New Energy World Network (NewNet) » hybrid cars

China to inject nearly $15bn into energy efficient vehicles by 2020

New Energy World Network — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 09:06:23 +0000

China will inject more than RMB100bn ($14.8bn) into promoting the adoption of energy efficient vehicles in the coming decade, local media reported.

Electric, hybrid and fuel efficient vehicles are all candidates for support under the new funding.

The country’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has drafted a plan to invest RMB60bn ($8.8bn) out of the total financing into spurring the development of pure energy efficiency techniques.

The rest of the funds will be used to build infrastructure for the energy efficient vehicles. This may include electric vehicle charging stations such as those deployed by Coulomb Technologies in the US.

In the US, Couolomb, Ford, Chevrolet and smart USA have collaborated to deliver the $37m ChargePoint America initiative to aid the deployment of electric vehicles in the region.

The Chinese government is also looking to assist five fuel efficient automakers and several part manufactures and suppliers to propel the industry.

A scheme to subsidise fuel efficient cars was rolled out in Beijing this June, which aims to push four million eco-friendly vehicles on the road before 2012.

Five Chinese cities are set to subsidise electric and hybrid vehicles under the initiative.

Plug-in vehicles would reduce US fleet emissions by 62 per cent and cut oil use by a third, according to new report

natalie — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 15:23:12 +0000

Increasing America’s use of plug-in electric and plug in hybrid cars would dramatically reduce emissions that cause global warming and air pollution and would curb our dependence on oil, according to a new report by independent environmental advocacy organisation Environment Texas.

Environment Texas’ new report Plug-in Cars: Powering America Toward a Cleaner Future suggests that if half the light vehicles in the US were electric vehicles by 2030, total fleet emissions would be reduced by 62 per cent, and if three-quarters of US vehicles were electric, oil use would drop by a third.

‘The current electric system has the capacity to fuel up to 73 per cent of American vehicles without building another power plant by charging vehicles at night or using solar panels by day,’ said McCall Johnson, Clean Energy Advocate, Environment Texas. ‘However, the nation will need to clean up its electric grid to reap the full environmental potential benefits of plug-in cars.’

Powering a car on electricity would result in 93 per cent less organic emissions and 31 per cent less nitrogen oxide emissions than powering a car on gasoline, according to the report.

‘We’re on the cusp of an historic shift in the way we use energy for transportation,’ said Jim Burke, CEO, TXU Energy. ‘Increasing the use of electric vehicles is vitally important for Texas, for our community, and for our customers – so it’s vitally important to us as well. We are working to help lead this shift, including developing time-of-use rates that will help our customers benefit from cheaper night time charging.’

The report highlights data from existing research to show that electric vehicles can help to improve Americans’ standards of living.

Texas state representative Rafael Anchia said, ‘America’s current fleet of gasoline-powered cars and trucks leaves us dependent on oil, contributes to air pollution problems that threaten our health and produces large amounts of global warming pollution.’

Plug-in cars, which produce no direct tailpipe pollution, can be recharged from the electric grid, with some running on electricity alone and others paired with small gasoline engines to create plug-in hybrids, said the organisation. Utilities and retailers are gearing up for plug-in vehicles so they will be ready to provide the necessary services to their customers when cars start arriving later this year.

‘The North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) is supportive of advanced fuels and technology to improve air quality in the Dallas-Fort Worth region,’ said NCTCOG’s Jenny Danieau.

Environment Texas is a state-based, citizen-funded environmental organisation that advocates clean air, clean water, and open space.

‘Environment Texas urges the Senate – and Senators Hutchison and Cornyn here in Texas – to pass a comprehensive energy and global warming bill that, among other key steps, encourages the development and deployment of plug-in vehicles and other clean energy technologies,’ said the organisation’s spokesperson Johnson.

Reliant Energy launches hybrid car pilot project in Houston

natalie — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:31:57 +0000

The City of Houston and NRG Energy company’s subsidiary Reliant Energy have launched a programme to bring plug-in hybrid electric vehicles to Houston to demonstrate electric cars.

The programme includes converting ten city-owned Toyota Prius cars to plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and installing ten vehicle-charging stations to power them.

The programme is designed to raise consumer awareness, educate the public about plug-in electric cars and promote Houston and Texas as an electric vehicle center. Seven of the ten stations will be available to the public, representing the largest public charging infrastructure in Texas, according to a statement from the company.

‘We’re committed to making Houston the nation’s green energy capital,’ said Houston Mayor Bill White. ‘That commitment begins at City Hall and these clean-running electric cars, and the charging stations that will be available to all Houstonians will get us farther down that road.’

The ten charging stations provided by Reliant will be located around Houston, at City Hall, the Health Department Office and the Mayor’s Citizens Assistance Office. Reliant chose California-based Coulomb Technologies to provide its ChargePoint networked charging stations. Coulomb’s network will enable the city to administer consumer access to the public stations.

‘We envision thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of electric cars on our roads in the coming years, making Houston’s air cleaner and the city greener,’ said Reliant Energy’s president Jason Few. ‘This pilot project gives both Reliant and the city of Houston the opportunity to learn more about the performance of electric vehicles and the needs of drivers, while promoting consumer awareness and education about plug-in electric cars.’

Few continued, ‘Ultimately, this is about providing consumers the tools, in this case the charging infrastructure, and information like what we will get from this trial, so they can make informed choices about how they use energy.’

The vehicles selected for conversion are 2009 Toyota Prius hybrids. The plug-in conversion module is the Hymotion L5 provided by A123 Systems, a developer and manufacturer of advanced lithium-ion batteries and battery systems for use in hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and electric vehicles, as well as for the electric grid and consumer markets.

Reliant Energy provides electricity and energy services to more than 1.6 million retail customers across Texas.