According to Pike Research, almost 200,000 plug-in electric cars and trucks equipped with vehicle-to-building (V2B) technology will be sold through 2020. The company said that from 2012 to 2020, investment in that space will total $279 million.

That’s a lot of money. V2B and its vehicle-to-grid (V2G) cousin (more…)

Those of us old enough to remember can recall the day when cars sold in the U.S. – even new cars — didn’t require seat belts. And the debate here was fierce; public safety advocates had their reports detailing how many lives would be saved each year, but the auto industry insisted that such legislation would ruin the industry: it would increase the cost of cars to an (more…)

A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids that are moldable. Plastics are typically organic polymers of high molecular mass, but they often contain other substances. How about mostly sulfur? A new chemical process can transform waste sulfur into a lightweight plastic that may improve batteries for (more…)

The worldwide buzz around the revolutionary aluminum-air battery of the Israeli-based technology company Phinergy is reaching new peaks. Even president Obama had the chance to view the technology during his visit to Israel.

Phinergy has created a car battery that powers an (more…)

Alysha Webb knows a great deal about the electric vehicles market and the role that China plays in it. I’ve met her at numerous auto shows, and I look forward to reading her always-informative blog posts.

But her current piece on Fisker Automotive and how the Chinese company Wanxiang’s buyout of bankrupt A123 (lithium ion battery manufacturer) might affect (more…)

Widespread adoption of electric vehicles will reduce greenhouse gas emissions significantly. Some are worried that the electric grid will be stressed leading to a decrease in its reliability. In related news today, Battelle and AeroVironment have a technology that will address this concern, and help EV’s charge when the grid is most able to support charging. (more…)

Frequent commenter and alternative fuels expert Ben Thorp responds to my piece on electric transportation the other day, noting:

Energy efficiency … may be the largest issue if saving fossil fuel or the global environment is a major concern. The US utility energy efficiency has been (more…)

There’s good news for those in the market for a new car who want to buy used and save money on fuel costs over the years. With the popularity of hybrids and electric vehicles increasing, used car shoppers are now able to find fuel-efficient cars at great prices, without having to go through the hassle of buying new. (more…)

A lot of people have been waiting to get behind the wheel of an electric vehicle since the 1980s. But what was once promised to consumers as an extremely economical way to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and help conserve the environment turned into another green movement pipe dream. While the talk about electric vehicles was full of hope, (more…)

This proposal involves a simple synergy of government incentives and distributed energy storage applications. But first, I’d like to briefly discuss some of the issues that this solution addresses.

The Issues

Climate Change (more…)