Students at Fundação Educacional Inaciana (FEI) in Brazil have developed two car prototypes whose goal is to be light and economical. One of them is made of aluminium, but the one that really caught our attention is a vehicle that can run 300 miles on one liter of gasoline.

The model is called X-16. It is made with 100% carbon, weighs only 38kg and can reach 28 miles per hour.

As experimental prototypes, they are not fit for the mass production market. But that’s not the point, said FEI’s mechanical engineering teacher, Ricardo Bock. “What we want is to train engineers who are different and who have a social awareness.”

Article by Antonio Pasolini, a Brazilian writer and video art curator based in London, UK. He holds a BA in journalism and an MA in film and television.

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The advanced battery market is about to get much busier thanks to demand from electric vehicles, and an innovative program to capture energy from subway cars could cause a further surge. The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) won a federal grant to install an energy storage system that can capture regenerative braking energy when the subway approaches a station.

SEPTA will use the energy storage system, for which batteries similar to those used in EVs are a leading contender, to enhance the quality of power at the company’s substation in the Kensington section of Philadelphia. Some of the excess energy will be used for other purposes at the substation, while other energy will be stored and made available to the wholesale power market for grid services such as frequency regulation.

The $900,000 project is expected to have a three-year payback, and if successful could be spread to most of SEPTA’s 38 subway substations. Most of the substations were built in the 1930’s and have ample room for batteries, according to SEPTA’s Erik Johanson. He said that subway cars on the Broad Street and Frankford-Market lines have the capability to capture energy from regenerative braking.

Viridity Energy of Conshohocken will manage the project and has developed software that calculates how energy assets can be optimized to participate in grid services.

Before long, SEPTA could join a growing number of small companies looking to leverage batteries in the power market. According to Ken Huber of PJM, a regional transmission organization (RTO) operating in several eastern states, more than 40 megawatts of batteries are “in the queue” for grid applications in his company’s area.

Cumulative Installation of Lithium Ion Batteries in North America for Ancilliary Services, 2010-2015

Frequency regulation is an appropriate market for lithium ion batteries because only a small amount of energy is taken out at a time. This minimizes the impact on battery life when compared to applications that nearly fully charge or discharge a battery, such as powering a vehicle or to store wind energy produced off-peak for later use.

Huber said that a two-year trial using batteries from Altair Nanotechnologies for frequency regulation has shown less than a one percent reduction in the capacity of the batteries.

Vehicle batteries are currently being used for frequency regulation services in a project developed by the University of Delaware. Vehicle fleets maintained by organizations such as the postal service and delivery vehicles are expected to be the first participants making lithium ion batteries available for ancillary services. A successful trial in the Philadelphia subway could prompt other mass transit operators to adopt the technology to generate revenue.

Article appearing courtesy Matter Network.

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There has been some interesting news on the electric motorcycle front recently. Last week, electric motorcycle start-up, Brammo, announced a new model, the Enertia Plus. The “Plus” represents another 40 miles of range, giving the motorcycle a total of an 80 mile range thanks to a battery pack that goes from 3 kWh to 6 kWh in the Enertia Plus. According to Brammo, they do this without adding any weight to vehicle, which may be the most interesting technical accomplishment. Brammo now has a line of three models, the Enertia, Enertia Plus, and Empulse (a 100+mph and 100 mile range bike).

A few days before Brammo’s announcement, Zongshen announced they will field the first manufacturer team for the TTXGP, the electric motorcycle grand prix circuit. Many in the U.S. may not be familiar with Zongshen, but they are one of the largest motorcycle manufacturers in the world. They currently manufacture motorcycles and scooters both under their own brand, as well as for Piaggio and Harley Davidson. Zongshen has a division in America and is working on their own dealer network. In addition to their own electric motorcycle, they have been trying to become a major stakeholder in Mission Motors, an electric motorcycle start-up from California.

The distribution of electric motorcycles continues to be a major challenge. Zongshen’s electric motorcycle is not yet available in the U.S. However, if they can get a dealer network established, it’s not hard to believe that they will get the 2011 electric motorcycle. Brammo is working with selected Best Buy stores to act as dealers. Other brands, such as Zero Motorcycles, are working with independent dealers. Distribution aside, there is the question of demand as well. According to webBikeWorld, sales of new traditional gas powered motorcycles have fallen about 15 percent in the first half of 2010 (240,260 vehicles sold in Q1 and Q2) compared to the first half of 2009. With sales falling for traditional motorcycles, there is no evidence that electric motorcycles have made significant gains. Early this year Pike Research estimated that the U.S. market for electric motorcycles will be about 3,600 units in 2011. These sales will likely be those who are eager for environmental transportation and are motorcycle enthusiasts.

With such a small market, the seven to eight different manufacturers of e-motorcycles may find that there is not enough demand to go around. This raises difficult questions for the e-motorcycle industry: As recharging infrastructure grows for electric cars in the next couple years, will demand for electric motorcycles follow? Will technology catch up such that electric motorcycles will be competitively shopped with gas powered bikes? (We aren’t there at the moment.) The bottom line is whether manufacturers that want a piece of the small U.S. e-motorcycle market are either profitable enough or specialized enough to be sustained over the next several years until demand grows to meet the growing supply.

As an analyst for Pike Research, Dave Hurst studies emerging markets in electric transportation.

Article appearing courtesy Matter Network.

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NASA, U.S. Navy and university researchers have successfully demonstrated the first robotic underwater vehicle to be powered entirely by natural, renewable, ocean thermal energy. Though not quite a perpetual motion machine it is close to that.

The Sounding Oceanographic Lagrangrian Observer Thermal RECharging (SOLO-TREC) autonomous underwater vehicle uses a novel thermal recharging engine powered by the natural temperature differences found at different ocean depths.

Scalable for use on most robotic oceanographic vehicles, this technology breakthrough could usher in a new generation of autonomous underwater vehicles capable of virtually indefinite ocean monitoring for climate and marine animal studies, exploration and surveillance.

Article by Andy Soos appearing courtesy ENN

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I like to ride my bike and take public transportation when I can. But I still rely on the car to move me around a few days every week. That said, developments in cars and personal transportation are things I take both personal and professional interest in.

So after Ford loaned a new 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid to me and Gas 2.0 editor Nick Chambers for an extended test drive – that we would take on a trip to and from a multi-day music festival in Southern California we were both covering — I decided to share my thoughts about why Ford’s first foray into the hybrid sedan market is making a big splash:  Partly because of good business timing;  but also because they built a great car.

The backstory

It’s no big secret that the American auto industry has been in a bit of a funk in recent years. While gas prices were still on the rise, the industry continued to make bigger and bigger vehicles claiming the market was demanding it. The market may have been demanding it, but demand was only as stable as the price of gasoline, and as we saw in 2007 and 2008, the price of gas is not always stable.

Unlike General Motors, which had to turn to the United States Government for money to keep it afloat, Ford kept its head above water. While GM was building cars and trucks with “Flex Fuel” engines, making slow progress on the Chevy Volt and closing dealerships across the U.S., Ford was tightening its focus and forging a new strategy for the company:  One that still made Flex Fuel vehicles to run on cheap American ethanol, but also one that looked to smaller and more fuel-efficient vehicles, including hybrids.

In short, Americans suddenly began demanding more efficient vehicles and Ford was in a better position to deliver.

Evidence of the transition from SUVs to smaller, more efficient vehicles can be found by looking at the makes of the cars traded-in during the ‘Cash for Clunkers’ program. Six of the top ten cars traded in were big Ford SUVs, trucks and minivans (Explorer, F-150, Windstar). While many of those taking advantage of the program went on to buy Toyotas and Hondas, the Ford Focus was the third most popular vehicle purchased after the trade-in and the mid-size SUV, Ford Escape, was eigth. Absent from the list was a competitor to the Toyota Prius, but Ford hopes to change off that with the Fusion Hybrid.

Thanks to robust growth figures, the Fusion is now leading the charge of Ford’s boost in sales in the Fall of 2009. The company last week reported $1 billion in net profits for the 3rd quarter of 2009, an increase of almost $4 billion dollars over last year’s numbers. While these numbers are certainly good for the company–and Ford has thus far been successful at branding the new Fusion Hybrid as “green”–I wanted to see if that growth could be at all explained by an authentic step in an environmentally-friendly direction for the company.

The review

At first blush, the Fusion is a good looking and comfortable vehicle with a cool user interface and a comfortable ride. The Fusion isn’t cheap. Starting at $27,625, it costs about five thousand bucks more than a brand 3rd Generation Toyota Prius. And at 41 miles per gallon (hwy), it won’t get the mileage that the 51-mpg Prius will. But in terms of comfort, features, and its larger size, the Fusion is really more like a Toyota Camry than a Prius.

The first thing that I noticed when I got behind the wheel was that the Fusion’s user interface has a lot going on. They call it the Dual LCD SmartGauge Cluster with Eco Guide that provides real-time information to help you squeeze the most efficiency from your Fusion Hybrid. While it could be a little overwhelming for the easily distracted, after making myself familiar with the cluster, I found the gauges to be plenty informative without having to look directly at them.

The SmartGauge with EcoGuide uses LCD screens on either side of the center-mounted speedometer. (A tutorial built into the display lets you choose one of four data screens for the level of information you want – Inform, Enlighten, Engage or Empower – and explains your options within each. Nick had already done this by the time he picked me up at the airport and gave me quick run-through.)

On the data screen setting we opted for, the LCD screen on the left had guages indicating fuel level, battery level and miles per hour (with the EcoGuide indicator telling you when you are driving in EV-mode). You keep it in the green zone on the EcoGuide and the 2.5L Atkinson-Cycle I-4 Hybrid engine shuts off and runs completely off of the high-power NiMH battery. Keep it in the green and you are essentially driving an electric car.

Driving the Fusion, I couldn’t really notice when the car shifted between gas-powered and electric-powered, the transition was seamless. The smooth transition can be explained by the fact that there is no progression of gear changes light you are accustomed to.

The right-hand screen had a display for small green leaves, when you drive more efficiently, the display will grow more leaves, when you don’t they will fade away. I found the immediate feedback to be a useful motivational tool without being a big distraction.

When all was said and done, we were able to average almost 39 mpg for the entire 328 mile trip. But considering that we made good use of the vehicle to charge our peripherals and gadgets; and hit some heavy construction and stop-and-start festival traffic, I think the Fusion’s mileage claims lived up to their billing.

One particularly helpful feature we discovered about the car was that it would–while in “Park” and with the key in the ignition–turn on the engine by itself to charge its depleting battery. Since we were making such heavy use of the car’s battery to charge our electrical accessories via the Fusion’s USB and AC charge-ports while we were at the festival (cameras, PDAs, computers, batteries, etc.), we found this to be a real bonus to those who might like to use their cars in a situation like the one we were in, tailgating, car-camping, or just listening to the stereo real loud at home in your driveway.

The cruise control feature on the Fusion is a little bit different than what you’re used to, so much so that Ford decided to name it, ‘Speed Control’. The difference between the two is that cruise control on most cars will do whatever they have to do to keep speed. That means when you are driving uphill, the computer will feed more gasoline to the engine to maintain that speed. The Speed Control feature of the Fusion will ease up a little, understanding that the hill likely won’t last forever and that a few miles per hour under the chosen speed is much more efficient than gunning the engine.

While the much anticipated Ford Fusion is a tech-lover’s dream and an overall excellent car, there are a few technical glitches we discovered over our extended test-drive. The Microsoft navigation interface was a little clunky at times, requiring one too many buttons and screens to navigate through just to perform fairly simple operations. The rear-view camera was a neat addition but the on-board obstacle sensor seemed way too eager to tell us when something was anywhere near us (like in a parking lot).

While the Fusion maybe a little late to the hybrid vehicle game, Ford is betting big that their new flagship sedan will make a big splash into the U.S. car market, and in so doing, helping the company position itslef as the lean, green, and profitable leader of the big U.S. auto companies.

Author Tim Hurst is the executive editor of Live Oak Media.

Article appearing courtesy of Celsias

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While visiting Southern California Edison’s Electric Vehicle Center Thursday, President Obama announced the availability of $2.4 billion for the “Electric Drive Vehicle Battery and Component Manufacturing Initiative” and “Transportation Electrification”.

The funds will be awarded through competitive grants.  Specific announcements are available here (for the Manufacturing Initiative) and here (for the Transportation Electrification).  Both grants are “unrestricted” meaning all entities may apply.

The programs are intended…

To put American ingenuity and America’s manufacturers to work producing next generation Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles and the advanced battery components that will make these vehicles run.  The initiative will create tens of thousands of U.S. jobs and help us end our addiction to foreign oil.  Americans who decide to purchase these Plug-in Hybrid vehicles can claim a tax credit of up to $7,500.

Specifically, the DOE is offering:

• Up to $1.5 billion in grants to U.S. based manufacturers to produce these highly efficient batteries and their components.
• Up to $500 million in grants to U.S. based manufacturers to produce other components needed for electric vehicles, such as electric motors and other components.
• Up to $400 million to demonstrate and evaluate Plug-In Hybrids and other electric infrastructure concepts — like truck stop charging station, electric rail, and training for technicians to build and repair electric vehicles.

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The search for alternative transportation fuels just got a little easier.

The U.S. Department of Energy, now headed by Nobel Prize-winning physicist Steven Chu, has rolled out an “Alternative Fueling Station Locator.” In other words, if you’re driving a vehicle that runs on biodiesel, electricity, ethanol, hydrogen, natural gas or propane, this tool can help you find it .

The locator uses Google Maps and works with cell phones, Blackberrys and PDAs.

The locator looks pretty “bare bones” at first. But type in a ZIP code or city and state, then select a fuel, and it gives you dots on a map and a list of stations. Depending on what you select, you’ll see what’s lacking when it comes to alternative fuel infrastructure in the U.S.

For instance, there are a five places to fill up on biodiesel listed in Northern Michigan, and zero for hydrogen. Check out your city and state to see what pops up.

The locator isn’t perfect. It listed a site in California during a search for “electric” in Northern Michigan. So it behooves travelers to call ahead, and check out resources from trade organizations like the National Biodiesel Board and the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition.

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