Recently in Hybrid Fuel/Energy Category

Michigan Technological University and Wayne State Unviversity will be the first institutions to offer accelerated graduate courses for auto engineers on next-generation hybrid and battery technologies.

The Michigan Department of Energy, Labor & Economic Growth is partnering with the two universities to offer MAGM's first round of training that prepares automotive engineers for renewable energy jobs. The courses will be offered in the southeastern Michigan area.

"These courses are a terrific opportunity for engineers to learn about cutting edge hybrid and battery technology as part of the Green Jobs Initiative," said Granholm in a press release.

DELEG oversees the Michigan Green Jobs Initiative, which is designed to ensure the emerging industries and green economy have the trained workers they need. In response to the rapid growth in the renewable energy sector, DELEG collaborated with automotive manufacturing employers to establish the MAGM. This initial course offering is aimed at incumbent auto engineers, however unemployed workers who meet the pre-requisites may also be eligible.

MAGM is administered by a governing board made up of employers, education and training providers, the workforce development system, and state government. The academy's objective is to prepare individuals for emerging technologies in vehicle propulsion, component design, manufacturing and maintenance.

Workforce Investment for Emerging Industries

The Academy is offered under the Governor's No Worker Left Behind program, a plan to train 100,000 citizens in three years for jobs in high demand occupations and emerging industries. NWLB will provide up to two years of free tuition at any Michigan community college, university, or other approved training program for qualifying participants. As of June 30 more than 81,667 people have been put into NWLB training.

About the courses:

Advanced Propulsion for Hybrid Vehicles with Concentration in Battery Engineering. Sponsored by Michigan Technological University. A three-credit class offered in cooperation with the Engineering Society of Detroit and AVL, a developer of powertrains and vehicle simulation and test systems. The curriculum will focus on engineering skills that apply to next-generation hybrid and electric vehicles, with an emphasis on battery design and hands-on learning. Preference will be given to applications received by Aug. 19. The semester-long class begins Sept. 3. The course will be offered again in the spring semester. For more information, visit the training Web site or call 248-353-0735.

Advanced Battery Systems for Hybrid Electric Vehicles. Sponsored by Wayne State University. A four-credit graduate course level class team-taught by WSU engineering faculty, HEV engineers from Delphi and GM and battery scientists from Ovonic Battery. Bachelor of Science in Engineering or similar physical sciences area is required. Curriculum focuses in-vehicle electric energy storage systems, Battery system development and design for hybrid electric vehicles. Macomb Community College is also providing five HEVs for lab experiments.The class will begin meeting Sept.. The course will be also be offered for spring semester. For more information about this course, visit the Web site for the WSU College of Engineering or call CP Yeh, chair, Division of Engineering Technology, Wayne State University, at 313-577-0800.

The federal government will provide $2.4 billion in grants for the development of more fuel-efficient, battery-powered automobiles.

Obama made the announcement during a visit to a recreational vehicle manufacturing plant in Elkhart County, Indiana, which has been hard hit by the economic downturn.

The president said the plant, which makes recreational and hybrid vehicles, will receive a $39 million grant to build 400 advanced-battery electric trucks.

Obama's announcement was the latest in a series of administration initiatives designed to accelerate a nationwide transition to a "green economy."

In May, the president announced new fuel economy rules, including a requirement for passenger cars and light trucks to get an overall average of 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016. Obama has also been pushing Congress to move ahead with legislation placing a market-based cap on carbon pollution.

For all the talk about hybrids and alternative fuel vehicles...they are still only 2.1% of vehicles registered in the most enthusiastic state -- California.  Personal transportation is still talk more than walk! 
For all the impressive gains, alternative fuel vehicles in California have not yet made a major impact on the State's overall fuel economy.

Although increasing from 0.1% at the beginning of the decade, alternative fuel vehicles in 2007 accounted for 2.1% of all registered vehicles in California. The average fuel economy for California passenger vehicles in 2006 was less than 20 miles per gallon (19.9), a number that has not changed appreciably during the rapid rise in alternative fuel vehicle registrations and rising gas prices.

In fact, the United States as a whole has a higher average fuel economy of passenger vehicles (20.1 mpg) than California.

Californians are shifting to greener transportation options in many ways. According to Field Research Corporation,

• Two-thirds (67%) of registered voters are "using their more fuel- efficient vehicle more frequently."
• Almost three in ten (28%) surveyed report that they have "replaced a car or truck with a more fuel- efficient vehicle."
• Most of the new alternative fuel vehicle registrations are for hybrid automobiles.

In 2007, 3 of the top 10 hybrid metropolitan markets were in California; Los Angeles (#1), San Francisco (#2), and Sacramento (#9)

Metropolitan areas accounted for over 20% of new hybrid registrations in the United States.

In metropolitan areas as well as rural regions with high volumes of pass-through traffic, cleaner transportation options mean cleaner air.

REFERENCES:
California Air Resources Board. The EMission FACtors (EMFAC) 2007.

U.S. Department of Energy., Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. "Transportation Energy Data Book, Edition 27." June 30, 2008

The South Coast Air Quality Management District is the top cop for air quality enforcement in Southern California.  They have released a spreadsheet of the cleanest 2008 vehicle models that meet their air quality standards.  Here is a partial list .. you can see more information on their website:  www.cleanairchoices.org

The section with the lowest Carbon Footrpint and highest per gallon fuel use is "Advanced Technology - Partial Zero-Emission Vehicles (AT-PZEVs).  Here are a few of the models:

Model                                                  C02 tons/year
Toyota Prius (hybrid gas-electric):         4.0
Honda Civic (hybrid gas-electric):         4.4
Nissan Altima (hybrid gas-electric):       5.4
Toyota Camry (hybrid-gas-electric):      5.4
Honda Civic GX (CNG):                        5.4
Ford Escape (hybrid gas-electric):        5.7
Mazda Tribute 2WD (hybrid gas-el):     5.7
Mercury Mariner 2WD (hybrid gas-el):  5.7

Clemson International Center for Automotive Research, has served as a hub and a symbol of the South's emergence over the last two decades as a powerhouse in automotive manufacturing.

A 2007 industry-wide event, part of the Tennessee Valley Corridor Southeast Partnership, was designed to bring together the region's collective transportation research talent to focus on ways to support continued growth of the automotive industry.

The gathering was symbolic of a growing realization that in matters of economic development, the South has learned the importance of teamwork. In the case of transportation, this regional teamwork has resulted in the cooperation of lawmakers, business leaders and research institutions on a broad array of initiatives, from creating new fuels to helping the world's auto manufacturers build lighter, stronger, more energyefficient cars and trucks.

ORNL Leader in Transportation Research

Oak Ridge National Laboratory for years has been the leader in transportation research for the Department of Energy's energy efficiency programs. More recently, the Laboratory has sought to connect to the growing automotive presence in the Southeast. The region is now home to 3,000 automotive suppliers and 10 major automotive assembly plants including Toyota in Kentucky and Mississippi; BMW in South Carolina; Ford in Georgia; Mercedes, Hyundai and Honda in Alabama, as well as Saturn and Nissan—which recently relocated U.S. headquarters to Nashville—in Tennessee.

Universities and ORNL Provide Research for Supply Chain, Sustainable Manufacturing, Heavy Vehicle Research, Power Electronics, Engines and High-Performance Materials

Surrounding these plants is a set of universities that, along with ORNL, represent extensive expertise in supply chain management, sustainable manufacturing, heavy vehicle research, power electronics, engines and high-performance materials. In 2007, ORNL and the University of Tennessee, along with six southern research universities, announced the Automotive Research Alliance, a regional effort to provide southern automakers access to unique research capabilities.

Research capabilities outside automakers' own R&D organizations are crucial to development of new technologies and products, says Tom Bologa, vice president of engineering, United States, for BMW of North America. 

Detroit Center Coordinates ORNL, DOE, DOD and Automotive Suppliers

Although the South's largest research laboratory, ORNL is not restricting automotive research efforts to the Southeast. The Department of Energy recently announced an initiative headquartered at automotive supplier Delphi Automotive's former R&D center in Detroit that pulls together ORNL, DOE, the Department of Defense and a consortium of automotive suppliers. Called USAutoPARTs, the effort will provide both expertise and facilities to second- and third-tier automotive suppliers, most of which cannot afford a program of in-house research.

SOURCE: ORNL overview of automotive alternative energy research

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles may have an unexpected value.

One car of tomorrow may not only get its energy from the grid but also may give "imaginary power" back to the grid. The plug-in hybrid electric vehicle envisioned by the Department of Energy would be plugged at night into a home wall outlet, connecting the car to a local electrical distribution system that would recharge the battery. The next day the car would travel using a combination of stored electric energy and fuel. According to a vision of Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers, the car's charger would supply the grid with "reactive power," or non-active power, to help regulate local utility voltage.

To convert the alternating current from the local electrical distribution system to the direct current needed by the car's battery, a rectifier, or charger, is required. Conversely, an inverter is needed to convert direct current to alternating current. The car would use alternating current to power the drive motor. The rectifier, or charger, could be located either in the car or at facilities designed specifically to recharge batteries of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles parked for extended periods at, say, apartment complexes, hotels and parking garages.

Inverters have several uses, including the ability to inject reactive power to the grid or absorb this imaginary power from the grid. This helps regulate the voltage on distribution and transmission systems. Inverters can prevent "micro-voltage collapses" that frequently occur in the western United States. Such sudden voltage dips can cause dimming of lights, computer crashes, damage to equipment and destruction of semiconductor wafers during manufacture.

Automobile Industry Optimizes Plug-in Hybrid Engine, Motor and Battery Operation

DOE researchers are working with the U.S. automobile industry to optimize plug-in hybrid engine, motor and battery performance for efficient vehicle operation. ORNL and University of Tennessee power electronics experts at the National Transportation Research Center are seeking to improve inverter design to make the device smaller, lighter and less expensive. ORNL is a member of the Plug-in Hybrid Development Consortium.

DOE also supports research on one way to reduce peak demands on the electric grid: deploy distributed energy resources—microturbines, fuel cells and photovoltaic panels—to provide electricity to both local buildings and the electric grid. The plug-in hybrid could be considered another distributed energy resource, but one that also stores energy.

Electric Grid for Distributed Energy System Benefits from Plug-In Vehicles

ORNL researchers led by Stan Hadley have found that the U.S. electric grid will operate more efficiently as more Americans charge the batteries in their plug-in hybrid vehicles after 10 p.m., when the electric load on the system has dropped to almost zero and the wholesale price for energy is least expensive. The researchers have analyzed the potential impacts of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles on electricity demand, supply, generation structure, prices and associated emission levels in 2020 and 2030 in 13 regions as specified by the North American Electric Reliability Council and DOE's Energy Information Administration.

Their study assumed that by 2020 a mixture of sedans and SUV plug-in hybrids would make up one-quarter of the cars sold. They performed calculations using the Oak Ridge Competitive Electricity Dispatch model, which was developed at ORNL over the past 12 years to evaluate a wide variety of critical electricity sector issues.

Solar panels would provide shade and electricity to recharge the batteries of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.

The ORNL researchers ran seven scenarios for each region for 2020 and 2030. In each scenario they assumed these vehicles plugged in starting at either 5 p.m. (early evening) or at 10 p.m. (nighttime) and remained until fully charged.

"We concluded that most regions must build additional electrical generating capacity or rely on demand response to meet the added demands from plug-in hybrid electric vehicles in the early evening charging scenarios," Hadley says. "This need will be critical by 2030 when plug-in hybrids will likely have a larger share of the installed vehicle base and thus exert a greater demand on the electrical system."

Accommodating the peaks and valleys of electricity use is a major challenge for generators and transmission operators. Ideally, customers would reduce their consumption of electricity at peak load times in response to market prices or a utility's request. During hot summers, the demand for air conditioning between 2 and 6 p.m. can boost the peak load to the point that a utility must purchase power from another utility at a higher price. In sharp contrast, the grid on the same night may be so underutilized that energy is sometimes given away.

Smart Chargers for Distributed Energy System

Another potential advantage of wide usage of plug-in hybrids is that charging stations can help regulate local voltage. Researchers at ORNL's Distributed Energy Communications and Control laboratory plan to test this concept.

Smart chargers are needed to avoid negative impacts on the distribution system. For example, if several plug-in hybrid pickup trucks with 250-kilowatt batteries were recharged in 10 minutes on a feeder without a smart charger, the distribution system's reliability could be threatened. In one project, ORNL's Burak Ozpenici is examining possible rectifier designs that would perform rapid charging while providing reactive power compensation.

SOURCE: ORNL Distributed Power Update

Why are livery fleets, the largest class of public vehicles on city streets, comprised mostly of large, inefficient, gas-guzzling beasts? That is changing.
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Eco-friendly taxi and limo services are springing up. More than 300 hybrid taxis have gone into service in New York and San Francisco since late 2005.
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All-hybrid airport car service PlanetTran has West Coast operations   in San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose Airports.
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<h2>New Hybrid Choices:  The Mariner for Livery</h2>
New choices are entering the hybrid vehicle market. At the fall 2007 livery industry convention, an environmentally friendly hybrid engine  makes the livery-packaged Mercury Mariner capable of getting 34 miles a gallon in the city, easily triple the mileage of a maxed-out Hummer.
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The Mariner is the first manufacturer-sponsored hybrid made specifically for livery service.
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RESOURCE: <a href="http://www.planettran.com">www.planettran.com</a>
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