The 31st Symposium on Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals
One of the world’s most prestigious and established biofuels meetings, the 31st Symposium on Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals, is currently underway May 3-6 in San Francisco, with more than 800 scientists expected to attend sessions on topics ranging from commercialization of biofuels and their long-term sustainability to emerging technologies and turning algae into fuel.
It has long been said that its not what you drive that determines your gas mileage, but how you drive. Stomping the gas pedal at every stop light, even in the most frugal fuel sippers, will suck up more gas than slow and even acceleration. Drivers have been applying hypermilling techniques to get the most out of their mpgs, and in an effort to promote their new Fusion Hybrid, Ford launched its mid-size family sedan on a 1,000 mile journey with just a single tank of gas.
That was on Saturday, April 25th. Yesterday, the 28th, the Fusion finally ran out of dinosaur juice after a staggering 1,445.7 miles on a single tank of gas over the course of three days. This publicity stunt not only showcased the Fusion Hybrid’s ability to get an average gas mileage of 81.5 mpg, but also raised more than $8,000 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Read the rest of this entry »
“…few opportunities blend economy and sustainability like the electric vehicle does.”
Editor’s Note: This is Portland Mayor Sam Adams’ first post for Gas 2.0. It’s a direct response to San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who posted for us earlier today and said the race to electric vehicle infrastructure “symbolizes what is best about our region and our country.” Mayor Adams will be holding a press conference today at 1:30 PST about this issue. UPDATE: Added video of the event above.
Portland is a great place to live, and it’s a great place to innovate. It could be Oregon’s natural beauty that inspired our long-established commitment to environmental stewardship and conservation, the Beta version of what we now call sustainability.
Couple that innate sense of stewardship with a culture of design, planning, discourse and collaboration and you get Portland — a City ranked by SustainLane (based in San Francisco, no less!) as America’s most sustainable city two years in a row! Read the rest of this entry »
Made by William Morrison in 1891, some say the Morrison was the first electric vehicle in America. It had a four horsepower engine , and could carry 6-12 passengers. Top speed was about 20 mph. The batteries needed to be recharged every 50 miles.
It has been said the car was actually completed in 1887 and was driven in a Des Moines parade in 1888. If that is true, the Morrison was first built 122 years ago, and it was built in America, where today they are almost no electric cars on the roads.
On the heels of a Nissan electric car press conference in Portland Monday, yesterday Norwegian electric car manufacturer Th!nk was wooed by Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski and US Senator Ron Wyden as the place to site an electric car manufacturing facility.
Smith Electric Vehicles to build electric trucks in Kansas City
Company officials at the UK-based Smith Electric Vehicles announced on Friday that they will begin manufacturing “The world’s largest battery-electric-powered truck” at a new plant in Kansas City, Missouri.
The battery-powered Newton will be the first vehicle to be produced at the new plant, but starting next year, the plant will manufacture an electric version of the new Transit Connect light-duty vehicle in collaboration with made by Ford Motor Co.
It looks like Fisker, manufacturer of the world’s first ‘luxury plug-in hybrid’, has begun a small targeted TV ad campaign initially focusing on the LA area. The $87,900 Fisker Karma is scheduled for delivery to the first 1,000 owners by year’s end. See the commercial here: Read the rest of this entry »
AT&T just announced that it will spend over half a billion dollars over the next 10 years in an attempt to reduce fuel usage and ostensibly, stimulate the economy. CEO Randall Stephenson stated that companies like AT&T have an “obligation to make investments that will drive the nation’s economic growth and productivity.”
To meet this obligation, AT&T will expand its alternative-fuel vehicle fleet from 100 to 8,000 vehicles by 2020. These vehicles will be U.S.-made compressed natural gas vehicles, amounting to $350 million worth of the total $565 million. Another 7,100 vehicles in AT&T’s passenger fleet will swapped out for electric-hybrids. Read the rest of this entry »
Courtesy of Reuters, here is a list of cellulosic ethanol plants currently operating or under construction in the US. We’ve been following a number of these companies over the last year, and I’ve linked each company name to either something we’ve written about them or their company website.
On March 13, the European Union will impose a counter-subsidy tax on U.S. biodiesel producers for “dumping” biodiesel on the European market.
European producers have been complaining about cheap imported biodiesel for quite a while, and it looks like a key European trade panel finally took action. The tax will be specific to each biodiesel producer:
ArcherDaniels Midland: 86 cents per gallon;
Cargill: 90 cents;
Imperium Renewables: 96 cents;
Green Earth Energy Fuels: 93 cents;
World Energy Alternatives: 96 cents;
Peter Cremer North America and remaining biodiesel producers will pay $1.36 per gallon. Read the rest of this entry »
I wasn’t expecting to be impressed with the new Opel Ampera (the Chevy Volt’s European cousin). In fact, I was convinced I would find something dull, unimaginative and lacking in technical innovation.
But instead, I believe that I’ve actually found the only serious contender to replace the Audi A3 TDI that’s sitting on my driveway right now.
This week GM invited Gas 2.0 to witness the unveiling of the Opel Ampera, to go on sale in Europe in 2011.
If you’ve been a reader of Gas 2.0 for any length of time, you’ll know that we’ve been reporting on algae biofuelfor, well, that entire length of time. Yet, seeing as the blogosphere is apparently full of nothing but pathetic liars (thank you Ms. Palin), I’m sure you’ve been on the seat of your pants wondering when the shining beacon of television news would truly validate algae’s potential.
Fear not intrepid reader, seems that the MSM has finally discovered algae too. During a recent installment of their “Energy Fix” segment, CNN has latched on to algae biofuel as the next big thing in renewable energy. Regardless of the laughability of the anchors, the segment is actually worth watching if for no other reason than to get a close up look at OriginOil’s Helix Bioreactors.
Besides, you know it’s gonna be good when the segment is hosted by an anchor named Poppy Harlow. Video after the jump… Read the rest of this entry »
Bentley has released official pictures of the ethanol-powered GT we previewed a few weeks ago. This new car is the first flex-fuel vehicle in the company’s history, and Bentley is calling the 621 bhp bruiser the “Continental Supersports”. Bentley claims the GT’s owners will be able to accelerate from 0-60 mph in 3.7 seconds on their way to a top speed of 204 mph.
Ever wish you could buy a car that would run on just about anything? An engine that gave you something approaching the efficiency of diesel, and the convenience of gas? Last week, the forward-thinkers at Lotus announced just that.
It’s called the Lotus Omnivore, and we’ve got all the details on this little, all-aluminum marvel.
If you’ve been a reader of Gas 2.0 for any length of time, you’ll know that we’ve been reporting on 
