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Madison Gas and Electric Plans Electric Vehicle Charging Network
Original at greencarcongress/TrBK (Feedburner)
• Sat, Jun 27
By Mike Millikin Last year, MGE purchased one of the state’s first plug-in hybrid cars. This summer, the company will install vehicle-to-grid technology in a new Ford Escape plug-in hybrid, making it Smart Grid ready. This technology allows the vehicle to recharge at low power demand times and can also be...
GAO Report Concludes Plug-in Vehicles Offer Potential Benefits, but High Costs and Limited Information Could Hinder Integration into the Federal Fleet; Recommended Actions
Original at greencarcongress/TrBK (Feedburner)
• Thu, Jun 25
By Mike Millikin However, the GAO notes, “new nuclear plants and renewable energy sources can be controversial and expensive.” In addition, the report says, research suggests that for plug-ins to be cost-effective relative to gasoline vehicles the price of batteries must come down significantly and...
GAO Report Concludes Plug-in Vehicles Offer Potential Benefits, but High Costs and Limited Information Could Hinder Integration into the Federal Fleet; Recommended Actions
Original at Green Car Congress
• Thu, Jun 25
By Mike Millikin However, the GAO notes, “new nuclear plants and renewable energy sources can be controversial and expensive.” In addition, the report says, research suggests that for plug-ins to be cost-effective relative to gasoline vehicles the price of batteries must come down significantly and...
Magna Electronics and Semikron Form a 50/50 Joint Venture for Power Electronics for Hybrid and Electric Vehicles
Original at Green Car Congress
• Tue, Jun 23
By Mike Millikin In October 2008, Magna Electronics acquired BluWav Systems LLC (formerly Wavecrest Laboratories), a developer and supplier of controls, motors and energy-management systems for hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles and battery electric vehicles. (Earlier post.)
French Environment Agency Demonstrator Awards 57M to 11 Lower-CO2 Vehicle Projects
Original at Green Car Congress
• Sat, Jun 20
• 2 related articles
By Mike Millikin HYDOLE, proposed by PSA, Freescale and EDF, is working on a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle with an all-electric range of 50-70 km (31-43 miles). DHRT2 (Démonstrateur Hybride Rechargeable Toyota II): Toyota, EDF, Ecoles des Mines, and the INES are fielding a test fleet of plug-in hybri...
Related articles from greencarcongress/TrBK (Feedburner), greencarcongress/trbk (Feedburner).
Gates Flung Open for Hybrid Makers
Original at Korea Times
• Wed, Jun 17
South Korea 2 lithium-ion battery maker in the world, released a plug-in hybrid model called the F3DM earlier this year. The vehicle can go 100 kilometers on a single charge. Japan's Mitsubishi will become the first maker in the world to mass produce electric cars ...
Volvo Tests Plug-in Hybrids
Original at MIT Technology Review
• Tue, Jun 16
In making its announcement earlier this month that it will introduce a plug-in hybrid in Europe, Volvo joins other large automakers in plans for the alternative vehicles. Companies including Fisker, GM, and Toyota have said that they will begin selling ...
US Automakers Tackle Fuel Efficiency
Original at Forbes
• Tue, Jun 16
NY In the longer term, they may support a shift toward electrification with hybrid and plug-in hybrid cars, but broader policy action will be required. International comparison. A history of relatively low fuel-efficiency standards has contributed to the ...
Argonne Study Examines Impact of Real World Drive Cycles on Efficiency and Cost of Different PHEV Configurations
Original at Green Car Congress
• Sat, Jun 13
• 5 related articles
By Mike Millikin Compared to the HEV powertrain, payback is close to 8 years for low energy batteries and 11 years for larger batteries. Aymeric Rousseau et al. (2009) Impact of Real World Drive Cycles On PHEV Fuel Efficiency and Cost for Different Powertrain and Battery Characteristics (presented at AAB...
Related articles from greencarcongress/TrBK (Feedburner), greencarcongress/trbk (Feedburner), TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk and more.
Search Recent News: - Market Wire
Original at WM Experts
• Wed, Jun 10
Market Wire (press release) Electrovaya's mission is to accelerate clean transportation as a commercial reality with its advanced power systems for all classes of zero-emission electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. Electrovaya also offers battery-related ...
Toyota to Lease 200 PHEVs in Japan Starting at End of 2009, 500 Globally; Gen3 Prius Plus Li-ion Pack
Original at Green Car Congress
• Fri, Jun 5
By Mike Millikin Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) will begin leasing approximately 200 plug-in versions of its third-generation Prius (earlier post) equipped with lithium-ion battery packs in Japan starting at the end of this year. This will be the first time a lithium-ion battery... Toyota Motor Corpora...
May Auto Sales: Toyota Off 38%, GM Down 30%, Ford Off 21%
Original at Washington Post
• Tue, Jun 2
I too am waiting for the Cash for Clunkers. Since my current car gets 36 mpg, I'm looking at something that gets about 46 mpg or better, preferably a US-made Saturn plug-in hybrid. If none exists, I'll buy a plug-in version of the Toyota Prius 2. ...
Opinion: Chevy Volt Electric Plug In Car Movies Into Gear
Original at NewsOXY
• Mon, Jun 1
Volt is already one of the 10 best cars for 2010 with high consumer anticipation. However, it will not be available until 2011. The Volt is priced much higher as an electric plug in hybrid car. It is estimated at $39000 but the car price might be much ... Politico - MIT Technology Review
ANL Project on Actively Coupled Ultracapacitor-Battery System for PHEVs Attracting OEM Interest
Original at Green Car Congress
• Sat, May 23
By Mike Millikin Energy-optimized Li-ion batteries with thicker electrodes. A thick electrode in Li-ion cells could save up to $285/kWh, Bohn said. GM has verbally committed to apply this technology on the Chevy Volt energy storage system and to perform lab evaluations.
MAY: Top brass see national security threat
Original at Washington Times
• Fri, May 22
DC Better than electric and hybrid vehicles are plug-in hybrid vehicles that can run on electricity as well as a variety of liquid fuels. But because such a transformation could require a generation to complete, why not move much more quickly to ...
What You Need to Know About the New Car Emissions Standards
Original at Reuters
• Thu, May 21
hybrid, plug-in hybrid and all-electric vehicles vehicles. The EPA is also considering offering emission credits for clean technologies that don't register reductions in current measurement systems, such as solar panels on hybrids (a possible nod ...
Hyundai reveals latest version of new i20
Original at Mayo Advertiser
• Wed, May 20
Ireland Earlier this month Hyundai revealed its nnovative plug-in hybrid concept car at the Seoul Motor Show. The “Blue-Will” has exceptionally advanced technology crammed inside its striking bodyshell. Recycled PET soft drink bottles were used to make the ...
Argonne Lifecycle Analysis Calculates WTW Petroleum Energy Use and GHG Emissions for PHEVs Fueled With Petroleum, E85 and Hydrogen
Original at Green Car Congress
• Sat, May 16
By Mike Millikin Compared to an internal combustion vehicle fueled with gasoline, PHEVs that employed petroleum fuels (gasoline and diesel) offered a 40-60% reduction in petroleum energy use and a 30-60% reduction in GHG emissions. PHEVs fueled by E85 offered a 70-90% reduction in petroleum energy us...
Toyota races GM to launch plug-in hybrid, will begin leasing in ...
Original at International Business Times
• Thu, May 14
Earlier this year, Toyota pushed forward the introduction of its plug-in hybrid electric vehicle for 2009, while General Motors plug-in Chevrolet Volt - though announced earlier- will be introduced in late 2010. Toyota's plug-in hybrid will be built in ...
SAE Hybrid Standards Committee: Works In Progress For 2009
Original at Green Car Congress
• Fri, Apr 24
By Mike Millikin Active standards work. Click to enlarge.During the SAE 2009 World Congress in Detroit, Gary Kissel of General Motors presented an update of hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and electric vehicle standards being revised or developed by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Hybrid Standards...
Siemens Highlights Prototypes of New Drive Systems for Electric Cars
Original at Green Car Congress
• Fri, Mar 13
By Mike Millikin Within the scope of this research, Siemens Corporate Technology has developed an integrated system consisting of a motor/generator, power electronics and an interface with a battery connection for electrically-powered cars.
Think Planning US Factory; Initial Production in 2010
Original at Green Car Congress
• Thu, Mar 12
By Mike Millikin —Richard Canny, Think CEO Think’s subsidiary, Think North America, plans to apply for low-interest loans from the US Department of Energy’s $25-billion Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing (ATVMIP) program. Think is also collaborating closely with battery makers Ener1, Inc....
Opinion: Does GM's Volt Make Sense?
Original at MIT Technology Review
• Wed, Mar 4
By Kevin Bullis GM is defending its design for the Volt plug-in hybrid vehicle after a study out of Carnegie Mellon University slammed the design, saying that it's not economical. (Plug-ins are hybrids with batteries that can be recharged by plugging ...
Study Concludes That Smaller Capacity PHEVs Would Be a Robust Option for Minimizing Fuel Consumption, Cost and GHG Emissions
Original at Green Car Congress
• Thu, Feb 26
By Mike Millikin When charged frequently (every 20 miles or less), using average US electricity, small capacity (i.e., lower all-electric range) plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) are less expensive operationally and release fewer greenhouse gases (GHGs) than hybrid-electric (HEVs) or conv...
Stimulus Bill Provides Major Increase in Plug-in Vehicle Purchase Credit Program
Original at Green Car Congress
• Fri, Feb 13
By Mike Millikin Tax Credits for Plug-ins A 10% credit, up to a maximum of $4,000, for the cost of converting any motor vehicle into a qualified PHEV. Minimum capacity of a qualified battery is 4 kWh. Plug-in conversions made after 31 December 2011 are not eligible.
Ford Launching Transit Connect in US Starting This Summer; Battery-Electric Version Due in 2010
Original at Green Car Congress
• Mon, Feb 9
By Mike Millikin Battery Electric Transit Connect. At the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January, Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford unveiled an accelerated plan to bring next-generation hybrid-electric (HEV); a plug-in hybrid electric (PHEV); and battery-electric (BEV) veh...
2010 Ford Transit Connect Officially First Ford Electric Vehicle
Original at Jalopnik
• Sun, Feb 8
By Ben Wojdyla Transit Connect with battery electric power is the initial offering in Ford's aggressive new electric vehicle plan to bring pure battery-powered vehicles, hybrids and plug-in hybrids to market. To start, during the next four years, Ford will introduce in North America: The Transit Co...
Chrysler Introduces New 200C EV Concept, New Jeep EV Concept and Update on Three Earlier EV Concepts; Production to Begin in 2010
Original at Green Car Congress
• Mon, Jan 12
By Mike Millikin The Chrysler 200C EV. Click to enlarge. Chrysler unveiled the 200C EV Concept, the newest Chrysler ENVI electric-drive vehicle , at the North American International Auto Show. The 200C EV, based on a shortened version of Chrysler’s rear-wheel-drive platform, features... The Chrysler 200C...
GM CEO Rolling Up Capitol Hill In a Chevy Volt
Original at Wired News
• Fri, Dec 12
By Chuck Squatriglia See Also: The Chevy Volt Will Save GM (And Get the Girl) The Volt Isn't a Prius. It Might Even Be Better. Exclusive: Inside the Design Process of the Volt 34,520 People and Counting Want a Volt Bob Lutz: Volt Is the U.S. Car Industry's Moon Shot
Study Finds That Without a Price on Carbon, Regular Hybrids Can Lower Lifecycle CO2 Emissions As Effectively as Plug-in Hybrids, and At Lower Cost
Original at Green Car Congress
• Thu, Dec 11
By Mike Millikin If a $40-per-ton CO2 price is present, then a 56% plug-in hybrid penetration results in an additional 132 TWh of coal generation, 75 TWh of nuclear, 14 TWh of wood biomass, and only 5 TWh of natural gas generation by 2030. Both coal and natural gas generation are lower with a $40-per-ton CO2 p...
Schools study hybrid buses
Original at Albany Times Union
• Fri, Dec 5
Both hybrid buses look like conventional diesels, save for various stickers on the side boasting "Hybrid-Electric" and the logos of the project partners. A yellow tab on the plug-in hybrid that houses the outlet is the only visible give-away that the bus is different.
Patch: VW launches second-generation Golf VI TwinDrive plug-in hybrid
Original at Leftlane
• Wed, Nov 26
By dejz28 Volkswagen first launched its Golf TwinDrive plug-in hybrid in July 2008 using the company’s fifth-generation Golf as the basis, but, now that the sixth-generation Golf has been launched, VW has released an updated version TwinDrive prototype. The new Golf TwinDrive uses the Golf VI a...
Opinion: James Warren: This Week in Magazines: Tone Deaf Republicans, Rock Stars, and Subprime Wolves
Original at Huffington Post
• Sun, Nov 23
By James Warren unclear whether the GOP will convince itself that the panacea is a plug-in hybrid of a politician, perhaps one to actually entice green-leaning youthful consumers, as GM believes will the case with a plug-in hybrid of a car, the Volt, if the company survives until the
$750 billion bailout contains a gift to GM
Original at Consumer Reports
• Wed, Oct 22
By info.rss@cro.consumer.org (Consumer Reports) General Motors had been lobbying Congress for higher tax credits on the Volt, claiming that its large, advanced battery pack would push the price of the car beyond the reach of average consumers. In June, General Motors Vice Chairman of Global Product Development Bob Lutz said the Volt w...
As Oil Prices Fall, Push For Alternative Energy May Ease
Original at Free Internet Press
• Tue, Oct 21
Just four months ago, a conference here on electric cars drew four times as many people as expected. District fire marshals ordered some of the crowd to leave, and the atmosphere was more like that of a rock concert than an energy conference. A brief film depicted an electric car owner drivin...
Replacement costs drop for hybrid batteries
Original at Consumer Reports
• Fri, Oct 17
By info.rss@cro.consumer.org (Consumer Reports) The next generation of advanced batteries are called lithium-ion batteries, like the one we had installed in the plug-in Prius we are testing. Lithium Ion batteries are smaller and lighter for the same energy storage capacity and so lend themselves better to full electric and plug-in hy...
Taking charge: Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid
Original at Consumer Reports
• Wed, Oct 8
By info.rss@cro.consumer.org (Consumer Reports) Most plug-in hybrids are rated according to how many miles they can drive on electric power without using the gas engine. Some future models, such as the Chevrolet Volt and the Fisker Karma, can drive up to 40 miles (according to the manufacturers) without ever using the gas engine. Chrysle...
Hybrid Honda Insight, Hybrid Motorcycle Lead Green Push
Original at Huffington Post
• Wed, Oct 1
By The Huffington Post News Editors The Times didn't offer a lot of detail but says Honda will offer the hybrids in displacements ranging from 50 cc to 1,000 cc, and the gas-electric drivetrain will offer a 50 percent improvement in fuel economy. Sharing components with Honda's hybrid cars will cut down on production costs. M...
Podcast: GM.S Maximum Voltage
Original at BusinessWeek
• Mon, Apr 7
GM engineers work 'round the clock to bring their plug-in hybrid to market. Who paid for the Toyota Prius? Chris Basso of Carfax tells us what to look out for in today's used car market
Podcast: Voting for Bluetec
Original at BusinessWeek
• Mon, Mar 31
Mercedes makes a bold political statement. What is it like to get 120 mpg? Greg Frenette, Chief Engineer for the Ford Escape Plug-In Hybrid will tell us all about it
Podcast: Lutz's Easter Egg
Original at BusinessWeek
• Sun, Nov 25
GM's Bob Lutz promises a working prototype of the Volt plug-in hybrid by Easter. What will Chrysler have at the Detroit auto show? Nissan is trying to figure out why the new Sentra is not selling. The $2,500 car will be inexpensive and clean
Automobile futures: Hybrids vs. plug-ins
Original at Blogging Stocks
• Thu, Jul 26
By Kevin Shult Filed under: Consumer experience, Competitive strategy, DaimlerChrysler (DCX), Ford Motor (F), General Motors (GM), Toyota Motor Corp. (TM)Toyota Motors (NYSE: TM) is launching the first U.S. tests of its plug-in hybrid technology in two converted Prius hybrids. The test cars will run...
Before the bell 7-25-07: AAPL, BA, DCX, TM, GE
Original at Blogging Stocks
• Wed, Jul 25
By Melly Alazraki Less than a month after Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) announced a partnership with power utility Southern California Edison to test rechargeable hybrid vehicles,Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) now says it has developed a plug-in hybrid vehicle for public road tests in Japan and plans tests for t...
Podcast: Benetech, Hybrid Cars & TV Buyer's Guide - IEEE Spectrum Radio
Original at IT Conversations
• Tue, Jul 24
Most start-ups aim to make a profit. Not Benetech. On this edition of IEEE Spectrum Radio, find out what makes Benetech, and its CEO so special. Also, consider the immense technological challenge posed by plug-in hybrid vehicles. Do batteries exist that can handle their demands? For those l...
Driving the fuel-cell cars of tomorrow
Original at Consumer Reports
• Tue, Jun 12
By info.rss@cro.consumer.org (Consumer Reports) Automakers are taking differing approaches to reducing petroleum use, from building cars that run on E85 ethanol, to plug-in hybrid vehicles (short-range electric vehicles with a gas engine for longer trips), to fuel-cell electric vehicles that run on hydrogen produced from natura...
The Plug-In Hybrid Comes to Europe
Original at Green Car Congress
• Sun, Jun 3
By Mike Millikin The conference included several presentations on plug-in hybrids by researchers from around the world, as well as a plug-in hybrid roundtable hosted by Ron Gremban of CalCars, who was the technical lead for the first PHEV conversion of a Toyota Prius in 2004.
GE Introduces Hybrid Locomotive Prototype to Public
Original at Green Car Congress
• Sun, May 27
By Mike Millikin The hybrid battery system for a locomotive thus needs to provide both high energy and high power. GE’s hybrid prototype has a power/energy (P/E) ratio of about 2. By contrast, the Camry hybrid has a P/E ratio of 19, the GE/Orion V prototype hybrid transit bus a P/E ratio of about 5, and the Spri...
Podcast: Ferrari Anniversary Convoy
Original at BusinessWeek
• Mon, Apr 2
Hyundai gets ready for the luxury rear-drive market with its Genesis concept, just one of the many cars soon to be revealed at the New York International Auto Show. A big-dollar Ferrari meets a concrete barrier. Was it a case of really bad driving or an expensive ploy to promote a movie? And it...
Podcast: LA Kicks Off Auto Show Season
Original at BusinessWeek
• Sun, Dec 3
Los Angles kicks off this seasons auto show circuit. We have all the stories, product introductions and new technology. Who killed the electric car? The Answer, no one. Two manufacturers show electrics at the L.A. Show GM Hybrid future. The General announces big plans for hybrid models across...
Podcast: The 20,000-Mile Ferrari Torture Test
Original at BusinessWeek
• Sun, Nov 19
The new Toyota Tundra starts rolling off the assembly line deep in the heart of Truck Country Texas. What new technology makes this plant one of the most efficient ever? Ford announces that the Edge Crossover is delayed and also unveils a plan to boost the morale of its employees; we'll have...