The car scrappage scheme is set to be extended. Business Secretary Lord Mandelson announced the move in his Labour Party Conference speech this afternoon.

He told the gathered audience: ” We cannot do everything but that does not mean doing nothing.  So today I am extending our popular car scrappage scheme with extra money for an additional 100,000 cars and vans.”

The decision follows campaigns from motor industry bodies including the SMMT and RMIF calling for the scheme to be extended. Concerns were raised that car sales could fall dramatically and motor manufacturing jobs lost without the continued support.

The £300 million fund for the scheme which began in May is expected to run out by the beginning of October, meaning that the decision to extend comes just in time. The scrappage incentive gives a £2,000 discount to buyers of new cars who agree to scrap their 10 year or more old car in return.

Commenting, Director of Policy at manufacturing organistation, EEF, Steve Radley, said: “The success of the scrappage scheme has been clear for all to see and has put a floor under manufacturing recession and helped retain skilled employees.”

A consortium of companies have signed an agreement in Berlin in the presence of German Minister of Transport to introduction of a national network if hydrogen refuelling station in Germany by 2015.

The partners of the ‘H2 Mobility’ initiative are Daimler, EnBW, Linde, OMV, Shell, Total, Vattenfall and the NOWGmbH National Organisation Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology.

Leading industrial companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to evaluate the setup of a hydrogen infrastructure in Germany so as to promote serial production of electric vehicles with fuel-cell capability. The initiative known as “H2 Mobility” is supported by partners Daimler, EnBW, Linde, OMV, Shell, Total, Vattenfall and the NOWGmbH National Organisation Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology.

In recent years significant progress has been made in Germany, with the development of hydrogen based technologies in the mobility sector, identifying the country as a potential start-market in the context of a broader European perspective.

Wolfgang Tiefensee, Minister for Transportation, Building and Urban Affairs said: “after more than 100 years of combustion engines and the dominance of oil, we are facing a new technological era in the transport sector. Germany, with its excellent ideas from all over the country, is to become the market leader for modern drive technologies. This will secure and create new employment in the markets of the future. Our aim is to continue consistent and systematic promotion of electromobility based on batteries and fuel cells.”

Dr. Dieter Zetsche, CEO Daimler AG and head of Mercedes-Benz Cars: “The only tailpipe emission from fuel-cell vehicles is water vapor. That’s good for the environment and for people – and it’s the reason why we want to commercialize this technology as soon as possible. But the widespread adoption of fuel cells will only occur when drivers can readily refuel with hydrogen. To accomplish that end, we’re working together with oil companies, energy providers and public policy makers to help drive the development of the necessary infrastructure.”

Current demonstration project, the Clean Energy Partnership (CEP) has already seen a fleet of 40 hydrogen vehicles operating in Berlin and Hamburg. The CEP is aiming to demonstrate the suitability for daily use of hydrogen as an alternative fuel for vehicles and to test the infrastructure of hydrogen fuelling stations. Daimler who are part of CEP, have invested more than €1 billion into the development of fuel cells. With more than 100 test vehicles and over 4.5 million kilometres of test runs, the automotive manufacturer from Stuttgar tholds one of the largest fuel-cell vehicle fleets of passenger cars and buses worldwide. The small series production of the B-Class F-CELLwill start at the end of 2009.

Local communities could be kitted out with a range of low carbon technologies including electric car charging points as part of a new fund opened for applicants today.

The Government has today launched a search for local authorities, charities and social enterprises to share in a £10 million fund to invest in green technologies.

Communities can apply for a share of a £10million fund as part of the ‘Low Carbon Communities Challenge’ to build on existing low carbon schemes.

Around a quarter of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions come from heating, lighting and powering electrical appliances in homes. In a bid to meet the target of an 80 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, the government is focusing investment into local action.

The twenty successful communities will each receive support to pay for real measures selected by the local residents themselves. These could range from a local biomass plant to retrofitting homes or electric car charge points.

In return for technical and financial assistance, people living and working in the area will work alongside government and contribute to finding low carbon solutions from which the whole country will benefit. Successful outcomes from the project will pave the way for a national roll-out of proven measures.

The Low Carbon Communities Challenge will help communities curb their carbon emissions and encourage economic investment that delivers greater energy efficiency.

A specialist support squad made up of partners with funding and expertise from inside and outside government – including The Energy Saving Trust, The Carbon Trust, WRAP and the third sector – will work together with each community to offer help on anything from negotiating in planning debates to identifying personalised low carbon answers.

Energy and Climate Change Secretary, Ed Miliband, said:“We’re searching for communities across the country to kick start the low carbon revolution. The Challenge is an opportunity for communities to lead the way so that everyone can play their part in tacking climate change and save money on fuel bills.

“The UK has the most ambitious emissions reduction commitments in the world and projects like this will develop the policies we need to be successful.

“With just over two months to go until the crucial climate talks at Copenhagen, the UK is well placed to show it is taking action in all areas to combat climate change.”

The twenty communities will act as national blueprints that will be used to inform government policy development and delivery. The direct involvement of these real life working case studies mean lessons can be learned on the ground to ensure future policies achieve the carbon emission cuts we need.

In addition to ongoing evaluation UK research institutions are being invited to participate, to ensure independent analysis of the various communities’ progress. Using its new £6m investment on energy and communities, The Research Council will be inviting academic proposals to come forward which would build on and contribute to the Governments investment.

The Challenge was announced this summer as part of the government’s Low Carbon Transition Plan.

For towns to be eligible they must demonstrate they are already making changes and are committed to developing both infrastructure and behaviour change that results in carbon reduction such as wind farms, electric car infrastructure or home energy refurbishments.

In testing the success of different plans the flagship Low Carbon Communities will provide invaluable research and information on how communities can successfully work together to cut emissions and fight climate change.

The challenge is scheduled to start in January 2010. For more information, visit www.decc.gov.uk.

BMW, Daimler and Volkswagen joined forces in a joint presentation at the California Air Resources Board ZEV Technology Symposium to call for a global standardisation of the e-mobility charging infrastructure

The trio of German car companies wants to see one worldwide standard for smart charge communication as well as a proposed pathway for harmonising the two main standards for AC chargers and infrastructure.

In their existing form, there are two primary and parallel standardisation efforts for vehicle to grid communications – these are a joint ISO/IEC working group and an EPRI/SAE effort. These could result in two sets of standards, which Werner Preuschoff from Daimler described as “a lot of effort”. 

He and his colleagues instead believe that there should be one common set of standards based on the ISO OSI seven-layer reference model for interoperability. The basis needs would be optimised charging; automatic payment and billing; and value added services such as mobile access.

Preuschoff warned that failing to establish worldwide standards might keep electric mobility from becoming mainstream; as if different technologies need to be installed on vehicles to support regional standards, costs increase for similar goals while adding no value for the customers or the grid.

Ralf Oestreicher, also from Daimler, called for harmonisation between the two primary AC charger standards. He believes there are five primary customer requirements: high density infrastructure; high power; high convenience; high reliability and safety; and long-term viability. His suggestion is that using on-board vehicle AC chargers capable of up to 43kW for high power and high density is the best option while DC charging is only for a range extension use-case. A three phase power for charging beyond 7-10kW would reduce cost, volume and the weight of the charger and cable.

In addition, Oestreicher suggested that if all new single phase chargers were designed to be compatible with 277V phase to neutral instead of 240V, that would preserve the option to implement the three phase in the future.

Plans to introduce a full hybrid have been scrapped by Volvo – and in its place will be a series produced plug-in diesel hybrid.

The vehicle, which will be introduced as early as 2012, will support a 31 mile all-electric range and for longer distances will turn to its diesel engine for a combined range of around 746 miles. Its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions will average just 49g/km, while fuel consumption will be an eye-catching 124mpg. 

Volvo believes that by introducing a plug-in car in 2012, it will exploit the existing architecture for major components such as the body and engine, while saving time by installing the battery and electric motor beside a conventional driveline instead of waiting for a new generation of car models. The diesel engine will be optimised to run on renewable synthetic diesel, which will meet future exhaust emission requirements.

The company has been working towards plug-in technology for more than two years. In January 2007, Volvo and energy supplier Vattenfall launched a joint project aimed at testing and developing plug-in technology and established the V2 Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle Partnership.

The partners then put three Volvo V70 PHEV demonstration cars on the road this summer and indicated that the cars will go into production in 2012, albeit with “somewhat different” technology.

The Ford Motor Company has unveiled the new Ford Figo, a car that will be produced in India and targeted at the India and export market.

CEO Alan Mulally was present for the announcement that the Ford Figo will be produced at the integrated manufacturing facility near Chennai, which is currently undergoing a $500million transformation to make it a regional centre of excellence for Ford small car production. As part of its investment, Ford will be doubling production capacity at the plant to 200,000 units a year.

The vehicle itself has been designed to compete in the small car segment which accounts for more than 70 per cent of the new vehicle market in India. It will share its underlying technology with the Ford Fiesta and volume production is scheduled to begin in 2010 with more details to be revealed closer to its launch.

In separate news, Ford has also announced a joint venture with Changan in China to build a new manufacturing facility in Chongqing. The facility is scheduled to be completed in 2012 and is valued at $490million. It is seen as a significant step in Ford’s expansion into the Asia Pacific and Africa region.

Prizes website, myoffers.co.uk is giving one lucky website visitor the chance to win a Toyota Prius.

A 1.8 litre Prius hybrid car competition is free to enter by registering with the website and completing a short questionnaire

The closing date is July 31, 2010.

In a sudden move away from type, Land Rover has confirmed a production version of its of a mini Range Rover based on the LRX concept car.

Designed and engineered at Land Rover’s Gaydon facility, the new Range Rover will be the smallest, lightest and most efficient vehicle the company has ever produced.

Possible one of the last carmakers to jump on the green bandwagon, the new car will debut next year and join the Range Rover line-up in 2011.

No details have yet been released about expected miles to the gallon or CO2 emissions.

Phil Popham, managing director of Land Rover said: “The production of a small Range Rover model is excellent news for our employees, dealers and customers. It is a demonstration of our commitment to investing for the future, to continue to deliver relevant vehicles for our customers, with the outstanding breadth of capability for which we are world-renowned.”

“Feedback from our customer research also fully supports our belief that a production version of the LRX Concept would further raise the desirability of our brand and absolutely meet their expectations.” Phil added.
Gerry McGovern, Land Rover design director said: “The new vehicle will be a natural extension to the Range Rover line-up, complementing the existing models and helping to define a new segment. It will be true to the concept and have many recognisable Range Rover design cues including the signature clamshell bonnet, the floating roof and the solid ‘wheel-at-each-corner’ stance.”

More details of the new small Range Rover will be released next year.

UK businesses and fleet operators only have to the end of the month to apply for funding towards the installation of charging points or refuelling facilities for alternative fuelled vehicles.

The Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Grant Programme (IGP) offers companies cash towards refuelling infrastructure for low carbon vehicles, such as electric vehicles, hydrogen or natural gas or biogas.

As part of the UK Government’s strategy to decrease carbon emissions from road transport, grants are available to encourage organisations to install refuelling or recharging stations to enable the use of greener vehicles as part of company fleets. For fleets, the cost of installing refuelling or recharging infrastructure represents a major barrier to switching fuel use.

The deadline for applications for the first funding window is 30th September 2009. However submissions received after September 30, will be carried forward into the next funding window, which closes December 9, 2009.

The IGP, funded by the Department for Transport (DfT), is administered by Cenex, the centre for low carbon technologies.

For more information on how to apply, visit: http://www.cenex.co.uk/igp_index.asp

The Smart Grid, which will employ real-time, two-way digital information and communication technologies in the operation of the electricity grid, has taken a step forward with US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke releasing a draft of an accelerated plan for Smart Grid interoperability.

Produced by the Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the 90-page document outlines 80 initial standards and 14 priority action plans referencing all stages of the system including the large utility companies, individual homes, electronic devices and plug-in electric vehicles.

The four priority applications outlined include wide-area situational awareness; demand response; electric storage; and electric transportation. There are also two cross-cutting priorities – cyber security and network communications.

In reference to plug-in electric vehicles, the plan outlines a number of objectives including: 

-         Normalising all the existing use cases so that standards meet a particular stakeholder need: to be completed by December, 2009.

-         Draft common high-level information models to be used as a basis for specific models: to be completed by February, 2010.

-         Facilitating productive collaboration among the different SDOs involved in establishing the plug-in electric vehicle infrastructure: to be completed by September, 2009. 

-         Develop specific models for each standard: to be completed by December, 2010.

-         Identify regulatory impediments to achieving the goals and review the current case conflicts to determine where change is needed: to be completed by January, 2010.

-         Ensure standards involving safety and interconnection to support PEV use are met: to be completed by January, 2010. 

The draft will be posted for a 30 day period for public comment and review with about $4.5billion of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 funds slated for Smart Grid demonstration projects.