A new means of transport needs a new name. ELF is a “ velomobile” , a combination of bicycle and automobile powered with solar energy and good old pedaling force is raising funds via KickStarter. At the time of writing the project had raised US$26,397 out of the targeted US$100,000. The deadline is January 13.
Category:
Clean Transportation
Here’s a consumer-oriented piece from the U.S. Department of Energy: 10 Things You Didn’t Know about Electric Vehicles. Nicely done.
There are a couple of issues with EVs, however, that make this a trickier issue than the article implies:
• Even though the fuel savings versus gasoline are significant,
Here’s a cool infographic called “The Fastest Electric Vehicles on Earth” that I thought readers would enjoy. What they say here is certainly true: we tend to think of EVs as slow, glorified golf carts. Yet those of us who have driven a Tesla have quite a different impression; they’re little rockets, with better acceleration than Porsches.
Researchers from the University of Michigan said this month that the crop of new cars and trucks sold in the U.S. in October are the most efficient ever to hit American roads. Their average fuel was 24.1 mpg combined. That’s a four mile-per-gallon improvement from five years ago.
This gain in fuel efficiency equates to a collective
GM is already the maker of the Chevrolet Volt, the first wide-selling domestic plug-in hybrid electric vehicle to hit the market. With new CAFE standards put in place by the US Government, and with growing public demand for cleaner vehicles, GM has decided to expand its electric vehicle inventory. According to GM’s product development chief, by
GM to Produce 500,000 Vehicles With Electric Technology Within 5 Years
written by Yale Environment 360
General Motors aims to build as many as 500,000 vehicles that utilize some sort of electric technology by 2017.
Speaking to reporters this week, GM’s product development chief, Mary Barra, said the company’s fleet of cleaner vehicles will include the plug-in Chevrolet Volt; the all-electric Spark EV, which will go
An edgy, compact combination of crossover, hatchback and minivan, the 2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid is a fun and frugal means of transportation. The Ford franchise, dealerships and consumers in the U.S. excitedly watched as the unique car entered the hybrid world, wowing users with its high fuel economy, sleek design, catchy campaign and competitive price.
Putting a speed limit on cargo ships as they sail near ports and coastlines could cut their emission of air pollutants by up to 70 percent, reducing the impact of marine shipping on Earth’s climate and human health, scientists have found. Their evaluation of the impact of vessel speed reduction policies, such as those proposed by the California Air Resources Board,
The hydrogen-fueled Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell was one of the stars at the EcoIslands Global Summit on the Isle of Wight, UK. It was used to transport the Minister of State for Energy, John Hayes, from the ferry to the Summit by TV presenter and motoring expert, Quentin Willson (see video at the bottom).
Vehicle Electrification and Other Green Advances Surge Ahead at the LA Auto Show
written by Walter Wang
Green continues to be a dominant shade of innovation in the automotive sector as 2013 looks to be a banner year for vehicle efficiency. According to AutoTrader.com, total shopper interest for alternative fuel and highly fuel-efficient models is up 54 percent so far in 2012. This year’s LA Auto Show ® reflects this trend and will host significant debuts in electric,
Energy is both the engine of the modern global economy and one of the biggest drivers of our sustainability challenges, including climate change. Providing access to affordable sources of energy will be critical to alleviating poverty and ensuring peace and prosperity for the 9 billion people expected to inhabit Earth in 2050. However, if we don’t find ways to
Believe it or not, the holidays are quickly approaching and winter driving is not far behind. So, it’s time to think about how the changing seasons will impact road conditions. For many drivers, the solution for getting out of town (and off the beaten path) is a super-safe all-wheel drive vehicle. But traditionally, putting power to all four wheels has meant a big hit on fuel economy.
BNSF Railway, a Fort Worth, Texas company, is one of North America’s leading freight transportation companies. The company has a rail network of 32,000 route miles in 28 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces.
Traditional rail transportation is highly efficient and uses significantly less fuel than highway alternatives. BNSF intends to improve upon that efficiency and has been experimenting with a hydrogen fueled fuel cell locomotive for the past several years.
Recently the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted BNSF’s patent covering fuel cell locomotives.
U.S. Patent Number 8,117,969, entitled “Hydrogen Fuel Cell Hybrid Locomotives” describes a locomotive including a set of batteries for driving a plurality of electric traction motors for moving the locomotive and a fuel cell power plant for charging the batteries and driving the electric traction motors.
The hydrogen hybrid locomotive is based on a commercially available diesel-hybrid donor platform. The locomotive design uses a cab section (101), which houses the control systems used by the controller, a center section (102), which contains the batteries and hydrogen storage tanks, a rear section (103) containing the hydrogen fuel cell power plant, and an adjustable ballast section (104) located under the chassis.
Ballast is needed because the locomotive does not carry heavy diesel fuel, which means the weight is significantly under the weight needed to maximize the traction of the wheels on the rails.
In the embodiment disclosed in the patent and shown in Figure 2 above, hydrogen is provided to two fuel cell power plants based on two power stack modules (201a – 201b). The fuel cells are proton exchange membrane cells and (in the preferred embodiment) are Ballard Power Systems, Inc Mk903 PEM fuel cell stacks.
Hydrogen is provided to the power modules from 14 carbon-fiber composite tanks (204). Power from the fuel cell is delivered to a DC converter (203) and to the locomotive systems including the traction motors (209a – 209d). The power output of the fuel cell stacks can be varied depending on demand by adjusting the flow of air through the system.
BNSF has an operational fuel cell locomotive prototype serving in a demonstration project in Los Angeles. Funding for the locomotive came from BNSF and the Department of Defense. The prototype is a switch locomotive, which moves freight cars within rail yards and rail stations during train assembly and disassembly.
The prototype was unveiled in Topeka, Kansas in January 2009. It then traveled to Colorado for additional testing and was sent to California in 2010. It was tested in the Los Angeles rail yards in Commerce and Hobart through 2010 and 2011.
Use of hydrogen fuel cells in locomotives can reduce the amount of particulate pollution around rail lines and reduce the amount of greenhouse gases expelled into the atmosphere. Hydrogen fuel cell locomotives can also reduce railroad dependency on fossil fuels. Additionally, fuel cell locomotives can also act as mobile electricity sources, for example in disaster recovery scenarios.
You can read more about BNSF’s demonstration locomotive here, here, and here.
Article by David Gibbs, appearing courtesy Green Patent Blog.
FedEx Express currently operates 130 all-electric vehicles (EV’s) worldwide, making the company an ideal collaborator for social innovation research and development initiative with Nissan. These two companies have been working together since 2011 to test the e-NV200 in real world operations to help shape development of the 100% electric compact