Despite the recent retreat in oil prices, anyone who keeps up with energy news knows they'll soon be up again. And companies all over the world are rushing to develop new fuel-efficient vehicles. It's been about a month since I last wrote about electric and hybrid cars and a lot has happened since. New battery technology has been announced; the first diesel-hybrid passenger car will soon enter production; a new electric car is available in the US for $9000; Virgin Air wants to use renewable jet fuel, and Toyota is developing a brand new hybrid system as well as a plug in hybrid. Then there is the new fuel-cell bicycle...
Zoom below the fold to see it all.
Let's start with the really strange stuff. ZAP is an American company that has imported and developed all sorts of innovative vehicles. Their latest venture is a 3-wheeled Chinese-build electric car that has an approximate MSRP of $8,995. That's it above the fold. It's said to be available now, but sold out until December 2005. Here are the specs from
ZAP's site.
· Speed: Up to 40 mph (65 km/ph)
· Range: Up to 40 miles (65 km)
· Charger: Onboard 110 Volt AV
· Motor: DC
· Seating: Up to 4
· Battery: Lead Acid
· Classification: 3-wheel motor driven cycle
· Dimensions: 9.5' Length, 4.66' Width, 5.05' Height
· Colors: Kiwi Green, Aqua Turquoise, Sunset Red and Zebra Flash
· Options: Luggage rack, Leather Seats, 220V Charger
Toyota is planning to introduce a new, cheaper, more fuel efficient, and smaller hybrid system in 2008. This is from The Asahi Shimbun:
Toyota Motor Corp. in 2008 plans to commercialize a next-generation gas-electric hybrid system that will be cheaper and even more fuel-efficient, sources said.
The smaller, lower-cost system will be an option for most of the company's midsize and large models, the sources said.
Toyota produces more than 300,000 hybrid systems a year. It plans to double that output for the new system.
The automaker plans to halve the difference in manufacturing costs for the next-generation hybrid system and the gasoline engine. <snip>
The third-generation system will be even more powerful. The batteries will be lighter than those in the current generation, but have higher performance.
Toyota's efforts are not surprising since cumulative worldwide sales of Toyota hybrids have topped 500,000. Most of Toyota hybrids (426,800, or 83%) are the Prius.
Richard Branson, the incredibly successful British entrepreneur and head of Virgin Air, Virgin Cargo, Virgin Nigeria, and Australia's Virgin Blue, says he plans to use plant waste to power their almost 100 jet airliners.
"We are looking for alternative fuel sources. We are going to start building cellulosic ethanol plants (to make) fuel that is derived from the waste product of the plant," Branson said. "It is 100 per cent environmentally friendly and I believe it's the future of fuel, and over the next 20 or 30 years I think it actually will replace the conventional fuel that you get out of the ground."
He says cellulosic ethanol "is the by-product you get from the waste product (of plants), the bits in the field that get burned up" as opposed to ethanol, which is produced from fruit or corn for example. (from ABC news)
I've often bemoaned the lack of development in clean-diesel hybrids. Giving a progress report in Brazil, Jean-Martin Folz, Chairman of the Managing Board of PSA Peugeot Citroën, said that the group will introduce a diesel-hybrid prototype early in 2006 according to Green Car Congress.
Speaking of Diesel, The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) anticipates 75 million gallons of biodiesel production in 2005. That's three times the 25 million gallons produced just one year earlier.
And Nissan is working on plans to introduce diesel-powered pickups and SUVs into the US market, according to CEO Carlos Ghosn. “Until it is definitively established which technology is the final answer to the environmental question, we need to systematically pursue all solutions: diesel, ethanol, hydrogen, electric and hybrid.”
Battery technology has taken some big steps forward recently. A123 Systems Inc., a Watertown, Mass., start-up that has licensed patents from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has introduced batteries that up to five times the power density of current rechargeable, high power batteries. In addition, the battery has the ability to recharge to 90% of its capacity in five minutes. Deliver up to 10X improvement in life over existing rechargeable batteries. Not only can A123 batteries charge to very high capacity in less than 5 minutes, but also they do so with low temperature rise. A123 says it coats an aluminum electrode inside the battery with nano-scale particles, a few hundred atoms in size, of lithium metal phosphate, but gives away no other details. A123Systems site:
A123 Systems is working with Department of Energy to develop next-generation materials for Hybrid Electric Vehicles. Our commercial products enable a significant cost and weight savings vs. NiMH or conventional Li-Ion technology for hybrid vehicles.
Furthermore, our batteries are especially suited for plug-in electric drive systems. Unique features include:
Twice the energy density of other Li-Ion HEV cells, While having the highest power to weight ratio of any commercially available battery (100C pulse capability).
The lowest impedance of any cell/packs in its class
Low impedance growth even at very high charge/discharge rates
Outstanding calendar life
Novel design that withstands extreme shocks and vibration
Excellent performance over a wide temperature range (-30 to 60 degrees C)
Intrinsically safe chemistry (especially important in large batteries)
Honda is working toward making fuel cell cars practical by introducing its third generation of a home combined heating, power and hydrogen system, the Home Energy Station III, in the US in conjunction with its partner Plug Power. The unit runs on natural gas. From Honda's press release:
....Home Energy Station III is designed to work in a home-based refueling environment and is able to supply a sufficient amount of hydrogen to power a fuel cell vehicle, such as the Honda FCX, for daily operation while providing electricity for an average-sized household. A goal of this energy station is to provide high overall energy efficiency and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the more effective use of natural gas.
Among the first commercially available fuel cell vehicles will be bicycles from Masterflex AG. I'm an avid cyclist, but not a fan of powered bikes; might as well get a scooter; but they have become very popular in some areas. Holland and Vancouver Canada are among the hotspots. Between 10,000 and 15,000 Vancouverites are said to own electric bikes. And almost half a million people in Holland ride electric bikes on a daily basis.
As for Fuel cell bikes, we have this from Green Car Congress:
The city of Herten in North Rhine-Westphalia will use a fleet of ten fuel-cell bicycles for services for tourists, such as day trips into the Ruhr area. The bicycles are planned to be in operation in time for the 2006 World Cup (9 June 9 to 9 July 2006).
The bicycles, based on the Swizzbee 50c electric bike, use a Masterflex 250-watt PEM fuel cell fueled by 45 grams of hydrogen stored in a Hera metal hydride system to power a 250-watt electric motor.
The bicycle has an electric range of up to 120 kilometers (75 miles), according to Masterflex.
Masterflex, in partnership with Hawk Bikes E&M GmbH, also has developed a fuel-cell-powered cargo bike. With a similar fuel-cell drive system as the bicycle, the cargo bike offers 90 grams of hydrogen storage and a range of up to 250 km (155 miles).
French Mountaineer Lionel Terray, in his wonderful book, The Conquistadors of the Useless, wrote, "The only thing that gives one any conception of the scale of the infinite is the stupidity of some people." Indeed, and I have proof:
A report commissioned by the US Chamber of Commerce says that current revenue, which comes mostly from the federal gas tax, is insufficient to maintain, let alone improve, US highways and transit systems. The report, Future Highway and Public Transportation Financing, recommends a special fee on hybrid and alternative-fueled vehicles and the eventual transition to a tax on vehicle miles traveled. You see, these high efficiency vehicles don't pay their way because they don't use enough gas. Here's the link.
What more can I say?