It’s been known for a long time that the emissions from coal are harmful, both to the environment and human health. Yet, because it’s so plentiful, the U.S. still gets the majority of its electricity from coal-fired power. With the world focused on increasing the use of plug-in cars, where we get our future electricity becomes a key question.
Yesterday, a medical report was released, “Coal’s Assault on Human Health,” highlighting the dangers of coal, by the Physicians for Social Responsibility. Other study participants included the American Lung Association and the American Nurses Association.
Leo Motors, a parts supply company with its roots in Korea, has an outspoken CEO with an interesting eye for the future and a grasp of where we’ve come from. For instance, after speaking with him it became apparent that Dr. Robert Kang has come to the conclusion that most of the electric vehicle technology we see today is based on technology developed for electric toys combining a simple motor, battery and ampere controller.
I don’t know if this is a fully accurate representation of electric car design, but it’s certainly true that electric cars are relatively simple systems. Read the rest of this entry »
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) along with the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) is looking to fund $2 million dollars in coal research as part of the University Coal Research (UCR) Program. The research projects will be an attempt to improve the “fundamental understanding of the chemical and physical processes that govern coal conservation and utilization, by product utilization, and technological development.”
From an Administration that is attempting to reduce America’s dependence on oil through greenhouse gas emissions reductions, this is one of the—excuse me—stupidest ideas our country has had… at least for today. Look people, coal is NOT clean, even though the coal industry wants you to believe it is. As a matter of fact, Americans for Balanced Energy Choices, a front group for the coal and utility industries, is currently running a ‘clean coal” campaign in excess of $35 million according to a Washington Post article from last year. Read the rest of this entry »
Tomorrow at 11:00 AM PST we’ll be co-hosting a web chat with Bryan Wynne, President of Electric Drive Transportation Association. Join us (return to this post) to ask questions directly and see the conversation develop.
Entrepreneurs have begun to retrofit ordinary combustion vehicles into all-electrics or plug-in hybrids. Here’s why this could be the “big fix” that the auto-industry needs.
Are we stuck with our oil addiction? What if millions of our middle-aged vehicles could be reincarnated as superior versions of their youthful selves, while developing new revenue streams for Detroit? What if that “fix” could start reducing the billion a day we spend on imported oil, while creating tens of thousands of local jobs in communities and cutting greenhouse gases from fossil fuels?
Automakers could do all this—by thinking of vehicles as upgradable high-tech products. For example: A pioneering Chicago startup makes a prototype Ford F-150 pickup with an all-electric range of 30 miles per charge. After that it’s a hybrid, boosting the best-selling truck’s 15 city miles per gallon to 21. Read the rest of this entry »
“Remarkably Unremarkable” has been the phrase of choice when describing how the Chevy Volt prototype drives.
And that’s really a compliment, since the car was engineered for consumers who won’t accept compromise, even for a an electric car.
I got a chance to drive the Chevy Volt prototype on June 8th, and although the test model was still housed under a Chevrolet Cruze skin, it gave me a good feeling for what the final version will be like.
Chevy Volt Test Drive
The interior of the Cruze doesn’t do the car justice, at least in terms of space and aesthetics. The center divider seemed poorly fitted for the Volt’s T-shaped battery pack that runs the length of the car (which also precludes a 5th seat in the prototype and final versions). Frank Weber, who accompanied me on the the 45-minute drive, said that everything about the interior would change for production. Read the rest of this entry »
The real reason we were in Warren, MI wasn’t to test-drive the Volt, but to be on hand for the grand opening of GM’s new battery testing facility. The $25 million Global Battery Systems lab is now the largest battery testing facility in the United States, and is four times larger than the company’s old lab.
GM made a strategic decision to keep battery development in-house, because it will likely be a key competitive advantage in the race to commercialize electric vehicles. The lab already employs 1,000 engineers who work on advanced battery systems like the one found the the Chevy Volt. Read the rest of this entry »
The United States Department of Energy (DOE) announced yesterday that over the next three years it is ploughing $11 million into research projects to develop advanced batteries for electric cars. The projects are also in line to benefit from a whopping $19 million in further support from the private sector.
A total of seven cutting-edge projects will focus on improving battery material performance and developing the manufacturing processes to produce them. The ultimate aim is to reduce the cost of batteries for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), one of the main financial barriers to more widespread uptake.
Is 120 miles-per-gallon too much to ask from an American car company? Ford doesn’t think so.
With the addition of the Ford Escape Plug-In Hybrid (PHEV) to its development line, Ford Motor Company is showing that it can dance with the best of them.
The Ford Escape Plug-In Hybrid uses high voltage lithium-ion batteries, which can be charged using common household currents (120v). Fully charging the battery takes six to eight hours. For the first 30 miles following a full charge, the Ford Escape PHEV can drive on the batteries alone, before switching to operate as a fuel efficient, standard Ford Escape Hybrid. The transition is automatic and unnoticeable.
It was the Ford Escape PHEV that was delivered to Hydro-Québec, Canada’s largest electricity generator, on June 9th. Ford Motor Company and Hydro-Québec announced that Hydro-Québec has joined a North America-wide demonstration and research program on plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs).
“Our grading system will be controversial but is well-defended,” said Dugan. “We defy anyone to show that the current practice of using taxpayer subsidies to produce motor fuels from coal is decent public policy, or even that automakers can produce an affordable, durable car that runs on cleanly produced hydrogen.” Judy Dugan, research director for Consumer Watchdog
When talking about the technologies that will lead us into a new transportation paradigm, I feel like I’m driving down a winding road full of potholes and missing the shoulders. What technology is best? Plug-In Hybrid Vehicles (PHEVs)? Flex-Fuel Plug-In Hybrid Vehicles? Plug-In Electric Vehicles (PEVs) or maybe cars that run on compressed natural gas or hydrogen fuel cells? I’m not a waging person so I won’t place my bets but I am willing to “collect the money” from those who want to gamble on the winner. Read the rest of this entry »
A newly-granted US patent (PDF) for the upcoming ultracapacitor technology from secretive Texas-based EEStor contains a ton of detailed information about their near-mythical Electrical Energy Storage Unit (EESU), which has the potential to revolutionize transportation and our energy infrastructure.
Apparently one EESU weighs 281 pounds, has a volume of 2.63 cubic feet, can be fully charged in 3-6 minutes, is completely unaffected by temperature, will not explode or catch fire in an accident, and provides 52 kWh of electricity (nearly the same amount of energy the Tesla Roadster battery can hold, which reportedly takes the Roadster about 240 miles).
