Green Options

Emergency responders have known the dangers of gasoline for a long time: it is a toxic substance with explosive flammability.

Now,  hybrid vehicles are posing new challenges - they combine high voltage wires with tanks full of gasoline.

Recently, the British government announced that it planned to buy a number of electric cars and vans for a new pilot scheme to see how such vehicles cope on Britain’s roads. The trials will take place in three cities, at a cost of £100m.

Ener1 announced on October 16th that it has acquired South Korea’s third largest lithium-ion battery cell producer, Enertech International. Ener1 is an American company that manufactures compact, high performance lithium-ion batteries designed to power hybrid and electric vehicles.

Ener1 CEO Charles Gassenheimer:

Enertech is one of the largest lithium-ion battery producers in Korea, behind only LG Chemical and Samsung. This acquisition gives us immediate scale and volume manufacturing ability, as well as an important beachhead for supplying Asian car makers [sic] that plan to use lithium-ion technology in their electric drive vehicles.

Toyota is donating 5 hybrid cars and $500,000 to help support Grand Canyon National Park’s educational programs and safety efforts. The donation is part of a larger initiative that the company is sponsoring to help support the National Park Service. In total, Toyota will donate $5 million and 21 hybrid vehicles to help support five different parks.

Mazda’s newest hydrogen rotary engine will take to public roads in Japan for testing this year.  The company says the vehicle is the world’s first hydrogen hybrid car with a dual-fuel system, enabling the use of either hydrogen or gasoline.

The Japanese government has given Mazda Motor Corporation permission to test the Mazda Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid minivan on public roads in that country.  The next step will be commercial leasing in Japan during this fiscal year.