Death of the Electric Car | Hybrid Vehicle

Bloom Box

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 01:15:00 +0000

Fuel-Cell Powered 'Bloom box'

The 'Bloom box' from Bloom Energy promises to provide clean energy for offices, as well as homes.

K.R. Sridhar has an energy plan anyone could get behind - electricity in a box.

That's the promise of the "Bloom box," the fuel-cell-powered invention coming from the Silicon Valley, start up, Bloom Energy.

"In five to ten years, we would like to be in every home," Sridhar told Leslie Stahl on "60 Minutes" Sunday night.

The "box" generates its power wirelessly through a combination of oxygen and a fossil fuel - natural gas, bio-gas, etc. It is presently being tested by companies such as Google, WalMart, FedEx and eBay, who have shelled out hundreds of thousands for the "green" machines, the CBS News program reported.

Smaller versions could be used to power individual homes, and would be environmentally friendly.
Sridhar initially developed the idea while working with NASA, as a means of producing oxygen for astronauts landing on Mars. However, when that mission was scrapped, he altered the device to produce energy instead.

"It sounds awfully dazzling," Stahl told the Indian-born scientist.

"It is real," he said. "It works."

Not everyone is buying into Bloom Energy's boasts for its product, which it plans to unveil to the world in less than two days, according to its presently-sparse www.bloomenergy.com Web site.

"I'm hopeful, but I'm skeptical," Michael Kanellos, editor-in-chief of GreenTech Media, told "60 Minutes." "People have tried fuel cells since the 1830s."

Bloom's efforts have been touted by the likes of former Secretary of State Colin Powell and former Vice President Al Gore. It also received hundreds of millions of dollars in funding from John Doerr's capital firm, Kleiner Perkins. The firm developed Netscape, Amazon and Google, but also backed the less-impressive Segway personal two-wheeled transportation vehicle.

"That's my job," Doerr said on "60 Minutes." "To find entrepreneurs who are going to change the world and then help them."

Cash Cow

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 01:34:00 +0000

US project seeks to make the family car a cash cow

AFP/Karras Photography-HO – US researchers unveiled this converted Toyota Scion xB, seen here at the annual meeting of the American …

by Karin Zeitvogel – Fri Feb 19, 9:15 am ET

SAN DIEGO, California (AFP) – US researchers unveiled a vehicle Thursday that earns money for its driver instead of guzzling it up in gasoline and maintenance costs.

The converted Toyota Scion xB, shown at the annual meeting of theAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science here, is the firstelectric car to be linked to a power grid and serve as a cash cow.

"This is the first vehicle that's ever been paid to participate in the grid -- the first proof of concept vehicle," Ken Huber, who overseestechnological development at wholesale electricity coordinator PJM Interconnection, told AFP.

The presentation of the box-like, unassuming looking Scion was the researchers' way of introducing the "vehicle-to-grid" (V2G) concept as it begins to gain momentum in the United States and around the world.

V2G projects with hybrid cars that use electricity and gas to store energy in their batteries and feed it back into the power grid are up and running in the United States, and the drive now is to produce all electric vehicles to plug into the power grid.

"This makes the car useful not only when it's being driven, but also when it's parked, as long as you remember to plug it in," said Willett Kempton, who is leading a V2G project at the University of Delaware.

A V2G car is connected via an Internet-over-powerline connection that sends a signal from inside the car's computer to an aggregator's server.

The aggregator acts as the middleman between the car owner and power grid management companies, which are constantly trying to keep electricity output at a constant level.

When the grid needs more power due to a surge in demand, power companies usually draw from traditional power plants, which in the United States are often coal-fired and leave a large carbon footprint.

When V2G becomes more widespread, the power could be drawn from millions of vehicles plugged into sockets in home garages or from commercial fleets, such as the US Postal Service's vans, for a much smaller footprint than that of the power plants.

Grid management companies like PJM Interconnection currently pay around 30 dollars an hour when taking power from a car.

V2G is still a new concept, but it is gaining ground in the United States and Europe.

"Ten years ago, this was just a plan. Today, it's a real project and in 10 years, we'll be producing tens of megawatts of power this way," said Kempton, adding that V2G will readily find applications in countries that are rapidly ramping up reliance on wind and solar energy, such as Denmark and Britain.

Huber said he will be meeting in the coming weeks in Paris with heads of European grid management companies about V2G.

"We're going to try to determine how we can work together on this. It's a technology that is very good at meeting a need we have, and there's growing interest among auto companies to develop V2G vehicles," he added.

AC Propulsion of California has designed an electric drive system for V2G, and car manufacturers including Renault/Nissan, Mitsubishi and BMW are producing all-electric vehicles with an eye on the V2G market.

Wheat Straw

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:30:00 +0000

Reducing Petroleum Use by Using Wheat

November 12, 2009

Small changes can make huge difference. Consider a plastic storage bin. By using wheat straw-reinforced plastic rather than 100-percent traditional petroleum products, it is estimated that petroleum use will be reduced by approximately 20,000 and CO2 emissions will be reduced by approximately 30,000 pounds per year.

The first application of the natural fiber-based plastic that contains 20-percent wheat straw bio-filler is on the 2010 Ford Flex's third-row interior storage bins. Ford is already considering using the environmentally-friendly technology in the construction of center-console bins and trays, interior air registers, door trim panel components and armrest liners.

Ford's sustainable materials portfolio also includes soy-based polyurethane seat cushions, seatbacks and headliners; post-industrial recycled yarns for seat fabrics; and post-consumer recycled resins for underbody systems, such as the new engine cam cover on the 2010 Ford "Ford continues to explore and open doors for greener materials that positively impact the environment and work well for customers," said Patrick Berryman, a Ford engineering manager who develops interior trim. "We seized the opportunity to add wheat straw-reinforced plastic as our next sustainable material on the production line, and the storage bin for the Flex was the ideal first application."

Collaborative effort

Ford researchers were approached with the wheat straw-based plastics formulation by the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, as part of the Ontario BioCar Initiative – a multi-university effort between Waterloo, the University of Guelph, University of Toronto and University of Windsor. Ford works closely with the Ontario government-funded project, which is seeking to advance the use of more plant-based materials in the auto and agricultural industries.

The University of Waterloo already had been working with plastics supplier A. Schulman of Akron, Ohio, to perfect the lab formula for use in auto parts, ensuring the material is not only odorless, but also meets industry standards for thermal expansion and degradation, rigidity, moisture absorption and fogging. Less than 18 months after the initial presentation was made to Ford's Biomaterials Group, the wheat straw-reinforced plastic was refined and approved for Flex, which is produced at Ford's Oakville (Ontario) Assembly Complex.

The wheat straw-reinforced resin is the BioCar Initiative's first production-ready application. It demonstrates better dimensional integrity than a non-reinforced plastic and weighs up to 10 percent less than a plastic reinforced with talc or glass.

"Without Ford's driving force and contribution, we would have never been able to move from academia to industry in such lightning speed," said Leonardo Simon, associate professor of chemical engineering at the University of Waterloo. "Seeing this go into production on the Ford Flex is a major accomplishment for the University of Waterloo and the BioCar Initiative."

An interior storage bin may seem like a small start, but it opens the door for more applications, said Dr. Ellen Lee, technical expert, Ford's Plastics Research.

"We see a great deal of potential for other applications since wheat straw has good mechanical properties, can meet our performance and durability specifications, and can further reduce our carbon footprint – all without compromise to the customer."

Abundant waste material put to good use

The case for using wheat straw to reinforce plastics in higher-volume, higher-content applications is strong across many industries. In Ontario alone, where Flex is built, more than 28,000 farmers grow wheat, along with corn and soybeans. Typically, wheat straw, the byproduct of growing and processing wheat, is discarded. Ontario, for example, has some 30 million metric tons of available wheat straw waste at any given time.

"Wheat is everywhere and the straw is in excess," said Lee. "We have found a practical automotive usage for a renewable resource that helps reduce our dependence on petroleum, uses less energy to manufacture, and reduces our carbon footprint. More importantly, it doesn't jeopardize an essential food source."

To date, Ford and its suppliers are working with four southern Ontario farmers for the wheat straw needed to mold the Flex's two interior storage bins.

History in the making

Ford's interest in wheat dates back to the 1920s, when company founder Henry Ford developed a product called Fordite – a mixture of wheat straw, rubber, sulphur, silica and other ingredients – that was used to make steering wheels for Ford cars and trucks. Much of the straw used to produce Fordite came from Henry Ford's Dearborn-area farm.

The company's new-age application for wheat straw joins other bio-based, reclaimed and recycled materials that are in Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles today, including:

Soy-based polyurethane foams on the seat cushions and seatbacks, now in production on the Ford Mustang, Expedition, F-150, Focus, Escape, Escape Hybrid, Mercury Mariner and Lincoln Navigator and Lincoln MKS. More than 1.5 million Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles on the road today have soy-foam seats, which equates to a reduction in petroleum oil usage of approximately 1.5 million pounds. This year, Ford has expanded its soy-foam portfolio to include the industry's first application of a soy-foam headliner on the 2010 Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner for a 25 percent weight savings over a traditional glass-mat headliner.

Underbody systems, such as aerodynamic shields, splash shields and radiator air deflector shields, made from post-consumer recycled resins such as detergent bottles, tires and battery casings, diverting between 25 and 30 million pounds of plastic from landfills. The newest addition is the engine cam cover on the 3.0-liter V-6 2010 Ford Escape.

100 percent post-industrial recycled yarns in seat fabrics on vehicles such as the Ford Escape. The 2010 Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan Hybrids feature 85 percent post-industrial yarns and 15 percent solution-dyed yarns. The 100 percent usage represents a 64 percent reduction in energy consumption and a 60 percent reduction in CO2 emissions.

Repurposed nylon carpeting made into nylon resin and molded into cylinder head covers for Ford's 3.0L Duratec engine. The industry's first eco-friendly cylinder head cover is currently found in the 2010 Ford Fusion and Escape vehicles.

About the Ontario Bio-Car Initiative

The Ontario Bio-Car Initiative represents a partnership between the automotive industry and the public sector, aimed at accelerating the use of biomass in automotive materials.

Electric Cars Charging Ahead

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 18:10:00 +0000

For further proof that electric cars are charging ahead, take the 2010 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

For the past three years, e-cars have been relegated to the cellar of downtown Detroit's sprawling Cobo Center convention hall, where few of the more than 650,000 visitors to North America's largest auto showcase ever go.

But this year, these emerging vehicles get main-floor real estate. They get to preen in a 37,000-square-foot Electric Avenue. Sponsored by Dow Chemical, this is a first for the huge show, which opened for press events Monday and runs through Jan. 24.

Electric Avenue houses 20 electric-car makers ranging from Chevrolet, with its Volt, and Mitsubishi, with its MiEV (Innovative Electric Vehicle), to a collection of small outfits that for now are operating on batteries, a wing and a prayer.

"The Tango is the only car here that can really change the world," said Rick Woodbury, president of Spokane, Wash.-based, Tango Commuter Cars. The Tango is a 39-inch-wide two-seater that Woodbury says can go 135 mph and is narrow enough to share a lane with a motorcycle or another Tango, if that were legal. (In most of the U.S., it is not.)

Woodbury's company has built just a few Tangos, one of which he sold for $150,000 to actor George Clooney.

Woodbury bought the car back from Clooney after Clooney purchased a sporty Tesla electric car. The Tango's second seat is behind, not beside, the driver's seat. "Clooney's girlfriend wouldn't ride there," Woodbury said.

Like many entrepreneurs in the e-car field, Woodbury pines for investors. If he could latch onto, say, $150 million, he says he could build the cars for $29,000 in volume -- and business would get in gear.

"Investors," he lamented, "just don't understand."

Next door on Electric Avenue is the Triac, a three-wheeler built by Green Vehicles Inc.

Company President Mike Ryan says the Triac, which can seat four, is really a motorcycle and can be licensed as such. It sells for $25,000 before U.S. government energy rebates of up to $7,500. It can go 80 mph and has a 100-mile range. It has a warning system when you're running low. To recharge e-cars, you simply plug them into an electric outlet. But a recharge can take hours.

With a Triac "you aren't going to be a speed demon, but you won't hold up traffic," Ryan said.

He says his company has sold 40 of the vehicles. Ryan hopes to expand into full-scale manufacturing by October.

CT&T United focuses on making commercial e-vehicles such as delivery trucks, police cars and even a line of food trucks, which it calls City Cafeteria. The City Cafeteria comes complete with an awning, refrigeration and a grill, and costs $20,000, says Joseph White, chief operating officer of the Korean-based company.

Basic CTC vehicles start at about $7,000, before rebates, with larger and more feature-laden vehicles averaging $13,000. They can reach 35 mph and can go up to 80 miles on a single charge of their lithium polymer batteries.

CT&T, which was started in 2002, has manufacturing facilities in South Korea and China. Starting this year, the company plans to build components in Korea and ship them to assembly plants it plans to establish in Atlanta and California. White says CT&T hopes to employ 2,600 people in the U.S. within five years.

Over on the north end of Electric Avenue, David Patterson, Mitsubishi North America's chief engineer for advanced technology, sounds confident when he talks about the MiEV. It's been available for about a month, but for now only in Japan. Mitsubishi says it has sold 1,400 already.

In Japan, the cars sell for $45,000, but Patterson says buyers can get $20,000 worth of incentives, bringing their cost down to $25,000.

While most of the big automakers have some presence on Electric Avenue, Mitsubishi is by far the biggest of the big companies looking to make a splash at the auto show's new feature.

And at 1,400 sales, it's already the block's big seller. Mitsubishi plans to start selling its MiEV in the U.S. in 2011. Unlike most of the cars on Electric Avenue, MiEV looks like a conventional gas-powered vehicle.

"The only way electric vehicles are going to be successful is by being ordinary vehicles," Patterson said.

Mitsubishi has concentrated on making the cars familiar before they hit the market. It has leased a small fleet of them to Best Buy to transport its Geek Squad. Similar deals are on deck, Patterson says.

In Japan, Lawson, that nation's second-largest chain of convenience stores, has added MiEV charging stations to all its outlets. The company is looking for U.S. recharging station partners.

The MiEV runs on lithium ion batteries. It has a 75-mile range and can go 85 mph on a charge.

Patterson says the company hasn't determined prices for the U.S. market. Whatever the price, he says the U.S. market will get a proven vehicle. "What we bring to the party is experience," he said.

Lithium-ion

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 17:58:00 +0000

Is lithium-ion the ideal battery?

For many years, nickel-cadmium had been the only suitable battery for portable equipment from wireless communications to mobile computing. Nickel-metal-hydride and lithium-ion emerged in the early 1990s, fighting nose-to-nose to gain customer's acceptance. Today, lithium-ion is the fastest growing and most promising battery chemistry.

The lithium-ion battery

Pioneer work with the lithium battery began in 1912 under G.N. Lewis but it was not until the early 1970s when the first non-rechargeable lithium batteries became commercially available. Lithium is the lightest of all metals, has the greatest electrochemical potential and provides the largest energy density for weight.

Attempts to develop rechargeable lithium batteries failed due to safety problems. Because of the inherent instability of lithium metal, especially during charging, research shifted to a non-metallic lithium battery using lithium ions. Although slightly lower in energy density than lithium metal, lithium-ion is safe, provided certain precautions are met when charging and discharging. In 1991, the Sony Corporation commercialized the first lithium-ion battery. Other manufacturers followed suit.

The energy density of lithium-ion is typically twice that of the standard nickel-cadmium. There is potential for higher energy densities. The load characteristics are reasonably good and behave similarly to nickel-cadmium in terms of discharge. The high cell voltage of 3.6 volts allows battery pack designs with only one cell. Most of today's mobile phones run on a single cell. A nickel-based pack would require three 1.2-volt cells connected in series.

Lithium-ion is a low maintenance battery, an advantage that most other chemistries cannot claim. There is no memory and no scheduled cycling is required to prolong the battery's life. In addition, the self-discharge is less than half compared to nickel-cadmium, making lithium-ion well suited for modern fuel gauge applications. Lithium-ion cells cause little harm when disposed.

Despite its overall advantages, lithium-ion has its drawbacks. It is fragile and requires a protection circuit to maintain safe operation. Built into each pack, the protection circuit limits the peak voltage of each cell during charge and prevents the cell voltage from dropping too low on discharge. In addition, the cell temperature is monitored to prevent temperature extremes. The maximum charge and discharge current on most packs are is limited to between 1C and 2C. With these precautions in place, the possibility of metallic lithium plating occurring due to overcharge is virtually eliminated.

Aging is a concern with most lithium-ion batteries and many manufacturers remain silent about this issue. Some capacity deterioration is noticeable after one year, whether the battery is in use or not. The battery frequently fails after two or three years. It should be noted that other chemistries also have age-related degenerative effects. This is especially true for nickel-metal-hydride if exposed to high ambient temperatures. At the same time, lithium-ion packs are known to have served for five years in some applications.

Manufacturers are constantly improving lithium-ion. New and enhanced chemical combinations are introduced every six months or so. With such rapid progress, it is difficult to assess how well the revised battery will age.

Storage in a cool place slows the aging process of lithium-ion (and other chemistries). Manufacturers recommend storage temperatures of 15°C (59°F). In addition, the battery should be partially charged during storage. The manufacturer recommends a 40% charge.

The most economical lithium-ion battery in terms of cost-to-energy ratio is the cylindrical 18650 (18 is the diameter and 650 the length in mm). This cell is used for mobile computing and other applications that do not demand ultra-thin geometry. If a slim pack is required, the prismatic lithium-ion cell is the best choice. These cells come at a higher cost in terms of stored energy.

Advantages

High energy density - potential for yet higher capacities.
Does not need prolonged priming when new. One regular charge is all that's needed.
Relatively low self-discharge - self-discharge is less than half that of nickel-based batteries.
Low Maintenance - no periodic discharge is needed; there is no memory.
Specialty cells can provide very high current to applications such as power tools.

Limitations

Requires protection circuit to maintain voltage and current within safe limits.
Subject to aging, even if not in use - storage in a cool place at 40% charge reduces the aging effect.
Transportation restrictions - shipment of larger quantities may be subject to regulatory control. This restriction does not apply to personal carry-on batteries. (See last section)
Expensive to manufacture - about 40 percent higher in cost than nickel-cadmium.
Not fully mature - metals and chemicals are changing on a continuing basis.

The lithium Polymer battery

The lithium-polymer differentiates itself from conventional battery systems in the type of electrolyte used. The original design, dating back to the 1970s, uses a dry solid polymer electrolyte. This electrolyte resembles a plastic-like film that does not conduct electricity but allows ions exchange (electrically charged atoms or groups of atoms). The polymer electrolyte replaces the traditional porous separator, which is soaked with electrolyte.

The dry polymer design offers simplifications with respect to fabrication, ruggedness, safety and thin-profile geometry. With a cell thickness measuring as little as one millimeter (0.039 inches), equipment designers are left to their own imagination in terms of form, shape and size.

Unfortunately, the dry lithium-polymer suffers from poor conductivity. The internal resistance is too high and cannot deliver the current bursts needed to power modern communication devices and spin up the hard drives of mobile computing equipment. If you heating the cell, to 60°C (140°F) or higher it increases the conductivity. This is a requirement that is unsuitable for portable applications.

To compromise, some gelled electrolyte has been added. The commercial cells use a separator/ electrolyte membrane prepared from the same traditional porous polyethylene or polypropylene separator filled with a polymer, which gels upon filling with the liquid electrolyte. Thus the commercial lithium-ion polymer cells are very similar in chemistry and materials to their liquid electrolyte counter parts.

Lithium-ion-polymer has not caught on as quickly as some analysts had expected. Its superiority to other systems and low manufacturing costs has not been realized. No improvements in capacity gains are achieved - in fact, the capacity is slightly less than that of the standard lithium-ion battery. Lithium-ion-polymer finds its market niche in wafer-thin geometries, such as batteries for credit cards and other such applications.

Advantages

Very low profile - batteries resembling the profile of a credit card are feasible.
Flexible form factor - manufacturers are not bound by standard cell formats. With high volume, any reasonable size can be produced economically.
Lightweight - gelled electrolytes enable simplified packaging by eliminating the metal shell.
Improved safety - more resistant to overcharge; less chance for electrolyte leakage.

Limitations

Lower energy density and decreased cycle count compared to lithium-ion.
Expensive to manufacture.
No standard sizes. Most cells are produced for high volume consumer markets.
Higher cost-to-energy ratio than lithium-ion

Restrictions on lithium content for air travel

Air travelers ask the question, "How much lithium in a battery am I allowed to bring on board?" We differentiate between two battery types: Lithium metal and lithium-ion.
Most lithium metal batteries are non-rechargeable and are used in film cameras. Lithium-ion packs are rechargeable and power laptops, cellular phones and camcorders. Both battery types, including spare packs, are allowed as carry-on but cannot exceed the following lithium content:
- 2 grams for lithium metal or lithium alloy batteries
- 8 grams for lithium-ion batteries

Lithium-ion batteries exceeding 8 grams but no more than 25 grams may be carried in carry-on baggage if individually protected to prevent short circuits and are limited to two spare batteries per person.

How do I know the lithium content of a lithium-ion battery? From a theoretical perspective, there is no metallic lithium in a typical lithium-ion battery. There is, however, equivalent lithium content that must be considered. For a lithium-ion cell, this is calculated at 0.3 times the rated capacity (in ampere-hours).

Example: A 2Ah 18650 Li-ion cell has 0.6 grams of lithium content. On a typical 60 Wh laptop battery with 8 cells (4 in series and 2 in parallel), this adds up to 4.8g. To stay under the 8-gram UN limit, the largest battery you can bring is 96 Wh. This pack could include 2.2Ah cells in a 12 cells arrangement (4s3p). If the 2.4Ah cell were used instead, the pack would need to be limited to 9 cells (3s3p).

Restrictions on shipment of lithium-ion batteries

Anyone shipping lithium-ion batteries in bulk is responsible to meet transportation regulations. This applies to domestic and international shipments by land, sea and air.
Lithium-ion cells whose equivalent lithium content exceeds 1.5 grams or 8 grams per battery pack must be shipped as "Class 9 miscellaneous hazardous material." Cell capacity and the number of cells in a pack determine the lithium content.
Exception is given to packs that contain less than 8 grams of lithium content. If, however, a shipment contains more than 24 lithium cells or 12 lithium-ion battery packs, special markings and shipping documents will be required. Each package must be marked that it contains lithium batteries.
All lithium-ion batteries must be tested in accordance with specifications detailed in UN 3090 regardless of lithium content (UN manual of Tests and Criteria, Part III, subsection 38.3). This precaution safeguards against the shipment of flawed batteries.
Cells & batteries must be separated to prevent short-circuiting and packaged in strong boxes.

_________________________

Green Careers

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 20:01:00 +0000

From solar panels to wind turbines...green careers are here.

By Lawrence Ross

Green jobs used to be a topic that only intrigued the Berkeley types eating granola bars.

Not anymore.

Today, economists trumpet the greening of the economy as a savior of American industry, as scientists and engineers are creating dynamic new ways to go green.

That all sounds well and good, but what exactly is a green job?

It has to pay decent wages and benefits that can support a family. It has to be part of a real career path, with upward mobility, said Phil Angelides, chair of the Apollo Alliance, a coalition of business, labor, and environmental groups championing green employment. "And it needs to reduce waste and pollution and benefit the environment."

Green jobs can range from installing solar panels and wind turbines, to hybrid car production and green facilities management, not to mention the greening of existing occupations.

Did you know that U.S. Energy Secretary Stephen Chu said that if the United States painted 63 percent of the roofs white, the energy savings would be like taking every car off the road for 10 years?

Residential and commercial construction is another big area that will see job growth.

The Center for American Progress estimates that if the country commits to retrofitting 40 percent of all commercial and residential buildings (approximately 50 million buildings) in ten years, 625,000 permanent jobs will be created.

Domestically, the green collar job movement is benefiting from the fact that the U.S. renewable energy industry was growing three times faster than the economy overall prior to the recession's onset at the end of 2007, according to a study for the Energy Department by Management Information Services Inc. (MISI) of Oakton, Va.

That kind of aggressive growth was echoed by a new study from the Pew Charitable Trust, which says the number of green jobs in the United States grew 9.1 percent between 1998 and 2007, about two-and-a-half times faster than job creation in the economy as a whole.

Here are some of the fastest growing green jobs:

Farmer

Michael Pollan, author of In Defense of Food, says there's a need for tens of millions of small farmers who use local, organic, and green methods, rather than the dangerous fertilizers and pesticides used by many corporate farms. And according to The New York Times, Jessica Durham, a partner with D&L Urban Farms, makes $35 per hour tending small urban farms for others.

Forester

With the move from cutting and culling forests to growing higher-value timber for medicine and fruit, forests are a major area for green jobs. The U.S. Forest Service recently received $1.15 billion from the federal government for jobs.

Solar Panel Installer

A study by the Apollo Alliance recommends an $89.9 billion investment in green buildings which would create 827,260 jobs - an initiative supported by the Obama stimulus package. According to The Wall Street Journal, a solar panel installer can make between $15 and $30 per hour.

Wind Turbine Fabricators

According to the American Wind Energy Association, the industry currently employs some 50,000 Americans and added another 10,000 new jobs in 2007. This is an area that Fast Company says is a great place for auto workers to repurpose their skills.

HVAC

Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) is a great source for green jobs, because for many businesses and governments, it's a field where retrofitting to more green, energy efficient units creates instant savings. An HVAC tech can expect to make about $38,360 per year, according to the Department of Energy.

The bottom line: Going green no longer is outside the mainstream. It is the mainstream. And with the right training, you'll find that saving the environment is a good way to make a living.

Evolution of Car Manufacturers

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 21:17:00 +0000

Manufacturers Popularity and Decline

There were over 300 companies building electric cars at the turn of the 20th century. At that time the United States had over 30,000 electric cars on the road. The Electric Vehicle Association of America (EVAA) was founded by Boston Edison in 1909. Electric cars were clean and quiet, and did not require manual starting by physically cranking the motor by hand. The biggest demographic customer base for these cars was women. Even Henry Ford's wife drove an electric car.

In 1913 Cadillac invented the electric starter; this was a huge advance, truly a milestone in automotive technology for internal combustion cars. The internal combustion assembly lines of Henry Ford, active since 1908, caused a further decline in the use of electric cars. Ford's assembly line made cars inexpensive and it helped make them more uniform. Parts were not custom made for each vehicle, this made repairs and replacements easier and more economic. At the time, electrics were still popular for some non-road applications, such as service vehicles like carts and forklifts.

Infrastructure

With more cars of all types being produced the transportation infrastructure began to improve dramatically. We began building more paved roads. This also made internal combustion cars more desirable because of their greater range. Even Thomas Edison preferred gasoline to electric. As gasoline vehicles became more popular we began building more service and support for them. Garages and gas stations began to appear in more locations, making it easier to own and operate a gas vehicle.

Today's Hybrids and Electrics

Hybrid vehicles became popular at the turn of the 21st century. Fuel prices reached record levels, quickly going from two dollars to three dollars, and eventually to over four dollars per gallon. One of the first vehicles to reach critical success in the consumer marketplace was the hybrid Toyota Prius. This vehicle is affordable, efficient and advanced, its hybrid technology blurring the lines between the performance of electric and internal combustion vehicles. Hybrids' have two drive trains that work with each other to provide the work to drive the vehicle. Development of the Hybrid has produced new technology which combines the drive trains at a price people are willing to pay. A side benefit of their development has been to show that electric technology works effectively. Some Hybrid owners have done conversions allowing for their vehicles to be charged by directly plugging in, these are known as plug-in-hybrid-electric-vehicles (PHEV).

The history of electric cars and trucks is filled with both facts and politics. Arguably, the best electric vehicles (EVs) are the one produced by the major auto manufacturers. The major manufacturers produced both "ground-up", or original EVs, and conversions of existing vehicles. Most of these vehicles are no longer in existence due to the auto makers' claims that there is not enough consumer demand. Economics have come into question at various times, as the major vehicle makers have a vested stake in their existing internal combustion engine (ICE) technology.

Smaller manufacturers have attempted to build electric cars and trucks with varying degrees of success. Some of the vehicles produced by these companies look similar to the internal combustion cars and trucks we drive, and others appear much more exotic. Size is important in order to maximize range, so some vehicles are extremely light, almost like bicycles. Others have been built with three wheels to qualify for motor vehicle licensing in the motorcycle category. Cars have been produced with direct drive motors, chain drive, belt drive, hub motors.

Several smaller "boutique", or specialty manufacturers still convert vehicles today. The degree of their quality and performance varies dramatically. Some companies offer parts that are kitted into standardized assemblies, others simply provide general instructions and ideas, often with a loose recipe of parts and where to find them.

Many hobbyists are drawn to conversions because of the design and creativity necessary to convert one existing design into another. Because of this freedom, many strange and unique features have come from individual projects. This experimentation has included charging trailers that are towed behind the with a gas generator (the first "hybrids"); regenerative braking that puts energy back into the battery pack by temporarily making the motor into a charger; even exploring with solar or motion generators attached to the EV.

The moderate or limited success of these early inventors has both helped and hurt the EV industry. The best outcome has been that they have proven the concept. EVs are possible, the technology is here and can be assembled by almost anyone. The negative side is that some of the early vehicles produced were unappealing to consumers. The main buyers of these concept cars were early adopters who were willing to try out new technology. Many people believe that a car or truck is not really viable unless it is made by a major car manufacturer.

Your project is the combination of a "major manufacturer" and a "boutique" shop. The S-10 was manufactured by General Motors, and the conversion kit was made by Electric Auto Shop. Putting them together into the electric drive truck will use another boutique shop, you and your school.

Today's Fuel Cell Vehicles

Using fuel cells in vehicles may be new technology, but fuel cells were introduced over 100 years ago. In this technology, fuel material is converted into electricity. The fuel material can be a stream of hydrogen gas. Like a lead acid battery, there is action between the cathode and anode which produces work to the wheels to drive the vehicle. One drawback is that the fuel cell vehicle is expensive and needs a lot of space for the fuel cell to complete its conversion process.

Tesla Motors

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 01:19:00 +0000

Tesla Motors files for IPO, seeking $100 million

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- High-end electric-car company Tesla Motors filed for an initial public offering Friday, seeking $100 million in the public-financing arena as conventional auto makers are reeling from anemic sales and product recalls.

Palo Alto, Calif.-based Tesla filed documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, but did not indicate in the filing when those shares would be sold on the public markets, nor what the initial price would be. Company executives could not be immediately reached for comment.

If successful, the IPO could help usher in a new era for the auto industry, which is steadily moving toward cleaner-burning engines.

Toyota's recall debacle

Japanese auto-maker Toyota may have to recall 8 million vehicles world-wide over safety fears that some analysts blame on cost-cutting measures.

The IPO is expected to be one of the most high-profile offerings in some time, and is the first by a U.S. automaker since Ford Motor Co. (entered the public markets in 1956.)

Whether Tesla can take advantage and shift public tastes more toward zero-emission cars is unclear. But the timing of the IPO could prove to be shrewd.

"We believe incumbent automobile manufacturers are at a crossroads and face significant industry-wide challenges," Tesla said in its filing, adding that "the legacy investments made by incumbent automobile manufacturers in manufacturing and technology related to the internal combustion engine have to date inhibited rapid innovation in alternative-fuel powertrain technologies."

While Ford has been prospering of late, rivals General Motors and Chrysler have been suffering from downtrodden sales, and were taken over by the federal government last year. Meanwhile, top foreign producer Toyota Motor Corp. is having to recall millions of its automobiles around the globe due to a problem with sticking accelerator pedals.

The Tesla Model S.

Tesla first started selling its $100,000 all-electric sports car, the Roadster, in 2008 and followed that up last year with the Roadster 2. The company claims in its IPO filing that the car has a range of 236 miles on a single charge, and says it has sold 937 of the vehicles in 18 countries.

It is designing a sedan designed for family use, the Model S, which would run for $49,900 after a $7,500 federal tax credit, the company's IPO said. The sedan would have a range of 160 to 300 miles on a single charge. In addition, Tesla is negotiating with Daimler AG to provide its electric powertrain and battery technology for Daimler's Smart fortwo car. One thousand Tesla battery packs and chargers are being used in a trial with Smart fortwo cars in five European cities.

Tesla said it has taken out a $465 million long-term loan with the Energy Department under its advanced-vehicles manufacturing program to build a facility that will manufacture the Model S. The company added that it has been given up to $31 million under similar California state programs.

In the filing, Tesla indicated its revenue will decrease substantially before the Model S is rolled out -- expected to be sometime in 2012. That is because Tesla will cease selling its roadsters in 2011 and won't resume production on a new model until at least 2013.

Toyota Electric

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 18:58:00 +0000

Toyota to Build All-Electric Car by 2012

Toyota promises to have a compact "Urban Commuter" car that runs entirely on electricity for sale by 2012. The automaker will also speed up the rollout of plug-in electric Prius models powered by lithium-ion batteries, and build a Lexus hybrid.

Toyota, the leader in hybrid car sales, plans to have a Battery Power compact car called the FT-EV on the market by 2012 – a lightweight four seat, model on its gasoline-powered IQ, that will have an all-electric range of 50 miles.

Toyota's move toward an all-electric car follows those by companies like Nissan, Mitsubishi, Think and several others aiming for the commuter market, where the shorter ranges of battery-powered vehicles are seen as less of a drawback.

As for its hybrid plans, Toyota said it will begin delivering Prius hybrids that can be plugged in to recharge their batteries in 2009, slightly earlier than a previously announced 2010 rollout date. About 500 of the plug-in hybrids will be used for market and engineering analysis by lease fleet customers.

Those plug-in Priuses will be powered by lithium-ion batteries built at a plant owned by Toyota and Panasonic EV Energy Co., the company announced. Current Prius models use nickel-metal hydride batteries.

Toyota showed off test models of the FT-EV and new versions of the hybrid third-generation Toyota Prius and Lexus HS250h at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this weekend. Startups Tesla Motors and Fisker Automotive, as well as financially troubled automaker Chrysler, are introducing all-electric sports cars at the show.

The push for more fuel-efficient vehicles comes amid a dire economic climate, with sales of new cars plummeting and American automakers General Motors and Chrysler tapping up to $17.4 billion in federal bailout funds to avoid bankruptcy.

General Motors plans to have its plug-in hybrid Chevy Volt on sale in 2010. Ford said it plans to be building an all-electric commercial van by 2010, an all-electric passenger car by 2011, and plug-in hybrid vehicles by 2012.

The economic downturn and falling oil prices have hurt sales of hybrids along with broader auto sales. Toyota's hybrid car sales in the United States fell 53 percent in November from a year ago, and the company expects to post its first operating loss in 70 years for the fiscal year ending in March.

But Toyota's push toward electric and plug-in hybrid cars is part of the company's recognition that, despite currently falling oil and gasoline prices, "the inevitability of peak oil," or the coming peak and decline of production from the world's oil fields, will force automakers to make more fuel-efficient cars. Other automakers have also reported steeply declining sales. The poor economic climate has led seven automakers to scale down or cut their presence at the auto show, including Nissan, Mitsubishi, Rolls-Royce and Land Rover.

Best Hybrid

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 20:27:00 +0000

Test Drive: 2010 Ford Fusion is best gas-electric hybrid yet

OK, let's just get it out there: The 2010 Ford Fusion hybrid is the best gasoline-electric hybrid yet.
What makes it best is a top-drawer blend of an already very good midsize sedan with the industry's smoothest, best-integrated gas-electric power system. It's so well-done that you have to look to the $107,000 Lexus LS 600h hybrid to come close.

Fusion's $28,000 starting price is more or less in reach, the driving feel is good, and the interior has a premium look and feel.

There are three facets to consider in evaluating a gasoline-electric hybrid: the underlying vehicle itself, the hybrid system and the mileage.

Assuming the preproduction Fusion hybrid test car was representative — Ford says it was — the Fusion's scores in those three categories are good, great and adequate, but potentially, very good.

The Toyota Prius crowd will protest. Prius is lower-priced, has about the same room inside, has a handy hatchback configuration, gets better mileage — and most of those attributes could improve when the 2010 Prius goes on sale in a few months — so how could Fusion be the best hybrid?

Simple. Fusion drives better. A car is, after all, a driving machine. Brownie points for saving somewhat more fuel or offering a cargo-friendly hatchback, but driving feel is most important.

And there, Fusion is without equal among hybrids.

Here's a look:

•The car. A slick machine, regardless of power-plant. Smooth looks. Good manners. Adequate space. Comfortable accommodations. Above-average ambience.

Ford launched Fusion as a gasoline-only car in 2005 as a 2006 model.

It's getting a mid-cycle update for 2010, including a hybrid version for the first time, which will begin arriving at dealers mid-March.

The hood has a wide, demi-dome bulge, and the grille and rump are tweaked a bit.

The grille now looks as if it was done that way on purpose.

A commendable change: The turning circle is 2 feet narrower. No more back-and-forth getting into or out of a tight parking spot at the shopping mall. The change makes the car feel more nimble overall, not just when docking in a narrow slot.

•Hybrid system. The basic four-cylinder gasoline engine is a 2.5-liter, up from a 2.3-liter in previous Fusions. A little more oomph is the welcome result. The aural signature could be better — it comes down on the coarse side when spurred hard — but isn't a deal-breaker. The electric motor delivers more crank than you get from the gas engines in most small cars.

And the miracle is how Ford blends the two. There was no — none, nada, zip — vibration or shimmying in the test car when the gasoline kicked in to help the electric. No other hybrid — not even that $107,000 Lexus — can make that claim 100% of the time.

Fusion's main rivals, Camry and Nissan Altima hybrids, shake a lot when their gasoline engines join the party, Altima especially.

And no, it's not worth accepting the lack of refinement as a price for saving fuel. It'll make you bitter and crazy after a while, wincing in advance knowing that shudder is due any second.

One Ford trick: using the engine's electronic controls to halt the gasoline engine just at the point in the crankshaft rotation where a cylinder is ready to fire again.

There was a distant shudder when the Fusion's gasoline engine restarted after stopping at a red light, as all hybrids do to save fuel. But it was milder than in any other hybrid tested, so minor as to be inconsequential.

The other great thing about the Fusion hybrid is information delivery. You can pick how much hybrid-related data you want on the instrument panel. Regardless of how much you ask for, Fusion delivers it informatively, no scolding or overwhelming you, as other hybrids do.

Yes, there's the "atta way" pictograph of leaves growing into a wreath if you drive just so. But you can shut that off.

• Mileage. Mediocre for a hybrid in the test, but the mileage numbers were continuing to climb even as the test ended. And the car registered 40-plus miles per gallon in a couple of short trips that usually return crummy, not outstanding, mileage.

Best guess: Moderate, but not mileage-obsessed, drivers could get 35 mpg or so in suburban settings. Not the 41 government rating, but impressive for a 3,720-pound midsizer.

Fusion's city mileage rating is better than Camry's 33 mpg, but does it get more in real life? Probably depends more on the driver than the car.

Even if the Fusion gets lower real-world results, it's still much smoother and a whole lot nicer to drive.

More about the 2010 Ford Fusion hybrid

What? Gasoline-electric hybrid version of midsize, four-door, front-drive Fusion that's been updated for 2010 model year. Ford's Mercury brand sells the nearly identical Milan.

When? Hybrid and gasoline versions begin arriving at dealers in March.

Where? Made at Hermosillo, Mexico.

Why? Pirate some sales from Toyota's Camry hybrid. And burnish Ford's "green" credentials.

How much? Starts at $27,995 ($3,295 more than most similar gas model). With all factory options: $32,435. Midlevel test car: $29,590 (no leather or navigation system). Gasoline model starts at $19,995.

How many? About 20,000 a year, including a few Milans; more if Mikey likes it.

How powerful? Modestly — punch not being the key issue in a hybrid: 2.5-liter gasoline engine rated 156 horsepower at 6,000 rpm, 136 pounds-feet of torque at 2,250 rpm. Electric motor: 106 hp at 6,500 rpm, 166 lbs.-ft. the moment it begins to turn (an appealing attribute of electric motors). Ford says net combined hp is 191, but declines (like most hybrid makers) to specify net combined torque.

Continuously variable automatic transmission blends power from the gas, electric powerplants.

How fancy? Lots standard, including expected bags, belts, stability and traction controls and power accessories, plus the unexpected: Free six-month satellite radio service (Sirius), 110-volt outlet, six-CD stereo (instead of the typical single setup), dual-zone climate control, auto on-off headlights, auto-dimming mirror, backup alarm. In other words, you actually could abide the base Fusion hybrid.

How big? On the small end of the midsize scale. Fractionally bigger outside than Toyota Camry hybrid, slightly smaller inside, but has a bigger trunk.

Fusion hybrid is 190.6 inches long, 72.2 in. wide, 56.9 in. tall on a 107.4-in. wheelbase.

Passenger space is listed as 99.8 cubic feet, trunk as 11.8 cu. ft. Weight listed as 3,720 lbs. Turning diameter is 37.5 ft.

How thirsty? Rated 41 miles per gallon in town, 36 on the highway, 39 in combined driving.

Test car trip computer showed 27.2 mpg (but was continuing to climb when test period ended) in 300 miles of suburban driving. Registered a remarkable 41.4 mpg in one 5.1-mile suburban trip, 44 mpg in a 3.1-mile hop, driven normally, no nursing.

Tank holds 17 gallons. Regular (87 octane) gasoline is specified.

Overall: Best hybrid.

Gas Electric Hybrid

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 18:15:00 +0000

Fisker Preps Its Production Car

The Karma will cost $87,900, a little more than expected, but the gas-electric hybrid is coming next November, the company says.

Fisker Automotive says it will be ready to deliver cars to customers this coming November, and will show off its production models to the public this January.
The startup, which has designed an upscale series hybrid car called the Karma, plans to show off the production version of its car at the North American International Auto Show, which starts Jan. 11 in Detroit.

The production model largely resembles the prototype that Fisker showed off at the show last year and at subsequent events. The company, though, has begun to refine the details on the price and performance of its car. As with Tesla Motors, the big question is whether Fisker can market and mass produce what will essentially be an electric car for a price that will appeal to customers and let the company also make money. The automotive world is a harsh place. You have to go back to the 1910s and 1920s to find the last time that there were successful crops of startup automakers.

The Karma will be released at a base price of $87,900, which is nearly 10 percent higher than the $80,000 price estimate given by the company earlier. The four-door car will be powered by a lithium-ion battery from an unnamed vendor and the Q-Drive power-train initially conceived by Quantum Technologies, which has worked with General Motors on a number of projects. The car will be delivered in November, a refinement from the "fourth quarter" statements earlier.

The car is a series hybrid like the Chevy Volt, which has been delayed until 2010. This type of hybrid, the car drives on an electric motor powered by batteries. When the batteries are about to give out, the gas generator fires up, and charges the batteries. The gas engine can also propel the car. The Karma itself will drive 50 miles on electricity and then drive on a combination of gas and electric power. This gives the car an estimated mileage of 100 miles per gallon, according to the company.

The car can hit a top speed of 125 miles per hour and Fisker says it can go from zero to 60 in 5.8 seconds. It also has different driving modes-Stealth, Sport, HEV and Fuel Economy, giving drivers different degrees of fuel economy and power.

Fisker and Tesla in many ways have similar strategies. Both will enter the market with high-end cars and then try to trickle into the mainstream with sedans as the underlying technology in their vehicles becomes cheaper. (CORRECTION: Tesla has already produced and sold "nearly 100" cars according to a spokeswoman. Fisker won't start until November.) The main difference is the gas generator. Fisker makes hybrids. Tesla earlier had planned to make a series hybrid but now says it will make only all-electric cars. All-electrics can cost more than regular cars because of the inordinate expense of batteries.

On the other hand, the series hybrid concept hasn't been tried in mass production cars yet. Some, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk and UC Davis Professor Andy Frank, claim that the concept is tougher to pull off than it sounds. Toyota's Prius and the other hybrids on the road are parallel hybrids. In these, the gas motor propels the car and doesn't exist to charge the battery.

As previously stated, the Karma will be assembled by Valmet Automotive, which also produces the Porsche Boxster and Porsche Cayman. The Yearly volume is anticipated to reach 15,000 cars per year.

A total of 40 retailers for the U.S. market will be established by October 2009. Fisker Automotive will announce 20 of its Retailers in January 2009. European pricing will be announced at the International Geneva Motor Show in March.

Hybrid Chevy Volt

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 18:05:00 +0000

GM's Chevy Volt: A Work in Progress

Chevy Volt co-creator Jon Lauckner says that GM's first plug-in hybrid won't have swappable or leasable batteries, but he passes on saying how much it might cost.

Fresh out of bankruptcy, General Motors promises its plug-in hybrid, the Chevy Volt, will go on sale in late 2010. What else does GM want to tell the world about it?
Jon Lauckner, Volt co-creator and GM's vice president of global program management, didn't offer too many hard answers to the dozens of questions he fielded in an online question and answer session Wednesday. But he did clarify some roads the Volt wasn't planning to travel down.

For example, GM doesn't plan to lease the Volt's batteries to customers. That's a business model being considered by some, including battery charging and swapping station, startup Better Place, since batteries can make up a significant portion of the cost of plug-in hybrid or pure electric vehicle.

Neither does GM intend to make the Volt's batteries easily removed and exchanged, Lauckner wrote. That means the Volt will not be a candidate for Better Place's switch-the-battery business model – not surprising, since Better Place is aiming more at serving all-electric vehicles.

The Volt's battery pack – being designed by GM with battery cells from a consortium headed by LG Chem. is expected to retain enough of a charge to deliver 40 miles of electric-powered range over 10 years and 150,000 miles of service, Lauckner wrote. GM will guarantee that performance and repair or replace batteries that don't meet it.

Afterwards, the battery packs should have enough energy storage capacity for stationary applications. The semi-depleted car batteries will find second homes storing energy at homes or businesses, or utility substations.

GM still isn't talking about a price for the Volt, and likely won't until three to six months before it will start production, Lauckner wrote.

The European version of the Volt, the Ampera, is still on track for a 2011 launch, but GM will also sell the regular Volt in Europe, Lauckner wrote. That was in response to a question about the future of Opel, GM's troubled European division.

And GM doesn't see much point in putting solar panels on the roof of the Volt, Lauckner wrote – unlike Toyota, which will offer buyers of the new Prius hybrid the option of rooftop solar panels made by Kyocera.

"The amount of solar energy you can get by covering the Volt's roof with solar cells is only enough to run a small fan motor," he wrote. "You aren't going to recharge the battery on solar power in a reasonable amount of time."

Toyota expects to start mass-producing a plug-in version of the Prius in 2012.

New Breed of Hybrid Cars

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 06:01:00 +0000

About Hybrid Cars

The New Breed of Hybrid Cars - Hybrid SUV

Toyota Prius Hybrid

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 19:16:00 +0000

For 2010, Toyota has brought out an all-new version of its Prius hybrid. Like the old Prius, the new Prius is designed to deliver maximum MPG with family-car practicality. But within those parameters, Toyota has made a lot of changes: Sleeker styling, redesigned cabin, and an improved hybrid drive train that gives the driver greater control over the Prius' behavior. The old Prius did the job as well as can be expected -- so has Toyota made any meaningful improvements? Read on. $23,510 base price, $31,430 as tested, EPA fuel economy estimates 51 MPG city/48 MPG highway.

First Glance: I love you just the way you are

When I heard that Toyota was redesigning the Prius for 2010, my first thought was "Why?" Few cars carry out their intended mission better than the Prius. I bet Toyota could build it as-is for ten years and sales would still remain strong. But that's not the way things go in the auto business, and so change it they have: The Prius is all-new for 2010, for better or for worse. And while there is definitely some better, there is also a fair bit of worse.

Let's start with the styling. There's really not a whole lot the stylists can do with the Prius; the old model was designed to cheat the wind rather than please the eye, which pretty much dictates the shape. (That's why Honda came up with a similar profile for their own four-door dedicated hybrid, the Insight.) As a result, the new Prius looks a lot like the old Prius, at least at first glance. Look closer and you'll see a more Toyotaes-que face up front, a more pronounced wedge profile from the side, and a racy little spoiler out back. I was indifferent to the new shape at first, but the more new Priuses I see on the road -- here in Los Angeles, the Prius is as common as tall mocha lattes and silicon boobs -- the more I like the new shape. It makes the old Prius look frumpy by comparison. Overall, I'd say the new shape goes in the For Better category.

In the Driver's Seat: What were they thinking?

The Prius' cabin definitely has some For Better changes: A roomier back seat and a bigger trunk. Unfortunately, that's about all of the For Better, and there's a whole lot of For Worse.
Example numero uno is the center councel that divides the front seats. This is one design choice that has me scratching my head. Buying a Prius is all about being a good citizen of the planet -- so why design an interior that isolates the driver in his or her own little pod? The center console provides a more conventional location for the shift lever, though why anyone would possibly care is beyond me. It's an automatic, for cryin' out loud! Aside from that, the console just gets in the way. There's a storage area underneath which pretty much useless; anything you put there is going to a) block the seat heater controls -- which, by the way, are so inconveniently located that I can't believe Toyota came up with them -- and b) fall out on turns.

Example numero dos is the new instrument layout. The old Prius had a simple center-mounted digital gauge cluster. If you wanted more geeky information, like how power was flowing through the hybrid system or what sort of fuel economy you were achieving in five-minute increments, it was available on the same LCD screen that served the climate, stereo and navigation systems. The 2010 Prius still has the LCD screen, but Toyota designed a new geek-o-meter into the dashboard next to the speedometer. Problem is, they used a cheap Red and Blue LDC display, which looks cheesy and decidedly low-tech.

On the Road: Better where it counts

In terms of the mechanicals, it's all For Better. Toyota designed the new Prius to provide more power and get better fuel economy. The engine size is up from 1.5 to 1.8 liters, and there are now three driver-select power train modes: Normal, Sport and Eco. In Normal mode, the Prius drive, well, normally -- just like an old-shape Prius. Sport mode -- an odd choice of names, since there's nothing sporty about the Prius -- changes the accelerator pedal response so you get more power with less movement of the pedal. It doesn't actually make the car faster, but it does provide quicker access to what power the Prius does have.

Eco mode tunes the accelerator response to help you get maximum MPG by accelerating from a stop more gingerly and responding slowly to sudden movements of the accelerator pedal, basically automating a method used by experienced hype-rmilers to get maximum MPG. Like the old Prius, the new Prius can run on pure battery power and low speeds, and there's now an EV button that forces electric-only mode, which is useful for moving the car from one parking spot to another, but not much else.

I spent most of my time in Eco mode, figuring that most Prius owners would do the same. It worked: I averaged 48.9 MPG, a significant improvement over the 45 or so I averaged in all the second-generation Priuses I tested. I also noticed that the new Prius grips the curves better than the old Prius, although it's fun-to-drive factor is still almost nil.

Journey's End: Should be a slam dunk, but...

The 2010 Prius has a couple of other cool gizmos, like a button on the key fob that lets you run the A/C remotely and a solar-powered ventilator fan that is supposed to keep the interior cool when the car is off (a neat idea, but it was no match for the hot Southern California sun).
But at the end of the day, the Prius is all about fuel economy, and the fact is that the 2010 Toyota Prius not only gets better gas mileage than the old Prius (as well as every other new car on the market), but it makes it easier to hit those stellar numbers. So it should be a slam dunk for the Prius... except it isn't.

Try as I might, I just can't get over the interior, with that intrusive center console and hideous dash display. I prefer the simplicity of the old Prius, even if that means getting 4 fewer miles per gallon (which, at 12,000 miles per year, only saves about 22 gallons).

Bottom line: For better or for worse, the Prius is still the best hybrid on the market. I just wish Toyota hadn't changed it quite so much.

Hybrid Electric & Fuel Cell Vehicles

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 18:11:00 +0000

Hybrid Electric Vehicles

Both technologies come together in hybrid electric vehicles, also known as HEVs or hybrids. Present-day hybrids are equipped with ICEs and electric motors. A hybrid's ICE engine, as in any ICE-powered car, produces power through continuous, controlled explosions that push down pistons connected to a rotating crankshaft. That rotating force (torque) is ultimately transmitted to the vehicle's wheels.

A hybrid's electric motor is energized by a battery, which produces power through a chemical reaction. The battery is continuously recharged by a generator that—like the alternator of a conventional car—is driven by the ICE.

Hybrids can have a parallel design, a series design, or a combination of both:

In a parallel design, the energy conversion unit and electric propulsion system are connected directly to the vehicle's wheels. The primary engine is used for highway driving; the electric motor provides added power during hill climbs, acceleration, and other periods of high demand.
Series design, the primary engine is connected to a generator that produces electricity. The electricity charges the batteries, which drive an electric motor that powers the wheels. HEVs can also be built to use the series configuration at low speeds and the parallel configuration for highway driving and acceleration.

Hybrid passenger cars arrived in the United States in model year 2000, following their introduction in Japan a few years earlier. First came the two-seat Honda Insight, followed by the Toyota Prius in model year 2001. Honda then introduced a hybrid version of its Civic sedan, and Toyota offered a second-generation Prius. Ford plans to introduce its first hybrid, a version of the Escape sport utility vehicle, in model year 2005. Several other major automakers now either offer HEVs or plan to do so in the near future.

Hybrid systems have also proved effective in buses and heavy trucks. For example, Oshkosh Truck Corporation has demonstrated a diesel-electric system that may significantly improve the fuel economy and driving range of military vehicles. As a bonus, hybrids can be devised to generate alternating current electricity for other applications such as plug-in power tools. General Motors, through its Allison Transmission Division, produces a diesel-electric hybrid drivetrain for transit buses.

How Hybrid Electrics Work

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 00:22:00 +0000

Hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs) combine the benefits of gasoline engines and electric motors and can be configured to obtain different objectives, such as improved fuel economy, increased power, or additional auxiliary power for electronic devices and power tools.

OVERVIEW

Hybrid-electric vehicles combine the benefits of gasoline engines and electric motors to provide improved fuel economy.

The engine provides most of the vehicle's power, and the electric motor provides additional power when needed, such as for accelerating and passing. This allows a smaller, more-efficient engine to be used.

The electric power for the motor is generated from regenerative braking and from the gasoline engine, so hybrids don't have to be "plugged in" to an electrical outlet to recharge.

Some of the advanced technologies typically used by hybrids include:

Regenerative Braking.The electric motor applies resistance to the drivetrain causing the wheels to slow down. In return, the energy from the wheels turns the motor, which functions as a generator, converting energy normally wasted during coasting and braking into electricity, which is stored in a battery until needed by the electric motor.

Electric Motor Drive/Assist. The electric motor provides additional power to assist the engine in accelerating, passing, or hill climbing. This allows a smaller, more efficient engine to be used. In some vehicles, the motor alone provides power for low-speed driving conditions where internal combustion engines are least efficient.

Automatic Start/Shutoff. Automatically shuts off the engine when the vehicle comes to a stop and restarts it when the accelerator is pressed. This prevents wasted energy from idling.

Hybrid Electric Car Technology

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 22:25:00 +0000

2010 Toyota Prius Hybrid Electric Car Technology Exposed

Yountville, Calif. The eagerly awaited details of the 2010 Toyota Pruis are slowly emerging. We already provided an overview of the car after it was revealed at the Detroit Auto Show. Last week, we were in Napa Valley, where Toyota released technical details what will make this vehicle hum (but not too loudly). –Larry Webster
The Engine

Mechanically, the biggest changes for the most popular hybrid electric on the market are in the engine room. The 1.5-liter gas engine is out in favor of a 1.8-liter unit. This larger engine still operates with the late-intake-valve-closing Atkinson cycle, and it produces more lower-end torque. This engine also operates at lower speeds, a fuel-saving move that offsets the larger displacement. There is an electrically operated water pump, which allowed engineers to remove the drive belt and the accompanying parasitic loss from the motor. As before, the crankshaft is offset in relation to the cylinders to reduce friction.

Engine coolant circulates to a heat exchanger that encircles the exhaust just downstream of the catalytic converter. This feature heats the engine up sooner, so it can be warmed up and turned off promptly. Also, it provides quick cabin heat. An aggressive exhaust-gas recirculation system employs cooled exhaust gas that's pumped into the cylinders. The inert gas replaces the intake charge, reducing exhaust-gas temperature and pumping losses.

The Transmission

The Hybrid Synergy drive system uses the same planetary Continuously Variable Transmission as before, but with a new twist. The main electric motor drive, called MG2, was downsized and produces less torque (153 lb-ft versus 295). But a reduction gear-set that connects it to the gearbox allows the MG2 to spin to 13,500 rpm, 7100 higher than before. Consequently, it makes 80 peak horsepower, 13 greater than before. The smaller, lighter MG2 and other refinements in the drive system yielded a 66-pound weight saving.

The Battery

A nickel-metal-hydride battery pack returns. It's been shrunk slightly, but a more effective cooling system allowed a peak output rise from 25 kilowatts to 27 (battery voltage remains at 201.6 volts). The inverter converter has been improved—it's slightly smaller—and provides up to 600 volts of AC current, a 100-volt jump. Toyota has also added a feature many Prius buyers have been waiting for—an electric-only button. Pressing this button on the dash prevents the gas engine from starting until the battery is depleted. Electric-only mileage, however, is slight—on average, a mile. For longer battery-powered runs, we'll have to wait for the rumored plug-in version; it should appear within two years.

Horsepower and Fuel Economy

The total maximum output of the engine and electric motor is 134 hp, 20 higher than before. That should drop the 0-to-60-mph sprint by about a second to 9.5 seconds. Despite the increased pace, the fuel economy has been improved, jumping from 48/45 city/highway to 50/49.

That fuel economy increase is all the more incredible considering that the new car weighs about 110 pounds more, a consequence of meeting tougher crash regulations. For sure, the car's aerodynamics play a role in increasing the on-road efficiency. Airflow around the Prius is carefully managed with flat underside panels, bumper-mounted air deflectors, and that gently sloping rear hatch. The drag coefficient has been reduced to only 0.25.

High-Tech Extras

Toyota left some of the most high-tech stuff outside of the mechanicals. Buyers can opt for the Lane Keep Assist system that detects when the car goes out of a lane and automatically nudges the steering wheel to stay on course. A pre-collision system works in conjunction with radar cruise control to avoid an impending collision by applying the brakes. An optional roof-mounted solar panel powers the fan and keeps a parked Prius cool, reducing the draw on the air conditioning. The new Prius can even Parallel Park itself with the Intelligent Parking Assist. There are also items we're not used to seeing in hybrids, such as leather, power and heated seats, voice-activated navigation and Bluetooth connectivity.

Prices have not yet been released, but expect the base Prius to start around $24,500. Fully loaded, we wouldn't be surprised to see the Prius clear 30 grand.

Electric Revolution

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 21:32:00 +0000

Electric Car Revolution Will Soon Take to the Streets

For years, the promise and hype surrounding electric cars failed to materialize. But as this year's Detroit auto show demonstrated, major car companies and well-funded startups — fueled by federal clean-energy funding and rapid improvement in lithium-ion batteries — are now producing electric vehicles that will soon be in showrooms.

Media gather around the new Tesla Model S all-electric sedan car, at the car's unveiling in Hawthorne, California on 26 March 2009. Musk said the state-of-the-art, five-seat sedan will be the world's first mass-produced, highway-capable electric car. Photograph: Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images

Electric cars are a green movement that is finally moving. Shunted to the side as the public indulged its love affair with gas-guzzling SUVs and four-wheel-drive trucks, history has finally caught up with the plug-in vehicle.

The North American International Auto Show in Detroit is the domestic auto industry's biggest annual showcase, and the new models have traditionally been brought out in a son et lumière of dancing girls, deafening music, and dry ice smoke. The few green cars that made it this far were usually for display only — very few actually made it to showrooms.

But not this year. It's become a race to market for green cars, and soon you'll be able to buy many of the electric vehicles that were on display last week in Detroit. The auto show featured one hybrid and battery electric car introduction after another. Although the only truly road-worthy, plug-in electric vehicle you can buy today is the $109,000 Tesla Roadster, by the end of 2010 it will be joined by such contenders as the Nissan Leaf, Coda sedan, and the Think City.

Indeed, the entire auto industry — from giants such as Ford, GM, and Renault-Nissan to startups such as Fisker Automotive — has joined the movement to build and market affordable electric vehicles.

There's a reason the automakers in Detroit are finally plugging in as something more than a greenwashing exercise. Spurring them forward is a historic confluence of events. Chief among them are Obama administration green initiatives, including Department of Energy (DOE) loans and grants, as well as economic stimulus funds that provide $30 billion for green energy programs, tax credits for companies that invest in advanced batteries, and $2.4 billion in strategic grants to speed the adoption of new batteries. (Much of that money is going to Michigan, which despite record unemployment is emerging as something of a green jobs center.)

Other factors behind the push to manufacture electric vehicles are a federal mandate to improve fuel efficiency to an average of 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016, concerns about global warming and peak oil, and sheer technological progress building better batteries.

Even without federal largesse, some companies are moving aggressively into the electric vehicle market. A prime example: Coda Automotive, a southern California start-up, has raised an impressive $74 million in three rounds of private funding. CEO and President Kevin Czinger is a former Goldman Sachs executive, as is co-chairman Steven Heller. Among the company's investors are Henry M. Paulson, who was Goldman Sachs' chairman and Treasury Secretary under the second President Bush. Clearly, these former investment bankers see electric cars as a good bet.

A key factor in making today's electric vehicles possible is the rapid development of the energy-dense lithium-ion battery. William Clay Ford Jr., the executive chairman of the company that bears his name, told me in Detroit, "Five years ago, battery development had hit a wall, and we were pushing hydrogen hard. But now so much money and brainpower has been thrown at electrification that we're starting to see significant improvements in batteries in a way we hadn't anticipated. Now we have the confidence that the customer can have a good experience with batteries."

Drawing a huge crowd, Tesla Motors Chairman and CEO Elon Musk showed off his company's 1,000th electric Roadster at the auto show. "For a little company, it's a huge milestone," he told me. "A year ago, we had built only 150 cars. We had two stores then, and now it's a dozen."

For a major automaker, 1,000 cars would not be much to show for a year, but electric vehicles are still in their infancy. And since the electric car's first swan song in the 1920s — when the widespread availability of petroleum ushered in the era of the gasoline-powered car — very few start-up companies have reached the milestone of making green vehicles, especially battery-powered ones.

Here's a look at some of the prime contenders bringing battery cars and plug-in hybrids to market:

* Renault-Nissan Alliance. This is the one automaker with a truly global plug-in strategy and the means to carry it out. Under the Nissan banner, the company will deploy the Leaf battery sedan, with 100-mile, all-electric range. Nissan isn't just dumping its sleek entry into the market — it's also building a home charger with new partner AeroVironment and partnering with local, state and federal governments — both in the U.S. and abroad — on public charging stations. In partnership with Better Place, the company will deploy a second Renault electric vehicle as part of its plan to wire up Israel with charging stations for electric cars. Renault-Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn predicts that electric vehicles could constitute 10 percent of world car sales by 2020.

* Ford Motor Company. Ford's green strategy includes a plug-in version of the new Focus for 2011 and a "next-generation" hybrid — based on its global compact-car platform, or C-platform — in 2012. The company announced in Detroit that it would invest $450 million in Michigan as part of its electrification strategy. Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm told me at the auto show that until recently the state "wasn't sure it had a viable auto industry." Today, she said, the state is enjoying $1 billion in new auto-related investment, much of it jump-started by a combination of federal funding and state tax credits.

* General Motors. GM's big news is the Chevrolet Volt, which has definitely helped the company's image. The Volt, which uses a small gas engine to generate electricity for its electric motor, is a lot of fun to drive if the version I drove recently in Michigan is any indication. Until now, GM has stumbled in its hybrid strategy, and it really needs this car — which will go on sale at the end of the year for a hefty $40,000 — to be a hit. But success may be more a matter of perception than actual sales. "In terms of numbers, the Volt will be pretty small for the first couple of years," says product chief Bob Lutz. A Cadillac version of the Volt is also a possibility.

* Tesla Motors. This California start-up launched at the top of the market with its $109,000 Roadster, which combines sexy looks with supercar performance (zero to 60 in 3.9 seconds). The company is on something of a roll, having sold 10 percent of itself to Daimler for $50 million, and landed $465 million in DOE funding for its forthcoming Model S sedan — a Maserati-like, more practical version of the Roadster. Tesla's Musk says that the company's strategy has always been to use its sale of performance cars to finance its third vehicle, a mass-market electric vehicle. The company is currently looking at California locations for a Model S factory.

* Fisker Automotive. Perhaps Tesla's closest competitor when it comes to glamour electric vehicles, Fisker – whose CEO is Danish-born automotive designer Henrik Fisker — is preparing to debut a high-performance plug-in hybrid (zero to 60 in 5.8 seconds, with 67 mpg fuel efficiency) known as the Karma at the end of the year. Al Gore is on the waiting list. Fisker also has a lower-cost car in the wings, called Project Nina. Fisker won $528 million from the DOE to build the Nina in a former GM factory in Delaware.

* Coda Automotive. This start-up will deliver, in late 2010, a small battery-powered sedan with batteries from its own joint venture in China. The car is based on the Saibao, a Chinese car, but Coda has put a host of western companies to work honing an electric drivetrain for it. "A large part of our mission is to accelerate adoption of all-electric vehicles," Coda CEO Kevin Czinger told me. "We have put together a core group of auto and battery engineers, and are leveraging specialty automotive firms that we think can get us to the right price point." Coda will launch with an Internet marketing strategy in California only, but it will have the capacity to produce 20,000 cars a year.

* Think Global. Think is a survivor, with perhaps the longest and most colorful history among green automakers. It is a Norwegian company that attracted Ford Motor Company investment in the late 1990s with its plastic-bodied City commuter car. Ford sold the company in 2003 and it went through bankruptcy proceedings in late 2008. It has since emerged under the partial ownership of U.S. battery company Ener1, which snagged $118 million in DOE funding to expand its battery production in Indiana. Think electric vehicles will also be built there starting in 2011, in hard-hit Elkhart — once proudly known as the "RV Capital of the World" — and now suffering the effects of the recession. The two-seat Think City (with approximately 100-mile range on lithium-ion batteries) will sell for less than $20,000 in the U.S., but that price does not include the leased battery pack and includes the $7,500 federal tax credit for electric vehicles.

The list of players in the electric vehicle race goes on. Toyota is building plug-in hybrids and fuel-cell vehicles, and showed off a small cousin of the Prius in Detroit. Chrysler has an ambitious electric vehicle rollout that's been stalled by the company's bankruptcy and merger with Fiat. Honda continues to deploy clever hybrid cars, including the upcoming two-seat CR-Z it showed in Detroit. BMW has electrified the Mini for a test program, and has similar intentions for the Concept ActiveE, a plug-in version of the Series 1 BMW coupe. And Audi has shown sudden interest in this segment, debuting the second of its electric e-tron vehicles.

By this time next year, electric cars will no longer be just on auto show stands, but will have arrived in showrooms at last.

Air Power

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 21:18:00 +0000

Air-Powered Car Coming to U.S. in 2009 to 2010 at Sub-$18,000, Could Hit 1000-MileRange

The CityCAT, already being developed in India , will be available for U.S. production in three different four-door styles. But it's the radical dual-energy engine, with a possible 1000-mile range at 96 mph, that could move the Air Car beyond Auto X Prize dreams and into American garages.

Zero Pollution Motors (ZPM) confirmed to PopularMechanics.com on Thursday that it expects to produce the world's first air-powered car for the United States by late 2009 or early 2010. As the U.S. licensee for Luxembourg-based MDI, which developed the Air Car as a compression-based alternative to the internal combustion engine, ZPM has attained rights to build the first of several modular plants, which are likely to begin manufacturing in the Northeast and grow for regional production around the country, at a clip of up to 10,000 Air Cars per year.

And while ZPM is also licensed to build MDI's two-seater One CAT economy model (the one headed for India) and three-seat Mini CAT (like a Smart For Two without the gas), the New Paltz, N.Y., startup is aiming bigger: Company officials want to make the first air-powered car to hit U.S. roads a $17,800, 75-hp equivalent, six-seat modified version of MDI's City CAT (pictured above) that, thanks to an even more radical engine, is said to travel as far as 1000 miles at up to 96 mph with each tiny fill-up.

We'll believe that when we drive it, but MDI's new dual-energy engine—currently being installed in models at MDI facilities overseas—is still pretty damn cool in concept. After using compressed air fed from the same Airbus-built tanks in earlier models to run its pistons, the next-gen Air Car has a supplemental energy source to kick in north of 35 mph, ZPM says. A custom heating chamber heats the air in a process officials refused to elaborate upon, though they insisted it would increase volume and thus the car's range and speed.

"I want to stress that these are estimates, and that we'll know soon more precisely from our engineers," ZPM spokesman Kevin Haydon told PM, "but a vehicle with one tank of air and, say, 8 gal. of either conventional petrol, ethanol or bio-fuel could hit between 800 and 1000 miles."

Those figures would make the Air Car, along with Aptera's Typ-1 and Tesla's Roadster, a favorite among early entrants for the Automotive X Prize, for which MDI and ZPM have already signed up. But with the family-size, four-door City CAT undergoing standard safety tests in Europe, then side-impact tests once it arrives in the States, could it be the first 100-mpg, nonelectric car you can actually buy?

World's First Air-Powered Car: Zero Emissions by Next Summer
India's largest automaker is set to start producing the world's first commercial air-powered vehicle. The Air Car, developed by ex-Formula One engineer Guy Nègre for Luxembourg-based MDI, uses compressed air, as opposed to the gas-and-oxygen explosions of internal-combustion models, to push its engine's pistons. Some 6000 zero-emissions Air Cars are scheduled to hit Indian streets in August of 2008.

Barring any last-minute design changes on the way to production, the Air Car should be surprisingly practical. The $12,700 CityCAT, one of a handful of planned Air Car models, can hit 68 mph and has a range of 125 miles. It will take only a few minutes for the CityCAT to refuel at gas stations equipped with custom air compressor units; MDI says it should cost around $2 to fill the car's carbon-fiber tanks with 340 liters of air at 4350 psi. Drivers also will be able to plug into the electrical grid and use the car's built-in compressor to refill the tanks in about 4 hours.

Of course, the Air Car will likely never hit American shores, especially considering its all-glue construction. But that doesn't mean the major automakers can write it off as a bizarre Indian experiment — MDI has signed deals to bring its design to 12 more countries, including Germany, Israel and South Africa.

Hydrogen Safety Part IV

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:17:00 +0000

The Hindenburg

The fire that destroyed the Hindenburg in 1937 gave hydrogen a

misleading reputation. Hydrogen was used to keep the airship

buoyant and was initially blamed for the disaster. An investigation

by Addison Bain in the 1990s provided evidence that the airship's

fabric envelope was coated with reactive chemicals, similar to

solid rocket fuel, and was easily ignitable by an electrical

discharge. The Zeppelin Company, builder of the Hindenburg,

has since confirmed that the flammable, doped outer cover is to

be blamed for the fire.

Hydrogen Codes and Standards

Codes and standards help dictate safe building and installation

practices. Today, hydrogen components must follow strict guidelines

and undergo third party testing for safety and structural integrity.

Summary

Industry has developed new safety designs and equipment because

hydrogen's properties and behavior are different than the fuels we

use now. Hydrogen will make us re-think operating practices already

in place for gaseous and liquid fuels. Education of those differences

is the key enabler to making hydrogen a consumer-handled fuel

that we use safely and responsibly.

Hydrogen Safety Part III

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:03:00 +0000

Explosion

An explosion cannot occur in a tank or any contained location that contains only hydrogen. An oxidizer, such as oxygen must be present in a concentration of at least 10% pure oxygen or 41% air. Hydrogen can be explosive at concentrations of 18.3-59% and although the range is wide, it is important to remember that gasoline can present a more dangerous potential than hydrogen since the potential for explosion occurs with gasoline at much lower concentrations, 1.1-3.3%.

Furthermore, there is very little likelihood that hydrogen will explode in open air, due to its tendency to rise quickly. This is the opposite of what we find for heavier gases such as propane or gasoline fumes, which hover near the ground, creating a greater danger for explosion.

Asphyxiation

With the exception of oxygen, any gas can cause asphyxiation. In most scenarios, hydrogen's buoyancy and diffusivity make hydrogen unlikely to be confined where asphyxiation might occur.

Toxicity/poison

Hydrogen is non-toxic and non-poisonous. It will not contaminate groundwater (it's a gas under normal atmospheric conditions), nor will a release of hydrogen contribute to atmospheric pollution Hydrogen does not create "fumes."

Cryogenic burns

Any cryogenic liquid (hydrogen becomes a liquid below -423°F) can cause severe freeze burns if the liquid comes into contact with the skin. However, to keep hydrogen ultra-cold today, liquid hydrogen containers are double walled, vacuum-jacketed, super insulated containers that are designed to vent hydrogen safely in gaseous form if a breach of either the outer or inner wall is detected. The robust construction and redundant safety features dramatically reduce the likelihood for human contact.

Hydrogen Safety Part II

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 19:40:00 +0000

Hydrogen is odorless, colorless and tasteless, so most human senses won't help to detect a leak. For these and other reasons, industry often uses hydrogen sensors to help detect hydrogen leaks and has maintained a high safety record using them for decades. By comparison, natural gas is also odorless, colorless and tasteless, but industry adds a sulfur-containing odorant, called mercaptan, to make it detectable by people.

Currently, all known odorants contaminate fuel cells (a popular application for hydrogen) and create complications for food applications, like hydrogenating oils. However, given hydrogen's tendency to rise quickly, a leak would most likely rise above where any human nose might smell it, collecting briefly on the ceiling and then moving towards the corners. Today, researchers are investigating other methods that might be used for hydrogen detection like tracers and advanced sensors.

Hydrogen flames have low radiant heat.

Hydrogen combustion primarily produces heat and water. Due to the absence of carbon and the presence of heat absorbing water vapor created when hydrogen burns, a hydrogen fire has significantly less radiant heat compared to a hydrocarbon fire. Since the flame emits low levels of heat near the flame (the flame itself is just as hot), the risk of secondary fires is lower. This fact has a significant impact for the public and rescue workers.

Combustion

Like any flammable fuel, hydrogen can combust. But hydrogen's buoyancy, diffusivity and small molecular size make it difficult to containand create a combustible situation. In order for a hydrogen fire to occur, an adequate concentration of hydrogen, the presence of an ignition source and the right amount of oxidizer (like oxygen) must be present at the same time.

Hydrogen has a wide flammability range (4- 74% in air) and the energy required to ignite hydrogen (0.02mJ) can be very low. However, at low concentrations (below 10%) the energy required to ignite hydrogen is higher-- similar to the energy required to ignite natural gas and gasoline in their respective flammability ranges--making hydrogen realistically more difficult to ignite near the lower flammability limit. On the other hand, if conditions exist where the hydrogen concentration increases toward the stoichiometric(most easily ignited) mixture of 29% hydrogen (in air), the ignition energy drops to about one fifteenth of that required to ignite natural gas (or one tenth for gasoline).

Hydrogen Safety Part I

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 19:25:00 +0000

Hydrogen: Similar but Different

For over 40 years, industry has used hydrogen in vast quantities as an industrial chemical and fuel for space exploration. During that time, industry has developed an infrastructure to produce, store, transport and utilize hydrogen safely. Hydrogen is no more or less dangerous than other flammable fuels, including gasoline and natural gas. In fact, some of hydrogen's differences actually provide safety benefits compared to gasoline or other fuels.

However, all flammable fuels must be handled responsibly. Like gasoline and natural gas, hydrogen is flammable and can behave dangerously under specific conditions. Hydrogen can be handled safely when guidelines are observed and the user has an understanding of its behavior.

The following lists some of the most notable differences between gaseous hydrogen and other common fuels:

Hydrogen is lighter than air and diffuses rapidly.

Hydrogen has a rapid diffusivity (3.8 times faster than natural gas), which means that when released, it dilutes quickly into a non-flammable concentration. Hydrogen rises 2 times faster than helium and 6 times faster than natural gas at a speed of almost 45 mph (20m/s). Therefore, unless a roof, a poorly ventilated room or some other structure contains the rising gas, the laws of physics prevent hydrogen from lingering near a leak (or near
people using hydrogen-fueled equipment). As the lightest element in the universe, confining hydrogen is very difficult. Industry takes these properties into account when designing structures where hydrogen will be used. The designs help hydrogen escape up and away from the user in case of an unexpected release.

The Hydrogen Economy Part III

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 17:17:00 +0000

Hydrogen Utilization

The fuel cell is one of several conversion technologies that can be fueled by hydrogen. Basically, hydrogen fuel cells operate like electrolysis in reverse: Hydrogen gas and oxygen from the air combine in a catalyzed electrochemical reaction to produce an electric current, heat and water, pure enough to drink. Aside from being pollution-free, fuel cells are quiet, and can achieve efficiencies that are two- to three-times greater than internal combustion engines. The scalability of fuel cells makes them ideal for a wide variety of applications – including laptops (50- 100 Watts) and central power generation (1-200 MW).

Although fuel cells have the potential to serve all sectors of the economy, today they are relatively expensive to build compared to our internal combustion engines. They will need further development to increase durability and bring down cost so they can compete economically.

We can use hydrogen in internal combustion engines (ICEs) , similar to the engines we have in our cars today, with slight modifications. Hydrogen burns much cleaner and more efficiently than gasoline which makes hydrogen ICEs a realistic near-term transition technology. However, fuel cells, with higher efficiencies and zero emissions will likely be a more popular utilization technology in the longer term. Reciprocating engines and combustion turbines are also under development to combust hydrogen in place of traditional fuels to efficiently generate electricity and thermal power with zero emissions. Once mature, these technologies can also find use for onsite power applications in homes, offices and industrial facilities.

Carbon Sequestration

The use of fossil resources (natural gas, coal, petroleum) to produce hydrogen emits some carbon dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas. Technologies to capture and sequester (store) CO2 are under development.

We will need these technologies before large-scale hydrogen production from fossil resources contributes to the transition to a sustainable hydrogen economy.

The Hydrogen Economy Part II

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 19:36:00 +0000

The Next Energy Transition

Right now we may be standing on the brink of the next big energy transition, or diversification. The international community recognizes hydrogen as a key component to a clean, sustainable energy system. This future hydrogen economy features hydrogen as an energy carrier in the stationary power, transportation, industrial, residential and commercial sectors.

As technology matures, hydrogen will be produced mainly using clean technologies like electrolysis from renewables and nuclear, or reformation of fossil feedstocks with carbon sequestration. It may be stored, transported by truck or pipeline, and used in a fuel cell, turbine or engine to generate an electric current with water as the principal by-product.

To reach that point, hydrogen will be introduced into small market segments as these technologies become market-ready. The chemical and refining industries have safely produced, stored and transported hydrogen for industrial purposes for decades. The technologies used by those industries to produce hydrogen are a logical starting point to catalyze more widespread use of hydrogen as an energy carrier,