Alternative Fuels (Biofuels)
Alternative Fuels (non-Biofuels)
- The National Hydrogen Road Tour, featuring hydrogen-powered vehicles from automakers including VW, BMW, Honda, Toyota, and GM, kicked off on August 11th. The ten-model Road Tour will last for two weeks, with the vehicles traveling from Maine to California. Link: http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/08/12/national-hydrogen-road-tour-kicks-off-in-portland-me/
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology scientists, in collaboration with Monash University in Australia, have developed new, lower-cost methods for electrolyzing hydrogen using low-cost, non-precious metals as catalysts. The new catalysts are cobalt and phosphate costs $2.25/ounce and $0.05/ounce respectively, compared to $1,700-$2,000/ounce for precious metals like platinum. Researchers also developed a low cost conducting polymer electrode material, for $57/ounce, that is effective as platinum for the fuel cells that will ultimately use the hydrogen to produce power, Link: http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/08/06/mit-researchers-develop-inexpensive-new-catalyst-for-hydrogen-pr/.
- The first hydrogen station in Missouri opens at the Missouri University of Science and Technology, where hydrogen will be studied for its use as a transportation fuel. Link: http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080819005907&newsLang=en
Hybrid
EVs
Efficiency / Fuel Efficiency
- Ford and Pro Performance Group demonstrate numerous fuel-saving driving tips with volunteer drivers. By driving at lower speeds (55 mph instead of 65 mph), keeping at a constant engine speed (rpm), properly inflating tires, among other simple changes, drivers were able to improve their fuel economy between 6 and 50 percent. The average overall improvement was 24 percent. Link: http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/08/28/fords-got-tips-that-can-reduce-fuel-use-by-24-percent/
Diesel
| Make |
Model |
Credit Amount |
| Volkswagen |
2009 Jetta-2.0L TDI Sedan (manual and automatic ) |
$1,300 |
| Volkswagen |
2009 Sportwagen -2.0L TDI (manual and automatic) |
$1,300 |
| Mercedes-Benz |
GL320 BLUE TEC |
$1,800 |
| Mercedes-Benz |
R320 BLUE TEC |
$1,550 |
| Mercedes-Benz |
ML320 BLUE TEC |
$900 |
Legislation
- The EPA has rejected a request from Texas to temporarily reduce the requirements for ethanol blending in gasoline, which the state hoped would help lower corn prices. Refer to the story on the main page of this newsletter.
- Congressmen Rep. Herseth Sandlin (D-SD) and Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL) introduced a bill that would increase incentives available for E85 fueling stations from 30% up to 50% of the station’s total cost, as well as increase the maximum incentive from $30,000 to $100,000. The incentives would also apply to biodiesel stations. Link: http://hersethsandlin.house.gov/press/2008/press_080108_renewables.htm
- The California Senate, in a move similar to one occurring in the State of Maryland, has enacted legislation to impose minimum noise requirements for hybrid vehicles.
Miscellaneous
- Ultra Motor will begin selling their A2B electric 2-wheeler across the U.S. beginning in September. The lithium-battery-powered bicycle can travel about 20 miles at 20 mph on a single charge, and will retail for approximately $2,600. A second battery pack can be added to double its range. Link: http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/08/13/ultra-motor-2-bring-a2b-2-usa/
- Vectrix decreased prices of their electric scooters at the beginning of this year, from over $12,000 down to $8,800-$9,400, resulting in significantly increased sales figures and U.S. dealership locations. Link: http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/green/articles/2008/07/25/quite_the_sales_plug/
- A new report from the Australian National University found that natural forests capture significantly more CO2 than young, artificially planted forests covering the same area. This complicates findings from an earlier report on global warming measures released by the IPCC. Link: http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/08/09/australian-study-shows-that-planted-trees-capture-less-co-sub-2/
- A study from the Insurance Research Council (IRC) found that injury claims payments averaged 14.3 percent higher for lighter-weight vehicles compared to heavy vehicles. These higher insurance costs could have implications on the cost-effectiveness of fuel-efficient cars. Link: http://www.ircweb.org/News/IRCGasPrices082608.pdf
- For the first time in thirty years, Toyota has announced a mid-model-year price adjustment across its line of vehicles, averaging a 3% increase for hybrid-electric models and a 2% increase for conventional models, mostly due to rising raw material costs. Link: http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080825/AUTO01/808250398/1148/rss25
- Ford is investing significant amounts of money and research efforts into vehicle-to-infrastructure, or “Smart Intersections,” technology to improve fuel efficiency in various common traffic scenarios. Link: http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=28611
Medium- and Heavy Duty Vehicles
- A recently released study from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory found that transit buses running on B20 showed slightly lower overall fuel efficiency (by 1.7%) than buses running on ULSD, which is expected due to biodiesel’s slightly lower energy content compared to ULSD. Reliability and maintenance costs were found to be similar between the two fuels. The study will be extended for an additional year. Link: http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy08osti/43486.pdf
- Volvo Buses in Europe will launch its first hybrid-electric bus at the IAA bus and truck show in Germany in September. The hybrid-electric 12m low-floor Volvo 7700 bus will result in fuel savings of up to 30% over conventional diesel models. Link: http://www.volvo.com/bus/global/en-gb/newsmedia/press+releases/NewsItemPage.htm?ItemId=47094&sl=en-gb
- Mercedes to unveil its Econic NGT Hybrid truck concept vehicle, which utilizes hybrid-electric CNG fueled powertrain architecture, at the IAA bus and truck show in Hannover, Germany in September.
- Canadian-based Bombardier announces two contracts for hybrid diesel locomotives totaling upwards of $500 million, one being for the New Jersey Transit Corporation. Link: http://www.bombardier.com/en/corporate/media-centre/press-releases/details?docID=0901260d80040301
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