in driving range up to 280 miles.

Propelled by an electric motor that runs on electricity generated in the fuel cell, the vehicle's only by-products are heat and water and its fuel efficiency is three times that of a modern gasoline-powered automobile.

Scott Doggett, Contributor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett August 5, 2008, 9:51 AM
Categories:: Emissions, Fuel Cell, Fuel Economy, Honda, Hydrogen
Technorati Tags:: Fuel Cell

August 4, 2008

Rulemakers Told Fuel Economy Standards Fall Far Short of Consumer Demands

Auto dealers and consumer advocates told federal rulemakers today that a proposed 25 percent mandatory increase in fleetwide fuel economy standards is out of touch with importance buyers now give fuel-efficiency.

Mark Cooper, research director for the Consumer Federation of America, said rulemakers wrongly assumed U.S. drivers would continue to covet large trucks and SUVs, even though car buyers began moving to smaller, more fuel-efficient cars in 2004.

"The auto industry acts as if plummeting SUV and pickup truck sales are a new phenomena," he told the National Transportation Safety Board at a Washington public hearing. "The fact is, gas-guzzling-vehicle sales have been falling off a cliff for over three years. And yet the administration's proposed fuel economy standards presumes no fall and no cliff."

As a result, Cooper said, the proposed fleetwide fuel economy standard of 31.6 miles per gallon by 2015 would fail to meet consumer demands. According to a study performed by his organization, 59 percent of those surveyed want their next vehicle to get more than 35 mpg. Meanwhile, only 1 percent of new models offer that degree of fuel economy.

Adam Lee, president of Lee Auto Malls, which has a dozen Maine dealerships, said he has seen firsthand the shifting buying trends that have resulted in across-the-board losses for major carmakers.

Lee said he has laid off salespeople while waiting for automakers to produce the type of cars Americans want. "We just don't have the cars to sell," he said. "And I'm not just talking hybrids.... Consumers are waiting for good, old-fashioned small cars."

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); Scott Doggett August 4, 2008, 2:05 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Chrysler, Courts, Emissions, Ethanol, Flex-Fuel, Ford, Fuel Cell, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Honda, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Legislation, Mercedes-Benz, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: CAFE

August 1, 2008

Hydrogen Power Has Just Gotten Much Cheaper, Researchers Report

Right, MIT researcher Daniel G. Nocera.

By Scott Doggett, Contributor

Hydrogen is widely regarded as the most promising automobile fuel of the future. Among its major obstacles: The cost of the catalyst needed to separate it from oxygen.

Electrolizers use platinum as a catalyst to split water into hydrogen and oxygen molecules. Platinum is also used by fuel cells to recombine hydrogen with oxygen, which produces electricity, which in turn can power the electric motors of EVs.

One of the main reason there aren't more hydrogen vehicles on the road today is that platinum costs upwards of $2,000 an ounce.

But researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Monash University in Australia report in today's issue of Science (subscription required) that they may have found a cost-effective replacement for platinum.

MIT professor Daniel Nocera and graduate student Matthew Kanan reported that they could split water into its constituent parts by replacing platinum with cobalt and phosphate. Those metals cost about $2.25 an ounce and $.05 an ounce, respectively.

On the fuel-cell side of the equasion, chemist Bjorn Winther-Jensen and colleagues at Monash University have developed new electrodes for fuel cells made from a special conducting polymer. It costs $57 an counce.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (2); Scott Doggett August 1, 2008, 11:27 AM
Categories:: Emissions, Fuel Cell, Fuel Economy, Hydrogen, Plug-ins and Electric

July 30, 2008

Meeting of Minds Offers Hope, But With A Dash of Gloom

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

PORTLAND, Ore. -- I'm sitting in my hotel room after a day of panels and seminars at the 2nd running of an event called Meeting of the Minds, and am wishing I had a better one than was issued as original equipment.

This is a by-invitation gathering of about 250 people, mainly concerned with transportation and urban planning, and was convened to consider, as the confab's subtitle states: The Innovations We Need for More Sustainable Cities.

The reason an automobile writer, albeit one specializing in green issues, was invited (and I have to confess I'm not the only one) is that these folks get it -- most cities in the U.S. were built to accomodate the car, and there's no cure for what ails our municipalities without addressing transportation-related woes.

After a full day of discussions, it is clear that a lot of people are working hard to head off disasters that could be caused by horrid traffic congenstion, rapidly degrading infrastructure and a national political malaise that has robbed us of leaders with the guts to stand up and lead the charge for things we need.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell July 30, 2008, 10:09 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Fuel Cell, Fuels & Technologies, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Meeting of the Minds

July 25, 2008

Honda Launches New Era As First FCX Clarity Is Delivered

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

The first Honda FCX Clarity fuel cell car was delivered to its proud and happy new owner about an hour ago.

We'll provide some photos and perhaps a bit more text in just a little while, but wanted to be first to let everyone know that Honda has made good on its promise to start getting the swoopy and silent Clarity into consumers' hands by the end of July.

The first customer for the limited-production fuel-cell electric car is Hollywood producer Ron Yerxa ("Little Miss Sunshine"), who has described himself as a green guy who just wanted to be able to drive the coolest clean car around.

Like others who have signed up to lease the Clarity for three years (at a heavily subsidized $600 a month), Yerxa lives in Southern California, near one of four hydrogen fueling stations that Clarity drivers can use to fill their 74-miles-per-gallon (actually, it's "gallon-equivalent" as hydrogen gas is measured by weight - kilograms - not volume) cars.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell July 25, 2008, 1:22 PM
Categories:: Fuel Cell, Fuels & Technologies, Honda, Hydrogen
Technorati Tags:: Fuel Cell

July 23, 2008

U.S. Postal Service Extends Market Testing of Chevrolet Equinox Fuel-Cell Vehicle

General Motors and the U.S. Postal Service have joined forces again to deliver mail using hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles.

The two organizations announced today that the Postal Service has for the third time joined Chevrolet's Project Driveway, one of the largest market tests of fuel-cell vehicles to date.

Two postal stations - one in Irvine, California, another to be announced - will be using hydrogen-powered Chevrolet Equinox fuel-cell electric vehicles to deliver the mail on regular routes six days a week. The service will begin immediately in Irvine.

The Postal Service began using an Equinox in 2004 in Virginia. The service began using an Equinox two years later to deliver mail in Irvine. Both trial programs, which ended last year, helped GM learn a lot about how fuel-cell vehicles operate in real-world conditions.

GM will maintain the vehicle and pay the cost of its fuel. Letter carriers will fuel the vehicle at the University of California, Irvine, hydrogen fueling station.

Scott Doggett, Contributor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett July 23, 2008, 3:26 PM
Categories:: Chevrolet, Emissions, Fuel Cell, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Hybrid, Hydrogen

July 22, 2008

Public Invited to Test Drive Newest Green Machines at Inaugural Event

Right, BMW 7 Hydrogen on Nürburgring racetrack. The car or one like it will be available for test drives.

The Detroit area is famous for the Woodward Dream Cruise, a summertime showcase of thousands of hotrods, muscle cars and other exotics.

Now in an effort to improve Motown's gas-guzzling image, a new group has organized what they call Nextcruise, which will actually give the public an opportunity to drive what many see as the next generation of vehicles - hybrids, fuel cell, clean-diesel, plug-in electric and other green machines.

The low-emissions, fuel-efficient vehicles will be available for free 15-minute drives on a first-come, first-served basis in Pleasant Ridge, just outside Detroit, in mid-August.

The event will take place from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 16, and from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 17, at Memorial Park, 23925 Woodward Avenue, Pleasant Ridge 48069-1199.

Nine automakers have agreed to provide green vehicles and green-car-technology demonstrations for event to date. They are: General Motors, Chrysler, Ford, Nissan, Toyota, Volkswagen, Audi, Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett July 22, 2008, 3:44 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Audi,