Clean Fleet Archives 2006

December 2006

Honda Mass Production of Fuel-Cell Cars by 2018

12/29/06 Honda will be able to mass produce fuel-cell vehicles for the general market by 2018, Honda President Takeo Fukui said in a recent interview with Kyodo News. Honda plans to begin leasing a hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle based on its FCX Concept in Japan and the United States in 2008. "By evolving a next model based on this, I think the level of technology will become very close to that of mass-produced ordinary vehicles within 10 years or so. In 2018, I believe the development [of a fuel-cell car] will have been very advanced. It will become a real possibility to a large degree." stated Takeo Fukui . Fukui told Kyodo that there will be many customers who want to buy a Honda fuel-cell car if it goes on sale for US$84,000 in the general market. Greencar Congress

Will the Electric Car Kill General Motors?

12/21/06 John Addison A recent movie and several books asked the question “Who killed the electric car?” then answered GM. Yet, GM and other auto makers have continued to pour billions into electric motors, advanced batteries, hybrid-electric propulsion, and electric vehicles where hydrogen fuel cells supply electricity to electric motors. The more relevant question is this, “Will electric vehicles kill General Motors?” Most people on the planet cannot afford big gasoline powered cars. Over 30 million people drive electric vehicles. Article

Solar Santa Monica

12/14/06 John Addison Santa Monica wants to be the nation’s first “Net Zero” city. Through energy efficiency, solar and other renewable energy, the city envisions generating clean energy that matches its total energy consumption. Solar Santa Monica formally launches a two year program on January 1, 2007. The voluntary program will start with 50 residential and commercial buildings. Santa Monica goes beyond clean electricity to be a city that models clean transportation. Over 80% of the city’s 519 vehicles are either alt-fuel or electric. 5 of the city’s fleet of Toyota Priuses were converted by Quantum to run on pure hydrogen. Article

Solar Cell Breaks Through the 40% Efficiency Barrier

12/12/06 Boeing [NYSE: BA] Spectrolab, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary, has achieved a new world record in terrestrial concentrator solar cell efficiency. Using concentrated sunlight, Spectrolab demonstrated the ability of a photovoltaic cell to convert 40.7 percent of the sun's energy into electricity. The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colo., verified the milestone. This technology will continue to dramatically reduce the cost of generating electricity from solar energy. Spectrolab

Ford's New Hydrogen Fuel Cell Explorer

12/1/06 At the LA Auto Show, Ford unveiled a six-passenger fuel cell-powered Explorer that can travel 350 miles on a single tank of hydrogen fuel. The vehicle features a 60-kW fuel cell with a 50-kW hybrid battery and houses the 10 kg storage tank in the center space used for the 6-speed automatic transmission in current Explorer models. In less than one year, the fuel cell Explorer has accumulated more than 17,000 miles, including a world-record drive of 1,556 miles in a single 24-hour period, the most of any fuel cell vehicle to date. Details

Best Places to Work

12/1/06 John Addison More than 1,800 U.S. employers nationwide have joined the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Best Workplaces for Commuters(sm), a program which offers telework best practices, subsidized transit, vanpool passes, and car pooling to more than 3 million employees. Recent EPA survey data show that when offered high-quality commuter benefits, employees are 20% more likely to ride together. Each year, awards are given for the 20 Best Workplaces for Commuters from the Fortune 500 Companies. Article

November 2006

GM Commits to Build a Plug-in Hybrid

11/29/06 GM announced plans to build a Saturn Vue Green Line SUV plug-in hybrid will offer electric-only propulsion for more than 10 miles. At higher speeds or when conditions demand it, such as brisk acceleration, a combination of engine and electric power or engine power only will propel the vehicle. With an engine twice the size of many current hybrids, it is not expected to match their mileage for most drivers, even as a plug-in. When ready for production, the li-ion energy storage system will be replenished when the battery charge is depleted to a specified level by utilizing the 2-mode hybrid system’s electric motors and regenerative braking systems. When the vehicle is parked, the battery can be recharged using a common household exterior 110-volt plug-in outlet. Green Car Congress

Progress in Stopping Global Warming

FTA Funds $49 Million for New Hydrogen Buses

11/1/06 John Addison The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) awarded $49 million in new funding for hydrogen fuel cell buses. The FTA goal is to have hydrogen fuel cell buses represent 10 percent of new U.S. transit bus purchases in the year 2015. These exciting awards include a new generation of fuel cells, hybrid electric propulsion, auxiliary power, and lighter aerodynamic bus designs. Complete Article

October 2006

Solar Power 2006

10/30/06 John Addison 7,000 members of the solar power industry converged in San Jose last week. An added 2,000 local individuals also viewed the latest solar power on display. There was enthusiasm for advancements in photovoltaics (PV) and in large-scale concentrating solar power (CSP). PV installations continue their 20%-plus growth rate in the U.S., showing strong acceptance by business, individuals, government and public utilities. Grid-tied PV now outsells off-grid. Commercial outsells residential. Deutsche Bank forecasts that the PV market will grow from $13 billion in 2006 to $30 billion in 2010.

DOE Funds $100 Million for New Hydrogen Research

10/24/06 DOE will negotiate these 25 cost-shared projects for an approximate total of $127 million ($100 million DOE cost; $27 million applicant cost) over four years (Fiscal Years 2007 – 2010). These projects seek to overcome cost and durability barriers associated with hydrogen fuel cell research; and will specifically focus on fuel cell membranes, water transport within the stack, advanced cathode catalysts and supports, cell hardware, innovative fuel cell concepts, and effects of impurities on fuel cell performance and durability. Awards also include stationary fuel cell demonstration projects to help foster international and intergovernmental partnerships. DOE Details

Mitsubishi Fleet Tests New Electric Vehicle Next Year

10/12/06 Mitsubishi Motors (Mitsubishi) has unveiled a new, single-motor research electric car based on its i minicar. The new Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle (i MiEV) will be used for joint research programs with Japanese power companies beginning this year, and in fleet tests in 2007. Mitsubishi had earlier planned to begin selling electric cars in Japan in 2010. Green Car

GM to Build World's Largest Fuel Cell Vehicle Fleet

10/23/06 GM will build more than 100 Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell vehicles and will begin placing them with customers in the fall of 2007, as part of a comprehensive deployment plan dubbed "Project Driveway." Designed to gain comprehensive learnings on all aspects of the customer experience, Project Driveway constitutes the first meaningful market test of fuel cell vehicles anywhere. A variety of drivers -- in differing driving environments -- will operate these vehicles and refuel with hydrogen in three geographic areas: California, the New York metropolitan area and Washington D.C.

September 2006

UPS Fleet of 1,500 Alt-Fuel and Hybrid Vehicles

9/18/06 John Addison UPS delivers 15 million packages per day in over 200 countries. UPS has over 100,000 vehicles and 600 airplanes. UPS employs over 400,000 people. UPS is the ninth largest airline on the planet. They are experts at reducing the cost and fuel usage of moving millions of packages. Over 1,500 of those vehicles use alternative fuel, savings millions of gallons of oil and lowering greenhouse gas emissions. Since 2000, UPS alternative-fuel vehicles have logged 108 million route miles. Complete Article

$6 Billion Lost Betting on Natural Gas

9/12/06 John Addison Amaranth Advisors is a hedge fund that keeps making front page news. It is trying to explain to investors how it lost $6 billion in one week betting that natural gas prices would rise. Gas prices fell. $6 billion is gone. Amaranth Advisors is a hedge fund with a trader who forgot to hedge. There are about five million natural gas vehicles in operation globally. There are about 150,000 natural gas vehicles in the USA. These vehicles consume 238 million gasoline gallon equivalents. That amount has doubled in only five years. CNG vehicles are popular in fleets that carry lots of people: buses, shuttles and taxis. Complete Article

July 2006

BP and GE Plan Multi-Billion Dollar Clean Hydrogen Power Plants

7/20/06 John Addison BP and GE on July 18, 2006, announced plans to jointly develop and deploy 10 to 15 hydrogen power plants that dramatically reduce emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide from electricity generation. These electric power plants are clean alternatives to coal, nuclear and natural gas power plants. Each plant is likely to require an investment of $1 billion and create a new use of hydrogen – generating electricity on a large scale. Complete Article

Los Angeles World Airports

7/14/06 John Addison Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) opened the first public access hydrogen station in the nation in October 2004. The station supports the fleet of five hydrogen vehicles used daily near Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). It is available to the growing hydrogen fleets at the City of Los Angeles, UCLA, Toyota, Honda, and soon others. It is part of the California Hydrogen Highway. For station funding partner, BP, this is part of their $8 billion investment in alternative energy. Industrial gas giant, Praxair, is the station operator. Complete Article

June 2006

CARB ZEB Program Would Add 1,000 Hydrogen Buses

6/24/06 John Addison Leaders from public transportation, the California Air Resources Board (CARB), bus and fuel cell manufacturers meet on June 21 at the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) to discuss plans to have 1,000 hydrogen fuel cell buses in service in California. Currently there are eight. 1,000 hydrogen buses would result in over 400,000 daily riders on hydrogen buses and a demand for over 40,000 kg/day of hydrogen. Complete Article

California Air Resources Board to Lease HICE Vehicles

6/8/06 John Addison The California Air Resources Board (ARB) has posted a notice of intent to award contracts for the lease of six vehicles that will lower the cost of using hydrogen. Hydrogen will be used in conventional engines, not fuel cells. This will expand to 37 the total number of hydrogen internal combustion engine (HICE) vehicles in California.Other fleets that each uses five of these Quantum Priuses include the cities of Riverside, Burbank, Santa Ana, and Ontario. AQMD in Diamond Bar also uses five Quantum Priuses. This June 15, Santa Monica will start using five.
Complete Article

Mountain Home Wind-Power Plant will make Hydrogen

6/14/06The nation's first commercial plant using wind power to produce hydrogen will be in Idaho. Synthetic Energy plans to use a combination of wind power and electricity to produce hydrogen that can be used in chemical manufacturing and oil and gas refining.

Cat Lift Trucks Purchases General Hydrogen Fuel Cell Pack

6/12/06General Hydrogen Corporation has sold a Hydricity® Pack to Cat Lift Trucks of Houston, Texas, to be delivered in July, 2006. Cat Lift Trucks will be using the pack in a Class 1 battery-electric forklift. Complete Article

United States Marine Corp Uses Hydrogen

6/1/06 John Addison The United States Marine Corp (USMC), like all branches of the Department of Defense (DoD), is exploring the use of hydrogen and other forms of clean transportation. One major motivation is that the fuel which runs U.S. Defense operations comes from oil. That oil is increasingly controlled by countries that have declared their animosity to the United States. I recently spent over two hours at Camp Pendleton with Gary Funk, Regional Fleet Manager for Marine Corps West. Camp Pendleton follows the EPAC objective that 75% of commercial garrison mobile equipment purchases will be alt-fuel. Complete Article

Ten Ways to Save Gasoline and Diesel

6/1/06 John Addison Everyone can make a difference in achieving energy independence and a more healthy future. Consider these ten technologies the next time you select a vehicle for your fleet or personal use. Read about all of them.

May 2006

Cheap Hydrogen Fuel

Feedback Loops in Global Climate Change Indicate Very Hot 21st Century

U.C. Berkeley Professors Harte and Torn conclude "that the upper value of warming that is projected for the end of the 21st century, ...could be increased to 7.7ºC [13.9ºF].” Studies have shown that global climate change can set-off positive feedback loops in nature which amplify warming and cooling trends. Now, researchers with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California at Berkeley have been able to quantify the feedback implied by past increases in natural carbon dioxide and methane gas levels. Their results point to global temperatures at the end of this century that may be significantly higher than current climate models are predicting. Report

Will Hydrogen Become Less Expensive?

5/1/06 John Addison There is uproar over the cost of gasoline. A hydrogen future is being promoted as a way to end our dependency on oil, but will hydrogen ever be less expensive than gasoline? The long-term answer is yes. In Torrance, the major oil refiners use hydrogen to make our gasoline cleaner and high octane. In Torrance, there is a hydrogen pipeline. That pipeline is being extended to a new hydrogen fueling station, where hydrogen will be less expensive than gasoline. Hydrogen is expected to cost under $3 per gasoline gallon equivalent at the pump. Complete Article

AC Transit Leadership with Hydrogen Buses and Cars

5/1/06 John Addison The HyRoad program is considered the most comprehensive hydrogen fuel cell demonstration in North America. Over 1,000 riders per day in full service on 3 zero-emission fuel cell buses. AC Transit supervisors will also use 10 zero-emission Hyundai and Kia fuel cell cars.
Complete AC Transit Article

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