Electric vehicles

The London Taxi is an iconic vehicle, with currently over 21,000 in operation in London alone. A fleet of diesel vehicles this size that operates for many hours of the day inevitably makes a substantial contribution to traffic emissions, not just of CO2 but also nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons and particulates. Changing to a zero emission taxi will have a marked effect on the pollution levels in London.

New research by a team from MIT and several other institutions analyzes the performance of a class of materials considered a promising candidate for such storage: activated carbon that incorporates a platinum catalyst, so hydrogen atoms can bond directly to the surface of carbon particles and then be released when needed.

Teams from across the United States will test electric, biofueled and hybrid-powered aircraft, vying to be the most fuel-efficient small aircraft in the world. They're competing for a competition purse of $1.65 million -- the largest aviation prize ever offered.

Mission Motors, a developer of cutting-edge electric vehicle technology, recently announced that it had closed on a $9.0 million dollar Series B financing round led by Warburg Pincus.

Incremental manufacturing cost is €50-60 for every 1 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions compared with the €200-500 per cent typical for full hybrids. Further value enhancements are possible if the automotive industry were to standardise around the proposed 48 volt power networks developing in Europe.

AeroVironment, Inc. recently announced that it received a $15,909,962 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract order on September 1, 2011, under an existing contract with the U.S. Army. The order comprises Army contractor logistics support for Raven systems. The logistics support services are scheduled to be delivered within the next several months.

In June this year IDTechEx reported on the plans of ECOtality to install charging stations in multiple US states in collaboration with Blink. The companies have now announced the expansion of the original initiative into Houston.

Balqon Corporation, a developer of electric drive systems, lithium battery systems and medium to heavy-duty electric vehicles, recently announced the availability of its new Mule M100, a zero-emissions, all-electric on-road truck for use in inner-city deliveries and cargo transportation.

The Frankfurt Motor Show opened last week and a number of new brands were seen for the first time, including a Croatian company Rimac Automobili, which showed a pure electric sports car named the Concept One.

One of the largest solar power developers in the United States, NRG and the Washington Redskins celebrated FedExField's energy future with the help of former NFL quarterbacks and Redskins' fans during the "NRG Solar Bowl" Quarterback Challenge and an official "flipping of the switch" at halftime to inaugurate the new NRG solar power installation at FedExField.

Over the next decade, the most vibrant Wireless Power Transmission (WPT) markets will be the contactless charging of portable and mobile equipment, in particular consumer electronics and electric vehicles.

PSA Peugeot Citroën and General Electric sign a european commercial cooperation agreement for the co-develoment of innovative solutions in the field of electric mobility.

Over the next decade, the most vibrant Wireless Power Transmission WPT markets will be the contactless charging of portable and mobile equipment, in particular consumer electronics and electric vehicles. This is the focus of a new IDTechEx report, {{Wireless Power Transmission for Consumer Electronics and Electric Vehicles 2012-2021 | http://www.idtechex.com/research/reports/wireless-power-transmission-for-consumer-electronics-and-electric-vehicles-2012-2022-000281.asp}}.

Energy and transportation ministers from 21 economies in the Asia-Pacific region today agreed to continue progress on initiatives to make transportation in the region cleaner and more energy-efficient, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced this week.

A recent report by the BBC discusses Ferrari's lack of interest in pure electric cars in an industry where many manufacturers are trialling the technology and investing heavily.

This year, the world's largest event on printed electronics, "printed Electronics USA" will reflect the widening government support for printed electronics. Beyond the burgeoning programs at universities and government research centers, this is particularly evident in military and electric vehicle work. The US Army reflects this in two presentations. One is an overview of materials printing capabilities and prototype development for US Army applications and the other concerns direct write approaches to nanoscale electronics.

Electric vehicle manufacturers need to reduce their prices if they want to energise the market, the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association has warned.

Here, Masahiro Hanazawa at Toyota Central R&D Labs. and Takashi Ohira at Toyohashi University of Technology (Toyohashi Tech) propose a potentially revolutionary solution for powering EVs capable of running unlimited distances. The basic concept stems from electric railways, where each car of the train is power from an overhead wire while the car runs on tracks.

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu recently announced more than $175 million over the next three to five years to accelerate the development and deployment of advanced vehicle technologies. The funding will support 40 projects across 15 states and will help improve the fuel efficiency of next generation vehicles.

The University of New Orleans is the recipient of a 3-year $937,000 award from the Office of Naval Research to design and build a new type of robotic "eel" that is capable of operating in shallow water environments where Navy personnel could be at risk.