Click on the image to view more shots of the Derbi DH 2.0
Small-bore motorcycle maker Derbi, a company who's name is literally "DERived from BIcycle," has launched a new concept bike known as the DH 2.0. Derbi refers to its concept as "a machine taken to the minimum to achieve the maximum," a phrase which we can really get behind. Using an air-cooled single cylinder 4-stroke engine displacing 100cc's and an automatic transmission, Derbi believes that the machine would have very low emissions and very high fuel mileage. That engine can be removed from the frame, leaving a downhill mountainbike chassis for when the motor is not needed. Most of the components appear to have been taken from the mountainbike shelf, meaning that the DH 2.0 weights just eighty-eight pounds. The frame is made from aluminum and holds the gasoline. This is an interesting concept, and one which we think could really go somewhere.
While Electro Energy is keeping its Gainesville factory busy making the standard 18650 type rechargeable lithium ion batteries, the company has continued to forge ahead in its better-battery oriented research. To that end, they have just announced a "contract award of $750,000 sponsored by Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to continue development of ultra-high energy density, rechargeable, lithium battery chemistry for Air Force applications."
According to a press release, the battery being developed involves a composite cathode of metal fluoride and should be more powerful and compact yet give the packaged batteries specific energies of 400-500 Wh/kg, which is about double that of modern lithium ion polymer cells. The potential impact for hybrid and electric vehicles, as well as for military applications such as UAVs and directed energy weapons, could eventually be enormous. That would turn the 200+ mile range of a Tesla Roadster to (engaging mythical mathematical prowess powers) over 400 miles or a 120 mile Aptera into, well, 240 miles. Now if they could also somehow halve the cost, your grandchildren may one day ask you what gasoline was.
A Mustang with a "Propane" license plate will get my attention. As I walked by the Impco Technologies booth at the AFVI show in Las Vegas this week, I couldn't help but stop to find out more. Sadly, the sticker on the side of the Mustang that read "Plug and Drive" didn't mean what we might assume. The slogan is more about the ease of installation; not about any plug that reaches from the car to the grid (we'll have to leave it to these guys for our plug-in Mustangs). Still, there's some cool tech going on here.
I spoke with Rob Mercer, IMPCO's business manager of transportation, about the 'Stang. He's proud of the proof-of-concept modifications that were done to the 2005 Mustang but he's got a special reason to be smiling about what's been added to the car. It's his personal vehicle, after all. So, what's the haps?
IMPCO has developed a bi-fuel system that Mercer claims can seamlessly switch between the propane stored in the trunk or the gasoline stored in the standard tank. The vehicle will also automatically switch between the two, for example when one fuel type is about to run out. The system can be added to any production vehicle (in the Mustang, the system cost about $3,500) and IMPCO has also developed a natural gas bi-fuel system (for around $10,000) that works well in large pick-up trucks. One of the benefits of the dual-fuel set-up, Mercer said, is that the end user does not have to worry about moving to an atypical fuel type. Whenever they want to - which probably won't be often considering the price difference between natural gas and standard gasoline - they can fill up using gas.
Last year, Lexus became the first automaker to introduce a production eight-speed automatic transmission in the latest LS460. Recently, German transmission manufacturer ZF announced a new eight-speed of its own which is claimed to provide a 14-percent boost in fuel efficiency compared to a five-speed. It looks like Audi and BMW will likely be the first to directly challenge Lexus when they start using the ZF. Audi may be first out of the gate in 2009, with eight-speed installations in the A8, Q7 and the expected A7 coupe. BMW will probably follow a year later with the X6 and the next-generation 7 series getting the extra gears. Mercedes-Benz already has a seven-speed that it builds on its own. Mercedes' powertrain chief admits that an extra gear could be added to the unit but that the incremental improvement would be limited. As more gears are added, the weight and complexity of the system increases and the improvements become smaller and smaller. Seven and eight-speed transmissions will likely remain the maximum for the foreseeable future and six-speeds will probably take the bulk of volume in mainstream segments.
Even though GM has said it will wait until late 2008 to name the battery supplier for the Chevy Volt, Continental CEO Manfred Wennemer told Reuters on Thursday that he believes his company has a "good chance" of winning the fight with LG Chem / CPI. Of course, it's no surprise that a CEO would talk up his company's chances, but winning the Volt contract will be a huge coup to whoever wins it. Wennemer said that not winning won't kill the company, but "it would be very, very important for us to be the one," he said. Winning the Volt deal would see Conti build a production plant in the U.S., Wennemer said. Since both Continental and CPI packs seem to be doing fine in the testing lab, there is probably a lot of number crunching and haggling going on behind closed doors to figure out which supplier can deliver the right packs to GM for the right cost.
What if we found a system to transform one of our big "enemies" into a fuel again, and then, when produced, re-transformed again? This is the aim of a project made at University of Nottingham's Centre for Innovation in Carbon Capture and Storage (CICCS), in the UK, directed by Mercedes Maroto-Valer. They have successfully completed a cycle of transforming CO2 into natural gas (CH4). This could lead to making most carbon capturing processes obsolete while also powering cars we already have. According to Ms. Maroto-Valer, the CICCS group tacked the problem by studying what plants do - capturing CO2, water and solar light and transforming it into carbohydrates - and then replicated the process to create methane instead of carbs. However, it's still unknown what the energy balance the system is - we can't defeat the laws of Thermodynamics, after all.
One of the things you'll hear critics of renewable energy often say is that the sun doesn't always shine and the wind doesn't always blow. But of course we know that isn't the case. If you go high enough from the earth's surface, the sun never stops shining and though no one has seen it, the wind is always blowing. We've talked about beaming the solar energy to earth before and we have even shown you this particular wind-powered energy producer before. At the time, some commented it would never fly but the maker of the Magenn Air Rotor System (MARS) has survived long enough to see it happen.
The blimp, technically called an aerostat, recently underwent its initial inflation trials at the facilities of premiere airship builder, TCOM, and was then taken to Virginia to be demonstrated for the CIA a customer. Magenn believes their balloon will be perfect for remote electricity generation at a competitive price and have plans to sail their device at four different locations in the next year.
As part of the Technology Strategy Board's (TSB) ongoing efforts of promoting and supporting research into environmentally friendly automotive technology, the group has given funding to Ricardo, Jaguar and Land Rover for quite a few separate projects. Five of the projects are outlined here:
Ricardo, along with the University of Brighton, DENSO Sales UK Ltd and Jaguar, has received funds to continue work on its innovative 2/4SIGHT engine, which is capable of running on either the 2 stroke cycle or the 4 stroke cycle.
The Range Extended Electric Vehicle is led by Land Rover. A large SUV chassis will be used with the goal of delivering 120 to 130 g/km CO2 and a zero emissions range of at least 12 miles.
A flywheel-based hybrid drive system will be tested, led by Jaguar and including Flybrid Systems, Ford Motor Company, Prodrive, Ricardo UK Ltd, Torotrak plc, and Xtrac Ltd. Formula 1 racing is also testing these flywheel-based hybrid systems.
The Limo-Green project is the fourth bit of technology and looks to incorporate the aluminum structure of the current Jaguar sedan range along with an electric motor, battery pack and generator.
Recycled aluminum will be looked at to see if it is feasible to use post-consumer scrap to form the basis of a lightweight, mass-producible vehicle.
These five projects are part of a group of sixteen total investments which will receive a total of £90 million in funding from the TSB. We've pasted two complete press releases after the break detailing each of the proposed projects that are mentioned above.
Press Releases:
Ricardo consortia win funding for three major low carbon vehicle development programmes
The UK government's Technology Strategy Board today announced funding of £23 million for 16 innovative low carbon vehicle development projects. Including partner contributions these projects collectively represent a total value of £52 million. As a technology leader in high fuel economy/low carbon vehicle technologies, Ricardo will be an active participant in three of the winning project consortia
Building on the work of the 2/4SIGHT engine concept, the 2/4CAR project aims to deliver a global premium vehicle demonstrating a 25-30 per cent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions with no loss of performance using an innovative, highly-downsized gasoline engine with two-stroke/four-stroke switching technology. Laboratory work has shown that torque output more typical of an engine of twice the capacity is achievable. The engine design incorporates a cycle-switching valvetrain, an advanced boosting and control system, and will demonstrate powertrain integration and driveable control strategies. Ricardo will lead this project which will be carried out by a consortium also including the University of Brighton, DENSO Sales UK Ltd and Jaguar Cars Ltd.
Reflecting the emerging importance of vehicle electrification, Ricardo will also participate in the Range Extended Electric Vehicle project which will be led by Land Rover. This project aims to develop a modular electric & electric/diesel powertrain, suitable for several different vehicle types, which will be tested on a large premium sport utility platform delivering 120 to 130 g/km and zero emissions range of at least 12 miles. The project will also investigate range extension and plug-in charging and installation/ commissioning of local recharging facilities for vehicle trials within the vehicle fleet of E-ON, who along with Ameriac Projects Ltd are also consortium members.
Kinetic energy recovery will be the theme of the Flywheel Hybrid System for Premium Vehicles project. This project will involve the design development of a mechanical hybrid (flywheel and variable drive system) kinetic energy recovery system for use in a premium segment passenger vehicle as an alternative, cost competitive solution to other hybrid systems. The project will demonstrate this within an existing vehicle platform to prove its effectiveness and viability for production and suitability for modular application. Jaguar Cars will lead this project which will be carried out by a consortium also including Flybrid Systems, Ford Motor Company Limited, Prodrive, Ricardo UK Ltd, Torotrak plc, and Xtrac Ltd.
"We welcome the investment decision announced today by the Technology Strategy Board and look forward to participating in three of the major UK low carbon vehicle programmes that have successfully secured funding", said Neville Jackson, Ricardo technology director. "Improving fuel economy and reducing carbon emissions is a major imperative globally for both the automotive industry and society in general. We are proud that the consortia in which we are participating have secured funding for these three very important projects, which aim to provide some of the crucial enabling technologies for future low carbon road transport applications." -----------------------------------------------------------------------
Jaguar Land Rover warmly welcomed the announcement of government funding to help speed up the development of technologies that will significantly reduce CO2 emissions.
The Technology Strategy Board (TSB) and the Department for Transport, through the Low Carbon Vehicles Innovation Platform, have announced that 16 innovative development projects, worth over £52 million, will receive £23 million government investment through the Low Carbon Vehicles Innovation Platform.
Jaguar Land Rover is involved in a number of the projects through partnerships with suppliers, government agencies, and universities.
The projects identified today are:
Range Extended Electric Vehicle REHEV
To develop a modular electric and electric/diesel powertrain, suitable for several different vehicle types. This will be tested on a large premium sport utility platform delivering 120 to 130 g/km CO2 and a zero emissions range of at least 12 miles. The project will also investigate range extension and plug-in charging and the installation/ commissioning of local recharging facilities for vehicle trials within the E-ON fleet.
Flywheel Hybrid System for Premium Vehicles
To design and develop a mechanical hybrid (flywheel and variable drive system), kinetic energy recovery system for use in a premium segment passenger vehicle as an alternative, cost competitive solution to other hybrid systems.
Limo-Green
To use Jaguar's class leading lightweight aluminium body structures as a basis for testing the concept of a large luxury vehicle with an advanced hybrid electric driveline, consisting of an advanced drive motor, small battery pack and a small auxilliary power generator for sustained cruising. The project aim is to demonstrate a vehicle with sub 120g/km CO2 whilst maintaining the premium quality of the vehicle.
Lower Cost, Light Weight Vehicles by Increasing the Use of Aluminium Scrap To demonstrate, within five years, the feasibility of a mass producible, lightweight car based on a body structure built using sustainable aluminium sheet derived in part from low cost energy efficient recycled, post consumer scrap. This will be a key enabler for the mass production in the UK of low CO2 premium cars.
In addition, Jaguar Land Rover is involved in a project led by Ricardo to deliver a global premium vehicle demonstrating a 25-30% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions with no loss of performance using an innovative, highly-downsized petrol engine with two-stroke/four-stroke switching technology.
Commenting on the announcement, Jaguar Land Rover's acting Chief Executive Officer, David Smith, said, "Our engineers are at the forefront of developing new, sustainable technology and as a business we are investing £700m on projects specifically aimed at reducing CO2 emissions.
"We welcome the announcement today by the Technology Strategy Board of government funding for these important projects and we fully support the additional £70m of government investment in the Low Carbon Vehicles Integrated Delivery Programme. This will assist Jaguar Land Rover, other UK vehicle manufacturers and their suppliers to accelerate and widen programmes to achieve even more substantial CO2 improvements for vehicles."
Since winning the "Best New Engine of 2006" award from the International Engine of the Year committee, Volkswagen's Twincharger TSI engine has taken the 1.0 to 1.4 liter category by storm, taking the class victory last year and again for 2008. Cited reasons for the win include the engine's high power output and low gasoline consumption. Other awards have been given to the engine, including two in Japan, an Auto Environment Certificate from the ÖKO-TREND Institute for Environmental Research and the "TechnoBest" award from the 15-nation AutoBest jury in Istanbul. Not too shabby, if you ask us. These awards make us want to see this engine make its way from Europe to the states even more. Although the U.S. gets a turbocharged engine labeled TSI, it is unfortunately not the same as the turbo and supercharged engine that these awards have been given to. Volkswagen, if you're listening out there, we'll gladly take the 1.4 Twincharger TSI in the new CC. Thanks!
Press Release:
International Engine of the Year Awards 2008: Volkswagen TSI engines clean up in a double victory
Class victory for 140 PS and 170 PS TSI's with twin charging
Second place for the newest 122 PS TSI in its first competition
Wolfsburg, 7 May, 2008 - The winning streak continues: for the third time, Volkswagen's dual charged TSI engines have won the "International Engine of the Year Award" in the category "1 litre to 1.4 litres". It is no coincidence that the 103 kW (140 PS) and 125 kW (170 PS) TSI's, which are charged by both a turbocharger and a supercharger, are among the most efficient petrol engines in the world. The motto for these engines is "maximum dynamics with minimum fuel consumption". And that's also how the jury, comprising 65 journalists from 32 countries, saw it. According to one jury member, 'This engine does everything right and fits into the most diverse types of vehicles.' Moreover, the new 122 PS TSI took second place in the same category in its first attempt. The "International Engine of the Year Awards 2008" will be presented today in Stuttgart.
Dr Rüdiger Szengel, Head of Petrol Engine Development, accepted the award for Volkswagen commenting, 'Our TSI engines have set the standard since their introduction in the performance class of 90 kW to 125 kW. They achieve new levels of economy for petrol engines while providing performance that offers real fun. We take it as a compliment to the entire development team that our TSI has won again in the displacement class to 1.4 litres.'
TSI engines are already powering diverse models in ten Volkswagen families. The petrol direct injection engines between 90 kW (122 PS) and 169 kW (230 PS) cover the entire range from Golf to the recently introduced Passat CC. What's more, the new Scirocco will be off to a running start in 2008 with TSI engines. In the 122 PS version, it requires only 6.1 litres of fuel per 100 kilometres, making it one of the world's most economical sports cars.
With all the money going into gas these days, is it any surprise that companies in the business of making gas alternatives are seeing increased financial interest as well? Mascoma was obviously one of the recent big winners, but the list is long and we can now add Firefly Energy. Firefly recently closed its third round of funding, which brought the company $16m. Firefly has been on our scope for a while, especially with their Oasis Group 31 batteries. The U.S. Army is also interested, to the tune of $5m, in the company's lead acid 3D and 3D2 batteries.
Khosla Ventures, known for its investments in various ethanol start-ups, is one of the new investors in Firefly Energy, as is Infield Capital. The DOE has also given Firefly $3.2m to develop the 3D batteries, according to VentureBeat. For the 2006 scoop on the 3D2 batteries, check out our interview with Firefly Energy co-founder Mil Ovan. And, if you have a few million to throw around, it seems to be the thing to do to fork it over to green auto tech companies. In case you were curious.
Following up on the post the other day about Popular Mechanics' attempt to rank the top ten Automotive X Prize teams, reader and tipster Manu wrote, "My bet for #1 is Poulsen Hybrid. It's not on the list and it's never been mentioned on ABG" (he also has his own take on the Poulsen Hybrid here). True enough, we have been remiss in covering this particular and we figured it was time to change that. I mean, what if this team happens to win and we weren't there from the beginning? Shameful. Of course, there are 60+ teams in the competition, and there are many we haven't covered. We should, but that's a post for another day.
Actually, we already missed the beginning. Poulsen hybrid plan started (I think, based on the website) last year, and the general idea is to take an existing ICE car and convert it to a plug-in electric hybrid with mileage in the 100 mpge range. The system adds two Poulsen Hybrid electric motors that use rare earth permanent magnets and are rated at 5kW or 7hp onto the outside of your car and then adds a 72V 120Ah Deep Cycle Lead Acid battery pack (with six batteries inside) and an onboard charger to the vehicle. As Manu writes, the benefits to this system include technology that is here today (June 2008 is the expected debut) and that Alpha-Core is not a new company, so funding issues shouldn't hold the Poulsen system back. The device costs $3,300, with another $600 for professional installation. Poulsen Hybrid, Inc. is a company based in Shelton, Connecticut and is connected to Alpha-Core, a division of Bridgeport Magnetics, Inc. So, whaddya think?
DARPA, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, has set a seemingly impossible task, known as the Vulture program, by calling for an aircraft which can remain in the sky for five years while generating five kilowatts of power for a 1,000 pound payload. The Odysseus by Aurora Flight Sciences, which has been selected as one promising design by DARPA, doesn't appear capable of flight at all to many onlookers. The odd Z-shaped wing is actually three separate machines which can change their combined shape in order to catch the suns rays throughout the day and flatten out at night, when the Odysseus would fly on battery power alone. Together, the three sections would span almost 500 feet. Advanced composite materials and double-sided solar panels are employed to make the concept appear possible. If DAPRA's vision proves successful, aerial vehicles like these could take the place of satellites for surveillance and communications purposes.
The World's Sexiest Greenest Car Show is back; bigger, better and sexier than ever... so says the home page of The Co-Operated Insurance Sexy Green Car Show. Like last year, the Sexy Green Car Show promises to show off some of the best green car concepts to a captive British audience. Chief among these vehicles will be the Lotus Exige 270E Tri-Fuel. Initially shown at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show, the Exige 270E is capable of running on gasoline, ethanol or methanol. A sophisticated computer system can detect what type of fuel the vehicle has been fed and can adjust necessary engine parameters to use that fuel. In the process, Lotus was able to tune the engine to extract a bit more power, 270 horses to be exact.
In addition to the car itself, Lotus is reportedly working on a new method of creating methanol which involves the extraction of waste carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. A chemical reaction with hydrogen produces both methanol and water. If a clean source for the production of methanol were indeed possible, flex-fuel vehicles could add it to their stable of power sources.
It's easy to argue that road taxes are quite unfair because they're flat: You pay fees to drive around; it doesn't matter how much you actually use the car.
The Netherlands has decided to improve the country's road tax by taxing according to the vehicle type, usage, hour and roads the vehicle is using. The system uses GPS, a car transmitter and a standard cell phone GSM network to send this information to a central computer that processes the information. Once these figures are calculated, the driver is charged. Congestion and the environment are both taken into consideration in the rate scheme. Using a highway that enters a city in peak hours while driving an SUV will be taxed more than driving a small car in a rural area where private vehicles are more of a necessity.
Dutch officials hope the system will reduce CO2 emissions and congestion, because the Dutch government claims that there is no more room to build more roads. Critics say this system is an attack on privacy: a computer will know where and when you've driven, although the company that implements the system guarantees that this information won't be stored once translated into money. The system starts in 2011 for freight transport and will be expanded to include cars in 2012. Full deployment of the system is scheduled to be completed in 2016. A similar system has been under study in the UK.
Aptera chief Steve Fambro, in his company's latest newsletter, tells us they are building "lots of cars". Hooray! And then crushing them. Oh noes! We know this has been done to electric cars by the likes of GM and Toyota before and now Aptera admits it has joined the pulverizing parade. Have they gone to the dark side? Well, no. It's all being done in the name of increasing safety. You see, despite not having to crash test their three-wheeled Typ-1 (because it is defined as a motorcycle by the only state - California - they have immediate plans to sell them in), they are attempting to make the doors and roof of their vehicle much stronger than what is required of a typical car. As Fambro states, "We want the Typ-I to be renowned not only for its remarkable performance and efficiency, but its safety too."
Besides addressing their safety ethos, the newsletter also contains a mini-bio of three of their employees as well as word of their most recent hire, Neil Hanneman. Links to press articles and their latest video are there, as are plans for future hires. If you're looking for a cool job or want to know all the Aptera development details click on the "read" link below.
A long time ago, there were people experimenting with using pulse jets mounted on the tips of large rotors to make simple helicopters. By the looks of things, the idea just refuses to die, except now, the blades are mounted just inches above the operator's head. Sounds safe, no? Tecnologia Aeroespacial Mexicana (TAM) is behind the project. That company actually does offer some rocket packs which get strapped onto the adventurous rider's back, so perhaps the company will go all the way with this newfangled design as well.
Blade-mounted rockets apparently allow for the deletion of the normally necessary tail-rotor. According to TAM, the lack of the tail-rotor makes this backpack-mounted helicopter-of-death safer than the more common types you see flying in the sky. Call us crazy, but regardless of how safe the manufacturer is suggesting that his proposed one-man flying-machine may be, we can't see too many people jumping at the idea of strapping rocket fuel to their backs and flying to work. Sure does look fun, though!
James Wang, director of the Intelligent Mobility Technology division of the Taiwan Automotive Research Consortium (TARC), believes that Taiwan is the perfect testing ground for small, low-speed electric vehicles. The fact that huge numbers of people live centered around large urban areas means that most people don't need to travel long distances to get what they need. Additionally, Taiwan's warm weather is favorable for batteries. So, TARC has created what it is referring to as a light-electric-vehicle (LEV). TARC envisions these two-seat vehicles, with their odd wheel arrangement of three in the rear and one in front, zipping around the urban Mecca's that make up emerging countries.
TARC's goal is to reach a range of 100 kilometers (62 miles) and a top speed of 40 miles per hour. Those targets shouldn't be too difficult to reach. The LEV is powered by four removable lithium ion batteries which can either be recharged in the vehicle or replaced when discharged. We think that the specifications are fine, but question why the design of their LEV is superior to a more conventional arrangement (Remember the Ecooter?). Regardless, the vehicle is currently being tested in in rural areas, and plans are in the works to bring it into urban settings shortly.
Despite the untimely death of project manager Frank Swanston from lung cancer, the British Steam Car Challenge is still on for a record attempt at the Bonneville Salt Flats in August of this year. Before assaulting the World Record, the British team will first tackle the standing record in their home country. Set on July 3, 1938, the British record stands at 126 miles per hour. That's just under the official World Record, which was set in 1906 by Fred Marriott, who drove a modified Stanley Steamer to 127.659 miles per hour.
With their extremely aerodynamic steamer, the British Steam Car Team shouldn't have too much trouble setting a new record later this year. In fact, the team is hoping to break the 200 mile per hour mark. After their historic run is completed, the vehicle is to be placed on permanent display at the National Motor Museum Trust at Beaulieu.
The project to secure the world steam car speed record is on track, with everything focused on the record attempt at Bonneville Salt Flats, USA in August 2008. This will follow the unveiling of the British Steam Car at the 60th Bonneville Speed Week from 18 to 24 August.
Having overcome numerous challenges and setbacks in the past eight years, the British Steam Car Team has demonstrated remarkable resolve and fortitude - in true British Bulldog fashion. This is by no means a lavishly funded project and most of the work developing and building the car has been undertaken in a modest wooden workshop at Lymington in the New Forest.
Project manager, Frank Swanson, who sadly died in 2007, instigated much of the engineering groundwork. Since then, the British Steam Car Team has regrouped and was boosted by the recruitment of Don Wales as test driver. Wales is the nephew of the late Donald Campbell and grandson of Sir Malcolm Campbell - who between them established more than 20 land and water speed records. Wales himself set an electric vehicle land speed record in Bluebird Electric in 2000. At Bonneville, the British Steam Car will be housed in the same hangar used by the Campbells for their record attempts.
The British Steam Car Team was started when Lord Montagu of Beaulieu saw a project undertaken by students at Southampton University. His nephew, Charles Burnett III, was inspired by the proposed steam powered record car and assembled the British Steam Car Team. Charles Burnett III will be the principle driver of the steam car and has previously achieved several land and water world records.
Before attempting the world steam car speed record, the British Steam Car Team expects to secure the British steam car record at Elvington, near York, during early July. It is 70 years ago (3 July 1938) that the last famous British steam powered vehicle secured a world record when the Mallard steam train reached 126mph. It is also 40 years since the end of mainline steam on British railways - an anniversary being celebrated by the National Railway Museum at York in May.
The British Steam Car Team schedule is as follows:
1. During May, final testing at Thorney Island, Portsmouth with a media launch 2. Early July, British steam car speed record attempts at Elvington, near York 3. Mid July, despatch of British Steam Car to the USA 4. 18 to 24 August, official unveiling and preparatory testing at Bonneville Speed Week with test driver, Don Wales 5. From 25 August, world steam car speed record attempts at Bonneville Salt Flats by Charles Burnett III 6. September return of British Steam Car to UK and then on permanent display at National Motor Museum Trust at Beaulieu
Monthly updates are available at www.steamcar.co.uk (which includes profiles of team members and technical specifications for the British Steam Car
There is still plenty of time for members of the public to become involved with and support the British Steam Car Team. The official website, www.steamcar.couk include a link to a special Pound a Pixel website. Here, individuals and companies can buy space on the site and will get their names on the car for just £1. [Source: British Steam Car Team]
In the name of increased efficiency, and quite possibly playing the game of automotive one-upmanship, luxury automakers such as Mercedes Benz, BMW and Lexus have been adding more and more gear ratios to their automatic transmissions. By allowing a computer to choose the most appropriate ratio for any given scenario, the vehicle's engine is required to only make as much power as absolutely necessary, potentially saving fuel in the process. ZF, one of the largest transmission makers in the world, claims that their new 8-speed unit boasts an efficiency increase of eleven percent over its older 6-speed unit. The transmission giant has just developed a new modification, though, which could increase the overall vehicle efficiency even further. By adding a hydraulic impulse storage unit, the new ZF unit can support stop/start functionality, which they claim can result in an additional five percent reduction in fuel consumption.
At first we thought somebody out there was exercising their ninja photoshop skillz but then it occurred to us that those folks would probably not be busying themselves with the likes of the G-Wiz. No, this had to be the product of a mind so sick, so twisted, that it created the original Reva G-Wiz, on which this pick-em-up truck appears to be based, to begin with. Luckily, we live in the age of the internets and after sending out a correctly formatted query down a tube, back shot the hoped-for response.
From a page created somewhere back in the mist of time (2006) came the reassuring news that this crimesinpeccancy iteration of the G-Wiz was a one-off built as a test bed for a phosphoric acid fuel cell. This cell used methanol instead of hydrogen as an energy source and negated the need for a hydrogen storage system. Of course, it also created the need for a methanol storage system but that's beside the point. Since nary a peep has been heard about this creation since an article describing the project was published by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, we feel it's safe to assume the concept has been put to rest. If you want to make sure that this is the case you'll have to pick up a copy of the latest magazine published by the Battery Vehicle Society (BVS) and look for an article about the truck written by Mike Boxwell.
Even though GM has said it will wait until late 2008 to name the battery supplier for the Chevy Volt, Continental CEO Manfred Wennemer told Reuters on Thursday that he believes his company has a "good chance" of winning the fight with LG Chem / CPI. Of course, it's no surprise that a CEO would talk up his company's chances, but winning the Volt contract will be a huge coup to whoever wins it. Wennemer said that not winning won't kill the company, but "it would be very, very important for us to be the one," he said. Winning the Volt deal would see Conti build a production plant in the U.S., Wennemer said. Since both Continental and CPI packs seem to be doing fine in the testing lab, there is probably a lot of number crunching and haggling going on behind closed doors to figure out which supplier can deliver the right packs to GM for the right cost. 
What if we found a system to transform one of our big "enemies" into a fuel again, and then, when produced, re-transformed again? This is the aim of a project made at University of Nottingham's Centre for Innovation in Carbon Capture and Storage (CICCS), in the UK, directed by Mercedes Maroto-Valer. They have successfully completed a cycle of transforming CO2 into natural gas (CH4). This could lead to making most carbon capturing processes obsolete while also powering cars we already have. According to Ms. Maroto-Valer, the CICCS group tacked the problem by studying what plants do - capturing CO2, water and solar light and transforming it into carbohydrates - and then replicated the process to create methane instead of carbs. However, it's still unknown what the energy balance the system is - we can't defeat the laws of Thermodynamics, after all.
One of the things you'll hear critics of renewable energy often say is that the sun doesn't always shine and the wind doesn't always blow. But of course we know that isn't the case. If you go high enough from the earth's surface, the sun never stops shining and though no one has seen it, the wind is always blowing. We've talked about beaming the solar energy to earth before and we have even shown you this particular wind-powered energy producer before. At the time, some commented it would never fly but the maker of the Magenn Air Rotor System (MARS) has survived long enough to see it happen.
As part of the Technology Strategy Board's (TSB) ongoing efforts of promoting and supporting research into environmentally friendly automotive technology, the group has given funding to Ricardo, Jaguar and Land Rover for quite a few separate projects. Five of the projects are outlined here:
Since winning the "Best New Engine of 2006" award from the International Engine of the Year committee, Volkswagen's Twincharger TSI engine has taken the 1.0 to 1.4 liter category by storm, taking the class victory last year and again for 2008. Cited reasons for the win include the engine's high power output and low gasoline consumption. Other awards have been given to the engine, including two in Japan, an Auto Environment Certificate from the ÖKO-TREND Institute for Environmental Research and the "TechnoBest" award from the 15-nation AutoBest jury in Istanbul. Not too shabby, if you ask us. These awards make us want to see this engine make its way from Europe to the states even more. Although the U.S. gets a turbocharged engine labeled TSI, it is unfortunately not the same as the turbo and supercharged engine that these awards have been given to. Volkswagen, if you're listening out there, we'll gladly take the 1.4 Twincharger TSI in the new CC. Thanks!
With all the money going into gas these days, is it any surprise that companies in the business of making gas alternatives are seeing increased financial interest as well? Mascoma was obviously one of the recent big winners, but the list is long and we can now add Firefly Energy. Firefly recently closed its third round of funding, which brought the company $16m. Firefly has been on our scope for a while, especially with their Oasis Group 31 batteries. The U.S. Army is also interested, to the tune of $5m, in the company's lead acid 3D and 3D2 batteries.
DARPA, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, has set a seemingly impossible task, known as the Vulture program, by calling for an aircraft which can remain in the sky for five years while generating five kilowatts of power for a 1,000 pound payload. The Odysseus by Aurora Flight Sciences, which has been selected as one promising design by DARPA, doesn't appear capable of flight at all to many onlookers. The odd Z-shaped wing is actually three separate machines which can change their combined shape in order to catch the suns rays throughout the day and flatten out at night, when the Odysseus would fly on battery power alone. Together, the three sections would span almost 500 feet. Advanced composite materials and double-sided solar panels are employed to make the concept appear possible. If DAPRA's vision proves successful, aerial vehicles like these could take the place of satellites for surveillance and communications purposes.
A long time ago, there were people experimenting with using pulse jets mounted on the tips of large rotors to make simple helicopters. By the looks of things, the idea just refuses to die, except now, the blades are mounted just inches above the operator's head. Sounds safe, no? Tecnologia Aeroespacial Mexicana (TAM) is behind the project. That company actually does offer some rocket packs which get strapped onto the adventurous rider's back, so perhaps the company will go all the way with this newfangled design as well. 
James Wang, director of the Intelligent Mobility Technology division of the Taiwan Automotive Research Consortium (TARC), believes that Taiwan is the perfect testing ground for small, low-speed electric vehicles. The fact that huge numbers of people live centered around large urban areas means that most people don't need to travel long distances to get what they need. Additionally, Taiwan's warm weather is favorable for batteries. So, TARC has created what it is referring to as a light-electric-vehicle (LEV). TARC envisions these two-seat vehicles, with their odd wheel arrangement of three in the rear and one in front, zipping around the urban Mecca's that make up emerging countries. 
