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News > June
DOE Awards $30 Million for Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle Research
Under its PHEV Technology Acceleration and Deployment Activity plan, the Department of Energy (DOE) will provide $30 million to fund three separate Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) research projects. Ford, General Motors and General Electric will share the funds to develop and demonstrate PHEV technology over the next three years. The DOE says the projects will hasten the development of vehicles capable of traveling up to 40 miles without recharging, which includes most daily roundtrip commutes and satisfies 70% of the average daily travel in the U.S. The projects will also address critical barriers to achieving the DOE’s goal of making such cars cost-competitive by 2014 and ready for commercialization by 2016.
Source: DOE awards $30M for plug-in hybrid electric car research, NetworkWorld.com
San Diego Gets $9 Million for New Natural Gas Buses
San Diego's Metropolitan Transit System will be getting $9 million in state bond money to replace 50 aging diesel-burning buses with new compressed natural gas (CNG) models. The funds are part of the statewide distribution of $136 million in transportation bond money announced by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who noted that such funding “will encourage the use of public transit and give Californians an alternative to rising gas prices.” “With the money we're receiving … we are able to retire buses that operate on diesel that are well beyond their useful life and have become very expensive to maintain with newer buses … that burn compressed natural gas for the benefit of the environment,” said Harry Mathis, chairman of the Metropolitan Transit System board of directors. SDMTS officials said the 50 new buses will bring the system's fleet to nearly 100% CNG-powered.
Source: Governor hands S.D. $9 million for new buses, San Diego Union Tribune
Algenol Uses Algae to Convert Carbon Dioxide into Ethanol
U.S. company Algenol has signed an $850 million deal with Mexican company BioFields to grow algae that has been trained to convert water, sunlight and carbon dioxide into a form of ethanol that doesn’t rely on food-based feedstocks like corn and sugar cane. As other companies attempt to produce biofuel from algae by drying and pressing the organisms to make vegetable oil that can be processed into biodiesel, Algenol will use a process they invented in the 1980s to coax individual algal cells to secrete ethanol. The fuel can be taken directly from the vats where the algae is grown while the organism lives on, using far less energy than drying and pressing the organisms. Algenol plans to make 100 million gallons of ethanol in Mexico's Sonoran Desert by the end of the 2009. By the end of 2012, it plans to increase that to one billion gallons—more than 10% of the current U.S. ethanol capacity.
Source: Algenol trains algae to turn carbon into ethanol, Reuters
Ford Delivers FlexFuel Plug-in Hybrid to DOE
Ford Motor Company has delivered its first flexible-fuel capable plug-in hybrid SUV to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The vehicle is equipped with a lithium-ion battery that stores enough electric energy to drive up to 30 miles at speeds of up to 40 mph. The Ford Escape Plug-in Hybrid, which runs on gasoline or E85, is part of a demonstration fleet that Ford is developing in a partnership with Southern California Edison and the Electric Power Research Institute. Advanced testing on the vehicles is underway in California. The DOE will include the Escape Flexible Fuel Plug-in Hybrid in its fleet to obtain real world experience with the vehicle as it continues its support of advanced fuel technologies.
Source: Ford Delivers FlexFuel PHEV to DOE, Green Car Congress
Philippines Seeks ‘100% Use’ of CNG Public Transport by 2010
To help ease the burden of the continuing rise in the price of oil on the Philippine’s public transport sector, the Philippine Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB) is gearing up for the use of 100% compressed natural gas (CNG) in public utility vehicles by 2010. “By 2010, all buses, taxis, and jeepneys [the most popular means of public transportation in the Philippines] should be CNG operated,” said LTFRB Chairman Thompson Lantion at a recent press conference. “This will be our direction. We will no longer be dependent on diesel because CNG is made locally, so it is cheaper,” he added.
Source: LTFRB seeks public transport’s ‘100% use’ of CNG by 2010, Inquirer.net, Philippines
Rising Gas Prices Trigger Changes in U.S. Driver Behavior
A new telephone survey of 1,000 Americans shows that 67% have already changed their driving habits due to gas price increases. The median price at which they changed their driving was $3.20 per gallon, a price reached back in March. As the price at the pump continues to rise, many more Americans will change their driving habits, according to the survey, which predicts that by $5.00 per gallon, 85% of all Americans will have changed their habits. Interestingly, only 3% of those surveyed said that the first thing they did or will do is buy a more fuel-economic car or a hybrid. Rather, the primary response is to reduce non-essential travel or recreational driving (26%) or reduce errands (21%). Other gas-saving efforts include carpooling (7%) and using public transportation more often (4%).
Source: Survey: Rising Gas Prices Trigger Changes in US Driver Behavior; Consideration for Buying More Fuel-Efficient Vehicles as Primary Response Low, Green Car Congress
GM and Clean Energy Working to Expand Hydrogen Fueling Infrastructure
General Motors and Clean Energy Fuels have announced that Clean Energy will open a hydrogen fueling station in Los Angeles with support from GM. The two companies are also exploring further opportunities to expand the hydrogen infrastructure. The hydrogen fueling station, expected to open around late summer, will be located at Clean Energy's compressed natural gas (CNG) facility near Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The station will be used by drivers participating in Chevrolet's Project Driveway—the world's largest market test of fuel cell vehicles. GM and Clean Energy are discussing the potential to expand this first station into a network of hydrogen fueling stations by leveraging Clean Energy's natural gas fueling expertise. “Developing and growing hydrogen infrastructure is vital to GM's efforts to bring larger volumes of fuel cell vehicles to the market,” said Mary Beth Stanek of General Motors. “We’re supporting this hydrogen station near LAX because we recognize a critical role for Clean Energy’s existing CNG infrastructure in helping expand the hydrogen infrastructure.”
Source: General Motors and Clean Energy Working to Expand Hydrogen Fueling Infrastructure, BusinessWire
European Venture to Produce Diesel from Woody Biomass
Europe's top newsprint maker Norske Skog and Norwegian forestry companies have set up a venture to produce diesel from woody biomass. Norske Skog said such diesel would be “virtually CO2 neutral” and, unlike biofuel made from crops such as corn, would not compete with food production. The venture, named Xynergo, aims to build a prototype plant in 2010. A full-scale facility, capable of producing enough fuel to meet about 15% of Norway's annual road transport diesel needs, could be on stream in 2015. “We are now entering an exciting and demanding phase for production of second-generation biofuels,” said Xynergo managing director Klaus Schoffel.
Source: Venture eyes diesel from woody biomass, Reuters
Landfill Gas to be Processed into Natural Gas Fuel for Fleets
A project by California company FirmGreen will process raw landfill gas into compressed natural gas for use in fleet vehicles in Ohio. The Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio (SWACO) and other area fleets will take advantage of the cleaner, cheaper fuel. The project will initially produce 30,000 Gasoline Gallon Equivalents (GGE) per day of gCNG—the company’s brand name for compressed natural gas from renewable resources. SWACO’s fleets are expected to achieve a net savings of $60,000 per day, based on a comparison between the recent $4.75-per-gallon-cost of diesel fuel in Ohio and the company’s GGE cost of less than $2.75 per gallon. Vehicles fueled with natural gas produce 93-95% fewer emissions than similar petroleum-fueled vehicles.
Source: FirmGreen BioFuel To Fuel Ohio Waste Fleet On The Cheap, Environmental Leader
Toyota Promises Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle by 2010
Toyota Motor Corp. plans to introduce a plug-in hybrid with next-generation lithium-ion batteries to Japan, the U.S. and Europe by 2010. The gasoline-electric vehicles, which can be recharged from a home electrical outlet, can run longer as an electric vehicle than regular hybrids, and are cleaner. The new lithium-ion batteries produce more power and are smaller than the nickel-metal hydride batteries used in today’s hybrids. Toyota also said it is setting up a battery research department later this month to develop an innovative battery that can outperform even that lithium-ion battery. Japan's top automaker, and industry leader in gas-electric hybrids, has said it will rev up hybrid sales to one million a year sometime after 2010.
Source: Toyota promises plug-in hybrid vehicle by 2010, Associated Press
As Gas Prices Increase, Utah Saves Money by Going Green
With the national average for a gallon of gasoline now at about $4, cities such as Salt Lake City are switching to fuel-efficient fleets by converting vehicles to natural gas or buying new hybrids. Compressed natural gas and hybrid vehicles have helped the state of Utah and some of its cities clean up the environment and save taxpayers’ money. 40 cars in Salt Lake City's 1,000-plus vehicle fleet are hybrids or run on CNG—which sells for about 80 cents per gallon. Individuals in the state of Utah are also flocking to alternative fuel vehicles to save money. It's not cheap to purchase hybrids over traditional vehicles or to convert gasoline-powered cars to compressed natural gas, but higher gasoline prices are lowering the break-even point. In Utah, it costs about $5 to fill-up a natural gas fueled Honda Civic compared to $38 or more for one using gasoline.
Source: Cities going green as gas prices go higher, Salt Lake Tribune
Toyota to Meet Hybrid Vehicle Demand With Three New Battery Plants
Toyota is planning to address the increasing demand for hybrid vehicles with three new hybrid battery factories, including one dedicated for next-generation lithium ion packs. It is reported that the company is likely to spend around $673.1 million on the planned plants to facilitate an annual battery output of one million units by 2011. A new nickel-metal hydride plant is scheduled to start production in 2011 with an estimated output of around 300,000 batteries a year, while the lithium ion plant is likely to start production in 2010. The move reportedly follows Nissan Motors’ announcement about the advanced mass-production of lithium ion batteries and Honda Motors’ plan to introduce four new hybrid vehicles by 2015.
Source: Toyota to Meet Hybrid Vehicle Demand With Three New Battery Plants, Red Orbit
Switzerland's Largest Biogas Plant Nearing Completion
The construction of the largest biogas plant in Switzerland, situated near Lucerne, is nearing completion on time. The $16.5 million plant, which is due to go into service in October 2008, will derive CO2-neutral biogas from biogenic waste. From the approximately 60,000 tonnes of biomass processed every year, 1.9 million cubic meters of biogas will be produced—sufficient to fuel 2,000 natural gas vehicles. The gas will save 4,000 tonnes of CO2 and replace some 2 million liters of fossil fuel without compromising food production.
Source: Switzerland's Largest Biogas Plant Nearing Completion, NGV Global
City Uses CNG Buses to Beat High Fuel Prices
Squeezed by high diesel prices and ballooning ridership, transit managers are finding a solution in compressed natural gas fleets. CNG has been a successful part of mass transit in the city of Visalia in central California for the last decade. “It's cheaper, it's much cleaner and there's less wear and tear on the engines,” said Monty Cox, the city’s transit manager. Right now more than half of the city of Visalia's 40-bus fleet runs on CNG and plans are in the works to add 10 more. With diesel prices pushing $5 a gallon and gasoline at around $4 a gallon, many local drivers are opting to use the city’s mass transit system instead of their cars—Visalia’s ridership has grown more than 17% during the last year. Cox said he is saving more than $1 a gallon—or at least $50 a tank—on his CNG buses over diesel. “I expect that savings will continue to rise,” he said.
Source: City buses beat high fuel prices, Visalia Times-Delta
Chinese & Peruvian Companies to Bring Bi-fuel Vehicles to Peruvian Market
Chinese vehicle manufacturer Lifan Motors and Peruvian group Altos Andes have signed a strategic alliance to bring the first bi-fuel vehicle factory to Peru. The decision to manufacture the compressed natural gas/gasoline bi-fuel vehicles in Peru was due in large part to the Peruvian Government’s support for the use of natural gas vehicles as an economical alternative to traditional fuels such as petrol and diesel. The Lifan Dual GNV 520 model, which has demonstrated increased demand in various markets around the world, will be priced to be accessible to the vast majority of Peruvians.
Source: Lifan Motors To Set Up Bi-fuel Equipment NGV Factory in Peru, NGV Global
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