Trucking is among the most important, yet polluting parts of our environment. Everything everywhere was delivered by a truck, unless you live on a farm. A necessary evil, if you will. Getting truckers on board with the green movement will play an integral part in the widespread acceptance of alternative fuel vehicles. To do that, you’ve got to hit them in the wallet.
Towards that end, last week Vision Industries, with the help of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, unveiled a short haul, hydrogen-powered truck dubbed the Tyrano.
By Nick Chambers •
October 5, 2009
In preparation for the steadily approaching launch of their first mass-market electric car—the LEAF—Nissan has produced a series of videos highlighting different aspects of their approach to developing electric car technology.
By Chris Milton •
September 23, 2009
The moment sustainable motoring has waited for has finally arrived: a full range of all-electric cars.
Renault has launched the world’s first range of purely electric cars at the IAA Frankfurt Motor Show 2009. Designed to cater for everyone from a single traveller to local commerce, via 2.5 kids family cars, it’s a revolution in three important ways:
- the range is designed from scratch as a complete set of electric cars — not gas-fueled cars with an electric motor retro-fitted to give the manufacturer green kudos;
- the cars will be priced without an “electric premium,” allowing them to compete alongside gas-based engines on a like-for-like basis for the first time ever;
- most importantly, they’re real. Presented as concept cars, the Kangoo ZE is already in an advanced prototype stage, and I was lucky enough to drive it at Frankfurt.
By Nick Chambers •
August 2, 2009
Nissan’s EV revolution now has a face — you may call it LEAF. Available for purchase in late 2010.
You’ve got to hand it to Nissan: they’ve been burning the midnight oil with their EV information blitz recently. I’m sure there are many blurry eyed and bedazzled marketing and engineering folks behind the Nissan EV scenes right now who are starting to wonder if they get paid enough.
By Lisa Wojnovich •
June 24, 2009
Three more car companies received sizeable loans from the federal government yesterday, but don’t worry; it’s not another bailout. In fact, the$8 billion is just the start of a larger $25 billion project called the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program (ATVM for short) that was thought up back in 2007 and funded by Congress in late 2008 during the Bush administration. The project, overseen by the Department of Energy, is a federal grant and loan initiative bent on providing [...]
NASA’s new ingeneous design calls for using large plastic bags, made of forward-osmosis membranes, and filled with sewage for offshore harvesting of algae for bio-fuel. Don’t expect any protests against this “offshore” oil-generation!
The algae! Yes – the same slimy brown-green ‘plant’ that makes a pond or a lake look yucky – is the creating a great buzz as the most promising source of alternative energy. And now nanotechnology is being leveraged to add some more zing to the promise!
By Dave Tyler •
February 5, 2009
Malta is becoming the first smart grid island. Now comes an architectural plan to turn a whole Asian island into a zero-emissions eco-resort. Call it one massive brownfield reclamation project.
The Danish architecture firm Bjarke Ingels Group, or BIG, wants to turn Azerbaijan’s Zira Island into a resort and residential complex that would produce the same amount of energy it consumes. Some towns have looked to become carbon neutral and eco-cities are under construction. BIG’s idea seems to match any of those ambitions.
By Andrew Williams •
September 22, 2008
Chrysler has announced that it is working on an electric powered version of its Voyager MPV, which could be put into commercial production as early as 2010. The model will most likely be based on the ecoVoyager concept (pictured), first seen at this years Detroit Motor Show. Details are limited at this stage, but it seems that the zero-emission car will have a 300-mile range - pretty impressive for an MPV capable of carrying an entire family and their luggage.
The company has already stated its intentions not to be left behind the competition when it comes to green and fuel efficient vehicle technologies. The electric MPV is the first in a series of three possible production electric cars that will be viewed by dealers later this month, with the one that’s best received going into production first.
