It’s been known for a long time that the emissions from coal are harmful, both to the environment and human health. Yet, because it’s so plentiful, the U.S. still gets the majority of its electricity from coal-fired power. With the world focused on increasing the use of plug-in cars, where we get our future electricity becomes a key question.

Yesterday, a medical report was released, “Coal’s Assault on Human Health,” highlighting the dangers of coal, by the Physicians for Social Responsibility. Other study participants included the American Lung Association and the American Nurses Association.

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Move over CO2—you’ve been ousted, along with methane, as the biggest offenders of global climate change. According to a new a study by Purdue University and NASA, the major chemicals most frequently cited as leading to climate change, namely carbon dioxide and methane, are actually outclassed in their warming potential by compounds receiving less attention. The majority of “greenhouse gases” are created by humans.

The results were discovered when researchers studied more than a dozen chemicals, or greenhouse gases as classified by their warming properties defined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. From there, the team developed a blueprint for the underlying molecular machinery of global warming. The results appeared in the November 12, 2009 issue of the American Chemical Society’s Journal of Physical Chemistry, just in time for the convergence of world leaders in Copenhagen.

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Tata Motors, the company whose claim to fame is selling one of the world’s cheapest and most fuel efficient cars, is considering letting other local India-based manufacturers produce and sell their Nano under their brands.

The company began selling the 56 mpg car last July, and, due to high demand, is in the process of building a manufacturing facility that would produce an additional 350,000 units per year. The plant, located in Sanand in Gujarat, should be up and running by March of 2010.

But in the meantime, Tata Motors is considering allowing smaller manufacturers produce, rebrand and sell the car under license from Tata. The maximum amount of production per year in this fashion would be 10,000 cars. Now that’s an interesting way of selling more cars. I would venture to say that I doubt an American car company would take a similar tack since they use the brand to drive sales.

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Leo Motors, a parts supply company with its roots in Korea, has an outspoken CEO with an interesting eye for the future and a grasp of where we’ve come from. For instance, after speaking with him it became apparent that Dr. Robert Kang has come to the conclusion that most of the electric vehicle technology we see today is based on technology developed for electric toys combining a simple motor, battery and ampere controller.

I don’t know if this is a fully accurate representation of electric car design, but it’s certainly true that electric cars are relatively simple systems.

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Ford Motor Company and Azure Dynamics have teamed up to introduce a battery electric commercial van called the Transit Connect. The electric van will be available in America and Canada beginning in 2010 and is the first vehicle to be produced as part of Ford’s accelerated electric vehicle strategy. Azure will integrate its Force Drive battery electric drive train into the van and Johnson Control-Saft has been selected as the lithium ion battery cells and battery packs supplier. The Transit Connect van is being marketed for fleet and retail use.

What Ford has not brought to market is their Ford Escape Flex-Fuel Hybrid which they have been working on for close to a decade. I actually drove one in a car rally in upstate New York two years ago (it was a great car) but the company discontinued its work claiming that there was no demand. How quickly times change.

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They say that nothing is free, but I may have come across the exception. In West Texas and Illinois, electric customers are being paid to use electricity. With the growth of wind energy in areas like Texas, Iowa and Minnesota, electric companies are occasionally producing more energy—especially during off-peak hours—than they can use. Why not store it you ask? Because there are not yet any good ways to store energy; a quest since electricity was created.

According to expert Terry Boston, who is the CEO of PJM, a company that manages the electricity grid in 13 mid-Atlantic states and Washington, the oversupply of electricity has forced prices into the negative range. The result: some customers are paid to use electricity.

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UK-based Axon Automotive made its debut at the Sexy Green Car Show in Cornwall last year and they are making headlines again. They have officially debuted their upcoming Axon plug-in hybrid electric city car at the Milton Keynes Science Festival.

The element that makes this PHEV stand out is its light weight. The car is made from carbon fiber and it is paired with existing engine technology. According to test data from the company, it gets about 83.3 mpg US/100mpg UK. Tthe company’s website states that the Axon will be available to consumers in 2010 and has room for two adults and luggage. Other sources cite limited availability in 2011 with full production in 2012.

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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) along with the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) is looking to fund $2 million dollars in coal research as part of the University Coal Research (UCR) Program. The research projects will be an attempt to improve the “fundamental understanding of the chemical and physical processes that govern coal conservation and utilization, by product utilization, and technological development.”

From an Administration that is attempting to reduce America’s dependence on oil through greenhouse gas emissions reductions, this is one of the—excuse me—stupidest ideas our country has had… at least for today. Look people, coal is NOT clean, even though the coal industry wants you to believe it is. As a matter of fact, Americans for Balanced Energy Choices, a front group for the coal and utility industries, is currently running a ‘clean coal” campaign in excess of $35 million according to a Washington Post article from last year.

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RET’s basic technology is this: they have a retrofitable hydraulic propulsion system for large vehicles that stores energy in hydraulic cylinders with compressed gas. The vehicle, such as a city bus, then uses that stored energy to give it a boost when starting up. The technology is known as RPS, or Retrofitable Propulsion System, and reduces fuel use by 25 percent and emissions by 25 percent. But before you finish mumbling about how improved fuel economy doesn’t eliminate our dependence on fossil-fuel based energy, this system can improve the fuel and emissions of vehicles using all forms of fuel including ethanol, biodiesel, compressed natural gas, propane and more.

“We like to say that the vehicle is indifferent and fuel agnostic,” said Sam Jones, President of Recaptured Energy Technologies.

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According to EPSRC funded researcher Dr. Kerry Kirwan with the University of Warwick, the car is not just environmentally friendly, but also fast boasting a top speed of 135 mph and can go 0-60 mph in 2.5 seconds. Oh, and did I mention it’s turbo charged to give it more torque?

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Last week, Volkswagen debuted it’s E-Up! electric vehicle during the Frankfurt motor show. VW has already coined its new car “The Beetle for the 21st Century.” And now, according to VW, this city-sized electric vehicle concept will be Americanized and super-sized (okay, super-sized may be a slight exaggeration) for its American debut shortly after its launch in Europe in 2013.

In an article published by autoweek.com, the board member in charge of product development at Volkswagen AC, Ulrich Hackenberg, summed up in one sentence why they are developing an electric car. “The reason we are working on an electric vehicle is the American market.”

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Better Place, based in Palo Alto, California, has gotten the green light from the Japanese government to move forward on installing its battery swap stations for use by Tokyo’s taxi fleet. The company said it has received an undisclosed financial investment from the Japanese government for its “Tokyo pilot project,” which is intended to validate the feasibility of the battery swap stations by installing switchable batteries into the world’s first four completely electric taxis.

According to the company, they will partner with Tokyo’s largest taxi operator, Nihon Kotsu, for the project that was commissioned by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s Natural Resources and Energy Agency. The project is slated to begin in January 2010 and is a direct result of the successful battery switch demonstration earlier this year in Yokohama.

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At the wheel will be tri-national Charles Burnett III, a multimillionaire born in England to a Canadian mother and American father. The car, which looks like an over sized rocket on wheels, is nicknamed the “fastest kettle in the world”.

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Today, Rentech, Inc. announced that it will be supplying renewable synthetic fuels to eight airlines for ground service equipment operations at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

This multi-year agreement will supply the airlines with up to 1.5 million gallons per year of renewable RenDiesel. The airline purchasers under the agreement with Aircraft Service International Group (ASIG) include Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, UPS Airlines and U.S. Airways. The airlines will begin using the RenDiesel in 2012, when the plant that will produce the fuel is scheduled to go into service.

“This commercial purchase contract among Rentech, ASIG and the airlines validates the growing demand for synthetic fuels produced by the Rentech Process,” said D. Hunt Ramsbottom, President and Chief Executive Officer of Rentech. “The low-emissions profile and near-zero carbon footprint of our renewable RenDiesel will guarantee that LAX ground service vehicles using this fuel will be among the cleanest and greenest of their kind.”

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From there, I convinced him to let me take a liquid propane injection (LPJ) F150, model year 2007, across the country (I’m technically on vacation). I know that propane is not a new technology -it’s been used as a fuel since the 1930s- but in America, it is rarely used in vehicles outside of fleets, but is gaining momentum and can now be used in applications such as lawn mowers.

Now here are the selling points from companies such as Roush that are producing LPJ vehicles:

• 97 percent of propane is produced in North America
• Reduces greenhouse gas emissions by up to 18 percent
• No loss of horsepower, torque or towing capacity
• Up to $5,000 federal tax credit available
• Tax credit of 50 cents per gallon (not always passed to the consumer)
• Significantly reduces operating costs

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British Manufacturer of electric vehicles (EVs), Modec, has announced a joint venture with U.S. based Navistar International Corporation, a $15 billion per year truck manufacturer. The announcement comes at an ideal time as earlier this month, President Barack Obama announced the largest grant ever to develop and bring to market electric vehicles. Obama made the announcement at the Navistar premises in Elkhart County, Indiana. As part of this funding, Navistar was awarded a grant of $39 million, which will be used to accelerate EV production.

“The all-electric delivery vehicle is a concrete example of what business and government can do when we work together,” said Daniel C. Ustian, Navistar Chairman, President and CEO. “The future is now with this electric vehicle. In fact, we already have interested customers, including some of the most respected names in the industry.”

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“Just as just-in-time parts delivery from Toyota revolutionized the auto industry, we believe the RASS system from CT&T has the potential to do the same by regionalizing manufacturing and sales and allowing us to offer EVs at an incredibly reasonable price point,” said Young Gi Lee, Chairman and company founder. “RASS will also speed up our national rollout so that we an stay on the leading edge of the EV market.”

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Three weeks ago, I wrote a story about the upcoming public debut of the Fisker Karma Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV). Well, it’s official. The Karma PHEV made its public driving debut over the weekend, just 19 months after being introduced as a concept car. Behind the wheel was Bernhard Koehler, co-founder and COO of Fisker Automotive. Fisker Automotive is just one of several companies, such as Bright Automotive, that have brought concept cars to market in less than two years - a feat I don’t believe any major automotive company in the states has ever accomplished.

“This demonstration represents a significant milestone for Fisker Automotive and PHEV technology,” said Fisker Automotive CEO Henrik Fisker. “The future of clean cars is bright.”

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The first major issue found was that there wasn’t enough space for men or women. I remember this being an issue in the first version of the Honda Insight as well. Very tall people couldn’t fit into the car. Like Honda, Aptera has gone about to fix this and using their Aptera formula - safety, then aerodynamics, then lightweight - they have increased the interior cabin by 10 percent.

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The study finds that hybrid sales have not replaced gas guzzling SUVS, but rather have replaced small, relatively fuel-efficient, conventional cars. Too bad considering SUVS, trucks and vans produce substantially greater carbon emissions.

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