The solar electrolysis of water starts at the nanoscale in order to gain efficiency and reduce costs.

“Recently, we successfully developed an inexpensive coating for our water-splitting nanoparticles that protect the particles from photocorrosion and common water impurities,” says HyperSolar CEO Tim Young. “Additional laboratory tests and technical development reveal that this coating can also protect the nanoparticles when submerged directly in harsh water conditions such as lake water, wastewater, and seawater.

“The implications of our technology may be world changing. If we can successfully complete the development of a low cost, highly efficient solar powered water-splitting nanoparticle, we can use readily available seawater, runoff water, river water, or wastewater, to produce large quantities of hydrogen fuel to power the world. When the hydrogen fuel is used in fuel cells or combustion, clean water (pure H2O) returns back to the Earth. HyperSolar is making steady technical progress to enable this vision.”

In addition, the location of these solar to hydrogen production stations can be very diverse from high population cities to the far reaches of developing 3rd world nations. The only limitation is the access to some kind of water, dirty, clean or anything in-between.

More recently, this was bolstered by new information from CNW Research, which found that surveys are showing more Americans are not so negative on diesel as they have been before.  Diesel engines, of course, are quite popular in Europe.

The other advantages of diesel, including extremely high fuel efficiency compared to gasoline and much longer engine longevity mean lower costs of ownership over time.  Their lower price versus hybrids is also a big factor expected to propel them forward as the vehicle of choice for 10% of Americans.

Currently, only European manufacturers like Volkswagen and Audi are offering clean diesel options for passenger cars, but General Motors plans to offer the Cruze sedan in a diesel option and other automakers are sure to follow suit, bringing their European diesel options to North America.

If anything stops this from happening, it’s most likely to be government.  The proposed (and likely to pass) federal regulations for fuel economy do not have provisions for diesel engines as an alternative to gasoline.  Which means that a manufacturer that puts diesel into a car’s drive train gets no bonus for doing so and the diesel will not be credited towards their lower Corporate Annual Fuel Economy (CAFE) requirements.  Unlike other alternatives like hybrids and natural gas.

That puts diesel at a disadvantage to those other fuels, making it less attractive despite its benefits.  Even when biodiesel is used to fuel the car.

This letter is part of a multi-state agreement initiated last fall by Hickenlooper and Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin to promote the use of natural gas as a transportation fuel.

The states participating in the letter with Colorado and Oklahoma are: Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.

For many Americans, high gasoline prices create a financial strain in an already difficult economic environment. As governors, we share the concerns of citizens and are committed to finding solutions. A bipartisan partnership between governors and auto manufacturers in the US makes sense and has the potential to create new options for alternative fuel vehicles and transportation fuel diversity.

—Governors’ letter

Hickenlooper also announced the Governor’s Energy Office (GEO) will work with the Colorado Municipal League (CML) to engage municipalities to participate in the multi-state MOU on natural gas vehicles.

CML will work with the GEO on behalf of municipalities interested in adding natural gas vehicles to their fleets. The GEO will develop a purchasing mechanism for municipalities and will work with the natural gas industry, fuel retailers and local governments to encourage the development of natural gas fueling facilities.

by Aaron Turpen, TorqueNews – read it here.

Audi, BMW, Chrysler, Daimler, Ford, General Motors, Porsche and Volkswagen have agreed to support the harmonized single-port fast charging approach—called DC-fast charging with a Combined Charging System—for use on electric vehicles in Europe and the United States. (Earlier post.)

The combined charging system integrates one-phase AC-charging, fast three-phase AC-charging, DC-charging at home and ultra-fast DC-charging at public stations into one vehicle inlet. This will allow customers to charge at most existing charging stations regardless of power source and may speed more affordable adoption of a standardized infrastructure.

The Society of International Engineers has chosen the single-port fast charging method as its standard for fast charging and the European manufacturing association (ACEA) has endorsed harmonization for all vehicle types. Chargers will be available commercially as of the end of 2012 and vehicles using the technology will be available starting 2013.

The International Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) has chosen the Combined Charging System as the fast-charging methodology for a standard that incrementally extends the existing Type 1-based AC-charging. The standard is to be officially published this summer. ACEA, the European association of vehicle manufacturers has also selected the Combined Charging System as its AC/DC-charging interface for all new vehicle types in Europe beginning in 2017.

The charging system design was based on the collaborative review and analysis of existing charging strategies, the ergonomics of the connector and preferences of US and European customers. The Combined Charging System was developed for all international vehicle markets and creates a uniform standard with identical electrical systems, charge controllers, package dimensions and safety mechanisms.

The system maximizes capability for integration with future smart grid developments through common broadband communication methods regardless of the global location of the charging system. The combined charging approach will reduce development and infrastructure complexity, improve charging reliability, reduce the total cost-of-ownership for end customers and provide low maintenance costs.

Commercially available combined charging stations are projected to be available later this year. All committed OEMs have vehicles in development which will use the Combined Charging System. First vehicles using this technology will be launched to the market in 2013.

“This has never been done before, and why we do it – to show that it is possible to drive emission free from Oslo and throughout Europe, says Marius Bornstein, technical adviser on hydrogen at ZERO. He was one of the drivers who drove the two Hyundai Ix35 FCEV (Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle) hydrogen cars throughout Europe.” (Translation via Google)

According to Google Maps this journey is around 2,260 km and takes about 23 hours if one is driving straight through. This is the first time ever that hydrogen cars have been driven such a distance without the use of a mobile hydrogen fueling support unit.

The Hyundai Ix35 FCEV was chosen for this journey because of its tank capacity and driving range. Of course they could also have chosen the Toyota FCHV-adv which has as much if not more tank capacity and driving range as the Hyundai, but the point is now moot.

In brief: At a launch party in Los Angeles, the Oregon-based company revealed the new Empulse and Empulse R electric motorcycles.

Vehicle in the news

Make/Model: Empulse / Empulse R
Manufacturer: Brammo

The word

The battery-electric motorcycles have a 100 mile range and 100mph top speed thanks to a new generation battery and powertrain system Brammo has developed. The bikes are road bikes with a tougher, more contemporary style compared to Brammo’s other models, which are based on motocross and Enduro styling.

Brammo announced the Empulse and Empulse R will cost $16,995 and $18,995 respectively. Special financing options at Brammo dealers through Sheffield Financial will be available as well.

Production for the Empulse R will begin first with availability beginning in June and full volume availability by the third quarter. The Empulse will become available in January of 2013.

The addition of a water cooling system for the motor and an integrated transmission gave the bikes a longer range and higher top speed.

Pre-orders for the bike began earlier this year. At the unveiling, the first 1,000 people to pre-purchase were entered into a random drawing from which lucky winner Jueiming Chen was chosen. Chen will receive his Empulse R free of charge.

And so …

Differences between the Empulse and the more expensive R model is in the fittings. The standard Empulse uses plastic body work while the R has lighter, more durable carbon fiber components.

Photo credits: Brammo

H2 storage is at low pressure (about 3 bar) to give the mower between 3 and 4 hours of operation per tank – roughly the same as its gasoline counterpart.

Prototypes have been sold to the Town of Dole in France and the company, which is based in France and headed by Mathilde Perreux, is working towards going to production with the mowers for wider sales.

The company says that with the 93 times higher pollution conventional mowers can put out when compared to cars, replacing this sector with cleaner alternatives is important.

Diesel sales in the United States are growing quickly, up about 27% last year over the year before, and expected to be a large portion of the market by 2015.  GM has been producing diesel models under its European and Asian nameplates for some time, with 33,000 Cruze models being produced for foreign sales last year alone.

“Even with high fuel prices, we’re seeing more consumers willing to invest in more advanced technology, fuel-efficient vehicles,” said Allen Schaeffer, executive director of the Diesel Technology Forum, a non-profit educational organization. “We’re really excited about what the Chevy Cruze brings to this segment. It’s already a successful car in its fuel efficiency and market acceptance. With GM’s advanced clean-burning diesel technology under the hood, Cruze stands to be a game changer.”

Although official numbers have not been released, the Cruze in turbo diesel would likely get over 40 miles per gallon on the highway.