2 April 2012
US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced $13.1 million in federal funding for 11 research and demonstration projects under FTA’s National Fuel Cell Bus Program.
The funds are shared by Calstart in Pasadena, Calif.; the Center for Transportation and the Environment in Atlanta, Ga.; and the Northeast Advanced Vehicle Consortium in Boston, Mass. All three will engage in work to develop various fuel cell components; test US-made buses under real-world conditions powered by fuel cells; and conduct educational outreach.
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2 April 2012
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| Key policy-relevant scientific uncertainties related to BC. Source: EPA. Click to enlarge. |
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has submitted its final Report to Congress on Black Carbon, in response to an October 2009 request from Congress to advance efforts to understand the role of black carbon (BC) in climate change.
The EPA report concluded that, despite some remaining uncertainties about BC that require further research (such as the sign—i.e., positive or negative—and magnitude of net climate forcing from BC emissions), currently available scientific and technical information provides a strong foundation for making mitigation decisions to achieve lasting benefits for public health, the environment, and climate.
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2 April 2012
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| An integrated electromicrobial process to convert CO2 to higher alcohols. Electricity powered the electrochemical CO2 reduction on the cathode to produce formate, which is converted to isobutanol and 3MB by the engineered R. eutropha. Li et al. Click to enlarge. |
Researchers at UCLA have demonstrated a method for converting carbon dioxide into higher alcohols using electricity. In a study published in the journal Science, James Liao, UCLA’s Ralph M. Parsons Foundation Chair in Chemical Engineering, and his team report a method for storing electrical energy as chemical energy in higher alcohols, which can be used as liquid transportation fuels.
Liao and his team genetically engineered a lithoautotrophic microorganism, Ralstonia eutropha H16, to produce isobutanol and 3-methyl-1-butanol (3MB) in an electro-bioreactor using CO2 as the sole carbon source and electricity as the sole energy input.
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2 April 2012
Ford is offering the Auto Start-Stop system on its new non-hybrid 2013 Fusion equipped with a 1.6-liter EcoBoost engine (earlier post) for $295. Auto Start-Stop saves fuel use when the car is standing and running at idle. Savings vary depending on driving patterns, but owners who spend most time in heavy urban areas and city traffic will benefit up to 10%. On average, Auto Start-Stop improves fuel efficiency by about 3.5%.
The Ford Auto Start-Stop system includes a 12V battery designed for long
lasting service with no additional maintenance; a 12V enhanced
starter motor to provide seamless engine starts once a driver
removes his or her foot from the brake pedal; and a voltage quality
module to assures vehicle accessories function normally when the engine is off.
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1 April 2012
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| BMW i8 Concept Spyder. Click to enlarge. |
Following on the presentation of the BMW i3 Concept and BMW i8 Concept coupé at the Frankfurt show in 2011 (earlier post),
the BMW Group has introduced a third i Model: the BMW i8 Concept Spyder. Like the i8 coupé concept, the BMW i8 Concept Spyder with eDrive is a plug-in hybrid. The 96 kW (131 hp) electric motor on the front axle works in tandem with a TwinPower Turbo three-cylinder gasoline engine sending 164 kW (223 hp) through the rear wheels.
Both power units are in-house BMW Group developments and generate an aggregate system output of 260 kW (354 hp) and peak torque of 550 N·m (406 lb-ft). The BMW i8 Concept Spyder accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in five seconds on the way to an electronically governed top speed of 250 km/h (155 mph). The two-seater burns three liters of gasoline per 100 kilometres (equivalent to fuel economy of 78.4 mpg US) in the European test cycle.
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31 March 2012
Transit fleets could reduce fuel consumption on average by as much as 18.7% by engaging in fuel-efficient, eco-driving best practices, according to a Public Transit Fuel Efficiency Study released by SmartDrive Systems, a provider of fleet management and driver safety systems and services.
Eco-driving best practices for public transit include smooth acceleration and deceleration; reducing excess idling; avoiding hard turning (anticipating turns and smoothly decelerating into the turn to take advantage of the bus’s forward momentum and smoothly accelerating out
of it); and maintaining constant vehicle speed.
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31 March 2012
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| Proposed route for the Alaska Pipeline project. Click to enlarge. |
Alaska Governor Sean Parnell announced that two major milestones have been met in the state’s effort to bring Alaska’s North Slope natural gas to Alaskans and markets beyond. The North Slope holds more than 35 trillion cubic feet of discovered natural gas.
First, the State of Alaska resolved its long-running litigation with ExxonMobil and other leaseholders regarding the Point Thomson field, which holds almost a quarter of the North Slope’s known natural gas.
Second, the three major producers—ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips and BP—delivered a letter to the governor announcing that they are now aligned with the Alaska Pipeline Project (APP) parties, and working on a gasline project focusing on bringing North Slope gas to tidewater in Alaska.
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30 March 2012
Ener1, Inc., the parent of lithium-ion battery maker EnerDel, has completed its financial restructuring and emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy as a privately-held company. On 26 January, the company had filed a pre-packaged bankruptcy case to implement a restructuring plan agreed on by its primary investors and lenders. (Earlier post.)
The US Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York confirmed the Plan of Reorganization on 28 February; the Plan became effective on 30 March 2012.
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30 March 2012
There is significant potential for the expansion of bio-based automotive parts and components manufacturing in the US Great Lakes region, according to a newly-released study conducted by the Center for Automotive Research (CAR), a nonprofit research organization based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The report defines bio-based materials as industrial products made from renewable agricultural and forestry feedstocks, which can include wood, grasses, and crops, as well as wastes and residues. These materials may replace fabrics, adhesives, reinforcement fibers, polymers, and other, more conventional, materials.
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30 March 2012
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), in concert with several Federal departments and agencies, launched a $200-million “Big Data Research and Development Initiative” to improve greatly the tools and techniques needed to access, organize, and glean discoveries from huge
volumes of digital data.
The Big Data initiative is intended to: (1) advance state-of-the-art core technologies needed to collect, store, preserve, manage, analyze, and share huge quantities of data; (2) harness these technologies to accelerate the pace of discovery in science and engineering; and (3) expand the workforce needed to develop and use Big Data technologies.
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30 March 2012
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| Denza logo. Click to enlarge. |
BYD Daimler New Technology Co. Ltd. (BDNT), the 50:50 joint venture between Daimler and BYD (earlier post) formally revealed in Shenzhen at the “EV – The Future” event its new Denza brand of electric vehicles developed in China, for the Chinese market.
The Denza brand launch event is the latest milestone in the cooperation between Daimler and BYD. Following the BDNT joint venture contract signing in May 2010 and granting of the China business license in March 2011, development has been progressing on schedule, according to the partners.
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