Green Options » electric vehicles

U.S. Could Cut Fuel Use 50% by 2035

Andrew Williams — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 15:24:13 +0000

A new report by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Energy Initiative predicts that a 30-50% reduction in fuel consumption is possible in the US over the next 25-30 years. Initially, this will be achieved through improved gasoline and diesel engines and transmissions, gasoline hybrids and reductions in vehicle weight and drag. In the longer term, the study concludes that plug-in hybrids and, later, hydrogen fuel cells may begin to have a significant impact on fuel use and emissions.

The report, ‘On the Road in 2035: Reducing Transportation’s Petroleum Consumption and GHG Emissions,’ summarizes the results of an MIT research project that assessed the technology of vehicles and fuels that could be developed and commercialized during the next 25 years.

The research team assessed the effect of new vehicle and fuel technologies on the performance, cost and lifecycle emissions of individual vehicles. It then assessed the effects on the total on-the-road fleet of introducing these technologies using “plausible assumptions about how rapidly they could be developed, manufactured and sold to buyers to replace existing vehicles and fuels or to add to the existing fleet.”

Other key findings include:

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Peugeot to Showcase RC Hybrid Concept at Paris Motor Show

Andrew Williams — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 16:14:44 +0000

Peugeot has announced plans to debut an all-new performance hybrid concept at the Paris motor show in October. According to the French manufacturer, the car, known for now as the RC Clubs, (but whose final name will be confirmed at the show), will be a four-door, four seat GT Coupe with “highly innovative hybrid architecture.”

Peugeot claim that the car boasts 313bhp, with combined CO2 emissions of 109g/km. If true, this would make the RC Clubs easily the most powerful model in production by the French outfit, yet also one of the greenest. Moreover, when running at low speeds, the RC will be powered solely by an electric motor, meaning zero emissions at source, much the same as the Toyota Prius and the Honda Civic Hybrid.

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GM Releases Teaser Pictures of Chevrolet Volt

Andrew Williams — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 16:08:05 +0000

In the world of hybrid and electric cars, the upcoming commercial release of the Chevrolet Volt must surely rank as the most widely (and wildly) anticipated event. Now GM has ramped up the expectation levels another notch by releasing two teaser pictures providing us with a sneak-peak of its much vaunted plug-in hybrid model.

The release of the pictures, showing parts of the front and rear ends, will be seen in the industry as a signal that GM is still very much on track for the forecast 2010 launch of this pioneering car.

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Report Claims Every New Car Will Be a Hybrid By 2020

Andrew Williams — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 14:28:39 +0000

A major new report has claimed that by 2020 all new cars sold will be hybrids of one form or another, and that battery technology will be commonplace in most cars.

The report, ‘Automotive 2020: Clarity Beyond the Chaos,’ (.pdf), written by IBM’s Institute for Business Value, is based on interviews with 125 anonymous car industry executives across 15 different countries.

The findings make it clear that the car industry is currently undergoing a period of radical and fundamental change. According to one respondent, an executive with a European car company, “In the next ten years, we will experience more change than in the 50 years before.”

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Have Your Saturn Converted to an All-Electric Car

Nick Chambers — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 18:44:46 +0000

Starting later this year, Advanced Mechanical Products (AMP), a company based in Cincinnati, Ohio, will take your pre-existing or newly purchased Saturn Sky and convert it to an electric car.

Initially only available for the Sky, AMP will add other Saturn models as company growth allows.

The company is currently taking orders for a limited run of 300 “signature series” Sky conversions. The Sky EV will be able to go from 0-60 mph (0-97 kph) in 5.7 seconds, will have a top speed of 90 mph (145 kph), and can go 150 miles (240 kilometers) before needing a recharge.

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Diversifying America’s Transportation Portfolio: A “Green Deal”

Nick Chambers — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 14:49:30 +0000

Okay. Let me get this one out of the way: gas hasn’t been all bad. In fact, gas has allowed us to accomplish some pretty amazing things. To be clear, when I say “gas,” I’m using the term as an easy way to loosely refer to all liquid fuel products made from buried and fossilized hydrocarbon deposits.

Ooooh… I can hear the flamers’ keys clicking away furiously already. But, before you type that horribly thought out gunslinging response, hear me out.

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How to Build an Electric Car Charging Infrastructure: Smart Grids, Fast Charging and Universal Access

Nick Chambers — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 13:38:43 +0000

In a slew of announcements this week, a picture of what the future of plug-in vehicle charging might look like is starting to emerge.

The Problem:

There are 54 million garages for the 247 million registered cars in the US, meaning that the majority of cars are parked overnight in parking structures, parking lots or curbside.

As a result, most potential plug-in vehicle consumers do not have an adequate place to charge their vehicles. This problem is even more pronounced in urban areas like San Francisco, where only about 16% of cars are parked in garages overnight and the rest end up curbside or in parking lots.

Also, although the US power grid probably has enough overall capacity to supply energy to a nation of plug-in vehicles, it may not have the ability to charge them when they all plug-in and demand energy at the same time — say 6 pm every weekday.

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BMW Mini Electric Cars Available in U.S. From Summer 2009

Andrew Williams — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:00:03 +0000

BMW has announced plans to sell all-electric versions of its popular Mini car in the U.S., starting from summer 2009.

Speaking on Tuesday, Mini USA Vice President, Jim McDowell, said that the company is still deciding whether to sell or lease the vehicles. He remained tight-lipped over exactly where in the country the cars will be available, and declined to comment on other aspects, such as range, power, charging time and price.

He also said that speculation that Mini will sell 500 EVs in California next year was premature, since no exact plans have yet been finalised. Mini will apparently make a further announcement later this year, possibly to coincide with the Los Angeles Auto Show.

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DIY Electric Motorcycle Costs Less than $3,000

Benjamin Jones — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 06:28:01 +0000

Recently, a man named Ben Nelson put the finishing touches on his DIY electric motorcycle. His first electric vehicle project, Ben started by finding a motorcycle he liked with a blown engine and stripping it of all it’s old, gas-burning components. From there he did some research on electric vehicles, and was able to put together a great bike for a low price.

The bike certainly isn’t made for the race track, but can hit speeds of 45 mph and has a range of just over 20 miles. I just talked to Ben, as we are staying together this weekend while we attend HybridFest, and he’s definitely getting a lot of use out of the bike, as well as planning future modifications. I’m sure we’ll hear more about it in the future.

Though Ben still tinkers with the motorcycle, his current project is an electric Geo Metro. Much like its predecessor the ForkenSwift, Ben hopes that this car will be both useful and cheap, and has based the project around an old electric forklift.

If you’re in Madison, you can come check out the bike at HybridFest in the EcoModder booth all weekend.

Tesla Begins Popping Roadster EVs Off Production Line

Nick Chambers — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:11:49 +0000

While the kinks are worked out, Tesla is starting to move Roadsters off the production line slowly.

27 Roadsters are currently in various stages of assembly, and the company hopes to reach a monthly production rate of 100 cars by this December.

In a blog post on the company website, Tesla CEO Ze’ev Drori has reprinted the content of a note he sent to customers last Friday in which he states that Tesla has finally “broken the logjam” and already delivered 9 Roadsters to California.

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Necessity Breeds Electric Car Innovation on the Gaza Strip

Nick Chambers — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 17:27:30 +0000

When gas costs $50 per gallon, creative solutions seem to spring forth.

The Christian Science Monitor (CSM) has reported on two business partners in Gaza who have converted a 1994 Peugeot 205 into an electric car capable of going 110 miles on a single charge using 34 standard lead-acid car batteries.

After more than a year of being blockaded by the Isreali government, Gazans find themselves facing out-of-sight prices for fuel.

Instead of letting that get the better of them, civil engineers Waseem Khazendar and Fayaz Anan claim to have developed an electric motor that is different than other electric motors and allows for improved efficiency.

The converted Peugeot has 15 horsepower and can travel at a top speed of 60 mph. To most Americans this may seem underpowered, but on the 25 mile long and 7 mile wide Gaza strip this amount of power and speed is more than satisfactory — and in reality, it’s probably more than satisfactory for most Americans too.

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The Sustainable, Rechargable Electric Car: Japan Takes Up the Challenge

Carol Gulyas — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:36:02 +0000

We all love the idea of electric vehicles (EVs) rolling quietly down the road, emitting nothing. But our passion cools when we ask: where does that electricity come from and why can’t it come from renewable sources?

Japan, the island nation that likes to think ahead about energy and water conservation, is researching the infrastructure needed to achieve wide use of EVs. Mitsubishi and the Tokyo Institute of Technology are collaborating on developing charging stations powered by solar and wind. Mitsubishi will be using its incredibly appealing i-MiEV car in the infrastructure research project, which will tackle questions such as:

How to recharge during non-peak times, such as at night, so there is less impact on the environment
How to store off-peak energy so that it can be used to recharge EVs later
How to store energy from wind so that it is available when needed, and how to communicate that availability at a charging station.
How EVs will be used by actual drivers and how they might recharge them in solar-powered homes.

Field testing will include a concept home with solar PV panels and a charging post, from which the EV will be driven back and forth to the campus. A solar thermal dish using a Stirling engine will be used to generate power. Remote wind towers will be linked into the system as well.

Field testing started July 1 and will continue through March 31, 2010, under the auspices of the Advanced Energy Management (AEM) project promoted by the Integrated Research Institute of the Tokyo Institute of Technology. (Note to American car-makers: the Japanese are about to clean your clock again.)

Image Credit: TechOn , which also has good background on the story.

Coal-Power Can’t Stop Plug-in Hybrids from Beating Normal Cars

Who Might Win McCain’s Battery Competition? Part I: Firefly

Nick Chambers — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:28:34 +0000

Editor’s note: This post is a lead-in story to the Gas 2.0 interview with Mil Ovan, Senior Vice President and Co-founder of Firefly Energy.

Last week John McCain, the presumptive presidential nominee for the 2008 Republican ticket, suggested that a $300 million government-sponsored competition would be a good way to spur development of next generation battery technologies.

His comments generated debate in the blogosphere and around the United States. Meanwhile, Barack Obama, the presumptive presidential nominee for the Democratic ticket, called McCain’s proposal a gimmick suggesting that $300 million was not enough.

Regardless of my feelings about the proposed competition or the candidates themselves, it got me thinking about just who might win it if it were to become a reality. All that thinking led to this post, and, hopefully, to several others that will look at the most promising next generation battery technologies on the horizon.

This week I’ll start with Firefly Energy.

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Interview With Mil Ovan, SVP and Co-founder of Firefly Energy

Nick Chambers — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:28:04 +0000

Editor’s note: This interview is a companion piece to Part I of the Gas 2.0 series about who might win John McCain’s proposed $300 million dollar battery competition if it were to become reality.

Last week John McCain, the presumptive presidential nominee for the 2008 Republican ticket, generated debate by suggesting that a $300 million government- sponsored competition would be a good way to spur development of next generation battery technologies.

His comments got me thinking about just who might win such a competition it if it were to become reality.

Firefly Energy is one of the companies that made it to my short list. Founded in 2003, they have been working on reinvigorating old-hat lead-acid battery technology in such a way that it would become brand new and cutting edge once again.

Firefly’s innovation is that they’ve taken the heavy lead plates you’d find in a classic lead-acid battery and replaced them with a light carbon-graphite microcell foam that’s been impregnated with lead.

I recently had a chance chat with Mil Ovan, Senior Vice President and Co-founder of Firefly, about the company, their take on McCain’s competition, Firefly’s battery technology, environmental worries about lead, the Oasis battery, electric vehicles and the company’s plans for the future.

Mercedes, Smart to Sell Electric Cars in 2010

Andrew Williams — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 17:58:49 +0000

Over the last few months, several big car makers, including Nissan, Subaru and Mitsubishi, have announced plans to produce all-electric cars before the end of the decade, or soon after. Now Daimler has announced that it to plans to jump on the growing EV bandwagon, with plans to roll-out a Mercedes-Benz electric car in 2010. According to Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche, the company also plans to offer an electric Smart car in the same year.

At this stage, it’s unclear whether the cars will be based on an existing model, or on a completely new platform. If the former, it’s likely that the Mercedes EV will be based on either an A-Class or B-Class, as is the case with their fuel-cell prototype (pictured below).

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Th!nk Ox: An Electric Car With Style and Smarts

Nick Chambers — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 15:53:24 +0000

Norwegian company Th!nk is hoping to kick start the market for electric cars with its upcoming five-seater, the Ox.

Although an Ox is not what I’d call a particularly stylish or intelligent animal, don’t let the name confuse you — the Th!nk Ox could be about the most attractive and functional electric car ever designed. Before the debate starts over that claim, note the all-important “and” between the words attractive and functional.

Due out in 2010/2011, the Ox is about the size of a Toyota Prius. It can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 8.5 seconds, travel between 125 and 155 miles on a single charge, and its lithium-ion batteries can be charged to 80% capacity in less than an hour.

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Company Turns Familiar Gas Cars Into Electric Vehicles

Nick Chambers — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 16:23:18 +0000

How would you like to drive an all-electric Mini? An EV Smart Car? A PT Cruiser? With the help of Hybrid Technologies, you can. They’ve taken many familiar vehicles, ripped out their engines, and replaced them with lithium batteries and electric motors.

On the surface it makes great sense and it seems there would be a huge demand for this sort of thing. Electric cars are nearly maintenance free. They don’t need oil changes and they have 90% fewer parts than gas cars. Plus, these EVs look like the normal cars that are already popular with many folks.

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Second Annual Clean Air Car Show in South Pasadena: July 20th, 2008

Clayton B. Cornell — Tue, 20 May 2008 20:28:59 +0000

For anyone who’s interested and in the area, on July 20th the second annual Clean Air Car Show in South Pasadena will be highlighting auto manufacturers with hybrids and low emissions vehicles, along with the next generation of these and other alternative energy vehicles.

Since California is the largest market for hybrids and other low emissions vehicles, the show should be full of new models trying to capture this large Southern California market. For more information, see the press release:

(South Pasadena, CA) - The City of South Pasadena, in association with State Senator Gilbert Cedillo and Assemblymember Anthony Portantino, will once again present its free Clean-Air Car Show and Film Festival on Sunday, July 20, 2008. The success of last year’s inaugural event demonstrated that the public is eager to learn about the new technologies that can lead to cleaner, more healthful air for people and pets, help reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign oil, address growing concerns over global warming, and strengthen our national and economic security. Like last year, the show will be part of an effort to promote cleaner, more efficient alternatives to the gasoline-powered internal combustion engine by showcasing emerging alternatives like Hybrid, Plug-in Hybrid, Electric, Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), Ethanol, and Biodiesel vehicles.
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Sick of Gas?: Convert Your Car To Run On Electricity

Clayton B. Cornell — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 20:57:40 +0000

If you can’t buy the car you want, then build it.

Gregg Abott (aka Gadget) custom-converts cars for a living, but instead of tricking out cars to run on biodiesel or get better mileage, he’s hacking them to run on electricity. He’s the owner of Left Coast Electric, a Santa Monica based company with a simple philosophy:

“…if electric cars are going to make a difference, a lot of people have to drive them. They have to be made affordable.”

Which means these guys aren’t putting out $100K Tesla Roadsters, but are converting older models to have the same functionality:

So instead of building cars from the ground up, Gadget and his business partner, Roger Wilson, convert existing cars or shells of cars into electric vehicles by supplying or outfitting them with pre-configured kits loaded with everything an electric car needs except a new motor.

Admittedly, this isn’t for the faint of heart. Each kit costs $10,000 and requires the tenacity to dive into major auto electrical work. But if this type of conversion seems like a daunting task, Left Coast Electric will do the work for you—for $17,000 that is, including parts—which means that for the price of a Prius, your old car could be fully electric.

For $30,000, they’ll even convert your Hummer.

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Expo Features Hybrids, Electric Scooters, Valet Bike Parking

Shirley Siluk Gregory — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 21:07:00 +0000

Whether you’re shopping for an Earth-friendly ride or just interested in learning more about alternative transportation technology, consider checking out the second annual Alternative Car and Transportation Expo in California this week.

Now in its second year, the expo will run from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 19, and Saturday, Oct. 20. Featuring 100 different exhibitors, a slew of seminars, guest speakers and other attractions, the expo will be held at the Barker Center at the Santa Monica Air Center in Santa Monica, California. Admission is free.

Seminars during the expo will tackle such subjects as "Driving the Future: It’s Here Today," "The Likely Effects of Federal Climate Change Policy on the Development of Alternative Vehicles," "Getting Out of the Box, Moving With Our Feet," "Biodiesel Technology," "Hydrogen/Fuel Cell Technology" and "Monorails."

Expo attendees will also get a chance to take Sustainable Works’ Ecological Footprint Quiz, be able to use a free bicycle valet parking system, participate in a fuel cell "Ride and Drive" featuring the natural gas-powered 2008 Honda Civic GX NGV, and even buy one of the alternative-fuel vehicles on display during the show.

While some of the exhibitors are names that have already generated a lot of green buzz — like Segway — others might be less familiar, including:

EcoLimo , which aims to become "the premier provider of fuel-efficient, chauffeured ground transportation service to businesses all over the world." With offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., EcoLimo’s fleet includes the gasl/electric Lexus 400h hybrid, the biodiesel-fueled Mercedes E320 CDI and the compressed natural gas-powered Chevy Suburban.
Gorilla Vehicles , a California-based company that sells electric tractors, ATVs and a one-person, standup electric utility vehicle it calls the Chimp.
Oka Cars, a Russian maker of electric mini-cars, some of which are only for patrolling private parking lots and gates communities, others of which are licensed for travel on public streets.
SSI-Racing , the California-based developer of the 2 SSIC, which it calls "the world’s fastest extreme street electric car." Still in the development stage, the 2 SSIC is designed to be a electric-powered replica of an American muscle car. SSI’s Website says the vehicle is going to be "uber-geeked to the max and get crazy good gas mileage."
Vectrix, a 12-year-old U.S./European company that developed the Vectrix ZEV zero-emissions, electric-powered maxi-scooter. The company bills its invention as the "greenest ride in the world": with a built-in rechargeable battery, the Vectrix ZEV can go up to 62 miles per hour and can travel around 68 miles before needing a recharge. The scooter is already available through British Motor Car dealerships in California and retails for $11,000.