"Filling stations" for EVs installed in Shenzhen

China's largest electric charging stations for electric automobiles were put into service at the Universiade Center in Shenzhen's Longgang District December 28.

The first batch of electric charging stations and poles in Shenzhen are composed of 2 charging stations and 134 charging poles with a combined charging capacity of 2,480 kVA. This is another major move for Shenzhen to accelerate its development of new energy automobiles and a low-carbon economy. The Universiade Center charging station is equipped with 6 express chargers that can provide charging to taxies, cars and buses. The station is large enough to simultaneously serve 12 automobiles.

The station, with an investment of 10.52 million yuan (U$1.54 million) and an area of 1,092 square meters (11,754 square feet), is currently China's largest charging station in terms of area and investment scale. The Hexie charging station is equipped with 3 express chargers and can accommodate 6 automobiles. According to the long-term plan, the combined charge capacity of the 2 charging stations can be expanded to 2,720 kVA. In addition, the 134 charging poles are mainly located in public and community parking lots in each district of Shenzhen. The majority of the charging stations are under the slow charging mode which can facilitate drivers to charge their cars during the off-peak period overnight.

In terms of charging time, the BYD E6 electric car for example, needsjust 2 hours to be charged under the express charging mode and can runup to 300 kilometers. To promote a green Universiade, all shuttle buses between the Universiade Village and main event venues will be green energy vehicles. Putting the Universiade Center charging station into service as scheduled, is just a specific demonstration of China Southern Power Grid Company's contributions to promote a green Universiade. China Southern Power Grid Company is a partner of the 26th World Universiade. In March 2009, Shenzhen was selected as one of the first batch of 13 model cities to promote energy-saving and new-energy vehicles by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Finance, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

By 2012, more than 24,000 new-energy vehicles will be promoted and used in Shenzhen, and the number will increase to 100,000 by 2015, accounting for over 6% of the number of vehicles in Shenzhen at present. Yuan Maozhen, board chairman of China Southern Power Grid Company made a solemn promise in terms of new-energy vehicle development in Shenzhen and proposed a goal of "taking lead to complete the construction and operation of 2 electric car charging stations and 100 charging poles successively within 2009 in Shenzhen."

Source : People's Daily Online, December 29th, 2009

Utilities Prepare to Serve Electric Cars

Many utilities, particularly on the West Coast, are preparing for a big increase in the number of electric cars set to hit U.S. showrooms in 2010, the Wall Street Journal reported. California regulators expect to have about 33,000 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles by 2011, and rise to 1.6 million by 2020, the Journal reported. PG&E, based in San Francisco, expects to see 33 new electric vehicle models in the next two years.

The task of providing electric-vehicle charging equipment is falling to the electric utility companies that will provide the fuel. Most utility companies are partnering with auto companies to help figure out where and how to install vehicle charging equipment and how to handle the increased power demand, according the Journal.

The hope is that the utility companies resolve installation of the charging equipment at convenient locations at the same time auto makers resolve technology issues that have emerged with the batteries they use.
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As a sector, Green investments offer the most profit potential since the Internet boom of the mid-1990s.

Source : Cabot, by Maura Lockwood, December 23rd, 2009

Green cars could generate 300,000 US jobs

PRTM, a management consulting firm, stated earlier that manufacturing electric cars could generate many jobs and revenues of up to $300 billion during the next decade.

For instance, the US could produce from 125,000 to 300,000 fresh jobs if the government implements more rigorous efforts to promote electric cars in the country. The latest forecasts are based on the extensive adoption of the newly launched Electrification Roadmap, which estimates that electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles will make up 25% of the new automobile sales in the US by 2020.

Moreover, developing electric vehicles could generate new jobs and businesses for battery suppliers, hydrogen distributors, manufacturers and service providers. Oliver Hazimeh, Director of PRTM, said that electric cars will most likely serve as accelerator for the scaling of the global cleantech sector given the inherent size of the car industry.

Also released earlier was a report from the Global Climate Network (GCN) which states that at least 19.7 million energy jobs globally could be created as outcome of the new policies implemented to reduce carbon gas emissions. The GCN report forecasts that the American Clean Energy and Security Act could help generate up to 1.9 million new jobs. The move to smart grids alone could as well produce 270,000 jobs and a further 138,000 if the US smart grid technologies are exported to the global market.

On the downside, a research from King Juan Carlos University in Spain however reports that for every energy-related job created, 2.2 could be lost in other industries.

Source : Electric.co.uk, by Beth Williams, December 21

5 reasons your next car will be electric

Take a look at that gas-guzzler in the driveway. Are you ready to wave goodbye in favor of something cleaner, greener and plugged in?

At the end of 2009, there’s no turning back: We’re going to electrify the world’s auto fleet, and soon. I know, I know — besides hybrids, there aren’t a lot of green cars on your radar right now. Today, 100 percent zero-emission battery-powered cars are scarce on the ground — there's a motley assemblage of 3,000 of them registered. You can buy a Tesla Roadster if you have a spare $109,000 lying around. Wheego will sell you a Whip, which is a battery-powered “neighborhood” car that can be used locally on roads with speed limits below 35 mph. And there are a few highway-worthy cars on the international market, including the Indian-made Reva, the Chinese-made BYD E6 and the Norwegian Think City.

But despite all this, your next car (or maybe the one after that) will be electric: a hybrid, plug-in hybrid or battery car. That’s where the auto industry is going, where the world is going. By this time next year, the picture will be dramatically different, with a host of consumer choices, from the sexy Fisker Karma and the versatile Volt to the ultra-cool Coda. Gas cars won’t disappear overnight, but they will do a slow fade.

And here’s five reasons why:

• Feeling the heat. The imperatives of climate change mean we’ll have to stop burning fossil fuels, especially coal and oil. The Copenhagen talks did not produce a binding agreement, but trust me on this — one is coming. The successor to the Kyoto talks will be much tougher, and we won’t make the numbers without putting millions of zero-emission cars on the road.
• Oil peaking. We may or may not have already reached global oil peak — the point where oil demand exceeds oil supply. The worldwide recession suppressed demand and gave us something of a breather, but the numbers on oil demand (especially from China and India) in the next decade are completely unsustainable, and everybody knows it.
• The smart grid. We’re just starting to optimize our antiquated electric system, but the way forward is clear. Utilities are partnering with automakers to enable the easy charging of millions of EVs at night without adding new plants. Off-peak electricity production and transmission capacity could fuel the daily commutes of 73% of all cars, light trucks, SUVs and vans on the road today if they were plug-in hybrids, a 2007 study by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory found. What’s more, solar car charging is becoming a reality, and that means a 100% zero-emissions loop — the answer to any critic who says that EVs get all their power from dirty coal plants. Even today, with 52% of U.S. electricity generated by coal-fired power plants, Plug-in America reports that EVs reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and most other pollutants compared with conventional gas or hybrid vehicles.
• The better mousetrap. EVs, on the road starting next year, will be better than gas cars in every way. Forget the idea that they’re slow, or that you won’t be able to get where you’re going. I’ve driven every EV, and all of them were exciting on the road. Every carmaker is building one, and they know it will be a very competitive market demanding excellence in engineering. BMW tells me that the consumers test-driving its Mini E plug-in quickly got over their “range anxiety.”
• Plugging in. You’ll have a charging station at home, at work and at play. Starbucks and McDonald’s will have them, and so will the big-box store down the street. Car charging will become ubiquitous — offering you $3 and $4 electrical fill-ups. Some retailers will even offer 15-minute fast charging free to get you in the door.

For all these reasons and more, your next car will have a plug. And it will be fine, trust me on this.

Source : mnn.com, by Jim Motavalli (New York Times), December 22nd, 2009

Chrysler to show EV Minicar at 2010 Detroit autoshow

While Chrysler Group LLC won’t hold any news conference during the upcoming North American International Auto Show, the Fiat-run Detroit automaker does wants to show that it is in the thick of the industry’s push to offer innovative new technology.

So Chrysler will display a battery-powered version of the Fiat500 minicar at the show, but no decision has been made whether the car will be offered for sale in the U.S., according to people familiar with the plans. The company will also show a version of the Lancia Delta mid-size hatchback with a Chrysler grille, as well as one or two models from Fiat’s luxury nameplates, Ferrari and Maserati.

Micro-Vett SpA, an Italian company, has produced a few Fiat 500s powered by a lithium polymer Kokam battery with 22 kilowatt-hours of capacity and a maximum speed of 60 miles per hour (100 km/h). The vehicle, which was unveiled at the London Motor Show in July 2008, can be driven 70 miles (110 km) between recharging, which take between six and eight hours.

Last month, when Chrysler executives laid out their five-year plan there was no plan for a mass-market gas-electric hybrid or plug-in hybrid car before 2015. A hybrid powertrain offered in 2008 on a handful of Dodge Durango and Chrysler Aspen SUVs will be available in 2010 on the Dodge Ram light-duty pickup truck. In 2011, Chrysler will launch a test fleet of 200 plug-in minivans and pickups developed through a federal grant.

Fiat’s green and gas-saving technologies revolve less aroundelectric vehicles than its small cars and its Multiair electric valve technology, which it will fit to future Chryslers, said John Voelker editor-in-chief of GreenCarReports.com. Chrysler will build the 500 at its plant in Toluca, Mexico, beginning late 2010. Initial plans are to produce 100,000 of the car a year -- half for sale in North America and half for sale in Brazil and Argentina. In addition, Chrysler is investing $179 million in its Dundee, Mich., engine plant to produce Fiat’s 1.4-liter engines with Multiair technology. Multiair is a sophisticated technology that delivers up to 10% more power while cutting fuel consumption and carbon emissions by as much as 10% compared to similar engines.

Source : Freep.com, by Greg Gardner, Deember 22nd, 2009

Grant to help make advanced batteries in Holland

The effort to build more advanced batteries for cars is picking up momentum in Michigan. On Tuesday, Johnson Controls in Holland learned its getting a two million dollar grant to upgrade one of its buildings so it can produce lithium-ion batteries.

Those batteries will power hybrid and plug-in hybrid cars and trucks. The grant will allow Johnson Controls to hire another 100 people.

Source : wwmt.com, December 22nd, 2009

Ford to roll out PHEVs and BEVs in coming years

Over the coming years Ford will introduce a range of electric vehicles, from continuing its work with hybrids to releasing plug-in and battery electric vehicles, all of which will use lithium ion batteries, said Sherif Marakby, director of sustainability mobility technology and chief engineer for Ford global hybrid core engineering.

In the last few years, Ford has doubled the number of hybrids it sells, now up to 50,000 a year. To date it has sold more than 100,000 hybrids, with fuel economy being the main reason customers buy them.

Next year, Ford will release a Transit Connect battery electric commercial van. In 2011, it will introduce a Focus electric passenger car, followed by a next-generation hybrid in 2012 and a plug-in hybrid in 2012.

Ford has been testing a fleet of 20 Escape plug-in hybrid electric vehicles with the help of Southern California Edison and other utilities in the U.S. and Canada. Utility employees, Marakby said, have been driving the vehicles and seeing how they integrate with existing technologies, homes and utilities.

Ford is able to collect daily data about the vehicles' battery use and performance. They've even been able to incorporate electronics that allows homes to view the vehicles as a type of smart appliance, letting users program when they want the vehicle to charge, how long they want it to take and how much they want to pay for the charging.

Although Marakby could not comment on the specific cost of Ford's eventual plug-in vehicles, he said that Ford's battery technology would be cheaper than that of General Motors' Chevrolet Volt.

While most of Ford's electric experience has been with hybrids, it also wants to mass-market its plug-ins and battery electric vehicles. But Marakby also said the company understands that some types of vehicles will be directed at, or avoided by, specific markets. Anyone who does a lot of highway driving, for example, would not be an ideal user of a battery electric vehicle.

Source : GreenBiz.com, by Jonathan Bardelline, December 18th, 2009

Monaco goes green

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. and Mitsubishi Corp. said Thursday they have jointly delivered four units of Mitsubishi Motors' new-generation electric vehicle i-MiEV to the principality of Monaco.

The i-MiEVs are being leased via a subsidiary of the trading house Mitsubishi. Monaco plans to promote electric vehicles through the use of the i-MiEVs by local community service organizations, including post offices. The four units were delivered on the basis of an accord signed in March between Monaco and Mitsubishi Motors and two Mitsubishi group companies in Europe on fleet testing of the electric vehicles, they said.

The delivery ceremony was held Wednesday at the Prince's Palace in Monaco, with Prince Albert II and other people concerned attending.

Mitsubishi Motors began delivery of the electric vehicles mainly to corporate customers in Japan in July and plans to begin full-fledged global distribution in 2010.

Source : Kyodo News International, by McClatchy,November 26th, 2009