French energy minister Jean-Louis Borloo will announce a plan on Thursday for the country to invest 1 billion Euros ($1.46 billion US) in the infrastructure needed to encourage the adoption of electric cars. That investment will buy 4.4 million charging stations, upgrade the power grid, purchase a government fleet of electric cars, and provide subsidies [...]
Update: Breakthrough Biodiesel Process Now Running At Commercial Scale
September 30, 2009 By 31 Comments
Just about this time last year I reported on the very promising and innovative Mcgyan® biodiesel process. It was one of the most popular stories gas 2.0 ran that year, and rightly so: the breakthrough seemed to deliver the possibility of making biodiesel in mere seconds from start to finish, reducing costs by half the [...]
Seven Weeds That Could Power Your Car
September 30, 2009 By 22 Comments
With the attention on first generation corn ethanol fading, the next big thing on the sustainable fuel horizon is nonfood biofuel crops. Within that category, inedible weeds are taking a front-row seat due to their relatively low demands on water, pesticides, and herbicides, and their reduced need for tilling and other mechanized soil prep. Some [...]
Hyundai Enters The Green Auto Market With a Bang | IAA Frankfurt Auto Show
September 30, 2009 By 3 Comments
Much has been written about the launch of the Hyundai i10 concept, the company’s first foray into the electric car market. It’s an impressive car and the underlying technology trumps many other competitors. For example, there’s the Li-Poly battery which Hyundai claim will charge almost twice as fast as the Li-Ion battery championed by Renault [...]
Report: Nissan Expects 20,000 Pre-Orders for LEAF Electric Car
September 29, 2009 By 3 Comments
Algae Biofuel Moves to the Big City: Project Aims to Grow Algae On a High-Rise
September 29, 2009 By 6 Comments
The demise of retail giant Filene’s Basement may have a positive effect on proponents of vertical urban farming and algae biofuels alike. Since 2007, the developers of a Filene’s site in downtown Boston have been unable to find funding to move the project forward. But now Höweler + Yoon Architecture and their partner Squared have put forth a [...]
Scientists Use Weed Killer to Make Cheap Sugar-Based Fuel Cell
September 29, 2009 By 6 Comments
This is one of those topics I’m just not sure what to think of… When the average person hears the term fuel cell, typically what comes to mind is something that mysteriously makes electricity from hydrogen. In reality the process isn’t all that mysterious—basically the hydrogen is split into its component parts (electrons and protons) [...]
Green Rod: 600 HP Natural Gas Powered Hot Rod
September 29, 2009 By 5 Comments
Many of the advancements made through racing and hot rodding have been passed down to the passenger car segment. Nothing quite stimulates innovation like pushing a vehicle to its limits. AFVTech, an alternative-fuels conversion company, is building a compressed natural gas (CNG) hot rod based on the classic ’33 Ford coupe. Equipped with a hand [...]
