According to Ambuj Sharma Secretary to the Minister for heavy industries, many alternatives are already available in the Indian market but the lack of specific facilities (load point) and for the increased purchase of hybrid vehicles hinder their development in India despite tax incentive policies.

The industry of electric two-wheelers in India which has more than 36 players at a production capacity of 1 million units per year but the annual sales amount to no more than 100,000 units. The company Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicles based in Bangalore has only sold a few hundred units in the Indian market, but hybrids have a purchase cost twice as much as conventional vehicles. Toyota and Honda who tried to disseminate their models in the Indian market have hardly sold a hundred units.

The mission of the National Electric Mobility will bring together representatives from various ministries of Roads, Ministry of Science and Technology to provide a comprehensive and cross to the problems of market development for environment friendly vehicles.

This model is capable of traveling up to 50 km in electric mode, so at that distance will not emit carbon dioxide. In the event that a car traveling in a hybrid mode of CO2 emissions will be located at 49 grams per kilometer, while fuel consumption will be below the 2 liters per hundred kilometers (1.9 liters).

The Swedish company said that this vehicle has also been designed to provide the driver the best possible performance if they are needed, so that the diesel engine in combination with the electric develops a maximum power of 285 horsepower, allowing the Car accelerates from zero to sixty mph in 6.9 seconds.

Volvo noted that most of the journeys people make each day do not exceed 50 miles and said that in the case of long voyages, the diesel engine is activated automatically and provides the same benefits as a hybrid car conventional.

The corporation said the V60 battery Plug-In Hybrid can be recharged at a standard 230 volt outlet. The duration of the charge depends on the type of power and ranges between 4.5 hours and 7.5 hours.

The corporation’s subsidiary China Geely said that the development of this new diesel hybrid plug-in has been the result of collaboration Swedish car and energy supplier Vattenfall.

President and CEO of Volvo Cars, Stefan Jacoby, said the second generation hybrid is the perfect choice “for customers seeking a committed low emissions of carbon dioxide and a good performance.

The company, formed last year in Brescia, is headed by mechanical engineer Pierpaolo Fusari, founder of EFA (Eco Power Technology), a manufacturer of hybrid buses.

Recently, ZEM Evolution unveiled designs for two buses (between 8 and 10 meters long) and two chassis for refuse collection trucks.

“Plans are to begin production in 2011,” Fusari announced, adding that the vehicles have no comparison ZEM Evolution in Europe regarding the materials used. “An aluminum frame forms the base of the vehicle body, integrally constructed,” explained Fusari.

Regarding the technology used in the powertrain, ZEM has partnered with various vendors to provide different hybrid versions. Another interesting issue is the use of ultra capacitors in the range of ZEM products, ensuring that all hybrid versions are powered by either a microturbine or fuel cell, used to charge ultra-capacitors and batteries with energy. Finally, the system of energy recovery during braking allows buses to reach about 300 km of autonomy.

The Japanese automaker has signed a collaboration agreement for the transfer and use of plug-in hybrid vehicles to various agencies and institutions of Spain under the Movele Plan, managed by the Institute for Energy Diversification and Energy Saving (IDEA). Among those institutions is the city of Madrid, whose mayor, Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon, recently received from President of the Japanese company, Katsuhito Ohno, a plug-in hybrid Prius.

The aim of the agreement is, according to Toyota, the various agencies to assess “in real conditions the viability of plug-in hybrid vehicle, as well as the needs and requirements to be considered in establishing a refueling infrastructure in Spain.” According to the Japanese producer, “collecting data on actual usage of the vehicle will enable Toyota to better understand customer expectations in terms of plug-in technology and encourage the development of an infrastructure of charging stations for public access.”

According to Toyota, its plug-in hybrid vehicle project is part of a “comprehensive program to define the ideal self and the capacity of the battery before mass market plug-in hybrid technology.” As part of this global program, Toyota has released 600 units of plug-in hybrid Prius in Japan, USA and Europe. Both in the Old Continent and the rest of the world, this program will enable Toyota to adjust its current activity in research and development on plug-in hybrid vehicles.”

80% of trips of less than 25 kilometers
The plug-in hybrid Toyota Prius, a plug-in hybrid vehicle combined, offers a range of approximately 20 kilometers, with a top speed in electric mode (EV) of sixty miles an hour. This autonomy in all electric mode is “ideal for short trips,” the Japanese manufacturer, which ensures that the first plug-in hybrid tests in Europe have shown that up to 80% of daily trips made are less than 25 kilometers, “so the plug-in hybrid Prius will largely meet mobility in electric mode.”

For longer distance trips, the plug-in hybrid Toyota Prius with Hybrid Synergy Drive system, in which both the electric motor and the gasoline can transmit wheel drive would provide an unlimited autonomy. According to Toyota, ion battery – lithium plug-in hybrid Prius four times the capacity of third-generation Prius and can be fully charged in an hour and a half connected to a standard household 220 V

The Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid is a reduction of over 30% of fuel consumption in combined cycle with respect to the third generation Prius, standardizing a figure of only 2.6 liters per hundred kilometers. CO2 emissions stand at just 59 grams per kilometer, according to the European combined cycle.

In a letter of intent signed, both sides agree to explore means to promote electric mobility, using the easy to use refill system and technologically advanced MOBI.E being developed by the consortium.

MOBI.E include charging stations for use by electric vehicles of all makes. The terminals will be installed throughout Portugal, particularly in parking lots, shopping centers, hotels, airports and service stations. It is sufficient that the user has a unified identification card to access the network easily and quickly, regardless of the location of a recharging station.

The network will comprise normal charging stations where electric vehicles can be recharged in six to eight hours through wind energy produced at night, and fast charging stations that will allow vehicles to be recharged in less than 30 minutes.

“The Renault-Nissan considers that the total customer satisfaction is the key to the success of electric mobility. Our partnership with MOBI.E Tech will offer to all owners of electric vehicles in Portugal to recharge their vehicle in the best possible conditions,” said Emmanuel Delay, Senior Vice President in charge of administration and finance at Nissan International SA.

MOBI.E Tech is actively deploying model MOBI.E and associated technologies in other countries.

“We believe that the creation of a pan-European system of integrated recharging, fully interoperable, and open to many energy providers, network operators charging, car manufacturers, and other service providers, is the key issue of adoption of electric vehicles in large European scale. Technology MOBI.E was developed to meet this demand,” said Fernando Baptista, CEO of MOBI.E Tech.

The letter of intent signed is part of the final agreement signed between Renault-Nissan and Portugal in 2008 that focuses on the implementation of a national program in the electrical mobility. The agreement provides for the installation of 1300 charging stations in 2011 and the supply of electric vehicles for the Renault-Nissan Alliance, starting with the Nissan model LEAF in December 2010.

Last week, Nissan announced that Portugal is one of the first European countries to receive this compact all-electric family car in December. Sold at 29 955 euro (after deduction of 5,000 euro governmental premium), LEAF Nissan comes fully equipped, with air conditioning, satellite navigation, a rearview camera, taking a quick recharge and smartphone connectivity products.

The Japanese government has made development of electric vehicles a priority to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases in the country. If electric motors have long proved that they were in no way inferior to internal combustion engines (the project of Eliica Keio University has led to building of a car that reaches 370 km/h), electric vehicles are regularly criticized for lack of autonomy. In fact, one of the cars currently sold does not run more than 150 kilometers.

By performing this type of demonstration, the association hopes to make people aware that the issue of autonomy can be resolved and it will be longer hinder the development of electric vehicles. The association had thus made the first trip between Tokyo and Osaka, traversing the 555.6 km separating the two cities without recharging the batteries of their Daihatsu Mira EV. However, the vagaries of traffic increasing the acceleration and braking, which results in a premature discharge of batteries. The team has decided to retry the adventure, this time on a track of 689 m in circumference of Shimotsuma located in the department of Ibaraki (East Tokyo).

The car has a lithium-ion batteries made a total of 8320 cylindrical elements provided by Sanyo. The maximum total capacity of 74 kWh. 17 pilots have lined up to make 1456 laps, traveling 1003.184 km at an average speed of 40 km/h, and consumes a total of 63 kWh (an average consumption of 62.8 Wh/km).

Even if it’s only a prototype, this is the first time ever an electric vehicle travels a distance of over 1000 km without needing to recharge the batteries. These results are encouraging for the future of electric vehicles.

A hydrogen fuel cell is a conversion kit that allows you to perform a process of electrolysis of water resulting from hydroxy (which is a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen). Hydroxy is very powerful, about three times more powerful than gasoline, and it prevents air and gasoline from mixing up in the combustion chamber.

Although the electrolysis process is not exactly first year science and it is not rocket science either. In simple terms, this process tore two different types of hydrogen (and understand orthohydrogen parahydrogen and oxygen). The orthohydrogen is the most powerful and fast burning gas and two is the major element in the composition Hydroxy. Parahydrogen is less powerful and slower burning, it is used to prevent “Pre-combustion” in the engine.

With the additional hydroxy engine produces more power per cycle with less fuel needed to be burned during this process, which naturally leads to a significant improvement in fuel economy of your car and produces less harmful emissions.

Although it may still be a bit early to speak about cars leaving the assembly line with the hydrogen fuel cell automatically included, there are guides and kits available with instructions on how to create your own Hydrogen fuel cell for your car.

“The electric vehicle Leaf has a range of nearly 160 miles per charge , “said Nissan.” So, for practical reasons, it might be sufficient to place charging stations every 80 miles. However, to remove all fears of users, the more the better. We believe that an interval of 40 km is a good compromise.”

The rapid charger specifications are based on those of the consortium Nippon CHAdeMO created in March 2010 . Specifically, the charger has a voltage of 500V, a maximum current of 125 A (DC) and maximum power of 50kW.

In addition, Nissan also announced it will provide a shipper “normal” voltage 200 V to approximately 2 200 outlets in Japan. In parallel printer, the company will launch a service that will install itself in a loading terminal each time a Leaf EV will be sold.

Executives from both companies at the New York Auto Show on Wednesday announced that drivers of Ford’s electric cars will use Microsoft Hohm, a Web-based home energy management application.

The 2011 electric Ford Focus will be the first car to use Hohm, which company executives said will let consumers take advantage of cheaper electricity rates. That will also help utilities manage the added load of electric vehicles which can be substantial if many people in a neighborhood charge up at once.

“Ford and Microsoft both believe that electric vehicles will be the driving force around how people think about energy usage and energy conservation,” said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, who spoke at the press conference via a video link. “Managing energy in a smart way down to everyday consumers is absolutely going to be critical.”

Consumers will be able to access the Hohm application from multiple screens, such as a PC, smartphone, or the car’s display. With information on a car’s energy consumption, people will be able to optimize charging, which will make the transition to electric vehicles easier, executives said.

For example, a person can input driving patterns and get a recommendation on the best time to charge a car and ensure that it’s fully charged when needed. Ford and Microsoft plan to make a smartphone application that will let people view a car charge and to remotely control charging, executives said.

“Customers are going to have to start planning in a way that they have never done before (with gasoline cars): When should I charge? Where is there a charging station? What’s the rate–is this a good time?” said Nancy Gioa, director of Ford global electrification.

Hohm will share information with vehicles using Ford’s in-car networking connections and in-car software system, which will allow for different applications from Microsoft, Ford, or other companies, executives said.

Ford executives envision that eventually Hohm can connect drivers with energy-related events in the home. For example, the Sync voice system in Ford cars can tell a driver that a clothes dryer is running during peak times and give people the option to schedule the job at a different time.

The application will also allow people to decide whether a home has the appropriate wiring for an electric vehicle or, potentially, to let people choose renewable-energy sources.

Heavy load
As part of its fuel efficiency strategy, Ford plans to release an electric utility van later this year, followed by the electric Ford Focus next year, and then a plug-in hybrid in 2012.

Although plug-in cars from Ford and other automakers aimed at mainstream drivers are still not on the road, there is concern over how these vehicles will affect the grid. Adding just three or five electric vehicles could strain a local power grid circuit, according to utility executives.

At an individual level, adding an electric vehicle could double a home’s electricity consumption and be the largest consumer, said Ford CEO Alan Mulally.

“The customer in the home, the vehicle, and the electricity grid will be more interdependent than ever before. We need to work with utilities and municipalities–they provide data for customers to make smart decisions,” said Derrick Kuzak, vice president of global product development.

Utilities, too, will be interested in electricity information from electric-car owners, which Microsoft could provide. “The information will flow two ways. Usage patterns are going to be critical to ensure we have a sustainable energy grid,” said Marja Koopmans, general manager for marketing of Microsoft’s start-up business group which includes Hohm.

Right now, Microsoft’s Hohm, which the company introduced last year, lets people track utility bills and get recommendations on how to lower home energy use after filling out a detailed questionnaire.

The deal with Ford to use Hohm for car charging opens the application up to a potentially large audience. Hohm will first appear on Ford vehicles but the company plans to pursue deals with other companies, Koopmans said.

The pilot program between Better Place and Nihon Kotsu — Tokyo’s largest taxi company — will be the first real-world test of the innovative battery-swap technology. Better Place says the ability to quickly and easy change a dead battery is essential to eliminating the “range anxiety” that makes EVs a tough sell. Tokyo is a perfect proving ground because the city has about 60,000 taxis — more than New York, Paris or Hong Kong. Although those taxis represent just 2 percent of the vehicles in Japan, they account for 20 percent of the CO2 that country’s automobiles produce, said Kiyotaka Fujii, president of Better Place Japan.

“Japan has a very large taxi market,” Fujii said at a press conference, according to Japan Times. “I believe EVs with switchable batteries will spread to many other Asian countries, if they succeed in Japan.”

The pilot program is starting small — really small. Better Place says “up to four newly modified and fully operational” electric taxis will serve the Roppongi Hills neighborhood of central Tokyo. Better Place plans to build one of its $500,000 battery-swap stations in Roppongi Hills to keep the cars going.

But Better Place and Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry — which commissioned Better Place for the pilot program — have big plans. Better Place says it anticipates building 100 battery swap stations within the next decade and converting all of Tokyo’s taxis to electricity. It isn’t clear who’s going to build those cars, though. Although several automakers — most recently Mitsubishi with its iMiEV and Nissan with its Leaf — promise to begin selling electric vehicles, so far only Renault is building one with a swappable battery.

Still, taxis are a logical place for the technology because they can work from a centralized location — in this case, a battery swap station — and the economies of scale offered by a massive fleet could make the technology more cost-effective.

“Battery-switchable EVs are effective as vehicles that get a lot of use, such as taxis and cars used for car-sharing,” Minoru Nakamura, the crude oil distribution unit manager at the ministry’s Natural Resources and Energy Agency, said, according to Japan Times.

While auto manufacturing giants spend millions to develop environmentally-friendly electric cars, one Japanese company has taken a more low-key approach, crafting hand-made “green” cars.

Takeoka Jidosha Kogei may be the antithesis of the world’s Hondas and Nissans. The family-run business makes its cars from scratch in a garage workshop in the snowy foothills in the northwest of the country.

There are no industrial robots or assembly lines in sight. Instead just a dozen mechanics crafting each model by hand, right up to the finishing touch of adding a set of beady headlights to their “Milieu” range.

The cars seem to owe much of their design to Japan’s manga cartoon tradition — their one-seater T-10 seems barely large enough for an adult driver, with just enough extra room left for a small pet, as requested by customers.

The box-shaped two-door car — which is dubbed the “Eco-beagle” and comes in green, white, red and canary yellow — has a relatively affordable price tag of 856,000 yen (9,600 dollars).

Company head Manabu Takeoka said he wants to change the image of minicars, which he said “are generally viewed as cars for the elderly, or for drivers who had their normal licences removed due to drunken driving”.

“We’ve improved the shape of our latest model to make it cuter, to attract younger clients,” he said.

Like other electric cars, it runs on a lithium-ion battery. It can also be charged from a conventional wall socket.

The latest model can drive up to 70 kilometres (45 miles) at 60 kilometres per hour when fully charged.

Takeoka’s cars are aimed at rural households, which often have more than one car, as opposed to the cities, where more people opt for public transport to avoid the cost of parking.

The Takeoka lineup includes six models made from lightweight fibre-reinforced plastic, ranging from one- to four-seater cars. They measure less than three meters (10 feet) and weigh between 300 and 740 kilograms (660 to 1,600 pounds).

“People who buy our cars use them primarily to run errands or go shopping a few hundred metres from their homes. They don’t need to charge the cars on the road if they already did so at home,” said Takeoka.

Takeoka began its business in 1981 by building minicars for the disabled.

It started developing the electric cars in the 1990s with help from the local electricity company. Nearby Toyama University has since come on board, helping design the models.

The company also makes electric minicars specially designed for railway companies to inspect tunnels.

The electric cars may be a novelty, but they are unlikely to take the world by storm anytime soon, with sales currently at around 100 vehicles per year.

Asked whether there are plans to ramp up production, Takeoka exclaimed: “The company cannot build that many!”

Honda has totally changed the components of the unit and eliminated the need for the compressor and this new slim model is the result. The unit is also “smart grid friendly” and will not require any hydrogen storage for the fuel cell to recharge. Because of this, the Honda Solar Hydrogen Station will lower CO2 emissions even further and allow the car owner to use off peak electricity to recharge the car. This makes everything more cost effective all the way around.

The Honda Solar Hydrogen Station is built to recharge the car on an overnight 8-hour fill. The power that was replenished would typically power the car for a full day of average driving. In most cases, that single fill will be able to get just about anyone through their day and back home without having to worry about a recharge.

However, the design of this new station also has talked of setting up an actual string of charging stations that would enable someone to travel much longer distances. The station was built with fast fill capabilities and any car that has this technology would be able to benefit from the public charging stations.

The Honda FCX is just such a car and can travel 240 miles on a single fill and has the capability to do a fast fill in about five minutes. This dramatically increases the travel range of a car and if the traveler was able to find a location that would allow the car to have a slow 8-hour overnight fill, there would literally be no limitation to the distance that the car could travel.

Honda is continuing its development of this concept and the coast to coast fueling stations will likely become a reality before long. It is a matter of getting investors onboard to support the stations and then there is no telling what will happen.

The interesting fact is that the material resembles a fabric, and can be shaped into different objects, so maybe in the future mobile phone users won’t have to have a battery in their cellphone, just because its case will do the job.

The researchers received a €3.4 million budget for developing their idea during a three-year project, in which Volvo is also involved. The wonder-material is made of carbon fiber and a polymer resin. Unlike standard batteries, these won’t suffer from degradation for a long time, because there is no chemical process involved in charging/discharging them.

The lightweight material can be made strong enough to make car body parts, and could be recharged from your home’s regular wall socket.

Further developing the material, the researchers want to achieve much higher storage capacity by growing carbon nanotubes on the surface of the carbon fibers. They will even made a test by exchanging a car’s metal floor or wheel well with the carbon composite material, thus decreasing the car’s weight by up to 15 percent.

Project co-coordinator, Dr Emile Greenhalgh, from the Department of Aeronautics at Imperial College London, says: “We are really excited about the potential of this new technology. We think the car of the future could be drawing power from its roof, its bonnet or even the door, thanks to our new composite material. Even the Sat Nav could be powered by its own casing. The future applications for this material don’t stop there – you might have a mobile phone that is as thin as a credit card because it no longer needs a bulky battery, or a laptop that can draw energy from its casing so it can run for a longer time without recharging. We’re at the first stage of this project and there is a long way to go, but we think our composite material shows real promise.”

Inventing new materials for energy storage and decreasing the vehicles’ weight makes electric cars one step more viable when compared to their gasoline counterparts, and brings them closer to everybody who wants to drive them safely, cheaply and efficiently.

The agreement (originally announced last June) was negotiated and signed by the Department’s Loan Programs Office, which supports the development of innovative, advanced vehicle technologies to create thousands of clean energy jobs while helping reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign oil.

“This is an investment in our clean energy future that will create jobs and reduce our dependence on foreign oil,” said Secretary Chu. “It will help build a customer base and begin laying the foundation for American leadership in the growing electric vehicles industry. This is part of a sustained effort to develop and commercialize technologies that will be broadly deployed throughout the American auto industry.”

Tesla’s planned Model S will consume no gasoline and will not produce any tailpipe emissions. It is being designed to offer a variety of range options depending on the battery pack used, from 160 to 300 miles on a single charge. Volume production of the Model S is planned to begin in 2012 with a target production capacity of 20,000 vehicles per year by the end of 2013. According to Tesla, the Model S project and power-train manufacturing facility are expected to create over 1,600 jobs.

This announcement marks the second loan arrangement agreement signed by DOE with an advanced technology vehicle manufacturer. In September 2009, DOE signed its first loan agreement for $5.9 billion to Ford Motor Company. The Department has also signed conditional commitments with Nissan North America, Inc. and Fisker Automotive. Tenneco Inc. became the first advanced technology component manufacturer to obtain a conditional commitment from DOE in October of last year. Nissan plans to build electric cars and battery packs at the company’s Smyrna, Tennessee manufacturing complex, while Fisker recently announced plans to build plug-in hybrid electric vehicles by reopening a shuttered GM plant in Wilmington, Delaware.

The Department of Energy was appropriated $7.5 billion by Congress to support up to $25 billion in loans to companies making cars and components in US factories that increase fuel economy at least 25 percent above 2005 fuel economy levels. The Department plans to make additional loans over the next several months to large and small auto manufacturers and parts suppliers up and down the production chain. The intense technical and financial review process is focused not on choosing a single technology over others, but is aimed at promoting multiple approaches for achieving a fuel efficient economy.

A new peer-reviewed life cycle profile released by the United Soybean Board (USB) documents multiple energy and environmental benefits of U.S. soybean farming and processing, including biodiesel. This press release has details:

“This profile is the first comprehensive life cycle study covering U.S. soybean production through four major biobased products,” said Wynne, Arkansas soybean farmer John Cooper, a USB Director and Member of the USB Domestic Marketing Committee. “U.S. soy already delivers environmental and energy benefits. It’s exciting to see the trends point to even more in the future.”

The study provides an important resource for companies to update life cycle assessments on their specific products made using U.S. soy.

“The United Soybean Board’s study sheds even more light on why biodiesel is good for the environment,” says National Biodiesel Board Director of Sustainability Don Scott. “Biodiesel production and use recognizes and builds on this progress.”

For example, biodiesel production facilities reduced their energy consumption by 27% compared to the 1998 data. Biodiesel has even more benefits when one calculates the emissions reductions when it is used to fuel a vehicle.

A key objective was to update life cycle inventory (LCI) databases for soybean production and processing as well as conversion into four key soy-derived feedstocks (methyl soyate, soy lube base stock, soy polyol, and soy resin) used in fuel and industrial products. Its cradle-to-gate scope begins with soybean farming (the cradle) and goes through processing of products (the gate).

Another important aspect of this study is that it’s based on U.S. agricultural data for the 2001-2007. The data the Department of Energy’s U.S. Life Cycle Inventory is based on comes from 1998 to 2001. And it contains soybean crushing information not previously available.

The solar parking lot is connected to the grid, so NJ electricity users will be the first to benefit from this construction. The company says they have installed the system on the largest continuous Elevated Solar Racking structure in the U.S., equivalent in size to three football fields elevated 23 feet into the air.

The 1 MW array consists of more than 5,000 photovoltaic panels, and has a total area of 104,000 square feet. The panels are tied in to one single meter via 11 separate inverters; this ensures that if a single array needs troubleshooting, 90 percent of the system will be producing electricity.

Construction and installation required 550,000 pounds of steel, 240 cubic yards of concrete and 54,000 feet of wiring. The system will generate more than one million kilowatt hours per year, which is roughly the amount required to power 114 homes. The resulting CO2 offset of 1.9 million lbs is equivalent to preventing the annual emissions from 158 cars.

“Alpha Energy specializes in the design, engineering and installation of complete renewable energy systems for businesses of all sizes,” said Drew Zogby, President and COO of Alpha Technologies. “The extraordinary size of this Elevated Solar Racking structure was an ideal fit for us, as we were able to present Manheim NJ Auto Auction with a comprehensive project package including system options, material procurement and turnkey project management. To help reduce the net cost of the project, we advised Manheim of the potential federal and state incentive programs, including New Jersey’s Solar Renewable Energy Credits.”

So, when you’ll have an electric car, and you pass by Bordentown, NJ, have a stop at the solar parking lot to have the greenest recharge possible of your vehicle.

Siemens is mainly responsible for fast-charge and battery replacement systems. “Siemens’ portfolio already contains many components that we are now adapting and reprogramming,” says Sven Holthusen, who is responsible for the EDISON project at Siemens’ Energy Sector.

A major obstacle to electromobility is the length of battery recharging times. With this in mind, Holthusen and his colleagues are working on a fast-charge function that operates with much higher voltages and currents—initially with 400 V and 63 A. This provides a 43.5 kw rapid charging connection that would allow fast charges of around 20 minutes. Holthusen’s approach is considered to be realistic since 400v/63A is already a common standard for industrial 3 phase installations and many European households already have a 400-V connection in the basement or other storage areas for electric ranges and other devices.

“We go a great deal further in our tests, however, in order to determine what’s possible,” says Holthusen. More specifically, he wants to raise charging power to as much as 300 kW so that batteries can be recharged in six minutes. Electrics would then be on a par with conventional vehicles. Lithium-ion batteries with such fast charging capability are expected to be ready for market launch in the near future. However, new battery technologies will have to be developed if a car is to be charged in as little as three minutes.

The charging stations are connected to the power grid, but they can capture solar power as well through their 1.9KW solar panel , storing the energy in a 8.4kWh battery. The maximum output of the station using the grid is 202VAC/3.2kW, while using the solar panel-battery pack the output is 101VAC/1.5 kVA. The excess energy produced by the solar panel can be used for other facilities or sold to a utility company.

Earlier this year, Toyota announced an EVSE (electric vehicle supply equipment), which has a communication function with a maximum output of 200V/16A/3.2KW. Currently TIC (Toyota Industries Corp) is working on a smaller on-board charger with higher efficiency in order to meet the growing demand for PHVs and EVs. Prius, on one hand, seems to come with more and more devices that will help the development of PHVs and EVs, including generators, converters, inverters and air conditioning compressors.

Meanwhile, the 2010 Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid vehicle (PHV) made its North American debut at the Los Angeles show. Based on the third-generation Prius, the latest version adds a lithium-ion battery that enables all-electric operation at higher speeds and longer distances than the conventional Prius hybrid. The new Prius PHV is designed to use the all-electric mode for trips of about 13 miles. After that, it reverts to the hybrid mode like a regular Prius. Toyota plans to deliver 150 vehicles to the United States early in 2010, placing them in regional clusters for consumer tests and technical demonstrations. For instance, Toyota will place 10 Prius PHVs with residents of Boulder, Colorado, under a regional partnership with Xcel Energy’s SmartGridCity program. The residents will participate in an interdisciplinary research project coordinated by the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute, a new joint venture between DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Established companies weren’t the only ones touting their electric innovations in Los Angeles. Fisker, a start-up founded in August 2007, said it would begin will begin delivering its Karma plug-in hybrids in the third quarter of 2010. Fisker is backed by a $528.7 million conditional loan from DOE and operates from its global headquarters in Irvine, California, with an engineering facility in Pontiac, Michigan. The Fisker Karma was displayed at the Los Angeles Auto Show along with a wide array of fuel-efficient and electrified concept and production cars, including the tiny Honda Personal-Neo Urban Transport (P-NUT for short) concept and the CMT-380 concept, an extended-range electric vehicle that draws on a 30-kilowatt microturbine from Capstone Turbine Corporation once its battery pack runs low on power. In essence, the CMT-380 is an electric car with a quiet jet engine under its hood. The Los Angeles Auto Show ran from December 4 to 13.

Range Rover Sport Hybrid people are unwilling to go for the advanced ERAD (electric rear axle drive) design. This design was showcased last year in the Freelander. Land Rover has preferred a more conventional hybrid set-up. ERAD prototypes incorporate a small 35-kW electric motor fitted into the rear axle. ERAD’s motor has the capability to directly power the rear axle. With the help of a Haldex differential and a propeller shaft, it could also drive all four wheels without the use of the turbo-diesel power plant.

According to Kevin Stride, Jaguar’s chief engineer, the British marque that is owned by the TATAs of India too are developing a plug-in hybrid system that will get its primary power from an electric motor, with a small traditional petrol engine functioning as a backup.

On the other hand, Mercedes soon released a fuel cell-powered B-Class. It’s a small four-door one-box car made for city driving, as they named it: “first electric car fully suited for everyday driving and with the driving dynamics of a two-liter petrol car.”

The Mercedes F-cell will soon enough be the main adversary of Toyota’s Prius, because it travels only on hydrogen, that can be obtained through B-Klasse F-Cellclean processes, from renewable energy sources, and doesn’t even touch a bit of gas or oil (ok, perhaps for the small quantities needed in the bearings). If you’ve seen GM’s Hy-wire (tested by the Top Gear guys), then you can imagine how the F-cell’s components will be stacked together in the car’s floor, offering protection and room to the people and the expensive electronics in there.

The F-cell’s consumption makes us smile: only 3.3 l/100km (85mpg), with an autonomy of just 100km for now (the tanks are small). But even that is enough for city driving, and I wouldn’t mind stopping a few seconds every 150 km (highway driving) to fuel the thing up with hydrogen.

So basically, in other words, Mercedes is saying that their future cars will rely on hydrogen instead of diesel, which will become unbearably expensive by 2015, and we will all be passing to electric cars powered by fuel cells using hydrogen made of renewable resources. Now this is good news. The big question that any citizen asks himself: when will a hydrogen/EV fueling station open in my town?

When that happens in every town, there’s a big room open for F-cell and others from its class.

The famous FedEx bought from Azure Dynamics 100 new hybrid electric vehicles to operate in the metropolitan New York City which makes the FedEx perfect score of hybrid electric and electric delivery trucks more than 300 in the area. It turns it into a even greater news when you think about the city conditions with its constant stop-and-go traffic.

FedEx is planning to cut its fuel costs on up to 30% with the new buy.

First FedEx gave a green road to hybrid truck in 2004 in California. Since then environment friendly delivery vehicles logged more than 4 million miles, having saved around $250.000 in fuel cuts.

PRESS RELEASE:

£30m for electric car charging points

The UK’s streets and car parks could see thousands more charging points for electric and plug-in hybrid cars thanks to £30 million of Government funding.

Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis today invited cities and businesses to join together to bid for the money which will help fund the installation of charging points on streets, car parks and in commercial, retail and leisure facilities.

This initiative – called Plugged-In Places – will support the development of between three and six electric car cities and regions across the UK which will act as trailblazers for electric car technology. The experiences of these locations will inform the future development of a national charging infrastructure.

Overall, the Government is investing around £400m to encourage the development, manufacture and use of next generation ultra-low carbon vehicles. Delivered by the Office for Low Emission Vehicles this support is being targeted to create new jobs in a low carbon automotive sector and to cut carbon from UK road transport.

Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis said:

“The UK can be a world leader in electric and low carbon cars which is why the Government has already committed around £400 million of support to encourage development and uptake of ultra-low emission vehicles.

“Our aim is for electric and low carbon cars to be an everyday feature of life on UK’s roads in less than five years. There is still a lot of work to be done, however Plugged-In Places is one very significant step putting us firmly on the path to a low carbon future.”

Encouraging companies to get involved, Business Minister Pat McFadden said:

“The move to lower-carbon forms of transport is a turning point for the automotive industry, opening up new opportunities for existing UK automotive companies and with the potential to create new jobs and new industries, for example around the charging infrastructure.

“I urge British companies to get involved and seize these new opportunities for growth and jobs.

“Our aim is for Britain to become a global centre for low carbon transport development, manufacturing and delivery – the Government is backing businesses who want to help make this happen.”

The total number and location of charging infrastructure supported by this initiative will depend on local plans and requirements. The intention is that successful applicants will match the Government’s investment.

These plans build on existing measures to support alternative fuels and today the Government is announcing the seven schemes that will benefit from £500,000 of funding through the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Grant Programme. These schemes will see the provision of 72 electric charging points and four gas refuelling stations in areas across England.

Funding, worth up to £30 million, will be made available to consortia in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland made up of local authorities, businesses, electricity distributors and suppliers and other organisations like the RDAs. The funds will be made available in two phases.

Up to £10m of the funding is provided from BIS & DECC, through the Strategic Investment Fund, as announced in the Low Carbon Industrial Strategy in July 2009.

Consortia will need to show how their plans fit in with other Government objectives, like improving local air quality, and create local incentives to further encourage the uptake of electric vehicles.

Further details on the scheme and an application form can be accessed from the following link http://www.dft.gov.uk/olev

The new Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) will deliver the Plugged-In Places Infrastructure Framework. OLEV is a new cross- Government team, bringing together existing policy and funding streams to drive policy delivery. Located within the Department for Transport, it incorporates policies, people and funding from DfT, BIS and DECC.

OLEV’s priorities will be accelerating the uptake and delivering ultra low carbon vehicles into the UK transport mix, with a focus on the opportunities that this will have for UK business.

The Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Grant Programme is delivered by Cenex (the Centre of Excellence for Low Carbon and Fuel Cell Technology) on behalf of the Department for Transport. £500,000 match-funding is available in 2009/10 and 2010/11 for bids from public and private sector organisations in the UK. This funding is for a range of schemes to deliver electric car charging points and bio-gas charging stations.

Now after all these years of exquisite design, fashionable trends and dozens of new models of electric cars every month, little Zagato Elcar or just Zele looks a lot like a tin can than a car but we must remember our past to appreciate what has been done to achieve the future goals.